NBA Finals: Spurs vs Heat 2

[Shabazz]

2 quick thoughts:

- Leonard is a beast. I don't know that he would have developed as well here, but I can't watch him without getting bummed out about what could have been.

- If the Spurs win, will we finally stop hearing (mostly from the TNT guys) that jump shooting/3 point heavy teams can't win the title, or are we doomed to hear that outdated cliche forever? This will be the 4th championship in a row where the winner uses the 3 as a major component of their offense.

[Phoenix219]

Sarcasm from the comments section at ESPN, but I couldn't pass it up:

LeBron James is a special talent. He has so many accomplishments that Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan will never achieve:

1. Bronze 2006
2. Bronze 2004
3. NBA finals sweep 2007
4. Go entire Finals scoring 20 pts only one time
5. Quit on his team the year after he promises a championship
6. Dunked on by a highschool kid and then confiscate tape
7. Bail on the dunk contest 9 times
8. Only able to win a ring with 2 superstars
9. 7th best player in NBA finals series.
10. Average 1.8 pts in the 4th quarter of NBA finals.
11. Win .500 rings in 4 tries
12. Host a national televised TV show to leave his team
13. Play on the same team as his moms boyfriend
14. Go 2 for 18 in an NBA playoff game.
15. Get stuffed by a player under 6 feet (Nate Robinson)
16. Flop every single game in the playoffs
17. Choke 4 out of 5 finals games by dropping FG% by 18
18. Vow revenge for 2007 sweep, then proceed to choke again

[TOO]

Didnt watch, blowout #2. LOLZ. Wont be watching gm 5 I guess.

[Mori Chu]

Yessssssss! So happy. The title is virtually guaranteed to go to the Spurs now. I'm so happy to see Lebron get his comeuppance. Well deserved title for Duncan and the crew.

[Aztec Sunsfan]

The Spurs offense is just beautiful to watch.

WORD

Of course that some details are very helpful on my new found apreciation of it.

A) Bowen and Horry are long gone.
B) They are not playing my Suns.
C) Right until the final minutes of game 3, they were the underdogs.

The Heat seems to run out of answers after that 3rd quarter, when they got within 7 points. Except for that stretch, they have been demolished for almost 96 minutes of play. Today they never were close to have a chance to win, on his house, after a defeat, and most important, hehe, with a fully functional A/C building.

Last game change the tide, but this could be a true backbreaker. I believe Game 3 already took it's toll on the Heat's psyque during game 4. Now, how do you take out of your mind this past 96 minutes if thing goes the minimal bit wrong at the start of game 5?

[Superbone]

You got us, INF. When you said the series was over after game 2, you were right. We just didn't know you were talking about it being over for the Heat.

[Mori Chu]

BTW, Dwyane Wade sure looks old and tired. His body language is awful. He just looks ... sleepy out there. His face is wrinkled and lined and droopy, his eyes off-color. He just looks like hell. His numbers in the series aren't awful, but he sure isn't the #2 option Miami needs right now.

[Ring_Wanted]

That's why Melo is not as crazy as it sounds. He won't need to increase their scoring by 25 points, just make sure that Wade's decline doesn't leave LeBron with just a third banana in Bosh and nothing but role players.

[Ring_Wanted]

The Spurs offense is just beautiful to watch.

Yes, it is. And the funny thing for us Suns fans is that Boris Diaw is a big reason as to why. Their ball movement is even better than the Nash led teams with the only arguable exception of 2006.

[Shabazz]

The Spurs offense is just beautiful to watch.

Yes, it is. And the funny thing for us Suns fans is that Boris Diaw is a big reason as to why. Their ball movement is even better than the Nash led teams with the only arguable exception of 2006.

You can also see how smart Pop is. They're repeatedly exposing Miami's biggest weakness (interior D). Nearly every play is a drive or pass to the paint, a double-team is drawn, and then a pass to the most open player. If that player doesn't have a good look, they just repeat the cycle until they get one. And other than the Splitter-Duncan lineups, they can go 4-out, 1-in the entire game, which is giving the Heat fits.

[Ring_Wanted]

The best thing is when they dump the ball inside after some movement, then as soon as the defense is collapsing, there is a quick pass to a cutting man that is all alone. That, and the way they create open threes. It is trully an amazing brand of fundamental basketball. Worlds better than OKC, for instance, let alone the LeHeat.

[Mori Chu]

That's why Melo is not as crazy as it sounds. He won't need to increase their scoring by 25 points, just make sure that Wade's decline doesn't leave LeBron with just a third banana in Bosh and nothing but role players.

Isn't it already the case that Bosh is their #2 guy? Bosh still looks spry and healthy, and he is able to put up big numbers.

[Ring_Wanted]

Yeah, he is the 2nd option by default, but shouldn't be that way with Dwayne Wade on the team. Bosh is certainly capable of big numbers, but is not really a go to guy, and that is what you want out of a second option on a contender. Melo would make Bosh a huge 3rd wheel again, which is where he really makes a difference.

[In2ition]

Seems like only LeBron should be getting that max contract. Everyone else needs to take a pay cut to bring in Melo.

[Ring_Wanted]

Yeah, but will they? Wade could probably receive a long term 'thank you' deal, something like 11M per, 4 years. Bosh has already said that he would sacrifice money to stay with the Heat, but unless Melo makes an even bigger commitment the numbers might just not work.

[INFORMER]

I think if they're intent on bringing in a big 4, they need to set aside $60 million for that big 4. Start LeBron at $19 million, Melo at 16, Bosh 13, Wade at 12.

[Ring_Wanted]

I won't take myself to crunch Miami Heat numbers, but if the cap is at 63, they'll have to make a bigger sacrifice than that. Just the cap holds for the min roster after renouncing to everybody, plus Cole, Andersen and the pick will take the disposable money well under $60M. Unloading those three pieces would help but they'll still have less than 60M to spend, not to mention the need to complete the roster with min contracts.

[INFORMER]

I was kind of assuming that they would dump Haslem and Cole.

[TOO]

Rick Barry on ESPN: "The guy on the end is a jerk, Jalen tries too hard. Doug is outstanding. Why they have that gal on - give me a break."

[Shabazz]

Rick Barry on ESPN: "The guy on the end is a jerk, Jalen tries too hard. Doug is outstanding. Why they have that gal on - give me a break."

Did he see this?

http://deadspin.com/pouty-bill-simmons- ... socialflow