Lowe Post - Round 2 Previews Pod is Out

[CrookedJ]

[tweet]http://twitter.com/ZachLowe_NBA/status/727207862276075521[/tweet]

Just starting it now....

[Skeezo]

Quick Summary

-Thorpe is leaning Heat in 7
-Lowe is leaning Raptors in 7
-Lowe believes the Heat are a better team than the Pacers but thinks the Raps match up better with Heat
-Heat do not have the tandem defensively to shut Lowry and DeRozan down as Pacers did with Hill/George and Heat aren't as good of a 3-point shooting team which typically hurts the Raps
-Thinks P-Pat stays in Starting Line-up and matches up with Wade as Deng (Smallball PF) will cover DeRozan... ??? Interesting
-Lowe says there is no way Raps advance with Lowry shooting 30% but thinks he should bounce back (Says he is hearing there is actually nothing wrong with Lowry's elbow, just slumping)
-Think Raps try to get JV involved early and hope to get Whiteside in foul trouble early... Says Amare/Haslem/McRoberts aren't gong to cut it against our bigs
-Dwayne Wade playing like D.Wade from 3 years ago

Other Tidbits

-Say Biz has earned himself a nice raise this offseason

[Baashha]

Thorpe sounded like a real Wade homer

[primopastalove2]

I agree with Lowe, we match up better with Miami, they aren't a good 3pt shooting team but attack the rim alot which we defend really well as a team. There are 2 keys to the series, Lowry has to play well, his best asset is his 3pt shooting taking 7 per game and converting 40% is top 5 elite.

The other key is the center position, we won last series because we just destroyed the boards, Miami did the same with bobcats so it will be harder to get boards of the Heat and whiteside.

But the biggest defining point of the series would be getting whiteside in foul trouble, he plays totally different as he is more concern with his minutes and numbers so he will be conscious of fouling out and play much softer. Unlike bobcats who have Al, we don't have post scorers at the C, so most of the fouls are gonna have to come on offensive rebounds and drop passes to JV/BB from Kyle or DD.

Another thing is i still see DD and Lowry not able to finish at the rim due to whiteside, so they have to suck him towards them and kickout for corner 3s or drop to our bigs. They have to do this whiteside will destroy them otherwise.

Lastly the best play for the heat is the Wade and Whiteside PnR, I don't see how we gonna defend this as it is basically pick you're poison on who you gonna over help. We already suck at defending the roll man, so this might hurt us, but luckily they don't seem to run this play alot, only during late game.

[Tofubeque]

The other key is the center position, we won last series because we just destroyed the boards, Miami did the same with bobcats so it will be harder to get boards of the Heat and whiteside.

To be fair, a wet paper towel could destroy the Hornets on the boards.

But the Whiteside-Valanciunas matchup will be interesting for sure. They both have big boom and bust (mostly foul trouble) potential.

[TheDoctor]

Thorpe also mentioned our key difference compared to Charlotte: Val + Biz means Whiteside never gets a break, and we will dominate the glass when he goes out. Val and Biz are going to get a lot of dump off dunks when Whiteside goes for blocks too.

[TheDoctor]

He also rightly pointed out that going small against the Pacers was good practice for this series.

Demar is going to be good to great all series, and Deng goes from resting on offense against Marvin, just sticking to him on the 3 point line, to having to work hard to stay out of foul trouble against Demar. He won't be nearly as good for them as he was in round 1.

Wade is scary at the end of games, JJ could go off, though Carroll helps.

[SaveTheHens]

I'm constantly worried about Lowry's lack of scoring. We had the talent to beat the Pacers (barely), but Lowry was the X factor in winning us big games against great teams. Not sure if we can do it against the Heat with Lowry not having his shot but hoping for the best

[Double Helix]

Thanks to everyone who recapped. Listening to music so that was appreciated.

[Double Helix]

Thorpe also mentioned our key difference compared to Charlotte: Val + Biz means Whiteside never gets a break, and we will dominate the glass when he goes out. Val and Biz are going to get a lot of dump off dunks when Whiteside goes for blocks too.

That last sentence excites me the most because I can already envision it. He tries to block EVERYTHING because of how good he is at it. Mahinmi and Turner seemed more keen to form a line at times and just go straight up. It's harder for them to do that Deng at PF.

[Charlie Sollers]

Thorpe loves to talk about himself and former players he has coached in AAU in every podcast

[YogurtProducer]

Man this Thorpe guy is annoying. His man crush on Wade is honestly weird

[Ell Curry]

That last sentence excites me the most because I can already envision it. He tries to block EVERYTHING because of how good he is at it. Mahinmi and Turner seemed more keen to form a line at times and just go straight up. It's harder for them to do that Deng at PF.

Whiteside looked worryingly poised and not so eager to rack up blocks as to fall for pump fakes in the 10 or so quarters I saw of that series. I'm sort of worried he's learned in that respect.

[sule]

One thing i'm afraid will cost us possessions and points is Lowry's ego deciding to go toe-to-toe with Wade. He has a habit of doing that against other top guards. If the coaching staff can reel him in from those types of possessions, I think he can have good games facilitating and get everyone else going.


In terms of in the post, Jonas' pump fakes could be key to getting Whiteside in trouble early with fouls. Raps don't have to get him out the game completely, just force him to play a few less minutes b/c of fouls, which is where Raps can really make the difference.

Biz will be key to stopping Wade's penetration though. Biz and everyone else will have to get in quick position for charges when Wade starts barreling through. I have a feeling he's gonna seriously injure one of our players though. Dude plays dirty as hell and still gets calls.

[gerrit4]

If we lose this series in 7, I think there will be a parade. Miami is a good team with or without Bosh, and we're happy to be here. I think it's nice that Thorpe & Lowe think it will go seven, but I'm worried we get swept.

On a side note, I'll always remember Thorpe for his pre-draft praise of Soloman Alabi where he convinced me (as a listener) that Solomon Alabi was essentially what Biyombo is for us (but with a mid-range shot). I can't blame him (drafting is not an exact science), but it's just something I always think of. He also recommended years ago (when we had bosh) that we go after guys like Deng & Haslem (who he coached) because of how they were able to shrink the court on defence and fill in gaps - something that guys like Patterson, Amir & Biyombo have done wonders for us.

[Jadoogar]

One thing i'm afraid will cost us possessions and points is Lowry's ego deciding to go toe-to-toe with Wade. He has a habit of doing that against other top guards. If the coaching staff can reel him in from those types of possessions, I think he can have good games facilitating and get everyone else going.
.

Can't be any worse than watching Derozan trying to go toe-to-toe with PG. That was excruciating

[Duffman100]

There is no way Lowry is just slumping.

[The_Hater]

Man this Thorpe guy is annoying. His man crush on Wade is honestly weird

Thorpe was born, raised, schooled and still works in Florida. No real surprise that he'd be a Miami fan and have a man crush on the greatest Heat player in franchise history.

[The_Hater]

There is no way Lowry is just slumping.

Why does it have to be one or the other? Maybe he's both injured and in a slump.

[Duffman100]

There is no way Lowry is just slumping.

Why does it have to be one or the other? Maybe he's both injured and in a slump.

It doesn't. I was saying it's not just a slump...there has to be another factor..