What a series this has been for any NBA fan. OKC steals Game 1 and home court advantage switching the series in their favor. Golden State wins Game 2 but the Thunder strike back winning both games at home and taking a 3-1 lead against the defending champions. But Golden State fought back. Game 6 looked like it was going OKC's way after leading by seven points in the last quarter, but Klay Thompson stepped up scoring 41 points and 11 3-pointers. Of course part of the blame also goes to the Thunder for committing four turnovers in less than two minutes, after playing smart the first few games, OKC came back to its old habits. For the tenth time in the league history a team that was down 3-1, comes back to win the series 4-3 and the Golden State Warriors continue to make history this season.

Let's analyze the pivotal Game 7 and how Golden State was able to beat the Thunder to go face the Cavaliers in the NBA finals:

Shot Selection:

One of the biggest problems the Thunder have during decisive games is their poor shot selection. Of course, it can be attributed to the Golden State defense, but a large part of it comes from Westbrook and Durant trying to "hero-ball" their way back into the game. Of the five Thunder starters, only Durant (10-19) and Ibaka (5-11) shot the ball well, as the Thunder went on to shoot only 38.2% in Game 7. Westbrook has a bad habit of forcing bad three pointers in order to take in contact and get the foul, the issue is it will never get called. Don't get me wrong, Westbrook is one of the best point guards in the league but he should rely more on attacking the paint than jacking up 3s in a closeout game. The blame can't all fall on Westbrook though as we saw the Thunder offense completely stagnate in the third quarter, scoring only 12 points. On the other hand, the Warriors were moving the ball around more and if the shot clock was winding down, they had Curry and Klay hot for the whole night, and once both get going it is hard to make them stop.

Bench:

The Warriors bench was one of its biggest weapons against OKC in Game 7. The pivotal third quarter, when the Warriors created their 11 point lead, was led partly due to their bench. Let's take a look at a small stretch of three minutes in which the Warriors bench was in the game. The game was 59-58 for the Thunder, and then a small run caused by the Warriors' bench ended up giving them momentum.

3:05		Shaun Livingston makes 10-foot two point shot (Stephen Curry assists)	58 - 61
2:41		Kevin Durant misses 27-foot three point pullup jump shot	58 - 61
2:40		Shaun Livingston defensive rebound	58 - 61
2:34		Shaun Livingston makes two point shot	58 - 63
2:34		Serge Ibaka shooting foul (Shaun Livingston draws the foul)	58 - 63
2:34		Enes Kanter enters the game for Kevin Durant	58 - 63
2:34		Anderson Varejao enters the game for Festus Ezeli	58 - 63
2:34		Shaun Livingston makes free throw 1 of 1	58 - 64
2:21		Leandro Barbosa enters the game for Andre Iguodala	58 - 64
2:11		Shaun Livingston blocks Russell Westbrook's jumper	58 - 64
2:10		Leandro Barbosa defensive rebound	58 - 64
2:06		Enes Kanter blocks Leandro Barbosa's shot	58 - 64
2:06		Warriors offensive team rebound	58 - 64
2:06		Warriors Full timeout	58 - 64
2:06		Kevin Durant enters the game for Serge Ibaka	58 - 64
2:00		Leandro Barbosa makes 11-foot two point shot (Anderson Varejao assists)	58 - 66
1:44		Dion Waiters misses 23-foot three point jumper	58 - 66
1:43		Shaun Livingston defensive rebound	58 - 66
1:42		Andre Roberson personal foul (Shaun Livingston draws the foul)	58 - 66
1:30		Harrison Barnes makes 23-foot three pointer (Anderson Varejao assists)	58 - 69
1:13		Russell Westbrook offensive foul (Anderson Varejao draws the foul)	58 - 69
1:13		Russell Westbrook turnover	58 - 69
1:13		Serge Ibaka enters the game for Andre Roberson	58 - 69
0:58		Anderson Varejao makes 2-foot two point shot	58 - 71

During this three minute period, the Thunder were stuck at 58 points while Golden State made their lead 13. All of Golden State's points were made by their bench. It was either Livingston, Varejao, Barbosa or Barnes that came up to play and made it possible that Golden State carried a lead into the final quarter. The bench superiority also shows up in the minutes, each team's star players played throughout the game. Durant and Westbrook played 46 and 45 minutes respectively, Curry and Thompson only 40 and 42. In a long series like this one, having depth in the bench is really important as it allows the starters to rest. OKC without Durant or Westbrook becomes stagnant offensively.

Rebounds

While I have been praising Golden State and bashing on the Thunder, rebounding was an area in which OKC dominated throughout the series. The offensive rebounds and second chance points were the main weapon that the Thunder had against both the Warriors and the Spurs. With two young players in Adams and Kanter, and a point guard who can rebound as well as a center in Westbrook, the Thunder were able to control the paint over the less athletic big men in Golden State. Rebounding was so important for the Thunder, that whenever they controlled it they would blow Golden State. Let's take a look in the rebounding advantages the Thunder had in all the games they won:

Game 1: 62 - 55 (Even though OKC had only 38.2% FGA and 25.9% 3PA, compared to the Warriors 43.5% and 45.9% respectively)

Game 3: 62 - 48

Game 4: 68 - 49

Let's also take a look and whenever the Thunder lost:

Game 2: 45 - 54

Game 5: 50 - 54

Game 6: 64 - 59

Game 7: 47 - 46

The rebound numbers come back to the Thunder poor shot selection. Even though they shoot poorly they do have big men that can rebound and give them more chances to take the lead. Whenever the rebounding numbers go down the more evident it becomes the poor shot selection by the Thunder.

Paint vs. Three Pointers

This series was also the clash between two different teams, the Thunder who play more in the paint, and the Warriors who are a three point shooting team. The Thunder had an advantage while attacking the paint as they had two amazing finishers in Durant and Westbrook alongside with Steve Adams and Kanter. As we saw in Games 3 and 4 the Thunder were constantly attacking the paint and getting easy shots. They would use the fast break led by Westbrook to force a foul or the easy layup, and that was went missing in the next three games. On the other hand the Warriors were not able to attack the paint as much as their considerably smaller lineup made it harder for them to avoid getting blocked. As we saw in the series, whenever Klay or Curry would try a layup Roberson, Adams or Ibaka would be there to contest the shot and as a result the Warriors had to settle down for the three point shot what worked perfectly. While the Thunder's three point defense was not bad, Klay and Curry are just too good to let them stay open as every shot they take needs to be contested.

Expectations:

I think the Cavaliers are a much more favorable matchup for the Warriors since they will not be out rebounded as much. However, unlike last year the Warriors will be facing a fully healthy Cavaliers team with the addition of Channing Frye. For the Finals the Warriors will utilize their small-ball lineup much more often, especially when Tristan Thompson is not in the floor, and Tyron Lue will need to find a way to stop it. Overall, the Finals this year will be a clash between two great teams that are completely healthy. The Warriors will want to keep their historic season alive, and they will be coming off with momentum after an amazing comeback against the Thunder. The Cavaliers will be led by Lebron trying to bring a title for Cleveland and wanting revenge for last years Finals. No matter for who you cheer for, this will be one the best NBA finals recently.