2012 NBA Playoffs!

Frank Reynolds said:

Who is going to check Russell Westbrook? LeBron? Then have Shane permanently on Durant?

Thabo/Harden is going to all but neutralize Wade.

Add in Fishers veteran presence and shot making ability.

Durant vs James edge has to go to Durant's shooting.

Ibaka will swarm Bosh. He can check Bosh all over the court. Perkins delivers the hard blows.

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I would think Wade guards Westbrook when it matters, Battier on Harden, and LeBron on Durant.

Durant vs. LeBron goes to whoever gets points more efficiently and gets others involved in the game, if Durant is handling the ball a lot.

Ibaka is not a good on-ball defender. Did you see how many times he went for a block on his man tonight when the guy pump faked and then went right around him? Bosh loves the pumpfake and drive move. I would play Collison a lot on Bosh (Perkins is probably too slow) and use Ibaka for what he's good for, protecting the rim on help defense. If you put Ibaka on Bosh, first of all I think Bosh schools him one on one, and second of all if he helps off of Bosh then Bosh gets wide open shots. Put him on Joel Anthony and let him roam.

Northstar said:

I read an opinion elsewhere that the Heat would do better against the Thunder than the Spurs. The person's reasoning was that LeBron would get up for games vs. Durant, whereas he would coast against Kawhi Leonard.

Thoughts on that assessment? I sort of agree with it... whenever LeBron plays against top tier competition in an individual matchup, he plays with a lot more energy and intensity, or at least it seems that way. Against the Mavs and Spurs in the Finals, he went against Bowen and Marion. Neither of those players would be a matchup LeBron would be excited for, and he seemingly almost sleptwalk through many parts of those games. Maybe playing the Spurs again would have that same effect on him for whatever reason.

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Thoughts? Guy's a pussy.

Frank Reynolds said:

Who is going to check Russell Westbrook? LeBron? Then have Shane permanently on Durant?

Thabo/Harden is going to all but neutralize Wade.

Add in Fishers veteran presence and shot making ability.

Durant vs James edge has to go to Durant's shooting.

Ibaka will swarm Bosh. He can check Bosh all over the court. Perkins delivers the hard blows.

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I like your thinking!

Northstar said:

I read an opinion elsewhere that the Heat would do better against the Thunder than the Spurs. The person's reasoning was that LeBron would get up for games vs. Durant, whereas he would coast against Kawhi Leonard.

Thoughts on that assessment? I sort of agree with it... whenever LeBron plays against top tier competition in an individual matchup, he plays with a lot more energy and intensity, or at least it seems that way. Against the Mavs and Spurs in the Finals, he went against Bowen and Marion. Neither of those players would be a matchup LeBron would be excited for, and he seemingly almost sleptwalk through many parts of those games. Maybe playing the Spurs again would have that same effect on him for whatever reason.

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I highly disagree with that. It just doesn't add up. The only argument I'd even buy a sliver of is that it's slightly better because Durant is going to have to spend that much energy guarding LeBron, whereas Bowen and Marion weren't asked to be offensive playmakers(well, moreso with Bowen than Marion...Marion just punked LeBron on both ends).

brownindian said:

Miami Stands a chance ... dont forget the extra Miami players on the field who wear the white and black stripe jerseys ...

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On the field? They taking this one out to the baseball diamond?

I think the thunder will struggle against the Heat because Bosh will be back by the time that game is played, and i think defensively the heat are a better team. I also think Leonard would have a better chance physically against lebron, even though the refs will call every foul lebrons way. Boston is the last best hope to derail the ESPN train, and that hope is slim when the Miami refs will be calling it entirely Wades way.

So reactionary. The Thunder aren't in the finals yet and neither are the Heat.

CleveRocks said:

I also think Leonard would have a better chance physically against lebron,

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I can promise you that Lebron wants absolutely no part of chasing Kevin Durant around for 7 games.

Leonard presents zero offensive threat, and will allow Lebron to rest on defense and save his energy for offense.

If he tries that against Durant, he will have 40 dropped on him ever night and the Thunder will roll.

Durant may be less physical than Leonard, but it is such a tougher match-up for Lebron in terms of the energy he will have to expend guarding him every night.

Dwyane Wade is NOT going to be able to check Westbrook!

I am definitely assuming OKC wins the WCF prematurely. Their home crowd is going to be INTENSE, the likes of which we haven't seen. That alone might get them emotionally over the hump in game 6.

It would have been bad if Miami got to face San Antonio in the finals. With a healthy Bosh and Duncan playing like shit, Miami might have done what OKC just did to them: run them into the ground and use their youth to beat up on the old guys. That would be a favorable matchup for Miami.

Now the path is going to be infinitely harder for the LePrincesses to get theirs. OKC has big time heart and that seriously can't be underestimated in a tense finals series.

It's a bad match up for Wade. If he ends up guarding Russell Westbrook, you might as well call the nursing home and reserve this bitch a bed! He'll need it come July.

Frank Reynolds said:

Dwyane Wade is NOT going to be able to check Westbrook!

I am definitely assuming OKC wins the WCF prematurely. Their home crowd is going to be INTENSE, the likes of which we haven't seen. That alone might get them emotionally over the hump in game 6.

It would have been bad if Miami got to face San Antonio in the finals. With a healthy Bosh and Duncan playing like shit, Miami might have done what OKC just did to them: run them into the ground and use their youth to beat up on the old guys. That would be a favorable matchup for Miami.

Now the path is going to be infinitely harder for the LePrincesses to get theirs. OKC has big time heart and that seriously can't be underestimated in a tense finals series.

It's a bad match up for Wade. If he ends up guarding Russell Westbrook, you might as well call the nursing home and reserve this bitch a bed! He'll need it come July.

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I pray to Hashem that you are right.

Reach said:

Wonder what skip bayless is thinking right now...

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What is, "Things that should never be uttered"

Tornicade said:

Theres been plenty of time lebron has passed off to a guy not because it was the basketball play but to make the guy "prove" himself to lebron.

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Im pretty sure this is not true, but you're entitled to your opinion....even if it goes against practically everything James has said and done since his time at SVSM.

cafemerald said:

Because he is a pussy. He doesn't trust his teammates. He defers when the game is on the line so he doesn't have to take the blame.

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Seeing as he gets the blame ANYWAY, i find that hard to believe. Plus he's taken more than enough potential gw shot to disprove that. Assuming (and thats a big assumption) what you say is true and he doesnt trust his teammates he'd be in good company as both Kobe and Michael had to develop the ability to trust their teammates.

cafemerald said:

Jay_em, read this portion of Tornicade's post and then watch the last possession of regulation of Game 4. Tornicade's post fits LBJ to a tee. The left side was cleared out for LeBron to attack... instead he goes right... and is met by every single fucking player of the Celtics. I highly doubt that Spo drew up that play so LeBron could defer to Haslem. That play was definitely drawn so LeBron could go left and attack the rim.

Why do I know this? Because if Spo wanted LeBron to defer to the cleared out left side, he wouldn't have put Haslem there. He would have had a shooter cut across further out where the Boston zone wouldn't have been able to close on him in time. Instead Haslem was there for a relatively close jumper that Boston was easily able to close on him and make it so his shot was heavily contested.

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You are absolutely correct. The left side was cleared out and that may have been the original design of the play. However unlike game 2 where the Celtics played straight up, and as mentioned KG cheated off Haslem and was waiting for James at the elbow on that left side for James, so he went away from the extra defender but to complicate matters Chalmers ran toward James bringing Dooling into the picture. If he didnt get his hand in there, James may very well have made a clean pass to an open Haslem.

Basketball coaches draw up plays with more than one option to them and yet (since their not playing against air) sometimes the defense does their job and makes players improvise, deviate from the original design.

Sports Guy said on his podcast that in addition to Wade having his knee drained there is talk he took a cortisone shot during the Indiana series. That would help to explain why he looked so good for a few games and is now slowly regressing to old man status.

Have to say, when LeBron hooked his wagon to D Whistle he sure didn't seem to think about how quickly Wade could breakdown. It's not like this was unexpected.

I will say that LeBron made the right play by passing the ball. The Celtics just made the better play by suffocating him and not even giving him a chance to shoot the ball. I don't blame him for that one.

Haslem is actually very consistent from a couple feet in front of that area, but I think he choked. Doubt the play was designed for him.

James Harden has eternal swag. That is all.