Are we gonna pretend Miami hasn't had it easy...

[HOoopCityJones]

In The Eastern Conference?

Aside from a few amazing games to get them over the hump in 2012, and in 2013 are we gonna seriously ignore how blatantly lackluster the competition has been out East?

When Miami first got together in the first two or three years their biggest competition out East was an aging Celtics roster which was already having chemistry issues because Rondo was taking over the Team, Ray had already filled out his Heat application at that point, Doc was trying to get to Chris Paul, even if it meant taking KG and Paul Pierce with him.

Aside from them , you had The Bulls who were being hyped as a true threat, because Rose won MVP that year and they were the best Defense etc. but Noah hadn't developed to who he is today yet , and their only legit second option was Deng, because Boozer was already showing signs of being a Bum by the time they really needed him to step up, by the next year D.Rose is hurt and completely squashes any realistic chance the Bulls had in competing against Miami.



Then you have The Pacers, that was fun while it lasted eh? This has to be the quickest rise to prominence and quickest falloff in NBA History.

I wont even get into these last few Finals that have been complete choke jobs by the opposing Teams coming out West.


My point is wouldn't you rather see more competition coming out of the East for the supposed champs?

[Andrei89]

Are we really going to pretend you are not mad?

:cheers:

[JohnFreeman]

Heat in the playoffs has been some of the best basketball I have watched.

[ArbitraryWater]

http://whatistheexcel.com/wooobooru/_images/16501f6cedeab9c2d0b956c8139516d3/860%2520-%2520animated_macro%2520autoplay_gif%2520david_otu nga%2520gif%2520wwe%2520you_mad.gif

[HOoopCityJones]

Heat in the playoffs has been some of the best basketball I have watched.

This speaks volumes about how old you are :oldlol:

If this has been some of the best Basketball you've ever seen I feel sorry for you.

[russwest0]

nah, it would be funny to watch Miami face the Grizzlies, Clippers, and then the Spurs just to get to the finals though

[JohnFreeman]

This speaks volumes about how old you are :oldlol:

If this has been some of the best Basketball you've ever seen I feel sorry for you.
Heat v Boston
Heat v Spurs
Heat V Pacers
those were great series too watch :confusedshrug:

[ArbitraryWater]

This speaks volumes about how old you are :oldlol:

If this has been some of the best Basketball you've ever seen I feel sorry for you.

Sorry to bust your balls pal, but the offense, ballmoving and unselfishness is easily up there with some of the best ever... while the stepped up, intense defense when they put the clamps on, is nothing too shabby... in fact, like posters as swish said, some of the best defensive sequences can be put together.

I wish your bias wouldnt make you this, ugh, dumb.

[HoopsFanNumero1]

OP trying to sound smart :lol

[ArbitraryWater]

nah, it would be funny to watch Miami face the Grizzlies, Clippers, and then the Spurs just to get to the finals though

you just answered NO???? :wtf: DAFUQ

[JohnFreeman]

Sorry to bust your balls pal, but the offense, ballmoving and unselfishness is easily up there with some of the best ever... while the stepped up, intense defense when they put the clamps on, is nothing too shabby... in fact, like posters as swish said, some of the best defensive sequences can be put together.

I wish your bias wouldnt make you this, ugh, dumb.
Thank you

[tmacattack33]

In 2012, they were without their all-star PF (Chris Bosh) for two rounds. And he was their only big man with any sort of skill whatsoever besides Udonis Haslem.

So you can't say anything about 2012.

Now how about 2013? Yeah, their first two rounds were easy. But they were the ones who earned it by getting the number one seed.

[HOoopCityJones]

Sorry to bust your balls pal, but the offense, ballmoving and unselfishness is easily up there with some of the best ever... while the stepped up, intense defense when they put the clamps on, is nothing too shabby... in fact, like posters as swish said, some of the best defensive sequences can be put together.

I wish your bias wouldnt make you this, ugh, dumb.

Bro, no one's saying Miami is sauce , they're ****ing stacked, especially for the first Two, this thread is more about the lack of competition, I mean look at the East and it's only gotten progressively worse and worse.

Take that Heat **** out your ass and expand your mind to the topic, or are you too busy trying to make this run seem like more than it is?

Call me when these boys go 15-1 in the Post Season.

[HOoopCityJones]

Thank you

Can't make your arguments for yourself LBJstan?

[JohnFreeman]

Can't make your arguments for yourself LBJstan?
I am not arguing? I simply put forward my opinion on my enjoyment of the heat series. Sorry you get easily offended.

[HOoopCityJones]

I am not arguing? I simply put forward my opinion on my enjoyment of the heat series. Sorry you get easily offended.

You and Arbitrary are completely side stepping the question, have The Heat faced competition comparable to their level of play?

[JohnFreeman]

You and Arbitrary are completely side stepping the question, have The Heat faced competition comparable to their level of play?
Yes. Boston, Pacers, Spurs, Dallas, Thunder and Chicago.

[salwan]

weak era.

other than durant there's not a single all-time great in his prime to stand up against LBJ.

kobe, KG and duncan are way past their primes.

cp3, melo and co. haven't done shit in the postseason and won't even be top25 players.

[coin24]

East playoffs:sleeping
If the pacers don't pull out of there slump it's going to be even more boring..

The west on the other hand:rockon:


No shit the heat have it easy, that's why those quitters teamed up after all.
Only moron bran stans try and convince everyone that they're the Miami cavs and they fight epic battles in the playoffs. Bullshit.

[MostHated305]

East playoffs:sleeping
If the pacers don't pull out of there slump it's going to be even more boring..

The west on the other hand:rockon:


No shit the heat have it easy, that's why those quitters teamed up after all.
Only moron bran stans try and convince everyone that they're the Miami cavs and they fight epic battles in the playoffs. Bullshit.


How does the heat have it easy when they stay whipping up on the west including in the finals?


:coleman:

[salwan]

Only moron bran stans try and convince everyone that they're the Miami cavs and they fight epic battles in the playoffs. Bullshit.

:roll:

[TheMan]

Heat in the playoffs has been some of the best basketball I have watched.
You're 12, that ain't saying much.

[HOoopCityJones]

Yes. Boston, Pacers, Spurs, Dallas, Thunder and Chicago.

Spurs, Thunder, Dallas.


Everyone else mentioned hasn't done shit to threaten Miami. They're just names at this point.

[russwest0]

Only moron bran stans try and convince everyone that they're the Miami cavs and they fight epic battles in the playoffs. Bullshit.

ESPN last year :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

[JohnFreeman]

You're 12, that ain't saying much.
Yeah and I bet you watched every MJ game :rolleyes:

[JohnFreeman]

Spurs, Thunder, Dallas.


Everyone else mentioned hasn't done shit to threaten Miami. They're just names at this point.
Boston and Pacers took them too 7 games?

[pegasus]

In 2012, they were without their all-star PF (Chris Bosh) for two rounds. And he was their only big man with any sort of skill whatsoever besides Udonis Haslem.

So you can't say anything about 2012.

Now how about 2013? Yeah, their first two rounds were easy. But they were the ones who earned it by getting the number one seed.

BS alert. Bosh did come back in the Celtics series and was the reason they won with all those timely 3's he made. They were going to lose without him.

[russwest0]

The whole reason no one considers Boston taking them to 7 games a serious deal is because Boston would have won that series in 5 with fair officiating.

[HOoopCityJones]

Boston and Pacers took them too 7 games?

Not my fault Lebron is on the verge of choking away his legacy every other game. Boston was because Bosh was out though to buck with KG.

Hell, they shouldn't of even lost to the Mavs if Lebron plays like Lebron.

[MostHated305]

The whole reason no one considers Boston taking them to 7 games a serious deal is because Boston would have won that series in 5 with fair officiating.

OHHHH that explains it. Did boston need the refs to shoot for them too?

Fruuuck outta here clown

[TheMan]

Boston and Pacers took them too 7 games?
Which goes to show how lackluster the Heat have often times been.

Celtics = old and injured past their prime
Pacers = let's face it, average at best
Bulls = M.A.S.H. unit

That's the Heat's biggest "competition" in the East. The Heat with the star power they have should be putting those teams away EASY.

This isn't a thread deriding Miami as a team, it's pointing out the relatively easy road to the Finals they've had since the East sucks balls.

I'll put it this way, the Bulls lost their best player to injury, traded away their most versatile player and still are a top tier East team with a great chance to knock off the Pacers (supossedly the other top team in the East along with Miami) in the playoffs. You think that shit would fly in the West?:facepalm:

[HOoopCityJones]

Heat fans would never admit it , but realistically The Heat should never lose with the talent level being what it is in their conference.

They should be able to go 16-0 in the Playoffs.

[russwest0]

you just answered NO???? :wtf: DAFUQ

Don't know if yall have realized this, but I only "troll" when dealing with the Heat fans that constantly whine about shit and spew bullshit all the time. All other Thunder fans on here do the same as well. Shit is too easy.

Hence my early days where I got negged often for trolling the shit outta the dumbass Heat fans and then in one thread about whether the refs were bad in this sport, made a long, educated, fact based post about how the refs in this league are inherently biased, and then everyone was like :wtf:

[freshperry]

The real question is what is your motive in making this thread?

Either A: You are trying to discredit the Heat's championships run with factors that are not even in their control. Like seriously... is it miami's fault that the pacers imploded, Drose got injured, Knicks always under-achieve? This is why people always say over and over again that Miami has very good management from the coach/GM/Owner so factors outside of the court don't affect their game.

B: You're trying to hype up the western conference (most likely because you're a Laker fan and you want to make their championship runs seem so much harder then it really is)

I understand that the western conference is a lot more competitive then the eastern conference and no one can deny that however, lets be real here, the western conference was pretty shitty last year to. For instance, the 7th seed was the LOS ANGELES LAKERS last year..... and even you have to admit that the 2013 lakers team was a MASSIVE DISAPPOINTMENT (in terms of laker standards) and if they were able to obtain the 7th seed, that means the Rockets were even worse with the 8th seed. Given the fact that the Miami Heat had the best record in the NBA with a 66-16 record, they would have had #1 seed so regardless the conference, the first round would have been easy. The second round, the Heat played vs the Bulls and I don't care what you say about if they're good/bad, the defensive minded bulls team made the Miami Heat work hard for their wins and thats all that really matters in this argument because you are not convincing anyone if you think Miami would have lost in the second round if played in the western conference. A key argument people like to mention when disregarding the Heat runs is that the players were able to save energy because the conference rounds were easy however, I would argue that a matchup vs the Bulls is as tiring as facing the warriors. Then comes the conference finals and the Pacers were strong last year. Lets not forget that Westbrook was injured last year + Durant was not playing at the MVP level he played this year so if they faced each other....well you know how one-sided it would have been. Clippers/Grizzlies would have been tough matchups but no harder then playing vs Pacers in the ECF. The only team remaining is the Spurs and well........you know what happened in the Finals.

[russwest0]

OHHHH that explains it. Did boston need the refs to shoot for them too?

Fruuuck outta here clown

Heat fans :facepalm :facepalm :facepalm

Game 2 was fixed for Miami and even a jackass could see that.

And accounting for a game 2 win for the Celtics, they win in 5 games. Spare me this "But the Heat would have played better after losing!" nonsense as well. They got taken to 7 and got one win blatantly handed to them.

If the refs won't let you lose a series, we ain't gonna consider it hard no matter how many games you get taken to. The Lakers got taken to 7 games vs the Kings in the 2002 WCF. I ain't gonna consider that a tough series.

[HOoopCityJones]

The real question is what is your motive in making this thread?

Either A: You are trying to discredit the Heat's championships run with factors that are not even in their control. Like seriously... is it miami's fault that the pacers imploded, Drose got injured, Knicks always under-achieve? This is why people always say over and over again that Miami has very good management from the coach/GM/Owner so factors outside of the court don't affect their game.

B: You're trying to hype up the western conference (most likely because you're a Laker fan and you want to make their championship runs seem so much harder then it really is)

I understand that the western conference is a lot more competitive then the eastern conference and no one can deny that however, lets be real here, the western conference was pretty shitty last year to. For instance, the 7th seed was the LOS ANGELES LAKERS last year..... and even you have to admit that the 2013 lakers team was a MASSIVE DISAPPOINTMENT (in terms of laker standards) and if they were able to obtain the 7th seed, that means the Rockets were even worse with the 8th seed. Given the fact that the Miami Heat had the best record in the NBA with a 66-16 record, they would have had #1 seed so regardless the conference, the first round would have been easy. The second round, the Heat played vs the Bulls and I don't care what you say about if they're good/bad, the defensive minded bulls team made the Miami Heat work hard for their wins and thats all that really matters in this argument because you are not convincing anyone if you think Miami would have lost in the second round if played in the western conference. A key argument people like to mention when disregarding the Heat runs is that the players were able to save energy because the conference rounds were easy however, I would argue that a matchup vs the Bulls is as tiring as facing the warriors. Then comes the conference finals and the Pacers were strong last year. Lets not forget that Westbrook was injured last year + Durant was not playing at the MVP level he played this year so if they faced each other....well you know how one-sided it would have been. Clippers/Grizzlies would have been tough matchups but no harder then playing vs Pacers in the ECF. The only team remaining is the Spurs and well........you know what happened in the Finals.


Nice Essay, but this is about The Pacers collapse more than anything. The mediocrity of The East as a whole.

The year before this it was the Bulls bottoming out, because of Rose's injury.

[navy]

The whole reason no one considers Boston taking them to 7 games a serious deal is because Boston would have won that series in 5 with fair officiating.
Was it fair officiating when Lebron fouled out of overtime in game 4?

[Le Shaqtus]

Except the Heat player better against the West..

[HOoopCityJones]

Except the Heat player better against the West..

Both choke jobs. Thunder has control til Harden disappeared.


Spurs = Game 6, greatest choke job of all time , surpassing my 2004 Lakers.

[DMAVS41]

They've certainly had it easy in the regular season for the most part.

And last year in the playoffs was a ****ing cake walk...

But 11 and 12 were not that easy actually.

In 11 they had to play damn good teams. The Celtics and Bulls were better than people remember and the Heat dominated them.

In 12 they had to play without Bosh and honestly there is nothing "easy" about facing the Knicks, Pacers, and Celtics...

Not all time great competition, but certainly not easy in 11 and 12.

But yea...no doubt playing in the East has been a lot easier than the West overall since 2011....especially last year and this year.

I honestly think the Mavs would be the 2nd best team in the East if they had played the entire season in the conference.

[JohnFreeman]

Both choke jobs. Thunder has control til Harden disappeared.


Spurs = Game 6, greatest choke job of all time , surpassing my 2004 Lakers.
4-1 is such control :rolleyes:

[freshperry]

Nice Essay, but this is about The Pacers collapse more than anything. The mediocrity of The East as a whole.

The year before this it was the Bulls bottoming out, because of Rose's injury.

No doubt I agree with you. The Bulls with MVP rose was a joy to watch and definitely would have gave Miami more competition. Its unfortunate he got injured, Knicks always under achieve, Celtics got old but these are all factors that Miami can't control... thats why although I know where you're coming from, its also unfair to discredit their championship runs. Fixed games/biased reffing is one argument that the Heat actually can control and if they did cheat, then noone should respect their chips. But other then that, you can only beat the teams that are there right regardless if they're bad/injured?

On another note, all eras will look weak when you compare a dynasty relative to the other teams played in that era. Isn't that the definition of a dynasty? (Winning multiple chips/being the best for a long time) Other then the Bird/Magic era where there were 2 dynasties at the same time....but thats the golden era of basketball so you cant really expect that all the time.

A whole other discussion is "Are the Heat unfairly stacked?" In that regard, I firmly believe the heat are ridiculously stacked and I wish the NBA was more competitive like the NFL but it'll never happen because its a star-driven league and theirs only so much premium-quality players.

[HOoopCityJones]

4-1 is such control :rolleyes:

They didn't look dominant in that win though? Then everything went to shit.

[JohnFreeman]

They didn't look dominant in that win though? Then everything went to shit.
They looked good in the win, not dominant.

[russwest0]

They didn't look dominant in that win though? Then everything went to shit.

The Thunder beat Miami that series by like 10PPG per 48 whenever Kendrick Perkins was on the bench.

The problem was Scott Brooks playing Kendrick Perkins 25MPG when Miami was playing no one he was capable of guarding and when Miami was disrespecting the hell out of his offense.

[HOoopCityJones]

No doubt I agree with you. The Bulls with MVP rose was a joy to watch and definitely would have gave Miami more competition. Its unfortunate he got injured, Knicks always under achieve, Celtics got old but these are all factors that Miami can't control... thats why although I know where you're coming from, its also unfair to discredit their championship runs. Fixed games/biased reffing is one argument that the Heat actually can control and if they did cheat, then noone should respect their chips. But other then that, you can only beat the teams that are there right regardless if they're bad/injured?

On another note, all eras will look weak when you compare a dynasty relative to the other teams played in that era. Isn't that the definition of a dynasty? (Winning multiple chips/being the best for a long time) Other then the Bird/Magic era where there were 2 dynasties at the same time....but thats the golden era of basketball so you cant really expect that all the time.

A whole other discussion is "Are the Heat unfairly stacked?" In that regard, I firmly believe the heat are ridiculously stacked and I wish the NBA was more competitive like the NFL but it'll never happen because its a star-driven league and theirs only so much premium-quality players.

In my opinion the East being so depleted is a result of the big three Teaming up.

Three Franchise guys colluded to one Team and it left three competitive Team's in rebuilding mode, let's not forget the ripple effect is sent across the league. All of a sudden known company guys are leaving their situations to go elsewhere instead of sticking out and competing.

The West becomes absurdly stacked because of the shift.

Miami knew what they were doing.

[JohnFreeman]

The Thunder beat Miami that series by like 10PPG per 48 whenever Kendrick Perkins was on the bench.

The problem was Scott Brooks playing Kendrick Perkins 25MPG when Miami was playing no one he was capable of guarding and when Miami was disrespecting the hell out of his offense.
Perkins was actually playing with a tore muscle in his groin

[russwest0]

Perkins was actually playing with a tore muscle in his groin

This is true. Even more of a reason for him to not play 25MPG. He ironically tore his groin muscle again vs Miami this year after Brooks started him in the second half.

Hell, look at the first meetup between MIA/OKC this year. MIA starts up like 16-1 in the first 5 minutes because Scott Brooks started Perkins. He pulls Perkins and OKC goes off and the game is over by the 4th quarter. Thats kind of how the Finals went, OKC looked like the clear better team if they went small or to a lineup without Perkins.

[russwest0]

In my opinion the East being so depleted is a result of the big three Teaming up.

Three Franchise guys colluded to one Team and it left three competitive Team's in rebuilding mode, let's not forget the ripple effect is sent across the league. All of a sudden known company guys are leaving their situations to go elsewhere instead of sticking out and competing.

The West becomes absurdly stacked because of the shift.

Miami knew what they were doing.

I agree with this except for the "they knew what they were doing" part. I doubt they really knew the effects what they did would have on the CBA, how it'd give us one of the worst conferences ever, along with one of the best, etc. I think it was just three guys wanting to ringchase and the CBA allowing it so they went with it.

[JohnFreeman]

This is true. Even more of a reason for him to not play 25MPG. He ironically tore his groin muscle again vs Miami this year after Brooks started him in the second half.

Hell, look at the first meetup between MIA/OKC this year. MIA starts up like 16-1 in the first 5 minutes because Scott Brooks started Perkins. He pulls Perkins and OKC goes off and the game is over by the 4th quarter. Thats kind of how the Finals went, OKC looked like the clear better team if they went small or to a lineup without Perkins.
I think Brooks should have been fired after that finals to be honest. Thunder were the favorites going in. His line ups were awful and there was too much iso ball, which can not win games against a great defensive team like Miami.

[J Shuttlesworth]

The east isn't supposed to be as weak as it is. DRose was supposed to be playing and the Nets and Knicks were underperforming like crazy. Can't blame the Heat for those things. But the Heat play well against the West. People underrate how they would play against the west in the playoffs. They have a better record against the west than the east and that goes for last couple seasons

[russwest0]

The east isn't supposed to be as weak as it is. DRose was supposed to be playing and the Nets and Knicks were underperforming like crazy. Can't blame the Heat for those things. But the Heat play well against the West. People underrate how they would play against the west in the playoffs. They have a better record against the west than the east and that goes for last couple seasons

Regular season matchups mean nothing in regards to the playoffs. Playing well vs the West in the regular season doesn't mean the Heat would have a better chance of making it to the Finals with a road like the Thunder have now of the Mavericks, the Clippers, and then the Spurs.

[ArbitraryWater]

You and Arbitrary are completely side stepping the question, have The Heat faced competition comparable to their level of play?

What should I side step about?

2011 and 2012 East=Loaded.

You had the Celtics and Nr.1 Seed Bulls in 2011, then another C' HoF laden Roster in 2012, a Pacers Team with the 5th Best Record in the League, AND, as FIRST ROUND OPPONENT, a team consisting of TWO all stars (knicks)...

2011 and 2012 wasnt weak by any means.

2013? Well yeah, but you still had that Pacers Team...

This Year? Will have to see how Nets/Bulls perform.

[J Shuttlesworth]

Regular season matchups mean nothing in regards to the playoffs. Playing well vs the West in the regular season doesn't mean the Heat would have a better chance of making it to the Finals with a road like the Thunder have now of the Mavericks, the Clippers, and then the Spurs.
Did I say they would have a better chance? No, but you overrate how defensive the west is. The Heat would rather see any of those teams over Indy. Heat match up better against the clippers and the thunder compared to the pacers

[LWBMIA]

The Western conference is OVERHYPED.

The only bad match ups in that conference for Miami is Spurs due to their amazing ball movement,shooters,Parker and Duncan.

Also the Grizz because of Randolph+Gasol and their stifling defense.

That's it.

Everyone else?

Heat OWN the Thunder.They don't have the bigs to punish Miami inside,a turnover prone team and Heat will live with Westbrook shooting jumpers.

Fact: OKC 7 straight L's to the Heat with Westbrook in the lineup.

Rockets,Blazers,Warriors,Clippers,Mavs,Suns,etc aren't good enough to beat Miami 4 out of 7.

[Legends66NBA7]

The Western conference is OVERHYPED.

The only bad match ups in that conference for Miami is Spurs due to their amazing ball movement,shooters,Parker and Duncan.

Also the Grizz because of Randolph+Gasol and their stifling defense.

That's it.

Everyone else?

Heat OWN the Thunder.They don't have the bigs to punish Miami inside,a turnover prone team and Heat will live with Westbrook shooting jumpers.

Fact: OKC 7 straight L's to the Heat with Westbrook in the lineup.

Rockets,Blazers,Warriors,Clippers,Mavs,Suns,etc aren't good enough to beat Miami 4 out of 7.

I'd say the Clippers could give them a run too, but other than that I agree the West is overhyped a bit and only a few really challenge Miami.

[20Four]

OP you are right....the HEAT always get it easy since they play in the EAST....trust me put them in the WEST...they wont hang fo shit

[DaSeba5]

Are Heat haters really this retarded?

[KyrieTheFuture]

Let's be real, there's maybe 2 teams in the West that Miami wouldn't beat in a 7 game series 100% of the time. People overhype the west. There just aren't that many good teams, the west has a lot of okay teams, but about as many good teams in both conferences.

[DMAVS41]

The Western conference is OVERHYPED.

The only bad match ups in that conference for Miami is Spurs due to their amazing ball movement,shooters,Parker and Duncan.

Also the Grizz because of Randolph+Gasol and their stifling defense.

That's it.

Everyone else?

Heat OWN the Thunder.They don't have the bigs to punish Miami inside,a turnover prone team and Heat will live with Westbrook shooting jumpers.

Fact: OKC 7 straight L's to the Heat with Westbrook in the lineup.

Rockets,Blazers,Warriors,Clippers,Mavs,Suns,etc aren't good enough to beat Miami 4 out of 7.


It's not about just winning.

Having to beat the Mavs, Clippers, and Spurs en route to the Finals is simply a whole lot harder than playing air, Bulls, Pacers...

[DMAVS41]

Let's be real, there's maybe 2 teams in the West that Miami wouldn't beat in a 7 game series 100% of the time. People overhype the west. There just aren't that many good teams, the west has a lot of okay teams, but about as many good teams in both conferences.

The Mavs might have finished with the 2nd best record in the East. Give them an easier schedule and allow them to take more nights off in terms of minutes played for guys like Marion, Carter, and Dirk...and you'd see at least 6 to 8 more wins at this point.

The East is a ****ing joke.

[Heavincent]

Here we go again with Lebron stans pretending like the East isn't garbage :rolleyes:

[ArbitraryWater]

East playoffs:sleeping
If the pacers don't pull out of there slump it's going to be even more boring..

The west on the other hand:rockon:


No shit the heat have it easy, that's why those quitters teamed up after all.
Only moron bran stans try and convince everyone that they're the Miami cavs and they fight epic battles in the playoffs. Bullshit.

You know both were flat out horrible?

Heat vs Pacers G6:

Halftime: Heat lead 40-39. LeBron with 14. Wade 1 Point on 0-4 Shooting, Bosh 3 Points on 1-6. Combined 4 Points on 1-10. Never looked worse.

LeBron was hot, the combined other starters were 4-23.. this was the theme in multiple games during the ecf. I remember it.

[KyrieTheFuture]

The Mavs might have finished with the 2nd best record in the East. Give them an easier schedule and allow them to take more nights off in terms of minutes played for guys like Marion, Carter, and Dirk...and you'd see at least 6 to 8 more wins at this point.

The East is a ****ing joke.
That's not wrong, I guess I should have said elite instead of good. The Mavs aren't elite but they'd be the third seed at worst in the East. Miami is unarguably better than 12 of the western teams. They still play exceptionally well versus the western teams, it's just easy to hate on them for their competition.

[IncarceratedBob]

There's a reason LeBron won't dare join the Western conference, he knows he couldn't even make it to the Finals

[DMAVS41]

That's not wrong, I guess I should have said elite instead of good. The Mavs aren't elite but they'd be the third seed at worst in the East. Miami is unarguably better than 12 of the western teams. They still play exceptionally well versus the western teams, it's just easy to hate on them for their competition.

We know the Heat are great. We know the Pacers are great...well, were...

But after that it's garbage overall.

I know the Heat play well against the West, but the level of difficulty having to go through the West in the playoffs is a lot harder.

The East last year and this year in the playoffs is going to be absurdly easy competition.

The problem is that we all thought the Pacers were great as well...I did to, but the truth is that they really aren't much better than any of the top 9 teams in the West.

Like...I'm really not sure the Pacers are better than the Mavs at this point...or the Grizzlies or the Suns. They just play in a much weaker conference...

[HoopsFanNumero1]

We know the Heat are great. We know the Pacers are great...well, were...

But after that it's garbage overall.

I know the Heat play well against the West, but the level of difficulty having to go through the West in the playoffs is a lot harder.

The East last year and this year in the playoffs is going to be absurdly easy competition.

The problem is that we all thought the Pacers were great as well...I did to, but the truth is that they really aren't much better than any of the top 9 teams in the West.

Like...I'm really not sure the Pacers are better than the Mavs at this point...or the Grizzlies or the Suns. They just play in a much weaker conference...

How was the West any better last year? Look at who the Spurs had to go through. Lakers, Warriors, Grizzlies. That's laughable. Warriors were the only team that posed them any sort of threat, and even they were dealing with injuries.

[tpols]

How was the West any better last year? Look at who the Spurs had to go through. Lakers, Warriors, Grizzlies. That's laughable. Warriors were the only team that posed them any sort of threat, and even they were dealing with injuries.
Memphis would give the heat exactly the same problems indy has.. probably more tbh. They'd be a 2 or 3 seed out east.

[HOoopCityJones]

While the West bashes each others brains in route to the Finals, it's smooth sailing for Miami, unless Lebron under preforms and you know it.

[HoopsFanNumero1]

Memphis would give the heat exactly the same problems indy has.. probably more tbh. They'd be a 2 or 3 seed out east.

Exactly, just Memphis. Warriors aren't beating the Heat in a best out of 7. Overall, the Spurs' competition wasn't all that much better than the Heat's.

[Flash31]

Hold up I got yall

Are we gonna pretend that the Spurs had a very tough playoff out to Finals,

Beating the Lakers(with injuries)no less and barely scraped into po with shady officiating,Beating the Soft Warriors,Beating the extremely offensively challenged Grizzlies----Such a Run there

Are we gonna pretend that aside from Grizz,Spurs the West plays good defense?

Are we gonna pretend that The East is weak and not suffering from big injuries(
Rose,Lopez,Amare,Chandler,Knicks roster)

without those injuries Bulls would be a 50+ win team,
Nets would have more wins,Knicks would have a lot more wins

So you got Heat,Bulls,Pacers,Nets,Knicks,Raptors with surging
Wizards and Bobcats

In the west aside from Mem,SA who actually plays good d
---Team led by No D at all Harden,Team with Blake,Crawford,
Inept D Trailblazers,Soft Warriors,The iso Thunder with their d being
Perk,Sefolsha,Fisher

The west wins games in reg season bc of their offense and lax d,so a team can get hot in a game and win while in the East teams win games off of D and are built more for playoffs than reg season wins

Are we gonna act like the East DIDNT dominate the 60s,70s,80s,90s with better teams then the west?

[tpols]

Exactly, just Memphis. Warriors aren't beating the Heat in a best out of 7. Overall, the Spurs' competition wasn't all that much better than the Heat's.
And what bout okc.. spurs.. Shit even the clippers with how their frontcourt plays. It's about the summation of tough competition too.. wears you down

[Flash31]

While the West bashes each others brains in route to the Finals, it's smooth sailing for Miami, unless Lebron under preforms and you know it.

Bashes their brains out hmm

Pacers,Nets,Bulls,Bobcats

or

Trailblazers,Warriors,Clippers,Rockets

such such bruising,tough grind out,physical games in the west
and the scores regardless of teams are usually 100+ pts each

The West is such a physical,tough,bruising playoff series
yeah,sure

[HoopsFanNumero1]

And what bout okc.. spurs.. Shit even the clippers with how their frontcourt plays. It's about the summation of tough competition too.. wears you down

Talking about last year. We'll see what happens this year. People are already writing out the Pacers, but none of that matters when the playoffs start.

[DMAVS41]

Memphis would give the heat exactly the same problems indy has.. probably more tbh. They'd be a 2 or 3 seed out east.

This.

The West was down last year though. WB got hurt. The West is clearly better this year.

So I don't know what the **** that dude is talking about.

[oh the horror]

Here we go again with Lebron stans pretending like the East isn't garbage :rolleyes:



Basically that. And it's mainly Lebron fans. Even Heat fans know that shit has been garbage for a minute now.


But it is what it is. They're playing who they play an they've won.

[(e)]

The East hasn't been this bad in awhile, injuries have hurt (Rose, Lopez, Horford)

LeBron and Bosh leaving Playoff teams to join another.
Dwight going West
Injuries

We also had a lockout season, not saying that made things easy for Miami, but it was just an unorthodox season.

So I wouldn't agree that Miami has had it "easy" but it should be way more difficult than they've had it. Things may be different if the talent was the same in the East. Miami is going to get the Knicks, Hawks, or Bobcats in the first round. Top team in the West? Dallas, Memphis, or the Suns...all three of those teams would fight for the 3-4 in the East this year.

Take a seat Heat fans, enjoy your cupcakes.

[Solefade]

lol havent there been more sweeps in the western playoffs than in the east the past 2 years? ECF has been really good the past 2 years while grizzlies got swept last year by Spurs, and the year before that Spurs swept their f irst 2 rounds to the WCF

[red1]

They've definitely had some first round byes but let's be honest here. While the lower seeded wcf teams are good teams none of them would or would have beaten miami in a series. Also this notion of the heat having an advantage over the wcf champs due to their paths to the finals is hot air. Who's to say that playing against more competitive teams in the first round isnt better preparation for the finals

[tpols]

They've definitely had some first round byes but let's be honest here. While the lower seeded wcf teams are good teams none of them would or would have beaten miami in a series. Also this notion of the heat having an advantage over the wcf champs due to their paths to the finals is hot air. Who's to say that playing against more competitive teams in the first round isnt better preparation for the finals

Wade has literally taken whole series off out east to rest for tough finals matchups.. look at his pre finals to finals. There's no way you can spin it. The heat have needed a good to great wade in the finals to win. They would need that same wade to beat teams like Memphis clippers Spurs and okc out west. And his body wouldn't hold up. Cortisone shots only last a few weeks.. it's no wonder wade saved his for the finals last year and coincidently had some real big games.

[Solefade]

Wade has literally taken whole series off out east to rest for tough finals matchups.. look at his pre finals to finals. There's no way you can spin it. The heat have needed a good to great wade in the finals to win. They would need that same wade to beat teams like Memphis clippers Spurs and okc out west. And his body wouldn't hold up. Cortisone shots only last a few weeks.. it's no wonder wade saved his for the finals last year and coincidently had some real big games.


lol.


in the past 2 finals, when has wade been great other than a couple games?


lebron leads the team in every category during the playoffs and needs a god-like level effort for the heat to win.

[red1]

Wade has literally taken whole series off out east to rest for tough finals matchups.. look at his pre finals to finals. There's no way you can spin it. The heat have needed a good to great wade in the finals to win. They would need that same wade to beat teams like Memphis clippers Spurs and okc out west. And his body wouldn't hold up. Cortisone shots only last a few weeks.. it's no wonder wade saved his for the finals last year and coincidently had some real big games.
I understand what you are saying but I dont agree. Heat don't have much of a dropoff when they rest wade and run their offense through bron and bosh. They could definitely get away with resting wade early if they played in the west and then play him every game of the wcf and finals. They would have ran into issues in 2012 when bosh went down for much of the celtics and indiana series. Ultimately these are all minor gripes though. Yes the east is far weaker than the west. No I dont think it plays much of role in determining the final outcome.

[Marlo_Stanfield]

I understand what you are saying but I dont agree. Heat don't have much of a dropoff when they rest wade and run their offense through bron and bosh. They could definitely get away with resting wade early if they played in the west and then play him every game of the wcf and finals. They would have ran into issues in 2012 when bosh went down for much of the celtics and indiana series. Ultimately these are all minor gripes though. Yes the east is far weaker than the west. No I dont think it plays much of role in determining the final outcome.
Heat are better without Wade if the player replacing him is able to play some defense and hit his threes

[red1]

Heat are better without Wade if the player replacing him is able to play some defense and hit his threes
thats what you would say

[RoseCity07]

We gonna act like Lebron isn't the MVP?

[livinglegend]

2012:
Before the finals, Heat played 18 games . ( including a tough 7 games series with Celtics)
OKC played 15 games.

2013:
Heat played 16 games ( including a tough 7 games series with Pacers)
Spurs played 14 games ( 2 sweeps).

OKC and Spurs both had easier roads to the finals.




NEXT troll please!

[livinglegend]

Heat are better without Wade if the player replacing him is able to play some defense and hit his threes

They were better without Wade for most the finals. Everytime Wade went to the bench, Heat made a big run. This year, they dont have Miller, so it will be hard without Wade.
Wade better step up after all the rest that he had all year long.

[livinglegend]

Wade has literally taken whole series off out east to rest for tough finals matchups.. look at his pre finals to finals. There's no way you can spin it. The heat have needed a good to great wade in the finals to win. They would need that same wade to beat teams like Memphis clippers Spurs and okc out west. And his body wouldn't hold up. Cortisone shots only last a few weeks.. it's no wonder wade saved his for the finals last year and coincidently had some real big games.
He didnt take series off, he just sucked. He tried and couldnt do it.

[red1]

They were better without Wade for most the finals. Everytime Wade went to the bench, Heat made a big run. This year, they dont have Miller, so it will be hard without Wade.
Wade better step up after all the rest that he had all year long.
He may have been a shell for much of the playoffs but even an injured version is still a good second option. Miami's struggles have had nothing to do with wade and everything to do with their bigs or their lack of

[freshperry]

This.

The West was down last year though. WB got hurt. The West is clearly better this year.

So I don't know what the **** that dude is talking about.

I agree with you here. The west this year is just stacked top to bottom but the past 2 yrs the west wasnt as stacked as people make it out to be. The elite east teams have been decimated by injuries but lets not forget westbrook went down last year and Chris paul/Blake Griffin both got hurt 2/3yrs ago against the spurs if i recall.

[JUDGE WITNESS]

that 2012 celtics series alone was one of the best ive seen

i really thought the celtics were gonna take them down