114 replies to this topic

[wirehairman]

Square, on 20 June 2012 - 04:46 PM, said:

Looks like OKC ran into the buzzsaw.  

  See post #64.

[electricrelish]

wirehairman, on 20 June 2012 - 11:23 PM, said:

  See post #64.

Or it could be that the Heat are just better.

[wirehairman]

electricrelish, on 20 June 2012 - 11:49 PM, said:

Or it could be that the Heat are just better.

The Heat are a good team with some great players.  I don't know if they are a better team but won't argue that they are playing better in the Finals.

The Thunder destroyed my Spurs by making the extra pass, playing team ball, and getting big (and uncharacteristic) contributions from Sefolosha, Ibaka, Fisher, and the rest of "the others".  In the Finals, it has been only Durant and Westbrook with occasional sightings of Harden.  On the other hand, "the others" on the Heat (Chalmers, Battier, etc.) have really stepped up to help out a very determined James and a struggling Wade.  It also seems like Bosh is back into the flow of the game.

[detlef]

wirehairman, on 21 June 2012 - 12:20 PM, said:

The Heat are a good team with some great players.  I don't know if they are a better team but won't argue that they are playing better in the Finals.

The Thunder destroyed my Spurs by making the extra pass, playing team ball, and getting big (and uncharacteristic) contributions from Sefolosha, Ibaka, Fisher, and the rest of "the others".  In the Finals, it has been only Durant and Westbrook with occasional sightings of Harden.  On the other hand, "the others" on the Heat (Chalmers, Battier, etc.) have really stepped up to help out a very determined James and a struggling Wade.  It also seems like Bosh is back into the flow of the game.

Keep in mind that the Heat are a significantly better defensive team than the Spurs, so the comparative lack of flow from that series to this could have something to do with that.

[wirehairman]

detlef, on 21 June 2012 - 12:39 PM, said:

Keep in mind that the Heat are a significantly better defensive team than the Spurs, so the comparative lack of flow from that series to this could have something to do with that.

The Heat do play good defense, and it along with many other things has the Thunder out of sync.  Being young and in the Finals for the first time may also be playing a large part in it.  Losing at home and the belief their invincible no matter how far behind they are didn't help them either.

At the same time, while the Spurs may not be leading the league in defense anymore, they are nowhere near the bottom of the league.  The Thunder were simply a machine when they made the extra pass and took care of the ball.  Durant took over in the 4th quarter of each game and was unstoppable despite Leonard and Jackson playing as close to picture perfect defense as possible.

[electricrelish]

Kevin Durant's mom shaking her head - http://www.sportspic...esnt-win-a-ring

[electricrelish]

Six Heat players in double figures.  Now that's a balanced TEAM performance.

[electricrelish]

I hope Dan Gilbert's guarantee to the bank was FDIC insured.

Dan Gilbert's tweet tonight:  https://twitter.com/...015724701954049

Edited by electricrelish, 21 June 2012 - 10:58 PM.

[keggerz]

Congrats to Heat, LBJ, Wade, Bosh and the rest of the crew.

[electricrelish]

electricrelish, on 21 June 2012 - 10:19 PM, said:

Kevin Durant's mom shaking her head - http://www.sportspic...esnt-win-a-ring

Guess Durant's mom had a change of heart - http://deadspin.com/...re-sad-chilling

[buddahj]

keggerz, on 21 June 2012 - 11:27 PM, said:

Congrats to Heat, LBJ, Wade, Bosh and the rest of the crew.

+1
Hate 'em all you want...they have a championship now.

[Gopher]

Like Colin Cowherd said a couple of days ago, the Heat were "all in."  The Thunder thought they were as well, but their play/effort/decision-making showed otherwise.  Sometimes, teams have to taste bitter defeat a time or two, to want it badly enough.  It seems like the Heat wanted it more.  Obviously, it's not that simple... You still have to have the talent.  The Thunder have the talent, but teams usually have to go through these growing pains, before they figure it out.  In fact, very few championship teams haven't had to go through what the Thunder are going through, in some way/shape/form.

It seems like Lebron grew up quite a bit, during these playoffs.  Not necessarily maturity-wise, but just in his decision-making.  No more hoisting 30-footers to try to win a game, like I've seen him do in the past... He took the ball to the basket more than I've ever seen him do before.  It definitely helped to get Bosh back, and Wade showed up when they needed him to, but this championship wouldn't have been won if not for Lebron's 30/10 night after night.  More important than that, though, was his obvious will to get the job done.

[Avernus]

Gopher, on 22 June 2012 - 06:58 AM, said:

Like Colin Cowherd said a couple of days ago, the Heat were "all in."  The Thunder thought they were as well, but their play/effort/decision-making showed otherwise.  Sometimes, teams have to taste bitter defeat a time or two, to want it badly enough.  It seems like the Heat wanted it more.  Obviously, it's not that simple... You still have to have the talent.  The Thunder have the talent, but teams usually have to go through these growing pains, before they figure it out.  In fact, very few championship teams haven't had to go through what the Thunder are going through, in some way/shape/form.

It seems like Lebron grew up quite a bit, during these playoffs.  Not necessarily maturity-wise, but just in his decision-making.  No more hoisting 30-footers to try to win a game, like I've seen him do in the past... He took the ball to the basket more than I've ever seen him do before.  It definitely helped to get Bosh back, and Wade showed up when they needed him to, but this championship wouldn't have been won if not for Lebron's 30/10 night after night.  More important than that, though, was his obvious will to get the job done.

LeBron just flat out showed up and Wade started playing better right after I made the assumption that he was playing injured...or something close to that...

I even said Durant would be MVP of the finals because of his clutch shooting but Russell " chucker" Westbrook proved me wrong...

[chiefjay]

Here are my thoughts after the Finals:

NBA and Stern still a bit shady, just my opinion.
Lebron played the way he should have been playing the past few years, with passion and conviction.   Great Finals, up there with all time best playoff performances.
Wade:  Something not quite right there, think off the court items affecting him.
OKC:   I hate that teams get to the Finals and just accept that getting there was good enough because we are young.  Not speaking for Durant, mainly Westbrook and the rest.  
Westbrook:   Too much me, think he could be a candidate for a blockbuster trade.   Special talent though.
Harden:   Needs to elevate the clutch part of his game.
Finals Format:   D3 pointed out on FB, 2-3-2 format is dumb, need to go back to 22111.  Wouldn't have changed anything here but could in a series.
Spurs:   In a weird way wish they would have made the Finals, think they would have put up a better fight, possibly won it.
KD:   Wish more Sports Stars were like him.   Enjoy watching him play and his demeanor off the court.

[detlef]

Meh, Mike Miller carried that team.  I'm still not impressed.

[wirehairman]

electricrelish, on 21 June 2012 - 10:42 PM, said:

Six Heat players in double figures.  Now that's a balanced TEAM performance.

It was an exceptional team performance and quite an exclamation point for the Heat.  LeBron's game was shades of Magic with him guarding all positions, balancing his shooting and driving, and getting the rest of the team involved.

[loaf]

I hope Gloria pawns LeBron's ring for drug money

[wirehairman]

The one thing that the Finals did confirm for me is that Battier should be and should have always been a Spur.

[Avernus]

http://i.qkme.me/3ps4f3.jpg

Edited by Avernus, 22 June 2012 - 10:31 AM.

[whomper]

What makes me laugh is how I see a consensus forming that 1 ring isnt enough for Lebron. Ive seen a lot of "Talk to me when you get to 5" types of comments. IMO thats nuts. Once a pro gets one the monkey is forever removed IMO. If Marino, Barkley, Ewing got 1 ring, do you think people would still be talking about them never putting the cherry on top of their careers ? Look at Brett Favre. He is a hall of famer and as decorated as one can be as far as records and MVPs etc and he only has one. Nobody ever says as a knock on favre , he only has one. Am I wrong  ?

Edited by whomper, 25 June 2012 - 11:37 AM.

[Square]

whomper, on 25 June 2012 - 11:36 AM, said:

What makes me laugh is how I see a consensus forming that 1 ring isnt enough for Lebron. Ive seen a lot of "Talk to me when you get to 5" types of comments. IMO thats nuts. Once a pro gets one the monkey is forever removed IMO. If Marino, Barkley, Ewing got 1 ring, do you think people would still be talking about them never putting the cherry on top of their careers ? Look at Brett Favre. He is a hall of famer and as decorated as one can be as far as records and MVPs etc and he only has one. Nobody ever says as a knock on favre , he only has one. Am I wrong  ?

When the hate is as irrational as "lebron hate" you can't really look for nuts and bolts reasons.  The dude did a TV show to announce his decision (IIRC he donated the quarter mil or so generated from that show to a boys & girls club) and then they threw a pep rally and a lot of people lost their cookies.  I would've left Cleveland as well.  Maybe made better PR moves but the results would have been the same.  He took less money to play with talented friends and they still lost one of the two playoff championships they have been to.  I think the dude has been humbled (as much as you can for someone so off the charts talented) and is probably a better person than a lot of athletes with 3/4 of his talent.

[detlef]

Square, on 25 June 2012 - 01:21 PM, said:

When the hate is as irrational as "lebron hate" you can't really look for nuts and bolts reasons.  The dude did a TV show to announce his decision (IIRC he donated the quarter mil or so generated from that show to a boys & girls club) and then they threw a pep rally and a lot of people lost their cookies.  I would've left Cleveland as well.  Maybe made better PR moves but the results would have been the same.  He took less money to play with talented friends and they still lost one of the two playoff championships they have been to.  I think the dude has been humbled (as much as you can for someone so off the charts talented) and is probably a better person than a lot of athletes with 3/4 of his talent.

but...but...but...The Decision...The Pep Rally...

[Avernus]

detlef, on 25 June 2012 - 01:58 PM, said:

but...but...but...The Decision...The Pep Rally...

after he won a chip, I went back to my miserable life

Edited by Avernus, 26 June 2012 - 10:40 AM.

[detlef]

How out-of-hand and irrational is the LeBron hate?

I was driving around today and caught the end of the Dan Patrick show.  The poll today was who is more hated right now, him or Dwight Howard.  Howard won but only by something like 55%.  Really?  Should have been a complete no-brainer.  Like 80%

Let's see.  One has been having a temper tantrum, demanding that his team trade him to one place in particular (which destroys the team's leverage), after essentially getting the coach and GM fired.

The other is a few years removed from having played out his entire contract and exercising his rights as a FA to go where he wants and simply had an ill-advised show and premature celebration.  Oh, and since then, he's won the championship.

Seriously, if LeBron is hated by not only Cleveland, but seemingly all of America, how bad should it be for Howard?

[tazinib1]

I LOVE me some Howard