2012 NBA Finals: (2) Heat vs (2) Thunder

[wilson27]

oh defending? uhm btw, where'd you get those stats you had posted? wasn't it copy-pasted? or u typed it yourself? what's the diffrence? lol

[_Steve_]

So at this point, does anyone think that the series is going back to Oklahoma City? It wouldn't be unheard of and there's probably still an outside chance of it happening, with the Heat ultimately winning one of the games there to take the championship, but I have a feeling this one doesn't go past tomorrow.

Chances for OKC are slim but they exist. Chalmers, Wade and Bosh had some really ugly games during this series. If Harden, Durant and Westbrook would finally have a good game at the same time, OKC could still win the finals.
I still think Heat will win it all, because they didn't even played their best basketball - shooting 37.8 % from the field in game 3 is really bad - and won 3 games of the series...

[Nick]

It's certainly still within OKC's grasp to win this series, especially considering the health (or lackthereof) of Wade and LeBron. But with that said, the Heat just seem to have the slightly stronger will at this point and even if Thunder win the next game, i don't see the Heat losing 3 in a row. The fact that the next game is at Heat's home makes me think they'll probably close it out... although the competitive fire in Durant must be burning like hell right now. You could see it in the post-game interview.

Seriously though, what an epic series this has been so far. Each game has been good to watch, ESPECIALLY the last one!!!

[JT_55]

oh defending? uhm btw, where'd you get those stats you had posted? wasn't it copy-pasted? or u typed it yourself? what's the diffrence? lol

Perhaps you should consider going to college.

[koberulz]

Why the shot clock needs to be reset to 5 seconds on a jump ball is beyond me.

Because what's the point of a jump ball if the instant a team gets control of it the shot clock runs out and they lose possession?

Presumably the same as the point of anything that happens on offense with 0.8 on the shot clock. It's their fault for letting it run down that far.

[thatwizardguy]

He gets career ending injury in his rookie season, 25% way through, where is his other "qualifications" to get through in life?

He goes to college for four years and gets a degree in "cultural geography" or "sociology" where are his qualifications to get through in life?

Jordan isn't a billionaire because he attended college, he's a billionaire because he was the biggest sports and media superstar on the planet.

If LeBron gets a career ending injury in his rookie season he still has at least $15 million to invest in a business or to go to college (at AGE 19) with that he didn't have before hand.

College isn't a magical totem that makes you successful, it's merely tens of thousands of dollars paid to an organization for a slip of paper that says you aren't too big of a fuck up.

Jordan's a billionaire because he's not stupid enough to throw it all away.

LeBron wouldn't of invested it, he chooses Liverpool of all clubs in the premiership to invest in and they are in debt...

[koberulz]

And going to college would've made a difference?

[benji]

Jordan's a billionaire because he's not stupid enough to throw it all away.

Yeah, constant gambling losses is a prudent investment strategy.

LeBron wouldn't of invested it, he chooses Liverpool of all clubs in the premiership to invest in and they are in debt...

So LeBron wouldn't have invested, because he...invested?

[Sauru]

Everyone talks about Lebawn but the true Heat fans know the actual hero was Wade from the get go.

now here is something we agree on. this is also why i really dislike lebron. everyone wants to compare him to jordan or say he is better than kobe well jordan won as the man on HIS team he never left and tried to ride on someone elses train for a ring. then you got kobe who had the other dominate player booted from the team so everyone would know he was now the man. i wish people would stop trying to compare lebron to jordan when he has yet to get over the kobe hurdle

[SkyLine03LT]

To be honest, any player that joins the NBA from college will be better than a player who joins straight out of high school because of the experience they gained.

ANY player?

Most of them. Players that suck ain't worth the discussion.

Jordan after 3 years of college was better than LeBron straight out of HS
LeBron after 3 years in the NBA maybe possibly better than MJ after 3 years of college

Why is everybody getting caught-up with this 'what if' nonsense? It's the same as making excuses for the player injuries, which are a part of the game and there's nothing you can do about it.

Not a 'what if' scenario. I'm just indicating that maybe LeBron in his fourth season was better than MJ as a rookie, statistics say otherwise but LeBron did take them to the Finals that year. This is true for most other players, though.

[shadowgrin]

Jordan in his 3rd season was already MVP. That 2nd season he got injured could be counted out.
In his rookie season he already led the Bulls to the playoffs. It took LeChoke his 3rd season to do that.
He did all of those in a strong Eastern conference unlike LeChoke wo went to the Finals because the East was very weak.

[shadowgrin]

Jordan in his 3rd season was already MVP. That 2nd season he got injured could be counted out.
In his rookie season he already led the Bulls to the playoffs. It took LeChoke his 3rd season to do that.
He did all of those in a strong Eastern conference unlike LeChoke wo went to the Finals because the East was very weak.

[benji]

Look who choked at posting properly.

[Jackal]

now here is something we agree on. this is also why i really dislike lebron. everyone wants to compare him to jordan or say he is better than kobe well jordan won as the man on HIS team he never left and tried to ride on someone elses train for a ring. then you got kobe who had the other dominate player booted from the team so everyone would know he was now the man. i wish people would stop trying to compare lebron to jordan when he has yet to get over the kobe hurdle

This.

Lebron is the most dominant player in the game and he's awesome and he's badass and all of that...but I don't like him because of this and the whole "gonna bring the first championship to Cleveland...nope just kidding" thing.

Jordan would've humiliated Lebron. With a smile.

[_Steve_]

now here is something we agree on. this is also why i really dislike lebron. everyone wants to compare him to jordan or say he is better than kobe well jordan won as the man on HIS team he never left and tried to ride on someone elses train for a ring. then you got kobe who had the other dominate player booted from the team so everyone would know he was now the man. i wish people would stop trying to compare lebron to jordan when he has yet to get over the kobe hurdle

This.

Lebron is the most dominant player in the game and he's awesome and he's badass and all of that...but I don't like him because of this and the whole "gonna bring the first championship to Cleveland...nope just kidding" thing.

Jordan would've humiliated Lebron. With a smile.

This would have been Magic's part.

[NovU]

LeBawn however has been the closest thing to MJ in terms of individual excellence on the court. No doubt about that.

if Thunder win the next game, i don't see the Heat losing 3 in a row. The fact that the next game is at Heat's home makes me think they'll probably close it out...

I hope you are right but I dont think I will be too optimistic if we end up losing tonights game. the momentum will likely to shift and game six will be at Oklahoma where they have been indestructible untill game 2 of the finals. If they end up taking that 1 as well, the history will once be against us as no away team won game 7 of the finals ever since the introduction of 2-3-2. So I am expecting the Heat players to treat game 5 as game 7 and come out ready.

[Sauru]

LeBawn however has been the closest thing to MJ in terms of individual excellence on the court. No doubt about that.

i gotta go with kobe personally

[benji]

You're seeing my 2010 Finals signature in your nightmares aren't you?

That's the only explanation I can come up with.

And Tracy McGrady circa 2002-03 is Jordan. Exactly.

[Andrew]

It's still anybody's series, really. All the games were close and next one won't be any different I presume. If the Heat lose the next one, the Heat are in for a serious shit ride to Oklahoma for sure. And the Thunder came back from 2-0 deficit just previously against a great team.

True, but there's a reason that no one has come back from being down 3-1 in the Finals, not to mention it being a rarity in the earlier rounds; it's happened what, nine times in over 60 years? In all fairness it could happen, the Thunder should definitely come out believing they have a chance to be the first team to do it and give it all they've got, but I just don't see it happening. It'd be nice if the series can at least be pushed to six or seven games so that we can enjoy it a little longer and not have it end with someone winning four straight - though I don't blame Heat fans for wanting to see it end in Game 5 - but it's difficult to see the Thunder winning three straight, even if two of them are at home.

[koberulz]

it's happened what, nine times in over 60 years?

The problem with those sorts of stats is they ignore context. Like the 0-3 deficit number everyone keeps pulling out, and continued to do so in the Orlando-Boston series (IIRC) a couple of years back ever after they got back to 3-3. Most 0-3 series are sweeps, so instead of 'in 45 tries, no team has come back from 0-3' it was 'in one try, no team has come back from 0-3 after tying the series', which is far less forboding.

How many 1-3 series have had every game still a contest with a minute to go? That'd be a far smaller number. This series isn't nearly as lopsided as 1-3 suggests. OKC gets a couple of different bounces, they're champions already.

[benji]

You realize that they still have to win three straight games right?

[Sauru]

maybe if they get all new refs they can come back

[koberulz]

You realize that they still have to win three straight games right?

Sure, but there's a massive difference between having to win three straight against a team that's scraped out three close wins against you and having to win three straight games against a team that's beating you relatively easily. That's all I'm saying.

[Mavs4Life]

Plus if OKC wins this one, it's back on there court. It's a Mega stretch, and though I think it's over tonight, if OKC takes this one, they could come back.

[NovU]

That's the thing. Despite 3-1 lead, I am just not as confident because the games were so evenly matched, one small thing could change entire flow of the the series. Besides, the Thunder are young and fearless, and have more energy on the court imo besides the better talent outside big 2 that we have and could explode anytime while the Heat are vunerable otherwise for strong wills they been keeping up. It's been the case of Heat requiring nearly mental lapse free games from Wade and cos while the Thunder provide one or two down the critical stretch. 3-1 lead never looked this vunerable to me imo. God hope I am wrong on this one though.