[Purple Haize]

Its not a series until a team wins one on the road. I still think the heat are a better team.

So OKC will win then since they don't have to win in the road? I will say i will actually tune into ESPN radio today in the car to hear all the hand wringing about the Heat today. It should be enjoyable. And if the Heat do win Game 2 then the talking heads will all say how great the Heat are. But hey, conflict sells.

[RubberMallet]

Its not a series until a team wins one on the road. I still think the heat are a better team.

So OKC will win then since they don't have to win in the road? I will say i will actually tune into ESPN radio today in the car to hear all the hand wringing about the Heat today. It should be enjoyable. And if the Heat do win Game 2 then the talking heads will all say how great the Heat are. But hey, conflict sells.

yeah last night the SC crew at the arena were certainly on okc's jock rightly so...until they showed lebron clips and then they were like ok he was on.

wade said it was a feel out game....sure but you were winning most of the game dude....

[Purple Haize]

Exactly. It looks like the game plan is let James and Wade get theirs and dont let someone else beat you. Battier was on fire the first half and Miami had the lead. He was silent in the 2nd half.

[jcmanson]

Exactly. It looks like the game plan is let James and Wade get theirs and dont let someone else beat you. Battier was on fire the first half and Miami had the lead. He was silent in the 2nd half.

I disagree. Battier got his from Ibaka and Perkins sagging off of him into the paint to help on Lebron and Wade. Lebron and Wade settled too much for jumpers. Something they have to change.

[Purple Haize]

Exactly. It looks like the game plan is let James and Wade get theirs and dont let someone else beat you. Battier was on fire the first half and Miami had the lead. He was silent in the 2nd half.

I disagree. Battier got his from Ibaka and Perkins sagging off of him into the paint to help on Lebron and Wade. Lebron and Wade settled too much for jumpers. Something they have to change.

I may have typed that wrong. Let me re think and I'll get back to you for now I'm putting that comment in quarantine lol

[RubberMallet]

Exactly. It looks like the game plan is let James and Wade get theirs and dont let someone else beat you. Battier was on fire the first half and Miami had the lead. He was silent in the 2nd half.

james/wade/bosh have to score at least 75 points a game in order to win any games. get an avg of 7 out of the other 4 guys in the rotation and you and you can win .

in the end. okc played a near flawless game of baskketball in the 2nd half. that won't happen all series. however they also played soft d the first half. that won't happen again.

it was a feel out game. but okc had it "felt out" in 2 quarters and made adjustments. you took an entire game. thats on the coaches.

james has to get more help.
james has to guard durant or westbrook. guarding perkins to hope for a switch on the pick and roll just leaves westbrook or kd with wide open shots.
bosh has to start. there is literally nothing after this series...this is it. can someone tell spoelstra that? he'll have months to recover...he has to play 40.

okc has to get harden going. he has been shooting awfully the last series and started off slow this one.
okc has to continue with limited turnovers. if they go back to the ways of the reg season, they could be in trouble.

[WinthropEagleFan]

Did Lebron make a single jumper? I don't like when he shoots too many jumpers, but he needs to make a few to keep the defense honest, and he didn't...You have to think he'll have at least a couple of games where he's hitting those shots.

The Bosh coming off the bench thing is a non-issue to me. The team came out of the gates great without him in there. And it seemed he was getting killed on the defensive end whenever he was in (so were a lot of other Heat players, but I noticed him getting beat or struggling with rotations a lot). If he comes up with a big game offensively, that makes up for some of that, but he was only ok offensively. So I didn't have a problem with him not starting, or not getting 40 minutes, at least last night.

Wade isn't playing aggressive enough offensively. Settling for way too many jumpers.

Some of Miami's 2nd half problems last night are fixable, but they will have to figure out ways to make things tougher on Durant and Westbrook (but without leaving Collison/Ibaka/Perkins wide open for easy dunks either).

[RubberMallet]

Did Lebron make a single jumper? I don't like when he shoots too many jumpers, but he needs to make a few to keep the defense honest, and he didn't...You have to think he'll have at least a couple of games where he's hitting those shots.

The Bosh coming off the bench thing is a non-issue to me. The team came out of the gates great without him in there. And it seemed he was getting killed on the defensive end whenever he was in (so were a lot of other Heat players, but I noticed him getting beat or struggling with rotations a lot). If he comes up with a big game offensively, that makes up for some of that, but he was only ok offensively. So I didn't have a problem with him not starting, or not getting 40 minutes, at least last night.

Wade isn't playing aggressive enough offensively. Settling for way too many jumpers.

Some of Miami's 2nd half problems last night are fixable, but they will have to figure out ways to make things tougher on Durant and Westbrook (but without leaving Collison/Ibaka/Perkins wide open for easy dunks either).

its not about "starting" but he has to play 40+ and you don't play 40+ coming off the bench. thats retarded. he's a star. the 8 minutes he's not on the floor the drop off in talent that is in his place is nowhere near his. he has to be in those games especially when the next 4 guys are junk compared to okc's next 4 guys.

[NotAJerry]

in the end. okc played a near flawless game of baskketball in the 2nd half. that won't happen all series.

Even if Miami gets up big in the 1st half every game, it will keep happening. OKC did that to a much better/more clutch San Antonio team twice. They've proven they can do it consistently against better teams than Miami.

james has to get more help.
james has to guard durant or westbrook. guarding perkins to hope for a switch on the pick and roll just leaves westbrook or kd with wide open shots.
bosh has to start. there is literally nothing after this series...this is it. can someone tell spoelstra that? he'll have months to recover...he has to play 40.

Agreed on most of that, but I don't see anyone on the Heat who can guard Durant 1-on-1. James tried to a couple of times in the 4th last night and got burned each time. His vastly overrated D isn't even close to good enough to shut down someone who is quicker, taller, longer and a great outside shooter.

okc has to get harden going. he has been shooting awfully the last series and started off slow this one.
okc has to continue with limited turnovers. if they go back to the ways of the reg season, they could be in trouble.

Harden shooting against San Antonio:

7-17 (5-9, 3pt), .412%, 0-0 FT, 19 pts
10-13 (0-1, 3pt), .769%, 10-13 FT, 30 pts
5-10 (1-2, 3pt), .500%, 4-4 FT, 15 pts
4-13 (2-3, 3pt), .308%, 1-2 FT, 11 pts
6-11 (3-4, 3pt), .545%, 5-6 FT, 20pts
4-9 (3-4, 3pt), .444%, 5-6 FT, 16pts

Where was the "awful" shooting? Other than game 4, it wasn't there. He shot .493 from the floor, .609 on 3pt, and .806 on FT while averaging 18.5pts. You could say he hit the biggest shot of the series against SA.

OKC came back from a bigger deficit against SA than they did Miami, and that SA team has infinitely better coaching and clutch scoring. I don't see OKC falling behind by anywhere near as much the rest of the series since they won't have to deal with anywhere near as many adjustments from Spoelstra as they did from Popovich. I'll stick with my prediction of OKC in 5, but I may have given the Heat too much credit for winning a very weak East.

[Purple Haize]

I'm glad someone else thinks James' 'D' is over rated. Even if it is you

[jcmanson]

ESPN tracking: Durant scored just 2 pts on 0/2 shooting when guarded by LeBron.

Yep, Lebron got "burned each time."

[RubberMallet]

last 5 games he's shooting near 42%. thats all i was looking at. he's better than that.

nobody is going to stop lebron noone is going to stop durant. even when they guard each other. but you still have ot put your best defenders on the best players.

[NotAJerry]

ESPN tracking: Durant scored just 2 pts on 0/2 shooting when guarded by LeBron.

Yep, Lebron got "burned each time."

So, Lebron stupidly lunges for a steal allowing Durant to drive to the basket and get fouled, Durant makes the two FTs, and Lebron didn't get burned? Durant gets past James easily again, dumps the ball off for an assist on the defensive rotation, and James didn't get burned? Bron Bron is a bad on-ball defender and he's not even remotely capable of staying with Durant.

[NotAJerry]

last 5 games he's shooting near 42%. thats all i was looking at. he's better than that.

43% compared to 49% on the season. 3 more made shots in 5 games puts him right on his season average. He's been above his averages in 2 of the 5 games, slightly off in one, and way off in 2. That's having 2 off games, not shooting awfully over 5.

Last 5 games he's 67% on 3pt shots, he's not that good, but he's making up for the points that he would be losing with the decrease in 2pt shooting on a couple of nights.

Game 1 against the Heat is his only playoff game this season under 11 pts scored and it was his lowest playing time in the playoffs. He was a bit off and a different rotation worked so he wasn't even needed. It was an aberration and likely won't happen again.

[jcmanson]

ESPN tracking: Durant scored just 2 pts on 0/2 shooting when guarded by LeBron.

Yep, Lebron got "burned each time."

So, Lebron stupidly lunges for a steal allowing Durant to drive to the basket and get fouled, Durant makes the two FTs, and Lebron didn't get burned? Durant gets past James easily again, dumps the ball off for an assist on the defensive rotation, and James didn't get burned? Bron Bron is a bad on-ball defender and he's not even remotely capable of staying with Durant.

I don't remember every single play. I was just putting out stats from a 3rd source that I saw this morning. What I did notice throughout the course of the game was that Durant can score when he's determined to do so and Lebron can score when he's determined to do so. There's no 1 person on either team who can stop either one of them.

[LUconn]

I don't follow the NBA at all. But I did watch the game last night and anybody trying to extrapolate that game last night to what's going to happen the rest of the series is stupid unless you're figuring it's going to be a close series. The Heat had a big lead for a little while but the rest of the game was close. The home team won a competitive/close game. How can you possibly say you've given the Heat "too much credit" with your prediction of OKC in 5?

Also, for all I've heard about OKC having a "college-like atmosphere", they need to get rid of the NBA piped in noise. Crowd excitement is much more energizing without a stupid organ playing music or some deep slowed down voice booming DEFENSE with a drum. I've got a chart if you need proof.

[RubberMallet]

last 5 games he's shooting near 42%. thats all i was looking at. he's better than that.

43% compared to 49% on the season. 3 more made shots in 5 games puts him right on his season average. He's been above his averages in 2 of the 5 games, slightly off in one, and way off in 2. That's having 2 off games, not shooting awfully over 5.

Last 5 games he's 67% on 3pt shots, he's not that good, but he's making up for the points that he would be losing with the decrease in 2pt shooting on a couple of nights.

Game 1 against the Heat is his only playoff game this season under 11 pts scored and it was his lowest playing time in the playoffs. He was a bit off and a different rotation worked so he wasn't even needed. It was an aberration and likely won't happen again.

lol regardless he's shooting poorly compared to what he normally does. however you want to poor through stats trying to justify how poor he's shooting, by all means knock yourself. out.

[R i]

We are so reactionary game to game. Its how we have been programmed. With Lebron we are even reactionary shot to shot, I know its stupid but even I will have thoughts of , hes the best ever , and 5 minutes later when he disappears, or is whining, I say just the opposite, Lebron doesnt have what it takes to win a title.

In the immediate way we receive our news and reactions to games, its harder to take in the Finals Series as a whole, but thats what Im trying to do.

[R i]

Also: Why is Lebron not guarding Durant ? I cant think of one reason he shouldnt be.

[TDDance234]

Also: Why is Lebron not guarding Durant ? I cant think of one reason he shouldnt be.

If LeBron is guarding Durant the whole game, he's going to be dead by the fourth quarter. They need his offense and have to save him a little.

The problem is the Heat don't have anybody else who matches up well against him.

[jcmanson]

The problem is the Heat don't have anybody else who matches up well against him.

Who does?

[TDDance234]

The problem is the Heat don't have anybody else who matches up well against him.

Who does?

I was thinking more in terms of size. Joel Anthony might be able to hang with him in the post but as soon as Durant takes him to the wing, he's toast.

Haslem? Too slow.
Battier? Too small.
Bosh? They need him in the post as much as possible.

It's really a lose/lose for the Heat.

[R i]

Lebron needs to be fresh for offense in the fourth quarter? If you have a remote chance of shutting down KD, with Lebron. YOU DO IT!

I think Lebron is one of the few on the planet that has a chance to shut down KD , and by shut down I mean 15-20 points.

[Cider Jim]

The problem is the Heat don't have anybody else who matches up well against him.

Who does?

Time to page a professional for his opinion:
Purple?
SCAR?

[Purple Haize]

The problem is the Heat don't have anybody else who matches up well against him.

Who does?

Time to page a professional for his opinion:
Purple?
SCAR?

Well I certainly know SCAR has no chance! On the other hand with my deceptive slowness.....

Actually Bosh would be the best fit but he is not 100%. He has the foot speed to stay with him and the height to bother him. Battier would be my second choice while he is slower of foot then Bosh he is a smart defender on the wing and strong enough to battle in the post. LeBron plays a lot of Ole defense that either results in a steal or getting burned for a lay up. He showed against Garnett that he needs lots of work on his post defense. I like LeBron on Westbrook or Osama Bin Harden as he is quick enough to stay with either and stronger so he can bump them off their line. And considering his aptitude to disappear in the 4th qtr why worry about whether he will be fresh or not!
Wade is hurt and playing poorly. He needs to figure it out.