After barely getting by the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Miami Heat has advanced to the NBA Finals once again and will face another tough challenge in the form of the up-and-coming Oklahoma City Thunder.

Once the Heat had reached the Finals last season, the consensus was that LeBron James and company were the team to beat with the veteran Dallas Mavericks being unable to keep up with an extremely fast and athletic Heat squad. Unfortunately for Miami, the Heat had no answer for Dirk Nowitzki and the veteran role players of the Mavs.

In dramatic fashion, the Heat was defeated in six games and the Mavs were crowned NBA champions for the first time in the franchise’s history.

The loss to the Mavs was devastating for the Heat with talk of the Big 3 in Miami not the right combination in order to win a title let along multiple titles. Despite a lot of criticism directed toward the team for the ridiculous way the boasted winning not five, not six, not seven championships after acquiring Chris Bosh, LeBron James and re-signing Dwyane Wade, the Heat have another shot to win that elusive title just one year later.

Coming into the NBA Finals, the Heat will face arguably their toughest test yet. The Oklahoma City Thunder have proven that they’re ready to take the next step after taking down the defending NBA champion Mavs, Kobe Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers and the seemingly unstoppable San Antonio Spurs.

After beating arguably the three best teams in the Western Conference over the last ten years in the first three rounds of the NBA playoffs, the Thunder are for real and might be incredibly tough to get passed in the Finals.

Even though the Thunder are a team on the rise and will have a bright future ahead, I believe the Heat will come out on top and finally quiet their critics.

Prediction: Miami Heat wins in seven games

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