SpeedyG wrote:MGrand15 wrote:SpeedyG wrote:
Eh...still not buying it. Definitely an improvement over 2013 version in that this team is fighting for the win again, but we're not there yet.
OKC is struggling without Westbrook. They've lost to Utah and Denver, and are now 2-3 in 2014. Even in 2013 with that win against Hou aside, they barely beat Charlotte, and then proceeded to lose to the Blazers. Without Russ, they are 4-4.
Cleveland was a sloppy game that ended up being close when it shouldn't have been.
We were getting throttled by GS before their bench failed them, and their youth/inexperience showed.
Miami? Joe couldn't miss in the 1st quarter, S dot played out of his mind, they were without Wade, Battier, and Chalmers, and it still took us 2OT on our floor to beat them...and we likely would have lost had Lebron not fouled out (momentum was starting to tip over towards their favor).
Track record shows Joe Johnson's not going to keep this up, neither can S Dot. KG is still a superb defender (and honestly his move to C has been the catalyst to our defense's improvement, along with the other lineup changes), but he's got very little to offer offensively when his jumpshot isn't falling...which hasn't been happening a lot this season. Paul looks like he's starting to feel better, which is a plus for us. AK no doubt is key to the success of this team, but he looks like he did something to his back again late in the game.
Mirza is game-to-game variance of success, while Blatche is...well on a per-play basis whether he plays well or not.
Really this team, granted without Deron...gave this Heat team everything but the kitchen sink...and we still could barely beat them. And frankly...Livingston played better than Deron has EVER played against these Heat team as a Net.
What Shaun did tonight is something Deron SHOULD be able to do against the Heat every single time, yet for some reason he can't...or doesn't.
So hate to break up the party, and don't mistake as me not enjoying the win (I am)...I'm just saying...let's hold off on the champaigne for now, shall we?
I don't understand this type of pessimism. Are you picking apart our losses in the same way? That Knick loss wasn't that bad since Shumpert was on fire and track record shows that doesn't happen often. No, it's a loss. It's done.
Injuries and schedules are a part of the game. We know that better than ANYONE. The fact is - we've beat 4 playoff teams and 1 team desperate to make the playoffs. You can overanalyze and pick apart our wins if you want - but the constants in our wins have been DEFENSE and our new small lineup. Now that we have AK47 and all of our roles settled - we've been playing great basketball. Even without D-Will, who was coming off one of his best games of the year. You called the game sloppy but forgot that Reggie Evans was starting (KG resting) and AK was still on a 10 minute restriction.
We've played well. This isn't our team getting hot or making it rain 3s. This is us playing good solid team defense. Moving the ball. Playing three guys off the bench that can change the game at any time in a major way. If our offense doesn't go ice cold in the 4th, we win this game easy regardless of LBJ's heroics.
It's not pessimism...it's REALISM.
You seriously going to sit there and tell me we've now "arrived" and are a legit playoff contender?
Not a legit playoff contender in the East?
They're currently 7th. Point me to 8 teams clearly better.
And here's what you failed to mention about each team:
OKC - The loss to the Jazz was without Ibaka, the 2nd best player on the team sans Westbrook. The lost in Denver, which is a tough place to play. Denver's record is also good enough to be the 4th seed in the East. OKC's is 15-3 at home. One of their three losses was to us. It is a very tough to place and an impressive win even without Westbrook.
Cleveland Closer than it should be largely because Kidd did a horrendous job coaching in the 3rd quarter.
Atlanta The win you failed to mention. The team is better than they credit for without Horford. They have beaten the Pacers and Rockets in their last 2 games.
Golden State Was letting their bench play something new? Had their bench not played a single minute during their 10 game winning streak? Golden State's bench sucked against the Nets, but guess what it sucks too against every other team. This wasn't something unique. Golden State won 10 games despite a horrendous bench, but wasn't able to do so against the Nets because the Nets were a better team. They wanted this game, they wanted the perfect 7-0 road trip.
Miami Sure they were without players, but there was no coasting in this games and they do in other games. Lebron hates Terry, Pierce, and Garnett. They wanted this win badly. Didn't want to lose back to back games in NY. And what momentum did the Heat have in OT, they hadn't scored up in until the point Lebron fouled out, four minutes plus.
DWill is still a key cog. Yes, Livingston has played great, but what happens during these games when Livingston comes out. The offense has been so stagnant with no true pg on the floor, get in to their offense late in the shot clock, no ball movement, ugly, ugly basketball. Also without DWill the corpse or Jason Terry has been playing. He's the worst player on this team that gets minutes.
Bottom line is that a 10-21 team winning 5 games in a row without a key piece is impressive regardless of the opponent. To have beaten some good teams during the streak makes it even more impressive.
