NBA Discussion Thread

[Varun]

Yeah, Dirk's the man. I'm rooting for Mavericks to win the playoffs.

 

[Varun]

It's the Heat vs the Mavs!

 

[-D-S-B-]

I could rant about that pathetic performance and how much I hate the Heat all day. Instead I'll just say Mavs in 5. That was pretty painful to watch, what's this bs they talking about on ESPN about the Heat defense being amazing today? The Mavs wont miss that many wide open shots again, no way. Carlisle was awful with his rotations I thought, which were good leading up to this game. I was yelling at him through my TV a few times. We'll be right come game 2 though. Woops I said I wouldn't rant...

 

[-D-S-B-]

WOW. 22-5 run to finish the game.
I cann't believe the question "Who is more clutch, Lebron or Dirk?" is even being asked, as if it was ever debatable. tweaking haappy!!!

 

[Varun]

Dallas! What a win. Dirk for the finals MVP.

 

[Deleted member 13648]

So gutted for Miami & LeBron. Hopefully 2012 will be their year.

 

[sohum]

Glad that LeBron didn't win a ring this year. Dude needs to learn some humility.

 

[-D-S-B-]

So gutted for Miami & LeBron. Hopefully 2012 will be their year.

Why?

I'm so happy for the Mavs, especially Kidd and Dirk, deserved it sooo much. It's it's the exact opposite for LeChoke, I'd be stoked if he died a choker and never has a Championship to his name. More than likely he will win one sometime soon but the Mavs showed people just how overrated he is. I haven't had the chance to watch game 6 yet mainly because of the death of a friend but hopefully I can catch a replay tonight.

 

[Deleted member 13648]

Because they're my team.

Also, saying the Mavs deserved to win and then saying LeBron 'choked' takes so much away from Dallas. I hope you understand this.

 

[Varun]

Well, it can't be denied that LeBron is a hall of famer, even if he lost. Mavericks and Dirk deserved to win this one, especially when LeBron didn't play as well in the finals as was expected.

 

[-D-S-B-]

Because they're my team.

Also, saying the Mavs deserved to win and then saying LeBron 'choked' takes so much away from Dallas. I hope you understand this.

Fair enough man, my best mate supports the Heat so there was a lot of banter over the finals and a bit of cash my way

Maybe choked wasn't the right word to use, because you don't really choke for a whole series. I do think he let the pressure get to him though, even though the main reason he didn't score as expected was definitely due to some great D on Stevenson, Marion etc part and faults of his own. The Heat's time will more likely come. Although more faults in LeBron's game have become apparent he's still a brilliant player and if the big three can realise their roles in the team and embrace them they'll be champs. I could never support LeBron James team, even if it really is Dwayne Wade's.

 

[Deleted member 13648]

Fair enough man, my best mate supports the Heat so there was a lot of banter over the finals and a bit of cash my way

Maybe choked wasn't the right word to use, because you don't really choke for a whole series. I do think he let the pressure get to him though, even though the main reason he didn't score as expected was definitely due to some great D on Stevenson, Marion etc part and faults of his own. The Heat's time will more likely come. Although more faults in LeBron's game have become apparent he's still a brilliant player and if the big three can realise their roles in the team and embrace them they'll be champs. I could never support LeBron James team, even if it really is Dwayne Wade's.

And that's what it boiled down to in the end. LeBron got chewed out by DWade in Game 4 I think in front of everything; team-mates, fans, MEDIA. I think LeBron just then made the sub-conscious decision to be incredibly passive. He's not used to being told he's made a mistake, I'll admit. This off-season hopefully he matures & finally begins to fulfil his incredible potential.

It begins by working, (or, developing, more to the point), on a low-post game.

 

[-D-S-B-]

I feel sorry for Chris Bosh a little bit (very little )
He was so humble and truthful after the game 6 loss and he was really cut up, then LeBron just comes across as he couldn't care less and he'd lost a game on 2k and says "fearsome tweak the Haters, I'm rich you're poor"

At the end of the day from a heat point of view it just didn't come together. Players didn't know their roles and it just didn't feel like team basketball in the finals. It's a matter of time and LeBron not being an arrogant cock. I mean as a Heat fan you must be pretty confident. The first year with the big three and you go down to a veteran team with the best bench in the league and the best 4th quarter and clutch player in the league, in the Finals, and the Heat have so much room for improvement.

It's also a matter of LeBron realising what his strengths are and having the confidence to go to them (Yes I thought he lacked confidence severely), and that's not fall away 3's

 

[Deleted member 13648]

Yeah, the next few years a huge for Miami. I'm hearing trade rumours that one of the Big 3 are to be traded; this could mean Bosh for a recognised, true Center. I've seen one in particular that Dwight is moving to Miami with Bosh going to Orlando, (telling you now that won't happen). It smarts a little of exaggeration from the media & beating the Heat when they're down. The fanbase will eventually fall in love with Miami, I'm sure. They're too exciting a basketball team not to be loved. Spoelstra just needs to mould an offense now in this off-season to compliment Wade & LeBron when they're on the court & not rely on isolation plays so often. 2012 is gonna be big. If the season isn't locked-out, that is,

 

[sohum]

The problem with the Heat is that their role players aren't up to scratch. A successful team always needs good role players. The injuries to Miller and Haslem didn't help, but they are very shallow after that. Compare that to the Mavs, who were able to put an experienced dude like Cardinal in in place of Peja who struggled in The Finals.

Next season, Miami only has 10 players guaranteed, 4 of whom are rookies/in the D-League. LeBron, Bosh, Wade, Miller, Haslem and Anthony. House and Big Z have player options--the rest are going to be free agents. What compounds their situation further is the fact that the new CBA is going to have a smaller hard salary cap. Their guaranteed payroll for next season is already in excess of $60m, whereas there have been talks of a hard salary cap in the $50-$55m range.

This is going to limit their ability to sign quality free agent role players, especially considering that they are likely to give Chalmers an extension (and Chalmers could command a pretty large contract given the way he played during the playoffs).

So they'll have to rely on trades, which sadly is not going to be huge for them because their roster is filled with old dudes who were abandoned by their former teams... Juwan Howard, Erick Dampier, Jamaal Magloire, Mike Bibby, Jerry Stackhouse, etc. If you wanted to make a 90s/early 2000s team maybe you would pick these dudes.