I expect Wade and LeBron to get around 42 mpg this series. At some point, one of those no-defense bench players that the Mavs have been relying on (Peja or JJ) will have to defend them. If Bosh isn't in foul trouble then expect him to play 40+ minutes as well.
NBA Finals Mavs vs. Heat. I feel like it's 2006 all over again. Oh the sweet memories of my fourth year in college.
Look if we're going to get real here, the only reason Bulls had the best record in the league was because Spurs pretty much tanked their last handful of games (besides the very last game) by only playing their bench, and they ended up losing a good majority of these games. They had more losses during this period than the whole season. The Bulls barely passed the Spurs with this in mind.
Blazers would've beaten the 76ers. Just a better team IMO. Lakers beat the Celtics. Lakers lacked chemistry but Boston had too many injuries and not enough bigs. Now Thunder and Bulls would have been a very entertaining series. It would've been close but I'd give the edge to Chicago's suffocating defense and better group of veterans. Disregarding regular season records, I'd rank the conference finalists like this: 1) Miami 2) Dallas 3) Chicago 4) OKC
Westbrook and Durant get to the line almost just as well as Lebron/Wade do. Do you mean you expect the trend from last series to continue or you expected it to go up a lot?
The Playoffs come down to matchups ALWAYS Tyson Chandler > Joel Anthony Tyson does really have an offensive role in this series so this match isnt crucial Dirk > Bosh The problem is that on given day bosh can score 30 to counteract dirks offensive production Marion <<<<<<<<<<<<<< Lebron This match up is the series breaker, dallas has absolutely nobody to check lebron, Lebron will dominate this series on the way to his 1st ring Stevenson <<<<< Wade However deshawn is a pesky defender and can at least stay in front of wade for select plays throughout the series Kidd > Bibby kidd will need to shoot well from 3 to give dallas a chance. Dallas Bench >>> Heat bench but with lebron and wade playing heavy minutes it will nullify the impact the dallas bench will have, also an ok performance from the key heat bench contributors is all it would take to put the heat over. Heat in 6 games
If you're trying to say the Spurs intentionally tanked, then I think you're flat out wrong. Their lead over the Lakers got down to only a couple games near the end, and I don't think they would have let that happen on purpose. Regardless, the Bulls won 62 games. Given their winning percentages against Eastern and Western teams, they might have done even better if they played in the Western conference. It's still a joke to say that playing the Blazers (who have a franchise guy with no knees), Lakers (dealing with whatever was bothering Gasol), and Thunder (with a PG who doesn't know when to stop shooting) is tough, while Philly, Boston, and Chicago is a "cake-walk."
I really love this post, and I also voted Heat in 6. Here's an interesting way to look at the series: Start with Hollinger's season-long PER stats. http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/statistics?seasontype=3&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnba%2fhollinger%2fstatistics%3fseasontype%3d3 Now observe the following: * Dirk is the highest rated player in the series * But he's followed closely by Lebron. * Miami has 3 of the top 15 PER people. Dallas has only 1. * But if you continue, Dallas has 6 players in the top 65, which is pretty incredible. Miami only has the big 3. Can balance win out? ... I doubt it, but I am actually going to watch.
Advantage here is for the Heat. Even if they go down 0-2, Wade and Haslem will just tell their teammates that they've been through that before. They won't lose spirit at any point in the series.
if dallas can keep it close in the first 3 quarters, then they have a chance. i know lebron has been able to knock down his shots down the stretch this playoff but lebron historically hasn't been a very good shooter and i really doubt he can keep hitting the clutch 3s and long pull-up jumpers forever. i'll take dirk's jumpers over lebron's any day in clutch situations. that said, the heat are the clear favorite to win the series.
Why the hell is the Finals on a Tuesday??? They should have games held on the weekends, sonofabitch on the days the games are one I have to work, ****!!!!
This is absolutely horrible. Dallas and Miami are BY FAR my two least favorite teams in the NBA right now. As crazy as it sounds, I'd give my left nut for the Lakers (my third least favorite team) to be the champions again this year if it meant Dallas or Miami wouldn't win a title (yes, I hate those two teams that much). I REALLY don't want to see Cuban win a title after all those years of non-stop winging and I REALLY don't wanna see Lebron win a title after...well...all those years of non-stop winging. I really don't know who to root against here. I'm actually almost as depressed now as when the Rockets got knocked out of the playoff chase.
KBerg_CBS Ken Berger Dwyane Wade ascends to interview stage and announces, without being asked, "I'm not hurt. Let's get that one out the way and move on." #NBA
