Let it all out.
Some are jumping in excitement and yelling with pride, a great many others are frowning and swearing in disappointment. Regardless of personal affiliation, the Miami Heat have defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder to win the 2012 NBA Finals.
Game Five ended with Miami taking a commanding lead over the Thunder and coasting to victory in the fourth. Although different from other games in the series, it was still riveting from start to finish.
Here are some quick thoughts from the game:
LeBron, LeBron, LeBron..
Love him, hate him -- LeBron James was phenomenal.
He deserved to win this more than any other player in the NBA, and despite the massive amount of criticism surrounding him, LBJ was able to dominate and capture the most elusive thing in his career. His performance throughout the entire series was to note with the greatest in history, and his MVP nomination was sure-fire.
Congrats, LeBron. You earned it.
OKC!
I don't want to insult or take anything away from the Thunder. So I won't.
OKC is such a young team, and as a whole, played very well through this entire series. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were amazing and deserve immense credit for leading a revolution in the Western Conference.
Congrats, OKC.
Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Shane Battier, Mario Chalmers and Shane Battier!
LBJ was excellent, but almost every other player on the Heat's roster contributed to this series. This was a team effort, and the players mentioned above were key pieces to the success of Miami in winning the championship.
Game Five was an explosion for Miller (7 three's!), and through the entire series Battier was playing on another level. These two proved that it does take a team to win, not just superstars.
Wade and Bosh finally found themselves and ended up having some of the best games of their respective careers. These two picked up the slack, and were totally key in jumping over that Finals barrier.
Erik Spoelstra - Credit!
I will be the first to admit that I had doubts about the coaching ability of Erik Spoelstra. However, he proved his value as a head coach by preparing and managing his team through a dominating Game Five performance.
This entire postseason has been a rough ride for the Heat, and Spoelstra has been there every step of the way keeping his team in line. Excellent work.
Redemption
Most will say that LBJ was the only one who redeemed himself -- but it was the entire Heat roster. This team was flat-out embarrassed last season, and instead rebounded and dominated by nearly sweeping the Thunder.
Miami has plenty of reason to be proud, as the the team took down a talented and difficult OKC team. This is a huge step forward and opens the door for the future.
Value?
Easily one of the most exciting NBA Finals to date. Excellent match-ups and more than enough star power to keep the game moving at all times. The Thunder and Heat were a dream-series for any real NBA fans.
What Now?
Miami won. OKC lost.
That's the reality. Love it or hate it, that's how the Finals finished this season. It was a battle of two teams that had more to prove than the other, and the better team came out on top. Determination vs. Youth -- and the end result was anyone's guess from beginning to end.
Going into next year, both of these teams are only going to get better, and moving forward expect these two to meet again. As promised, round two will be just as good as the first.