It's not that LBJ can't win under pressure... He's played great in this series, and, the playoffs as a whole... It's that Miami's role players have been completely absent in this series... That said, being in a win or go home position, Miami absolutely has to play Chris Bosh a ton of minutes Thursday night... He's needed to create a spread on the floor, draw KG out of the paint, and to free up D. Wade & LBJ for more looks at the bucket... That is their only chance to beat Boston... Because Chalmers, Haslem, Anthony, Battier, et al don't seem like they're gonna contribute in any considerable way...
True enough, but I think LBJ at this point in his career at least...is not the dominant player equal to a Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Shaq... Players that needed solid, yet limited support to win championships. LBJ is looking more like a Charles Barkley, a great player but no ring.
LBJ is, statiscally, a better player than Kobe... Not to mention, I don't think Kobe would've gotten all 5 of those rings were it not for Shaq, Gasol, Bynum, etc... He wants to be a one-man show, regardless of other players on the court that can put up numbers... He had much more than limited support... Jordan had a great team as well... Though he did make others around him better, which is a thing you can also say about LBJ, but, not Kobe... Also, Jordan was almost a decade into his career when he won his first title, just like LBJ... And, Chicago actually gave him decent players to work with... Who did LBJ have in Cleveland? Mo Williams? Delonte West? Sideshow Bob Varejao? Different circumstances...
I just don't see it, even with good looks at the basket...he's not confident to take those last second shots. Winning a championship, finally, may make him more confident...and yeah he did a lot with a little in Cleveland but his playoff performance as a Cavalier was often mediocre. He gets a team there but not to the top of the mountain...and that is, as you say..inspiring your team to play better instead of putting it all on your own shoulders. The series isn't over, but the Celtics have played much more consistent basketball.
That is the one thing LBJ is lacking, that killer instinct... But, let's be honest, Kobe has it, and he's not clutch at all...
Celtics in 6 over Okie. Their tough defense will do in the young upstarts. Number 18 for Boston, oh yeah....!!
Judging from your post, you're a Celtics fan... I'm sorry to tell you, but, first off, the Thunder will be more rested than Boston going into the Finals, and, that's if Boston can beat the Heat... Second, Boston is not nearly as deep as OKC... Everybody on that team, from starters to bench, stars to role players, does their job, and, does it well... In fact, I'd go so far as to say that OKC's only weakness is Westbrook's streakiness... Otherwise, their game is virtually flawless... Third, OKC is a young team, and, while that would probably be an advantage to the Celtics in the regular season, you're talking an extremely young, extremely athletic, extremely talented, technically sound Thunder team who will have several days to rest ahead of the Finals against an older, also very talented, somewhat athletic Celtics team who will get a day or two to rest going into the series... I just can't see the Celtics overcoming that...
Half of me wants to see The Celtics take Labron out, but the other half of me wants to see The Best against the Best. Labron vs Kevin ... and I want Kevin to take it all.
If it's Miami-OKC, that's what I've been calling all season... The two best players in the league going head-up for the crown... Also, those are the two players in the league, aside from my whole Hornets roster, that I want to see get a title more than anyone... If that ends up being the Finals matchup, I don't care who wins... It's gonna be great regardless...
While I do agree the Okie sooners have a young and vital team, they haven't faced off against the best defense in the league whether it be Boston or Miami. The gray-haired Celtics are destined to bring home #18 because these old-timers will be retiring or sent elsewhere at the end of the season. I'll be honest with you, I thought after the first 2 losses that Boston was going to be swept by Miami. Afterall, the Celtics did lose to Miami last year in 5 games. Yeah, tonight lebron & wade will clean off the golf clubs to look forward to another dissappointing failure when it comes to the big games. Watch the all-world pro Rondo go wild tonight in the Celtic victory. Check in with me after you've come to grips with the Celtic mystique. Red Auerbach and Johhny Most will be watching from their graves tonight.
I'm not (*)(*)(*)(*)ting on the Celtics, by any means... They are a great team, esp. Rondo in this postseason, along with Jesus Shuttlesworth shooting the lights out... The likelihood that they'll beat the Heat is pretty high, though not definite... OKC is a different story... They don't really have any holes in their game, unless, like I said, the Celtics could get Westbrook in a rut...
The Heat are suffering from Steinbrenner syndrome. Steinbrenner used to throw money at players to field, on paper, the best team in the MLB. Same with the Heat... you've got the dream team of James, Wade and Bosh... What they are missing is "chemistry." The Thunder are mainly young guns that play as a team... You can't always buy a Championship = Miami Heat OKC in 6 games, no matter who they play.
Chemistry is key in winning a title, and, you're absolutely right that the Heat lack it to a degree... That shows in a couple of ways... One being that the Heat seemed to suffer from Bosh's absence, even with Wade & James still on the floor... That's obviously due to the fact that Bosh creates the spread on the floor needed to get LBJ & Wade more open looks... Also, have you noticed that they play better when it's either Bosh & James, or, Bosh & Wade on the floor, but, usually, not so great w/ all three out there? The chemistry factor is key here...
I'm not backing off my prediction of a Thunder/Heat NBA Final, but if the Heat are EVER gonna show some heart, tonight would be the right time. I think they are playing for their collective Miami Heat future. If they get eliminated by the Celtics in these playoffs, I suspect the coach will be gone, as well as some major personnel moves. One of the "Big 3" gone? Maybe.
If Miami doesn't beat Boston tonight, LBJ's performance in game 6 will be quite meaningless. I expect the Heat to put away the Celtics. The Heat are favored by 7.5 Oh, congrats on your team winning the lottery; Can you say Unibrow?!
I don't know about meaningless, but, it will def take some of the luster off of it... And thanks... I'm glad we won it... We needed a big name to turn us around... I'll leave with this... BROW DOWN!!! lol
There you have it... Miami & OKC in the Finals... I'm telling you, true basketball fans win with this matchup, because, we get to see the two best players in the NBA go head-to-head in a 7-game series, for the biggest title in the sport... This is going to be a great series... I'm bettin LBJ & Durantula both turn out 30+ PPG performances over the series... To be perfectly honest, I expect the Thunder to win the series, simply because all of their role players & bench constantly show up... That's not always the case with the Heat... One thing the Thunder needs to do is control the amount of shots Westbrook takes... OKC's only "weakness" is Russell Westbrook's streakiness... When he's on, he is on... Otherwise... Well, you get it... Miami is gonna need Wade to wake up more than just the 2nd half to keep up with this Thunder squad... Also, Bosh is gonna need to consistently play like he did in game 7, or better... But, most importantly, the Heat need strong performances from the likes of Haslem, Battier, et al, because, you can bet that OKC's bench will be puttin up numbers... Compound that with the fact that the Thunder have James Harden, and, Miami has a big mountain to climb... But, I expect a great series from both teams...
I'm sticking with my original pick of Miami over Oklahoma City. Call it my gut speaking, but that's my sense. Although it certainly wouldn't surprise me if OKC wins. I am expecting 7 games. Miami needs to either win 1 of the first 2 or sweep all 3 in Miami in order to have a legitimate shot at winning the title. I agree, Miami's role players need to step up, as well as Bosh, in order for the Heat to have a chance. I'll be rooting for Miami.
Though I am a native New Englander and an obvious Celtic fan, I do now live in Florida, and I have to agree with you that Miami is going to win the series against the okie sooners. If you'll notice in any championship series involving the 4 major sports teams of hockey, basketball, football and baseball, that once a team goes to the finals for 2 or 3 times like Miami that they more than likely end up winning the championship as the okie team is arriving at the finals for the first time to where they're going to get their arses handed to them. If you don't think this is true watch the hockey playoffs where L.A. won the first 3 games, but New Jersey devils have been to the big dance before and now they're going to win 4 straight to win the CUP starting tonight at 8 PM where they'll win their 3rd straight game against the Kallifornicator upstarts. BTW, The Devils win of 4 straight after being down 0-3 games will be the first time in history for a team to do that feat.
Um, not true. In 1942, the Toronto Maple Leafs came back from 0-3 hole to win the Stanley Cup over the Detroit Red Wings; The Islanders came back against the Pittsburgh Pens(1975) & the Flyers came back against your Bruins(2010), each in early playoff rounds. The Red Sox also came back against the Yankees(2004). All very moot, 'cause the Devils are going home, alone & empty handed. Credit given to them for not folding after going down 0-3, though.
Can't wait to see LBJ get his first ring... Anyways, I hate the 2-3-2 format the NBA uses. Absolutely stupid. Most of the time it favors the team who has the 3 home games in a row. Complete non-sense.
I'd like to see James get his ring, too.. I just feel like they got a HUGE obstacle in front of them...
I kinda disagree about the middle 3 games. I think that it puts a lot of pressure on the home team to win those games, 'cause unlike 2-2-1-1-1, you know that's the last you'll see of your arena, being the last 2 are on the road. I always liked my team having the first & last 2 at home, because I figured as long as we get it back home for game 6, I really like our chances. But having said that, I'm a fan of symmetry & would prefer ALL the playoffs be one or the other, either 2-2-1-1-1 or 2-3-2, don't care which. It shouldn't change for the Finals, IMO.
