KD vs LBJ

PARIS (George Eddy's International Show) - It seems like superstars Kevin Durant and LeBron James have been on a collision course since Day 1 of this NBA season to meet in the Finals and the exciting result is making everyone forget that there ever was a lockout but also reminisce back to the glory days of Magic vs Bird in multiple, memorable NBA Finals in the 1980s.

This is almost too good to be true, having the two best players of the next decade loyally battling each other for every inch of hardwood while leading their teams to new heights.

The contrasts between Oklahoma City and Miami are just as numerous as their similarities. The Thunder represent wonderfully the humble, small town wholesomeness and togetherness of their city the same way the Heat symbolise quite well the flashy, spectacular and star-studded atmosphere of their sun-drenched playground metropolis.

However, both teams play the same style fueled by unparelleled athleticism and talent which produces suffocating defense and fan-friendly fastbreak opportunities for easy baskets that sometimes resemble a blitzkrieg!

Both teams can also grind it out in the half-court when the game slows to the pace of a traffic jam on Ocean Drive.

We can make the same comparison concerning the two megastars because if their personalities and methods for striving towards a title are diametrically opposed, their all-around style of play, leadership and budding, respectful friendship also makes them quite similar.

After three games, Lebron has confirmed that in 2012 he is putting together the best indivual playoff performance EVER by a player while Durant, the incredible closer, is not far behind.

Durant and his band of unflappable and unafraid young wolves learn everything in an accelerated fashion and never say die like last season's Dallas team while multiplying great comebacks and last-second heroics.

They defend, limit turnovers and make free-throws under pressure which generally are not the strong points of young rosters but coach Scott Brooks knows how to stay positive and give them some leash in order to get the most out of their immense talent and desire to succeed.

Of course they are still going to have to prove that they can keep on doing all these wonderful things in the next four games of the Finals against a tough Pat Riley-esque defense and avoid some of the costly errors that were their downfall in Games 2 and 3.

This starts with Russell Westbrook and James Harden who have to calm down in the first quarters and limit their poor decisions and forced shots. Westbrook is a polarising figure in these playoffs because of his new age, hyper-attacking,video game style for a point guard which doesn't sit well with old school, pass-first analysts like Magic Johnson.

It won't be easy because Miami has the experience and desire for revenge that was born from their meltdown against Dallas in last year's Finals but also from their battle-worn resilience shown in each round of this season's playoffs.

It's clear that the magnificent return of Chris Bosh and the fabulous three-point shooting and defense of Shane Battier give the Heat fans added reasons to be confident because they complement James and an improving Dwayne Wade so efficiently.

The situation is simple: OKC has to win one of the next two to send the series back to their confidence-building...building(the well-named Chesapeake ENERGY Arena!) and raucous but fair-play fans.

Can they do it? I vote yes, but if they can't, Miami will be a well-deserving champion after having conquered so much critcism and bad will generated by the coming together of the Three superstar Amigos which left the rest of the league so jealous.

Good old-fashioned luck and unexpected role players stepping up will probably be the keys, so buckle up because it's going to be one heck of a ride!

George Eddy

FIBA

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