Official 2010-2011 NBA Playoffs Thread

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RiDE

Platinum Member
Jul 8, 2004
2,139
0
76
So, I see you haven't returned to this thread to say anything since that pronouncement.

Get used to it... he does that every year. lol He'll be back in here in a few days or so like nothing happened.
 

Arkaign

Lifer
Oct 27, 2006
20,736
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The difference is that Kobe is consistently in the conversation for top 5 players of all time, and Horry and Milicic are not.


I have no reason to argue the greatness of KB, his legacy is pretty much set, and he still has a small window to win more.

This thread is about how over-rated Lebron was. I think his failure to win this year with a stacked team will balance out the hype at least.

Truth. Kobe is definitely an all-time great at this point, though I don't really care for him on a personal level, he just seems to be missing that classic spark that the historical greats had. LeBron still has some room/time, but this was just a nasty mess that will taint his legacy even if he goes on to some championships in the future. I recently watched a lot of Jordan career legacy type videos, and wooooooooowwwww some nutty stuff in there. Hands-down, no joke best ever. Even before the three-peats and 6-time finals MVPs, he was pulling amazing stuff all the time. It took time to get the gel right with the growing roster of people like Pippen and co., and the coaching situation to get just right, but all along the way he was a class above. And when the time came down to crunch/stress maxout, he just rose above, literally.

I really hope to someday see another player on that level before I die. All the talk about Kobe, Wade, Lebron being on that level, no. That's just hype. Hell I'm from Dallas and I like Dirk quite a bit, but he's nowhere in the same universe as Jordan.
 

HendrixFan

Diamond Member
Oct 18, 2001
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Miami is a pure 1 on 1 team. Dallas capitalized on this by going pure zone all series. Lebron did exactly what you're supposed to do against a zone. Drive in and let them swarm you and kick it out to the open man. Miami is just not a good spot up shooting team.

Miami is going to be seeing a LOT of zone next year. Either they will learn to adapt or their next season won't be nearly as successful as this one.

Miami was without the shooting services of Mike Miller and James Jones for the Finals. Miller played, but his thumbs really really limited his shooting ability. Take the two best spot up shooters you have on any team and take them away and you will see a drop off. The Mavs played zone because there was no threat of Miller or Jones beating them on it.

Dallas also ran the best zone all season long.

Chalmers, Bibby and House can hit threes but are much more streaky (less reliable) and also much shorter. This has a twofold effect, the closeouts don't have to come as quick when the defender has the height advantage, and also on the defensive end it gives Miami a weak spot that can be exploited.

If Miller and/or Jones are hurt next season, then you might see alot of zone thrown at them. If not, you won't.

To all those who say coaching was a problem for Miami in this series, what would you have done differently? I've said quite a few times that Lebron's minutes were a problem but other than that Spo did a great job. I know without Miller or Jones it left a gaping hole for Miami when trying to sub out James, but it needed to be done. I'd roll the dice on a rested Lebron making up for whatever dropoff there was while he sat versus what we saw, which was a gradual decay of his athleticism.
 

actuarial

Platinum Member
Jan 22, 2009
2,814
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I'm a little late to the party, but congrats to the Mavs. I was really cheering for Lebron to prove the critics wrong, but he basically proved them right last night. He's been clutch in the past, but he lost it somewhere along the way and we'll see how he can bounce back (or if he can).

Dirk's been the complete opposite and has been super clutch lately, but it is kinda funny how the last two finals MVPs closed out the series shooting 6/24 and 9/27. That's why basketball's a team sport!

It was nice to see Dirk/Kidd/Marion get a championship. Some of the best players of their generation not to win one yet (now if only Nash could win one).
 

spacejamz

Lifer
Mar 31, 2003
10,866
1,515
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MJPipCompare.jpg
 
May 13, 2009
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So, I see you haven't returned to this thread to say anything since that pronouncement.

Guess what happened last night took the wind right out of your sails........and the Heat choked last night, not Dirk or the Mavs.

Don't forget Arik405 and Jcuandro. I believe thats how they are spelled. Talked all kinds of nonsense and never showed back up.:thumbsdown:
 

Poulsonator

Golden Member
Aug 19, 2002
1,597
0
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If those few years didn't matter then why didn't Jordan get his first championship at 26 instead?

Jordan did hit the game-winning shot in the 1982 NCAA title game as a 19-year-old freshman. Obviously not the same as an NBA title, but still damn impressive, and that set the tone for what was to come.
 

a123456

Senior member
Oct 26, 2006
885
0
0
To all those who say coaching was a problem for Miami in this series, what would you have done differently? I've said quite a few times that Lebron's minutes were a problem but other than that Spo did a great job. I know without Miller or Jones it left a gaping hole for Miami when trying to sub out James, but it needed to be done. I'd roll the dice on a rested Lebron making up for whatever dropoff there was while he sat versus what we saw, which was a gradual decay of his athleticism.

I'm not Phil Jackson so I don't know the intricate details, but coaching isn't 100% about X's and O's. Much of it deals with man management and motivation. A good coach will figure out the chemistry and hot buttons of all his players and get the best out of all of them. Some players need to be coddled. Some need to be fired up. Some need their manhood challenged. Some need candy.

That was one of the sabermetrics with Carlisle. The same players (if they were on more than one team) tended to perform better by far on his team, no matter what player or situation. That stat was one of the big reasons that Cuban hired him. Now you could argue that it's a big fluke but I think the results of his career speak for themselves, especially with how far he took a relatively untalented Pacers team. Now, Dallas had a deeper roster, so there were luxuries like being able to sit Peja and start Barea and other moves that worked great. Miami's kind of handicapped in that their roster is quite thin but Spo still took 5 games to get rid of Bibby even after it was clear that he wasn't working out. Was there a better option? I don't know.

Now with regards to tactics and rosters, the winner of the series always looks better. The Heat have the entire offseason to think about what went wrong, such as ineffectiveness against the zone and acquire both tactics and the right players to counter the zone that will be used a ton against them next season.

I don't think Riley wants to coach anyway. So out of everyone, the only guy left is maybe Phil Jackson but I don't know if he wants to go there. Riley strikes me as level headed so I don't think they'll fire Spo just yet.

Even with the epic failure in the Finals, at the beginning of the season, most of the "experts" were predicting Lakers or Chicago because no one thought the Heat would gel in a year. It's just when they got to the Finals against the underdog Mavs that people suddenly expected them to win. Roster's still young. They have plenty of time to win multiple rings, though maybe not 8 like Lebron would like. Technically, he's still right as of this moment since he said not 1-7.
 
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Arkaign

Lifer
Oct 27, 2006
20,736
1,377
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Jordan did hit the game-winning shot in the 1982 NCAA title game as a 19-year-old freshman. Obviously not the same as an NBA title, but still damn impressive, and that set the tone for what was to come.

Not to mention you can't point at any point in Jordan's career and call him a failure. He never had a series like the one Bron just had. I think LeBron got a lot more attention just due to the fact that he had to handle the ball so much for Cleveland. He's definitely a world-class talent, and one of the better players of all time, but he's so far from Jordan that its insane!
 

slayer202

Lifer
Nov 27, 2005
13,679
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Lebron and karl malone, only multi mvp awards winners to lose their first two finals. Malone had to play jordan, whats lebron's excuse
 
May 13, 2009
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Looks nice. I'm definitely at least picking up a Dallas mavs championship hat and t-shirt for the wife and I.

I still Can't believe my dumbass met Terry and Coach Carlisle in the mavs players locker room this year. I was so freaking nervous. I know you've seen these pics already.
b41d4957.jpg

c85b1ab5.jpg

I've been a mavericks fan since the Michael Finley, Cedric Ceballos, Hubert Davis days when they were winning 20 games a year. Then later they picked up Dirk and Steve Nash and things started turning around. The mavs beating the Jazz (when they were still a great team with Malone and Stockton) in the first round (2001) was awesome. Too bad Finley and Nash aren't around to enjoy the ring. They were very much a part of the rebuilding and the mavs rise to greatness just as much as anyone. I believe Don Nelson, Finley, and Nash should be at the parade. This is just freaking awesome.
 

wheresmybacon

Diamond Member
Sep 10, 2004
3,899
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Big ups to the 2011 NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks. The best team definitely won. Grats to the Mavs and their fans. :thumbsup:
 

zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
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Jordan did hit the game-winning shot in the 1982 NCAA title game as a 19-year-old freshman. Obviously not the same as an NBA title, but still damn impressive, and that set the tone for what was to come.

yup. statistically speaking, much harder to win an NCAA championship for any given program/athlete.

:)
 

zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
111,125
30,076
146
The Heat have the entire offseason to think about what went wrong, such as ineffectiveness against the zone and acquire both tactics and the right players to counter the zone that will be used a ton against them next season.

yep, and while the Heat is making those adjustments, Bron-Bron will be out tooling around with his posse. Cruising in the H2 and posing for pictures to post on his twitter account.