NBA Thread

[bada]

Two layups? They deserve to lose. Vogul should be shit canned for leaving Hibbert on the bench.

[verb_to_trust]

I don't do it often, but I'm gonna go ahead and be Cocky Heat Fan for just a moment. This series is gonna over fast. I don't understand why people think it's gonna be 6 or 7 games. Sure, the Pacers play tough and it'll be a battle physically, but I don't this thing goes longer than 5 games and I wouldn't be surprised if it was a clean sweep. There I said it.*

Baffling defense at the end of the game by the Pacers. They really should have won this game. Clearly, this series is going to be a battle though.

[verb_to_trust]

Crazy lucky 3 pointer to force OT.

Nothing lucky about nailing a tough shot.

[Scott]

Anyone who isn't willing to concede that LeBron is the best player in the world right now is just plain stupid.

[Scott]

Crazy lucky 3 pointer to force OT.

Nothing lucky about nailing a tough shot.

30 feet out, off balance. 9 times out of 10, that shot isn't going.

Lucky.

[verb_to_trust]

Anyone who isn't willing to concede that LeBron is the best player in the world right now is just plain stupid.

I don't know anyone at this point who doesn't view Lebron as the best player on the planet. Its been that way for a few years now.

[verb_to_trust]

Crazy lucky 3 pointer to force OT.

Nothing lucky about nailing a tough shot.

30 feet out, off balance. 9 times out of 10, that shot isn't going.

Lucky.

They just showed a clip of Lebron's last playoff game winner against the magic 4 years ago, which was a similar looking shot. Sometimes NBA players make tough shots, I wouldn't call it lucky.

[bada]

Anyone who isn't willing to concede that LeBron is the best player in the world right now is just plain stupid.

I don't know anyone at this point who doesn't view Lebron as the best player on the planet. Its been that way for a few years now.

I'm not wild about the guy but he's undeniably the best player. Even Lebron haters admit that. It's his fans that seem to need the constant validation. It's been settled for a while he's the best.

[4/5]

Baffling defense at the end of the game by the Pacers. They really should have won this game. Clearly, this series is going to be a battle though.

No way man. The only reason they even had a chance was atrocious officiating. (The officiating was horrendous in both directions, so I'm not crying conspiracy here, but it absolutely favored the Pacers in key moments.) Down the stretch in the 4th they were in the bonus really early and pretty much only scored on free throws following ticky tack off the ball fouls. It was absurd. Don't even get me started on Wade's supposed foul on George. That's one of the single worst calls I've seen in a long, long time. It would have been a crime had Indiana won that game following that call.

And yeah, most of the games will be tough, but I still stick with Heat in 5. I'm picturing something similar to the Miami-Chicago series back in 2011.

[4/5]

Also, speaking of horrible calls...Frank Vogel taking Hibbert out for the last play was unbelievable. I hope he apologized to his team for losing the game last night. Almost as bad was the timeout at the end of the 4th quarter when Ray Allen was on the floor that let the Heat substitute Haslem in for him.

[Peeps]

hindsight is always 20/20

vogel took hibbert out to match up small on small. had hibbert been in bron probably passes to bosh for a easy jumper, or does he put roy on the ball out of bounds?

i dont think there was a clear angle to say wade didnt hit him or not but i do know if that was wade he would have yelled for call on HIS release...

[4/5]

You're right about hindsight, but don't you think LeBron's eyes probably got really big when he saw Hibbert wasn't out there. Plus, the play before the exact same thing happened. No Hibbert, easy drive and lay up for James.

I understand the rationale behind the decision, but wouldn't you rather force James to pass to anybody else on the team to take a jumper from anywhere on the floor than give him the opportunity to attack the basket?

[Peeps]

seeing how easy he got to the basket yes. but at the same time, young should have rotated. bron takes one more dribble and the clock expires. i would also fault the defender (george?) for allowing him to the outside rather than force him to the inside where help could have come sooner.

[EJ]

I wouldn't put the final play's blame on Vogel. George didn't follow Vogel's instructions to not overplay the inbounds pass so LeBron is forced to take a jumper. A split second overplay to the left was all the time/room LeBron needed to make a run to the rim.

[4/5]

If Hibbert's in the game there's at least the chance that he could cover George's mistake. It's no coincidence that in 38 minutes that Hibbert was on the floor Lebron took only 3 shots in the paint. In the 8 mins LeBron played with Hibbert not on the floor he was 4-6 in the paint. Sure, George overplayed the pass but there's a better chance that Hibbert could have covered that mistake than anybody else the Pacers could put out there.

I don't think taking out the anchor of your defense in the two most critical possessions of the game is excusable.

[Monkey_Driven]

If Hibbert's in the game there's at least the chance that he could cover George's mistake. It's no coincidence that in 38 minutes that Hibbert was on the floor Lebron took only 3 shots in the paint. In the 8 mins LeBron played with Hibbert not on the floor he was 4-6 in the paint. Sure, George overplayed the pass but there's a better chance that Hibbert could have covered that mistake than anybody else the Pacers could put out there.

I don't think taking out the anchor of your defense in the two most critical possessions of the game is excusable.

I'm somewhere in the middle on this. The margin for error is so damn small in these moments that overplaying a guy by 10 inches can be the difference between a praised or criticized coach. I think Vogel should have had Hibbert in there, but if Lebron passed to an open man in the corner with Hibbert in people would have criticized him too. I say put your best players on the floor in this instance but he went another way.

I only caught the second half, but I think this series will be very similar to the 2011 series with the Bulls (like 4/5 said). Close games, but ultimately the Heat win in 5.

[verb_to_trust]

The whole sequence was just mind boggling. Even when things completely fell apart........you would have to think they could have at least fouled him and made him win the game at the line.

When I said earlier the Pacers should have won the game I was referring to the final moments of the game. Lance Stephenson rushed a three that would have put them up six and I believe the next play was the Bosh and 1 (one of his 2 rebounds the entire game). While its true that with the turnovers and calls they got they didn't deserve it, if you have your opponent on the ropes in OT you HAVE to finish and they didn't do it.

Good for Lebron for not celebrating the winning layup. Cavs Lebron would have started dancing...

[verb_to_trust]

I'm almost rooting for the Heat just so the TNT guys do the BIRDMAN BIRDMAN thing to death for a little while longer.

[Peeps]

The whole sequence was just mind boggling. Even when things completely fell apart........you would have to think they could have at least fouled him and made him win the game at the line.

When I said earlier the Pacers should have won the game I was referring to the final moments of the game. Lance Stephenson rushed a three that would have put them up six and I believe the next play was the Bosh and 1 (one of his 2 rebounds the entire game). While its true that with the turnovers and calls they got they didn't deserve it, if you have your opponent on the ropes in OT you HAVE to finish and they didn't do it.

Good for Lebron for not celebrating the winning layup. Cavs Lebron would have started dancing...

you mean like nate and noah do?

[verb_to_trust]

The whole sequence was just mind boggling. Even when things completely fell apart........you would have to think they could have at least fouled him and made him win the game at the line.

When I said earlier the Pacers should have won the game I was referring to the final moments of the game. Lance Stephenson rushed a three that would have put them up six and I believe the next play was the Bosh and 1 (one of his 2 rebounds the entire game). While its true that with the turnovers and calls they got they didn't deserve it, if you have your opponent on the ropes in OT you HAVE to finish and they didn't do it.

Good for Lebron for not celebrating the winning layup. Cavs Lebron would have started dancing...

you mean like nate and noah do?

I can't recall a game winner at the buzzer from Nate or Noah this season. I guess we may never know...