<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Bosh on the difference between the Spurs and Heat's playoff runs: “The Eastern Conference is a bit of a shorter road."</p>— Joseph Goodman (@JoeGoodmanJr) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeGoodmanJr/statuses/473529698975510528">June 2, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Bingo You can tell which fans are from out of state. They just don't understand Texans. Tho, I could NEVER root for Dallas. Mainly because Dallas is technically south Oklahoma and they really really suck.
Initially, my gut reaction was Spurs in 7 and that's what I went with in the poll, but the more I think about it, the more I think Miami has a better chance than I first thought to 3peat. I don't think the Spurs are going to have a ft advantage in every single game like they did last year. I also don't think Miami is going to set a record for fewest fta in a 7 game series in history as they did during the Finals in 2013. Danny Green isn't going to be setting a record for most 3 pointers made in game 5 of a 7 game series either. I don't think LBJ and DWade, who looks healthy unlike last year, are only going to bring their jumpshots with them for one game in the entire series as well. Miami should be able to learn some things from what Dallas did against the Spurs in round 1 this year. If San Antonio had problems stopping Monta Ellis, it's going to be difficult for them to slow down LeBron and a healthy Wade. However, SA is deeper and I believe better than last year and has HCA advantage. The Spurs haven't faced a team that can play defense like Miami while the Heat haven't played a team with the ball movement of San Antonio. I think both coaches will slightly shorten their rotations and it will be a pretty even series decided by a few big plays down the stretch like last year. As of right now, I'm going to cautiously stick with Spurs in 7, but I'm starting to lean towards Miami in 6 or 7.
Funny thing is, many Rockets "fans" cheering for SA claimed to not reside in Texas. This thread and this one... Spoiler http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=255117 People actually claiming we're not rivals because we haven't matched up in the playoffs in over 20 years. Utterly laughable. I mentioned in one of these threads that maybe it's more of an anti-MIA/LeBron thing. People using that excuse "HATE the Heat more than they LOVE the Rockets". Similar to a twisted baby-mama who "hates dad more than she loves the kids"... it's disgusting and you all should be ashamed. There's nothing wrong with respecting SA and liking their style, but it's anti-Rockets/Olajuwon to cheer for them. I'm born and raised in Texas and have probably seen more Texas than anyone here. If you want Duncan and Co to retire, let them retire with zero more rings. F*** the Spurs
You sound insecure here. Who cares if Duncan gets another ring as long as Hakeem is the greatest center in your eyes? Rooting for Duncan to fail for that reason just sounds like sour grapes to me. Lame.. I'll just enjoy my NBA playoffs without fighting useless battles.
I hope and pray Spurs can win it all, it is all great as long as Miami doesn't get another one. But I am afraid they may 3peat in 6 games... Hope I am wrong
100% this. Unrelated, and don't know if it's been mentioned anywhere yet, but I saw a pretty crazy factoid this morning: The Spurs have never played an NBA Finals game while being behind in the series. I did not check to see if true.
Unless you have a way to check the IPS on this board, you have zero idea where people are actually from. All you can go by is where they *claim* to be from, and even then just because they live in Texas now doesnt mean they are a Texan. There IS a difference.
There is an insider article that lists finals trends based on historical stats/regular season & playoff performance. It's title is "All Signs Point to a Spurs Win". It makes a strong argument. ALL of those trends and stats point to the Spurs. The Spurs played to an 8 game advantage over the Heat in a much tougher conference. 7 of the Spurs last 8 wins have featured garbage time 4th quarters. The only exception was IN OKC in a close-out, with all of Oklahoma's horses playing. Talk about coasting all you want, about Wade resting, then look at the number of games Parker & Leonard missed - not a significant difference from what Wade did. The Spurs are a better team than last year, and the Heat are not as good. Not because of how this player or that player is performing, or because the addition or subtraction of specific elements, but because the numbers and games say so. The Spurs are simply dominating their competition, and have been doing so since the All Star Break. The Spurs have performed better against tougher competition than the Heat. They are the better team. In March; the only game since the finals played with both teams basically full complements available, the Spurs beat the Heat soundly (pretty much as they have beaten every team since the all-star break). IF PARKER can play starter's minutes, the Spurs will win this series. I suspect it will be a routine WWLWW scenario; dropping the first game in Miami after two comfortable wins at home. IF Parker is significantly hobbled, I still like the Spur's chances, but it becomes more of a toss-up.
Death, Taxes, and the Spurs’ Real Talent http://grantland.com/the-triangle/death-taxes-and-the-spurs-real-talent/ “We’ve got four more to win,” said Tim Duncan to TNT and NBA.com’s David Aldridge. “We’ll do it this time.” For a player and a team whose popular identity is that of a franchise that does all of its talking on the court, I think this is as close as they have ever come to talking trash. At the age of 38, and after 16 years of ending dynasties and knocking back flashier, younger, more telegenic challengers, I would say it’s about time. I mean, it’s not “Fo, fo, fo,” but it’s a decent start. Death, taxes, and the Spurs — there is something simultaneously inspiring and disheartening about San Antonio. A sustained brilliance, sustained sooooo long as to take on an air of inevitability. It’s some combination of the sun setting in the west and student loans. Gregg Popovich and R.C. Buford have molded the Spurs into something that could fairly be called a culture. The irresistible grind of the years, the entropy and egoism that pull apart so many successful teams, just washes off the team’s back through some mix of humility, smart management, and talent amplification. The team essentially has no bad players. This season, the Spurs had seven players who played more than 1,000 minutes and logged an above–league average PER. (The only other team with that many players playing that many minutes at a PER above 15 is the Dallas Mavericks, so perhaps it wasn’t a surprise that they took the Spurs to seven.) With Duncan as the engine, Pop has taken unheralded, borderline-unknown players and bulldozed a league MVP and the most exciting point guard in this dimension of reality into an offseason of bewilderment and regret. The Spurs started Matt Bonner; used Patty Mills, Cory Joseph, and a dash of Marco Belinelli to cover the loss of Tony Freaking Parker (!!!); had the Rubenesque Boris Diaw play havoc with the Thunder’s breathtaking athleticism; and beat the Thunder in six games. Diaw and Bonner, in particular, are perfect examples of Pop’s ability to maximize the effectiveness of his players in ways that seem, at a glance, counterintuitive. Bonner is basically a one-tool dude mostly known for sandwiches, and Diaw is an extremely skilled fat guy; their ability to stretch the floor on offense was obvious, and yet they also shrunk it on defense. Replacing Tiago Splitter with Diaw or Bonner meant an extra player around the perimeter, providing a bulwark against the Thunder’s devastating ability to gallop off in a cloud of dust off Spurs makes, misses, and turnovers. Game 4 fast-break points: Thunder 21, Spurs 0. Games 5 and 6 combined: Thunder 20, Spurs 23. Matt Bonner, Cory Joseph, Boris Diaw, and Patty Mills: This is the banality of excellence. Popovich is famously curt and borderline dickish with the media, but honestly, for the good of the human race and the game of basketball, he should be required to do five-hour interviews once a week explaining how they do this. So, why disheartening? Because the answer to how you get that good is probably the most boring, most milquetoast, most go-to-school-for-accounting answer there is: practice. Digression: When I was taking guitar lessons as a kid, I’d want to buy every book and video that explained a certain technique or harmonic theory, thinking they would turn me into Wes Montgomery. Every one of those books and videos basically boiled down to one thing: Here’s the technique, now go practice. Natural talent and inspiration are intoxicating ideas; Russell Westbrook blasting down the court and attacking the rim like basketball wronged him is a sight to see, and the kid in you wants that to be enough. Sometimes it is. But more often than not, the real talent is in the ability to handle the boredom of running through the scale, or the play, or the drill, again and again, hours a day, week after week, for 16 years. So on that one summer weekend toward the end of the line, you can say, “We’ll do it this time,” as if the “it” were pouring a glass of milk and not winning an NBA championship.
Reasons I'm rooting for the Spurs over Miami in no particular order- I hate the "super friends" trend and strongly dislike the Heat, Lebron, and Wade. I love the Spurs style of team/motion basketball and want the Rockets to see how effective it is and adopt it. The Spurs are a Texas team. As a 46 year old athlete, I take great joy in watching oldsters whipping up on whippersnappers. Don't want to see Miami 3peat.
We are about to assemble a big three. Why are superteams the primary cause of hatred for Miami? Because other teams aren't able to do it, and we're the closest to making that happen. IT's just pure jealousy it seems.
It's one thing to assemble it through careful planning, asset stockpiling, shrewd trades (i.e. the lowry for guaranteed lottery pick trade), and effort during free agency (how many quality free agents turned down Morey's recruiting and ipads before we got dwight?), and another thing for 3 superstars in their primes to decide they want to dominate the league together and then just pick a city/team.
What is the difference between a GM deciding or players? I thought free agents could wherever they chose for any reason.
There is no difference between the two. The end result is Miami has 2, maybe 3 championships and 4 straight trip to the finals. We have first round exits. The ends justify the means, and I know every single Rockets fan wouldn't bat an eye if LeBron/Wade/Bosh had done the same thing and instead picked Houston. So let's build that superteam. I don't care how we do it, I just want it done.
The difference is that there's perceived work and effort in the former case, and obviously overcoming resistance (the other 29 teams arent giving you anything for free or enter into any agreements that they think wouldn't benefit them). In the latter case, it's just 3 free agents who can come together because they happen to be superstars in the same draft class and had their contracts expire at the same time. As you mention, they were free to choose whereever and nobody could prevent them from coming together. It's human nature to enjoy seeing hard work and effort rewarded, and it's human nature to root for the underdog.
Would you rather become a CEO of a Fortune 500 company after putting in 40 years of grueling menial work, combating health problems, a failed marriage, and falling victim to the drink. Or would you rather press a button and become CEO the next day, no effort expended. Pretty clear what I'd pick. We live for what 70-80 years on this Earth. Why make your life harder?
