NBA Playoffs Thread

LeBron doesn't want to play in the post, and he's lost without the ball. I don't think a more prominent role for Bibby or Chalmers is the answer.

 

The story of this Finals, to me, isn't LeBron. That's the side story. It's the Mavericks having the heart and the will to possibly close this out on Sunday, or the chance to win the whole thing in Game 7.

For all of the jokes, reputation, and everything that has been said about Dallas in the past, from not playing defense to Cuban being a distraction, a funny thing happen on the way to Rome. Cuban has kept quiet, thus eliminating the distractions; Tyson Chandler has been a pleasant surprise by playing defense in which he learned by playing in the Eastern Conference; and Dirk, sick and all, making plays, and Terry making even bigger plays.

Tonight, Dallas was hot as hell behind the arc. Nights like that will happen.

LeBron didn't choke, in my opinion. Three things come to mind: a). whatever is going on off-the-floor is still fucking with him and he doesn't know how to block it out for 3 hours; b). (this is a stretch) he's trying to prove a point by not scoring in the 4th to show people that the Heat can't win unless he takes over; or c). the sumbitch needs to stop being the quintessential "team player" and facilitator, sack up, and start scoring. Enough of this "sharing the wealth" crap. Either he has a killer instinct or he doesn't. The team is not Wade's, it's yours LeBron, start acting like it.

They brought him in to score and take over. Not be Michael Scott.

 

The ripoff charge call on LeBron late when his basket tied the game (and FT would have given them the lead) changed everything.

 

You may be right that he doesn't want to play in the post, but it was working. That's when Spoelstra has to sell it/make him do it/be the damn boss.

And you miss my point on Bibby and Chalmers. I don't know when it was decided that the best player on a team had to dribble the ball up the floor every time. There've been a lot of good teams over the years that didn't have the best player as the point guard. I mean, Wilt didn't dribble it down the floor for the Lakers. You're still getting it to your playmaker, just in a spot where he's been more effective. And I don't care if he likes the post or not, but he was better catching the ball in the post or at mid-range than he's been with the ball up top.

 

Chandler's foot was on the restricted area line, otherwise it would have been a clear charge to me. But if the foot's on the line, does that count for being in the restricted area?

In similar news, Wade got away with a charge on Cardinal, I thought. So in the grand scheme, even if it was a bad call on James, it just balanced things.

 

Disclaimer: I didn't watch the game, not a second of it. Box score analysis is a risky business.
BUT, just looking at the goddamn final score tells me the commentary here and what I've heard elsewhere focusing on James' offense or lack of same in the fourth quarter is looking through the wrong end of the telescope.
Dallas scored between 15-30 points more than in the previous four games. THAT'S why they won. Miami lost on defense. If someone had put up a blind score before the series of 112-103, I'd bet 99 percent of posters here would say, "well, that's the kind of score Dallas needs to win."
PS: Seldom seen a player get ripped so much for a triple-double. Not saying James doesn't deserve it, but it's notable.

 

PS: I'd be willing to bet that the number of NBA games where a team shot 13-19 on threes where said team lost is very low. Like maybe zero.

 

Miami still should be favored to win this series. They have to win two in a row at home in the NBA Finals, not exactly climbing Everest.

And every season in a chapter in LeBron's career, and if this chapter does not have an NBA Title against a team like Dallas, who would probably only be a one-time champion, then we will have a fun debate next week.

But he could also take this series over in the next two games.

 

so, lebron has this triple-double everyone raves he's capable of yet at NO TIME was he having what i'd consider to be a 'dominant' game. maybe this has helped me be able to express my point on the kind of great player he is: yes, he is a good, not great, rebounder for a 6-8, 265-pound guy. yes, he's a very good passer in the flow of a game, but he doesn't control the flow or tempo like a point pure point guard can. but both of those wonderful talents (boards, passing) make him a triple-double threat in any game.

but unless he's scoring the ball much more effectively he's not going to be the dominant figure folks expect him to be. to put in perspective why fanbois should not take this as 'oh, shockey's trashing lebron again,' michael of jordan couldn't 'dominate' games without scoring a bunch either. like i've said, those who didn't need to score to 'dominate' are a precious few; bill russell and magic johnson might be the only two i can think of.

it's nothing to be ashamed of. but i don't recall a finals in which a great player who needed to score a lot to dominate had a series like lebron has thus far. it's been a most curious case study.

 

Oh, rebounds and assists are nice and important, but scoring points in the fourth quarter is the most important thing a player can do on a basketball court.

When I say Bird 22, Wilkins 20, I am not talking combined rebounds and assists.

 

D-3, I agree with you but let's tie both themes together. To me, James could have been dominant with the stats he had, but not with the way he defended Terry. He suffocated Terry in Game 1 of the series and we all saw how he frustrated Rose in the Eastern Conference finals.

Last night, Terry had his way with James. Terry drove by him whenever he wanted. James made a half-hearted close out on one of Terry's 3's. On another James did make a good contest and I thought Terry got a little lucky for the shot to go in (just like Dirk got a little lucky on his 3, launching it up into the rafters to get it over the contest of, I believe, Bosh and having it come down straight into the goal). But it was one of those shots where, with the confidence and feel Terry had going, you knew it would go in and that goes back to bad defense.

Bottom line: Jason Terry owned James in the fourth quarter.

 

Thing I thought was interesting about James' offense last night was that he seemed to be at his best when Wade was hurt. When Wade came back, he started to struggle again. I don't know if this is second-banana syndrome, and he's deferring to Wade when Wade is in, or if James can't get into a flow when half the plays are being run through Wade or what. Just thought it was interesting.