400 replies to this topic

[Slurktan]

Jaime Bollocks, on 11 June 2012 - 11:29 AM, said:

Does Miami put Wade on Westbrook? Who covers Bosh - Ibaka? Should be fun.

Bosh isn't a power post player so I could see them putting Durant on him and Ibaka on LeBron.  As for Miami I'd assume LeBron would cover Westbrook, a gimpy Wade is simply asking to be shredded by him.

[Jaime L]

Slurktan, on 11 June 2012 - 12:00 PM, said:

Bosh isn't a power post player so I could see them putting Durant on him and Ibaka on LeBron.  As for Miami I'd assume LeBron would cover Westbrook, a gimpy Wade is simply asking to be shredded by him.

That makes sense. Bosh probably is the best matchup for Durant. Could see Lebron being the best option to stop Westbrook though that means he'll likely have to exert a lot of effort on the defensive end. If I was OKC I agree I'd have to put Ibaka on James. Course when Ibaka goes out or gets in foul trouble then you're stuck with a nightmarish scenario of, what, Harden on James? Collison on James? Durant on James? Going to have to be a defacto double team at all times at that point. Perkins will be cheating over a ton I imagine regardless.

Sefalosha's got to be on Wade. I assume Battier will get stuck trying to slow down Durant. Good luck there. I bet James lobbies to cover Durant if he starts going off.

[Maithanet]

Jaime Bollocks, on 11 June 2012 - 12:50 PM, said:

That makes sense. Bosh probably is the best matchup for Durant. Could see Lebron being the best option to stop Westbrook though that means he'll likely have to exert a lot of effort on the defensive end. If I was OKC I agree I'd have to put Ibaka on James. Course when Ibaka goes out or gets in foul trouble then you're stuck with a nightmarish scenario of, what, Harden on James? Collison on James? Durant on James? Going to have to be a defacto double team at all times at that point. Perkins will be cheating over a ton I imagine regardless.

Sefalosha's got to be on Wade. I assume Battier will get stuck trying to slow down Durant. Good luck there. I bet James lobbies to cover Durant if he starts going off.

I assume that James will be guarded by a combination of Ibaka/Sefolosha/Durant.  I agree Sefalosha is a good person to put on Wade, but Westbrook and Harden can do that too.  For Miami, I expect they'll put Battier on Durant at first, and then late game go to James.  Which means that in crunch time of games, it's entirely possible it'll be James vs Durant on both ends.  That would be something to see.

I think that Heat/Thunder is a great Finals, much better than Thunder/Celtics would have been.  Nonetheless, I can't really put together a plausible scenario where the Heat win 4 games.  The only exception is if the Thunder start turning the ball over (thier achilles heel in the regular season).  If the Heat start getting fast break points off turns and misses, they can run away with it.  But in the halfcourt game, Miami has a lot more flaws and a lot fewer options than OKC.
Thunder in seven.

[BLU-RAY]

If I'm OKC, I throw Sefalosha at James/Wade alternatingly and throw a double of Westbrook + a real defender at the other one.  You want Ibaka in the paint so that he can shotblock on drives, so I guess you let Durant pick up some defensive slack against Bosh or as the doubler on Wade/James.

[Jaime L]

Maithanet, on 11 June 2012 - 01:13 PM, said:

Thunder in seven.

I'm gonna say Thunder in 6. OKC has the first two at home where they're nearly impossible to beat. Then it's three in Miami but considering the Heat's inconsistent focus and effort I could easily see the Thunder stealing one there. Maybe even two if the Heat turn completely into a one man show.

I think Lebron's the only one who can flip the script by having a ECF Game 6 type performance in OKC in games 1 or 2. Knowing Lebron, I just don't think he's gonna feel the urgency until their backs are against the wall, but it'll be too late by then.

[aeu]

DVD ROTS, on 11 June 2012 - 01:39 PM, said:

If I'm OKC, I throw Sefalosha at James/Wade alternatingly and throw a double of Westbrook + a real defender at the other one.  You want Ibaka in the paint so that he can shotblock on drives,

I agree with this in theory, but who is that real defender in this OKC team? They seem to be missing one at the 3 spot.

This is probably a minority opinion (to say the least), but I don't think Ibaka is that good a defender overall. He is incredible at coming from the weak-side and blocking shots and that got him a lot of "defensive player of the year" votes, but he seems quite average at 1-1 defense. I just can't see him covering Lebron on the perimeter, except maybe every once in a while, to give Lebron a different look.

It will be fascinating to watch what LeBron will do in these finals. We all know that noone can stop him, but OKC seems particularly ill equipped to slow him down.  Their best wing defender is probably Thabo and it looks like Lebron outweighs him by about 40 pounds. They really don't have another reliable defender on the 3 spot.  A motivated Lebron should eat Harden / Durant alive.

I would love, love, love OKC to beat Miami handily. And it may still happen. Though after seeing what Lebron did in that game six, I have no predictions anymore. Depending on how Lebron feels, this may be a sweep either way and I wouldn't be surprised one bit.

[BLU-RAY]

Ibaka is a great help defender, which is why you don't want to dedicate him to any one player (and you're right, he's bad at 1-on-1). I think we'll see a lot of Collison and Perkins rotate into the game to cover Bosh while as mentioned Durante/Westbrook/Thabo will go 3-on-2 vs James/Wade.  This obviously leaves someone (Chalmers, Miller, Battier) open on Miami, but if you can make those guys beat you, I think OKC can score enough to win 4.

[Maithanet]

Game 1 went pretty close to as expected.  The Heat took an early lead, but could never get a lot of separation from the Thunder in the first half.  And then in the second half, the Thunder started hitting a few more shots and the comeback was on.  Poor execution down the stretch doomed any chance of a Miami comeback.  Couple notes:
1.  Spoelstra looked badly outcoached.  The second half execution and adjustments all favored OKC.
2.  Bosh and Wade are both noticeably slowed.  I don't know if Wade can get another shot for another brief burst of athleticism, but without those two, Lebron is never going to be able to do enough by himself.
3.  If the Heat can't play better defense than that in the 4th quarter, this is going to be a sweep.  For about nine minutes in the 4th quarter the lineup was Fischer, Westbrook, Sefolosha, Durant and Collison.  Only two of those guys can create their shot, and the Heat didn't even force Durant/Westbrook to kick it out, they mostly just let them score instead.  And then on the other end, it was Sefolosha harrassing Lebron, with Collison always waiting behind.  Lebron played poorly in the 4th quarter, but Wade and Bosh were worse.

[Morpheus]

I think the Thunder have the depth and athleticism to pull this off. Wade is looking tired, role players were actually productive in the first half but disappeared by the second. Much as I dislike Lebron, I will feel sorry for him if they lose and he continues to give a reliable 30 points, because obvisouly he is going to get most of the cristicism even if Wade lays an egg.

Game 2 is going to be big, The Thunder need to win again, because going to Miami for 3 consecutive games tied is not ideal.

[Mexal]

I know James wasn't that great in the 4th quarter, but the dude did put up 1/4 of his point total in that quarter. Do people expect him to score 45 pts every game or do they expect him to be crap in the 2nd and 3rd quarter then make up for it in the 4th? I'm a bit confused at all the criticism. A lot of it should be laid on Wade's inability to make a jump shot or their inability to get Bosh the ball or their lack of depth.

[Rhom]

Amazing stat of the morning...  Kevin Durant had 17 points in the 4th quarter last night, LeBron James had 18 points in the fourth quarters of the 6 NBA Finals games combined last year.

I remember griping about it here last year, but I hate the change to the 2-3-2 format for the Finals.  I understand the reasoning, but it really does favor the team without homecourt advantage.  If Miami can steal game two, then the Thunder will be forced to win on the road to even have a chance in the series.

In NBA Draft News:  Michael Jordan reportedly is not enamored with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist at number 2.  If I were MKG, I'd be relieved!  Jordan's front office accumen is notoriously bad.  Getting a diss from His Airness is almost a sure fire sign of success to come!

[Mexal]

Rhom, on 13 June 2012 - 08:49 AM, said:

In NBA Draft News:  Michael Jordan reportedly is not enamored with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist at number 2.  If I were MKG, I'd be relieved!  Jordan's front office accumen is notoriously bad.  Getting a diss from His Airness is almost a sure fire sign of success to come!

Agreed. I'm not surprised though. MKG isn't flashy and he won't take over a game but he's a great player. To be honest, I never really expected them to take MKG second.

[Greywolf2375]

Mexal, on 13 June 2012 - 08:48 AM, said:

I know James wasn't that great in the 4th quarter, but the dude did put up 1/4 of his point total in that quarter. Do people expect him to score 45 pts every game or do they expect him to be crap in the 2nd and 3rd quarter then make up for it in the 4th? I'm a bit confused at all the criticism. A lot of it should be laid on Wade's inability to make a jump shot or their inability to get Bosh the ball or their lack of depth.

Unfortunately for him Mex, yeah, they do expect monster in the 4th regardless of what he did in the prior quarters.  I know he has a bad rap of not being clutch in the final minutes, but I'd much rather see my star player take over a game for the 4th and pull his team away.  Either way, he is going to get criticized.

Ironic that this game looked in some ways like game 7 for the Heat...but playing the role of the C's.  Came out strong, double digit lead...and then couldn't hold it through the 3rd.

I know his stat line is nice, but OKC needs to make sure that Durant is driving their offense from Westbrook.  It's been a knock for a long time, but I think Brooks needs to make it clear what the priorities are there and that Westbrook shooting more than Durant is not necessarily the right equation.

[Maithanet]

Mexal, on 13 June 2012 - 08:48 AM, said:

I know James wasn't that great in the 4th quarter, but the dude did put up 1/4 of his point total in that quarter. Do people expect him to score 45 pts every game or do they expect him to be crap in the 2nd and 3rd quarter then make up for it in the 4th? I'm a bit confused at all the criticism. A lot of it should be laid on Wade's inability to make a jump shot or their inability to get Bosh the ball or their lack of depth.

I think the criticism comes from the pedestal that James has been put on (and embraced to some extent) is that he cannot be merely good.  He was good in Game 1, but his team needs more than that if they are going to win this series.

Rhom, on 13 June 2012 - 08:49 AM, said:

I remember griping about it here last year, but I hate the change to the 2-3-2 format for the Finals.  I understand the reasoning, but it really does favor the team without homecourt advantage.  If Miami can steal game two, then the Thunder will be forced to win on the road to even have a chance in the series.

I don't like the 2-3-2 either, but I'm not sure I agree that it really favors the lesser record team.  Winning three games in a row is hard, even at home.  And if OKC wins just one of those games, then Miami is in the situation of having to go 2-2 on the road in the finals in order to pull out the victory.  I just generally think having games 6 and 7 in the same place is stupid.

[Rhom]

Mexal, on 13 June 2012 - 08:58 AM, said:

Agreed. I'm not surprised though. MKG isn't flashy and he won't take over a game but he's a great player. To be honest, I never really expected them to take MKG second.

Even as an unashamed Kentucky homer, I will admit that I never quite understood what had everyone ready to draft MKG at number 2.  He's a great player and will be a solid NBA player for years to come based purely on work ethic and athletic ability, but he is not a dominant scorer.  

Sad to admit this as well, but he does have a fairly noticeable speech impediment.  By all accounts, in person he is a very polite and likeable guy.  Unfortunately, he does not perform well at the podium in front of a crowd.  The NBA is primarily a star/personality driven league and this will be a factor if he is unable to be the charismatic face of a franchise like Charlotte.  

Conversely, if he were to go to Washington at three where they already have John Wall cheesing non-stop or Cleveland at four with Kyrie Irving (Uncle Drew is my favorite basketball character since the days of Lil Penny and Gramma-ma) in place he could really shine.

Šedý vlk2375, on 13 June 2012 - 09:04 AM, said:

Unfortunately for him Mex, yeah, they do expect monster in the 4th regardless of what he did in the prior quarters.  I know he has a bad rap of not being clutch in the final minutes, but I'd much rather see my star player take over a game for the 4th and pull his team away.  Either way, he is going to get criticized.

Ironic that this game looked in some ways like game 7 for the Heat...but playing the role of the C's.  Came out strong, double digit lead...and then couldn't hold it through the 3rd.

I know his stat line is nice, but OKC needs to make sure that Durant is driving their offense from Westbrook.  It's been a knock for a long time, but I think Brooks needs to make it clear what the priorities are there and that Westbrook shooting more than Durant is not necessarily the right equation.

I don't think its fair to place all the burden on him for the fourth quarter slump, but I do think its important that he show that he can rise in the final 12 minutes.  I'm not one of those that thinks he has to hit every shot he takes with less than a minute on the clock, but the guy is the best physical specimen in every arena he plays... that needs to be exploited when it matters.

Edited by Rhom, 13 June 2012 - 09:14 AM.

[Mexal]

Šedý vlk2375, on 13 June 2012 - 09:04 AM, said:

I know his stat line is nice, but OKC needs to make sure that Durant is driving their offense from Westbrook.  It's been a knock for a long time, but I think Brooks needs to make it clear what the priorities are there and that Westbrook shooting more than Durant is not necessarily the right equation.

I agree completely. I've seen it time and time again from OKC that in the final 3-4 minutes, Harden and Westbrook hold the ball, take the guy one on one and shoot instead of getting Durant involved. It's ridiculous and when they're off, it gives the other team an opportunity to get back in the game.

[Rhom]

I've always been in the "Westbrook shoots too much!!!!!!!!!" camp, however I did hear a stat line this morning that I thought was interesting.  This season, in games where Westbrook shot more than Durant the Thunder are 25-5 and in games where they shot the same they were 4-1.  I did not hear the stat for when Durant shoots more than Westbrook, but I suppose the implication is that they lost more often.  (A huge question should be "Why the hell were there 30 games out of 60 some odd that Westbrook took more shots?!!?)

It certainly isn't proof that Durant should shoot less often, but it did assuage my fears a bit about the negative impression I have for RW.

[Mexal]

Rhom, on 13 June 2012 - 09:34 AM, said:

I've always been in the "Westbrook shoots too much!!!!!!!!!" camp, however I did hear a stat line this morning that I thought was interesting.  This season, in games where Westbrook shot more than Durant the Thunder are 25-5 and in games where they shot the same they were 4-1.  I did not hear the stat for when Durant shoots more than Westbrook, but I suppose the implication is that they lost more often.  (A huge question should be "Why the hell were there 30 games out of 60 some odd that Westbrook took more shots?!!?)

It certainly isn't proof that Durant should shoot less often, but it did assuage my fears a bit about the negative impression I have for RW.

I think it's because of the nature of their offense in the 4th quarter. From the games that I've watched, when OKC has had the lead, Westbrook is the one who takes control in the final 5-7 minutes. The offense runs through him and he's the one taking most of the shots.

That's just anecdotal evidence though. Not really sure if it stands up under deeper scrutiny.

[Jaime L]

Rhom, on 13 June 2012 - 08:49 AM, said:

Amazing stat of the morning...  Kevin Durant had 17 points in the 4th quarter last night, LeBron James had 18 points in the fourth quarters of the 6 NBA Finals games combined last year.

That stat is amazing. Durant is just incredible. The fact he scored 17 points in the fourth quarter of his first NBA Finals game and how there's a relatively ho-hum response to it considering the feat reflects the greatness we already expect from him at 23. Anyway seeing articles focused on "maybe the Thunder don't know any better" are a bit insulting. Of course they know better. This is their third straight playoffs - they've played over 40 playoff games together. And they've beaten three former NBA champions to get to this point this year.

Durant even admitted he and his team were nervous for the first 5-10 minutes of the game. Thought Fisher's presence helped steady things for them when they were going sideways. But really the reason they won is because they flat executed better than the Heat throughout the second half. They absolutely understand the moment and played with the urgency necessary to seize it.

Also how about Sefalosha? I remember when he came out of nowhere on one of those Bulls teams a couple years back but never could've imagined he'd be the defensive difference maker against the incredibly diverse skillsets of Tony Parker and Lebron James for a title contending team. Collison too was quality. Even with a good performance by Battier, Miami looks completely outclassed in terms of role players.

Edited by Jaime Bollocks, 13 June 2012 - 05:09 PM.

[Rhom]

Jaime Bollocks, on 13 June 2012 - 10:36 AM, said:

That stat is amazing. Durant is just incredible. The fact he scored 17 points in his first NBA Finals and how there's a relatively ho-hum response to it considering the feat reflects the greatness we already expect from him at 23. Anyway seeing articles focused on "maybe the Thunder don't know any better" are a bit insulting. Of course they know better. This is their third straight playoffs - they've played over 40 playoff games together. And they've beaten three former NBA champions to get to this point this year.

Durant even admitted he and his team were nervous for the first 5-10 minutes of the game. Thought Fisher's presence helped steady things for them when they were going sideways. But really the reason they won is because they flat executed better than the Heat throughout the second half. They absolutely understand the moment and played with the urgency necessary to seize it.

Also how about Sefalosha? I remember when he came out of nowhere on one of those Bulls teams a couple years back but never could've imagined he'd be the defensive difference maker against the incredibly diverse skillsets of Tony Parker and Lebron James for a title contending team. Collison too was quality. Even with a good performance by Battier, Miami looks completely outclassed in terms of role players.

I find myself rooting for the Thunder for a number of reasons, but one of the biggest is the fact that I believe it will be healthier for the longtime continued success of the NBA.

Just last year with the lock-out, one of the biggest fears of the owners driving the negotiations was the seeming trend to assemble "super teams" of free agents a la Boston, Miami, and New York.  The good news is that Dallas last year and now even moreso OKC this year have shown that it isn't nescessarily the path to success in this league.  OKC has assembled a team that can be successful for years to come by drafting smart when in a position to do so and picked up solid complementary pieces.  

Additionally, who can deny the raw passion of those fans?!!?  When watching Miami home games, the lower arena is noticeably empty even in big playoff games at the start of the third quarter; not so in OKC!  I have the very real sense that many of those fans are afraid to even get up to go to the bathroom!   The layout of the arenas are even a stark contrast.  I often like to poke fun of North Carolina because the aisles in the lower level of The Dean Dome are so wide compared to the packed in spacing of places like Rupp Arena or Allen Fieldhouse.  Chesapeake Energy Arena is a newer venue, but is still built with passionate fans in mind.

TL;DR version:  I like what OKC's got going on there.