Thunder and Heat too good for their opponents…

Durant and Westbrook celebrating in the Oklahoma City Thunder game 3 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. (Newsok)

My my have times changed in a year for the Dallas Mavericks. A year after the Mavs won their first NBA Title, they are a game away from getting swept in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. This series feels as there is being a changing of the guard-last year the Mavs defeated these Oklahoma City Thunder who have almost the exact same team they had last year in 5 games.

After the first two games of the Mavs/Thunder series many people believed that the Mavs should have won at least one of the two games in Oklahoma City after blowing late leads in both games 1 and 2. So, going in-game 3 many analysts believe that this was the game the Mavs were going to win to get back into the series; unfortunately for Mavs fans and neutrals it didn’t happen.

In a game that Jason Terry labeled as a game 7, the Thunder played as if it was a game 7 and the Mavs didn’t. As a result, the Thunder hold a 3-0 series advantage and have the opportunity to sweep the team who knocked them out of the playoffs last year.

LeBron James being guarded by Carmelo Anthony in the Miami Heat game 3 victory against the New York Knicks. (SbNation)

After watching the Miami Heat last night, you understand why so many people believe that the Heat are the best team in the NBA. Last night was the opportunity for the Knicks to get back into the series against the Heat. In the first half, it looked as if the Knicks had a chance to take game 3 against the Heat, although the Heat played a borderline terrible first half. However, in the second half the cream rose to the top with Dwyane Wade taking over in the third quarter and LeBron James taking over in the fourth quarter.

When the Heat are on their game, especially defensively, they are the best team in the NBA. There are many comparisons when the Heat are on their defensive game to the 1990s Chicago Bulls teams which had Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. The Heat smothered the Knicks defensively last night, particularly in the second half, and have essentially gave the Knicks zero chance of getting back into this series.

When you’re predicting an outcome to a playoff series, you can typically predict that the team that has the best player will win the series. So, when one team in the series has the two best players in the series the other team has no shot. The Heat with Wade and James have the two best players in the Knicks/Heat series and the Thunder with Durant and Westbrook have the two best players in the Mavs/Thunder series-the result 3-0 leads for both teams.