Around the NBA 8.0 (Playoffs Edition)

[heat4life]

With all fairness, LeBron didn't really get chewed until his last days in Cleveland and when he joined the Heat when the pressure to win was upon him. Before that, everyone would put the excuse that he needed more help, players hurt, he was still young, etc.

LeBron enjoyed a honeymoon period just as Durant is doing now. But like we all know it all comes to an end sooner or later. Durant, like LeBron, will have to make a decision soon whether he is going to win at OKC or somewhere else. IMO, this is his first year he will start feeling the pressure. It's on. He will get scrutinised if he gets eliminated early this season just like LeBron did at the end of his Cleveland days / early Heat days.

[FlashFlare]

With all fairness, LeBron didn't really get chewed until his last days in Cleveland and when he joined the Heat when the pressure to win was upon him. Before that, everyone will put the excuse that he needed more help, players hurt, he was still young, etc.

LeBron enjoyed a honeymoon period just as Durant is doing now. But like we all know, it all comes to and end sooner or later. Durant, like LeBron, will have to make a decision soon whether he is going to win at OKC or somewhere else. IMO, this is his first year he will start feeling the pressure. It's on. He will get scrutinised if he gets eliminated early this season just like LeBron did at the end of his Cleveland days / early Heat days.

LeBron endured a lot of criticsm for how he played in the '07 finals as a 22 year old. Not to the level of what he experienced later on, but definitely MORE than anything Durant's ever experienced. Actually, I don't recall any SIGNIFICANT criticism Durant's received.

It's always Westbrook this, Scott Brooks that... blah blah blah.

[Yaphet Kotto]

Spote="MiaFLSurf"]I think one of the two get eliminated tonight - I hope the Pacers do. The Thunder dont worry me. They wont make the Finals. And if they do, we will beat them - good matchup for us.

The Pacers - I want them out. They play like all stars vs us. Just get out.[/quote]
I agree.

This "slump" and piss poor chemistry will all fly out the window if they make it to US.

Hibbert will become Hibbert Abdul Olajuwon O'neal Chamberlain all of a sudden and they will feel rejuvenated in that they finally reached their goal of the Eastern finals with us with home court advantage.

I don't buy that this same core of players all of a sudden forgot how to play basketball, they will get over their infighting and chemistry issues if they start to see even a speck of light at the end of the tunnel.


**** them all, **** Vogel, and **** the horse they rode in on.

[PaulieWal]

BSPN analysts are picking the Pacers and OKC tonight to win. If anything that makes me feel better .

I think Pacers have a better chance at winning but I am not sure that OKC will win.

Tonight we are all Hawks and Grizzlies fans.

[heat4life]

With all fairness, LeBron didn't really get chewed until his last days in Cleveland and when he joined the Heat when the pressure to win was upon him. Before that, everyone will put the excuse that he needed more help, players hurt, he was still young, etc.

LeBron enjoyed a honeymoon period just as Durant is doing now. But like we all know, it all comes to and end sooner or later. Durant, like LeBron, will have to make a decision soon whether he is going to win at OKC or somewhere else. IMO, this is his first year he will start feeling the pressure. It's on. He will get scrutinised if he gets eliminated early this season just like LeBron did at the end of his Cleveland days / early Heat days.

LeBron endured a lot of criticsm for how he played in the '07 finals as a 22 year old. Not to the level of what he experienced later on, but definitely MORE than anything Durant's ever experienced. Actually, I don't recall any SIGNIFICANT criticism Durant's received.

It's always Westbrook this, Scott Brooks that... blah blah blah.

You don't remember correctly then. LeBron, at 22, was PRAISED for making it to the finals at such a young age. Everyone knew the Spurs were going to win that year. No shame on that. He was only 22 just like Durant was when he made it two seasons ago. That is when the pressure started to build for LeBron to make it and eventually had to leave Cleveland. Durant is only 25 and IMO, he is just reaching the point where LeBron was right before he came to Miami. LeBron started to get criticized when he couldn't beat those Celtics teams. Same is happening to Durant now.

I just think people forget that Durant is almost 5 years younger than LeBron. He is still growing as a player.

[IggieCC]

I agree. Too bad that LeBron looked like he was 35 years old in his early 20's.

It's disappointing, because at this age Lebron was being railed for losing in the playoffs. The media is far more sympathetic of "injury" excuses and being "too young". Lebron never seemed too young, he just seemed NBA ready from the beginning. Also, the dude just clearly had GOAT potential, and so people were constantly frustrated that this supposed GOAT-level guy kept getting bounced in the playoffs. No one thinks Durant is GOAT-level, all they've ever said (until this season) is that he's a phenomenal scorer.

I still think it's BS that he doesn't get more criticism, but I have faith in the media. If Durant loses in the first round now, and doesn't make the finals next year, he'll be hounded mercilessly, especially after winning an MVP. Expectations are only rising for him at this point.

[Vertical Limit]

I hope Kevin Ollie doesn't jump to the sinking ship that is the Lakers'. He should be a lifetime coach in UConn.

[Jon Connor]

I think the Pacers are gonna get manhandled and embarrassed but I have a bad feeling about the OKC game. I think KD is going to be super aggressive and physical and put up a huge game while the Thunder win by 10+. Hope i'm wrong though

[Phinsoverpats]

Lakers trying to get permission to talk to coach thibs, he wouldn't be a good fit on a west coast team unless it was the Memphis grizzlies

[MisterHibachi]

LeBron was getting **** on in the national media for not shaking hands with the Magic in 09. LeBron didn't shake hands with the Magic and didn't meet with the media after game 6. There were articles about David Stern weighing on the issue. LeBron got fined $25000 for that. Standard procedure for skipping media availability I'm sure, but there wouldn't be articles with David Stern statements and thoughts on any one else other than LeBron not shaking hands or skipping media availability.

Can you imagine Adam Silver being interviewed about Durant's sportsmanship or every major media putting out an article weighing on it while the NBA finals are going on.

[dr3am]

Your reading comprehension is awful lol

yeah you're {Heat_Fan_87} one of the few Heat fans that's been consistent all season long as far as not being scared to face anybody as I recall

No chance raptors win 4 games off us, but lowry is going to be a headache, a small fast guard thats playing at the top of his game. It will be entertaining.

Yea I agree man, Lowry is a lil pitbull & on top of that he likes to flop a lot too but it wouldn't surprise me at all if LeBron gets some time defending him. Judging by this series with against the Nets, IMO Lowry is the Raptors MVP. As much as I like DeRozan, Lowry is the engine that keeps that team going

[Mugiwara]

LOL some butthurt bulls fan threatened to bomb Gortat's country on Twitter..

[tweet]https://twitter.com/YM1Mando/status/458827192764342272[/tweet]

[dr3am]

BSPN analysts are picking the Pacers and OKC tonight to win. If anything that makes me feel better .

I think Pacers have a better chance at winning but I am not sure that OKC will win.

Tonight we are all Hawks and Grizzlies fans.

Idk about that one man. I think if anything OKC has a better chance at winning. All OKC needs really is efficient games from KD & Westbrook which is definitely possible. How bad the Grizzlies are at closing & their long droughts without scoring makes me really believe this series is going to all 7 games. Wouldn't mind being wrong but at the same time, like I said earlier I don't really care. OKC losing in the first round is just for entertainment purposes only. If OKC wins this series no sweat off my back because compared to the other teams out West, OKC is hands down the favorable matchup for us easily. They don't have anything that can exploit our weaknesses or push us to all 7 games

The Pacers on the other hand are kind of screwed once you think about it. They're a mentally fragile team & they showed it in Game 5. They thought the Hawks were just going to lay down & they would just easily walk to a win at home in Indy. One thing that i've learned from this series is that this Hawks team doesn't fear Indiana AT ALL. You can just tell by the way they play, they got that swagger to them. Pacers have historically sucked ass in the Philips Arena, they don't shoot well there at all & it took a bs 3 by West for them to win in Atlanta. I feel like if the Pacers were to win tonight they'll have to have big games from their whole starting 5. Roy Hibbert has got to show up tonight for the Pacers sake which is about like a 10% chance of happening. Not only has Hibbert forgot how to play basketball but the Hawks bigs do an excellent job bringing him out of the paint...I wouldn't rely on the Hawks winning a Game 7 in Indy but I really feel like Indiana is really getting eliminated tonight

[Phinsoverpats]

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-bas ... ng-balance a lottery pick for this coach? No way


I got a warning from the bulls mod for the above...I disagreed with some of them for thinking they deserve a lottery pick for a under 500. Playoff coach they still kinda of sensitive for getting beat in 5 in 3 of the last 4 playoff runs

[PaulieWal]

BSPN analysts are picking the Pacers and OKC tonight to win. If anything that makes me feel better .

I think Pacers have a better chance at winning but I am not sure that OKC will win.

Tonight we are all Hawks and Grizzlies fans.

Idk about that one man. I think if anything OKC has a better chance at winning. All OKC needs really is efficient games from KD & Westbrook which is definitely possible. How bad the Grizzlies are at closing & their long droughts without scoring makes me really believe this series is going to all 7 games. Wouldn't mind being wrong but at the same time, like I said earlier I don't really care. OKC losing in the first round is just for entertainment purposes only. If OKC wins this series no sweat off my back because compared to the other teams out West, OKC is hands down the favorable matchup for us easily. They don't have anything that can exploit our weaknesses or push us to all 7 games

The Pacers on the other hand are kind of screwed once you think about it. They're a mentally fragile team & they showed it in Game 5. They thought the Hawks were just going to lay down & they would just easily walk to a win at home in Indy. One thing that i've learned from this series is that this Hawks team doesn't fear Indiana AT ALL. You can just tell by the way they play, they got that swagger to them. Pacers have historically sucked ass in the Philips Arena, they don't shoot well there at all & it took a bs 3 by West for them to win in Atlanta. I feel like if the Pacers were to win tonight they'll have to have big games from their whole starting 5. Roy Hibbert has got to show up tonight for the Pacers sake which is about like a 10% chance of happening. Not only has Hibbert forgot how to play basketball but the Hawks bigs do an excellent job bringing him out of the paint...I wouldn't rely on the Hawks winning a Game 7 in Indy but I really feel like Indiana is really getting eliminated tonight

I hope you are right and that Pacers get eliminated for sure. Personally I wanna see both teams go fishing.

Yeah, Memphis is definitely a choker as a team. It's unreal how much Conley sucks and how bad Gasol/Zbo/Conley have been in late game situations with their missed FTs, layups and easy shots. If they were a good clutch team they would have won already. Game 4 was theirs. The irony is that Memphis was one of the best clutch teams in +/- during the RS but now they are choking every single game.

One thing I will say though is that I don't think KD and Russ are going to have efficient games. This Memphis defense is too good. One of them might go off but I don't think both of them will go off. Tonight we can all see how mentally tough these Pacers and OKC teams are.

One underrated thing about our team which nobody mentions when discussing us is how mentally tough this group is. Down 2-1 with no Bosh against Indy, down 3-2 against Boston, then game 7 against Pacers last year and games 6 and 7 against the Spurs. They may coast at times but we are a mentally tough team. Let's see if the Pacers and OKC are as well.

[PaulieWal]

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/24546751/on-tom-thibodeau-the-bulls-playoff-exit-and-scoring-balance a lottery pick for this coach? No way


I got a warning from the bulls mod for the above...I disagreed with some of them for thinking they deserve a lottery pick for a under 500. Playoff coach they still kinda of sensitive for getting beat in 5 in 3 of the last 4 playoff runs

You posted that on GB or Bulls board?

[Phinsoverpats]

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/24546751/on-tom-thibodeau-the-bulls-playoff-exit-and-scoring-balance a lottery pick for this coach? No way


I got a warning from the bulls mod for the above...I disagreed with some of them for thinking they deserve a lottery pick for a under 500. Playoff coach they still kinda of sensitive for getting beat in 5 in 3 of the last 4 playoff runs

You posted that on GB or Bulls board?

The bulls board I didn't think it was bad, some of them was just calling for him to be fired but now they want a lottery pick

[Scarface844]

Toronto is just flat-out garbage, period. They gave up 22 points lead in 6 minutes with a series of mind bogglingly idiotic plays. I don't think either team poses us much of a challenge in the next round.. I wish I could just push the skip button and move on to the ECF

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

[DivineFury]

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/24546751/on-tom-thibodeau-the-bulls-playoff-exit-and-scoring-balance a lottery pick for this coach? No way


I got a warning from the bulls mod for the above...I disagreed with some of them for thinking they deserve a lottery pick for a under 500. Playoff coach they still kinda of sensitive for getting beat in 5 in 3 of the last 4 playoff runs

You posted that on GB or Bulls board?

The bulls board I didn't think it was bad, some of them was just calling for him to be fired but now they want a lottery pick

Last time I was on the Bulls board to tell them they played a good series after we won, I think the comments were something like "MJ > LeChoke", "CHeat beat us", etc. I don't think going there after a loss is a good idea.

[Big NBA Fan]

Man, Mike D'Antoni is an even bigger quitter than Shaq.

Shaq quit on the Heat, but Mike D has quit on THREE teams in 6 years.

The Lakers made a terrible decision to hire him over Phil; it cost them Dwight Howard and it led to one of the worst seasons in franchise history.