Official NBA Playoffs Thread

[DCZards]

still, if i was Spo i'd be livid. they blew a huge lead and then nearly blew the whole game. it came down to luck pretty much, if two calls went a different way (goaltending and final posession) then OKC would have won. and they were damn close calls.

people saying OKC can't win in Miami now, i disagree. Miami could have put them away this game by the 17 odd points they were leading by, and really smashed their spirits.

Spo livid? Are you kidding? He knows that it's hard to beat a good team like OKC on their home floor and that the Thunder were going to make a run at some point and wipe out that big lead. Spo is just thrilled (and relieved) that the Heat hung on and won the game.

But I agree that OKC can win in Miami. I expect them to win at least one of the three games there.

[nate33]

I think they're better off with less Perkins and more Collison. Put Ibaka and Collison on the court together. They both play help D and pick-and-roll D well. Ibaka swats shots, Collison takes charges. On offense, both of them can hit the 17-footer.

[FAH1223]

They should still start Perkins to keep the cohesiveness of the starting lineup but Collison needs to play close to 30 minutes. He is much better offensively than Perk and plays good D

[verbal8]

I found this image(from a yahoo story) amusing:

[mohammed10]

A couple of real tough breaks for OKC.

Miami got every close call. Lebron fouled Durant at the end. Battier banked in a key 3-pointer at a critical juncture. Durant uncharacteristically misses a few free throws. And Lebron uncharacteristically hits all of his.

Why did Serge Ibaka sit for about 15 consecutive minutes in the 2nd half?

This.

[TheKingOfVa360]

That was a bad reffed game but the Thunder need to stop starting in a deep hole. Also I didn't like that play on Durant's last shot, I would have rather it been a Westbrook/Durant pick and roll at the top of the key

[Higga]

Lebron gets away with a clear foul, shocker shocker...

[sfam]

I can't frickin believe I'm missing the finals. I don't get back to the US till like the 21st. So in watching the first two games, who do you think takes this thing right now?

[DCZards]

I can't frickin believe I'm missing the finals. I don't get back to the US till like the 21st. So in watching the first two games, who do you think takes this thing right now?

Your question is a good one, sfam. I'm pulling for the Heat but I'll be damn if I know who's going to win the series. OKC has the more balanced offense, the younger and fresher legs, and the elegant and awesome shooting and scoring of K. Durant. Miami has the NBA finals experience, the tough-mindedness and the world's best bball player in LeBron. Your bet is as good as mine as to who comes out on top...but it's been fun to watch so far. Sorry to hear you're missing it.

[sfam]

I can't frickin believe I'm missing the finals. I don't get back to the US till like the 21st. So in watching the first two games, who do you think takes this thing right now?

Your question is a good one, sfam. I'm pulling for the Heat but I'll be damn if I know who's going to win the series. OKC has the more balanced offense, the younger and fresher legs, and the elegant and awesome shooting and scoring of K. Durant. Miami has the NBA finals experience, the tough-mindedness and the world's best bball player in LeBron. Your bet is as good as mine as to who comes out on top...but it's been fun to watch so far. Sorry to hear you're missing it.

As a consolation prize, I did get to accidentally eat horse meat yesterday...

[I_Like_Dirt]

What the Heat figured out in game 2 is that the only bigs of theirs that should see floor time against the Thunder are Bosh and Haslem, and even Haslem shouldn't see much time. The rest of their bigs offer them little to no advantage defensively since none of the Thunder bigs can score much whereas they've got a bunch of swingmen who aren't great scorers but who can hit 3s. Going smaller basically means the Thunder either have to put one of their bigs (Collison, Perkins or Ibaka) on Lebron which would be a free throw parade or have one of them guard Battier in the corner which totally kills their defensive schemes.

The Thunder countered by giving Fisher, Sefolosha, Westbrook, Durant and Harden as much PT as they could and cutting back the PT for their bigs and were relatively successful at it. They tried their bigs but Collison got 3 fouls in under 15 minutes, Perkins got 3 fouls in under 20 minutes and was a -16 in that time, and Ibaka was a -15 in under 30 minutes. If the Heat continue to not play any big other than Bosh or Haslem and restrict even Haslem to ~15 mpg, the Thunder are going to have to try smallball to win the series, because Perkins, Collison and Ibaka aren't guys who are going to abuse guys like Bosh and Battier in the post or be able to shoot over them.

[queridiculo]

Except, that wasn't really the big story. Joel Anthony played 2 minutes in the first game of the series, and the big man rotation was pretty much the same in game 2.

They did however play a 3 guard lineup for good portion of the game which made dribble penetration a whole lot tougher for the athletic OKC backcourt.

The big take away to me is the intensity level of the Thunder to start games. They did this on a number of occasions against the Spurs, and it played out in the same fashion against the Heat in games 1 and 2.

That said, much of what happened in game 2 seems like fools gold to me.

I simply don't see Battier continuing to shoot 3s at a 70% clip and he's been their only reliable scoring option outside of Wade and James. I also don't see this complete reversal of freethrow shooting percentage to last beyond this game.

My money is on OKC winning games 3 and 4, bringing it back to Oklahoma with two shots to take the title.

[I_Like_Dirt]

As you said, the Thunder have had an intensity problem to start games for a long time now. I'm not convinced it's something that's showing any signs of changing any time soon. Even if they come out like gangbusters in game 3, everybody will be wondering if they won't come out flat in game 4.

That said, they've come out flat against the Heat two games now playing 2 bigs against 1 and while Anthony only played 2 minutes in game 1, Haslem played 29. That's 31 minutes with guys who really aren't a good fit against the Thunder and an immense talent dropoff from Bosh. They went from 62 minutes to their bigs in game 1 down to 56 in game 2, and Bosh was clearly regaining his form and went from a relatively ineffective 33 minutes to a much more effective 40 minutes in game 2.

This is still going to be a close series, but game 1 wasn't necessarily the harbinger of things to come that people might think. With Bosh working his way back from injury and the Heat having to play lesser players to try and compensate, there's a reason why the Thunder comeback was much more successful in game 1 than in game 2. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the series unfolds.

[montestewart]

I've missed the beginning of both games, so I come in and find them down but holding, to come back in the second half. Since I'm rooting for OKC, it makes for some exciting viewing.

At the half, Wilbon guaranteed (in so many words) that the Heat would win, in his usual no accountability way. More than anything else, I wanted the Thunder to pull it out just so he'd be wrong. Again.

[DCZards]

My money is on OKC winning games 3 and 4, bringing it back to Oklahoma with two shots to take the title.

You're betting that OKC will win the next two in Miami? That's a bold statement. I'd like a piece of that action.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Miami's coach made some key adjustments after game one. In game two Eric Spoelstra started Bosh instead of Haslem as he did in game one. Bosh was huge for Miami and he ended up playing around 40 minutes. Bosh had 15 rebounds. No other player for either team had more than 8. He also shot well. OKC didn't see that in game one. Other adjustments were that Spoelstra gave James and Wade more rest in game 2. Lebron almost played the whole game in game one, but like Wade in game two he played about 4 less minutes. Spoelstra stuck with Chalmers and Battier in the rotation with the other starters and they each played 40-42 minutes. What I really liked and thought Spoelstra should do is give Jones more time than Miller, because Miller is hurting and not mobile enough to contribute. He did that in game two. Also, I thought Cole could give them quality minutes after not playing in game one. Sure enough in game two Spoelstra used Cole to relieve Chalmers and Wade spot minutes here and there. All these moves and adjustments payed big dividend for Miami. The Heat got off to a very hot start and they had enough energy at the end to withstand OKC's come back.

It is still a very exciting series that is up for grabs, but Miami has to be happy about getting the split and having three games at home now. I predicted Miami would win the championship and I am sticking with that call but this is far from over.

The Thunder did not get anything from Perkins offensively or from Ibaka on the glass. Ibaka needs to rebound better and not just block shots. Perkins needs to score a bit or he is hurting the team when cross matched up with Battier, who is making threes. Westbrook shot 10-26 while Ibaka, Perkins, Sefolosha, and Fisher COMBINED only went 4-20. Scott Brooks has to realize Miami might be game planning to have Westbrook shoot the Thunder out of the game. Westbrook needs to get others involved more and shoot less, especially early. Scott Brooks might need to get Harden to sub in earlier if they fall behind at the start in game 3, or he can come with Fisher so long as he is given instructions to let the offense go through Durant. Also, Collison can give them more activity as far as cutting to the basket than Perkins. I believe he would cover Battier on the perimeter better. Brooks has some things he will need to adjust with his line up, but even with all this said OKC is right there with Miami.

It is a very interesting, exciting series that I hope won't be decided by officiating.

[dobrojim]

I've missed the beginning of both games, so I come in and find them down but holding, to come back in the second half. Since I'm rooting for OKC, it makes for some exciting viewing.

At the half, Wilbon guaranteed (in so many words) that the Heat would win, in his usual no accountability way. More than anything else, I wanted the Thunder to pull it out just so he'd be wrong. Again.

if he did politics, he'd have to change his name to Bill Kristol. If he was a banker,
it would be Alan Greenspan.

[dobrojim]

[snip]

It is a very interesting, exciting series that I hope won't be decided by officiating.

Like game 2 was? That was a foul on LaBron vs Durant at the end.
Durant should have had 2 FTs to tie. Then MIA should have had the
ball with the chance to win.

[hands11]

For as talented as Westbrook is, he can be very frustrating at times.

[hands11]

Wow. OKC is choking down the stretch.