2012 NBA Finals Preview

Miami Heat v. Oklahoma City Thunder

My prediction first before position by position analysis. Heat in 5

Mario Chalmers/Russel Westbrook - Advantage Oklahoma City. Obviously. Westbrook has his flaws but is in general under-appreciated. Chalmers always seems to be the type of guy who scores 21 points when Miami loses.

Dwayne Wade/Thabo Sefalosha - Advantage Miami. Harden takes a lot of minutes so it may not fair to not include him but he technically isn't the starter. Sefalosha is a good defender but is not in the league of D-Wade

LeBron James/Kevin Durant - Advantage Miami. LeBron can do everything Durant does (outside of perhaps outside shooting) better. Durant is not on LeBron's level. He gets a lot of positive pub since he seems to be a good guy but he isn't in LeBron's class.

Chris Bosh/Serge Ibaka - Advantage Miami. Bosh is a guy who has gotten so much criticism its to the point where he is underrated. Ibaka is a good player but he gambles a lot on defense and while his block numbers look impressive he isn't all that great of an all around defensive player.

Udonis Haslem/Kendrick Perkins. Advantage Oklahoma City. I'm not a Perkins fan but he is a good defender and has Finals experience.

Bench: OKC advantage and a substantial one at that. Harden is a game changer and much better than anyone on Miami's bench.

Coaching: Draw. Don't think Erik Spoelstra is that bad of a coach and I don't think Scott Brooks is worthy of Coach of the Year honors. I've seen OKC at end of games and they haven't been all that impressive. Durant has bailed them out a lot.

Intangibles: OKC advantage. Seems like Miami is almost cursed and OKC has far superior fan support.

Game 1: OKC Wins
Game 2: Miami Wins
Game 3: Miami Wins
Game 4: Miami Wins
Game 5: Miami Wins

I think we are going to see Game 6 ECF LeBron and that LeBron is near impossible to beat. When LeBron is going by himself and not trying to be selfless he is pretty hard to beat. Add in Wade and Bosh and OKC's inexperience and Westbrook's selfish tendencies its not going to be close. I can't even count the number of games where OKC goes away from Durant in the 4th. LeBron and Battier are quality defenders so it may be difficult to get his looks.

Casting The Movie: Fifty Shades Of Grey

I just finished reading the Fifty Shades Of Grey Trilogy by E.L. James. I can't say they were the best books ever but they were quite addicting and a quick read. Compared to other sensations of late these were certainly more ameturish and of a lesser literary quality. The lack of polish both helps and harms the trilogy. Some of the things in the novles were charming but other things were just annoying. On the annoying side things like the unique subject lines on each email and the repeated use of "laters baby" became grating over time. That said the characters were likable enough and I was really invested in the storylines. If I had to grade the trilogy I would say it was in the range of a "B". Extremely readable. It is hard to put down and a page turner despite having almost no stakes. Its easy to rip the books for its flaws but it was on the whole a fun book to read. I enjoyed it despite being so far out of its target market. As I was reading the ebooks I kept casting the movie in my head. I thought I would post my fan-casting of the book on my seldom used blog. So here it goes. This blogger template is a pain to use so if this looks terrible my apologies. 


Christian Grey: Michael Fassbender. Who else exudes so much power and charisma? And Fassbender has already got experience playing a similar characters in "Fishtank" and "Shame". Fassbender has so much natural charisma and is one of the most powerful actors in the world. I cannot imagine anyone other than Fassbender playing the role. Fassbender would be the best case scenario since he is arguably the best working actor under 35 in the world. The only downside is he might be a few years too old for the part.

Anastatia Steele: Shailene Woodley. She was terrific in "The Descendents" and I think she would be perfect for the mix of innocence and confidence needed for the role. She is the perfect age too for the role and I think the contrast between her and Fassbender would be great. She is undeniably good looking but not in a model type way which is how I envisioned Anastasia. 

Elena: Charlize Theron. After watching "Young Adult" there is no doubt she can play an icy bitch. I think she would be perfect for the role and she has a cold, distant, detached presence. She might be a little young for the role since she doesn't look much older than Fassbender. 
Kate: Leighton Meester. From what little I've seen of Gossip Girl she seems confident and manipulative. She is obviously attractive as well so I think its a good fit. 

Elliot Grey: Armie Hammer. I think Hammer has a likable screen presence and he has played a charming wealthy young man well before. He is a good match with Fassbender in terms of being a similar build but more friendly looking. 
Mia Grey: Anna Kendrick. I thought of the character as taller but Kendrick can do bubbly really well and I think that is more important. Kendrick is also a really likeable actress so that is probably a good match for the character.

Jose: Gael Garcia Bernal. Seems artistic enough. Maybe a little too attractive for the role. I sort of imagined Jose as more round but I think Bernal would work.
Taylor: Dean Norris. I think he can exude the loyalty and toughness of Taylor well. And it keeps the casting somewhat realistic. A Listers aren't going to be playing the 10th lead. Again age might be an issue since he is too old to have a young child but whatever. I think he is a good fit outside of that. 

Leila: Chloe Sevigny. I remember her character in Zodiac being very drab and pathethic. I think its a good fit for Leila. I think she could play a submissive well. I never came away with the impression that Leila was gorgeous so its a good fit. 
Jack: Jason Sudeikis. A little bit of a left-field choice but Sudeikis can do creepy as well as anyone.

Grace: Blythe Danner. This is sort of her meal ticket type of role. Warm motherly figures to neurotic adult children. She has done it well countless times before and I am sure she could do it again. 
Carrick: John Terry. He was great on LOST and I think he could do a blue blood type role well here. He had this aloof but still personable demenaor on LOST and I think it would work for Carrick.