Dallas has pushed the game into a full on half court battle, containing the open court exceptionally well. He might be the greatest transition player ever, but he's like a deer in the headlights in a half court game, he really doesn't know what to do to on the offense to make himself effective
Here is a Haslem Fact, about how much he rejected to be on this Miami team. "Reportedly, both the Mavericks and Nuggets offered him a 5-year, $30 million deal, which is about $10 million more than the Heat are paying him"
you realize pretty much every team lebron has ever been on has been a halfcourt, walk it up team, right?
And those teams were regular season warriors, the moment he ran into a playoff team that knew how to limit his supreme athleticism and force it into a half court game he lost.
He seemed to do pretty well in all those series where he was basically THE only offense worth noting. He also did pretty well in the first three series which were all basically half-court games. Wade is simply kicking it into another gear... which is currently better than Lebron. Nothing wrong with that. Part of the reason why Lebron wanted to play with more talented players, so he wouldn't have to be the only offensive weapon every night. Miami is just more talented, and Dallas is lucky they're not down 3-0 right now. The real question is, will Miami try to make itself even BETTER by getting a big man who can actually play like one (moving Bosh and pieces for Howard?) If they stay as is, they won't be a crazy dynasty (just like the 2006 Heat weren't)... but if they get a real big man, its over.
I guess the end result box score has been close, but Miami has been up by double digits, at multiple times even, in EVERY game this series. I'm sure they can hold off a Mavs comeback at least once. Dallas is clearly overmatched here. Even Game 2 showed the Mavs were overmatched.
At least we got to watch Lebron be great for three rounds of the playoffs. That's more than we got last year when he was in Cleveland. Now we also get to watch Wade make it past the first round again. I think it was a far greater cheat to fans to watch two great players go home early every year because they were stuck with guys like Mo Williams or Mike Beasley as #2 options.
Lebron has been doubled every time he's tried to post up in this series. He's also being guarded by the Mavs best perimeter defender. In addition, they're packing the paint trying to keep him and Wade out. To say that the defensive attention isn't on him just shows your level of ignorance.
Why, when that someone else clearly has the matchup advatnage? What's hilarious to me is how often folks can bash LeBron for doing the smart thing, which would be the right thing in most situations. Yes, folks would often say it's smart to go with the best matchup advantage on the basketball court, especially when it is clearly working. Yes, folks would often say it's smart to put yourself in the best position when it comes to work. Yes, folks would often say it's smart for a young stud to want to live in Miami instead of Cleveland. Yes, folks would often say it's smart to want to work with your best friend. Etc....
This reminds me of the movie with Al Pacino, Scent of a Woman, where a kid is faced with a dilemma of whether he should snitch on three troublemakers to the dean in which he would receive a free pass to Harvard OR remain silent and keep his integrity by not selling himself to buy a future. The kid chose to remain silent and the whole auditorium of kids applauded. If this was a metaphor, LeBron would have snitched. And got his easy way to Harvard.
Meh I am not convinced that LBJ is capable of leading a team to this stage. He did the smart thing by piggybacking. Boobie Gibson got them there in '07 and this is DWade's team.
Dallas always finds a way to get into a hole and last night, couldn't come out of it...if they would just play smart all 4 quarters, they'd be up 3-0...one of the few times Dirk couldn't make a shot...they tie it up tomorrow night...
Dirk could have had a championship by now if he bailed to another team like Lebron did. Dirk has been loyal to the Mavs and that loyalty has a price. The price to be paid is he wants to win with the Mavs at the risk of never winning a championship. Lebron came to the same crossroads. He gave up his hometown loyalty for a great chance to win not just one but multiple championships in the seasons to come. Dirk chose his own bed. He has to sleep in it. He's an upstanding guy but it means little in today's world. It obviously means something to him and Mavs fans, however. Mavs could still win it but it looks pretty doubtful at this point. Dirk's supporting cast has to step up. The key difference in this series is the Heat's ability to penetrate to the basket for easy dunks/layups. Tough to win with that Heat advantage. The Dallas bench and support players have to play better. They have taken an obvious step back this series. I'm thinking if the Mavs lose this series...Dirk may very well exit the NBA never having won a championship. It's a shame for a player who draws comparisons to Larry Bird. He deserves better but deserve has got nothing to do with it. Lebron's choice to go to Miami may have impacted Cleveland's chances for years to come...but it also stymied (potentially and from what it looks like may happen) what should have been the Mavs year to win it all.
Perfect example of what I'm talking about. LeBron didn't keep his integrity because he fulfilled his contract, left as a free agent and put his ego and $$ to the side for a better chance to win? He has no integrity because he chose to play with a great supporting cast, kinda like Magic, Bird, Jordan and Kobe had every single time they won something?
If the Heat wins and Dirk goes winless, 20 years from now no one is going to give Dirk extra props for his loyalty. They will say he didn't win a ring and lost in the Finals twice. Staying loyal and losing get's you nothing extra in sports. Winners are remembered.
He has no integrity because instead of facing the music he ran for cover. How many times must I explain this to you? "If you can't beat them, join them" Is that your motto? Whatever happened to competitive spirit? It's so pathetic. What do you tell your kid (or what will you tell them if you don't have any yet) when he gets beat up by gang members? Your son: "Dad, I got beat up today by gang members. What should I do? Should I take up martial arts?" You: "No, son. You won't ever beat them that way. Just join them, it will make your life easier. All the other kids did it too."
"I'll be in attack mode..." Man, LeBron was Bosh status last night. The 9 assists were a nice touch, and that was a nice pass to Bosh for the go-ahead basket, but I saw nothing that even suggested an "attack mode" from the best player on this earth. 4 turnovers and 3 rebounds. 4 free throws, all in the 1st half. D-Wade is in a different dimension, I get it. Ride the hot hand, sure. But I'm not talking about D-Wade here....
