PG: Our sons need a good ol' spank

[GameTime_3]

Ok I'll do it for you.

You're a joke GT3.

Your plan for a Heat victory is "Don't play Lewis" !

Guess what?

It didn't work?

We lost because we didn't play well.

As Spo said "Do your Jobs" they didn't.

It wasn't Spo or Lewis who lost that game. The players didn't defend well and didn't hit their 3's.

Every time I see a notification that HIF responded to me!!!


Thank you! You just made my day HIF! If I can't get you to explain any of your positions or why I'm wrong, at least I can get you to show some emotion and break out of your SpoBot ways!

Spo also said "I believe Shane's overall number was still a positive,"....Anyone who watched that could not agree with this statement. I love Shane but he was terrible on D and scared on offense. So.....

[Heat_Fan_87]

Ok I'll do it for you.

You're a joke GT3.

Your plan for a Heat victory is "Don't play Lewis" !

Guess what?

It didn't work?

We lost because we didn't play well.

As Spo said "Do your Jobs" they didn't.

It wasn't Spo or Lewis who lost that game. The players didn't defend well and didn't hit their 3's.

Don't waste your time. Some people will refuse to believe the players are ever at fault and will only blame spo. All you can do is laugh.

[Flash4thewin]

Don't waste your time. Some people will refuse to believe the players are ever at fault and will only blame spo. All you can do is laugh.

Oh the players need to show up but lets take Battier for example. He looked like he needed a walking cane out on the court and Spo not only played him but started him. I mean really? Is it Battier fault for being a shell of his former self which we have known all year or the coach who puts him in that position? This is not a just a player or just a coach problem but both.

[WD]

^We've RUN that guy into the ground, forcing him to guard bigger players, taking all those charges, etc. - Slowly but surely, it happens to a lot of heat players who are ROLE PLAYERS...wHEN THEY break down, get another one, repeat pattern.....

The other day, I randomly put in DVD from an earlier heat game from earlier years, surprisingly it was a game with BRIAN GRANT trying to play Center for us.......

SACRIFICE...RIGHT? DO THE STUFF THAT DON'T SHOW UP IN THE BOXSCORE...

[heat4life]

Don't waste your time. Some people will refuse to believe the players are ever at fault and will only blame spo. All you can do is laugh.

Oh the players need to show up but lets take Battier for example. He looked like he needed a walking cane out on the court and Spo not only played him but started him. I mean really? Is it Battier fault for being a shell of his former self which we have known all year or the coach who puts him in that position? This is not a just a player or just a coach problem but both.

I don't have a problem with Spo trying Battier when it has worked for him in the past. It is easier to play coach as a fan than an actual coach. People were calling Haslem DONE just a few months ago, now he is the logical starter? Make up your minds fans. If he would have started Lewis, it would have been chaos. Weren't some fans calling James Jones useless before the playoffs? I guess a perfect fan world would have been to start Beasley even though he had issues fitting in the whole season with ANY lineup.

Starting Battier didn't lose the game. Effort and poor defense did. That included EVERYONE from Lebron to Battier. Let's not ignore the fact that Spo while he has several options, all of them are arbitrary. Meaning that some will work at times and some won't. In this series he has to find what works best and go with it. It is the price you pay when you have a top heavy roster like the Big 3.

[DWadeno3]

I think its fair to say we all want to be objective but all have biases. While this loss is not solely on Spo people have to admit he did things that didnt help the team. Since last season we have known Battier is not a good match up against the Pacers and instead of going with what most were expecting (UD) he started Battier who is a hobbled man compared to last seasons playoff. The Pacers took advantage and made us pay. Part of the confusion in the defensive rotations came from different lineups thats werent accustomed to playing together. I agree with everyone that we need to get Bosh into attack mode. A few changes here and there and we should come back and take game two.

This is what I mean, you're reaching. Where exactly did the Pacers exploit the Battier matchup a lot? I barely saw them do it. They beat us the way I described it above and that had nothing to do with our lineups. If you actually believe just because a lineup hasn't played together a lot they don't know how to rotate is laughable. These guys have been on the same team for a while now and defensively, we always run the same things, so even if some lineups haven't seen the floor much together, they've all been on the court with some of those guys and they all know on your defensive system and they all know basketball and when to do what.
And even if they haven't practiced together a lot, it is simply common sense to prevent penetration when you hedge, that's the point of it, not showing but easily letting the ball handler get around you. It's common sense and a way of being alert to know when and where to rotate.

Again, all these things had nothing to do with our game plan and thus the coaches and everything to do with the players not being ready and living up to the challenge. We had stretches where we played harder and easily came back into the game, we just never showed any consistency.

I'm far from a Spo apologist, I've had my issues with him as well, but not in game 1, that one was mostly on the players.

[Heat_Fan_87]

Don't waste your time. Some people will refuse to believe the players are ever at fault and will only blame spo. All you can do is laugh.

Oh the players need to show up but lets take Battier for example. He looked like he needed a walking cane out on the court and Spo not only played him but started him. I mean really? Is it Battier fault for being a shell of his former self which we have known all year or the coach who puts him in that position? This is not a just a player or just a coach problem but both.

I thought battier did fine guarding PG. and he made the one 3pt shot he took.

On the long list of reasons we lost game 1, battier isn;t even on the 3rd page

[KingDavid]

Don't waste your time. Some people will refuse to believe the players are ever at fault and will only blame spo. All you can do is laugh.

Oh the players need to show up but lets take Battier for example. He looked like he needed a walking cane out on the court and Spo not only played him but started him. I mean really? Is it Battier fault for being a shell of his former self which we have known all year or the coach who puts him in that position? This is not a just a player or just a coach problem but both.

I thought battier did fine guarding PG. and he made the one 3pt shot he took.

On the long list of reasons we lost game 1, battier isn;t even on the 3rd page

He only made one three because he took one three. They helped off Battier when Wade/LBJ posted up because he refused to shoot. On defense he played good on man but that's not what killed us. It was ball movement from Indy that led to open shots seemingly every time down. Battier was rotating too slow and couldn't get into position to box West out on rebounds. It's not all his fault though, no way. I personally would not have him guarding a massive, physical guy like West. Spo is an idiot for that. Stick him on PG or let him come off the bench. But you have to have UD and Bosh in the middle. Not a SF and Bosh. Then he put LBJ on West and had UD playing center. I can't even describe what was going through his head. That was a poorly coached game and a poorly executed game. I don't mind losses a away games but I don't like poor coaching and a lack of effort as well. I expect a better game tonight.

[KingDavid]

It's funny watching us trying to trap a P&R from 30ft away from the basket.

[KingDavid]

Don't waste your time. Some people will refuse to believe the players are ever at fault and will only blame spo. All you can do is laugh.

Oh the players need to show up but lets take Battier for example. He looked like he needed a walking cane out on the court and Spo not only played him but started him. I mean really? Is it Battier fault for being a shell of his former self which we have known all year or the coach who puts him in that position? This is not a just a player or just a coach problem but both.

I don't have a problem with Spo trying Battier when it has worked for him in the past. It is easier to play coach as a fan than an actual coach. People were calling Haslem DONE just a few months ago, now he is the logical starter? Make up your minds fans. If he would have started Lewis, it would have been chaos. Weren't some fans calling James Jones useless before the playoffs? I guess a perfect fan world would have been to start Beasley even though he had issues fitting in the whole season with ANY lineup.

Starting Battier didn't lose the game. Effort and poor defense did. That included EVERYONE from Lebron to Battier. Let's not ignore the fact that Spo while he has several options, all of them are arbitrary. Meaning that some will work at times and some won't. In this series he has to find what works best and go with it. It is the price you pay when you have a top heavy roster like the Big 3.

Actually, no. starting Shane at PF against the Pacers has never worked. Go with what has worked recently. We had UD and Bosh man the middle and we blown them out the previous game and although we lost the game prior to the aforementioned, UD kept Hibbert from Hakeeming us for 3 quarters and shut him down. You go with what works. Shane is not a PF. He's never been a PF. Spo playing him there has damaged him and now he's retiring. He looks like he needs a walker out there. I have a serious problem with Spo playing people out of position and/or forcing them to play extra small.

Did you see that lineup of
Rio
Cole
Wade
LBJ
UD

vs

Lance
Hill
PG
West
Hibbert

??? That's the type of foolishness I'm talking about. It makes no sense. NONE. I like Spo, but he makes a lot of head scratching decisions. It's hard to get a team to get up and play when you make sudden decisions like not starting UD because you want to "surprise the opponent."

[Dupas]

we are spoiled as fans to have this team. go with it. If we must go down , down we go with them

[KingDavid]

we are spoiled as fans to have this team. go with it. If we must go down , down we go with them

No arguing there.

[NBA82]

Doesn't matter who starts when nobody plays defense.

They played significantly harder than us in Game 1. We're good, but we're not good enough to overcome that kind of effort differential.

If you want to blame Spo, blame him for the fact that we weren't ready to play. Not for any micro-strategic decision.

[heat4life]

Oh the players need to show up but lets take Battier for example. He looked like he needed a walking cane out on the court and Spo not only played him but started him. I mean really? Is it Battier fault for being a shell of his former self which we have known all year or the coach who puts him in that position? This is not a just a player or just a coach problem but both.

I don't have a problem with Spo trying Battier when it has worked for him in the past. It is easier to play coach as a fan than an actual coach. People were calling Haslem DONE just a few months ago, now he is the logical starter? Make up your minds fans. If he would have started Lewis, it would have been chaos. Weren't some fans calling James Jones useless before the playoffs? I guess a perfect fan world would have been to start Beasley even though he had issues fitting in the whole season with ANY lineup.

Starting Battier didn't lose the game. Effort and poor defense did. That included EVERYONE from Lebron to Battier. Let's not ignore the fact that Spo while he has several options, all of them are arbitrary. Meaning that some will work at times and some won't. In this series he has to find what works best and go with it. It is the price you pay when you have a top heavy roster like the Big 3.

Actually, no. starting Shane at PF against the Pacers has never worked. Go with what has worked recently. We had UD and Bosh man the middle and we blown them out the previous game and although we lost the game prior to the aforementioned, UD kept Hibbert from Hakeeming us for 3 quarters and shut him down. You go with what works. Shane is not a PF. He's never been a PF. Spo playing him there has damaged him and now he's retiring. He looks like he needs a walker out there. I have a serious problem with Spo playing people out of position and/or forcing them to play extra small.

Did you see that lineup of
Rio
Cole
Wade
LBJ
UD

vs

Lance
Hill
PG
West
Hibbert

??? That's the type of foolishness I'm talking about. It makes no sense. NONE. I like Spo, but he makes a lot of head scratching decisions. It's hard to get a team to get up and play when you make sudden decisions like not starting UD because you want to "surprise the opponent."

Playing the way you are suggesting is giving in to what the Pacers want and it will cost us the series. Indiana is a bigger team, there is no denying that. Miami's best bet to beat them - and it has worked in the past which is what I was alluding to - is to get them to play small and spread the floor. It is Miami's system and when the Heat play it, we are almost unstoppable.

When Battier is hitting those open 3's as a PF, it forces their bigs to clear the paint making it easier for Wade and Lebron to drive. It worked in 2012, and it worked in 2013. We won both times with Battier as the PF by him forcing the Pacers to space. So YES, it has worked in the past.

Does that mean it will work this time? Who knows but I don't blame Spo for trying. The key to a series is adjusting. Being that we have older players, there is a need to try different things but not at the expense of changing what has worked in the past. I think Bosh expanding his game to the 3pt line allows us to play Haslem with him. That was not the case in prior seasons. But just like Battier did the past two seasons, Bosh needs to hit on those perimeter shots to spread the floor if not the whole system collapses and plays into Indiana's strengths.

[KingDavid]

I don't have a problem with Spo trying Battier when it has worked for him in the past. It is easier to play coach as a fan than an actual coach. People were calling Haslem DONE just a few months ago, now he is the logical starter? Make up your minds fans. If he would have started Lewis, it would have been chaos. Weren't some fans calling James Jones useless before the playoffs? I guess a perfect fan world would have been to start Beasley even though he had issues fitting in the whole season with ANY lineup.

Starting Battier didn't lose the game. Effort and poor defense did. That included EVERYONE from Lebron to Battier. Let's not ignore the fact that Spo while he has several options, all of them are arbitrary. Meaning that some will work at times and some won't. In this series he has to find what works best and go with it. It is the price you pay when you have a top heavy roster like the Big 3.

Actually, no. starting Shane at PF against the Pacers has never worked. Go with what has worked recently. We had UD and Bosh man the middle and we blown them out the previous game and although we lost the game prior to the aforementioned, UD kept Hibbert from Hakeeming us for 3 quarters and shut him down. You go with what works. Shane is not a PF. He's never been a PF. Spo playing him there has damaged him and now he's retiring. He looks like he needs a walker out there. I have a serious problem with Spo playing people out of position and/or forcing them to play extra small.

Did you see that lineup of
Rio
Cole
Wade
LBJ
UD

vs

Lance
Hill
PG
West
Hibbert

??? That's the type of foolishness I'm talking about. It makes no sense. NONE. I like Spo, but he makes a lot of head scratching decisions. It's hard to get a team to get up and play when you make sudden decisions like not starting UD because you want to "surprise the opponent."

Playing the way you are suggesting is giving in to what the Pacers want and it will cost us the series. Indiana is a bigger team, there is no denying that. Miami's best bet to beat them - and it has worked in the past which is what I was alluding to - is to get them to play small and spread the floor. It is Miami's system and when the Heat play it, we are almost unstoppable.

When Battier is hitting those open 3's as a PF, it forces their bigs to clear the paint making it easier for Wade and Lebron to drive. It worked in 2012, and it worked in 2013. We won both times with Battier as the PF by him forcing the Pacers to space. So YES, it has worked in the past.

Remember I said starting Shane. Nothing about him coming off the bench. Playing spot minutes at the 4 in the playoffs was not a problem. Him starting there is a massive issue. Him playing that position all year is a problem. Health wise we've cut years out of his career because of it. That's all I'm really alluding to. Shane has said it plenty of times that he prefers coming off the bench and he plays better off the bench. He gets a feel for the game. Him guarding west is an issue too but he wasn't doing that a whole lot last playoffs against Indy. Spo fell in love with it and ruined him this season.

Shane didn't start one game against the Pacers last playoffs
http://www.basketball-reference.com/tea ... games.html

We did the 2012 season but that was only because Bosh and UD got hurt. The game Bosh got hurt, we started Ronnie Turiaf over Shane to play with UD. Then we started Battier the next game with Pittman and got KILLED for it. After that Shane had a great game...but then sucked again...Then Spo stuck with him at the 4 when UD was recovering this season. Nonetheless 2012 is irrelevant here because Shane doesn't even move like that anymore.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/tea ... games.html

Why start Shane now? No one is hurt. What sense did that make? You try your best with what works THEN you make adjustments. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Last two RS meetings. we lost the first one because Oden let Roy go crazy but then UD came in quarter 2 and locked him down the rest of the way. Following game UD started and locked Roy down again. Why the hell would you go away from that if it's been working? That's why I'm scratching my head.

Does that mean it will work this time? Who knows but I don't blame Spo for trying. The key to a series is adjusting. Being that we have older players, there is a need to try different things but not at the expense of changing what has worked in the past. I think Bosh expanding his game to the 3pt line allows us to play Haslem with him. That was not the case in prior seasons. But just like Battier did the past two seasons, Bosh needs to hit on those perimeter shots to spread the floor if not the whole system collapses and plays into Indiana's strengths.

Last year we started every game with Bosh/UD manning the middle. The problem was that UD was playing hurt. He's fine now. Start him to keep Indy out of the paint. Battier doesn't provide rim protection, he provides great man coverage. The drive in game was very effective for Indy because it was laughable to them, imo that Battier was going to try and help protect the paint. The moment Battier takes one step out of position to help, West has the rebound or Hibbert has the rebound. You gotta take out the big man's legs and Shane can't do that against West and Bosh can't do that against Hibbert. But UD can and does time and time again.

Now I do agree and should have said that if Bosh were to hit those threes, we probably wouldn't be having this convo. I'm honestly not comfortable with Bosh going right for those threes to start the game. I feel he should work into a rhythm. The whole game I noticed that he was not getting his shot under his legs and in turn, was using too much arm strength which caused all those hard bounces off the rim when he missed. I feel he should work his way out starting from his 17ft sweet spot and mixing it up a bit inside and then shooting 3s in rhythm. The first two threes staring down Hibbert and then chucking were downright awful attempts, and I'm usually lenient with his corner 3s.

Unlike you, I do blame Spo for trying to fix something that wasn't broke. He's the head coach. That was not a good coaching move. That's why LBJ said he and the rest of the team were shocked by that move. You don't do that. Again, we lose with what worked against that team, THEN you make adjustments.

I'm with you on hoping it works though!

[heat4life]

Actually, no. starting Shane at PF against the Pacers has never worked. Go with what has worked recently. We had UD and Bosh man the middle and we blown them out the previous game and although we lost the game prior to the aforementioned, UD kept Hibbert from Hakeeming us for 3 quarters and shut him down. You go with what works. Shane is not a PF. He's never been a PF. Spo playing him there has damaged him and now he's retiring. He looks like he needs a walker out there. I have a serious problem with Spo playing people out of position and/or forcing them to play extra small.

Did you see that lineup of
Rio
Cole
Wade
LBJ
UD

vs

Lance
Hill
PG
West
Hibbert

??? That's the type of foolishness I'm talking about. It makes no sense. NONE. I like Spo, but he makes a lot of head scratching decisions. It's hard to get a team to get up and play when you make sudden decisions like not starting UD because you want to "surprise the opponent."

Playing the way you are suggesting is giving in to what the Pacers want and it will cost us the series. Indiana is a bigger team, there is no denying that. Miami's best bet to beat them - and it has worked in the past which is what I was alluding to - is to get them to play small and spread the floor. It is Miami's system and when the Heat play it, we are almost unstoppable.

When Battier is hitting those open 3's as a PF, it forces their bigs to clear the paint making it easier for Wade and Lebron to drive. It worked in 2012, and it worked in 2013. We won both times with Battier as the PF by him forcing the Pacers to space. So YES, it has worked in the past.

Remember I said starting Shane. Nothing about him coming off the bench. Playing spot minutes at the 4 in the playoffs was not a problem. Him starting there is a massive issue. Him playing that position all year is a problem. Health wise we've cut years out of his career because of it. That's all I'm really alluding to. Shane has said it plenty of times that he prefers coming off the bench and he plays better off the bench. He gets a feel for the game. Him guarding west is an issue too but he wasn't doing that a whole lot last playoffs against Indy. Spo fell in love with it and ruined him this season.

Shane didn't start one game against the Pacers last playoffs
http://www.basketball-reference.com/tea ... games.html

We did the 2012 season but that was only because Bosh and UD got hurt. The game Bosh got hurt, we started Ronnie Turiaf over Shane to play with UD. Then we started Battier the next game with Pittman and got KILLED for it. After that Shane had a great game...but then sucked again...Then Spo stuck with him at the 4 when UD was recovering this season. Nonetheless 2012 is irrelevant here because Shane doesn't even move like that anymore.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/tea ... games.html

Why start Shane now? No one is hurt. What sense did that make? You try your best with what works THEN you make adjustments. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Last two RS meetings. we lost the first one because Oden let Roy go crazy but then UD came in quarter 2 and locked him down the rest of the way. Following game UD started and locked Roy down again. Why the hell would you go away from that if it's been working? That's why I'm scratching my head.

Does that mean it will work this time? Who knows but I don't blame Spo for trying. The key to a series is adjusting. Being that we have older players, there is a need to try different things but not at the expense of changing what has worked in the past. I think Bosh expanding his game to the 3pt line allows us to play Haslem with him. That was not the case in prior seasons. But just like Battier did the past two seasons, Bosh needs to hit on those perimeter shots to spread the floor if not the whole system collapses and plays into Indiana's strengths.

Last year we started every game with Bosh/UD manning the middle. The problem was that UD was playing hurt. He's fine now. Start him to keep Indy out of the paint. Battier doesn't provide rim protection, he provides great man coverage. The drive in game was very effective for Indy because it was laughable to them, imo that Battier was going to try and help protect the paint. The moment Battier takes one step out of position to help, West has the rebound or Hibbert has the rebound. You gotta take out the big man's legs and Shane can't do that against West and Bosh can't do that against Hibbert. But UD can and does time and time again.

Now I do agree and should have said that if Bosh were to hit those threes, we probably wouldn't be having this convo. I'm honestly not comfortable with Bosh going right for those threes to start the game. I feel he should work into a rhythm. The whole game I noticed that he was not getting his shot under his legs and in turn, was using too much arm strength which caused all those hard bounces off the rim when he missed. I feel he should work his way out starting from his 17ft sweet spot and mixing it up a bit inside and then shooting 3s in rhythm. The first two threes staring down Hibbert and then chucking were downright awful attempts, and I'm usually lenient with his corner 3s.

Unlike you, I do blame Spo for trying to fix something that wasn't broke. He's the head coach. That was not a good coaching move. That's why LBJ said he and the rest of the team were shocked by that move. You don't do that. Again, we lose with what worked against that team, THEN you make adjustments.

I'm with you on hoping it works though!

You are focusing on trying to prove my recollections wrong but are completely missing the point. The Heat DID win two championships playing small ball so there has been success with the spacing offense Spo runs.

Now, I NEVER advocated Battier to start, that is not my point nor my intentions. My whole point when I said that "I had no problems with Battier starting in game 1" was that 5th starting spot for Miami is arbitrary. Battier was the starter against the Nets last series and we won 4-1. I had no problems with Spoelstra sticking with that starting lineup since it was successful for him but at the end of the day, Spo is going to give minutes based on how the game flows. Haslem started yesterday - as many of us suspected he would - and we were still down by 12 in the first quarter until he went to the bench. It is not an automatic fix. It is about style of play and defense throughout the WHOLE game. Last night Haslem ended up with 18 minutes and Battier with 8 so that 5th spot minutes was mostly distributed elsewhere.

If Miami plays good defense and keep the game low scoring like last night, Miami wins every time because they are the better offensive team. If Miami allows the Pacers to get to the 90's and 100's in pts. they will have a hard time winning because it means their offense is clicking in all cylinders.

Game 1 was lost because the WHOLE team sucked at defense, not because Shane Battier started over Haslem.

I do agree that Haslem bulk might be needed more this series but don't get it wrong, Miami needs to space the floor. They were able to do that better last night and you saw LBJ and Wade with more room to attack.

[KingDavid]

Playing the way you are suggesting is giving in to what the Pacers want and it will cost us the series. Indiana is a bigger team, there is no denying that. Miami's best bet to beat them - and it has worked in the past which is what I was alluding to - is to get them to play small and spread the floor. It is Miami's system and when the Heat play it, we are almost unstoppable.

When Battier is hitting those open 3's as a PF, it forces their bigs to clear the paint making it easier for Wade and Lebron to drive. It worked in 2012, and it worked in 2013. We won both times with Battier as the PF by him forcing the Pacers to space. So YES, it has worked in the past.

Remember I said starting Shane. Nothing about him coming off the bench. Playing spot minutes at the 4 in the playoffs was not a problem. Him starting there is a massive issue. Him playing that position all year is a problem. Health wise we've cut years out of his career because of it. That's all I'm really alluding to. Shane has said it plenty of times that he prefers coming off the bench and he plays better off the bench. He gets a feel for the game. Him guarding west is an issue too but he wasn't doing that a whole lot last playoffs against Indy. Spo fell in love with it and ruined him this season.

Shane didn't start one game against the Pacers last playoffs
http://www.basketball-reference.com/tea ... games.html

We did the 2012 season but that was only because Bosh and UD got hurt. The game Bosh got hurt, we started Ronnie Turiaf over Shane to play with UD. Then we started Battier the next game with Pittman and got KILLED for it. After that Shane had a great game...but then sucked again...Then Spo stuck with him at the 4 when UD was recovering this season. Nonetheless 2012 is irrelevant here because Shane doesn't even move like that anymore.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/tea ... games.html

Why start Shane now? No one is hurt. What sense did that make? You try your best with what works THEN you make adjustments. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Last two RS meetings. we lost the first one because Oden let Roy go crazy but then UD came in quarter 2 and locked him down the rest of the way. Following game UD started and locked Roy down again. Why the hell would you go away from that if it's been working? That's why I'm scratching my head.

Does that mean it will work this time? Who knows but I don't blame Spo for trying. The key to a series is adjusting. Being that we have older players, there is a need to try different things but not at the expense of changing what has worked in the past. I think Bosh expanding his game to the 3pt line allows us to play Haslem with him. That was not the case in prior seasons. But just like Battier did the past two seasons, Bosh needs to hit on those perimeter shots to spread the floor if not the whole system collapses and plays into Indiana's strengths.

Last year we started every game with Bosh/UD manning the middle. The problem was that UD was playing hurt. He's fine now. Start him to keep Indy out of the paint. Battier doesn't provide rim protection, he provides great man coverage. The drive in game was very effective for Indy because it was laughable to them, imo that Battier was going to try and help protect the paint. The moment Battier takes one step out of position to help, West has the rebound or Hibbert has the rebound. You gotta take out the big man's legs and Shane can't do that against West and Bosh can't do that against Hibbert. But UD can and does time and time again.

Now I do agree and should have said that if Bosh were to hit those threes, we probably wouldn't be having this convo. I'm honestly not comfortable with Bosh going right for those threes to start the game. I feel he should work into a rhythm. The whole game I noticed that he was not getting his shot under his legs and in turn, was using too much arm strength which caused all those hard bounces off the rim when he missed. I feel he should work his way out starting from his 17ft sweet spot and mixing it up a bit inside and then shooting 3s in rhythm. The first two threes staring down Hibbert and then chucking were downright awful attempts, and I'm usually lenient with his corner 3s.

Unlike you, I do blame Spo for trying to fix something that wasn't broke. He's the head coach. That was not a good coaching move. That's why LBJ said he and the rest of the team were shocked by that move. You don't do that. Again, we lose with what worked against that team, THEN you make adjustments.

I'm with you on hoping it works though!

You are focusing on trying to prove my recollections wrong but are completely missing the point. The Heat DID win two championships playing small ball so there has been success with the spacing offense Spo runs.

Now, I NEVER advocated Battier to start, that is not my point nor my intentions. My whole point when I said that "I had no problems with Battier starting in game 1" was that 5th starting spot for Miami is arbitrary. Battier was the starter against the Nets last series and we won 4-1. I had no problems with Spoelstra sticking with that starting lineup since it was successful for him but at the end of the day, Spo is going to give minutes based on how the game flows. Haslem started yesterday - as many of us suspected he would - and we were still down by 12 in the first quarter until he went to the bench. It is not an automatic fix. It is about style of play and defense throughout the WHOLE game. Last night Haslem ended up with 18 minutes and Battier with 8 so that 5th spot minutes was mostly distributed elsewhere.

If Miami plays good defense and keep the game low scoring like last night, Miami wins every time because they are the better offensive team. If Miami allows the Pacers to get to the 90's and 100's in pts. they will have a hard time winning because it means their offense is clicking in all cylinders.

Game 1 was lost because the WHOLE team sucked at defense, not because Shane Battier started over Haslem.

I do agree that Haslem bulk might be needed more this series but don't get it wrong, Miami needs to space the floor. They were able to do that better last night and you saw LBJ and Wade with more room to attack.

I actually said that in last night's game thread. It was just defense. Not Shane, not Lewis, not Haslem. Defense. Our offense wasn't at it's best last night and we still won because of our defense. I admit I overlooked that until the end.