2012 NBA Finals Thread

[Dallas]

Bosh holding with both hands on Chalmer's drive.

Seriously man this is why I stopped watching the NBA a long time ago and really only tune in occasionally. The finals are still the same. It's all about the superstars and where the leagues money is and trying like hell to get that team a title.

Give it to Miami already Stern and get this yuck fest off my tv already.

 

[WoodysGirl]

I saw maybe two calls that OKC should've gotten called their way since Miami had gotten a similar call.

I saw a couple calls that I wouldn't have made that went Miami's way.

The issue that I saw from an officiating standpoint is that there was one official who was seemingly making the more controversial calls. That makes the officiating group, as a whole look bad because he's calling one way and the other officials are calling that play differently.

That said, OKC had every chance in the book to take this game away from Miami. PPl want to blame the officials, but when it's all said and done, OKC had the lead late in the 4th quarter. The last few minutes of the 4th were without Lebron. Russ was playing lights out. They played well, they had a chance, and they blew it.

 

[Dallas]

I saw maybe two calls that OKC should've gotten called their way since Miami had gotten a similar call.

I saw a couple calls that I wouldn't have made that went Miami's way.

The issue that I saw from an officiating standpoint is that there was one official who was seemingly making the more controversial calls. That makes the officiating group, as a whole look bad because he's calling one way and the other officials are calling that play differently.

That said, OKC had every chance in the book to take this game away from Miami. PPl want to blame the officials, but when it's all said and done, OKC had the lead late in the 4th quarter. The last few minutes of the 4th were without Lebron. Russ was playing lights out. They played well, they had a chance, and they blew it.

OKC did have every chance to take it, true. Saying that, it still doesn't change the fact the league still looks bush from top to bottom, especially during the playoffs as far as I am concerned.

It smells REALLYYYYY bad. Just like the lottery SMELLS really bad still.

It's a joke.

 

[Cowboys&LakersFan]

OKC did have every chance to take it, true. Saying that, it still doesn't change the fact the league still looks bush from top to bottom, especially during the playoffs as far as I am concerned.

It smells REALLYYYYY bad. Just like the lottery SMELLS really bad still.

It's a joke.

If it's a joke then don't watch it.

 

[Dallas]

If it's a joke then don't watch it.

Its fun to watch the Thunder grow. Destroying the Lakers was fun to watch too. That was kinda cool.

 

[Cowboys&LakersFan]

Its fun to watch the Thunder grow. Destroying the Lakers was fun to watch too. That was kinda cool.

I'm sure it was.

 

[InmanRoshi]

Huh? Do you even understand the concept of basketball? OKC plays more one on one offense than the Heat do. They have no true playmaker. All iso plays.

I know everyone hates Lebron and the Heat but Lebron is one of the best passers in league. Tore that defense apart with his near triple double.

Heat are the better team.PERIOD. that's why theyre one win away

And are you really gonna compare a sport that has only 5 playerss on each team to one that has 11 and 9??

Most casual fans have no concept of defense. If you understand defense, you understand how the series is going the way it's going. If you don't understand defense, you blame refs or some league conspiracy. It's not a league conspiracy that the Heat's defense has completely neutered James Harden mentally. It's not a league conspiracy that Mario Chalmers goes 9 for 15 for 25, it's Durant and Derek Fisher's defense. Tonight the Heat came out a bit flat, but they absolutely killed it on defense in the 2nd quarter and maintained that throughout the game. Westbrook looks like the only guy on the Thunder who is ready to play big boy NBA playoff basketball and drive to the rim and take his lumps. The rest just want to play soft low percentage jumshot basketball and whine to the refs like it's the Euro Championships.

 

[casmith07]

For those not in the know, WG is a basketball referee.

 

[Noryb]

For those not in the know, WG is a basketball referee.

I officiated 7th and 8th grade boys basketball for a couple of years which doesn't even compare to the NBA but it gave me a lot of respect for officials.

It's a tough job and no matter what you do or don't do somebody will be unhappy.

 

[Noryb]

Most casual fans have no concept of defense. If you understand defense, you understand how the series is going the way it's going. If you don't understand defense, you blame refs or some league conspiracy. It's not a league conspiracy that the Heat's defense has completely neutered James Harden mentally. It's not a league conspiracy that Mario Chalmers goes 9 for 15 for 25, it's Durant and Derek Fisher's defense. Tonight the Heat came out a bit flat, but they absolutely killed it on defense in the 2nd quarter and maintained that throughout the game. Westbrook looks like the only guy on the Thunder who is ready to play big boy NBA playoff basketball and drive to the rim and take his lumps. The rest just want to play soft low percentage jumshot basketball and whine to the refs like it's the Euro Championships.

I see there are a few people on this site who actually understand the game.

 

[casmith07]

I see there are a few people on this site who actually understand the game.

Yeah, there are a handful of us around here

 

[MC KAos]

well this sucks, i really didnt want the heat to win the title because i dont like how they were built, not the particular players involved. if they win it, i think you will start seeing superstars bolt to play with each other going forward, which is a HUGE disadvantage to teams in small markets or without some sort of appeal, like my spurs, the grizzlies, and yes, even the mavs. the mavs might get the best FA available ONLY because he is from here, but even thats not a certainty and it would be the first big signing by the mavs in their history, its not like free agents WANT to go to dallas. alas, it is what it is, and teams without free agency appeal will just have to adjust, and im confident the spurs management will be able to put a competitive team out there for a few more years.

as for the series, i dont think its over, if the thunder are able to win game 5, its not out of the realm of possibility that they win 2 home games in a row. but it just seems they lost that late game magic they had the 2 previous rounds, its hard to imagine them winning game 5 without some sort of injury to the heat.

 

[casmith07]

well this sucks, i really didnt want the heat to win the title because i dont like how they were built, not the particular players involved. if they win it, i think you will start seeing superstars bolt to play with each other going forward, which is a HUGE disadvantage to teams in small markets or without some sort of appeal, like my spurs, the grizzlies, and yes, even the mavs. the mavs might get the best FA available ONLY because he is from here, but even thats not a certainty and it would be the first big signing by the mavs in their history, its not like free agents WANT to go to dallas. alas, it is what it is, and teams without free agency appeal will just have to adjust, and im confident the spurs management will be able to put a competitive team out there for a few more years.

as for the series, i dont think its over, if the thunder are able to win game 5, its not out of the realm of possibility that they win 2 home games in a row. but it just seems they lost that late game magic they had the 2 previous rounds, its hard to imagine them winning game 5 without some sort of injury to the heat.

I disagree with this "superstars will bolt to play with eachother" notion. Other than Dwyane Wade, who else is a superstar on that team? Bosh is good, but he's certainly not a superstar.

Small market teams have never had a shot, and they never will with the way Stern has manipulated the salary cap rules to favor big market teams. Until they have a hard cap, parity will not exist.

As for the series, it's over. Miami's winning Thursday night, and probably winning going away.

 

[MC KAos]

I disagree with this "superstars will bolt to play with eachother" notion. Other than Dwyane Wade, who else is a superstar on that team? Bosh is good, but he's certainly not a superstar.

Small market teams have never had a shot, and they never will with the way Stern has manipulated the salary cap rules to favor big market teams. Until they have a hard cap, parity will not exist.

As for the series, it's over. Miami's winning Thursday night, and probably winning going away.

i guess "superstar" is all relative, but it seems the idea has been planted and is now blooming. The thing that does give me a little bit of hope is the new cba did implement a new luxury tax system that makes it a lot more expensive for teams to go over the cap, but its still not a hard cap, so a team like the lakers can afford to pay, 40, 50 or 60 million per year in taxes so long as they are winning, the busses wont care

Luxury tax

• 2005 CBA: Teams paid $1 for every $1 their salary was above the luxury-tax threshold.

• 2011 CBA: Teams pay $1 for every $1 their salary is above the luxury-tax threshold in 2011-12 and 2012-13. Starting in 2012-13, teams pay an incremental tax that increases with every $5 million above the tax threshold ($1.50, $1.75, $2.50, $3.25, etc.). Teams that are repeat offenders (paying tax at least four out of the past five seasons) have a tax that is higher still -- $1 more at each increment ($2.50, $2.75, $3.50, $4.25, etc.).

• Who benefits? I'll tell you which teams don't benefit -- the perennial taxpayers, like the Lakers and Mavericks. When the league was unable to negotiate a hard cap, they settled for the next best thing -- a more punitive luxury tax that will make teams think twice before committing to a higher payroll. For example, the Lakers' tax bill in 2011 (when the tax was dollar-for-dollar) was about $19.9 million. Under the new system, being that far over the tax line would cost them $44.68 million. If they were a repeat offender (paying tax at least four of the previous five years) they would owe $64.58 million!

 

[MC KAos]

didnt know about this particular provision...

Additional limits for taxpaying teams

• 2005 CBA: No additional limits for taxpaying teams.

• 2011 CBA: Taxpaying teams have a smaller midlevel exception, can acquire less salary in trade, and cannot use the biannual exception. Starting in 2013-14, teams more than $4 million above the tax level cannot receive a player in a sign-and-trade transaction.

• Who benefits? Throughout the labor dispute, the league has tried to improve competitive balance by installing a very restrictive cap system -- first asking for a hard cap, then a "flex" cap, and then a highly punitive luxury tax, before finally settling on a luxury tax with more teeth. In addition to an incremental tax penalty, taxpaying teams now will have less access to exceptions. This will give small-market teams a competitive advantage -- for example, instead of weighing equal $5 million offers in Los Angeles and Minnesota, a free agent might be forced to choose between a $3 million offer in Los Angeles and a $5 million offer in Minnesota.

 

[joseephuss]

There are plenty of Markets larger than Miami.

Rank Metropolitan Market Regions / Areas
1 New York
2 Los Angeles
3 Chicago
4 Philadelphia
5 Dallas-Ft. Worth
6 San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose
7 Boston
8 Atlanta
9 Washington, DC
10 Houston
11 Detroit
12 Phoenix
13 Tampa-St. Petersburg
14 Seattle-Tacoma
15 Minneapolis-St. Paul
16 Miami-Ft.Lauderdale
17 Cleveland-Akron
18 Denver
19 Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne
20 Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto

 

[RamziD]

We bow down to you our liege-lords

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Most casual fans have no concept of defense. If you understand defense, you understand how the series is going the way it's going. If you don't understand defense, you blame refs or some league conspiracy.

A gargantuan percentage of NBA observers don't understand defense then. Almost no one denies the NBA star system... They just accept it because, well, they have no choice.

Good article on the topic from an unbiased observer:

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/story/...lls-lebron-is-winning-100-percent-of-the-time

Hey, my team gets a lot of calls when things are going well, too. Every team does. If OKC somehow comes back and wins, they'll somehow be getting more calls -- it's just the way it is.

And it doesn't determine 100% of games. But it's crazy to act like it doesn't exist.

 

[Alweezy]

Huh? Do you even understand the concept of basketball? OKC plays more one on one offense than the Heat do. They have no true playmaker. All iso plays.

I know everyone hates Lebron and the Heat but Lebron is one of the best passers in league. Tore that defense apart with his near triple double.

Heat are the better team.PERIOD. that's why theyre one win away

And are you really gonna compare a sport that has only 5 playerss on each team to one that has 11 and 9??

That's what people don't seem to understand. Their hatred for LeBron is making them not see that he actually makes his entire team better.

Had OKC won that game it would have been because Westbrook carried them for the entire 2nd half. Durant and Harden were milkbox. And none of the role players of the Thunder stepped up, and everyone looked lost, confused, timid, and unconfident.

Now look on the other side, you got guys like Battier making the key rebound, knocking down 3s. Chalmers making the big plays down the stretch, Bosh grabbing hustle rebounds... Miami's 7 man rotation is at this point better than OKC's 1-2 punch. Then you add LeBron getting everyone involved rather than just going out and scoring 40 points and that is a deadly combo.

Fact is, Miami has the better team right now. People need to get off of this whole Miami is riding Wade/James to the title. If the role players don't step up this series is going to be over pretty soon for the Thunder. You can live with Wade and James getting you because you have Durant/WB but you can't lose to all of these role players which is what happened last night.

 

[InmanRoshi]

The biggest issue in this series is the matchup problems Miami creates when they go small with Bosh at the 5 and LeBron at the 4. Perkins is great at muscling around underneath the rim, but he doesn't have much defensive range defending Bosh on the perimeter or defending the pick and role with Bosh/Wade. Ibaka can't defend James, so he gets put on Battier out on the perimeter which drags him away from the basket and nullifies his shotblocking from the weakside in the paint. Meanwhile OKC doesn't have a big with an offensive low post game who can make Miami pay for going small. Harden could make the Heat pay if he would aggressively attack the basket the way Westbrook has a times, but he appears to have shrunk in the spotlight.