Bulls bench is awfully drecky. I think they should have re signed Nate to give them some scoring punch. They are going to have to make a move or two. Gibson is a good back up big guy, and Dunleavy is a decent spot up shooter, but only going 8 deep is going to hurt them.
I think they'll be alright. Thibs has always played his starters big minutes and you only need 8 guys for the playoffs.
They looked like a team that hasn't played together tonight and that's not going to get it done agains the Heat. None of these guys played with Rose last season, I don't think Rose and Butler have ever played together and Dunleavy is a new addition. They also lacked a little intensity tonight, I thought. For whatever reason.
Lebron is 11-3 in closeout games the last three years.
He's also 5-1 the last three years when facing elimination.
When I said best closer in the game that's not necessarily down the stretch but more in big games.
The NBA is pretty simple. The best player is going to win the title. I'll keep betting on Lebron when he's going up against the Rose and George led teams.
No argument that Lebron hasn't played great in big games. We are just defining closer differently.
I do think its worth noting that while playing great in elimination games is nice, avoiding those games and taking care of business in 6 or earlier is better.
That's the biggest problem for the Heat. They have an "on" and "off" switch. It burned them against Dallas. It SHOULD have burned them against the Spurs.
I haven't seen a team use the "on" and "off" switch this much since Shaq/Kobe's Lakers in 2000-2002. When they were playing at their best nobody could touch them yet they allowed themselves to get battled in series.
While Michael always had an "on" switch which is why he never allowed his Bulls when they were in their title run to be in that situation.
Lebron is 11-3 in closeout games the last three years.
He's also 5-1 the last three years when facing elimination.
When I said best closer in the game that's not necessarily down the stretch but more in big games.
The NBA is pretty simple. The best player is going to win the title. I'll keep betting on Lebron when he's going up against the Rose and George led teams.
No argument that Lebron hasn't played great in big games. We are just defining closer differently.
I do think its worth noting that while playing great in elimination games is nice, avoiding those games and taking care of business in 6 or earlier is better.
That's the biggest problem for the Heat. They have an "on" and "off" switch. It burned them against Dallas. It SHOULD have burned them against the Spurs.
I haven't seen a team use the "on" and "off" switch this much since Shaq/Kobe's Lakers in 2000-2002. When they were playing at their best nobody could touch them yet they allowed themselves to get battled in series.
While Michael always had an "on" switch which is why he never allowed his Bulls when they were in their title run to be in that situation.
They do have a little bit of an on/off switch, but part of the problem was Wade was injured and Bosh disappeared in last year's finals. Duncan fucking destroyed Bosh who is truly one of the biggest pussies in the NBA. Wade is still a very good player, but by the end of last year, he was struggling. When he isn't explosive, he hurts the Heat's spacing because he's not a very good shooter. I think the Heat's problem was just as much not having a true second all star than an on/off switch.
Almost every NBA champion had a second all star other than the '94 Rockets and Dallas, and both those teams had great role players. The Heat have good role players, but their frontcourt is thin, and without Wade at full strength, it was a struggle. LeBron deserves a lot of credit for winning a title with the team he had last year.
The Heat's big Achilles heal is the play of Mario Chalmers. The guy just murders them in every game. Sure he can hit three's but he always plays so stupid.
The Heat have a major on/off switch which was evident in today's Heat-76ers game. Wade already missing games isn't a good sign.
Last year at least they had a Mike Miller who can fill in. This year they have nobody who can fill in for an injured Wade.
The Heat's big Achilles heal is the play of Mario Chalmers. The guy just murders them in every game. Sure he can hit three's but he always plays so stupid.
The Heat have a major on/off switch which was evident in today's Heat-76ers game. Wade already missing games isn't a good sign.
Last year at least they had a Mike Miller who can fill in. This year they have nobody who can fill in for an injured Wade.
The thing about Chalmers is that he can have great games. When that Chalmers shows up they are basically unbeatable. But I agree, he's a stupid player. They can't play Norris Cole 30 minutes a night though. I like Cole but he's not a big minutes guy.
The Wade thing is a big deal. No Wade or even Wade not playing at a high level is going to be asking a lot of Lebron. He could drag them to 55 wins but they'll wear him out. I mean Rashard Lewis was giving them minutes tonight. You can't put that workload on him after the minutes he's played the last few years. Not to mention that you'll be asking Jesus and Battier to do more. Ray's 38 and Battier might as well be with the way he plays.
The Heat's big Achilles heal is the play of Mario Chalmers. The guy just murders them in every game. Sure he can hit three's but he always plays so stupid.
The Heat have a major on/off switch which was evident in today's Heat-76ers game. Wade already missing games isn't a good sign.
Last year at least they had a Mike Miller who can fill in. This year they have nobody who can fill in for an injured Wade.
The thing about Chalmers is that he can have great games. When that Chalmers shows up they are basically unbeatable. But I agree, he's a stupid player. They can't play Norris Cole 30 minutes a night though. I like Cole but he's not a big minutes guy.
The Wade thing is a big deal. No Wade or even Wade not playing at a high level is going to be asking a lot of Lebron. He could drag them to 55 wins but they'll wear him out. I mean Rashard Lewis was giving them minutes tonight. You can't put that workload on him after the minutes he's played the last few years. Not to mention that you'll be asking Jesus and Battier to do more. Ray's 38 and Battier might as well be with the way he plays.
I wasn't suggesting they go with Cole just stating Chalmers inconsistency is a problem especially if Wade can't go or is what we saw in last postseason.
At least last year when Wade couldn't go they had a capable player in Mike Miller filling in. Now they have George Mason.
I think Spol recognizes the grind of a possible 4th straight appearance in the finals so he's going to lose some battles to win the war. I think anyone predicting Miami as a #1 seed didn't think it out.
Comments
They looked like a team that hasn't played together tonight and that's not going to get it done agains the Heat. None of these guys played with Rose last season, I don't think Rose and Butler have ever played together and Dunleavy is a new addition. They also lacked a little intensity tonight, I thought. For whatever reason.
I haven't seen a team use the "on" and "off" switch this much since Shaq/Kobe's Lakers in 2000-2002. When they were playing at their best nobody could touch them yet they allowed themselves to get battled in series.
While Michael always had an "on" switch which is why he never allowed his Bulls when they were in their title run to be in that situation.
Almost every NBA champion had a second all star other than the '94 Rockets and Dallas, and both those teams had great role players. The Heat have good role players, but their frontcourt is thin, and without Wade at full strength, it was a struggle. LeBron deserves a lot of credit for winning a title with the team he had last year.
The Heat have a major on/off switch which was evident in today's Heat-76ers game. Wade already missing games isn't a good sign.
Last year at least they had a Mike Miller who can fill in. This year they have nobody who can fill in for an injured Wade.
The Wade thing is a big deal. No Wade or even Wade not playing at a high level is going to be asking a lot of Lebron. He could drag them to 55 wins but they'll wear him out. I mean Rashard Lewis was giving them minutes tonight. You can't put that workload on him after the minutes he's played the last few years. Not to mention that you'll be asking Jesus and Battier to do more. Ray's 38 and Battier might as well be with the way he plays.
At least last year when Wade couldn't go they had a capable player in Mike Miller filling in. Now they have George Mason.
I think Spol recognizes the grind of a possible 4th straight appearance in the finals so he's going to lose some battles to win the war. I think anyone predicting Miami as a #1 seed didn't think it out.