First Round Playoff Thread

Newz · Post #3081 » by **Newz** » Wed Jun 6, 2012 1:38 pm

DocHoliday wrote:[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH48-tNavNM&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

I couldn't help but laugh when I heard this kid last night

Yeah, that was amazing. :rofl:

europa · Post #3082 » by **europa** » Wed Jun 6, 2012 1:40 pm

DocHoliday wrote:
I couldn't help but laugh when I heard this kid last night

I was laughing at that too. Reminded me of my high school cheerleaders cheering "We're proud of our team" when we'd get back home after a road loss. STFU. Seriously, just STFU.

Have to love what the Celtics are doing. Their experience has them playing with the type of poise the Heat simply have yet to show they possess. Rondo is absolutely brilliant as a PG. Not sure how many other PGs could shoot that poorly and still have a dominant impact on the game. I'm not a KG fan but he was balls out last night and Pierce was cold blooded with the big shot.

LUKE23 · Post #3083 » by **LUKE23** » Wed Jun 6, 2012 1:40 pm

europa wrote:"The superstar doesn't ask for anything else: he demands it. Of himself, of others."

As usual, Woj nails it.

Yep.

Newz · Post #3084 » by **Newz** » Wed Jun 6, 2012 1:44 pm

LUKE23 wrote:
europa wrote:"The superstar doesn't ask for anything else: he demands it. Of himself, of others."

As usual, Woj nails it.

Yep.

Again, it makes no sense. What the hell is he asking for and not demanding?

Nowak008 · Post #3085 » by **Nowak008** » Wed Jun 6, 2012 2:09 pm

Newz wrote:Again, it makes no sense. What the hell is he asking for and not demanding?

At the 8:10 mark in the 4th quarter Lebron made a 3...then didn't score another point until 9 seconds left in the game... when the game had already been decided. Lebron simply does not want the ball in the clutch. That's why he is Lecoward.

Newz · Post #3086 » by **Newz** » Wed Jun 6, 2012 2:15 pm

Nowak008 wrote:
Newz wrote:Again, it makes no sense. What the hell is he asking for and not demanding?

At the 8:10 mark in the 4th quarter Lebron made a 3...then didn't score another point until 9 seconds left in the game... when the game had already been decided. Lebron simply does not want the ball in the clutch. That's why he is Lecoward.

You realize that doesn't answer the question I asked... right?

The quote LeBron used was something like "We were close at the end and had a chance to win, that's all you can ask for.". He used a figure of speech and Wojo twisted it so that people eat it up.

Without "LeCoward", the Heat would be losing every game by 20+ points. Wade has been awful, Bosh is hurt and Chalmers is about the only role player providing anything.

LUKE23 · Post #3087 » by **LUKE23** » Wed Jun 6, 2012 2:16 pm

Nowak008 wrote:At the 8:10 mark in the 4th quarter Lebron made a 3...then didn't score another point until 9 seconds left in the game... when the game had already been decided. Lebron simply does not want the ball in the clutch. That's why he is Lecoward.

Yep. I don't understand why people just ignore this. LeBron is great, but he does not want the ball late in games. People will try and pawn it off as him being "too unselfish to do that" or whatever, but the team NEEDS HIM TO BE AGGRESSIVE offensively. Jordan wouldn't be caught dead being that passive in the fourth quarter of a close playoff game.

It's great that LeBron is a ridiculous versatile talent, but to win a title he's going to have to become a player that is dominant and does want the ball late. He has rarely shown that, especially lately.

europa · Post #3088 » by **europa** » Wed Jun 6, 2012 2:19 pm

I didn't think Wade was awful last night. He played hard and made some clutch plays late. The amazing drive to the hoop where he scored on two guys and another was when he came flying in to control tap an offensive rebound. He also had the sick block on Bass that, were it not for Rondo being Rondo, might go down as one of the greatest defensive plays in recent playoff history.

LUKE23 · Post #3089 » by **LUKE23** » Wed Jun 6, 2012 2:21 pm

Wade is averaging 22 ppg at .523 TS for the series. Not up to his usual standards, but he's been far from invisible.

europa · Post #3090 » by **europa** » Wed Jun 6, 2012 2:24 pm

LUKE23 wrote:Wade is averaging 22 ppg at .523 TS for the series. Not up to his usual standards, but he's been far from invisible.

Woj is right - when the Heat win it's because of LeBron's greatness. When they lose, the excuse is there isn't enough talent around LeBron to win.

LUKE23 · Post #3091 » by **LUKE23** » Wed Jun 6, 2012 2:25 pm

Miami has the best player in the league and another guy that is probably top 5. There is no supporting cast excuse with this team.

emunney · Post #3092 » by **emunney** » Wed Jun 6, 2012 2:36 pm

europa wrote:
LUKE23 wrote:Wade is averaging 22 ppg at .523 TS for the series. Not up to his usual standards, but he's been far from invisible.

Woj is right - when the Heat win it's because of LeBron's greatness. When they lose, the excuse is there isn't enough talent around LeBron to win.

Depends on who you ask.

Wooderson · Post #3093 » by **Wooderson** » Wed Jun 6, 2012 2:38 pm

LUKE23 wrote:Miami has the best player in the league and another guy that is probably top 5. There is no supporting cast excuse with this team.

Wade hasn't played closed to a top 5 player this series.

LeBron faded down the stretch last night, and definitely needed to be more aggressive, but my guess is that he is wearing down having to consistently handle such a huge load for 40+ minutes every game.

The 4th quarter woes for LeBron are being overblown. If you flip LeBron's first and second halves yesterday, it doesn't change the outcome of the game. The Heat would have been down 10+ points going into halftime and still most likely lose.

Wooderson · Post #3094 » by **Wooderson** » Wed Jun 6, 2012 2:41 pm

LUKE23 wrote:Miami has the best player in the league and another guy that is probably top 5. There is no supporting cast excuse with this team.

22 points on below average efficiency, while also turning the ball over at a poor rate is top 5 material?

jeremyd236 · Post #3095 » by **jeremyd236** » Wed Jun 6, 2012 2:46 pm

Wooderson wrote:
LUKE23 wrote:Miami has the best player in the league and another guy that is probably top 5. There is no supporting cast excuse with this team.

22 points on below average efficiency, while also turning the ball over at a poor rate is top 5 material?

This makes no sense. LUKE is basically saying they have the best player in the league and another top 5 player that aren't playing up to their standards, so its on THEM if they lose.

You then use Wade's stats to refute that he's not top 5?

That's the point. He's a top 5 player not playing like a top 5 player. And that's on HIM.

Edit: That's like saying the Thunder are about to beat a top 4 team in the league, then using their game 2-5 stats to say they aren't a top 4 team.

paul · Post #3096 » by **paul** » Wed Jun 6, 2012 2:50 pm

Wade has been a big hot steaming pile of poop. People are getting too caught up in their own agendas.

Newz · Post #3097 » by **Newz** » Wed Jun 6, 2012 2:50 pm

Wooderson wrote:
LUKE23 wrote:Miami has the best player in the league and another guy that is probably top 5. There is no supporting cast excuse with this team.

22 points on below average efficiency, while also turning the ball over at a poor rate is top 5 material?

It's top 5 material when you want to hate on LeBron.

The truth is this:

LeBron hasn't been the most clutch player in his career. But he's not afraid, he's made big shots and carried teams to win games. The reason he hasn't won a title is primarily because he has had a bad cast for most of his career.

Last year? A lot of that was on LeBron. He was dominant throughout the playoffs until the Dallas series and then he looked human.

But the truth right now? The reason Miami is going to lose, if they lose, is because of Wade playing like Monta Ellis and Chris Bosh being hurt. LeBron has played at a ridiculously high level in this series and in the playoffs.

LeBron isn't perfect, he isn't always as aggressive as he should be. But he's not even close to the reason Miami is trailing in this series now.

Newz · Post #3098 » by **Newz** » Wed Jun 6, 2012 2:51 pm

paul wrote:Wade has been a big hot steaming pile of poop. People are getting too caught up in their own agendas.

Yup. He's played well below the level he is capable of offensively and defensively... well, I've never seen Wade even look close to this awful on the defensive end.

LeBron is the MVP. Wade is a top 5 player.

One is playing like the MVP, the other is playing like Monta Ellis.... yet the blame goes to the guy still playing like he's the MVP.

Licensed to Il · Post #3099 » by **Licensed to Il** » Wed Jun 6, 2012 2:52 pm

It is hard for me to take the "wearing down" argument seriously in defense for LeBron and Wade, when factoring in the age and miles on KG, Pierce, Ray, and Rondo (young but given big minutes the past few seasons).

I think most (if not all) GMs in the league would go with Miami's roster over Boston's if given the choice.

So in my mind, it comes down to heart and savvy. LeBron and Wade have the heart, they are warriors and only a blind hater would question their desire to win. But they lack the savvy... they lack the jumper to go to when the calls are not going their way, they lack the collective defensive mindset needed (they are dominant as individual defenders), they lack the go to moves and footwork KG and Pierce can pull out of their bag of tricks, and they certainly don't trust their coach like the Celts do.

My eyes appreciate the dynamic things that LeBron and Wade can do. But my appreciation of basketball subtlety and aesthetics makes me want this for the Celts so much more.

LUKE23 · Post #3100 » by **LUKE23** » Wed Jun 6, 2012 2:53 pm

Wooderson wrote:
22 points on below average efficiency, while also turning the ball over at a poor rate is top 5 material?

Obviously I meant top 5 player in general.