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I said it in the game thread, but this years OKC team reminds me of the 2015 Warriors. Great regular season, the MVP, but just looked like the lights of the playoffs were a little bright for them on their first true deep playoff run. And both obv benefitted immensely from injury.
I think there's a good chance they lose to the Pacers if Haliburton doesn't get hurt last night, the Heat with a peak LeBron would be my pick.
Heat have more talent but less chemistry and comraderie together. Overall I do think they would win because OKC is too small and Wade + Lebron >> SGA + Jalen. Miamis role players are also getting underrated. They had a team of snipers and defenders past their Big 3 too. Shane Battier was one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA and he was on fire from 3 in 2012 NBA Finals.
[QUOTE=tpols;15016799]Heat have more talent but less chemistry and comraderie together. Overall I do think they would win because OKC is too small and Wade + Lebron >> SGA + Jalen. Miamis role players are also getting underrated. They had a team of snipers and defenders past their Big 3 too. Shane Battier was one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA and he was on fire from 3 in 2012 NBA Finals.[/QUOTE]
Very well constructed team.
If Wade would have turned it up more theyd be a GOAT tier team.
OKC is lowkey fools gold. We saw this here (very unimpressive finals) and against Denver.
[QUOTE=HoopsNY;15016779]This is peak LeBron we're speaking about. Not to mention, Miami was also a deep team. Miller-Battier-Allen-Andersen off the bench? Not to mention being top heavy with LeBron-Wade-Bosh. Even if we were to argue that OKC has more depth (which I'm not convinced about), then the distance isn't that great between them.
Miami also won 66 games in 2013. They're one of the greatest teams of all time.[/QUOTE]
This OKC would get smoked by a healthy 2013 Miami team.
Anderson was an underrated pick up for them that year. He gave them some needed rim protection. That team also had shooters everywhere.
On paper, you could say OKC is just as good, but we saw their inexperience at times lose them games.
[QUOTE=ArbitraryWater;15016800]Very well constructed team.
If Wade would have turned it up more theyd be a GOAT tier team.
OKC is lowkey fools gold. We saw this here (very unimpressive finals) and against Denver.[/QUOTE]
Wade balled out in the 2012 playoffs. He was still having 40 points playoff games against top ranked defenses.
[QUOTE=tpols;15016806]Wade balled out in the 2012 playoffs. He was still having 40 points playoff games against top ranked defenses.[/QUOTE]
He balled out against the Pacers. That was it. He averaged 23 pts on 19 shots. No 3s. He took too big of a step back that year. Pacers 2nd half of the series seemed to be the last time he was able to turn it up to Superstar level in his career.
[QUOTE=ArbitraryWater;15016807]He balled out against the Pacers. That was it. He averaged 23 pts on 19 shots. No 3s. He took too big of a step back that year. Pacers 2nd half of the series seemed to be the last time he was able to turn it up to Superstar level in his career.[/QUOTE]
The only reason he "took a step back" was to not step on Lebrons toes and have another 2011 situation happen. He willingly took backseat for chemistry purposes. Wades athleticism didn't start to fail him til late 2013 when he hurt his leg.
[QUOTE=tpols;15016820]The only reason he "took a step back" was to not step on Lebrons toes and have another 2011 situation happen. He willingly took backseat for chemistry purposes. Wades athleticism didn't start to fail him til late 2013 when he hurt his leg.[/QUOTE]
Well then he took way too big of a step back cause his play nearly caused the ECF to go awry and they def could have used more big games in the Finals too.
Clearly you should step up when the team needs it. He did it in the ECSF, but not in the ECF.
Wade didnt step on Brons toes in 2011 btw. Thats a tired myth.
They performed simoultaneously just fine before the Finals. Bron just choked.
[QUOTE=tpols;15016820]The only reason he "took a step back" was to not step on Lebrons toes and have another 2011 situation happen. He willingly took backseat for chemistry purposes. Wades athleticism didn't start to fail him til late 2013 when he hurt his leg.[/QUOTE]
What's ironic about this argument is Wade averaged more shots per game in the 2012 playoffs than he did in 2011 yet still averaged 2 less ppg. And 2011 includes a fluky atrocious offensive showing against Chicago.
It was just clear by eye test Wade had taken a step back in 2012, outside of the last 3 game against Indy he never looked as dominant as he did the year before.
[QUOTE=SouBeachTalents;15016827]What's ironic about this argument is [B]Wade averaged more shots per game in the 2012 playoffs than he did in 2011 yet still averaged 2 less ppg[/B]. And 2011 includes a fluky atrocious offensive showing against Chicago.
It was just clear by eye test Wade had taken a step back in 2012, outside of the last 3 game against Indy he never looked as dominant as he did the year before.[/QUOTE]
Oh wow, interesting. So there goes that :lol
tpols taking a beating this morning
[QUOTE=tpols;15016799]Heat have more talent but less chemistry and comraderie together. Overall I do think they would win because OKC is too small and Wade + Lebron >> SGA + Jalen. Miamis role players are also getting underrated. They had a team of snipers and defenders past their Big 3 too. Shane Battier was one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA and he was on fire from 3 in 2012 NBA Finals.[/QUOTE]
Yea. Miami had great depth on the 2013 team. They could legitimately play small ball and their snipers were one of the reasons they were so successful against the Spurs. Just look at the three point shooting from some of these guys:
Allen: 12-22 (54.5%)
Chalmers: 13-32 (41%)
Battier: 12-27 (44%)
Miller: 11-18 (61%)
That team was deep all things considered.
[QUOTE=HoopsNY;15016865]Yea. Miami had great depth on the 2013 team. They could legitimately play small ball and their snipers were one of the reasons they were so successful against the Spurs. Just look at the three point shooting from some of these guys:
Allen: 12-22 (54.5%)
Chalmers: 13-32 (41%)
Battier: 12-27 (44%)
Miller: 11-18 (61%)
That team was deep all things considered.[/QUOTE]
People used to shit on Mario Chalmers so much but dude had talent too. He could dribble, playmake finish, shoot, and defend. He was just a bonehead once in a while but his volume was so low it didn't make a big difference. He was a big plus role player. Battier and Birdman were even better. And of course Ray saved them like Black Jesus.
[QUOTE=1987_Lakers;15016801]This OKC would get smoked by a healthy 2013 Miami team.
Anderson was an underrated pick up for them that year. He gave them some needed rim protection. That team also had shooters everywhere.
On paper, you could say OKC is just as good, but we saw their inexperience at times lose them games.[/QUOTE]
Any time OKC faced situations where they could lose a series they stepped up - games 4 vs Denver and Indy where they trailed late on the road. They have the ability to lock in on defense like few teams in history.
I think you're severely underrating OKC and their competition this year.
2013 Heat were a Ray Allen 3 from not winning the title. There's no way you can say they definitely beat OKC. That Spurs team gave LeBron fits and they were nowhere near as good as OKC defensively.
[QUOTE=HoopsNY;15016779]This is peak LeBron we're speaking about. Not to mention, Miami was also a deep team. Miller-Battier-Allen-Andersen off the bench? Not to mention being top heavy with LeBron-Wade-Bosh. Even if we were to argue that OKC has more depth (which I'm not convinced about), then the distance isn't that great between them.
Miami also won 66 games in 2013. They're one of the greatest teams of all time.[/QUOTE]
Peak LeBron who struggled vs Spurs and almost didn't win without a Ray Allen 3.
OKC is also an all-time great team with an all-time great defense.
Favoring the Heat is fine, but acting like peak LeBron is inevitable and can overcome a better team literally ignores history. They struggled more in 2013 to win a title than OKC did. Last I checked OKC wasn't trailing by 15 late in an elimination game 6.