Battier is not killing the Heat. What is killing the Heat is they have no back to the basket post up game. Everything is face up and they've got $50 million of salary looking at the basket every trip down. D-U-M-B! You cannot win an NBA championship without a significant back to the basket post up skill set that is used as a primary option to your offense.
Dallas won a championship last year by being one of the best 3pt shooting teams in playoff history. The game has changed. The 3 best teams in the league don't have a legit big man with a post game (Bulls/Heat/Thunder).
Sorry. Go back and watch the series and count how many times Dirk backed down with his back to the basket. You cannot win a championship without a significant back to the basket post up game.
Speaking of the coaches, it's encouraging to see what Scott Brook's rotation is when he really wants to win. Despite Thabo being limited and Cook being out, Fishman still only got 13 minutes. That leads me to believe he wouldn't have gotten off the bench if both guys were healthy.
Memphis has struggled since Zach entered the lineup. Their record without Zbo or Rudy > their record with them both in the lineup.
You need to go back and watch the series v. the Heat. The game winning shot in game 2 was when he took his man off the dribble FACING THE BASKET, which changed the series in the mavs' favor. Dirk shot 46% on 3s in the playoffs, and his team shot 40%. I don't know what series/playoffs you were watching. The Mavs were one of the hottest jumpshooting teams in the history of the NBA in that playoff run.
The two things that may hurt in the playoffs for the Heat will be not having a big man as a presence inside defensively and their coach.
I thought they might have chemistry issues with them together. If they don't figure it out, the Grizzlies will have some big offseason decisions to make.
2 mediocre coaches go head-to-head. Nothing to see. LBJ with his 4th straight sub-par game (i think fatigue is finally getting to him after playing at such a high level for so long). Turning the ball over 21 times (don't let the final turnover discrepancy fool you). And the OKC's bigs played like they were all-pro. Durant did show he does deserve the MVP if he does indeed win it. He definitely played like one tonight.
I thought they would adjust but if they don't soono they will find themselves out of the playoffs. Like you said they will have a big decision to make in the off-season.
Pau Gasol will be crucial for the Lakers tonight. I don't expect Bynum to go off against Marc Gasol. If Ramon Sessions' honeymoon continues, that will also be a problem for the Grizzlies.
I think that's overrated. They played much better defense in the 2nd half. Their defense is championshi-caliber. Their problem right now is LBJ not playing at the same high level, and their bench/3pt shooting has disappeared completely since the all-star break.
