I think the Heat will be able to get by Indiana at home but I can't see them beating the Spurs in a 7 game series. The Spurs are basically a better version of the Pacers and as the playoffs wear on Wade is just going to get more ineffective instead of the other way around. The biggest question will be what this postseason means for the future of the Heat. If Miami fails to win the title this year and next year then I think LeBron will look elsewhere for employment after his contract expires after next year.
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NBA Thread - 2012-13
- Thread starter Big Sexy
- Start date
I think the Spurs are may be a more smooth/mature version of the Pacers, but the Spurs are not as athletic as the Pacers. I think they will really struggle to defend the Heat, who look as if they'll be moving on.
And Wade playing well tonight is a huge bonus for the Heat.
Indiana really isn't that athletic outside of Stephenson and Paul George. Hibbert is really big but not a superior athlete, David West and George Hill are both average athletes. Indiana's size advantage was really just a Hibbert advantage as David West is only 6'8. Duncan and Splitter are both just under 7 feet and Bosh will likely struggle against them as well. Plus the Spurs have Tony Parker as the X factor. Mario Chalmers will have no shot guarding him. The Spurs also have more depth then Indiana. I'm not saying Miami can't win, in fact they may still be the favorites, but if they play against the Spurs like they did in the Indiana series then they have no shot.
Owen 3:16 says I just stole your Slammy!!
Pre-Show Stalwart
That was a good series. I was pulling for Indiana for an upset. I was impressed by Indiana, nobody gave them a chance but they made it to game 7 against the Miami Heat. Indiana need's to get a shooter this off-season, like a Kyle Korver or a Steve Novak would improve Indiana. I'm looking forward for Indiana next season, things are looking up for the Pacers.
Athleticism encompasses many different characteristics. But go down the line, comparing the Pacers starting 5 to the Spurs starting 5. With the exception of Tony Parker, would you not agree the Pacers starting 5 is more athletic (through either ability or youth) at every other position than the Spurs? Of course you would.
Who was still larger than Battier (who guarded him quite a bit in the series) and stronger than anyone else on the Heat's front line.
Agreed, but they'll also struggle to defend Bosh around the perimeter or even from mid-range, unlike the Pacers.
Mario Chalmers will guard him as well as most anyone can. Parker is a star, he's going to score. Chalmers should not be graded on the amount of points Parker scores, but the difficulty he has in getting those points.
No question.
I don't think you, and a lot of other people, are properly putting into perspective how good the Pacers are. The Pacers are an athletic team, but more importantly, they are a very good defensive team. They were second in the league in points allowed per game and first in opponent field goal percentage. They also led the league in rebounding. Don't dismiss how good the Pacers are when trying to evaluate the Heat.
San Antonio, on the other hand, was not as good defensively and they were statistically a poor rebounding team. Miami, for all of their heralded offensive names, actually thrives off of their defense. The Pacers style was a much better match for the Heat than I think the Spurs are.
The biggest advantage the Spurs have will be in coaching. Greg Popavich is, in my mind at least, indisputably the best coach in the NBA. Erik Spoelstra has never impressed me with his end of the game coaching. If the Spurs win this series, I'd bet your next paycheck it'll come down to the difference in coaching.
I still think the Heat will win, and it wouldn't surprise me if they won in 5 games. I just don't think the Spurs can do to the Heat what the Pacers could.
The Pacers need to upgrade Lance Stephenson. Right now, he's the kind of player who should be coming off of the bench, not one who is starting for a team trying to make the NBA Finals.
I think the Spurs have a pretty decent shot, I mean as good as a shot you can have against a 66 win team that has lost something like 6 out of its last 55 games. The Spurs will execute well, but going "big" with Duncan and Splitter is different than going big with Hibbert and West. Tiago is a solid role player, but he's not going to punish Miami for putting Battier on him, at least not the way West did.
LeBron is going to be great, there isn't much doubt about that anymore. If Wade and/or Bosh show up every game and guys like Allen, Battier, and Chalmers are hitting open shots it's going to be nearly impossible for any team to win 4 out of 7 against the Heat. Miami in 6
LeBron is going to be great, there isn't much doubt about that anymore. If Wade and/or Bosh show up every game and guys like Allen, Battier, and Chalmers are hitting open shots it's going to be nearly impossible for any team to win 4 out of 7 against the Heat. Miami in 6
Big game 1 victory for the Spurs. On the road in a game where a lot of people thought they'd be rusty because of such a long lay off, they just kept hanging around until the 4th quarter. The Spurs held Miami to just 16 4th quarter points and they made shots late to put Miami away. The series is a long way from over but this was a nice win.
Career highlight shot for Tony Parker. What a shot from a broken down play. They are going to replay that shot for his HoF induction over and over again.
Lebron had an off night shooting(by his standards) but still contributed with a triple double. Wade and Bosh woke up and gave a decent game. Duncan started slow but had that big shot at the end of the half. Both teams were great with few mistakes. Neither team could find separation and the defence was really good for both teams. The difference for me was Bosh missing a wide open 3 late in the game and THAT Parker shot. Could have gone either way and Miami actually was the steadier team and won more quarters.
Lebron had an off night shooting(by his standards) but still contributed with a triple double. Wade and Bosh woke up and gave a decent game. Duncan started slow but had that big shot at the end of the half. Both teams were great with few mistakes. Neither team could find separation and the defence was really good for both teams. The difference for me was Bosh missing a wide open 3 late in the game and THAT Parker shot. Could have gone either way and Miami actually was the steadier team and won more quarters.
It was like I said before...the coaching was a huge mismatch. I almost got angry at how poorly Miami was defending the pick and roll. It was simply awful. And Miami's offense in the 4th quarter was almost embarrassing.
I think you are slamming Spo too much. It wasn't that big a mismatch. They only lost by 4 points. 2 of them from a miracle shot that 99/100 times would have been a shot clock violation. The only criticism would be they didn't force enough turnovers through out the game for easy baskets. The burden to create most of the offence while defending the best player become too much for Lebron to handle in the 4th. Both teams played great defence overall. Spurs dared Miami to shoot jumpers, Miami hit those shots in the first half and missed them in the 2nd.
I was only able to catch the 2nd half, but from what I saw Miami wasn't defending that well. The Spurs missed a lot of wide open threes, the Heat can't count on that to continue for the series. Parker really controlled the game and Duncan was solid on the inside.
On the other end I think it's on LeBron to be a bit more aggressive. I hate the "LeBron is scared of the clutch" narrative, that's not what this is about. It's just that at times he is almost too willing of a passer. Finding the open man is great and all, but I think the Spurs would much rather him do that that try and go to the hoop and score everytime.
On the other end I think it's on LeBron to be a bit more aggressive. I hate the "LeBron is scared of the clutch" narrative, that's not what this is about. It's just that at times he is almost too willing of a passer. Finding the open man is great and all, but I think the Spurs would much rather him do that that try and go to the hoop and score everytime.
I don't.
Miami's offense was pitiful in the 4th quarter, their defense against the pick and roll was atrocious and Spoelstra was not able to adjust in either situation. Spoelstra isn't a bad coach, but he's not an elite coach either. Someday he may develop into one, I think he usually does a good job making adjustments on off days, his substitution pattern is usually pretty solid and he obviously is capable of managing the team. But in the heat of a critical moment, I'll take Popavich every time.
I don't think it was any of his faults. He wasn't out coached but his players were simply out hustled by the Spurs. Maybe it was fatigue or maybe it was just the lack of desperation, but during the course of the game I didn't really find him to be outmatched by Pop.
Looking at the stat sheet, Miami did everything right except cleaning up the defensive boards. He could have benched Bosh for the poor rebounding effort, but I don't think anyone except Popavich has the green light to bench his underperforming stars during crunch time and not get murdered by players or the media. It wasn't as if the other bigs for Miami was playing well enough to get those playing time.
He was outcoached. I've outcoached plenty of people and have been outcoached on occasion. I know what it looks like.
Coaches can have bad games too, that's something people don't ever realize. Sometimes your mind just doesn't work well, sometimes your judgment is off, etc. Even the best coaches get outcoached from time to time.
Spoelstra got outcoached.
If you don't understand Spoelstra was outcoached, you probably shouldn't talk about coaching.
I didn't really get to watch the game tonight, I had a friend over trying to help her with relationship issues. So I cannot answer your question.
Danny Green and Gary Neal was on fire.
Basically the gameplan for both teams is to dare the other team's 'role players' or none big 3 to make plays. Boy did that back fire tonight for the Heat. Same as it backfire on the Spurs in Game 2.
Weird that this finals have 2 blow outs in 3 games already.
Basically the gameplan for both teams is to dare the other team's 'role players' or none big 3 to make plays. Boy did that back fire tonight for the Heat. Same as it backfire on the Spurs in Game 2.
Weird that this finals have 2 blow outs in 3 games already.
The Butcher
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Agreed. Danny Green and Gary Neal went off tonight. Green has been locked in from 3, but tonight he was just showing off. Talk about turnabout being fair play. These last two games have really just been one team getting on a crazy roll whilst the other team somehow forgets how to play the game of basketball. I hope game 4 gives me a reason to watch the 4th quarter.
Say it quietly but Danny Green has been the stand out player of the series so far. He played defence on Wade AND Lebron for every game. But can a player that is a defence first player who seldom handle the ball ever win the MVP of the finals even if he has the stats from open shots to back him up?
They were ridiculously hot, shooting better than they probably did in warm-ups. Then again, it's not like Miami was playing inspired basketball. They looked incredibly flat on the same night the Spurs looked incredibly sharp and intense...which is how a game like that turns into a blowout.
What's weird is how disinterested the Heat have looked in 2 of the 3 games. The only two who looked like they were ready to play last night were Miller and Cole, one of which is incredibly limited as a player and the other playing out of control at times. I just don't understand how any team could not be fired up to play in the NBA Finals.
The Heat are in trouble. They are the superior team, I believe, but they have not looked like they've been interested. I don't know if the Pacers and Bulls just took so much out of them physically or what, but they better snap out of it in a hurry.
The Butcher
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Metta World Peace made a very good insight about mental toughness:
Metta World Peace said:
James especially. His lack of aggression in game 3 was unforgivable if you're a Heat fan. He's got to penetrate and get to the line, rather than defer. He's a great distributor, but they need him to be a scorer. Members of the Spurs, including Coach Pop, have pretty much admitted that they aren't stopping LeBron so much as LeBron is stopping himself. If the Thunder had had more of a veteran mindset, the Heat could be looking to be the Marv Levy Bills of the NBA.
I agree . That's why I was questioning your opinion that Spolestra was outcoached in game 1. He can't do much else if the players don't show up. His big 3 had wide open shots in the losses and couldn't convert. He gave them the shots, they didn't make them. Berating them at this stage of the competition can back fire if the player shrinks even more from added pressure.
I think it is frustrating to watch this Heat team if you are a fan of theirs in this finals after watching the Indy series. Their game 3 and game 7 performance in that series were out of this world and no team would match them if they played like that.
I'm rooting for the Spurs because I want Duncan to have 5 rings to equal Kobe and stick it to the likes of Shaq and Garnett, but even I predicted the Heat to win due to them being the more talented team.
The Heat were outcoached. I have no idea why you are still on this, it was pretty clear.
It's frustrating to watch this Heat team right now if you just appreciate basketball.
If the Spurs win tonight I don't think this series goes back to Miami. San Antonio is playing some of there best basketball of the season and Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili have yet to even really break out yet. LeBron needs to be a scorer first and facilitator second which is the opposite of how he has been to start the series. Wade and Bosh just aren't playing good enough right now for LeBron to not be more aggressive.