2011-12 NBA Season Predictions: Oklahoma City Thunder over Miami Heat

The league is (finally) back, rejoice.A year ago, when we offered our 2010-11 season predictions, we noted in our headline that the NBA was "More Wide Open Than We Think." The consensus was that the Heat and the Lakers would meet in the Finals, yet we presented cases for seven teams (including Miami and Los Angeles) as contenders... and we didn't even include the team which ended up winning it all, the Dallas Mavericks, not to mention other teams which emerged as tough squads, like Memphis and Denver.This year, as we survey the NBA landscape, our feelings have done something of a 180. Namely, we'll be surprised if anyone other than the Oklahoma City Thunder, Miami Heat or Chicago Bulls end up playing in the 2012 NBA Finals. Beyond our Big 3, we see a vast second tier of teams with too many question marks to truly contend for the Larry O.B. in this condensed lockout season.On top of that, we're picking the Thunder to beat the Heat to win the 2011-12 NBA champion...