NBA Playoffs 2012

SoulGuy · 17-05-2012 8:15am

Lakers really did blow that game. Two terrible passes and trying to run the same set over and over again was a recipe for disaster. OKC knew exactly what they were trying to do, and it resulted in some awful shots.

killwill · 17-05-2012 3:52pm

Right I have a big problem, I was workign nights for the last while so never missed a game and now when it comes to play offs I find myself back on days.

Is there anywhere you can watch extended highlights online? Not just the 2:30 ones on NBA.com?

Paully D · 17-05-2012 5:28pm

Looking forward to Heat @ Pacers tonight. A Pacers win here please!

SoulGuy · 17-05-2012 6:16pm

Thoroughly enjoyed this Tim Duncan article from SI. Especially this quote.

5 His Buddy KG

Just kidding, as this might count in his favor. In fact, Duncan hates Kevin Garnett. Hates him the way liberals hate Sean Hannity. This information comes from very reliable sources, who talk about how KG has made a career of trying to punk Duncan, baiting him and slapping him and whispering really weird smack into his ear. They talk about how funny this is, because the worst thing you can do as an opponent is piss off Duncan. Then, as Malik Rose says, "he f
destroys you." Duncan's lifetime numbers versus Garnett's teams, by the way: 19.4 points per game, 11.6 boards and a 44--17 record, including the postseason.

Duncan is diplomatic about the topic. Asked if perhaps all those years battling Garnett have softened his feelings for the man, led to a Magic-Larry type of kinship, Duncan leans back on the couch in his hotel room and grins. There is a pause. A longer pause. Finally he says, "Define kinship."

leggo · 17-05-2012 6:52pm

killwill wrote: »

Right I have a big problem, I was workign nights for the last while so never missed a game and now when it comes to play offs I find myself back on days.

Is there anywhere you can watch extended highlights online? Not just the 2:30 ones on NBA.com?

I watch condensed highlights, 15 min or thereabouts, for playoff games I miss on the NBA app. Pretty much all the big plays with the fluff cut out. I'd imagine they're available on NBA.com somewhere if you can't get the app. If you've got the NBA TV subscription you can also watch the full game without breaks etc on the app. Again, I'd imagine they're available somewhere on the site.

Paully D · 17-05-2012 7:03pm

Interesting stat:

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Felexicon · 17-05-2012 7:08pm

Paully D wrote: »

Interesting stat:

It is only interesting because Kobe let 7 other people shoot in the 4th quarter.
What does it prove though? Are they trying to say Kobe isn't clutch? LOL

BQQ · 17-05-2012 7:09pm

Paully D wrote: »

Interesting stat:

But....but he's clutch ... and Lebron isn't

Formation · 17-05-2012 11:32pm

Lads I want to get back into watching a bit of nba but with work I cant watch the late games. Do they have matches starting before midnight during the regular season?

GoldFour4 · 18-05-2012 12:17am

Pacers heat is on espn right now people. Fantastic atmosphere in the fieldhouse in indy, the sea of yellow is a fantastic sight

Paully D · 18-05-2012 2:00am

Indiana are up 66-55 near the end of the 3rd and D Wade has thrown a hissy fit going at Spolestra during a timeout. They're bad enough when they're winning but my God they are 10 times worse when they are losing.

padraig_f · 18-05-2012 3:33am

Enjoyed that. Pacers did a good job getting West & Hibbert more involved than they were in the first two games. Hibbert had an awesome game, 19 points, 18 rebounds & 5 blocks. The defense has been excellent, they've held the Heat to 86, 75 & 75 points in the 3 games, and were more disciplined tonight (Heat had just 18 FTAs, which is way down on games 1 and 2). Can't see the Heat playing as badly again so expecting a tougher game on Sunday.

Carcharodon · 18-05-2012 5:34am

Pacers game was great, they really just destroyed Miami in every aspect, they were more physical, aggressive,and played smarter team basketball. They just had the Heats number by forcing them to take jump shots and on offense they caused so many problems in the paint that they were then able to spread the ball around and had open shooters available.
Hibbert looks like he could be a dominant force in the league for years, great rebounder with a sweet hook shot.

Then Wade acting like a prima-donna, bad attitude. I expect the Heat to adjust and with two superstar scorers this series could well go to the wire even though the Pacers look to have their number, its still early days.

Spurs march on to LA, i expect them to split the games there unless they get more out of Paul. Could even be a sweep if the Clippers don't get their at together.

NufcNavan · 18-05-2012 8:04am

Bosh obviously a big miss for the Heat, but people need to give the Pacers some credit. Terrific defense and the big men in West and Hibbert are excelling.

If you have a player like Bosh out, it's always made easier when you have the caliber of players like LeBron and Wade to step up. The latter isn't doing that.

SoulGuy · 18-05-2012 11:14am

I think Miami needed that in order to become a championship team. We'll see how they respond. I just think there's a huge flaw in the personality of this team, and it comes from LeBron/Wade/Bosh. They tried to take the easy route to a title by joining forces. They're great at kicking the crap out of a team and beating them in 4 or 5 games. But when they find themselves in a dog fight, they haven't handled it well so far. When things don't come easily...and there's almost always a point in the playoffs where it doesn't come easily for every team...they don't seem to know how to deal with it, and LeBron's the #1 culprit in shrinking from the moment in terms of court presence.

It's just one game and 2-1 is no big deal, but I think it's worth nothing. They have to learn how to function when things aren't coming easily. I think this is the year that they learn how to fight through it.

leggo · 18-05-2012 11:30am

SoulGuy wrote: »

I think Miami needed that in order to become a championship team. We'll see how they respond. I just think there's a huge flaw in the personality of this team, and it comes from LeBron/Wade/Bosh. They tried to take the easy route to a title by joining forces. They're great at kicking the crap out of a team and beating them in 4 or 5 games. But when they find themselves in a dog fight, they haven't handled it well so far. When things don't come easily...and there's almost always a point in the playoffs where it doesn't come easily for every team...they don't seem to know how to deal with it, and LeBron's the #1 culprit in shrinking from the moment in terms of court presence.

It's just one game and 2-1 is no big deal, but I think it's worth nothing. They have to learn how to function when things aren't coming easily. I think this is the year that they learn how to fight through it.

Great post and analysis of the matter, I just couldn't thank it in good heart because I hate (and fear) your conclusion.

You could very well be right though. But god, I'd love if the Pacers could do it. Imagine the odds you would've gotten at the start of the season on the Pacers and Celtics/Sixers reaching the Eastern Conference Finals?

Lafortezza · 18-05-2012 5:51pm

Formation wrote: »

Lads I want to get back into watching a bit of nba but with work I cant watch the late games. Do they have matches starting before midnight during the regular season?

Only on the weekends, when some games start at 1pm or 4pm US time. During the week games start at usually 7pm US time or later which is midnight or 1am Irish time.

GoldFour4 · 18-05-2012 7:42pm

Saw a tweet last night asking if the heat don't win the title this year, what should they do ?

Personally, I'd trade Wade. His attitude can have such a negative effect on a team, and his position is not where the heat really need help. Apart from Bosh they have no legitimate big men. Bosh is a center. You know things are bad when a team has to start either Joel Anthony or Dexter Pittman at center in the second round of the playoffs. Honestly I'd consider giving wade to the Bobcats for Anthony Davis. Or even some elaborate D Wade for Dwight Howard trade.

Felexicon · 18-05-2012 7:51pm

malachyscott wrote: »

Saw a tweet last night asking if the heat don't win the title this year, what should they do ?

Personally, I'd trade Wade. His attitude can have such a negative effect on a team, and his position is not where the heat really need help. Apart from Bosh they have no legitimate big men. Bosh is a center. You know things are bad when a team has to start either Joel Anthony or Dexter Pittman at center in the second round of the playoffs. Honestly I'd consider giving wade to the Bobcats for Anthony Davis. Or even some elaborate D Wade for Dwight Howard trade.

LOL!!!!!! You say Wade has a bad attitude yet suggest he should be replaced by Dwight Howard.
The Heat need Spolstra to grow a pair and put LeBron in at PF until Bosh gets back. He has more than enough size and strenght to compete down there and it will free up space on the perimeter for Wade to excell. As for starting Anthony or Pittman. It is what it is the Heat have made thier bed with 3 huge contracts and have to live with that. LeBron and Wade should have enough fire power to deal with the Pacers tbh

GoldFour4 · 18-05-2012 8:01pm

Felexicon wrote: »

LOL!!!!!! You say Wade has a bad attitude yet suggest he should be replaced by Dwight Howard.
The Heat need Spolstra to grow a pair and put LeBron in at PF until Bosh gets back. He has more than enough size and strenght to compete down there and it will free up space on the perimeter for Wade to excell. As for starting Anthony or Pittman. It is what it is the Heat have made thier bed with 3 huge contracts and have to live with that. LeBron and Wade should have enough fire power to deal with the Pacers tbh

I think the Heat are heading home tbh. Larry bird has build an awesome team in Indiana. He only made one big acquisition in David West and the majority of the rest were drafted or acquired in trades. They have good big men and scorers like Granger, Hill and Barbosa off the bench. They have 8 good players which should beat the Heats 2 excellent players.

RMDrive · 18-05-2012 8:16pm

Nice of Wade to voluntarily suspend himself from last nights game for his cheap shot on DC.

Great win for the Pacers. All season long they have been able to lift things in the 3rd quarter and once again that was the key period last night. There's still an awful lot to do though. If the heat win on Sunday then suddenly it's best of 3 and they have home court advantage - a much different picture than the one that the internet is trying to present today. At the same time I suppose that if they win in BLF on Sunday, things are looking pretty good for them.

It makes me laugh that ESPN etc know so little about the pacers. ESPN had an image of Paul George on their match report page naming him as the top scorer with 20. I know there's a George in there but surely they can tell the difference between the 2 lads?? Then you have Granger being described as "lanky"? He's no DWest but Granger is not a small guy.

Gold swagger!!

padraig_f · 18-05-2012 10:43pm

Indiana's defense of the pick-and-roll has been very interesting in this series since Bosh went out. They adjusted it so they don't have to cover the roll man (usually Joel Anthony now), like they would Bosh. Very nice blog post illustrating it here:
How the Pacers Are Defending the Heat’s Pick-and-Roll and Flummoxing Dwyane Wade

Even though he says Lebron has had some success against it, I think if you're the Pacers, you're happy enough with him taking pull-up jump-shots and floaters.

RoundBox11 · 18-05-2012 11:02pm

I really hope Miami get knocked out. I hate the idea of these "big 3" teams and all that rubbish. You can't have long term success with a team that relies so much on 3 guys.

At least Boston had some decent role players and the "big 3" new their own roles too (Pierce - scorer, Allen - zone-buster, KG - defensive anchor)

Miami has no identity. Just 3 big scorers with 3 big ego's.

Indiana is the polar opposite.

The East is open now that the Bulls are gone. Can't see any of them beating OKC/San Antonio tho

leggo · 18-05-2012 11:42pm

Agree with the poster that says Spoelstra is their problem. I've disliked him in that set up since the start...when you see him carry on, he's just not a leader. Seems a sound guy who knows his stuff, but just not a 'coach'.

When you have a team with such big egos and the outsiders feeling so irrelevant to the bigger picture, you need a guy in there who the names can respect and who can inspire the fringe players to perform better than they really are. When Miami are pushed, they fall apart. And it's been that way since the beginning: look at how abject they were in Game 6 of the Finals last year. The task became difficult, but was still there for the taking, and they just folded. It was the least competitive game of the series IIRC.

Bleacher Report are calling for Pat Rice to come back and I have to agree. He's exactly what they need. Spoelstra is a Villas-Boas, they need a Mourinho.

SoulGuy · 19-05-2012 1:13am

RoundBox11 wrote: »

I really hope Miami get knocked out. I hate the idea of these "big 3" teams and all that rubbish. You can't have long term success with a team that relies so much on 3 guys.

At least Boston had some decent role players and the "big 3" new their own roles too (Pierce - scorer, Allen - zone-buster, KG - defensive anchor)

I just don't think their role players are that bad. Chalmers, Battier, Haslem, Miller...Dallas won a title last year with one superstar and bunch of vets that know how to play. It's how their stars play that makes them vulnerable. They don't create a lot of good shots. . If they're gonna win titles, it's gonna be with the overwhelming defense they played last year.

GoldFour4 · 19-05-2012 3:51am

Philly just overcame a horrible start 23percent shooting in the first half, to even things up at 2-2. Iggy came up big with 5 straight points which forced the celtics to foul.

Carcharodon · 19-05-2012 5:23am

leggo wrote: »

Agree with the poster that says Spoelstra is their problem. I've disliked him in that set up since the start...when you see him carry on, he's just not a leader. Seems a sound guy who knows his stuff, but just not a 'coach'.

When you have a team with such big egos and the outsiders feeling so irrelevant to the bigger picture, you need a guy in there who the names can respect and who can inspire the fringe players to perform better than they really are. When Miami are pushed, they fall apart. And it's been that way since the beginning: look at how abject they were in Game 6 of the Finals last year. The task became difficult, but was still there for the taking, and they just folded. It was the least competitive game of the series IIRC.

Bleacher Report are calling for Pat Rice to come back and I have to agree. He's exactly what they need. Spoelstra is a Villas-Boas, they need a Mourinho.

I agree and disagree with your point, I agree that he is having difficulty dealing with the egos but thats not really his fault that he has to deal with these assholes.

I am not sure if Pat Rice can use his football knowledge to lead this team

but maybe Pat Riley could. Even if Riley did it is no guarantee he will have the respect, how much respect did Jackson get off Kobe down through the years, a lot of grief and attitude is what he got, no coach is immune from it.
Popovich is one of the few coaches that I think has real respect from his team.

It is also up to Wade and LeBron to make the fringe players better, thats what all great superstars do.
But I do agree that a different coach may solve some problems but it shouldn't be the way and is also no guarantee.

leggo · 19-05-2012 9:44am

Carcharodon wrote: »

I am not sure if Pat Rice can use his football knowledge to lead this team but maybe Pat Riley could.

I dunno, he's retired from Arsenal now so he's available.

Yeah, I meant Pat Riley, mea culpa!

In fairness, Jackson did a great job of harnessing Kobe's attitude into a winning formula. Even if you look at Alex Ferguson with Ronaldo (may as well keep up the football comparisons), he just let him keep his attitude as long as the side won. I just don't see Spoelstra having the leadership foresight to deal with the egos when things go wrong. There's no right or wrong way to handle it, that's people management at the end of the day, I just think his flaws are massively exposed when they hit tough times.

Carcharodon · 19-05-2012 3:05pm

leggo wrote: »

Carcharodon wrote: »

I am not sure if Pat Rice can use his football knowledge to lead this team but maybe Pat Riley could.

I dunno, he's retired from Arsenal now so he's available.

Yeah, I meant Pat Riley, mea culpa!

In fairness, Jackson did a great job of harnessing Kobe's attitude into a winning formula. Even if you look at Alex Ferguson with Ronaldo (may as well keep up the football comparisons), he just let him keep his attitude as long as the side won. I just don't see Spoelstra having the leadership foresight to deal with the egos when things go wrong. There's no right or wrong way to handle it, that's people management at the end of the day, I just think his flaws are massively exposed when they hit tough times.

Yea, the more I think about it the more I think you are right. It is just a shame because he does seem like a good guy and decent coach.
Would love to see him stamp down on the attitudes and make an example of Wade by benching him or something but imagine the backlash....player power in the NBA is what its all about.

GoldFour4 · 20-05-2012 10:44pm

9mins left, close game again in Indiana.

Heres a stream if anyone needs it

http://www.coolsport.tv/stream6.php

NBA Playoffs 2012

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