NBA Playoffs 2012/13

ButtersSuki · 21-06-2013 9:22am

Gutted for the Spurs.

Can't believe Green went 2-19 over the last 2 games and 1-12 tonight.

Miami are bound to change though - who knows what LBJ will do, though winning covers over a lot of cracks and he might stay.

Not sure what Wade will be like - how injured is he and will he ever be the same player again?

One thing I'm pretty certain of is that after his Play Off performance Chris Bosh bought himself a ticket to another team.

Think Ray Ray will retire. As a C's fan I'm NOT happy for him. :mad:

ButtersSuki · 21-06-2013 9:26am

recyclebin wrote: »

Damn you Paul Collins and Today FM. I was planning on watching the game today after work but Paul Collins had to ruin it by reading out the results on the sports news. The one and only mention NBA gets mentioned gets this year and I bloody hear it!!!

He could have given a spoiler warning as lots of people would have planned to watch it later today!

NBA on Today FM?! :eek: Did he call Spoelstra Miami's Bainisteoir?:rolleyes:

killwill · 21-06-2013 10:19am

PizzamanIRL wrote: »

'Reports of my demise were premature' - Shane Battier

That's why you were sat for 2 games you ****. One good game doesn't make you terrific or anything

He was the difference last night. Great shooting. Rather him in my team than Bosh.
Popovich was fantastic in defeat. What a coach.

shanec1928 · 21-06-2013 11:30am

what a game and a great performance from the king!

ButtersSuki · 21-06-2013 11:42am

Jeez, all the fawning over LeBron. Yeah he had a big game last night but he was anonymous throughout large parts of this series. Witness his shot/pass towards the end of Game 6 which Magic Johnson described as the worst play he has ever seen at that stage of a close game. Witness his 3 point bricks in the same game. Yes he hit big shoits and yes he delivered a championship with a poor supporting cast, but they were very, very lucky. If they had lost Game 6 (as they should have) we'd all be talking about how big a choker he was and everyone would be saying "not 5, not 6, not 7".

LeBron confirmed one thing for me in these Play Offs - he is supremely talented, but he is no Michael Jordan.

Can't believe it's 20 years since that first 3-peat (thanks to whoever posted that yesterday). Makes me feel old.

MJ's per game stats for the Finals that year (v Phoenix):

Pts: 41.0 (incl. one 55point effort)
Reb: 8.5
Assists: 6.3
Steals: 1.7
Blocks: 0.7

BQQ · 21-06-2013 12:10pm

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Gutted for the Spurs.

Can't believe Green went 2-19 over the last 2 games and 1-12 tonight.

Miami are bound to change though - who knows what LBJ will do, though winning covers over a lot of cracks and he might stay.

Not sure what Wade will be like - how injured is he and will he ever be the same player again?

One thing I'm pretty certain of is that after his Play Off performance Chris Bosh bought himself a ticket to another team.

Think Ray Ray will retire. As a C's fan I'm NOT happy for him. :mad:

Green was making all the threes because he was being left open.
The Heat were banking on him starting to miss, but after game 5 when it was just dagger after dagger, they realised that they had to start contesting his shots. 2-19 was the result with the tradeoff that Duncan was gonna score more being guarded one-on-one.

If they'd lost, I could see a major shakeup with Bosh going, but as you say, a win papers over the cracks and I expect they'll stick together and go for the 3 in a row.

Never understood the attitude of Celtics re: Ray Allen.
He was effectively driven out.
There was a personality clash with Rondo as Rondo was basically being a punk. His teammates sided against him, Doc cut his minutes and he was supposed to stick around for that B.S. out of loyalty?
Where was the loyalty for him?
I'm delighted for him. Really dedicated professional and deserves his success.

El Gato · 21-06-2013 12:45pm

What a game. What a series.

Nuri Sahin · 21-06-2013 1:59pm

Duncan's post-game press conference made for difficult viewing.

ButtersSuki · 21-06-2013 2:10pm

Nuri Sahin wrote: »

Duncan's post-game press conference made for difficult viewing.

Hi Nuri - don't suppose you have a link? Haven't had a chance to look at the Post Game PC's yet.

Nuri Sahin · 21-06-2013 2:22pm

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Hi Nuri - don't suppose you have a link? Haven't had a chance to look at the Post Game PC's yet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3FYKY9da_c

The official NBA Youtube channel should have them up soon enough.

buyer95 · 21-06-2013 2:57pm

Last two games were 2 of the most intense, competitive, and exciting games I have seen in any sport in my life. This is why I really do love this game. Game 6 has to be up there with the greatest nba finals games of all time. But I can't shake the feeling the spurs needed this championship more then Miami. The spurs are one of the great sports teams, and any Pop coached team will be a top 4 seed in a likelehood, but can this team and these players make another run like that? Timmy is probably my favourite player in the NBA, and he showed that skill beats age. That 25 point 8 rebound first half in game 6 was awe inspiring . He was very good last night too, I felt so bad for the man after that hook and putback rimmed out, I said it here at the time but that felt like Ewing's miss against Indiana in 95 when his finger roll missed to tie the game. That was Ewing's best chance to get his ring with Jordan self imposed exile... Whatever happens to the spurs team now, specifically Ginobili and Duncan, there past achievements had solidified there greatness. If the Spurs had held on in the last 30 seconds, then Lebron and the Heat would be being slaughtered right now. It was as much luck as skill in game 6 that they got back into the game, Manu threw the ball away and so did green on that comeback run, but credit to the Heat for staying the course . Lebron put the team on his back in the last quarter of that game, and although he didn't have a great first 5(game 4 aside) he came to play when the heat were desperate. He was outstanding last night, and I don't begrudge a player that great of a championship. It could have been so different, and I felt sick to my core for Timmy and co. last night, but I expected that game 6 was the spurs chance. But well done to Miami, they got it done. Ps: I won't be posting here much during the summer(except draft time and unless some big trades go down) so thank you to all the regular posters here who have made this season enjoyable. At times our pettiness descended to arguing about which anchorwoman was the sexiest(Dublin Red Devel I'm looking at you!) but I had many interesting debates with people on here during the seaon. Whoever passed on the tip about downloading the TBJ podcast thank. I'll do the same now, anyone who hasn't tuned in its called The Basketball Jones. I can't recommend it highly enough. They cover the nba during the regular season and give coverage to all teams. They try to touch on all games( which can be fun on nights with 7 games). They balance seriousness and hilarity brilliantly. The seriousness gets ratcheted up during the playoffs, but the show remains great. The last episode of the season will be going out today, I recommend that anyone who hasn't heard it listen to it today. You can download it from the iTunes Store or on there website.

The_Kew_Tour · 21-06-2013 3:56pm

Go on Heat!!!

Haters gonna hate.

Paully D · 21-06-2013 3:59pm

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Jeez, all the fawning over LeBron. Yeah he had a big game last night but he was anonymous throughout large parts of this series. Witness his shot/pass towards the end of Game 6 which Magic Johnson described as the worst play he has ever seen at that stage of a close game. Witness his 3 point bricks in the same game. Yes he hit big shoits and yes he delivered a championship with a poor supporting cast, but they were very, very lucky. If they had lost Game 6 (as they should have) we'd all be talking about how big a choker he was and everyone would be saying "not 5, not 6, not 7".

LeBron confirmed one thing for me in these Play Offs - he is supremely talented, but he is no Michael Jordan.

Can't believe it's 20 years since that first 3-peat (thanks to whoever posted that yesterday). Makes me feel old.

MJ's per game stats for the Finals that year (v Phoenix):

Pts: 41.0 (incl. one 55point effort)
Reb: 8.5
Assists: 6.3
Steals: 1.7
Blocks: 0.7

As Ewing said yesterday "there's no comparison. Jordan was a stone cold assassin, LeBron is a facilitator."

Nuri Sahin · 21-06-2013 4:04pm

limerickfc · 21-06-2013 4:07pm

So lousy for San AN, really felt that every bit of luck went against them over the last 2 games.

Paully D · 21-06-2013 4:34pm

What does next year hold for the Heat then lads? They will all stick together anyway before tough decisions need to be made in 2014, but getting to 4 finals in a row hasn't been done too many times at all.

Wade's legs are shot and won't be getting any healthier as Father Time ticks down, Bosh looks like a shadow of the player he has been too, completely devoid of any confidence.

It seems like teams are coming closer and closer to beating them now and they've bent massively without quite breaking.

If they were in the west I think they'd have a lot more trouble making the finals, but the east is weak and realistcially there's probably only two teams who, as things stand, can really give them a good go. Indiana and a healthy Chicago. The Knicks are worth a mention but I think Miami match up well with them and would beat them a lot easier than the two aforementioned teams.

padraig_f · 21-06-2013 5:53pm

buyer95 wrote: »

Last two games were 2 of the most intense, competitive, and exciting games I have seen in any sport in my life. This is why I really do love this game.

Good summary. I feel bad for the Spurs players, they played well enough to win a championship (thought the series was about played to a draw), but they didn't get the bounce of the ball in the last two games (particularly unlucky not to win game 6). The Heat, or whoever Lebron plays for, will have more chances, but that could be this Spurs team's last real chance.

The Heat will get the banner and the ring, but I think anyone who watched the series will know there was really nothing between them, so maybe there's something in that.

PizzamanIRL · 21-06-2013 9:56pm

If Heat didn't win last night I'd say it would have been another nail in Chris Bosh's coffin. He didn't score a single point, which will be forgotten since they won. He played fairly good D on Duncan though.

PizzamanIRL · 21-06-2013 10:54pm

'Get the **** outta my face' - LeBron
'They call me 2 time' - Juwan Howard lol

leggo · 21-06-2013 11:33pm

Paully D wrote: »

What does next year hold for the Heat then lads? They will all stick together anyway before tough decisions need to be made in 2014, but getting to 4 finals in a row hasn't been done too many times at all.

I can see the Bulls regaining the #1 seed for a start with a healthy Rose back for a full season. Miami could well do a three-peat, but I think next year will be their toughest year of the Dream Team era. Teams in the East won't fear them anymore and I think the West will be ridiculously competitive once the summer deals are done and necessary adjustments made.

Remember, too, that Miami will be hounded all year by speculation as to whether LeBron and Bosh will go or re-sign, and the downhill slide of Wade will be put under a greater microscope. They'll also have learned from going for the streak this year that they need to remember to peak at the right time, so I don't think they'll be as dominant in the regular season...leading to further pressure on their shoulders when poor performances are harshly criticised.

With all of that in mind, you could easily see them buckling, ala the Lakers in 2011. Remember that downfalls of so-called dynasties come quick and fast in basketball. I think next year is going to be a transition year leading into the next era of the NBA. It could be Rose's or Durant's time to win a ring, the Clippers or Rockets finally getting it together...or something else completely out of left field.

But while last year it looked as if the Heat has cemented their place on top for years to come, this year's picture is a lot less clear. An unpredictable and exciting season awaits...

Well, except for me and the ****ing Magic.