1st rd Playoff prediction thread.... for playoff prediction superiority guys.

He_Needs_More_Time said:

doogsinparadise said:

Tequila, it's cool that you read Zach Lowe's columns, but you're really going to bet against Lebron going for the three peat? Heat are just as set up to beat Indiana (trapping D, threes) as Indiana is set up to beat Miami. Heat in 6.

Bosh was turrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrible last year against the Pacers. Perhaps he plays that terrible again who knows? However, if he's knocking down open jumpers then the Pacers are in trouble.

Also last year Wade was limping into the ECF while he's been tan, rested and ready for all this time off that Spoelstra gave him not to mention these quick series.

Also Hibbert averaged 23 and 10 in last years playoffs against Miami. Is he capable of doing that? Sure. Given the way he's been playing I doubt it though.

Agree with Doogsinparadise. Not to mention Miami might be worse than last year but Lebron is somehow better than last year so Miami is more scary.

I think the problem with Wade was made clear in todays game.

He is still a good player. But he doesn't have any gravity now. (I heard someone use that referring to Dirks "gravity" and loved it. It's basically just how you pull other the defenders who aren't guarding you towards you.) He cant get to the rim anymore. He can get close to it for a little flip shot. But that's about it. He can get his points with that, cuts and mid range jumpers. But he's not creating open looks for other players. If anything I think going to him kind of bogs Miami down. He'll score so it doesn't kill them but the ball movement dies when he isos. And to many of his possessions end with him pump faking, the defender not biting and Miami scrambling for a shot at the end of the shot clock.

He also kills their spacing. I think that was a big reason Spoelstra went with Battier. If you have Haslam and Wade on the court that offense isn't nearly as dynamic. Against a defense like Indiana that's brutal.

I also wouldn't agree that Lebron is better. I think he's topped out. Defensively he's a lot worse. He basically took the year off on that end and I haven't seen him turn it back on for more than a few minutes at a time. He used to be a terror and was everywhere all the time. I don't see that now. Maybe he's tired, maybe it's just really hard to turn that back on, I don't know.

I'd still pick Miami if my life depended on it. But I think it's very interesting the Indiana blew them out. Last year Indiana wasn't good enough to do that. And you could feel it in the games. It never felt like they could run away from Miami. Being able to do that now is a big deal.

Pressing Tequilla. Indiana shot very well yesterday. 107 points is a great game for them.

They don't have 4 of the best 5 player either. Hibbert was a disaster in the first round. David West is good, but averaged 14 and 7 for the season. Chris Bosh is kind of soft, but he's as good as those guys. He sacrifices a lot playing for Miami. He's a 20 a game guy on a lot of teams.

RoadDawg55 said:

Pressing Tequilla. Indiana shot very well yesterday. 107 points is a great game for them.

They don't have 4 of the best 5 player either. Hibbert was a disaster in the first round. David West is good, but averaged 14 and 7 for the season. Chris Bosh is kind of soft, but he's as good as those guys. He sacrifices a lot playing for Miami. He's a 20 a game guy on a lot of teams.

If Hibbert's trying he's better than Bosh.

Big IF, I understand. But what Hibbert can do defensively is greater than anything Bosh can do.

I agree Bosh is probably right around David West, that's fair.

And I love Paul George, but LeBron is significantly better than Indiana's best player.

Miami should still win, but Indy having home court makes it interesting. If Indy wins game 2, look out.