****2012 NBA FINALS DISCUSSION THREAD****

[Sam Marlowe]

Re: ****2012 NBA FINALS DISCUSSION THREAD****

Wade should be matching or exceeding Westbrook's output. 17 points on 17 damn shot is unaccecptable. He should be in the mid to high 20's at worst. And people need to stop playing around with words. If your help isnt giving you enough production then you havent got enough of it. Saying, "LBJ has help but his help isnt palying well," is subtley dishonest.

[Drewski]

Wade should be matching or exceeding Westbrook's output. 17 points on 17 damn shot is unaccecptable. He should be in the mid to high 20's at worst. And people need to stop playing around with words. If your help isnt giving you enough production then you havent got enough of it. Saying, "LBJ has help but his help isnt palying well," is subtley dishonest.

It's not so much that he should be, its that he needs to. I don't see it happening, no one on the Heat can D Westbrook up. Just have to hope he makes poor decisions or goes cold, don't see Wade slowing Westbrook down or matching him offensively

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2

[ex carrabba fan]

Re: ****2012 NBA FINALS DISCUSSION THREAD****

Stephen A says Wade's knee is injured.. and I believe him.

I'd like to check 2nd half points for everyone on Miami outside of LBJ in game 1.

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: ****2012 NBA FINALS DISCUSSION THREAD****

See, I'm in the camp that thinks Wade CAN match WB offensively because he has proven that he can but he's been so damn inconsistent this year that it'd almost be a surprise if he did match him.

And people need to stop playing around with words. If your help isnt giving you enough production then you havent got enough of it. Saying, "LBJ has help but his help isnt palying well," is subtley dishonest.

How so?

If anything, saying he has no help is more dishonest because then you're implying that he has nobody else out there to help him aka Cleveland South. There's nothing dishonest about saying, "Well, he has help but his help isn't playing well" because that's the factual truth right there.

EDIT:

Also, Durant/WB scored 41 combined points in the 2nd half compared to the Heat's 40 points as a TEAM.

Like I said last night, classic case of role reversal for these two teams because OKC looked like the 1st half version of MIA in the 2nd half while MIA looked like the 1st half version of OKC.

[Trevytrev11]

Re: ****2012 NBA FINALS DISCUSSION THREAD****

Stephen A says Wade's knee is injured.. and I believe him.

I'd like to check 2nd half points for everyone on Miami outside of LBJ in game 1.

When is the last time Wade has been healthy in the playoffs? I know this time of year everyone is hurting, but it seems like he's every year he is always nursing some sort of injury. Was it his hip last year?

I also notice that he is always on the floor and while I'm not going to discredit a guy giving his all...some of it, IMO, is just him not being smart. A big part of his game is slashing to the basket and drawing contact and getting to the line, but when you continue to do this constantly going up against the other teams bigs, it's going to wear you down and lead to injuries. His style of play is a huge part of while he is constantly nursing some sort of bum body part.

I think he needs to learn how to play smarter and pace himself so that his body can handle the playoff grind.

On the other hand, I'm not a huge Wade fan and get annoyed by the constant begging for calls, so I have no problem if he can't contribute like he should.

[ex carrabba fan]

Re: ****2012 NBA FINALS DISCUSSION THREAD****

Just the type of guy he is, but that is what makes him who he is and what makes him great. Ala Allen Iverson.

So Clyde Drexler was on Sportscenter today, great personality, and he made the comment that LeBron is under-appreciated/underrated. Reason being is that he does things great so much and so consistently people take him for granted. I agree with that. Then he said LBJ guards the other team's best player every game...

LeBron did not guard Durant last night if I'm not mistaken.. I wonder when that switch happens

[Drewski]

Just the type of guy he is, but that is what makes him who he is and what makes him great. Ala Allen Iverson.

So Clyde Drexler was on Sportscenter today, great personality, and he made the comment that LeBron is under-appreciated/underrated. Reason being is that he does things great so much and so consistently people take him for granted. I agree with that. Then he said LBJ guards the other team's best player every game...

LeBron did not guard Durant last night if I'm not mistaken.. I wonder when that switch happens

There were a few possessions when he did I believe but Battier did the brunt of it.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2

[ex carrabba fan]

Re: ****2012 NBA FINALS DISCUSSION THREAD****

If it's close again, I would put LBJ on Durant to finish out the 4th quarter.. let Shane handle for the majority...

I know Durant checked LBJ for a majority of the game then OKC finished out with Thabo guarding LBJ... not a bad strategy

[stlpimpmonsta]

Re: ****2012 NBA FINALS DISCUSSION THREAD****

He guard him at times throughout the first 3 quarters

[Yeah...THAT Guy]

Re: ****2012 NBA FINALS DISCUSSION THREAD****

Just the type of guy he is, but that is what makes him who he is and what makes him great. Ala Allen Iverson.

So Clyde Drexler was on Sportscenter today, great personality, and he made the comment that LeBron is under-appreciated/underrated. Reason being is that he does things great so much and so consistently people take him for granted. I agree with that. Then he said LBJ guards the other team's best player every game...

LeBron did not guard Durant last night if I'm not mistaken.. I wonder when that switch happens

Agree that he's been under-appreciated. The clutch crap especially. He's nowhere near as bad as people make him out to be, and a lot of people here know I absolutely despise the guy. I don't know what it is, but he seems like he's changed a little bit. He seems a little more mature this year, and I'm starting to hate him less and appreciate what he brings to the game more.

And yeah, I think they HAVE to put LeBron on Durant. It will exhaust LeBron, but he needs to persevere if he wants to win the ring this year.

[Yeah...THAT Guy]

Re: ****2012 NBA FINALS DISCUSSION THREAD****

If it's close again, I would put LBJ on Durant to finish out the 4th quarter.. let Shane handle for the majority...

I know Durant checked LBJ for a majority of the game then OKC finished out with Thabo guarding LBJ... not a bad strategy

Did he? I saw Westbrook on LBJ a lot earlier in the game.

[Drewski]

Did he? I saw Westbrook on LBJ a lot earlier in the game.

Yeah, Thabo was checking LBJ, and I would have imagined that Bron would've muscled through him but Thabo did a solid job.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: ****2012 NBA FINALS DISCUSSION THREAD****

If it's close again, I would put LBJ on Durant to finish out the 4th quarter.. let Shane handle for the majority...

I know Durant checked LBJ for a majority of the game then OKC finished out with Thabo guarding LBJ... not a bad strategy

Borrowing a page from the Dallas Mavericks' playbook I see.

Makes more sense to rotate guys on him as opposed to keep one guy on him at all times.

[ZB9]

Re: ****2012 NBA FINALS DISCUSSION THREAD****

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/story/19342488/winning-wade-has-turned-into-whining-wade-and-heat-are-paying-the-price

"Winning Wade Has Turned Into Whining Wade"

OKLAHOMA CITY -- After the game, Dwyane Wade was meticulous. He buttoned up his dark purple shirt, nice and tight. Pulled a pair of crisp, checked slacks off a hanger to match his jacket. Wore a fat watch, black sneakers with white soles, and glasses with thick frames. After the game, Dwyane Wade cared very much how he looked.

During the game? It's like he doesn't care at all.

But he looks bad, and not merely from a statistical standpoint. I'm not talking about his shooting percentage or his turnovers. This isn't about points, rebounds or assists. It's not even about winning or losing, though Wade certainly didn't look good as he put the ball down in the final seconds and walked off the court, leaving behind four teammates and a scoreboard that showed the Oklahoma City Thunder beating his Miami Heat 105-94 on Tuesday night in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

The stat sheet showed Wade with 19 points, eight assists and four rebounds. That's a great game for most players, though not for one of Wade's stature. It's not necessarily a bad game for him, those final numbers, but it is a misleading game. Nineteen points? He needed 19 shots from the floor to get them, and he hit seven buckets all night -- and two of them came in the final minutes, the Thunder playing soft defense to avoid fouls, Wade taking points because they were easily given.

This game was like most of his games this postseason, in other words. With the exception of the final three games in the Eastern Conference semifinals against Indiana, those glorious games where Wade and LeBron James attacked without mercy, Wade has underachieved this postseason. He hasn't been anywhere near the guy who had four consecutive 30-point games in the 2006 NBA Finals against Dallas, or the guy who was brilliant in the 2011 NBA Finals, also against Dallas, as he tried to make up for James' poor play.

Wade will dismiss what I just wrote, of course. Hell, he already has. He seemed fine Tuesday night after the game, putting in his time behind the postgame podium, until I asked him why his play has been so erratic this postseason. Wade didn't like that, and soon he was sniffing out self-serving comments like: "I'm a winner. ... [I'm] not sitting up here worrying about scoring 30 points. I know that's going to make you guys [in the media] feel better. I'm all about winning."

Pity, because he almost got it right.

Dwyane Wade is all about whining.

Once upon a time, he was the most daring, the most fearless, the most ferocious player in the league. Wade's sneaker company made a series of commercials feasting off Wade's relentless style, showing him getting knocked to the floor and getting up, over and over and over. He looked like a cyborg back then, strong and stoic and unbreakable.

Now? He looks broken. Other than those final three games against the Pacers, after Wade rebounded brilliantly from his bizarre Game 3 -- he was 2 of 13 from the floor, scored five points, had five turnovers and walked menacingly into coach Erik Spoelstra's space during a sideline spat -- he has been ineffective for a player of his talent. He has looked listless. He starts slow and sometimes never finishes, riding the coattails of LeBron James into these 2012 NBA Finals.

Same thing happened Tuesday. James put up 30 points with nine rebounds, four assists and four steals, but Wade never got untracked -- getting easy assists on perimeter passing as his teammates were knocking down open jumpers, but never attacking the rim.

When nobody was around him, Wade would shoot with confidence. When a Oklahoma City defender would contest the shot, Wade conceded that he's not going to make it and tried to dupe referees into sending him to the foul line -- where he could shoot some more with nobody around him. Otherwise, he flailed his arms and kicked his legs and flopped to the floor, giving up on the shot before he even shot it, then wasting precious seconds staring at the nearest official in disbelief. How was that not a foul?

Meanwhile, Russell Westbrook is dunking at the other end.

The Thunder outscored the Heat 24-4 on fast-break points in Game 1, and there are many reasons for that. The Thunder are younger, smaller, quicker at most positions. They seek out transition points because they're fun and they're easy. And also, the Heat sometimes do a poor job of getting back. That falls on everyone, including Chris Bosh, who runs exceptionally well for a 6-foot-11 player but who was beaten down the court in the second quarter by old man Derek Fisher -- and Fisher was dribbling the ball -- for a layup in the second quarter.

But most of the time it was Wade who was the last player back, Wade who lagged behind on defense Tuesday night because he had flopped to the floor or worse, just stayed behind to stare down an official. These aren't the 2006 NBA Finals, and Wade isn't going to the foul line 16 times a game. Officials are onto Wade's act. Turns out, nobody gets drilled to the deck as often as Wade's sneaker commercials led us to believe. Officials have caught on. He's that little kid who cried wolf a bit too many times, and instead of getting too many calls, he probably doesn't get enough these days. That's the law of averages. It's justice, too.

Wade doesn't get it, of course. He's a winner, and he's all about winning, and nobody on his team is about to tell him otherwise. In the locker room, forward Shane Battier said it was the team's responsibility to put Wade into positions where he could be aggressive. At the podium, Spoelstra said the same thing.

On planet Earth, it's up to Dwyane Wade. Start attacking. Stop flopping. Life isn't a sneaker commercial, and even if it were, Wade is no longer the star.

But he is a diva.

[ex carrabba fan]

Re: ****2012 NBA FINALS DISCUSSION THREAD****

I thought it was Durant on LBJ to start, I know Thabo didn't get switched full time until the 4th quarter

I can't imagine WB would be assigned LBJ full time..