NBA Playoffs Conference Finals Game Thread

HomeRunBaker

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jmcc5400 said:
I don't disagree HRB, but I had thought that Wade had lost a step this year.  The last couple of games have been vintage from him and he's looked, to my eyes, more explosive than at other points this season.  That's what I meant by "anomalous."  If that's who he still is, then Miami will be difficult to beat.   
That isn't who Wade is during the regular season anymore.....those games and his "work schedule" set by the Heat are to prepare and manage his knee problems so physically he's ready for these playoffs. However whenever he's been in the playoffs aside from last year when he was limping around he's as good as ever. What Wade has lost in his step he's gained with an increased knowledge of the game.

I don't expect him to go for 40 every night or shoot 75% from the field.....but I do expect him to always be one of the best players on the floor for the rest of these playoffs. I also expect him to have an off night like all players do now and then.
 

jon abbey

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BigSoxFan said:
OKC shooting 56% and Spurs are at 42%. And OKC's only up 4. Doesn't bode well for OKC in 2nd half.
 
Well, Westbrook couldn't have played much worse for the first 23 minutes and he may have woken up now, plus they haven't gotten much from Durant yet. Also Ginobili is unlikely to keep shooting like this, fingers crossed anyway. 
 

jon abbey

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Ibaka was incredible, I hope he can keep doing that. I've rarely seen Tony Parker play that poorly in a big game, wouldn't mind a few more of those either. 
 

jon abbey

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OKC has won 8 in a row at home now against the Spurs. Game 4 is going to be a war.
 

jon abbey

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Maybe it's counterintuitive for a team that just got outboarded that badly, but any chance Pop goes to Ginobili to start over Splitter to counter the Jackson move? Let Ibaka or Perkins try to guard Danny Green, see how they like that. 
 
Of course, then OKC can go to Fisher or Lamb for Perkins, and both teams can just keep getting smaller, I guess. 
 
The PG matchups out West continue to be fascinating, not just as I said one of the absolute worst big games I've ever seen Parker play start to finish, but also maybe the worst quarter and a half I've ever seen from Westbrook. He wasn't just missing in volume and throwing the ball all over the place, but his shots were mostly nowhere close, brick after thudding brick. I am one of his biggest fans, but a montage of that first 20 minutes (before he drew some fouls on more wild flings, hit FTs, clicked in and went batshit) would be amazing. 
 

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BigSoxFan said:
I've maintained that Reggie Jackson should be playing more for OKC. I still think that SA is a better team regardless but Reggie gives the Thunder a legit 3rd option. Surprised that it took Scotty so longer to figure this out.
 
Scott Brooks is still starting Kendrick Perkins.  Nothing that he does surprises me.
 
I agree though, Jackson needs to be more involved going forward. 
 

jon abbey

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So this covers seven games total, four regular season and three in this series:
 
"The Thunder have played nearly an identical amount of minutes against the Spurs with Serge Ibaka on and off the court if you combine the regular season and postseason. With Ibaka on the court -- OKC is outscoring the Spurs by 29 points and allowing just 93.0 points per 100 possessions. With Ibaka off the court -- the Thunder have been outscored by 44 points and they are giving up 122.6 points per 100."
 
http://espn.go.com/nba/dailydime/_/page/dime-140525/serge-ibaka-rescue-okc
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Lets hope that the finals are better than the (at least the East) semis.  Indiana needs to make some changes to this roster during the offseason.
 

ElUno20

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The game was long over by then.

Indy has an interesting off season ahead. Im not sure how you acquire motivation and passion but thats what they need.
 

jon abbey

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ElUno20 said:
Indy has an interesting off season ahead. Im not sure how you acquire motivation and passion but thats what they need.
 
Stephenson is going to be a huge loss also. 
 

CaptainLaddie

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I'll be honest: if you're a contender, do you want Stephenson?  He's talented for sure, but he's a total wild card.  And I get that there are guys like Westbrook out there like him, but Westbrook's a top 10 player.  Stephenson isn't.
 

jon abbey

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CaptainLaddie said:
I'll be honest: if you're a contender, do you want Stephenson?  He's talented for sure, but he's a total wild card.  And I get that there are guys like Westbrook out there like him, but Westbrook's a top 10 player.  Stephenson isn't.
 
It totally depends on the context, he is still only 23 and led the league in triple doubles this year. He isn't a top 10 player, but he is maybe top 25 and on the rise. 
 
It's maybe a little reminiscent of when Joe Johnson left Phoenix to sign with Atlanta, you don't want him as your main guy but he can be a huge asset to the right team as their 3rd/4th best player (Johnson was the #4 on a title-contending team behind Nash/Amare/Marion), and they can overpay him because they have rookie contract talent. Maybe Philly, for instance?
 
But no matter how good he is or isn't elsewhere, he will be a major loss for the Pacers, they have little enough youthful energy even with him. 
 

HomeRunBaker

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jon abbey said:
 
Stephenson is going to be a huge loss also. 
Yes! For a team in need of intensity, motivation and passion Lance is the one player who brings these qualities. Interesting off season for the Pacers indeed.
 

Brickowski

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Stephenson is a punk, but a very talented one. He'd be a handful for Stevens, but if a team could channel that energy it might really have something.
 

jon abbey

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ifmanis5 said:
He's also the guy who doomed them in this series by running his goddamn mouth.
 
He backed it up until last night, a lot more than you can say for most of the rest of the team. 
 

jon abbey

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It's easy to forget that Indiana had a real chance of going up 2-0 before Wade "accidentally" kicked George in the head. 
 

Nick Kaufman

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That's my problem with Stephenson's trash talking. If you re going to talk trash about the Heat, say that they re dirty floppers. It's got a ton of truth in it and that's where is a chance of getting into their heads.
 

Tony C

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You mean instead of being stupid he should double down and be even stupider? How about he just shuts up and accomplishes something rather than riling up some of the best players in the league?
 
I so want to root for the Pacers because of Bird...but they are very unlikable.
 

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CaptainLaddie said:
There's no point to even sugarcoating it.  He purposefully kicked George in the head.  Wade's a dirty player and should have been suspended at some point for his actions.
 
It's amazing to me how much of a pass the guy has gotten. I was at an event where the sound wasn't on, but his subtle little tug at Mahinmi's leg in game three as they were going down was very, very dangerous. They showed a replay, but I'd be surprised if any of the announcers actually called him out for it. It could have easily torn a muscle/ligament with the shift it caused in Mahimi's balance. I actually couldn't even tell it was Wade at first, but seeing the play I kind of assumed it had to be. Turns out it was. There was also the blatant tackle he had on Collison two years ago. Sprinted down the court and put his elbow right into the small of his back. Other than Artest, he's got to be up there with the dirty players of his age. At least Artest owns it.
 

jon abbey

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Yeah, I've pretty much rooted for Miami to win every playoff series since the Decision (sorry), but Wade is the dirtiest player since Laimbeer/Mahorn, I don't think there's any question about it at this point. I think he's even dirtier than Artest ever was, at least Artest did it in the name of physical defense, but Wade seems to be genuinely trying to hurt people. I have no idea why more players don't call him out on it, except that he is a genius at doing it subtly enough so that even many replays aren't totally conclusive. But the pattern is unmistakable, this piece is from a year ago:

http://www.cbssports.com/general/writer/gregg-doyel/22311531/way-of-wade-flopping-dirty-plays-for-the-win
 

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jon abbey said:
Yeah, I've pretty much rooted for Miami to win every playoff series since the Decision (sorry), but Wade is the dirtiest player since Laimbeer/Mahorn, I don't think there's any question about it at this point. I think he's even dirtier than Artest ever was, at least Artest did it in the name of physical defense, but Wade seems to be genuinely trying to hurt people. I have no idea why more players don't call him out on it, except that he is a genius at doing it subtly enough so that even many replays aren't totally conclusive. But the pattern is unmistakable, this piece is from a year ago:

http://www.cbssports.com/general/writer/gregg-doyel/22311531/way-of-wade-flopping-dirty-plays-for-the-win
You're dead on about Wade being the dirtiest player in the league. I gotta ask though: why have you rooted for Miami to win every series the last four years?
 

ElUno20

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Wade will forever getting a free pass from me for breaking kobes nose in an all star game. Sorry C fans. Thats an all timer for me
 

jon abbey

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BostonFan23 said:
You're dead on about Wade being the dirtiest player in the league. I gotta ask though: why have you rooted for Miami to win every series the last four years?
 
I have always rooted for LeBron, just as I rooted for Jordan back in the day when he wasn't playing my Knicks. He is a generational talent, one of the two best players in the 30+ years I've been following basketball (sorry Hakeem/Magic/Bird), and I want to see him play big games as much as I can as he does things that no one else has ever or maybe will ever be able to do. I have rooted for a MIA/OKC final for the last four seasons, I want to see LeBron and Durant and Westbrook and Wade push each other to new heights just like the Lakers and Celtics did back in the days of Magic and Bird. 
 

jon abbey

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And Westbrook, wow. That has to be up there with the highest energy from start to finish big games I've ever seen from anyone. He only sat out one minute before the very end, and he was a constant whirlwind of energy the entire time, end to end, side to side, he was everywhere. He has dominated Parker two games in a row now, I did not see that coming. 
 

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jon abbey said:
And Westbrook, wow. That has to be up there with the highest energy from start to finish big games I've ever seen from anyone. He only sat out one minute before the very end, and he was a constant whirlwind of energy the entire time, end to end, side to side, he was everywhere. He has dominated Parker two games in a row now, I did not see that coming. 
 
Russell has two modes: crazy hyper that is unproductive and crazy hyper that is productive. When he's in the former mode, he is embarrassing. When he is in the latter mode, he is amazing. Thankfully, he was crazy hyper in a good way tonight. And, like JA, I'm rooting for a Heat-Thunder final. If the Thunder are to win it all, I want them to win it against the best.
 

jon abbey

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BigSoxFan said:
We shall see. SA just needs to hold serve at home where they've been basically untouchable. 
 
I don't think it means much, but they lost both regular season games to OKC with Ibaka in there. It does look like game 5 is going to be the war now, though. Tonight certainly wasn't after the first quarter or so. 
 

jon abbey

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Birdman and Ray Allen both gametime decisions. Indiana should be embarrassed if they get knocked out at home without Birdman, Miami's only real inside presence. 
 

Nick Kaufman

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If anything there were a couple of cheap fouls against jamea, which is unusual. But if indiana cant beat miami under those circumstances, they completely deserve their fate.
 

HomeRunBaker

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BigSoxFan said:
What an easy path to the NBA Finals for these Heat every year.
They are so much the best it's silly.

Edit: The minute I post this they become disinterested and lose focus. Lazy passes and zero intensity.

Edit2: And just like that they refocus and dominate again on an 11-0 run.
 

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Every year, a Heat player with no range suddenly learns how to hit a few threes in the playoffs.
 

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