The Heat is on

Game 3 will be key for Boston, if they win they have hopes, if they loose its over.  So lets see how they handle that.  Miami also can't get complacent with the lead, they have to approach the next game as a must win.  It certainly would be a mistake not to do that against Boston.

I feel for you, i truly do.  I was actually at that game 7 when Renteria hit the single that delivered the game winning run by Counsell.  I wasn't able to speak for 3 days afterwards, truly amazing.  That was one heck of a series, incredible games.

Haha, non casted....I'm well aware that most people want them to loose .  Part of what is making this run a lot more fun.

crusevegas - 2011-05-04 11:00 AM

Cuetoy - 2011-05-04 6:10 AM I know there are not many COJ'ers from South Florida but i'm throwing this thread out there anyways .  After many years of suffering since the 2006 champioship the Miami Heat is finally rewarding their fans (or bandwagon jumpers) you can pick the term.  It is great to see how a team with three mega stars puts so much emphasis on playing such a stifling defense.  They are making the Celtics look slow and old.  Now it is time to keep it up and not stop until the finals.....Go Heat...

Oh goodie,, we can get back to our normal disagreements,,,, while even a blind squirrel can find an acorn and sometimes stumble on two in a row, I wish you much disappointment by the end of this round of the playoffs!

Remember, slow is smooth, smooth is fast game 3 Celtics all the way!!

Haha, why am i not surprise by this

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast is a concept invented by slow people .  Game 3 will be due or die for the Celtics, by Saturday evening we will know if hope exists.

Personally I want them to lose.  As a Warriors fan I loathe the Lakers but if they meet the Heat in the Finals I will root for Kobe and Co.

Player collusion is bad for the sport if you are a small market team with no appeal (i.e. Golden State).  The next player to fall in line is reportedly Chris Paul, who is going to the Knicks.

Long ways to the finals but if that match up would end up happening i would enjoy it very much so.  Not a Kobe fan, even if i do like Lamar Odom

Umm i don't know how you would suggest preventing players from one team to not lobby other players/friend to join theirteam.  It happens in all sports and it has always been that way, i dont see how is bad all of the sudden.  The biggest problem for GS is not the small market, is the lack of a competent front office and the weird personnel decisions that they make.  There are plenty of small market teams that are competitive and have a long tradition of winning without attracting the big names (Spurs, Jazz)

So that means that you will root for Miami if they make it to the finals and play the lakers....

"not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven...."  Not like King James set the bar high for the Heatles (what????) or anything.  Although it seems they are on track for the "one."  Heck, then he'd only be 4 rings behind Kobe. 

Lakers/Heat would be a good matchup, but that's several moves ahead.  I think we'll dispatch Dallas, I hope.   I think OKC is going to win that series, and they will give us a very hard series if we get there. 

What the hell was Ainge thinking, that a 38 year old Shaq could carry them through?

Haha, yeah that was a little silly, they got carry away with the celebration.  But if by any reason they win this year it wont be hard to add a couple more at least.  Boston will be out after this year, the lakers are also getting old and i dont think SA can be included in the conversation any more.

I think the Lakers are playing the West final right now.  Whoever wins between them and Dallas i dont think will have a problem with either OKC or Memphis. 

I dont know what he was thinking, but i dont think Perkins would have been much of a difference so far.  Boston's problem is not defense, it is more scoring related and perkins is not known for much of that.

Perkins is averaging 6.3 rebounds per game as a starter playing almost 28 min per game, and Davis 4.3 coming out of the bench at 24 min per game so there is not much of a difference.  In addition in less time played Davis scores a point and half more than Perkins.  They have looked slow all over, not just deficient at the center position.

If Superman wanted a possibility to win some rings he would go to SA (I dont think they have the cap space, would have to be sign a trade).  With Pop as a coach he would win his ring, they would be duplicating the passing of the torch that happened between Robinson and Duncan

There really isn't a way to prevent it, which is why alot of fans are turned off from the sport.  The past few years we've seen Toronto, Cleveland, Phoenix, Utah, and Denver lose their franchise players and essentially forced to become irrelevant in the next few years.  People are even suggesting contracting some of them.  Sure, they get a few token players and a draft pick (which isn't a lottery pick) but overall its like making a deal with a gun to your head.  The Spurs benefit from loyal players, a state with great tax laws, and phenominal drafting (Parker 28th overall, Manu in the late 2nd round).  I don't see the Jazz competing now that Deron and Boozer are gone.

The difference between the NBA and the other sports is you need at least one franchise guy to win a title, preferably two.  The only team I've seen do it without a franchise guy was the Pistons (both during the early 90's and a few years ago).  With other sports one player doesn't have the power like in the NBA, with the exception of maybe Quarterback in the NFL.  If you're Orlando or OKC, you have seven years from draft day to figure out how to win it all unless those players buck the trend and resign. 

I enjoy the NBA and watching the amazing things the players do, but as far as a competitive league goes, its at the bottom.  Any other sport 2-3 guys cannot change the whole map of a league like the moves the Heat made.

Well, that is something entirely different. Player collusion is when a team deals with a player that is under contract.

What you are talking about it is the nature of professional sports in general, not only basketball. It is more noticeable in basketball. What happen to those teams it was only their fault, they never managed their cap properly to put a decent team around their stars. Once a player hits free agency they are free to go anywhere that they want. Big market teams offer more opportunities to promote their "brand", and are normally cities that appel to young players.

In basketball there is a salary cap, so big market teams can't spend the other teams. In addition, the current team can actually offer more money to a player than a new team, that rule was implemented in that las collective bargaining if im not mistaken to give a chance to teams to retain their star player, but if that players wants to go somewhere else that is his choice.

Small market teams have to be smarter drafting and discovering international players, and managing their cap so they have room when other teams don't. The Jazz will be ok, their biggest problem is that Sloan is not there anymore. They lost two hall of famers in Malone and stockton and they recovered just fine.

They NBA has always been a league where realistically speaking only a handfull of teams have a chance of winning it all. Powerhouses have always and will always exist (Lakers, Bulls, Celtics, etc)

crusevegas - 2011-05-04 4:49 PM

Cuetoy - 2011-05-04 11:05 AM

crusevegas - 2011-05-04 2:01 PM My two favorite teams, Celtis and my second favorite is whoever is playing the Lakers.

So that means that you will root for Miami if they make it to the finals and play the lakers....

I won't forget this, i will remind you when the time arrives

crusevegas - 2011-05-04 8:31 PM

Cuetoy - 2011-05-04 5:29 PM

crusevegas - 2011-05-04 4:49 PM

Cuetoy - 2011-05-04 11:05 AM

crusevegas - 2011-05-04 2:01 PM My two favorite teams, Celtis and my second favorite is whoever is playing the Lakers.

So that means that you will root for Miami if they make it to the finals and play the lakers....

I won't forget this, i will remind you when if the time arrives

 

FTFY 

 I'm smelling a friendly bet