Series Thread: 2023 NBA Finals: Heat vs. Nuggets

[PPhan]

He obviously didn’t see much of Magic. No goat conversation is complete without Kareem.

GOAT stands for Greatest of All Time no? Why do people treat it as a list? Do you really consider Magic to be the greatest basketball player of all time or right up there with MJ? I don’t.

MJ was the undisputed Greatest of All Time until LeBron came and turned it into a conversation between the two. MJ is still the Greatest to me, but LeBron is the only player who you can really make a legit argument against him. Nobody can call Magic the best to ever play the game with a straight face, lol.

 

[thunderc]

GOAT stands for Greatest of All Time no? Why do people treat it as a list? Do you really consider Magic to be the greatest basketball player of all time or right up there with MJ? I don’t.

MJ was the undisputed Greatest of All Time until LeBron came and turned it into a conversation between the two. MJ is still the Greatest to me, but LeBron is the only player who you can really make a legit argument against him. Nobody can call Magic the best to ever play the game with a straight face, lol.

Magic is not on my top 5 list no. I’m fine with just saying MJ is the goat because he is. If more than one is on the list Kareem has to be there in my opinion.

 

[MileHigh64]

Personally, I think all the GOAT posters should move to another thread. This Heat/Nuggets series deserves it's own narrative and I tire of all the MJ vs Lebron talk that has hijacked the current topic at hand.

A couple of things that I think:

• This NBA Finals is pretty amazing when you consider it's an 8th seed from the East and both of these teams play pretty selfless basketball.
• Both of these teams are displaying a brand of basketball that any college coach could admire. Big X's and O's vs. big egos.
• Spo and his team are the masters at game planning. I originally pegged this as Nuggets in 5 but I'll modify that to 6 or 7 games. The Heat continue to fight and claw like no 8 seed has ever done.
• Obviously Jokic (and Murray to some extent) are on a record breaking pace.
• Bam is playing out of his mind! If some of the Heat role players really get going, the Nuggets could be in trouble.
• Jimmy Buckets and Bubble Jamal are both real. Bow down to the greatness of these two players.
• Home court matters and home court doesn't matter. These two teams buck the odds.
• Fouls and bad foul calls have been relatively equal (in my mind). Never want the refs to decide a Finals game.
• This is a very fun and exciting NBA Finals match up!

 

[tlance]

Lol embarrassing. Said 6 weeks from jump and now we are entering week 7. Nba finals on the line and Miami still handling players like its December

Man, you have zero trust in your people.

Miami Heat are better managed than just about everyone.

If Herro were ready to play, he would play.

He isn’t.

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

Imo, you bring him back for game 5 whether it's 2-2 or 3-1.

It takes 4 games to win a series, so if there are games to be played and he's cleared, you play him.

Even if you can't play him normal minutes or he's rusty...you play him because Denver has to account for him when he's on the floor which helps Jimmy and Bam.

Exactly.

I assumed bks would've known that and understood it.
Maybe I was wrong.

 

[bksballer89]

Man, you have zero trust in your people.

Miami Heat are better managed than just about everyone.

If Herro were ready to play, he would play.

He isn’t.

I just think its the finals and he doesn't need to be 100%. If he's at 85% then you give him a go

 

[DJ Fieri]

Man, you have zero trust in your people.

Miami Heat are better managed than just about everyone.

If Herro were ready to play, he would play.

He isn’t.

Yep...

 

[DJ Fieri]

Lock that the Heat win tonight.

 

[tlance]

I just think its the finals and he doesn't need to be 100%. If he's at 85% then you give him a go

He probably isn’t 85% though. Might not even be 60%.

If he was healthy enough to help the team, I believe he would.

Injury timelines are rough estimates. Some guys get back quicker, some don’t. Every recovery and every situation is different.

Anyone who has played sports should know this.

 

[tlance]

Lock that the Heat win tonight.

Um….

No, it really isn’t.

You are acting like these 2 teams are dead even.

They aren’t.

 

[fightinfunbags]

He probably isn’t 85% though. Might not even be 60%.

If he was healthy enough to help the team, I believe he would.

Injury timelines are rough estimates. Some guys get back quicker, some don’t. Every recovery and every situation is different.

Anyone who has played sports should know this.

He’s bummed and it’s made him irrational. Like if he wasn’t ready to contribute the Heat wouldn’t be playing him?

 

[PPhan]

Personally, I think all the GOAT posters should move to another thread. This Heat/Nuggets series deserves its own narrative and I tire of all the MJ vs Lebron talk that has hijacked the current topic at hand.

It’s not that serious. People will go off topic every now and then when it’s not game time or really nothing much to talk about. We do it on other game threads as well.

 

[shopson67]

“Shutting down Jokic” is essentially making him shoot enough shots to get 40+. You’re not going to shut that guy down because he always makes the right play and the defense can’t take away everything. That’s why you need to focus on holding Murray down. Their blue print entails needing both Murray and Jokic. The better course is to try and shut down Murray in my opinion.

...and you better hope the 3 point shooter that is left open isn't hitting their shots.

 

[PPhan]

If this doesn’t work out, what do you think about this trade with 3 1sts going to Philly from Miami as well.

View attachment 330696

Lol, We could really use Embiid right now. Jokic has had no answer for him when they play each other.

It’s just that we would now have our center but lose our PF.

 

[shopson67]

Personally, I think all the GOAT posters should move to another thread. This Heat/Nuggets series deserves it's own narrative and I tire of all the MJ vs Lebron talk that has hijacked the current topic at hand.

A couple of things that I think:

• This NBA Finals is pretty amazing when you consider it's an 8th seed from the East and both of these teams play pretty selfless basketball.
• Both of these teams are displaying a brand of basketball that any college coach could admire. Big X's and O's vs. big egos.
• Spo and his team are the masters at game planning. I originally pegged this as Nuggets in 5 but I'll modify that to 6 or 7 games. The Heat continue to fight and claw like no 8 seed has ever done.
• Obviously Jokic (and Murray to some extent) are on a record breaking pace.
• Bam is playing out of his mind! If some of the Heat role players really get going, the Nuggets could be in trouble.
• Jimmy Buckets and Bubble Jamal are both real. Bow down to the greatness of these two players.
• Home court matters and home court doesn't matter. These two teams buck the odds.
• Fouls and bad foul calls have been relatively equal (in my mind). Never want the refs to decide a Finals game.
• This is a very fun and exciting NBA Finals match up!

This is what happens when the NBA puts too many days between the games. Either the thread changes directions or it grinds to a stop.

 

[shopson67]

He’s bummed and it’s made him irrational. Like if he wasn’t ready to contribute the Heat wouldn’t be playing him?

...and let's not forget that he is a target on defense even when healthy.

 

[fightinfunbags]

...and let's not forget that he is a target on defense even when healthy.

He is. At the same time, he showed some growth on that end of the floor this year in the regular season. Bad spot. Hasn’t played basketball in 6-7 weeks and now asked to compete at the level of the NBA Finals. You can do tread mill or an exercise bike all you want but it’s not the same as basketball cardio. That would make his defense even more suspect.

 

[shopson67]

He is. At the same time, he showed some growth on that end of the floor this year in the regular season. Bad spot. Hasn’t played basketball in 6-7 weeks and now asked to compete at the level of the NBA Finals. You can do tread mill or an exercise bike all you want but it’s not the same as basketball cardio. That would make his defense even more suspect.

Yep. Nuggets made DLo almost unplayable, and he was healthy. Can't imagine Herro can do enough if still banged up. I think Highsmith should continue to get more minutes.

 

[fightinfunbags]

Yep. Nuggets made DLo almost unplayable, and he was healthy. Can't imagine Herro can do enough if still banged up. I think Highsmith should continue to get more minutes.

They need 35-40 from aggressive Jimmy Buckets.

 

[shopson67]

They need 35-40 from aggressive Jimmy Buckets.

Nobody would turn that down, lol.