NBA Thread

king of cali

All-Conference
Nov 24, 2005
6,955
3,877
0
That’s what they do when the know a team can’t touch them. Miami played well, the Lakers played as sloppy as can be, Davis has 2 fouls and has even taken a shot, and the lead is only 3. The Lakers know they can turn it on at any moment. It’s a dangerous way to play, but they know they aren’t threatened in this series when they decide to really play.
 

WildMoon

Heisman
Apr 7, 2009
78,693
11,120
0
That’s what they do when the know a team can’t touch them. Miami played well, the Lakers played as sloppy as can be, Davis has 2 fouls and has even taken a shot, and the lead is only 3. The Lakers know they can turn it on at any moment. It’s a dangerous way to play, but they know they aren’t threatened in this series when they decide to really play.

they are now up 1.
 

akaukswoosh

Hall of Famer
Jan 14, 2006
80,507
123,504
93
Heat looked they were going to be left in the dust when Lakers took lead but fought and took the lead back.
 

hotelblue

Heisman
Jul 6, 2006
41,683
13,121
0
the heat can’t play any harder. their defensive identity is going to keep them near the top in the east for a while. this series though is the lakers playing around the world.
 

wentzel25

Senior
Feb 13, 2006
3,896
560
0
So it sounds like everyone agrees: lakers win the series. But how would you bet an over under of 5.5 games for the length of the series?
 

hotelblue

Heisman
Jul 6, 2006
41,683
13,121
0
butler with an all-time effort with an efficient, unselfish, and team leading performance. no one on the heat could hit and they win by double digits. good lord...
 

king of cali

All-Conference
Nov 24, 2005
6,955
3,877
0
It sounds strange to say, but Bam being out allows Miami’s offense to be better against the Lakers. Because Leonard and Olynk can shoot the 3, Davis and Howard have to defend all the way out there. On all those Butler drives he’s playing 1 on 1 with no one able to give help. If Bam is in there then the Lakers centers don’t have to defend as far out on the floor because Bam isn’t shooting from out there. Something to look for going forward.
 

Son_Of_Saul

Heisman
Dec 7, 2007
45,139
98,041
113
The Lakers shot 47 threes last night. For a team that shoots in the low 30s from that distance that is way too many. Especially when their advantage resides in the paint.

The way they played the 4th was disrespectful. Not running the offense, 1 pass and jack up a 3 as if they were Houston. Luckily they’re playing an opponent who can’t make them pay for it. The Lakers can turn it on and off as they wish and Miami can’t do a thing about it.
Does winning an actual game count as an example of "doing a thing about it?"
 
  • Like
Reactions: kl40504_rivals

Son_Of_Saul

Heisman
Dec 7, 2007
45,139
98,041
113
It sounds strange to say, but Bam being out allows Miami’s offense to be better against the Lakers. Because Leonard and Olynk can shoot the 3, Davis and Howard have to defend all the way out there. On all those Butler drives he’s playing 1 on 1 with no one able to give help. If Bam is in there then the Lakers centers don’t have to defend as far out on the floor because Bam isn’t shooting from out there. Something to look for going forward.
Yes, this is certainly something a contrarian Monday morning qb would write.
 
  • Like
Reactions: kl40504_rivals

king of cali

All-Conference
Nov 24, 2005
6,955
3,877
0
Does winning an actual game count as an example of "doing a thing about it?"

You go back to Friday to quote a post lol?

And clearly what i said is absolutely correct. The announcers were talking all night long about the Lakers sleepwalking and playing sloppy.
 

Son_Of_Saul

Heisman
Dec 7, 2007
45,139
98,041
113
You go back to Friday to quote a post lol?

And clearly what i said is absolutely correct. The announcers were talking all night long about the Lakers sleepwalking and playing sloppy.
It's worth an "lol" that you turned out wrong?

Oh, let me guess, you only meant that quote for that particular game and didn't think LA would impose their will for four straight games, right?
 

king of cali

All-Conference
Nov 24, 2005
6,955
3,877
0
Yes, this is certainly something a contrarian Monday morning qb would write.

It’s simple basketball logic. Having a shooter at center eliminates shot blocking. Having a non shooter allows the defense to sag.

They are better overall with Bam. But against this specific opponent, him not being there and replaced by a shooter opens the entire floor.
 
  • Like
Reactions: chroix

Son_Of_Saul

Heisman
Dec 7, 2007
45,139
98,041
113
It’s simple basketball logic. Having a shooter at center eliminates shot blocking. Having a non shooter allows the defense to sag.

They are better overall with Bam. But against this specific opponent, him not being there and replaced by a shooter opens the entire floor.
But you don't account for Bam's defense or the offense running through him.

You make it seem like shooting is the only foundation to winning a title against LA.
 

LineSkiCat14

Heisman
Aug 5, 2015
38,860
60,905
113
Hey, still alive! I still don't think this changes the series, but LA is due for an injury to bite them.
 
Mar 23, 2012
23,493
6,068
0
But you don't account for Bam's defense or the offense running through him.

You make it seem like shooting is the only foundation to winning a title against LA.
You don’t need the offense to run through Bam when Butler is playing like he has in the Finals.

But the problem is that the Lakers starters basically all were some degree of bad, and if the Heat have to count on that along with Butler bring in God mode to win, then this isn’t going past five games.
 

MdWIldcat55

Heisman
Dec 9, 2007
21,273
84,846
113
It sounds strange to say, but Bam being out allows Miami’s offense to be better against the Lakers. Because Leonard and Olynk can shoot the 3, Davis and Howard have to defend all the way out there. On all those Butler drives he’s playing 1 on 1 with no one able to give help. If Bam is in there then the Lakers centers don’t have to defend as far out on the floor because Bam isn’t shooting from out there. Something to look for going forward.
Or Butler just played out of his mind on a night Davis was in foul trouble and the Lakers mailed it in. I'm pretty sure if the Heat were better without Adebayo in the game Riley and Spoelstra would have figured that out well before now. Just clearing out the lane to let your best player have more space to operate one-on-one is not a viable strategy to win in the NBA more than once in a while. Players like Olynk are a dime a dozen. Everybody would do that if it were a way to succeed.
 

Cats192

Heisman
Apr 22, 2011
14,863
17,703
93
Even with Butler playing the game of his life and the Lakers being down 14 in the 3rd, they came back to take the lead. They then played terrible offense for the final 7 or 8 minutes of the game.

Davis won't play this poorly again. I assume the Lakers win in 5, maaaaybe 6.

But the notion that the Heat improved without Bam is laughable.
 

king of cali

All-Conference
Nov 24, 2005
6,955
3,877
0
Or Butler just played out of his mind on a night Davis was in foul trouble and the Lakers mailed it in. I'm pretty sure if the Heat were better without Adebayo in the game Riley and Spoelstra would have figured that out well before now. Just clearing out the lane to let your best player have more space to operate one-on-one is not a viable strategy to win in the NBA more than once in a while. Players like Olynk are a dime a dozen. Everybody would do that if it were a way to succeed.

As a team, Miami isn’t better without Bam. But against this opponent, him not being there and replaced by a shooter allows the floor to be completely open. And that’s important against a team that protects the rim and blocks shots like the Lakers do.

As a reading an article last night and it said of the shots that Butler took, only 2 were outside of 17 feet. That means he’s playing a lot of 1 on 1 close to the rim with no shot blocking in sight because they’re playing at the 3 point line. Even on Herro’s final bucket of the night he was able to get a straight line drive from half court with neither Davis or LeBron providing help because they’re attached to 3 point shooters.

Against Boston that wouldn’t work because they depend on switching more than letting their bigs defend the rim. Against the Lakers it’s an advantage and something to look for going forward.
 
Jan 29, 2003
18,120
12,185
0
Someone will win - my guess is the Lakers in 5 or maybe 6 - but someone wins a title every year. The bigger news that has to concern Silver and others is that Game 1 was the lowest rated and least watched NBA Finals game since they started keeping track in the late 1980s, and Game 2 fell off a cliff from what Game 1 saw, and was down 68% from Game 2 of 2019. I'm not sure what the answer is, but they better be figuring that out (and "we think it's because these finals are in October and Covid screwed everything up this year" isn't an answer, it's a hope).....
 

ryanbruner

Heisman
Sep 10, 2017
13,640
21,813
113
Someone will win - my guess is the Lakers in 5 or maybe 6 - but someone wins a title every year. The bigger news that has to concern Silver and others is that Game 1 was the lowest rated and least watched NBA Finals game since they started keeping track in the late 1980s, and Game 2 fell off a cliff from what Game 1 saw, and was down 68% from Game 2 of 2019. I'm not sure what the answer is, but they better be figuring that out (and "we think it's because these finals are in October and Covid screwed everything up this year" isn't an answer, it's a hope).....
Just like with everything involving television the ratings are down and a large portion of people illegally steam live sports. There were 200k people in this one stream the other day that I may or may not have been apart of.