Heat are 48-4 with Birdman

[sisibilio]

Fair enough. But the OP seems to be hyping Birdman up too much. If the Pacers stop double teaming whoever drives into the paint Birdman would stop scoring in a heartbeat.

Almost all of Miami's points depend on a double team allowing an open layup or open 3. Their offense is so predictable but the problem is that they get away with a lot of moving screens which force defensive switches and double teams.

Yesterday the refs did a decent job of calling Haslem and Bosh for moving screens though

No, the problem is if you don't double LeBron he'll be the one scoring pretty much every time.
And a ouple of his baskets weren't that easy.


biiiiiirdman

[Chosen01]

Exactly, Anderson would not be getting all these open layups if it wasn't for LeBron or Wade driving to the rim and getting double teamed.

Anyone can make wide open layups.

That may be true, but there are guys who can't catch the ball or elevate enough to finish once they have the ball in their hands. I am thinking of these two players in particular:





Birdman is perfect for Miami. High-energy, athletic, knows how to get in position for easy hoops. And he has the right personality for the team, too.

Fair enough. But the OP seems to be hyping Birdman up too much. If the Pacers stop double teaming whoever drives into the paint Birdman would stop scoring in a heartbeat.

Almost all of Miami's points depend on a double team allowing an open layup or open 3. Their offense is so predictable but the problem is that they get away with a lot of moving screens which force defensive switches and double teams.

Yesterday the refs did a decent job of calling Haslem and Bosh for moving screens though

It's a pick your poison, either you let LeBron and Wade drive to basket with no secondary attention and allow them to have much higher opportunity to score and or draw fouls or give Birdman easy buckets.

Hibbert is always worried about trying to block whoever drives that he completely forgets about Birdman, he will FEAST this series if that trend continues.

[sisibilio]

You forgot Udonis Haslem's picture. The guy is a walking turnover under the basket because all his layups get blocked or come up short.

True, true. Man, he really isn't what he used to be. Sad to see. They need a replacement for him next year. Actually, they need 2 decent bigs and I cant see anyone stopping them.

At least Haslem can still do that basic dive to the hoop down the middle, catch the pass and dunk. Anthony and Asik may have trouble completing that play.

If he could still hit that mid range shot around 45% as he used to do it wouldn't mind that he lost a step but 39% in the last 2 seasons is not good.



Yes, he's "smiling"

[22haytham22]

He kept them in the game yesterday. Its amazing how good a big can be next to Lebron if he can just catch a pass and drunk in traffic.

Exactly, Anderson would not be getting all these open layups if it wasn't for LeBron or Wade driving to the rim and getting double teamed.

Anyone can make wide open layups. Anderson has no offensive game otherwise. His jump shot is horrendous and he has no hook shot either.

LeBron made Anderson Varejao look like a top 15 power forward. How's Varajao doing now?

He's still a beast

[abark]

He kept them in the game yesterday. Its amazing how good a big can be next to Lebron if he can just catch a pass and drunk in traffic.

Exactly, Anderson would not be getting all these open layups if it wasn't for LeBron or Wade driving to the rim and getting double teamed.

Anyone can make wide open layups. Anderson has no offensive game otherwise. His jump shot is horrendous and he has no hook shot either.

LeBron made Anderson Varejao look like a top 15 power forward. How's Varajao doing now?

Are you even aware how dominant Andy was this year? He was getting 14/14/3.5. He was a top 5 center. He might be the only player Lebrons played with that got significantly after playing with him.

[HotRocks34]

You forgot Udonis Haslem's picture. The guy is a walking turnover under the basket because all his layups get blocked or come up short.

True, true. Man, he really isn't what he used to be. Sad to see. They need a replacement for him next year. Actually, they need 2 decent bigs and I cant see anyone stopping them.

At least Haslem can still do that basic dive to the hoop down the middle, catch the pass and dunk. Anthony and Asik may have trouble completing that play.

Yes, he's "smiling"

Well, at least he has heard it said recently that OKC isn't going to amnesty him.

[NZB2323]

He kept them in the game yesterday. Its amazing how good a big can be next to Lebron if he can just catch a pass and drunk in traffic.

Exactly, Anderson would not be getting all these open layups if it wasn't for LeBron or Wade driving to the rim and getting double teamed.

Anyone can make wide open layups. Anderson has no offensive game otherwise. His jump shot is horrendous and he has no hook shot either.

LeBron made Anderson Varejao look like a top 15 power forward. How's Varajao doing now?

Averaging 14 and 14 before the injury while being one of the best defensive big men in the game. He's definitely a top 15 power forward while healthy.

[sp6r=underrated]

They have been very impressive since he joined by Miami but their record is deceptive. They have been extremely lucky in close games since he joined the club. Their point differential over this stretch is +10.98 which is nothing like the 75 win pace their record looks like.

I'm sure people are going to get outraged by calling it luck but one of the most established facts statisticians have shown in basketball and all sports is that winning close games is more luck than skill.

The Heat are playing great but their level of play is well below 48-4. You need to be winning games by an average of 15+ to be in that range.

[Kibago]

he should probably play 20 minutes a game instead of 15, but he'd decline pretty quick after that.
perfect energy big for a contending team and the Miami FO deserves props for picking him.

[BurningBridges]

He kept them in the game yesterday. Its amazing how good a big can be next to Lebron if he can just catch a pass and drunk in traffic.

Exactly, Anderson would not be getting all these open layups if it wasn't for LeBron or Wade driving to the rim and getting double teamed.

Anyone can make wide open layups. Anderson has no offensive game otherwise. His jump shot is horrendous and he has no hook shot either.

LeBron made Anderson Varejao look like a top 15 power forward. How's Varajao doing now?

Are you even aware how dominant Andy was this year? He was getting 14/14/3.5. He was a top 5 center. He might be the only player Lebrons played with that got significantly after playing with him.

Well at the age of 34, Birdman's time is running out. So is 40 year old Ray Allen's time. Looks like the Heat will need to shop for some more ring chasers after this season or reactivate their AARP membership

[BurningBridges]

He kept them in the game yesterday. Its amazing how good a big can be next to Lebron if he can just catch a pass and drunk in traffic.

Exactly, Anderson would not be getting all these open layups if it wasn't for LeBron or Wade driving to the rim and getting double teamed.

Anyone can make wide open layups. Anderson has no offensive game otherwise. His jump shot is horrendous and he has no hook shot either.

LeBron made Anderson Varejao look like a top 15 power forward. How's Varajao doing now?

He's still a beast

That may be so but Varejao >>>>>>>>> Birdman
Birdman made some nice blocks here and there but he will not score 15+ points on uncontested layups the next game

[BurningBridges]

That may be true, but there are guys who can't catch the ball or elevate enough to finish once they have the ball in their hands. I am thinking of these two players in particular:





Birdman is perfect for Miami. High-energy, athletic, knows how to get in position for easy hoops. And he has the right personality for the team, too.

Fair enough. But the OP seems to be hyping Birdman up too much. If the Pacers stop double teaming whoever drives into the paint Birdman would stop scoring in a heartbeat.

Almost all of Miami's points depend on a double team allowing an open layup or open 3. Their offense is so predictable but the problem is that they get away with a lot of moving screens which force defensive switches and double teams.

Yesterday the refs did a decent job of calling Haslem and Bosh for moving screens though

It's a pick your poison, either you let LeBron and Wade drive to basket with no secondary attention and allow them to have much higher opportunity to score and or draw fouls or give Birdman easy buckets.

Hibbert is always worried about trying to block whoever drives that he completely forgets about Birdman, he will FEAST this series if that trend continues.

Better to force Wade or LeBron into a contested layup (and not fall for their pump fakes or flops) then give Birdman a wide open layup

[BurningBridges]

He kept them in the game yesterday. Its amazing how good a big can be next to Lebron if he can just catch a pass and drunk in traffic.

Exactly, Anderson would not be getting all these open layups if it wasn't for LeBron or Wade driving to the rim and getting double teamed.

Anyone can make wide open layups. Anderson has no offensive game otherwise. His jump shot is horrendous and he has no hook shot either.

LeBron made Anderson Varejao look like a top 15 power forward. How's Varajao doing now?

Are you even aware how dominant Andy was this year? He was getting 14/14/3.5. He was a top 5 center. He might be the only player Lebrons played with that got significantly after playing with him.

Oh and how is JJ Hickson doing or better yet Big Z?

[mopper8]

They have been very impressive since he joined by Miami but their record is deceptive. They have been extremely lucky in close games since he joined the club. Their point differential over this stretch is +10.77 which is nothing like the 75 win pace their record looks like.

I'm sure people are going to get outraged by calling it luck but one of the most established facts statisticians have shown in basketball and all sports is that winning close games is more luck than skill.

The Heat are playing great but their level of play is well below 48-4. You need to be winning games by an average of 15+ to be in that range.

They are 51-5 in their last 56 (reg season and postseason). In that stretch they've played 13 games that were decided by 5 points or less, and gone 11-2 in those games. Assume the following: games with a MOV over 5 are outside of mere statistical variance (I think a defensible proposition), and games within 5 points are essentially random (I think less defensible, but still). That means at worst they've "truly" been a 46-10 team over that stretch. That's a win % better than all but 5 teams have been able to put up for an entire season in NBA history. You say they're MOV is "only" 10.77 as if there are more than 5 teams in NBA history who have done better than that for an entire season, but of course, there aren't.

Even if 11-2 is over performing in those situations, it's still not obvious that 6-7 or 7-6 should be their "true" record. They're also better than every team they've played in those situations. If their "true" record is closer to 9-4 in those situations, you're talking about only 2 extra wins over that stretch. Maybe 3. Still a ~70 win pace. Saying they haven't really been playing at a 75 win pace, it's more like a 68-71 win pace, isn't saying much at all. That still puts them in the territory of best team of all time.

[AshyLarry]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLbBnlTNZa8[/youtube]

[andremcosta]

He kept them in the game yesterday. Its amazing how good a big can be next to Lebron if he can just catch a pass and drunk in traffic.

Exactly, Anderson would not be getting all these open layups if it wasn't for LeBron or Wade driving to the rim and getting double teamed.

Anyone can make wide open layups.

That may be true, but there are guys who can't catch the ball or elevate enough to finish once they have the ball in their hands. I am thinking of these two players in particular:





Birdman is perfect for Miami. High-energy, athletic, knows how to get in position for easy hoops. And he has the right personality for the team, too.

I was saying that before the first ring.

Anthony wasn't able to dunk a ball alone, so every Heat possession was 4x5. The defense could double Lebron and still there was no open man.

[HotRocks34]

I was saying that before the first ring.

Anthony wasn't able to dunk a ball alone, so every Heat possession was 4x5. The defense could double Lebron and still there was no open man.

Yeah it was bad.

I think now might be the best time to beat Miami. If they win another ring, they should be able to attract a couple of ring-chasing bigs to shore up their frontline rotation. If that gets better, I think they will be almost impossible to stop.

[sp6r=underrated]

They have been very impressive since he joined by Miami but their record is deceptive. They have been extremely lucky in close games since he joined the club. Their point differential over this stretch is +10.77 which is nothing like the 75 win pace their record looks like.

I'm sure people are going to get outraged by calling it luck but one of the most established facts statisticians have shown in basketball and all sports is that winning close games is more luck than skill.

The Heat are playing great but their level of play is well below 48-4. You need to be winning games by an average of 15+ to be in that range.

They are 51-5 in their last 56 (reg season and postseason). In that stretch they've played 13 games that were decided by 5 points or less, and gone 11-2 in those games. Assume the following: games with a MOV over 5 are outside of mere statistical variance (I think a defensible proposition), and games within 5 points are essentially random (I think less defensible, but still). That means at worst they've "truly" been a 46-10 team over that stretch. That's a win % better than all but 5 teams have been able to put up for an entire season in NBA history. You say they're MOV is "only" 10.77 as if there are more than 5 teams in NBA history who have done better than that for an entire season, but of course, there aren't.

First, read the first sentence "have been very impressive". Did you need me to write two full paragraphs of hozannas to get the written fellatio out of the way? Are you guys that insecure?

Second, focusing on a team's best stretch in comparison to other team's full season is very unfair. Here are the champs since 05 over 50+ games by point differential. Disclosure, I'm just scanning through the records. I am not going to spend 3 hours per team calculating the best 56 game stretch I can find. I am making good faith effort here.

05 Spurs (39-11, +10.96) 1st 50 of season
06 Heat (36-15, +4.06) start 1/27 goes into beginning of ECF
07 Spurs (42-14, +9.89) starts 12/2
08 Celtics (41-9, +10.4) through the 1st 50
09 Lakers (48-10, +8.66) through 1st 58
10 Lakers (42-13, +6.84) 1st 55
11 Mavericks (42-13 +6.56) 1/22-through WCF
12 Heat (39-14, +7.08) 1st 53

Out of the last 8 NBA champions, 2 of them have had comparable stretches to what the Heat have (within .5): 05 Spurs and 08 Celtics. If you factor in SRS the 07 Spurs and 09 Lakers are pretty close as well. They crush the 06 Heat, 10 Lakers, 11 Mavs and 12 Heat.

Basically by point differential half of the last 8 champs had similar stretches as the 13 Heat.

[7legion77]

I really enjoy his style.

He looks good in HD

[gordito]

He kept them in the game yesterday. Its amazing how good a big can be next to Lebron if he can just catch a pass and drunk in traffic.

LeBron made Anderson Varejao look like a top 15 power forward. How's Varajao doing now?

He's doing pretty well actually and was having a career year before he got injured.

But Lebron used to give him wide open layups. Now Varejao has to work harder for his points, thus the injuries.