NBA Playoffs 2012/13

Carcharodon

Wow, What a shot, Spurs got lucky with that play but I 'll take it, game over and series on.......

padraig_f

Woah, what a game! I have to say, when Parker fell down with about 1.5 seconds left on the shot-clock, I didn't think they were going to score.

leggo

Unbelievable.

Nuri Sahin

Awesome Phantom from Game 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34cILcLqen4

GoldFour4

Jesus that was unreal from Parker. This looks like it will be a fantastic series.

BQQ

Heat look in real trouble.

Spurs didn't shoot well, were beaten on the boards and still won.
Even Miami's bench played well. Where can they improve?

Carcharodon

I think the media might be overreacting a bit, (shocking, I know). For me it was just two teams playing good basketball with one team just edging the win. It can't be a shock to anyone that the Spurs were able to snatch a win, they are one of the best teams of all time.
I don't think Miami should panic, all they have to do is make a few adjustments and execute. LeBron will probably have to be more aggressive on offense and Bosh needs to do something other than think he is a great 3 point shooter.

Paully D

Joey Crawford for game 2.

ButtersSuki

Paully D wrote: »

Joey Crawford for game 2.

We can all safely bet our houses on a home win then.

padraig_f

Damn, part of what made game 1 great was the way it was refereed, they let the little stuff go and the game really flowed, never noticed the refs at all. I was hoping that would continue for game 2, but Joey Crawford seems to like getting noticed.


It's possible to overstate the value of this play, because it was one possession in 48 minutes, but I liked this piece on it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGhbYmECnHw

I suspected in the Pacers series, Lebron was pacing himself a bit and picking his spots to conserve energy, but wasn't sure. So was interested to see he asked to be rested at the start of the 4th quarter in game 1. He ended up playing 42 minutes, seemed like last year he was averaging about 45 mins/game in the finals. Not a big difference, but in close games can be significant.

I'm also surprised he admitted to being tired. When Jordan was playing, he was very reluctant to acknowledge publicly any little injuries he was carrying, because he thought it gave his opponents an edge. Saying your tired I think gives your opponent an edge too. If I'm the Spurs players hearing that, it motivates me.

Brian Windhorst has more on it here, interesting one to watch as the series goes on:
Will fatigue affect LeBron ahead?

Paully D

This is cool:

ButtersSuki

Joey's finest moment:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOygTd1NWCM

ButtersSuki

Tim Duncan altercation
On April 15, 2007, Crawford ejected San Antonio Spurs superstar Tim Duncan for supposedly laughing at Crawford from his seat on the bench during a game against the Dallas Mavericks. Duncan also supposedly insulted Crawford with an expletive.[7] Duncan alleges that Crawford asked if he wanted to fight.[8] On April 17, Crawford was suspended for the remainder of the 2006-07 season and the 2007 Playoffs as a result of this altercation, ending his 21 consecutive Finals appearances. The league also fined Duncan $25,000 for verbal abuse of an official and warned that a repeat incident in the future would result in an ejection. Commissioner David Stern said Crawford's actions "failed to meet the standards of professionalism and game management we expect of NBA referees."Crawford met with league officials on July 30 to discuss his future in the NBA but no resolution was reached.On September 17, 2007, the NBA announced Crawford's reinstatement. Commissioner Stern met with Crawford and stated, "Based on my meeting with Joey Crawford, his commitment to an ongoing counseling program and a favorable professional evaluation that was performed at my direction, I am satisfied that Joey understands the standards of game management and professionalism the NBA expects from him and that he will be able to conduct himself in accordance with those standards." This lead to Crawford receiving the award for "Worst Referee" in NBA history.


And then there's this:
http://deadspin.com/5964824/tim-duncan-and-tony-parker-had-some-fun-at-the-expense-of-old-nemesis-joey-crawford-on-halloween

Bets on a T tonight? :rolleyes:

padraig_f

Expecting another close game tonight. What the Heat will be focusing on I think will be the low number of turnovers they forced, the Spurs had just 4 in game 1, and Tony Parker had none. So I think they'll try and up the pressure on Parker, double-teaming more aggressively, especially off the pick-and-roll.

The Spurs turnovers were so low, they'd probably go up even if the Heat did nothing different, but I think this is where the defensive focus will be. The Heat are deadly in transition, so a change in the turnover-rate could have a significant effect.

For the Spurs, tactically more of the same, they did a good job of keeping Lebron out of the paint in game 1. While they missed a lot of 3-pointers, I think they'll be happy with the looks they got. For them I think it's more about tempo, keeping their foot on the gas, the did this really well against the Grizzlies. Where another team might subconsciously ease up after getting the road-win, I expect the Spurs to come out just as hungry to win game 2.

Interested to see Lebron's usage again, both in terms of minutes and how much responsibility he takes as a scorer. He had just 18 points in game 1, and while he also had 10 assists, I think the Spurs are pretty happy with this ratio. The fatigue thing may be a factor here too, as scoring generally requires more energy than passing. But basically I think Lebron is passing too much and needs to take more of the scoring responsibilities.

Paully D

Any bets tonight lads?

buyer95

Paully D wrote: »

Any bets tonight lads?

Lebron + 27.5, he got bosh and wade there touches in game 1 and neither delivered. I look for him to shoulder the scoring load tonight, and can see him attacking the hoop more than he did in the first game where he settled for outside jumpers too much. We shall see.

I backed the heat to win the championship at 11/10

Paully D

Spurs have equaled their turnovers for game 1, in the 6th minute of the first quarter.

Paully D

Spurs can't get a call from the officials at all here. Not a good sign, but expected.

darced

This post has been deleted.

Nuri Sahin

****ing forgot about the Sunday early tip off times >_<

Paully D

Tim Duncan is having a stinker.

Paully D

17 point lead for the Heat. This one is over.

14-3 run at the end of the third killed the Spurs (now 21-3), along with their turnovers.

Nuri Sahin

This has turned into a blowout quickly...

Series tied it's safe to say heading back to San Antonio

Paully D

Generally Heat have always had one blow out in a series against the better teams over the last couple of years. Probably not a big surprise in the grand scheme of things to see it come tonight when they really needed a win.

Pressure's back on the Spurs now. They need to win 2 of 3 at home or they are done.

Nuri Sahin

Outrageous sequence from LeBron :eek:

edit -

Nuri Sahin

For Forks Sake

Nuri Sahin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6V8N4Gwo88

buyer95

Epic video