OKC Thunder Make Case for NBA’s Elite Status: Fan Reaction

The Oklahoma City Thunder can now be considered elite among NBA teams. The 103-87 pounding they delivered to the Miami Heat March 25 is evidence enough the Thunder are NBA Finals material. Yes, the Heat self-destructed and made crucial mistakes. But it took an opposing team to disrupt the Heat in order to do that.

The Thunder held Miami to 14 points below its per-game scoring average and stopped the Heat's four-game winning streak. Kendrick Perkins was perhaps the key to the game as he stepped up with a season-high 16 points.

The game signified just how motivated OKC can be. Even with superstar point guard Russell Westbrook on the bench, everyone else picked up the slack. Serge Ibaka had a great game with 8-for-10 shooting and 19 points to go along with 10 rebounds.

If the Thunder can keep winning games like this one, there won't be an NBA team to stop them. OKC is peaking at just the right time as the Thunder hit a crucial point of their schedule. A rematch against Miami in south Florida happens April 4. Before then, the Thunder play the NBA's best team the Chicago Bulls.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AiSo_hvqP64dv6MEaKVU3QO8vLYF?slug=ycn-11156538