The Miami Heat are on the TV schedule on Wednesday night against the OKC Thunder and that means the game will feature LeBron James and Kevin Durant battling for who is the best in the NBA and the matchup will be on ESPN at 7 pm and will be streaming online from the WatchESPN website and comes as the debate rages about who will be MVP this season.
James comes in as the defending champion and MVP winner and while the NBA can get fatigue from the same dude winning all the time, it's different with James because it's so deserving, but this year he will get a run from Durant after the way he has been playing. Durant has been excellent without Russell Westbrook in the lineup after he was injured and he has scored at least 30 points in 11 straight games and now he will get the chance to play against James on Wednesday night.
James has been taking less shots and hitting them at a higher percentage, but overall his numbers are down across the board and many think it's because the Heat are waiting for the playoffs to get to full strength. According to ESPN.com, James' numbers are down across the board with his minutes at 36 per game through 43 games, while his scoring, rebounding and steals are down, although he is hitting nearly 60 percent of his shots.
James has been playing more in recent games with Dwyane Wade out of the lineup and while his numbers are down, James is an integral part of what Miami does and Durant is the same with the Thunder. The two players are friends and USA national teammates and now they will go head to head and it comes as Durant is 3-13 against James in his career, but this game can help erase that a bit if he plays the way he has been over the past couple weeks. Durant has been excellent in those games, shooting better percent wise and scoring more than against other opponents and he also hits more threes in those games.
The matchup really isn't that important in the grand scheme of things, but in this ESPN First Take culture of daily debates of "who is the best" and "who is number one", whoever wins this game will take the mantle for at least a week or two. James is the best player in the NBA and Durant might be the best scorer and he has been excellent over the past 11 games, averaging nearly 40 points per game and now the team has the best record in the west and will be a force this season as long as Russell Westbrook gets back healthy. James and the Heat will be looking for a nice win at home on Wednesday night, while OKC comes in after a win against the Atlanta Hawks and they will next play the Brooklyn Nets on Friday, while Miami comes in after a win against the San Antonio Spurs before playing the Knicks at the Garden on Saturday night.
