NBA FINALS 2012 OPO

lmao I wish I were smarter sometimes but then again fuck life

fear the beard

guys
a mediocre coach is gonna win the title this year and make people think he is good

yep. I hope it's okc's mediocre coach not miami's one.

btw I decided not to do the poll based on number of games bc fuck any1 who luckily predicts the number of games require to win a series

mickey arison is a motherfucker with some dark secrets

if the okc thunder prevail, they will have dispatched the mavs, lakers, spurs, and heat

aka the franchises that have won 11 of the last 13 titles

i really have no idea how this series is gonna go. if bosh is healthy and plays anywhere near the way he played today i think it's a pretty even series

we should use this as the finals thread btw, other one getting huge

yeah bosh changes everything

if the okc thunder prevail, they will have dispatched the mavs, lakers, spurs, and heat

aka the franchises that have won 11 of the last 13 titles

― he bit me (it felt like a diss) (m bison), Saturday, June 9, 2012 8:25 PM (37 seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Wow. That's like the plot of a Tarantino flick about basketball assassinations.

nah, outside of Garnett, celtics had no bigs for defense
ibaka and park are p formidable, collison is dece too
obv if he is hitting threes tho that's a different matter

xp haha after the credits roll, you just see them shoot the pistons and the celtics on their way home for no reason

Collison will play better defense on Bosh than Ibaka or Perkins will, imo.

yeah agreed. question is whether scotty will put him out there

this series is gonna be floptastic, btw.

want both teams to die so badly, just might not watch this year

Just a casual fan. I'll be rooting for Oklahoma City. I wanted a Spurs/Heat final, because I admire Duncan and wanted a real team to beat the checkbook one, but Oklahoma won we over by the end of the series. Love watching Harden.

didnt think u watche hoops, 'menza. nice

the lebron haterade has gotten to the point where I'm rooting for the Heat just to watch people suffer.

lebron = roger clemens

I hope that this series starts a legit rivalry between Durant & James and the Heat & Thunder. We need more rivalries like Celtics/Lakers.

it sucks that the only elite core of the past decade with true longevity was the Spurs

another problem: all the best teams were in the same conference.

the lebron haterade has gotten to the point where I'm rooting for the Heat just to watch people suffer.

― Matt Armstrong, Saturday, June 9, 2012 11:41 PM (10 minutes ago)

^^

I don't hate bron, I just want him to lose, it feels right

they actually go to Stephen A Smith for analysis

Kurt Rambis, NBA's worst head coach ever, ESPN studio analyst

Was he really worse than Tim Floyd? It's kinda scary to think about that level of suck.

http://i.imgur.com/wb9Vk.png

stern should make "expert picks"

thunder gonna need to keep moving the ball well, hitting their big men

do you put thabo on bron and kd on wade, or maybe westbrook on wade

who normally plays bron, i can't remember. thabos not all that big iirc

yeah guess its got to be durant

maybe fisher can check him

ibaka?

thunder gonna need to score some points

oh right it is durant, remember when they played twice in like a week and durant fid a good job good effort on him

thabos listed at 6-7, v v long arms iirc

speaking of whom you know who looks like a genius now is good job good effort kid

we should all apologize to him

thabos listed at 6-7, v v long arms iirc

― lag∞n, Sunday, June 10, 2012 10:18 AM (10 seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

oh hm i had him pegged as 6-5 in my head

yeah i wouldve guessed the same, his wingspan is like 7ft tho, im sure hell get some time w/bron

thunder just gonna have to be good w/the help

7-2 wingspan!

ur dead bron

the lebron haterade has gotten to the point where I'm rooting for the Heat just to watch people suffer.

― Matt Armstrong, Saturday, June 9, 2012 11:41 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

also I want lebron to stop mean mugging it feels wrong

hobak looked gassed on that last point

its cool he got a lil rest

i'm picking OKC... i don't think they're as good as they played in the final few games of the WCF, but i'm not sure if they lose at home in this series. that arena is crazy.

that said, i've always thought that OKC was a decent match up for the heat because they don't hit very many threes and are still pretty top heavy as an offense, as opposed to the mavs who of course had dirk but also had 6 other guys who could score on you. if the heat had homecourt i'd probably pick them.

interesting to see how the heat match up... their one potentially fatal flaw in this series is not having a guard outside of wade that can play defense. i'm sure they'll try and get away with having battier check harden but i don't think he has a shot of staying in front of him. they'll probably have to stick wade on harden a lot and put chalmers on westbrook and hope that he doesn't murder them.

this will probably be another series where perkins probably shouldn't play btw, except for the random minutes where the heat put a center in the game

super Nintendo chalmers becoming playstation 5 chalmers could be a big storyline

chalmers is usually good enough on offense at this point, especially if guys start to close out really hard on his shot, but as a defender he's still pretty terrible

i'm assuming norris cole will have to see the floor for like 5 mins a game in this series

dude i don't understand where you're getting this meme that chalmers is a bad defender from or that cole is a decent one

i don't think that cole is a decent defender, but he's gotten burn in every series since the first round cuz the heat usually need him to check point guards for a few minutes each game

no he's gotten burn because chalmers can't play 48 minutes every game and their other options are even worse

btw chalmers is a pretty bad defender... he fouls a lot, isn't smart, can't really stay in front of people. he's long-ish for a point guard, is basically his only virtue as a defender.

no he's gotten burn because chalmers can't play 48 minutes every game and their other options are even worse

― the route is ban (k3vin k.), Sunday, June 10, 2012 11:54 AM (15 seconds ago) Bookmark

it's also because chalmers gets into foul trouble... but the heat can play an entire game vs a real point guard and not bring cole in. they've done it plenty of times this year. spoelstra likes his defense for whatever reason. i'm not saying i agree btw.

heat were 4 points better on D per 100 with cole off the court in the regular season btw, and 3.5 points better on D with chalmers ON the court

the actual solution is just not to play a point guard when chalmers needs a rest, there's no rule that says you have to. lebron or wade can check westbrook for 5 minutes at a time

hey mike breen, cole brings nothing to the table

ha ok i misread that - the heat CAN play an entire game without bringing in cole, agree

one thing i think spo needs to do is to get wade working again in the post... with the way he's played lately, having him take thabo off the dribble sounds like an awful idea

wade couldn't take ANYONE off the dribble last night, has really lost that explosiveness, whether it's age or injuries idk

it's age in the grand scheme of things, but as kevin said it's not like he aged three years in the span of two weeks. his knee must be pretty balky.

The Thunder has more healthy-ish bodies atm and they solved the puzzle of how to beat the spurs four straight after being down 0-2. They are my pick.

(I wish Derek Fisher much happiness with his newest ring. He is one lucky lucky guy.)

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

landslide #ripbron #ripheat

24 votes! out yourself, ilh lurkers!

didnt vote, pick miami in 7

also didn't vote, not sure yet

voted thunder

voted the lakers

hahaha third party vote wasted

i voted for the thunder of oklahoma

from scouts inc

The Oklahoma City Thunder are coming off one of the most impressive feats in NBA history, winning four times in a row against a team that had previously won 20 straight. With a young, talented triumvirate in Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden, the Thunder possess a burst quality that makes them explosive offensively despite the tendency to revert to isolations and poor decisions. Their lack of true depth is something to consider, though it may be a mirage given the quality of their core group of players.

LeBron James’ play in the Eastern Conference finals was fantastic. He harnessed the Miami Heat to his back and carried them against the Boston Celtics despite the absence of Chris Bosh for most of the series and the inconsistency of Dwyane Wade in the last three games A man possessed for the entirety of Game 6 and in spurts of Game 7, James seems prepared to battle the demons of last year with a strong NBA Finals performance this season. However, he cannot do it alone. Wade must have a resurgence of mind and body, especially on the defensive end, and Bosh has to be ready for a much bigger share of the minutes. Heat coach Eric Spoelstra also has as much to prove as anyone going into this series, and must demonstrate the ability to manage emotions as this series promises to be full of runs for both sides.

These two teams split the regular-season series, with both winning on their home floors in less than 10 days’ time back in late March/early April. The games were nearly mirror opposites if you look at individual statistics, with OKC taking control in the second quarter of their blowout win and the Heat exerting themselves over the middle two quarters of their victory. The team that won the rebounding battle won both games, and the Thunder’s ability to move the ball effectively (or, perhaps, Miami’s inconsistency on the defensive end) was the most startling difference between getting a win and taking a loss.

Oklahoma City has not yet faced a defense as good as Miami’s in the playoffs, and Miami has not had to defend an offense as talented and explosive as the Thunder's. It makes for a truly classic matchup, and the most highly anticipated Finals of the past few years.

Five Keys to the NBA Finals

1. Battle of Cross-matching Defenses

While much will be made of the potential individual matchups (like Kevin Durant vs. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade vs. Russell Westbrook, etc.), the reality is that those actual matchups will not be featured for the majority of any game. Both teams are adept at and will not avoid crossing their matchups.

Expect to see plenty of switching because of off-ball screens, some trapping of ball screens along with soft string-outs and jump switches. The Heat have approached a large piece of the past two seasons using this strategy to great results on the defensive end (they have had a top-five defense both seasons of the Big Three era). OKC had not done it much going into the Western Conference finals, but found the tactic effective against the Spurs and may try it again against the Heat.

Doing so gives a bigger advantage to Miami than it does to Oklahoma City. Miami can roll players into the post who are comfortable, strong and skilled enough to score down there without altering its usual offensive flow. When OKC rolls guys like Durant or Westbrook into the post, they still seem tentative and awkward, as they prefer to face-up and attack off the bounce.

2. OKC’s Iso Advantage

One of the things that Miami’s defense tends to do very well is contest every catch and force players to make one-on-one decisions against closeouts. They choke off passing lanes and their length forces teams into difficult shots, especially when Bosh is healthy and contributing big minutes. His presence allows the Heat defenders to press up and get into the feet of their opponents, and offenses tend to back away from this kind of pressure.

Oklahoma City, however, may be able to thrive in this situation. The one-on-one ability of their “Big Three," especially the always-in-control Harden, could become a difference-maker in this series. Miami closes out so hard that the Thunder’s ability to take advantage of the tendency to over-pursue could make a huge difference.

During the regular season, the Thunder assisted on less than 50 percent of their made field goals (49.7 percent). And while they were better in the series against the Spurs (54.7 percent assists on made field goals), for this entire postseason OKC is still hovering at 50 percent. This demonstrates strong offensive balance and means they have created a formula to win using the kind of on-an-island play that Miami likes to force teams into.

3. Using and Removing Emotion

A very interesting discussion will be had amongst sport psychologists and coaches who watch this series to see both the manipulation of and the elimination of emotion.

Many players talk about their ability to feed off the emotion of a situation, and attempt to increase or maintain their intensity by raising their emotional investment. This process is a dangerous one, because the emotions that can give a player the passion to perform are the same ones that can cloud judgment and encourage poor decision-making.

For Miami, focused and laser-like intensity is rare but potent. The Heat's ability to adjust and play with passion following halftime was well-documented during their series against the Celtics, and when the James-Wade-Bosh trio is all similarly adjusted, they become terribly hard to stop.

OKC must avoid letting the moment become too big, and play through the emotion without it overwhelming its sense of purpose. The Thunder’s main advantage in this regard seems to be their youthful ignorance of the enormity of their accomplishments. They simply play, without a sense of the historical implications -- a mental advantage to be sure.

In this series, we should have full view of this battle for emotional control throughout, specifically in the form of scoring runs for both teams. Few teams were as explosive throughout the season as these two, as they both do an excellent job of converting defensive rebounds and turnovers into points at the other end. In fact, their efficiency in doing so will likely lead to multiple 8-0, 12-2, and 20-6-type scoring binges for both sides. The winner of those scoring spurts will likely win the series.

4. Taking Advantage of the Empty Lane

One thing that both teams share is bigs who can knock down jump shots. Whether it is Bosh or Udonis Haslem for the Heat (Haslem’s recent poor shooting notwithstanding) or Serge Ibaka for the Thunder, either team can remove their more interior-minded post players (Joel Anthony or Kendrick Perkins, respectively) and go to a near five-out offensive look.

In a series like this, without a ton of bruising size in the middle, the lane becomes a launching pad for acrobatic assaults at the rim, and the “post war” becomes more about which team’s natural perimeter players are better able to slide into a post-centric attack.

These two teams are relatively equal when it comes to rim attacks off of face-up situations, though Miami’s rotations to prevent easy aerial assaults are more precise than Oklahoma City’s. Expect to have plenty of times when it appears the lane opens for a swooping Durant drive, a freight-train attack from LeBron, an eye-popping explosion from Westbrook, or a shifty euro-style finish from either Wade or Harden.

However, Miami does own an advantage in its ability to post up any of their Big Three with effectiveness. This allows the Heat to go over a weak or foul-plagued defender more readily should they choose to, and their offensive flow is less disrupted in doing so. Provided the Heat attack is strong off of their post-ups toward the middle of the floor, they should find daylight and win the empty lane.

5. Matchups Down the Stretch

While there will be plenty of instances of cross-matching and switching throughout games, matchups will be accentuated in the closing minutes of games as these two teams go to offensive attacks that involve less screening and more one-on-one play. As a result, how these teams line up defensively will mean a great deal.

In this area, Miami again has the advantage over Oklahoma City. Th Heat's ability to put Shane Battier on Durant and slide James to either Westbrook or Harden gives the Heat the greater benefit of versatility.

Of course, Wade’s propensity to gambling could affect this plan if he gets caught out of position too often late in games. In their last two series, Wade has demonstrated a dangerous tendency to overextend, reaching for steals in passing lanes that end up allowing offenses to carve up the Heat on the backside. As the clock winds down, and both teams revert to a more hero-brand style of basketball on the offensive end, Wade must fight back the urge to make the hero play defensively, because it may just cost his team a possession or two late.

Prediction: Miami in six

voted for thundarr the barbarians obv

btw if okc wins can we add "doo doo champ?" to the thread title

nope

https://p.twimg.com/AvHWXAUCEAE_SBT.jpg

aw

damn that's for real alternate universe shit

RIP sonics.

Well as the fan of a small market team of course I want to see OKC win here. And I think that they will. I heard someone say "Lebron has to play out of his skull or OKC wins" and that's kind of the impression I'm getting here.

idk there are so many variables, maybe wade will play out if his skull, maybe westbrook will stink up the joint

yeah, i don't think you can really get a handle on the series until game 3, maybe even game 4

maybe bron will sulk off the court at halftime of game one saying hes 'going back home'

hollinger

How do we choose?

The Oklahoma City Thunder and Miami Heat are playing in the NBA Finals, and one of the many reasons that the excitement level is going through the roof is that on paper, this looks like as evenly matched a contest as you'll see. Although the two cities couldn't be any more different, the on-the-court product looks remarkably similar.

To review:

• Both teams finished second in their conference. One won 47 games; the other 46.

• One team had a scoring margin of 6.1 points per game; the other had a margin of 6.0.

• Both teams have top-heavy talent arrangements that feature three mega-stars and a flotilla of seen-but-not-heard role players.

• Both coaches have been roundly criticized, much of it undeservedly, for their game management and play calling.

• And, fittingly, they split their two regular-season meetings head-to-head.

So with all that, how are we supposed to choose only one of them to prevail?

For starters, let's admit that there's about a 50 percent chance that we'll be wrong regardless. A series this close is likely to turn on the smallest of details -- a ball that rolls in, an ankle that rolls over or a screener that doesn't roll.

Nonetheless, a few advantages seem apparent if we dig deep enough.

The first and most obvious one is that Oklahoma City will have home-court advantage in a potential seventh game, and that's worth about three points relative to a neutral site. In a series where the smallest advantages are likely to matter, that's a pretty big one. That's especially true, I would add, in the Thunder's gym, which has quickly become one of the game's cathedrals because its one-of-a-kind crowd can convince a favorable whistle on many nights.

With all that said, I suspect that appearances may be deceiving. Most pundits are picking the Thunder, but a deeper look at the numbers reveals a fairly solid advantage for the Heat.

Although their stats on the season may be nearly identical, the stats with their stars on the floor are not. This is an important point, because one fundamental difference between a Finals series and an 82-game regular season is that in the Finals, the scrubs will largely be bystanders. Each team has three stars, and at least two of them will be on the court virtually the entire time.

First, some background. Oklahoma City's stars were iron men this season; James Harden missed just four games, and Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka didn't miss any. That's one reason I was mildly disappointed with them for much of the season -- with their young legs and great health, I thought they should have been more dominant. One could argue it was too easy and familiar to coast on their talent until the Spurs forced them to play a smarter game.

Miami, on the other hand, had multiple injuries to its stars in the regular season and sometimes rested them in late-season games instead of pushing for a higher playoff seed. Then Bosh was hurt in Game 1 of the conference semifinals against the Pacers. It has shown in Miami's record both in the regular season and postseason: The Heat were 42-15 in the regular season when Bosh played but 4-5 when he didn't; similarly, they're 6-1 in the playoffs when Bosh plays at least 20 minutes and 6-5 the rest of the time.

Combine the two, and they're 48-16 with Bosh and 10-10 without him. As long as they have Bosh, you have to like their odds.

Let's dig deeper and see why. Remember, we should expect both teams to have at least two of their three stars on the floor for virtually every meaningful minute. Comparing their performance in those situations, then, only makes sense.

With all three of their main stars on the floor -- Durant, Westbrook and Harden -- the Thunder outscored opponents by 10.6 points per 48 minutes this season; with two of those three playing, they were plus-5.0.

That's outstanding -- but it's not as good as Miami. With their Big Three together, the Heat swamped opponents by 12.8 points per 40 minutes, according to NBA.com's advanced stats tool. With at least two of them on the court, they were plus-7.1.

So Miami, in the situations we'd expect to see in this series, has about a two-point-per-game edge on the Thunder. (See chart.)

Both teams were break-even propositions with one or none of their stars on the floor. (OKC was minus-2 on the season; Miami was plus-10). The only reason their numbers are so close overall, however, is that the Thunder played just 625 of those minutes in the regular season, while Miami played 1,192 -- nearly twice as many.

News flash: Both teams will have nearly zero of those minutes in the Finals. It's the other minutes that matter, and Miami was better in them.

Big 3s and Big 2s: Miami-OKC
Miami OKC Difference
With Big 3, regular season +12.8 +10.6 +2.2
With 2 of Big 3, reg. season +7.1 +5.0 +2.1
With Big 3, playoffs +16.9 +18.5 -1.6
With 2 of Big 3, playoffs +9.9 -1.2 +11.1
The same data bends Miami's way in the playoffs. With all three, the Heat have been shockingly good: plus-16.9 points per 48 minutes. Even with two, they have been plus-9.9. But the rest of the time, they have been minus-24; because of Bosh's injury, there were a lot of those minutes (202), which explains how Indiana and Boston had them on the ropes.

Meanwhile, the Thunder have been a bit better than Miami with their Big Three on the floor during the postseason, outscoring opponents by a whopping 18.5 points per 48 minutes. But with only two of the three on the floor, it's a different story -- they've been outscored in the playoffs.

Admittedly, Oklahoma City faced a higher level of competition than the Heat did in the postseason, but this difference has been grossly overblown. If you look at the quality of the opponents rather than the names on their jerseys, their entire advantage came in the conference finals; before that, Miami foes Indiana and New York combined for more wins and a far better scoring margin than the Lakers and Mavs.

One can argue that the Thunder deserve extra credit for how well they played in the last four games against San Antonio. I'll be the first to admit they may have turned the corner with how well they shared the ball and amped up their defense.

But focusing on that overlooks just how dominant Miami has been when fully intact, both in the regular season and in the playoffs. Here's a stat to drive my point home: The Heat have six double-digit wins in the seven playoff games that Bosh played at least 20 minutes. The Thunder have four the entire postseason.

As I said, it's close, and a lot of things could tip the balance. But if you want to know why I'm picking Miami in seven, this is why. With their best players on the court, they've simply been better. As long as they can keep those players in uniform and out of the infirmary, I think they'll prevail in what promises to be the first chapter of an epic rivalry.

Statistical support provided by NBA.com

Yep that's a pretty good analysis - Heat w/Bosh are really so much better, but I still think Durant and co. look more impressive, I'd pick them in 6, I just don't see the Heat winning a game in OKC

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mYzBGlL3ZQc

^ Lebron vs. Durant

KD and LBJ will both be outstanding and cancel each other to some extent. The two erratic players are Westbrook and Wade. I'm thinking Westbrook is more of a key to how well OKC comes out of this. He has more upside than Wade when he's hot, and Wade has not been very impressive lately.

I still doubt that Wade's 100% healthy right now so that'll be a factor

also boshes health v key

also wade look extra garbage for most of the boston series but for OKC's team defense is not as good as boston's, he gets to play a full series with bosh opening up the offense and for as good as ibaka/perk/collison are, neither of them are KG

wade certainly has more upside than westbrook

weird that hollinger chooses the heat in 7 and not 6, basically predicting the series will be 3-3 and the heat take the last one in OKC

ya when the road team wins its usually in 6

prob just his way of saying lol I dunno

altho finals is 2-3-2 (stupid) so maybe that changes the calculus, idk

232 is so bogus

should be 1-1-1-1-1-1-1

fuck travel budgets

agree

1-1-1-1-1-1-1 would prob fuck w/ the players in an adverse way

2-2-1-1-1 makes the most sense, 2-3-2 is absurd

they should play in 7 diff neutral sites

these have been good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-SzLALLaAg&feature=plcp

it should be like in nba 2k2 where you could play at various STREETBALL courts i.e. game 1 at the rucker, game 2 on venice beach etc

pelton likes OKC in 7 http://www.basketballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=2346

yahoo dude likes OKC in 7

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/deep-thoughts-cheap-thoughts-oklahoma-city-thunder-vs-193010518--nba.html

so steve javie is gonna provide postgame analysis of the calls, lol

somebody should hire tim donaghy to do exactly that.

deadspin was doing that a few years ago

ya i think he writes for some gambling site now

http://nba-point-forward.si.com/2012/06/12/tony-allen-scouts-the-finals

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/06/11/sports/basketball/nba-shot-analysis.html

awesome maps

harden's shot chart is a thing of stunning beauty

came here to post that map xp

that whole article is amazing

also I'm a little disturbed by "someone has to win this wretched thing" - this could be the best Finals in a long, long time (well last year's was one of the greatest, but it certainly didn't look that way at first)

disturbd.jpeg

lol spo https://twitter.com/WindhorstESPN/status/212594253195522050/photo/1

here's pruiti http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/29319/nba-finals-preview-can-the-thunder-beat-the-heat

btw he picked the mavs in six last year :-B

damnit bill simmons you suck

Just remember, it would be a historical fluke — repeat: a historical fluke — if the greatest player of his generation went 0-for-3 in the Finals. Of course, he won't make it easy because LeBron James never seems to make anything easy. That's why I am picking Miami in a grueling seven-game classic. Kevin Durant, your time will come.

he used this same kind of elementary school logic to slam Belichick for 4th-and-2, it's even dumber now

hes more into narrative than logic is the thing

which is not to say that hes not a horrible monster

hes more into narrative than basketball

lol who was the chick in the seat in the middle?

lebron's got that weird look on his face tonight

btw i'm virulently against the national anthem but the one tonight was bomb

blue tshirts for crowd? bad choice

man do you really need to help off Battier to cover Chalmers' penetrating?

bench perk

Thunder out of sync

durant shoots them back in

Miami is all business

that was a good start for the heat. offense looked pretty calm & crisp. Perkins should not be playing in this series.

why does lebron get to pose with the trophy???

no off rebounds for OKC yet

everyone does that, i don't get it

so, how long til norris cole is in?

okay battier

battier has more than half of miami's points.

Perk with two turnovers already. Bad perk.

battier will probably not hit a 3 again this finals

god, perk is having one of the worst quarters i've ever seen.

Miami enjoying not facing the C's defense anymore

otm, it's like miami was training at gravity x100 and now it's back to normal gravity

battier is nice, quit bullying him ILX :(

nah he's an inhuman monster dude, his name is shane

nice 2 for 1, miami

the beard

that was perfectly timed

nice offensive foul by harden

pretty slow game so far, playing at an 86 pace

james vs harden is murder

that lebron dunk was nuts... I think he boosted in the air

haha smash brothers

well JVG Mage it almost 1.5 quarters before bringing up Seattle

made it*

battier was clearly fouled on that miss, wtf

fisher took wade on the break?? :|

yeah that blew my mind

haha fisher

breen's dream backcourt is fisher/cole

too much fish

fuck u chrysler ad

RIP Wade

"natural inclination" whats that supposed to mean?

lebron running with a full head of steam is the most terrifying/violent thing

udoflop

JVG otm re: charges obv

think udonis hasn't shaved since the playoffs started

spo looks tremendously constrained

perk back in the game. miami W

WOW CHALMERS

chalmers looked wade-esque on that

derek fisher why are you number 37 why did u pick that number it's a dumb number to pick.

I hate everything about u derek fisher.

joel anthony w a crazy 1:30 min stretch, big energy

derek fisher why are you number 37 why did u pick that number it's a dumb number to pick.

cuz he's 37 years old!

durant...

-_-

scott's mom

omg bosh is the greatest jump shooter of all time

scott's mom has done a lot of scowling in her 70 years

bosh is so good

that dunk was better than brons

wade's "go-to" move now is this thing where he eurosteps into the defender and puts his knee into the guy's chest as he elevates and shoots a fadeaway

needless to say it's a terrible shot

lebron's shot is so all over the place

starting to feel like lebron + bosh is > lebron + wade. but wade is also prob pretty hobbled right now.

damn, serge

how is that a double technical

wtf how is this a double tech

lol

Can I please never see a basketball highlights + movie preview intercut thing again.

can i interest you in stephen a smith?

mike miller limping down the tunnel

holy shit, the way Mike Miller walks down a hallway is incredible

he literally walks like a 60 year old linebacker going up to the podium at the NFL draft

need a gif of that T-reaction by westbrook

that was very psychotic

like the idea of building a finals commercial around 'climax' - perfect song if lebron doesn't win again this time, right

Mike Miller is so injured that Van Gundy doesn't bother going on his "I don't want to hear about injuries" spiel with him anymore.

ahahhaha BRON ON SOCKS http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lTWXZWOQVD4

somebody tell magic and broussard to stop using a full windsor knot

that was fast

http://cdn2.sbnation.com/imported_assets/1091790/597657480_medium.jpg

i can't get enough of the "heat dance party with song x" meme

also juwan is HILARIOUS in that video

wish the heat dance party was like 4 minutes longer

the one thing i'd like to see is some sort of edited video of that dance party w/ uncomfortable, stoic d rose standing in the middle

haha

under 98 for the second half looks like a pretty good bet right now

no way heat continue to make this many 3's

certainly not but the thunder are leaving battier & chalmers just wide open

doubt fisher will continue hitting pull up 18 footers either

kinda forgot were stuck with espn halftime dweebs here on out

mike wilbon I know ernie johnson and u sir are no e.j.

maybe brooks will have some adjustments for th second half such as they'll play better

Scott brooks mom looks like she owns a 12 gauge and has a preferred brand of rye

really need to poll the miami heat dance party video

for me it's cloes between turiaf and bosh

Heat come out with a three man weave, Spo is a genius

ah wade, never cha-- wait, no, hold on, please stop taking wild jumpers

sefolosha shoots freethrows for missing a dunk attempt

fair is fair

I get a nervous feeling in my stomach every time wade gets the ball now

Man Sefolosha is taking Wade's lunch money

you could tell that lebron found his shot on that final one at the end of the quarter, even tho he missed it

god, what a wacky possesion. lebron doesn't take perk off the dribble, battier tries to dunk.

battier getting ibaka to waste one of his fouls on him is like getting a queen in return for a pawn

perk was really calling for the ball

this is nuts btw.

I would not want to be a ref for a game 7 in this building.

"i would" - every ref in the NBA

man sefolosha is everywhere

thabo's total inability to dunk is the thunder's most efficient offense

sefolosha shoots two more freethrows for missing a dunk

spoelstra really needs to quit playing bosh like this is his first game coming off his injury

sef could have a backup career as a villain in a sly stallone action movie

thabo should be ashamed of himself

wow Wade

wade is just

bron lefty hability is insane

wade ._.

god Miami's outlet passes are so low percentage

if bron brings the ball up like that, no one in the league can stop him from getting to the rim

if bron brings the ball up like that, no one in the league can stop him from getting to the rim

― the route is ban (k3vin k.), Tuesday, June 12, 2012 10:42 PM (22 seconds ago) Bookmark

yeah i mean he should give himself a running start like that ALL THE TIME instead of starting his drives from a step outside the three

ed malloy everyone

i swear i heard "mac miller comes on"

BENCH WADE

somebody needs to tell wade they changed the rules to stop favoring the sam-i-am lean-in shot

he looks for that every time he picks up his dribble

the heat's halftime show in game 3 should be wade getting kobe's blood spinning procedure at halfcourt

FUCK ME

bron -_-

WOW

i mean not literally but christ

if bron brings the ball up like that, no one in the league can stop him from getting to the rim

― the route is ban (k3vin k.), Tuesday, June 12, 2012 10:42 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

that should be an and-1

yeah, especially durant xp

ヽ( ゜。゜)ゞ

have they tried Thabo on him? I feel like this has been on Durant every time.

i forgot in which preview i read, but someone made the point that unlike a lot of players, lebron doesn't pull off of pick & rolls and give himself room like that to drive, which is why guys like bass or joakim have had success guarding him off the dribble

I can't stop watching Mike Miller off the ball-- convinced that he's been faking the injury this whole time, so I'm transfixed how he shifts from looking normal to looking AARP. Especially when he runs over to help up teammates DUDE IF YOUR BACK WERE AS FUCKED AS YOU ACT WHY ARE YOU PULLING UP 240 LB DUDES FROM OFF THE GROUND?!?

feel like mike would be healthier next season if he dropped some weight?

the back is the least of his 3 injuries

thinking that Mike Miller is faking his injury is pretty much nuts imo

someone explain why ice cube is being tormented by that beer can, its like the dark inverse of zooey d hanging out with siri

miller checking harden is a disaster scenario

lebron career-high in a Finals game is 25 points !!!!!!!

someone explain why ice cube is being tormented by that beer can, its like the dark inverse of zooey d hanging out with siri

― doc has never told me nothing that wasn't true (agent hibachi), Wednesday, June 13, 2012 2:52 AM (22 seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

because he heard the drink thinks it's colder than he is!

the ad's concept is that Ice Cube is insane

has okc ever led, seems like they've had all this momentum and heat just keeping control

no they haven't

fisher just gave chalmers the dim mak

designing a resealable can of beer is just I can't even

chalmers is gonna have four fouls before the fourth quarter in every game this series

boy so glad I get to save this delicious coors light to have three days from now

hey, it's dwyane wade!

that was a 05 finals move and call

JVG

yeah take it to the restricted area a little more often, genius

okay jvg named his cat after mo cheeks I can't even deal with this info

mo cheeks!

who was JVG talking about re HOF?

oh mo

the best part was when he added that it "died 18 years later"

wow lebron hit thabo with a shoulder and sent him back three feet

dont relaly buy talk of wades injuries when hes getting up so high to block shots

I wonder if my gf would let us name our next cat Danilo

fantastic possession

loud

"mo cheeks was so good as a point guard I named my cat after him"

I mean really if he'd said this a dozen or so years ago my senior quote would look a little different.

thinking that Mike Miller is faking his injury is pretty much nuts imo

True, but it would be all-time if he were. It's just that he looks so hobbled and then *snap* dude is fine for a few minutes. And, as it's been mentioned for the past few series, why wouldn't teams go hard at him if he were that hobbled? Feel like Harden has gone at him a few times and Miller has handled it better you'd expect a player who looks so clearly injured most of the time to handle it. But yeah, probably just as injured as he looks I guess.

someone explain why ice cube is being tormented by that beer can, its like the dark inverse of zooey d hanging out with siri

Tom Scharpling was going on and on about those Ice Cube / can commercials a while back, was some A+ radio.

https://mobile.twitter.com/galeamonster/status/212741068943400960

I wonder if my gf would let us name our next cat Danilo

― Matt Armstrong, Tuesday, June 12, 2012 10:58 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

gallo seems like a reasonable name

Bummed that the internet doesn't know anything / have pics of #JVG and #MoCheeksCat.

sweet, some fouls

wade is a terrorist

wade you idiot

fisher goat

CLUTCH PASS BY FISCHER

bron needs to take over

hey, an acura ILX commercial!

Acura ILX has been freaking me out.

yeah I'll be typing and hear "I-L-X" and look up

the Acura ILX77

collison playing big

thunder logo looks like a grenade, kinda

with the turbocharged SB engine

my girlfriend actually introduced me to it, saying "hey yr dumb message board has its own car now"

well that was a gift foul

wade's indecisiveness is throwing everything off

that entire pick n roll set got demolished by him pump faking on a shot he was never going to take

single bead of sweat rolling down wade's face looked like a single tear

OKC's arena is so nuts

how was that not a double dribble on chalmers btw

WADE

where is bron??

okc's crowd might be whiter than portland's.

great call. GREAT call

that was probably a "charge" but *shrug*

refs have no fucking idea what they're doing with block/charge calls now

nope

OKC has the best home court in the NBA, i don't think it's close

man sefolosha is the only guy who ran down with westbrook

this series should just be alternating bron/durant fast break dunks

wow what a cut by chalmers

bron :)

jesus, lebron

Refs are so bad. I'm embarrassed for them.

collison has like 15 tip outs tonight

whoever loses the balance in their offense in this series is suicidal .. both teams heavily benefit in the open court

spoelstra is not gonna have battier guard durant is he

first time I've ever seen the ball get stuck on top of the backboard

spoelstra is not gonna have battier guard durant is he

― J0rdan S., Tuesday, June 12, 2012 8:18 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this is actual insanity

http://images.livemixtapes.com/artists/trapaholics/duflockarant1/cover.jpg

bron really has to push the pace on those rebounds. hasn't gotten a rest in the 2h, maybe he's tired

heat had two days off, lebron could prob play a full 48 & be alright

solid 5-17 for Wade

lol another classic zoom in there, KUPCHAK ZOOM 2

goneeee

less touches for wade, more touches for james

yeah huge lols at the rileszoom

where's james harden anyway ?

yeah i think harden got swallowed by his seat, someone should check it out

LBJ hasn't done jack since they switched Sefo on him

think the heat as a team need to remind themselves that bosh isn't an auxiliary player

btw why were riles & zo in like the 18th row? did they scalp tickets?

my god, Andre Braugher TV Dramas will never end

being the cameraman who gets to play where's waldo w/ the opposing team's execs must be kinda fun

they'll never top the kupchak zoom; he appeared to be suicidal

yeah, also the distance of it... it was like it came from outside the arena

maybe you shouldnt go for the steal when youre down 6 with 2 minutes to play

yeah that was just really stupid

russell hasn't thrown it over lebron's fronting the entire game, it's kinda weird. KD has been calling for it incessantly.

hey they're actually running some plays

some amazing finishes by LeBron tonight

dunno about giving that foul there

OKC should just amnesty perkins tonight

For posterity:

http://i47.tinypic.com/15yi0de.png

Big Game Thab

this one's over

well that was a nice punctuation to the night

amnesty wade

um, lol mike miller

spo ran an elaborate set out of a timeout down 9 with 20 seconds left

good job, good effort

What impressed me most about this game were 1) the degree to which spoelstra cost his team by not knowing how to counterpunch as a coach with smart substitutions and 2) wade's consistently weak performance all through the game. Of these two, the first is the more troubling for the heat's overall chances in this series, since there's not a prayer spo will improve his game quickly enough. One of his asst coaches needs to step up.

Wade obv is not the player he has been in past. Acting like he has a pulled groin or something else that slows him down a lot.

I'd love to see a split-screen of one of Sefolosha's missed dunks (I know, he played well otherwise) next to that one Durant made a few minutes later. Great start, OCT.

oh, spoelstra was fine. he played all his good players and none of his bad players. who was he supposed to "smartly" sub in? joel anthony? the heat could have phil jackson as coach or they could have my grandmother as coach, if bosh & wade shoot a combined 11-30 it doesn't really matter what anyone else does.

is that a coaching pro-tip? "play all your good players"

sure

1 weird tip

scott brooks played perkins & fisher more minutes than harden tonight, so he for one should take note

i didn't post cuz i blame my reckless predictions for the celtics losing and didn't want to jinx the thunder but a few things

1. what a game! i had a lot of fun, i kinda don't know why i was rooting for the celtics (outside of kg/rondo luv) because this should be a great series

2. it's cool how this shook out because it's rare you get a real chance to settle a sports debate like "who's the best player in the league" and here we've basically got a chance to see: lebron or KD, which is cool

3. the OKC crowd is the biggest bunch of RUBES i've ever seen lol, even the front row ppl it's hilarious

4. WTF was up with the shirt and glasses westbrook was wearing in his post game press conference? seriously, has stern fined him yet?

5. chris bosh, the world's first 7 foot three point specialist

6. with the pacers and celtics there was that element where the heat could hit the gas and just be like "you know what? we're bigger/faster/stronger/better/(younger) than you are." not sure they can say that in this series.

7. man, i know wade is probably hurt, but i did start to realize last night that the heat's window, esp with wade, is not exactly endless, he seems to be getting old quick sometimes in these playoffs

8. KD is so cool to watch, he's slight and not really that athletic looking, plus he has a real nonchalant, slouchy way he carries himself that's so deceptive when all of a sudden he blows by everyone and elevates a foot above the basket for a dunk. he almost has a 70s type vibe to him

9. the heat should also be worried because they had a lot of things went right: big first half lead, battier plays way better than he should, and harden has almost no impact on the game -- and they still lose. those things aren't going to happen again.

10. i feel like i should have 10 for the daily dime. um...yay basketball!

I think #6 there is really the big one - I did feel "if they don't beat the Pacers/Celtics, they probably didn't try hard enough", but not here

Also Lebron is the best player on the court regardless of who wins here, but Durant's ability to make shots from *anywhere*, especially in the 4th quarter here, is something Lebron hasn't shown yet

wade's "go-to" move now is this thing where he eurosteps into the defender and puts his knee into the guy's chest as he elevates and shoots a fadeaway

needless to say it's a terrible shot

― J0rdan S., Tuesday, June 12, 2012 10:05 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

this is super otm, wade pulled this with about 8-9min left in the 4th on collison defending. collison got called for the block but it could have gone either way- he was outside the circle and had his feet set but it looked like he stepped in after wade "gathered" which in a post-ginobili world is this long crazy elaborate bundle of gestures that starts halfway through the eurostep.

anway it's a) a weak move other than the eurostep which dwayne does well and b) looks awful to face as a defender because even if you defend it correctly you're getting a ninja-knee straight in the chest and probably getting called for a foul why because crawford et al <3 wade 4eva and c) starting to think jvg is right in that there needs to be some rethinking of block/charge/restricted area.

on that play i thought it would be better if the restricted area was further out so there is no incentive to plant for a charge with no play on the ball, but in trade you should allow defenders to block or take balls off the cylinder, that way wade's incentive is to try to score (rather than JUST barrel in for contact and throw up whatever) and collison's incentive is to go up and try to interfere with the shot. i'm sure there's some easy hole to poke in this but there's no wrong #hoopidea right

oh except wade's shot wasn't a fadeaway but a leaning layup circusy thing, same difference

5. chris bosh, the world's first 7 foot three point specialist

good lol but i am patching through a call from berlin for UMS...yes someone named dirk is on the line?

but otherwise ums' daily dime otm, good game, very fun, durant/lebron are both a lot of fun to watch and cool contrasting styles, 70s vibe from durant is definitely in effect, could see him balling in the aba with a crazy rainbow jersey

as always it was shocking to hear breen run down his stats at the end of the game and casually add in "23 years old"

oh and it's crazy that brooks' westbrook-fisher-thabo with durant and collison frontcourt lineup worked as long as it did, by four minutes left i was wonder if harden was hurt or something and i missed it

generally i do think 3 guards-durant-center is their best look and i guess he's just going with the "hot hand" out of ibaka, perkins and collison, though we'll probably never see perk in crunch time in this series

wade's "go-to" move now is this thing where he eurosteps into the defender and puts his knee into the guy's chest as he elevates and shoots a fadeaway

needless to say it's a terrible shot

― J0rdan S., Tuesday, June 12, 2012 10:05 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

ginobili wannabe

4. WTF was up with the shirt and glasses westbrook was wearing in his post game press conference? seriously, has stern fined him yet?

he's been doing that for awhile now. i think he was asked about the glasses and admitted that they didn't even have real lenses, he just liked the way they looked. bron and wade do this too and its no less stupid

Wade: "It's cool to be smart. It's cool to be educated. It's a message behind the madness."

James: "Nah, I don't need glasses to see. Glasses is just fashion. If you wear 'em right, sometimes they look good, sometimes they can look not so good."

lens less glasses wearers can eat my shit

he's been doing that for awhile now. i think he was asked about the glasses and admitted that they didn't even have real lenses, he just liked the way they looked. bron and wade do this too and its no less stupid

― am0n, Wednesday, June 13, 2012 10:38 AM (59 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah i know it's the big thing but i don't watch that stuff much and i thought that westbrook's were even more goony and obv bright red, thought he stepped it up a notch

the shirt was just ridiculous

1:19
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj2iuQDkigs

Haha, didn't notice the slow stroking from 1:46-1:53 before

Tom Haberstroh ‏@tomhaberstroh
Kevin Durant on criticism: "I don't want to sound like a jerk, but I don't care what people say outside the lockerroom."

he gets criticized?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoxOYKg4kBU&t=33s

33s ^

westbrook reminds me blanka

http://oldgamesftw.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/blankajoelma.jpg

I get a '70s vibe from Durant, too, mostly from one of his layup styles, when he just palms the ball and swoops in. Since dude's reach is higher than just about anyone's, he can find a flight path -- with the ball safely palmed 13ft above the ground -- and drop it in when it's safe. Feel like that was a popular move in the '70s, maybe when there weren't as many big fellas to knock the ball out of the driver's hand?

Fun game last night. Wade was looking pretty bad all night; reminded me of that awful half he had against the Pacers when, as an opposing fan, you were hoping that the Heat would give him touches because you just knew he'd eff up somehow. Still, "wade's "go-to" move now is this thing where he eurosteps into the defender and puts his knee into the guy's chest as he elevates and shoots a fadeaway ... needless to say it's a terrible shot = crazytalk imo. Looks ugly when it's not working, which seems to be happening once/twice a series now; but, when he gets it going, it's just as demoralizing for the opposing team as LeBron willing his way to the rim and no one being physically able to stop him. Like, just hope people don't forget the craaaaazy highlight film Wade put together against Pacers/Celtics doing this move over and over and over again. Not to mention that it has the bonus of getting defenders in foul trouble.

Still hoping an intrepid blogger can give us more info on #RIPMeowCheeks.

Also shame on Heat for wasting Battier/Chalmers both hitting double-figures in 1st half points last night.

A small part of me wants Bosh to tweak something / Wade finally keel over from whatever's bothering him, and then watch LeBron max out his potential and put up 50pt/20rb games until he passes out mid-court or physically assaults the whole Heat team out of frustration.

as bad as wade looked at times, he also had some good possessions. miami lost that game because they couldn't stop okc in the second half

is the dream team doc on tonight?

yeah, i think 9 est

nice

<3 this so far, although the first five minutes were some pretty heavy America Was a Land of Contrasts shit. Otherwise, fantastic. Barkley quote about Daly being able to coach "Bad Boys assholes, he could coach anybody" was great.

lol @ barkley "budweiser is the strongest beer in the world"

yeah that was wtf

lol @ laettner not getting in that game

i remember laettner never really playing in the olympics either i think?

do they show any of the tourney of America's games? If so u may see ~11 year old clay sitting next to ~arsenio~~~

AWESOME
and also
LOL EARLY 90s

Dying @ the John Stockton / tshirt bit. Even after he's like, "Hello, I'm John Stockton" she's still "... oh."

hahaha stockton really didn't look like much of a basketball player

Interviews/footage are both amazing, and it's an A++ watch, but this is some bad directing. Wish it felt more like some of the earlier 30/30s.

That shot of Magic on the podium, the that wistful face he made, lordy. Wish I could just watch like ten hours of extra footage.

http://30fps.mocksession.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/2012-June-13-21-43-53.jpg

Interviews/footage are both amazing, and it's an A++ watch, but this is some bad directing. Wish it felt more like some of the earlier 30/30s.

That shot of Magic on the podium, the that wistful face he made, lordy. Wish I could just watch like ten hours of extra footage.

― *:? (CompuPost), Wednesday, June 13, 2012 10:28 PM (5 minutes ago)

whole post otm

lol xp

11 hall of famers at one time is crazy. i'm not sure you could do that for sure today with USA players

LOCKS:

bron
durant
kobe
wade
paul
pierce
garnett
allen
kidd

LIKELY:

love
blake
russ
melo
howard
hill

POSSIBLE:

rose
bosh
amare
carter
ben wallace
mcgrady
marion

who am i forgetting/who's in the wrong group?

maybe throw bynum under possibles. actually the distinction between likely and possibles got a little more arbitrary as i went on

if the thunder win this year what are the chances fisher gets voted in someday? *shudders*

0%, but he's worth consideration for ILX's role players HOF

consideration denied under the FUCK DEREK FISHER doctrine

who am i forgetting/who's in the wrong group?

RONDOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I'd definitely do some rearranging. People like Durant and maybe even Chris Paul are definitely not locks-- think that's more of a "if their career ended today" type thing.

AND WHAT ABOUT DIRK dammit now I'm just gonna cobble up a list now ...

scratch that I'm an idiot kinda forgot the premise of that list, being predicated to USA players.

Why isn't rose in the likely? Is his injury that bad long term?

paul is totally a lock - at his peak, probably only magic was as good as him. durant has won 3 straight scoring titles and barring a career-ending injury will be a dominant player for the next 6 years

Why isn't rose in the likely? Is his injury that bad long term?

― wack nerd zinging in the dead of night (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, June 13, 2012 11:28 PM (37 seconds ago)

injuries*

Yeah, you can't have guys like Blake and Westbrook above Rose, an (the youngest?) MVP winner.

xp would have to crunch numbers on CP3. Also a bit tougher to be a lock if you've never played in one important game over your whole career :/

yeah the only reason blake and westbrook are above rose was because of his injuries. honestly they probably should be on the same level, and given rose already has an MVP and neither of the other two will likely ever win one, that's probably a point in his favor too

TIM DUNCAN

HOF LOCK

and honestly melo probably doesnt belong with any of these guys but he's so overrated it's not even worth snubbing him

xp duncan wasn't born in the USA

doesnt matter, he competed for USA in 2000 olympics dude

as for rondo, he'll have to play more like he did in the postseason and less like he plays in the regular season to even be in the conversation. kinda tough to be a hall of famer if you're never clearly one of the 5 best players at your position

doesnt matter, he competed for USA in 2000 olympics dude

― he bit me (it felt like a diss) (m bison), Wednesday, June 13, 2012 11:40 PM (1 minute ago)

oh duh right

rondo is def one of the 5 best PGs

LOCKS:

bron
kobe
wade
pierce
garnett
allen
kidd

LIKELY:

paul
durant
melo
howard
rondo
mcgrady
ben wallace

POSSIBLE:

amare
carter
hill
love
blake
russ
rose
bosh
d. williams
... zbo :)

if you're going by this postseason, yeah. but a month ago you couldn't say that confidently at all. paul, westbrook, and rose are all clearly better than him, and then you've got parker, nash, d-will, kyrie, etc who are all comparable at least xp

Yeah, meant to put Rondo with the POSSIBLEs.

okay hold on, wtf is going on in this thread

much love to all y'all, but the following three players have had like 2 good seasons. calling them "likely" hall of famers is borderline insane

love
blake
russ

tracy mcgrady has no shot of making the hall of fame

amare is not making the hall of fame

grant hill is not making the hall of fame

vince carter has as much a chance of making the hall of fame as brandon jennings

that is to say 0

grant hill might! gold medal in the Olympics, 7 time all-star, 5 time all-nba, 3 time sportsmanship award winner, historic career at duke.

okay grant hill MIGHT. i think the injury probably derailed him tho.

I'm not saying he SHOULD but iirc Chris Mullin was a first ballot HOFer so the degree of difficulty isn't what it should be.

(no offense, Spottie)

i do always forget that the basketball hall of fame is kinda wacky

i'll retract on grant hill

NBA HOF is terrible, bernard king still isn't in and it took them way too long to enshrine nique.

so jordan otm

Bernard King isn't in the hall? That's wack as fuck.

I'm not saying he SHOULD but iirc Chris Mullin was a first ballot HOFer so the degree of difficulty isn't what it should be.

― Clay, Thursday, June 14, 2012 5:50 AM (8 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

(no offense, Spottie)

― Clay, Thursday, June 14, 2012 5:52 AM (8 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

No big deal.

much love to all y'all, but the following three players have had like 2 good seasons. calling them "likely" hall of famers is borderline insane

love
blake
russ

― J0rdan S., Thursday, June 14, 2012 1:00 AM (9 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

tracy mcgrady has no shot of making the hall of fame

amare is not making the hall of fame

grant hill is not making the hall of fame

― J0rdan S., Thursday, June 14, 2012 1:01 AM (9 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

people don't just put up kevin love's numbers like its nothing dude. he's going to be good for a long time
hill you were obviously crazy to deny
carter is a 7x all-star and probably the best in-game dunker ever. i'd say he has at least as good a shot as melo
t mac was like, the best player in the league at one point. 2x scoring champ. dominant for 5 years or so. he's probably in
Blake and Russ obv i'm projecting them to be at least as good as they are now for the next 5-8 years

is Wade really a HOF lock?

he's like the 3rd best shooting guard ever man

yes wade is a lock

he's not better than AI

yes he is

iverson was great and generally overhated on but...wade is one of the greatest players ever

lol @ the unintentional kanye/taylor swift construction of that post

lol

hahaha

also he's not better than Kobe or West so I dunno about "3rd best"

I'm not saying Wade shouldn't make the hall, I'm 90% sure he will, but it feels like this season could be the start of a decline and in that case I dunno if his career is going to turn out better than AI; I'd take Iverson at this point but ymmv

you are insane

i mean iverson is great and in the history of basketball one of the most important figures ever, but as an all-around basketball player he was not better than wade

if Bernard king isn't in and Nique barely got in, tmac will not be a HOF

wade's PER from 05-12 : 27.6 28.9 21.5 30.4 28.0 25.6 26.3
iverson's career high PER: 24.0

t mac was really amazing for like 5 years of his career... he's been in the nba for 14 years. he's also never won anything. he's not making the hall of fame.

^^
end of discussion on tmac

vince being a 7 time all star is a more a product of when he played than anything. only 4 years w/ a PER of 22 or better (i rounded for the one year he was at 21.9) + he has a reputation of being soft and all that. i don't see it.

t mac is a classic case of injuries derailing a meteoric career, which is why i think calling love, blake & russ "likely" hall of famers is nuts

but he dunked over that french dude

t mac def has a stronger case than vince

i didn't say either were likely tho, but both have reasonable cases/are borderline

the only player of that age that i'd call a "likely" hall of famer is kevin durant. i wouldn't even go that far on rose, accounting for his injury.

oh and john wall

t mac is a classic case of injuries derailing a meteoric career, which is why i think calling love, blake & russ "likely" hall of famers is nuts

― lamborghini persie (J0rdan S.), Thursday, June 14, 2012 11:39 AM (33 seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i agree with this, the younger dudes probably should have been in the lower category because of this

oh and john wall

― lamborghini persie (J0rdan S.), Thursday, June 14, 2012 11:40 AM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

hit the brakes

:D

Who votes for the HOF? writers? Cuz if so won't do melo any favors.....like how chris carter isn't in the nfl hall of fame

oh and john wall

― lamborghini persie (J0rdan S.), Thursday, June 14, 2012 11:40 AM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

hit the brakes

― the route is ban (k3vin k.), Thursday, June 14, 2012 11:43 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Skidmarks -> over the cliff

Think if either TMac/Carter make it, they both make it; guess I wouldn't be shocked if neither make it.

Grant Hill is a funny case because he never had seasons like TMac/Carter, but has played a long time + some came-back-from-the-dead seasons where he's been a strong contributor. If anyone benefits from lost-potential voting, it'll be Hill. But of the three players, feel like his stats are the least impressive (nb: I really haven't looked at the stats that closely).

I'm interested to see how much advanced stats start playing into this stuff, too. Have have basically zero idea whether any of those three's advanced stats look that great or not.

Also, surprised no one really has much of a problem w/ Ben Wallace being a Likely. I mean, he is for me for being a dominant rebounder/defender ... not sure if there's anyone from the modern era in the HoF w/ such bad offensive numbers, though.

if wallace makes it, bruce bowen should also get in /sucking up to based mod

wtf none of these guys should be in the hof

otm

some good posts leading up tonight...

http://nba-point-forward.si.com/2012/06/14/nba-finals-game-2-heat-thunder/

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/29587/what-does-miami-need-to-do-to-win

Tom Haberstroh ‏@tomhaberstroh
Me, Wallace, Coup, Wise, Schuh squad just schooled Bucher-BrentBarry-Abbott led squad. Yessir.

not sure if there's anyone from the modern era in the HoF w/ such bad offensive numbers, though.

rodman got in first ballot a couple years ago I believe. obv greater than Ben Wallace, but Wallace has a ring and like 5 DPOY trophies.

you guys have to remember too it's not the NBA HoF, it's the basketball HoF. Grant Hill's back to back NCAA titles matter way more than his PER from 1997.

nice one too http://www.nba.com/2012/news/features/06/14/heat-thunder-adjustments/index.html

WHAT THE HEAT NEED TO DO: Use cross-baseline screens to establish both Wade and James in the low post. Moreover, Bosh likewise needs more touches in the pivot.
Use more of the double-screen situations that were so effective.
Get better basket-coverage by playing Joel Anthony more than the two minutes he played in Game 1. This is also advisable since Anthony is Miami's best screen-role defender.
Have more on-ball pressure and weak-side help available when Battier plays deny defense against Durant.
Get the ball to LeBron after he curls off weak-side screens.

Have Wade guard Russell Westbrook and Chalmers guard Thabo Sefolosha.
No matter whom he's guarding, isolate Serge Ibaka to take full advantage of his penchant for biting on fakes (both of his fouls resulted from this) and saddling him with foul trouble.
The bigs have to make more aggressive shows when the Thunder set high screens in their early-offense sequences.
In half-court sets, LeBron needs to make quicker decisions with the ball to prevent OKC's defense from loading up in the paint.
Understand that lazy passes will be tipped or stolen by the Thunder's quick, long-limbed, athletic, and alert passing-lane poachers.

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/miamiheat/post/_/id/14827/introducing-shane-battiers-secret-weapon

can i just

chris palmer
‏@ESPNChrisPalmer
Respect to the Dream Team. But Kobe, LeBron, Durant, Wade, Howard, CP3, Westbrook, Rondo would run them off the floor.

they wouldn't run them off the floor, but it'd be a game

lets-create-a-narrative-out-of-shane-battiers-hand

chris palmer is an imbecile

yes

they wouldn't run them off the floor, but it'd be a game

no, I'm pretty sure they'd destroy them

I mean, those guys are all 50...

Believe it or not, we can track these types of things.

never change stroh

i literally cannot wait until i never have to hear about shane battier agai

Adrian Wojnarowski ‏@WojYahooNBA
Dwyane Wade on the floor early in OKC, drenched in sweat, working on his mid-range game.

*blows out brains*

not gonna lie, I am laughing at your pain

hahahahaah jordan

the only sports hall of fame that should matter is cooperstown, that's it

gonna ban u for that

I thought other defenders do the hand in the face thing all the time - bowen iirc?

the only sports hall of fame that should matter is cooperstown, that's it

― un® (dayo), Thursday, June 14, 2012 5:39 PM (16 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

wtf why?

dnftt

because I said so

are you one of those oh the majesty of summers past joltin' joe strides across the grass oh american's true pastime football is a metaphor for global thermonuclear war turdballs?

well, serious answer: because the basketball HoF is not really part of basketball culture. it doesn't serve the same purpose in basketball as cooperstown does in baseball. now, it's probably nice to have some place in the sport where the names of great players are enshrined, that's cool. but really, I could give maybe two fucks over whether or not t-mac makes it over jerry stackhouse!

lol, i'm inclined to agree with dayo but baseball & its history was my first sports love. it's kinda hard to care about NFL lineman being inducted i guess, and basketball doesn't seem to have the same mystique either

it's probably nice to have some place in the sport where the names of great players are enshrined, that's cool.

^^this is pretty much the only possible purpose any sports' hall of fame can serve. being in the hall of fame is a big deal in any sport. you aren't really making a case at all other than you don't care and "because i said so"

i fucking hate baseball snob culture so fucking much i'd bulldoze cooperstown, burn it to the ground, and build a buffalo wing joint/strip club over its ashes

I don't even know who joltin joe is

joe naimath, right?

http://images.politico.com/global/news/090831_george_will_ap_297.jpg

" the basketball HoF is not really part of basketball culture. it doesn't serve the same purpose in basketball as cooperstown does in baseball."

xpost

dimaggio mr. rich appreciation of cooperstown's place in baseballs rich history and culture

I bet you that 3/4 of nba fans don't even know there is a basketball hall of fame, or who's in it other than the obvious ones

xpost

dimaggio mr. rich appreciation of cooperstown's place in baseballs rich history and culture

― wack nerd zinging in the dead of night (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, June 14, 2012 7:08 PM (1 minute ago)

young dudes like dayo and me weren't around to watch him play, old man ;)

ok sabremetrics, name all the un-obvious players in the baseball hall of fame

i'll spot you one: joltin' joe dimaggio

I think the only guy in the world who cares what some NBA rando did in 1978 is Matt Armstrong

i did know who joltin' joe was tho obv

also the nfl hall of fame induction ceremony is probably a bigger media event than baseball now

pete rose, right? xp

I think the only guy in the world who cares what some NBA rando did in 1978 is Matt Armstrong

― un® (dayo), Thursday, June 14, 2012 6:10 PM (38 seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

dayo were you pretty concerned about bert blyleven getting snubbed for the baseball HoF all these years? I mean the man pitched over 100 complete games!

that's a damn, damn shame.

this is like arguing with the lex of sports

I'm more concerned about gaylord perry, tbh.

dayo were you pretty concerned about bert blyleven getting snubbed for the baseball HoF all these years? I mean the man pitched over 100 complete games!

― wack nerd zinging in the dead of night (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, June 14, 2012 7:12 PM (3 minutes ago)

ha ok i'm having trouble figuring out your argument here, is it on some anti-stats ish? blyleven obviously should be a HOFer

the heat vs thunder thread took a weird turn.

i dont give a shit really abt any hofs but blyleven as an OBVIOUS hof'er is p nuts

yeah I'm gonna go ahead and say do not feed the troll again
then if u keep feeding him I will ban all parties reponsible from this thread
fuck baseball, cricket forever

what, you don't want to talk about bart byeleven?

stfu

u mad, doggie?

yes

HEY
GAME 2
NBA FINALS
LIVE ATHLETES WHO PLAY A COOL SPORT
WHO YA GOT

i dont give a shit really abt any hofs but blyleven as an OBVIOUS hof'er is p nuts

― johnny crunch, Thursday, June 14, 2012 7:23 PM (2 minutes ago)

wait the guy who finished his career with 3700 strikeouts and is in the top 40 all time in WAR? come on bro

dayo is more or less otm itt

xp hes v good & i dont really care that he made it but an obvious hof'er is like willie mays or tom seaver

also, thabo sefolosha in 2025

guys I'm dead srs I thread banned my own child dayo
get ths baseball shit the fuck out of here

xp hes v good & i dont really care that he made it but an obvious hof'er is like willie mays or tom seaver

― johnny crunch, Thursday, June 14, 2012 7:43 PM (5 minutes ago)

well to wrap this up, the reason he wasn't an "obvious" HOFer is because he played in an era that valued different statistics and outcomes - the guy won like 53% of his games, that's all people cared about back then. in terms of what we now understand as value, he's an obvious HOFer. thabo obv not analogous

xp i need to read something so feel free to ban me until the game

w gusto

i have to work until 9 but i just realized i can watch the finals on my computer on the comcast/xfinity website :)

i fucking hate baseball snob culture so fucking much i'd bulldoze cooperstown, burn it to the ground, and build a buffalo wing joint/strip club over its ashes

― wack nerd zinging in the dead of night (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, June 14, 2012 7:04 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

MY MAN

omg that abortion of a national anthem

Sara Evans, butcher

gd all the okc spurs highlights I've seen tonight, like Nam flashbacks

excited for this

yeah this is gonna be big

hang on, i've seen this episode before

westbrook had wade on ice skates

wow Shane

god durant is like a beautiful dirk

if wade really has a sprained knee that eurostep can't feel good

there it is, wade

I'm making tacos at halftime if u dudes want any, don't tell dan and kev

damn perk

serrrrge

okc can't shoot right now
bring harden in

need a gif of perkins pinning wade

westbrook is like 0-100

nice heat ball so far

bosh just eurostepped durant!!

bosh!

miami really is in trouble if they're gonna give up this many OREBs tho

Westbrook shitting the bed

omg westbrook battier double flop

lmao at that last battier russbrook collision

Shane took his Centrum

this is ridiculous, I object

is this the first time in nba history that an arena has done alternating color t-shirts?

bron bullying durant in the block

is this the first time in nba history that an arena has done alternating color t-shirts?

― un® (dayo), Thursday, June 14, 2012 9:21 PM (44 seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i could swear i saw this earlier in the playoffs

god, low post LeBron

I'm p sure most ppl come int the building w alternate color shirts
xp

lebron's little jump stop hook is p deadly

westbrook is way too hyped for his own good, remember right after he got that double tech in game 1? he's gonna pop a vein

the jump hook is the greatest shot in basketball

sweet now it's all russ

nooooo harden 4 lyfe

this game finta be stupid lopsided

bron playing like it's game 6 against C's

~norris cole sighting~

harden one on one ability is ridic

god this crowd is dumb, I love these daffy fools

spo is just eager to give these points back huh

hahahahahah another missed thabo dunk

man Sefo make a dunk one time

well at least sefolosha actually touched the rim this time on his missed dunk

great foul by Westbrook

james jones!!!

sefo is a perfect basketball player, just cant finish shit

harden is such a ginobili clone it is ridiculous

thabo starting to enter tony allen territory now

OH COME ON

3 point shot scissor kicks are the fucking worst

harden's uniform always seems like its half a size too small

iblaka

wow that was a nuts block -- i feel like lebron would just snap your arm off coming down that type of force

this Abe Lincoln vampire movie looks like elf dick

yeah lebron was definitely looking to end somebody's life w/ that

some of my very best friends are elves... I'm gonna report you!! xp

i get so nervous watching basketball

t/s: stephen a smith prometheus or coors light prometheus?

neither, I choose human extinction

I like how ambiguous "NORRIS COLE MIA" is

they trust his... pureness of spirit?

plucky duck!

derek fisher is human garbage

Wade throwing some really nutty passes

heat need to run offense through bosh in every possession

James harden is incredible
OKC would be stupid to trade him

the notion of keeping ibaka over him is utterly crazy

yup

I sure as shit hope they don't give him to Charlotte, I'd like to actually follow his career and see him play now and then.

hell the notion of keeping westbrook over him.....

the heat's offense more or less totally falls apart the second lebron sits. they can't even do like 3 possessions, and that's with two olympians on the floor. it's insane.

norris cole takes derek fisher to the rack, this is what i've waited all season to watch

i really need to watch 2006 finals vids to remind me of when wade was good

is that more on spo or how all their other players are barely human beings XXP

god the p'zolo's are fucking gross

pizza hut p'zolo???

wade's been great this game for the most part!

smh

wow I never watch abc like ever this network is garbageville wtf who runs this network

P'YOLO

that one p'zolo where the sausagemeat flopped around as the p'zolo crashed to the table

wow I never watch abc like ever this network is garbageville wtf who runs this network

― Clay, Thursday, June 14, 2012 9:51 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lol my gf and i were just discussing this

maybe put the MVP in the game, i dunno

jesus fuck Chalmers

lebron goes out and the entire offense is just wade jacking midrange jumpers

I think the one episode of Charlie's Angels I watched is the only ABC program I've watched in like 4 years

absolutely terrible call

they're gonna change that

you can't change it, it was a loose ball

yeah I'm fairly sure the 6 years of of my life utterly wasted on LOST is the only abc programming I've watched as an adult.