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Official 2011-2012 NBA Playoffs Thread

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Atomic Playboy said:
The most impressive moment from last night's game? The patented "double flop."

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I dunno if I'd call that a flop, Battier took a decent hit, and he was keeping himself planted.
 
Fisher imho is the all time league leader for floping, Wade & James do have a few good ones here and there. But while a Laker Fisher raised the flop bar to an unobtainable level. I haven't watched any Thunder games outside of the finals, but I'm sure even with his age, his flopping abilities are still elite level.
 
jump stop? wth? Can't believe that's legal in the pro's. LeBron when about the length of the paint with the "jump stop". I understand the use of a drop step to gather yourself in the post but on a drive? It takes the place of your 2nd step?
 
A very good game last night, aside from OKC really blowing it (and possibly the series) with a bad 3rd quarter by fouling jump shooters. They cannot afford to go down 3 games to the Heat. Tuesday is a must win for them.

James played a solid game, while Wade (as usual) resorted to whine-box crybaby tactics trying to get fouls and giving up on plays.

It was a good, defensive game last night. I just think OKC blew their chance to win this series.
 
JTsyo said:
jump stop? wth? Can't believe that's legal in the pro's. LeBron when about the length of the paint with the "jump stop". I understand the use of a drop step to gather yourself in the post but on a drive? It takes the place of your 2nd step?
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yeah, he jumped pretty far....
 
Lebron seems to have cleaned all those skeletons out of his closet and playing some of his best basketball of his career. The guy is just locked in and dominating. Bosh is also proving his value being able to hit open shots, knock down freethrows, block shots on defense and gather up a lot of offensive boards. I'd go so far as to say that he is more valuable at this point than Wade. Wade is just too busy crusing for ticky tack fouls and bitching to the refs. Shut up and play.

OKC on the other hand is clearly showing some major composure issues. It's not just a youth thing, Fisher is doing some dumb shit. If I had been Brooks after he threw up that dumb ass three pointer at the beginning of the shot clock before he had everyone back he would have been yanked the next posession. Stupid, stupid play.

They missed *A LOT* of freethrows. It's unexcusable when Durant and Hardin step up and miss both of theirs and Perkins drills his. They don't have enough screens and no where enough ball movement. Perk needs to bitch slap half these guys, including Brooks and wake them the hell up if they want to get back to OKC to play another game.

They have the physical ability and depth to win every single one of these games. Right now Lebron and Co. are ripping wins away from them by simply playing smarter and stronger.
 
JTsyo said:
jump stop? wth? Can't believe that's legal in the pro's. LeBron when about the length of the paint with the "jump stop". I understand the use of a drop step to gather yourself in the post but on a drive? It takes the place of your 2nd step?
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Lebron picked up the dribble then landed with both feet before taking off. So he had two feet hit the ground after picking up the dribble, which is completely legal. He just happened to have both feet hit at the same time instead of in sequence. I don't know why that shouldn't be legal. It was an amazing display of skill and dexterity for someone that weighs in at 270lbs.
 
vi edit said:
They have the physical ability and depth to win every single one of these games. Right now Lebron and Co. are ripping wins away from them by simply playing smarter and stronger.
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This has been OKC's calling card for some time. "They are young, they should run the Heat out of the building" can also be "They are young and prone to make stupid mistakes". OKC may have nicer pieces from 4 through 8, but it doesn't really matter if they don't play like a team.

OKC has had one of the worst assist to FG rates the last few seasons, and only for a short spurt against the Spurs did they really decide to play something resembling organized basketball offensively. For all the talk about how the Heat don't have an offense and having two scorers isn't an efficient model, the Thunder bring three wing guys who are scorers and not distributors.

Westbrook will be the key for OKC, and his play (and commentary after game two) indicates that not much will change. Until he realizes that he isn't the most important player on the floor in this series, muchless the most important player on his own team, he will continue to take OKC out of each game. OKC needs their offense to flow and as the PG, whether he wants to or not, he needs to accept that is his role. KD doesn't have to be great as spreading the ball around, just like Melo he is born to score. So let him do that.

I think what is really hurting the Thunder from reaching their ceiling is defense. Brooks made some comment that his team is in the top 2 or 3 defensively after game three. I don't know what he means by that. The cognitive dissonance is just astounding. The Thunder should be a top 2 or 3 defensive team but they aren't for a variety of reasons.

Brooks puts lineups out on the floor with the intent of scoring points. That works against teams that can't keep up with the scoring (Mavs this year, Lakers, Spurs) but doesn't work against a team that can limit your offense. The Thunder would be struggling equally if they were playing against the Celtics.

Brooks uses Sefolosha and Ibaka as crutches to a piecemeal defensive scheme. Both are outstanding defenders, one on the wing and the other in the paint. Add in the speed and length of the rest of the guys and it looks like an imposing defense. But it really isn't.

You could make the argument that they are young and will learn defense, but they have been in the league quite a few years and haven't even started to learn offense so what is the timeline for that? Because I see zero progress on either front.

Durant doesn't feel any heat from the media or fans for his porous defense like Melo does. I suppose it is because of the team that surrounds him and hides his defense but it becomes such a weakness for the Thunder that it can't be ignored on the Finals stage. In three games I have seen at least ten replays of some guy getting to the basket with Durant's defense consisting solely of swiping at the ball with the 'ole maneuver.
 
HendrixFan said:
I think what is really hurting the Thunder from reaching their ceiling is defense. Brooks made some comment that his team is in the top 2 or 3 defensively after game three. I don't know what he means by that. The cognitive dissonance is just astounding. The Thunder should be a top 2 or 3 defensive team but they aren't for a variety of reasons.
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I will say that they tightened up in the second half and turned Miami into a shooting team (Lebron did NOT take several shots from the perimeter that were given to him) and that's how they can win.

I've always said Lebron can be a one-dimensional offensive player and last night is why I say that. Yeah, he hit a wide open three, but his scoring dropped when he wasn't going to the basket. This is why its hard for me to say he's the "best player in the world", as some ESPN types call him. When going to the hole, yeah, but when he's forced to beat you from the outside like OKC did quite well last night, he's very suspect offensively.

I can see them losing Tuesday because OKC will be a desperate team.
 
Rob M. said:
I will say that they tightened up in the second half and turned Miami into a shooting team (Lebron did NOT take several shots from the perimeter that were given to him) and that's how they can win.

I've always said Lebron can be a one-dimensional offensive player and last night is why I say that. Yeah, he hit a wide open three, but his scoring dropped when he wasn't going to the basket. This is why its hard for me to say he's the "best player in the world", as some ESPN types call him. When going to the hole, yeah, but when he's forced to beat you from the outside like OKC did quite well last night, he's very suspect offensively.

I can see them losing Tuesday because OKC will be a desperate team.
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Are you serious? Go back and watch game six of the ECF. He was draining them from all over the floor, hitting every kind of shot. He had a bad shooting night last night, no question about it, but he is normally very efficient. If he's not the best player in the world, who is?
 
Blackjack200 said:
Are you serious? Go back and watch game six of the ECF. He was draining them from all over the floor, hitting every kind of shot. He had a bad shooting night last night, no question about it, but he is normally very efficient. If he's not the best player in the world, who is?
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You say go look at game 6, I look over the course of his career. His shot has improved, but he isn't known for his shooting and really prefers to drive. In fact, the blue-print to beating a Lebron-lead team is to force him to shoot.
 
Lebron one dimesional offensive player? Uh, no. James Jones is one dimension. Howard is one dimensional. Shaq was one dimensional.

Lebron? He shot over 36% from the 3 point line this year. Can hit crazy off balance bank shots off the baseline. Can post up players and dominate. Can crash the lane on drives and is unstoppable. He has an awesome nose for the ball and can tip in or crash and dunk offensive boards. He and Wade are a brilliant pair in transition and score at will. And when all of that fails he can turn into "Point Forward" Lebron and spread the ball around creating shots for others.

He's the anti-one dimensional offensive player. He's not a pure shooter like Wade or Durant but his overall game is unlike any one else in the league.
 
vi edit said:
Lebron one dimesional offensive player? Uh, no. James Jones is one dimension. Howard is one dimensional. Shaq was one dimensional.
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From that angle, I see what you're saying. I didn't say he can't shoot.

All I was saying was that if you keep him from the lane (which is nearly impossible) you've increased your chances. I see James dominate when attacking and getting to the foul line more than I have when he doesn't and decides to shoot jumpers.

He's the anti-one dimensional offensive player. He's not a pure shooter like Wade or Durant but his overall game is unlike any one else in the league.
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I agree, just saying every player has weaknesses, and his is his outside shot.
 
Rob M. said:
You say go look at game 6, I look over the course of his career. His shot has improved, but he isn't known for his shooting and really prefers to drive. In fact, the blue-print to beating a Lebron-lead team is to force him to shoot.
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That's not a blue print for beating Lebron. That's a blueprint for beating a team with Lebron James on it. If you are trapping him high then you are leaving someone open. It's up to the rest of the team to knock down shots then. He's smart enough and strong enough to pass the ball out in those situations rather than settle for terrible shots. Sure he takes some of them, but he's a lot better about it than say Kobe or Melo where it's just "f-it, I'm shooting even if it's the whole team on me".

His one blemish is that he does have the ability to mentally check out for what ever reason and settle into that outside shooting role. But I think that's more on him than the defense. Whatever the cause of that, that side of Lebron hasn't shown up these finals. He's been in full attack mode since the moment he steps on the floor. That game 6 in Boston seems to have awakened the beast.
 
Blackjack200 said:
If he's not the best player in the world, who is?
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Have you seen EVERY pro/amateur player in the world play? Do you watch the Basketball outside the US/Canada. I don't, so I won't say he's the best on this planet.

He is the best in the NBA, no question. The NBA isn't the WWBA (World Wide Basketball Association).
 
...I'm going to go out on a limb - and say the best basketball player in the NBA is in fact the best player on the planet - to argue otherwise - is grasping at straws at best.

A few thoughts on last night's game

I think a major factor that isn't being discussed are some internal problems on the OKC team. Harden was apparently unhappy with his playing time in game 1. Did you see the look of disgust that Durant had on that awful cross-court pass Harden threw out of bounds in the 4th last night? I'm guessing Harden is having a bit of 'what about me' stuff going on.

Let's talk Westbrook - Durant picked up his 4th foul last night - Westbrook on the next 4 possessions - turnover on a terrible pass, crazy missed shot, missed outside shot on one of those possessions where he dribbles for 18-20 seconds and then jacks up a shot..then another turnover on another bad pass....Brooks pulls him out for the remainder of the quarter - and I think Westbrook was fuming at that point - when he came back in - he took 1 shot over the next 6 or 7 minutes, not taking more shots until 2 or 3 minutes were left in the game.

Did you notice the number of statements all three - Durant, Westbrook, and Harden - made last night about "that was a coaching decision", or something along those lines? I think the pressure of the finals is getting to them - the missing free throws, the unforced turnovers - and I think the internal sniping/pouting stuff is either part of a bigger problem or associated with the pressure as well.

I was shocked at the Heat's FT shooting last night, I've never seen them do that before.

Imagine the Heat's defense if they had a shot-blocker like Ibaka.

How many blocked shots has Derek Fisher ever had? Was also shocked he fouled a 3-pt shooter - and I was also shocked that Ibaka actually complained on his foul call on the 3-pt shot - he ran over the shooter, wasn't even close.

Durant's 5th foul was a poor call - but they need to stop having him guard James/Wade -to the point of having him not switch on Pick and rolls if he's going to switch onto one of them.

I going to predict that both James and Durant have a 40+ point game in them - next game!
 
can we please get this guy off the air already?

"Skip Bayless just said referees think LeBron has suffered enough and they want him to win a ring."
 
Oh yeah, the Heat have it figured out. They are doing everything they can to force KD into a switch and get him into a poor position to try and force him into a cheap foul. Not only does that keep him off the floor, but it also slows him down on the offensive side since so many charging calls are being made. Can't be as aggressive scorer as he'd like to be worrying about that 4th/5th/6th foul coming when he has the ball in his hands.

Next two games will be a telling time for the maturity of OKC and the overall coaching ability of Brooks. That team needs to have a come to Jeebus meeting, air their differences and decide if they want to make this a series.
 
NeoV said:
can we please get this guy off the air already?

"Skip Bayless just said referees think LeBron has suffered enough and they want him to win a ring."
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It pains me to say it, but he makes Steven A. Smith sound like a prodigy of basketball smartitude. He's that bad.

As for Lebron, as much as I rag on him about his mental check in/outs over the years, the guy gets absolutely mauled going to the basket. He's got people hanging on him, clawing at him, slapping, ect. He realistically has a foul committed against him almost every time he drives to the basket. And he rarely stands back and whines to the refs about it.

It's got nothing to do about reffing calls. And if it did matter, it's not like they are influenced to any outside opinions.

:whiste:
 
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