I honestly think if Dallas takes game 5 they take the series. It'll be hard enough for them to win two games in a row, I doubt the Heat can too. This series is just too tight, and it's not like the Heat have a crazy home court advantage with their lame fans who didn't even show up most of the season despite having an allstar team.
I place my faith in the German Moses.
Oh great one, deliver us from the red sea!
But in all seriousness, game 5 is for all the marbles. If Dallas loses that game, in my mind the Heat put their foot on Dallas's collective neck and eliminates them in game 6. But if Dallas comes out and takes game 5 (which will indeed be very tough as all the other games have been) then they could come out and shock the world. Somehow though, I smell a game 7.
On kind of a side-note here, the finals are proving again why I've always said that if given the choice I'd rather have Wade to build around than LeBron. Sure LeBron has more tools and is the "better" player in terms of tallent, but Wade just doesn't disappear in the same way Bron does in important games, and honestly when your picking between two players at their level of tallent the marginal benefit of having the more "tallented" of the two is much less compared to having the more clutch of the two.
I don't care how many titles the Heat win, LeBron is never going to be considered on MJ or Magic's level if it's all done with Wade carrying the bulk of the load when it counts the most.
I totally agree, and i've thought the same from probably 2007 and on. Lebron (skill wise) is the best player in the league and has been since 2008 and I don't really think it's debatable. However, D-Wade is nearly as good as Lebron talent-wise and significantly better down the stretch over the course of his career. D-Wade with the ball in his hands at the end of a close game is probably the scariest shit ever for the opposing team. And not just that, he shows that he wants it every game rather than just walking out there with a sense of entitlement. Yeah he's flashy (no pun intended) and "hollywood" this year but when the game is truly on the line you see his sense of urgency go into a 6th gear whereas Lebron often fades away in the moment.
On kind of a side-note here, the finals are proving again why I've always said that if given the choice I'd rather have Wade to build around than LeBron. Sure LeBron has more tools and is the "better" player in terms of tallent, but Wade just doesn't disappear in the same way Bron does in important games, and honestly when your picking between two players at their level of tallent the marginal benefit of having the more "tallented" of the two is much less compared to having the more clutch of the two.
I don't care how many titles the Heat win, LeBron is never going to be considered on MJ or Magic's level if it's all done with Wade carrying the bulk of the load when it counts the most.
Luckily for Miami they don't have pick between the two.
Lucky Bastards!
I totally agree, and i've thought the same from probably 2007 and on. Lebron (skill wise) is the best player in the league and has been since 2008 and I don't really think it's debatable. However, D-Wade is nearly as good as Lebron talent-wise and significantly better down the stretch over the course of his career. D-Wade with the ball in his hands at the end of a close game is probably the scariest shit ever for the opposing team. And not just that, he shows that he wants it every game rather than just walking out there with a sense of entitlement. Yeah he's flashy (no pun intended) and "hollywood" this year but when the game is truly on the line you see his sense of urgency go into a 6th gear whereas Lebron often fades away in the moment.
Dallas is performing better than I could've ever imagined. Just like Boston and Chicago they are keeping the games close down the stretch, but THEY are the ones who are out-executing Miami. I'm happy and scared at the same time. I really hope they win it in game 6.
Dallas takes it!!! And Bosh was crying... I honesty wonder (legit question) what's worse between losing in the finals, especially the way they lost, and getting called every name in the book by the fans and the media or flying under the radar, not making the playoffs and enjoying your off-season?
Awesome win by Dallas. When they playoffs started I didn't think they could but Dirk was Dirk and his supporting cast stepped up huge. I pulled out my 10 year old Nowitzki jersey and wore it during tonight's game.
- Lebron James is still the best player in the NBA IMO. Dallas simply game-planned entirely to stop him and they executed well. They gave him room on the perimeter to shoot and doubled him every time he began moving towards the basket with the ball. "The Decision" was ridiculous but I don't think Lebron is a douche. I just think he's kinda stupid and takes advice from even stupider people.
- Bosh played alright and he keeps his mouth shut for the most part. He was being overrated simply because of being associated with much better players like Wade and Lebron. Gay jokes are stupid too. I don't care if he is or he isn't, they are dumb.
- I don't like Wade. His constant acting is ridiculous and if the NBA actually enforced the new technical foul rules, Wade would be ejected from several games due to his whining. I think he's the 2nd best player in the NBA but he can go screw himself and I'm glad he lost.
Dallas did basically everything right and got a few lucky prayer shots to go down in that last game. They played zone when they needed to and rotated very well. They had a smart gameplan for Miami's big 3, particularly Lebron. Miami's lack of big men worked into Dallas' favour too allowing them to play 2, sometimes 3, of Kidd/Terry/Barea all at once.
^^ I agree with most of what you said, but I strongly disagree about Lebron. While I do think that he's the best player in the NBA, as I said earlier he's also not the first guy i'd pick for my team in a scenario down the stretch in the playoffs. That's not to say he wouldn't be near the top of that list, but he certainly wouldn't be #1. As for how he carries himself, I think he's just an arrogant guy, always has been. "The decision" in and of itself was probably bad advise from the wrong people but it's not just that. He's been a prideful winner and a poor loser. He's consistently put the blame on everyone else and never stopped to take a good hard look at himself in the mirror. I think this series though will go a long way towards humbling the guy (you never know though).
I'm so glad for this, the Mavericks got a well deserved title, but also Bosh got what he deserved too. The dude bit off more than he could chew. He left Toronto for more exposure, more tv time, more wins, and most importantly a ring. I know it's their first season together but he got the most non-basketball related ridicule of the big 3, he got called out the most, he was called gay, two and a half men, weak, soft, overrated, this that and the other, and most of all he didn't even get the ring to be able to say "well, you can say what you want about me but I have a ring so it was all worth it."
Re: The official NBA playoffs 2011 thread
