Eastern Conference Finals (Playoff): Chicago Bulls(1) Vs Miami Heats(2)

Barring injuries or a CBA that crushes the MLE and LLE the 2013 Heat team is going to be much better so we can have that comparison then. This is the first year of this creation and odds are it is only going to get worse.

 

Derek Rose has had a very poor playoffs. I'm not saying he isn't a good player but like Durant he needs way more experience. What bothers me is his playoffs numbers are actually atrocious but the commentators are still pretty lax on their criticism of him. If this was Dirk or Yao or some other foreign player he'd be made fun of ridiculed to no end

 

Agreed. Should the expected happen and these two meet, it will be a great series. Both teams are playing their best ball right now.

 

Were you upset in 2008 when the Celtics won?

 

Also one about the Cavs making the playoffs. In fact, I had a bet with YaoZow over that one (he thought the Cavs would have a better record than the Heat too) but he welched on it.

 

shot 37% in the first round. shot 45% in the 2nd round (boosted by that 16-27 performance in game 3). and now shooting 36% vs the heat. he is shooting 26% from 3s overall.

rose has shot over 50% TWO TIMES in the playoffs (that's 2 out of 15 games). he has shot under 40% SIX times in the playoffs.

easily one of the ugliest playoffs run by an MVP winner, or superstar in general.

 

This has to be a joke. Dallas hasn't faced a team with near the defense of either Chicago or Miami; let's see how well Dirk "closes" against one of them (if in fact the game is "close"). I really like the way Dallas is playing and think the Finals will be epic, but Miami (assuming they get there) will be the rightful favorite.

 

Read that Bosh is shooting 70% for the series, is that really true?

 

If only they had Gay instead of Lebron or Wade. They would sweep the Mavs

 

Again, didn't Daryl Morey use advanced stats to tell him that this Heat team was only gonna win 45 games or so? Now they're on the verge of advancing to the NBA Finals. Looks like Morey's data was pretty flawed.

 

Miami's defense of Nowitzki is going to be real interesting. Not only do they have Bosh and Haslem to throw at him, but my guess is James is going to get a lot of time defending Dirk when Miami goes small. And if Nowitzki has switch and guard James on the other end, that could be trouble for Dallas.

 

This is a different Dirk.

McGrady in 2004 could guard Dirk, Haslem in 2006 could do numbers on Dirk.

This year Dirk has been slowed down by no one. Not all-stars like Aldridge, not all stars like Gasol, not long and athletic defenders like Ibaka, not physical defenders like Collison.

If Bosh was guarding Nowitzki, he would average 50 a game. Their best bet is Lebron and Haslem, but I doubt Haslem could affect Dirk much at all. As for Lebron, he might have a chance, yet at the same time Dirk could put him in foul trouble. Not to mention, Lebron will be expending ALOT of energy trying to stop Dirk.

 

Aldridge did a pretty good job on Dirk. So did the Heat when they faced the Mavs this year (although the Mavs did win both games). Dirk isn't really the problem-- he's gonna get his points. What the Heat have to ensure is that the Mavs don't go crazy from 3. IMO the best strategy would be to let Dirk get his points against single-coverage; he might average 25-30ppg against Anthony/Haslem/Bosh but the Heat can more than adequately shut everyone else down. Conversely, I'm not sure who the Mavs have that can guard LBJ+Wade, since there's only one Marion.

 

I would think that Corey Brewer's playing time might be upped against Miami.

 

You could be right. The Heat are playing some superb defense right now, as are the Mavs. But Nowitzki's playing like a man on a mission. This should be fun.

 

I think Rose is burnt out. His productivity really dropped off from the regular season.

 

Some cool facts and quotes from the game:

LBJ has 15 35-6-6 game in the postseason. Next on the list among active players? Kobe with 8, Shaq with 4.

Tonight was LeBron's 40th playoff game with 30+ points. He's only played 84 playoff games

Derrick Rose: "It's hard when a 6-8 guy can easily guard you"

Stat gurus covering this series marveled at Miller's plus-36, meaning the Heat outscored the Bulls 69-33 when he was on the court. It's the second-highest plus-minus figure among all players in this postseason, trailing only Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki's plus-37 during Game 4 as the Mavericks closed out a series sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers.

 

How about the Laker team with Kobe, Shaq, Payton, and Karl Malone?

 

in the regular season he wasn't checked by lebron james. lebron james is doing what hakeem did to robinson to rose. i feel sorry for him.

 

Can we finally put the name "LeBrick" to rest?