Both Bosh & LeBron say the 2014 Spurs are the best team they have ever played against

[nba_55]

And even with that he was at sub 50% TS going into the 4th qtr of game 6 for the series.

And...Wade/Bosh were playing much worse. And so was Chalmers.

And the difference was simple....the 11 Mavs don't let Lebron go off...especially when there is no prime Wade to worry about.

You have to give them Mavs at least some credit for holding down Lebron and winning a series in which Wade was getting points left and right on high efficiency and running around playing great defense.

I doubt that Mavs zone D would have worked with 3 points shooters like Battier, Miller, Bosh and Chalmers. One of the reasons why Mavs had success against Lebron was because of the bad spacing on that heat team. Joel Anthony wasn't even guarded. Bibby missed all his open shots. Jones couldn't hit anything. On top of all that, that Heat team was running isos. No team offensive system.

[DMAVS41]

Why all that text ? You said he didn't show up for 5.75 games. 18/18/10 and 33/11/4 is not showing up and i don't know what it is.

Because he was only marginally better than he was in 11.

We can rephrase it to whatever you and NumberSix like so we don't argue semantics.

The point, is that Lebron's better play in 13 was not making up for the drop in Wade/Bosh/Chalmers on both ends...and neither were the role players either.

Everyone forgets that Haslem defended Dirk really well in 11. Who the hell is doing that in 13 or this year? Nobody would have a chance...it would have been bbq chicken like Ibaka was in 11 when Dirk destroyed him.

[JT123]

Because he was only marginally better than he was in 11.

We can rephrase it to whatever you and NumberSix like so we don't argue semantics.

The point, is that Lebron's better play in 13 was not making up for the drop in Wade/Bosh/Chalmers on both ends...and neither were the role players either.

Everyone forgets that Haslem defended Dirk really well in 11. Who the hell is doing that in 13 or this year? Nobody would have a chance...it would have been bbq chicken like Ibaka was in 11 when Dirk destroyed him.

I think we found Shaq's insideHoops account.

[DMAVS41]

I doubt that Mavs zone D would have worked with 3 points shooters like Battier, Miller, Bosh and Chalmers. One of the reasons why Mavs had success against Lebron was because of the bad spacing on that heat team.

Well, I don't think the Heat could have gone small much against the Mavs.

And Battier was in a terrible shooting slump all playoffs...I don't think the Mavs would have worried much about him. Allen definitely presents some interesting defensive choices, but again...the Mavs just don't have to worry about Wade nearly as much in 13 vs 11.

It would have been somewhat of the same thing. Overload on Lebron and force the ball to Wade's hands and make him beat you. Considering Wade was far less capable of that in 13...I think it's just another defender to stay at home on Allen. Make Wade make shots or finish at the rim over Haywood, Chandler, Dirk, and Mahinmi.

I'll take my chances with that.

And that is just offense. The Heat just objectively were worse defensively in 13.

[nba_55]

You posting just his PPG numbers doesn't say very much.

LeBron and a few role players playing at a high level

or

Wade and Bosh with a one or two role players at a high level

Given the competition, I'm still going Heat in '11

Bosh 2011 finals:
18.5 PPG, 7.3 RBS, 1.0 Assists, 41% FG, 2 TO, 39.4 MPG

That's not high level. He was actually almost as good in 2012.
14.6 PPG, 9.4 RBS, 0.2 Assists, 45% FG, 1 TO, 36.6MPG
When you consider his great D in 2012, he was as good.

2011 Heat team didn't play as a team offensively. They were running isos the whole game. The spacing was bad. Joel and Bibby were starting. The other team didn't even bother guarding them. In 2012, the spacing was better with Battier and Chalmers starting ,the ball was actually moving.

[Collie]

Well, they got their asses kicked embarrassingly. It would look bad for them if they said otherwise.

[DMAVS41]

2013 heat was the best version of the team while this year team was the worst

If you are talking about the win streak Heat with Wade healthy and everyone rolling...then yep.

If you are talking about the Heat team in the playoffs with Wade hurt, half the team slumping, and Bosh playing like a bitch...then nope.

It goes;

1. Healthy 12 team
2. 11 Heat
3. 13 Heat
4. 14 Heat worst by far


The defense slipped in 13 and 14...it slipped more than people seem to realize in 13 and it should have cost them the title. People seem to just ignore this.

Parker/Manu/Green/Neal/Diaw combined to go 13 of 48 in game 6 and the Spurs had to choke the game away to lose. That series should have been over in 6....even with half the Spurs team falling apart.

[DMAVS41]

Bosh 2011 finals:
18.5 PPG, 7.3 RBS, 1.0 Assists, 41% FG, 2 TO, 39.4 MPG

That's not high level. He was actually almost as good in 2012.
14.6 PPG, 9.4 RBS, 0.2 Assists, 45% FG, 1 TO, 36.6MPG
When you consider his great D in 2012, he was as good.

2011 Heat team didn't play as a team offensively. They were running isos the whole game. The spacing was bad. Joel and Bibby were starting. The other team didn't even bother guarding them. In 2012, the spacing was better with Battier and Chalmers starting ,the ball was actually moving.

Regardless of how they played, the 11 Heat were pretty damn good offensively. the 11 Heat finished with the 3rd best offense in the regular season and the 4th best offense in the playoffs.

The 12 Heat had the 8th best regular season offense and the 3rd best playoff offense.

Meh...some of this stuff gets exaggerated. I like the 12 team the best when healthy, but to act like they played offense at a different level is just silly.

[1987_Lakers]

Miami peaked in 2013.

- 66 wins
- 20 something consecutive wins during the year
- They got Birdman
- They got Ray Allen

[DMAVS41]

Miami peaked in 2013.

- 66 wins
- 20 something consecutive wins during the year
- They got Birdman
- They got Ray Allen

In the regular season.

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

Bosh 2011 finals:
18.5 PPG, 7.3 RBS, 1.0 Assists, 41% FG, 2 TO, 39.4 MPG

That's not high level. He was actually almost as good in 2012.
14.6 PPG, 9.4 RBS, 0.2 Assists, 45% FG, 1 TO, 36.6MPG
When you consider his great D in 2012, he was as good.

2011 Heat team didn't play as a team offensively. They were running isos the whole game. The spacing was bad. Joel and Bibby were starting. The other team didn't even bother guarding them. In 2012, the spacing was better with Battier and Chalmers starting ,the ball was actually moving.

OK.. so why did you initially claim that Bosh and Wade were worse in 2012?

Enough of the semantics. In the playoffs, the Heat's CORE were better in 2011, ergo they were stronger. Do you agree with that? A simple yes or no question..

[1987_Lakers]

Sorry, Birdman and Ray Allen alone make 2013 > 2012.

[houston]

If you are talking about the win streak Heat with Wade healthy and everyone rolling...then yep.

If you are talking about the Heat team in the playoffs with Wade hurt, half the team slumping, and Bosh playing like a bitch...then nope.

It goes;

1. Healthy 12 team
2. 11 Heat
3. 13 Heat
4. 14 Heat worst by far


The defense slipped in 13 and 14...it slipped more than people seem to realize in 13 and it should have cost them the title. People seem to just ignore this.

Parker/Manu/Green/Neal/Diaw combined to go 13 of 48 in game 6 and the Spurs had to choke the game away to lose. That series should have been over in 6....even with half the Spurs team falling apart.

hell 2012 team wasn't healthy during the playoffs. Bosh missed a good portion of the postseason. the 13 team with Ray Allen pick up improve the bench. We seen how that help the team lol.


13 team 66-16 the best record in the NBA with MVP on the squad. That why they was the best team.

[DMAVS41]

hell 2012 team wasn't healthy during the playoffs. Bosh missed a good portion of the postseason. the 13 team with Ray Allen pick up improve the bench. We seen how that help the team lol.


13 team 66-16 the best record in the NBA with MVP on the squad. That why they was the best team.

again, you are going off the regular season. and I think yes...the 13 team was the best regular season team.

the problem is that they dipped dramatically in the playoffs. dramatically.

Wade and Bosh each dropped around 5 points per game. Each dropped over 7% TS as well. Wade, due to his injuries, also saw his defense decline hugely in the playoffs. Bosh went into a shell in the playoffs and really was just bad start to finish....capping it off with a 0 point game 7.

Chalmers dropped 6% TS.
Battier dropped hugely in his efficiency.

Allen's production stayed about the same.

Lebron dropped like 6% TS as well...

Just not the same team...at all.

And what everyone still ignores is that the 13 Heat saw the defense really slip. They squeaked out the title and frankly got lucky that the Spurs went ice cold in game 6. Outside of Duncan/Leonard...the rest of the Spurs went something like 13 of 48 and the Spurs still should have won.

Honestly, that Heat team is just pathetically over-rated. They played cupcakes again to get to the finals and then honestly lucked out with the Parker injury and the Spurs choking. They were not a great team at all.

Mad props to Lebron for getting it done...and individually that is super impressive for him, but that Heat team was just not very good.

[SamuraiSWISH]

2014 Spurs are the best Finals opponent they have faced.

2011 was their most difficult road, competition wise, to a championship. That was probably Miami's best team though as well. They've always had old, vet minimum role players. But LeBron / Wade / Bosh were firing on all cylinders in 2011. Bron was just ass in the Finals, that's all.

2011 Mavericks aren't as great as they've been made out to be. Even with LeBron being nonexistent it was still competitive with Dallas. We really going to act like it wasn't on some levels a flukey win? Not to discredit Dallas, but it's basically true.

2013 Spurs are the second best they have faced in the Finals. D. Wade didn't show up this summer, like he did last year in the Finals. But last year Parker was hobbled, and Ginobili had the worst series ever for his standards.

This year, K. Leonard just improved leaps and bounds. It made all the difference for them, giving the Spurs an added dimension.