Through two first round games, “small ball” has been one of the big themes of the NBA Playoffs. The Golden State Warriors were left for dead when they lost David Lee, but they completely flipped the dynamic of their series with the Denver Nuggets in Game 2, when they started Harrison Barnes at power forward and spread the floor with four perimeter players.

The Houston Rockets, after being blown off the court by the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1, made a similar adjustment with Chandler Parsons and came this close to pulling off the upset in Game 2. Going small is the easiest adjustment a coach can make, as it instantly creates the floor spacing necessary for offenses to function.

The trade-off for that extra spacing comes on the other end, where a smaller frontcourt can be exploited on the low block and the offensive boards. However, with fewer traditional big men left who can take advantage of a size mismatch, it’s a lot easier to start swingmen at power forward. As a result, the power forward position dictates the tempo and style of a series. Zach Randolph versus Blake Griffin is why Memphis Grizzlies/Los Angeles Clippers is a halfcourt brawl in the 80’s; Wilson Chandler versus Harrison Barnes is why Warriors/Nuggets is a free-flowing shootout in the 110’s. To change the rules of engagement, all a coach has to do is switch out his power forward.

Teams with traditional 4’s, like Randolph and David West, have to slow the pace of the game down and grind away smaller teams in the halfcourt. Conversely, teams with small-ball 4’s, like the Nuggets, almost always want to speed up the tempo and try to attack in the open court. The best teams in the NBA can do both: they can spread the court on offense without sacrificing much on the defensive end because of the versatility of a star forward. That’s what makes LeBron James and Kevin Durant so scary; the best two players in the league just happen to play the most important position in the game.

The Miami Heat and the Thunder have the ultimate trump card: going small with their superstar small forward at power forward. More often than not, LeBron (6’9 270 with a 7’0 wingspan) and Durant (6’11 235 with a 7’4 wingspan) are the biggest, fastest and most skilled players on the floor. When they have the space to play in a 1-on-1 situation in the half-court, there’s very little teams can do to stop them. LeBron is averaging 27 points and seven assists on 56 percent shooting; Durant is averaging 28 points and five assists on 51 percent shooting. They have essentially been scoring at will this season.

That becomes even more of an issue with a jump-shooting big man at center. With Chris Bosh now extending his range out to the three-point line, Miami can stretch a defense to the breaking point any time they want. When Bosh and Shane Battier are stationed at opposite corners of the three-point line, the opposing team’s two biggest players have defensive responsibilities 25+ feet from the basket. That’s not where you want them to be when LeBron is barreling towards the rim against a slower defender or bullying a smaller one on the block. The Thunder can do the same thing with Serge Ibaka at the 5.

LeBron and Durant represent a rather existential threat to any small-ball team. Miami and Oklahoma City do everything teams like Denver, Golden State and New York do, but they do those things much, much better. How can you beat the two best players in the league at their own game? Carmelo Anthony, for example, has turned himself into an MVP candidate as a small-ball 4, but he’ll have to go through the best small-ball 4 in the NBA to reach The Finals. The Knicks' offense is built around Carmelo consistently dominating his individual match-up. It’s great that he is confident when he goes up against LeBron, but it’s not going to make a difference.

Going back to 2011, only one team has beaten both the Heat and the Thunder. The key to the Mavericks success was their ability to dictate the tempo. Since Dallas played two 7’0 -- Tyson Chandler and Dirk Nowitzki -- for most of the game, neither Oklahoma City nor Miami could go small very often. Instead, they had to keep in two big men to battle with the Mavericks stars upfront. And with less space on the floor, LeBron and Durant became mortal, especially when matched up with a Hall of Fame-caliber defensive stopper in Shawn Marion.

However, ever since Mark Cuban decided to break up those Mavericks in order to start chasing waterfalls, no team has been able to recreate that blueprint. There were high hopes for the Lakers, but the injury woes of their main stars and the general lack of ability of their supporting cast has made them first round cannon fodder. The Pacers couldn’t close out a Heat team without Bosh last year; could they really beat a healthy group, this time without Danny Granger? The Grizzlies lack of perimeter firepower cost them against the Thunder in 2011 and they have even less this time around. The Nets don't have enough interior defense to be a contender.

On paper, the Spurs and the Clippers are the two teams with the best chance of preventing a rematch in the NBA Finals. However, both will have to overcome significant hurdles to beat Oklahoma City.

The Clippers' halfcourt offense has a tendency to stagnate, as they don’t have a player capable of stretching the floor at the 4 or the 5. Nor, for that matter, do they have anyone capable of matching up with Durant. San Antonio has Kawhi Leonard, but they don’t have a second big man who can prevent Oklahoma City from going small. Popovich is having trouble keeping Tiago Splitter on the floor against the Lakers, the perfect match-up for him, because the Spurs are much more effective with a four-out offense.

Barring an untimely injury, it’s hard to see LeBron and Durant not reuniting in The NBA Finals. With so many teams moving towards small-ball, there just aren’t any great low-post teams standing in their way. Basketball has always been a big man’s game, but the most dominant big men in the sport are no longer centers who operate on the low block; they’re swing forwards who can dominate from any part of the floor. While point guard gets all the hype, we are in the age of the small-ball 4. LeBron is 28 and Durant is 24; there could be a lot more Heat vs. Thunder NBA Finals in our future. Forget the second coming of Bird versus Magic, we might be looking at a 21rst century twist on Russell versus Chamberlain.