NBA Playoffs

[SheagleHawk]

Lol I hope you're joking. 35 points and 10 rebounds man. Sometimes great players have to rely on their teammates to finish a game. Only a moron would actually believe that somehow lessens Lebron's performance. He had an outstanding game. Bosh's play in the final 4 minutes was huge.

On the other hand, I thought DWade played like a lil b-itch. Walking up the court, yelling at his teammates, and then his flop that the ref called as a foul when he didn't even get touched. He better be getting a fine for that one.

That's b/c he is.

 

[DP5555]

True, I was actually kind of shocked by how much hate he got after leaving Game 1 though. Scott Van Pelt made a good point on his radio show that there are a lot of people that for whatever reason hate LeBron and he hasn't given them much reason to let that hate out for the past two years. It was just a buildup of people just waiting to jump on him for some reason and they finally found one.

I think I took Jordan's greatness for granted when I watched him, but I try to not do that with LeBron. He has this level of balls-out, desperation like play that he doesn't go to very often, but I thought he was there in the second quarter last night. It was a stretch much like the fourth quarter of game six in last year's finals where he just puts his head down and gets to the rim and pounds the glass. That offensive rebound and putback against Leonard was a good example of it. I also love watching him on defensive when he gets completely locked in like he was in the 4th on Parker. Just completely disrupted their entire offense.

I agree with this, and I've always kind of wondered why sometimes he seems to disappear for stretches at a time. When he wants to take over a game he can take over a game. He can get to the basket at will. There isn't anyone in the league who can stop him. Finishing around the rim when Roy Hibbert is down low is his biggest challenge when attacking the basket. Outside of Hibbert there isn't really anyone who can stop him. Maybe Howard? Regarding these Finals, the Spurs certainly don't have any answer for it. Unless he gets into foul trouble, he should attack, attack, and attack some more. Because when he gets his short game going it opens up his mid-range jumper and then his 3 pt. shot. Plus when he starts heating up he forces the opposition into double teams which means someone else is wide open.

I think this should be the Heat strategy from here on out. Especially if Wade is going to keep being a little wagina. Let LeBron attack and create. The Spurs have a lot more depth than the Heat do. They don't have an individual who can take over the game like Lebron can, but when they play as a team they are certainly capable of beating Miami. I think we're in for an outstanding series.

 

[trj]

did not see that Spurs beatdown coming. Leonard is the key and to a lesser degree Green, they play decent from here on out Spurs will get their ring.

 

[JHHawk]

This series is going to go back and forth...7 game series, I suspect.

When you have the two top teams, both great, it comes down to the more desperate team each nite, and next game it will be the Heat.

But,I have to say, I thought the Spurs could never match their 4th qtr shooting performance in game 1 (16 of18)
but there they go starting this game 19 of 21....amazing.
You simply cannot lose a game when you shoot that well( 67% overall).
Heat shot well also.

The Spurs led the league this season in total touches.....which means they pass better than anyone else, and when you combine that with tremendous shooting....you get Wisconsin. Go Spurs!

 

[trj]

This series is going to go back and forth...7 game series, I suspect.

When you have the two top teams, both great, it comes down to the more desperate team each nite, and next game it will be the Heat.

But,I have to say, I thought the Spurs could never match their 4th qtr shooting performance in game 1 (16 of18)
but there they go starting this game 19 of 21....amazing.
You simply cannot lose a game when you shoot that well( 67% overall).
Heat shot well also.

The Spurs led the league this season in total touches.....which means they pass better than anyone else, and when you combine that with tremendous shooting....you get Wisconsin. Go Spurs!

I am old school so I love ball movement(save the porn jokes). That is why I am rooting for SA. I realize isolation basketball has been and will always be part of basketball, I just think the last 20 or so years things got out of whacked and it became about accumulating the most talent. A generation seemed to be lost with guys that can't move without the basketball in their hands.

 

[thetrza]

So do they just hand the trophy to the Spurs after the third quarter tonight?

 

[RocknRollface]

I am old school so I love ball movement(save the porn jokes). That is why I am rooting for SA. I realize isolation basketball has been and will always be part of basketball, I just think the last 20 or so years things got out of whacked and it became about accumulating the most talent. A generation seemed to be lost with guys that can't move without the basketball in their hands.

Agree, it's refreshing to watch basketball played the correct way...pass first, move when you don't have the ball.

A whole generation of Americans grew up trying to be Micheal Jordan and thus not understanding how to actually play the game. Taking tough shots is a stupid way to play even though it worked for MJ.

Not coincidentally the spurs are mostly foreigners who learned a different and far more efficient game.

It's pretty entertaining to watch Boris Diaw pick the heat apart by making the easy "extra" pass.

 

[jacknicholson]

The fact that no team has come back from a 3-1 deficit is telling. I love the way the Spurs are playing, the entire team, plus Leonard is becoming a superstar.....

I don't get the LeBron hatred. He is one the the best players ever, in the same league with Oscar Robinson, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan, but he is no Jordan, make no mistake....

Can't wat for the game tonight, hard to imagine the Heat losing three in a row.....

Wade is on the downhill side, and might be traded after this season. Heat are trying to get Carmello. Unfair I say.....

 

[imported_ankle23]

The fact that no team has come back from a 3-1 deficit is telling. I love the way the Spurs are playing, the entire team, plus Leonard is becoming a superstar.....

I don't get the LeBron hatred. He is one the the best players ever, in the same league with Oscar Robinson, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan, but he is no Jordan, make no mistake....

Can't wat for the game tonight, hard to imagine the Heat losing three in a row.....

Wade is on the downhill side, and might be traded after this season. Heat are trying to get Carmello. Unfair I say.....

'The Decision' inked this guys public persona.

And the guys you mention in comparison to him - none of them left their original teams because of their inability to win at said team.

 

[trj]

'The Decision' inked this guys public persona.

And the guys you mention in comparison to him - none of them left their original teams because of their inability to win at said team.

People really need to let that go. He has quit trying to spin it and has acknowledged that he handled it poorly. what else do people want from him? Bird, Johnson and Jordan weren't exactly choir boys.

 

[trj]

Agree, it's refreshing to watch basketball played the correct way...pass first, move when you don't have the ball.

A whole generation of Americans grew up trying to be Micheal Jordan and thus not understanding how to actually play the game. Taking tough shots is a stupid way to play even though it worked for MJ.

Not coincidentally the spurs are mostly foreigners who learned a different and far more efficient game.

It's pretty entertaining to watch Boris Diaw pick the heat apart by making the easy "extra" pass.

The spurs comparison to the patriots is a pretty good one......They just find people that fit their system, their culture and it is a thing of beauty. Landing Robinson and later duncan set everything up, unlike a lot of NBA franchises, they knew what they had in Robinson/Duncan and didn't f it up. Popp like phil jackson happen to be the right coach, at the right place, at the right time. Bob Hill is like Doug Collins you wonder what would have happen if they were allowed to play it out.

 

[trj]

Once again, Lebron will get all the criticism and wade will get a pass. I thought last year's finals would play out like this and vice versa this year's final would play out like last year.

 

[imported_ankle23]

People really need to let that go. He has quit trying to spin it and has acknowledged that he handled it poorly. what else do people want from him? Bird, Johnson and Jordan weren't exactly choir boys.

hey i could care less about the nba and about any one player in the nba, including lebron james. i watched zero nba playoff games this cycle. but when i think of lebron james the first thing i think of is 'i'm taking my talents to south beach...' and that ridiculous self-promotion show he put on.

you know the saying that you can never get a chance to make a first impression? well, that is said for a reason as certain things become imprinted in the psyche. for me, this has stuck with me.

the second thing i think of when thinking of lebron james is that he refers to himself as 'king james'.....and is serious when doing so.

 

[theboat]

 

[HawkeyeMike23]

Once again, Lebron will get all the criticism and wade will get a pass. I thought last year's finals would play out like this and vice versa this year's final would play out like last year.

God Wade was just horrible in the Finals...him and Chalmers killed the Heat when they were out there.

 

[trj]

God Wade was just horrible in the Finals...him and Chalmers killed the Heat when they were out there.

Timing could not have been worse for Chalmers I believe he is in a contract year......At the end he was getting scrub minutes with Beasley.

 

[YWinston]

People really need to let that go. He has quit trying to spin it and has acknowledged that he handled it poorly. what else do people want from him? Bird, Johnson and Jordan weren't exactly choir boys.

ESPN had a poll last week the showed after the decision, LeBron James' popularity plummeted. Eventually, people came back to him except for white men, which is the lone demographic where he didn't regain his popularity.

Just bumping around the internet today, those results, at least anecdotally, appear to be true. I'm not saying people who don't like LeBron are racist, but some the animosity appears to be racially based.

 

[HawkeyeMike23]

Timing could not have been worse for Chalmers I believe he is in a contract year......At the end he was getting scrub minutes with Beasley.

He is, he's been a guy capable of the occasional 15-20 point game in the past two Finals, he averaged 3.5 ppg on 29% shooting going into game four. The Heat had less depth than any of their previous Finals teams and they had no chance with their starting backcourt playing that poorly.

 

[imported_ankle23]

ESPN had a poll last week the showed after the decision, LeBron James' popularity plummeted. Eventually, people came back to him except for white men, which is the lone demographic where he didn't regain his popularity.

Just bumping around the internet today, those results, at least anecdotally, appear to be true. I'm not saying people who don't like LeBron are racist, but some the animosity appears to be racially based.

if la ron was the only black guy in the nba, or one of the few black guys, you might be on to something. but he isn't and you aren't. go thru an espn thread and you will see, maybe surprisingly, that there are more than a few black guys taking their shots at him.

i found this gem in one of those said threads:

LeBron is a special talent. So many accomplishments Kobe and MJ will never achieve:

1. Bronze 2006
2. Bronze 2004
3. NBA finals sweep 2007
4. Go entire Finals scoring 20 pts only one time
5. Quit on his team the year after he promises a championship
6. Dunked on by a highschool kid and then confiscate tape
7. Bail on the dunk contest 9 times
8. Only able to win a ring with 2 superstars
9. 7th best player in NBA finals series.
10. Average 1.8 pts in the 4th quarter of NBA finals.
11. Lose in the finals not 1, not 2, but 3 times.
12. Host a national televised TV show to leave his team
13. Play on the same team as his moms boyfriend
14. Go 2 for 18 in an NBA playoff game.
15. Get stuffed by a player under 6 feet (Nate Robinson)
16. Flop every single game in the playoffs
17. Choke 4 out of 5 finals games by dropping FG% by 18
18. Vow revenge for 2007 sweep, then proceed to choke again

 

[imported_ankle23]

People really need to let that go. He has quit trying to spin it and has acknowledged that he handled it poorly. what else do people want from him? Bird, Johnson and Jordan weren't exactly choir boys.

you made the comparison of lebron to 'bird, johnson and jordan'.........here is something interesting if you are going to compare these individuals:

Finals records

Jordan 6-0
Magic 5-4
Kobe 5-2
Duncan 5-1
Bird 3-2 (two losses come from somone else on this list)
LeBron 2-3

one of these things is not like the other -