(2011)-2012 NBA Season
- Thread starter Alidar Jarok
- Start date
Go Thunder, indeed. One thing's for sure. I think we'll have most of the nation outside of the Miami-Dade area on our side....except for the Miami players' parents, wherever they might reside. Fuck LeBron James. Fucking whiner. Rondo was right; they do an extraordinary amount of crying to the refs. Hopefully playing the Thunder will blindside them and we'll get out of OKC with a 2-0 lead. Then we only have to pick up one in Miami. I HATE HATE HATE 
the 2-3-2 format of the finals. That's bullshit.
Jim Traber, our local talk radio blowhard went on the air and reiterated that he's picking the Heat. He thinks the Heat's physical talents will be too much for the Thunder in a series and that Bosh will tip the championship to Miami. God, what a vile thought. Chesapeake Arena is going to blow the roof off the place rooting against the boys from South Beach. Traber says LeBron's finally in the right place mentally and that he should win the battle with the Thunder.
the 2-3-2 format of the finals. That's bullshit. Jim Traber, our local talk radio blowhard went on the air and reiterated that he's picking the Heat. He thinks the Heat's physical talents will be too much for the Thunder in a series and that Bosh will tip the championship to Miami. God, what a vile thought. Chesapeake Arena is going to blow the roof off the place rooting against the boys from South Beach. Traber says LeBron's finally in the right place mentally and that he should win the battle with the Thunder.
What utter nonsense. The Big 3 talent is arguably a wash; it's the other players, including two veteran finals winners in Fish and Perkins, that will grind down the Heat.
OKC in 5.
OKC in 5.
I'm thinking in six. One thing about the Heat I've noticed is that they pout a great deal and they're easily rattled. OKC has come back to win from double digit deficits more than any team in the NBA this year, and even when they didn't they'd get back in the game and make it competitive. They don't stay buried. The second game in San Antonio, they did make a decent game of it after seeming like they'd be annihilated on the score board. Resilience is the word I'm looking for. OKC has it in spades. The Heat doesn't. OKC gels better as a team; they aren't separate egos playing together on a floor.
Apparently Ibaka, Sefalosha, Fish, Perkins and the highly underrated Collison won't make a bit of difference. Not according to Traber.
Apparently Ibaka, Sefalosha, Fish, Perkins and the highly underrated Collison won't make a bit of difference. Not according to Traber.
<-- This about sums it up. That and, of course, the obligatory "Go OKC!"
Well, Miami winning certainly wasn't the biggest shock in the world. Nothing in the NBA is more of a sure thing than the home team winning game 7. The Celts blew their chance to win the series by losing game 6. Before the game they said the Celts had been in something like 7 of the last 14 game 7's. I think part of the reason for that has been the C's inability to win elimination games.
Doc Rivers has become one of the most low class coaches in the league. In his post game press conference, in hallowed Celts tradition, went on and on about all of their injuries this season and how proud of them he is. Then, after being asked something about whether or not he was happy about how far his team had gotten, said he was too "competitive" to be happy about his team "overachieving". What a dick. So glad to see this bunch eliminated. It will probably be another 20 or so years before they get another ring.
Miami v OKC should be very interesting. Talent-wise, they're about equal. OKC has better defensive bigs but Miami plays just as good team defense. The Heat hasn't seen an offensive team as good as OKC, but the Thunder hasn't seen a team that plays offense and defense as well as Miami.
Both teams are young, so age related fatigue will not be a factor. But the important intangibles all seem to be owned by the Heat. They definitely have the psychological advantage -- there is no way the Thunder can be hungrier and they'll likely be the underdog this time. The Heat also have the edge in Finals experience.
If the Thunder asserts itself and plays with maturity beyond it's years a la the '81 San Francisco 49ers with Joe Montana, they will likely win. But if the teams play pretty evenly, the "intangibles" have a chance to become a factor. And if that happens, the Thunder might become the team remembered as the one that gave "The King" his first championship.
Doc Rivers has become one of the most low class coaches in the league. In his post game press conference, in hallowed Celts tradition, went on and on about all of their injuries this season and how proud of them he is. Then, after being asked something about whether or not he was happy about how far his team had gotten, said he was too "competitive" to be happy about his team "overachieving". What a dick. So glad to see this bunch eliminated. It will probably be another 20 or so years before they get another ring.
Miami v OKC should be very interesting. Talent-wise, they're about equal. OKC has better defensive bigs but Miami plays just as good team defense. The Heat hasn't seen an offensive team as good as OKC, but the Thunder hasn't seen a team that plays offense and defense as well as Miami.
Both teams are young, so age related fatigue will not be a factor. But the important intangibles all seem to be owned by the Heat. They definitely have the psychological advantage -- there is no way the Thunder can be hungrier and they'll likely be the underdog this time. The Heat also have the edge in Finals experience.
If the Thunder asserts itself and plays with maturity beyond it's years a la the '81 San Francisco 49ers with Joe Montana, they will likely win. But if the teams play pretty evenly, the "intangibles" have a chance to become a factor. And if that happens, the Thunder might become the team remembered as the one that gave "The King" his first championship.
What a vile thought. King Douchebag finally getting a ring. 
I must disagree about intangibles; those all favor the Thunder. They're much tougher mentally and much more resilient than the Heat. They've certainly had a much tougher road in the playoffs. Yes, they can be hungrier. No, they won't be the underdogs. Homecourt advantage will help a great deal.
I must disagree about intangibles; those all favor the Thunder. They're much tougher mentally and much more resilient than the Heat. They've certainly had a much tougher road in the playoffs. Yes, they can be hungrier. No, they won't be the underdogs. Homecourt advantage will help a great deal.
Let King James get his ring at someone else's expense. Phooey on the Heat. They can win it next year. My Thunder winning would make a far better story. 
Well after my initial disappointment wore off, I find myself frustrated with the NBA in general. The media was calling for OKC and Miami before the season even started. Lakers had too many question marks, Spurs were coming off a huge loss to an eight seed, Mavs lost Chandler, Boston was too old... Chicago was the only other team getting any credit. Now that it is a done deal, ESPN will eat this shit up with a spoon. The MVP vs the scoring champ. Seriously, did anybody with half a brain think that Boston had a chance in hell at winning game seven? Stern is a happy man today.
I won't say too much about it, because I don't like when people bitch about the refs, but the spurs/thunder game 6 was some of the shittiest officiating I've seen in a long time. Jackson's T for taunting (when Harden does the same shit), Westbrook falling on Leonard's head which led to a Spurs TO, Manu's offensive foul call, moving screens not called, Durant drawing touch fouls on fade away jumpers all over the place, etc.
Okay I'm done. The Spurs just ran out of gas. Guys like Danny Green and Splitter stopped showing up, so they had to go with different rotations and never really recovered. Congrats to OKC.
I won't say too much about it, because I don't like when people bitch about the refs, but the spurs/thunder game 6 was some of the shittiest officiating I've seen in a long time. Jackson's T for taunting (when Harden does the same shit), Westbrook falling on Leonard's head which led to a Spurs TO, Manu's offensive foul call, moving screens not called, Durant drawing touch fouls on fade away jumpers all over the place, etc.
Okay I'm done. The Spurs just ran out of gas. Guys like Danny Green and Splitter stopped showing up, so they had to go with different rotations and never really recovered. Congrats to OKC.
You think all of the intangibles favor the Thunder?
I want you to try and shelve your fandom for a moment and try to think objectively.If you mean the Thunder has played better teams on their way to the Finals, then I agree. But if you mean that the Heat has had an easier time getting to the Finals...if I'm not mistaken, they fought back to win 2 series where they faced elimination.
This will be LeBron's 3rd trip to the Finals. All 3 of his first 3 trips there ended in embarrassing defeats. Against all odds the Heat has made to back to the Finals for the second year in a row. Losing again for them is not an option. This season for them has all been about winning a chmpionship.
If the Thunder loses the only thing folks will say is, they're young and they will (likely) have further appearances in the Finals. There is no way the Thunder can be as hungry for a title as the Heat.
I actually meant the Heat would be underdogs though the way I wrote it, it does look like I was saying OKC would be underdogs. But again, this is also psychological ammunition for the Heat.
In the 2-3-2, I have always believed that HCA is undermined. It forces the team with HCA into a position where they HAVE to win the first 2 games or (if they lose one of the first 2) run the risk of never coming back home. It also forces the team with HCA to win at least one road game (even if the team with HCA wins the first 2) because no team wants to lose 3 in a row. HCA does comes into play if the team with HCA can get the series back home for the last two games.
In the 2-3-2, HCA can be an advantage, it is just not the advantage that it usually is in the 22111 format.
Ominous quote No. 1 for the Thunder:
''We all know how tough it's going to be but we're going to fight to the end no matter what, leave it out on floor and we'll live with the results", Durant said.
OKC will be fine if they lose -- I don't think the Heat will be able to live with the results if they lose. My overall point is that in order for OKC to win, thy'll have to play so much better than the Heat that the intangibles, most of which favor the Heat, won't matter. But I suppose that if the Heat wins, it will be because they wanted it so much more that they managed to negate whatever advantage the Thunder might have.
Having thought about it, I think this series will come down to what Bosh can get done. If he successfully spreads the floor and has a consistently good game offensively and defensively, then with James and Wade (depending on his knees), you never know.
As for living with the results, the line was the same after they went down 2-0 to the Spurs--they would continue to play hard and get better. Just because you say you will win 7 rings, doesn't mean you will, so I think that OKC's attitude is the more mature one.
As for living with the results, the line was the same after they went down 2-0 to the Spurs--they would continue to play hard and get better. Just because you say you will win 7 rings, doesn't mean you will, so I think that OKC's attitude is the more mature one.
Whether or not the quote shows maturity is irrelevant. It is about which team is desperate to win a championship and which is not. The quote, to me, is an indication that OKC would be "okay' if they lose the Finals. That does not indicate a team that is "desperate" to win a championship.
Here's another OKC quote, this one from one of their two players with Finals experience;
"Once you get to the Finals, it is about will and heart", Perkins said.
"It is just about digging deep and seeing who wants it more".
He is talking about "intangibles".
I think you are reading too much into it, frankly, but we'll see, won't we?
Then there's that Jackson guy.
LeBron is no Michael Jordan.
Don't say that to LeBron's face!
Sadly people will keep comparing them if he wins or even loses the NBA Final this year.
LeBron is no Michael Jordan.
In all fairness, nobody is. Physically, and skills wise... LeBron maaaay be. But where he falls far, far behind Jordan is in the mental toughness. That was what made Jordan such a fearsome opponent.
