By Zaheer E. Clarke
Written June 2, 2017
Published June 5, 2017
Last year, the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Golden State Warriors to claim the NBA title. This year, Kevin Durant will be the difference-maker for the Warriors.
Kevin Durant and LeBron James first Finals clash was the 2012 NBA Finals. How will the second meeting unfold?
(Source: Marques Says Blog)
Last Thursday, the 2017 NBA Finals begun the trilogy between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors. The game was a re-introduction of Kevin Durant to the NBA Finals, after a five-year hiatus since the Oklahoma Thunder played LeBron James’ Miami Heat in the 2012 Finals.
Back in 2012, the Thunder battled the Heat with James Harden and Russell Westbrook, this year’s MVP front-runners, in tandem with Durant up against James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. Thunder made easy work of the Western Conference that year, beating the Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs on their way to the Finals. The Heat, surprisingly, were pushed through the playoffs by the Indiana Pacers and a tough-nosed Boston Celtics. Expectedly, Thunder was supposed to make light work of the Heat as well, even though, James, Wade and Bosh – two seasons earlier – were three of the top-4 players in the league in terms of player efficiency rating (PER). After the Thunder won game one of that series by 11 points, Heat stormed to the championship winning the next four games by a combined 31 points to give LeBron James his first NBA title and Final MVP crown. Continue reading
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