Heat vs Pacers ECF

[Black Adam]

i just don't understand this sentiment. why would it be a snoozefest. to my eye indy is actually a more fun team to watch than miami, and especially in this series indy has been a helluva lot more fun to watch. and i will never understand why people think the spurs are boring. i hate the spurs but they are not a boring team to watch.

this is the problem with the nba and why i have become progressively more turned off by it. too much of a star driven league watched by fans who are eager to drink the kool-aide. the only reason people don't want to watch the pacers is because they don't know anyone on the team.


that is solely the nba's fault for only marketing certain players in their hype driven machine.

if the pacers win then the league has only fucked itself for not letting anyone know who these guys are, and i for one hope they fuck themselves royally.

a lot of truth in what you're saying. the game SHOULD be more than just about flash and superstars...

 

[RobToxin]

It would be a ratings nightmare, that's for sure.

A whole lot of non-basketball LeBron fans won't watch. Kind of like the Tiger Woods thing in golf. If Tiger isn't playing, they don't watch.

Because they aren't golf fans. They are Tiger fans.

Same with an NBA Finals that doesn't have the Heat/LeBron.

They aren't basketball fans.

They are LeBron fans.

Which is fine. Their right.

However, if you are one of these people who won't watch the Finals if the Heat don't make it, then don't you dare try to claim to be a basketball fan. Basketball fans will watch and it won't matter who makes it.

LeBron fans won't.

 

[johnnytata]

a lot of truth in what you're saying. the game SHOULD be more than just about flash and superstars...

flash and superstars are important, and i think everyone recognizes that, but to market it to the extent that nobody cares about anyone else is just poor planning.


i bet if you sat down 10 people who didn't know anything about the nba or any names of any players, or where the teams were from, 8/10 would say the pacers are more fun to watch.

 

[BOTSLAYER]

However, if you are one of these people who won't watch the Finals if the Heat don't make it, then don't you dare try to claim to be a basketball fan. Basketball fans will watch and it won't matter who makes it.

LeBron fans won't.

Can I protest the finals in my disgust of how my team has played?

You missed a fan type:

You mentioned Lebron fans/haters and NBA fans. There are team fans as well that will not watch the finals because their team is not in it, I would bet this number out weighs any of the other 2 groups combined....well maybe not the haters.

 

[RobToxin]

Can I protest the finals in my disgust of how my team has played?

You missed a fan type:

You mentioned Lebron fans/haters and NBA fans. There are team fans as well that will not watch the finals because their team is not in it, I would bet this number out weighs any of the other 2 groups combined....well maybe not the haters.

I also left out people like me who work alot of night shifts and will miss most of the games for employment reasons.

 

[Kold]

Some of it is the nba's fault, but another part of it is the lack of parity that has been going on for like the last 20 something years. In a good year, there's a handful of teams that are expected to be in the Finals prior to the season. Those teams are normally super teams, and with that we are already conditioned to think that we'll get this super matchup of those teams in the Finals, and the overall ratings are in THAT matchup. Now I'm one that's going to watch no matter what, but the thing is this.....basketball is so much of an individual sport to the point where there's no other major team sport in which one guy can determine a game on both ends of the floor. Because it's so individual, people get behind the individuals and people hate the individuals for whatever reason. Polarizing individuals/teams draw HUGE ratings because of their fanbase and haters. I've always said, a Kobe/Lebron Finals would set the media world on FIRE and would be the highest rated of all time. The Finals is not like the SuperBowl to where it can just draw people off of the spectacle that it is. The Finals was and will always be about the matchup. The Spurs or Pacers are not loved/hated on a national level, therefore the matchup will not interest the casual fan. Miami/Spurs draws every fan in guaranteed. That may not be right, but it's just the way it is.

 

[Black Adam]

it's why the NFL is by far the better league and has more popularity, fellas...

 

[johnnytata]

the nhl tried to go the nba route in the heyday of crosby vs. ovie, and i thought they were doing it all wrong, especially in a time when so many young stars were going in to the game.


why are players so hated/loved? is it because they are genuinely "good" or "bad" guys, or are they just normal people with good and bad qualities who are made into caricatures of themselves that are easier to sell (ie WWE). and if so, who is doing the making and who is doing the selling? and why, as fans, are we so easily duped into buying into these hype driven caricatures. i personally find a well developed character with good and bad qualities so much more fascinating, but as a society are we that eager to "love" or "hate" someone?

getting back to basketball, i recognize that it is easier to sell a story than to sell the game, but it is just frustrating when someone just assumes something will be a "snoozefest."

 

[johnnytata]

also, i will have a hard time watching any more nhl this season because i am bitter about the red wings losing, so i hear where you're coming from. still, i should not represent the population as a whole. if something is good, then hopefully people will watch it.

 

[Hornsstampede2.0]

Miami will find a way to win game 7.

That is the biggest asset of home court.

Game 7 is by far and away the game that it truly matters.

If the Heat lose this one, Lebron might never ever be able to repair the damage.

His entire legacy is probably riding on it........whether its fair or not.

But, I think Miami wins. So, Lebron can breathe easy.

 

[bksballer89]

BTW Wade makes a great point about him and Bosh not getting enough opportunity.

In the last 2 games LBJ turned into a chuck and Bosh/Wade are hardly getting any shots. How do you explain the 3rd best player on your team avg just 7 shots in critical game 5 and 6?

 

[Shanemansj13]

Miami will find a way to win game 7.

That is the biggest asset of home court.

Game 7 is by far and away the game that it truly matters.

If the Heat lose this one, Lebron might never ever be able to repair the damage.

His entire legacy is probably riding on it........whether its fair or not.

But, I think Miami wins. So, Lebron can breathe easy.

Until the Finals. I just can't see them winning the way they have been playing, at least last year when it looked like doom Wade went off for 40 in game 6 and Bosh played a big role.

 

[BiffMcFly]

Obviously Heat can't win without Chris Anderson's specialized play. Birdman will obviously be MVP of game 7.

 

[johnnytata]

i think indiana hasn't arrived yet. it will be a big task for a young team to win on the road in a game 7 against a defending champion.

that said, anything can happen in a winner take all one game scenario.

 

[trojanfan12]

BTW Wade makes a great point about him and Bosh not getting enough opportunity.

In the last 2 games LBJ turned into a chuck and Bosh/Wade are hardly getting any shots. How do you explain the 3rd best player on your team avg just 7 shots in critical game 5 and 6?

Maybe for the same reason it happens on the Lakers sometimes with Kobe? If the other options are not getting the job done, then it is up to the teams best player to step up and do whatever he has to do to give them a chance to win!! If that means take over the game and shoot a lot, then that's what has to be done!!

Bosh was 1-8 last night and D-Wade was 3 for 11!! I'd say that explains a lot right there!!

 

[lakersrule]

Excellent. A game 7. As they say, anything can happen in a game 7. If Hill and Stevenson show up for Indiana on the road, Miami could be toast. I think Miami gets the job done though.

Curious what some people think about Lebron's/Wade's comments. You got Lebron throwing his teammates under the bus saying they are struggling and he has to revert back to his Cleveland days. You got Wade basically saying Lebron needs to get them the ball more. There would be a lot more chatter around here if this situation involved some other superstar.

 

[bksballer89]

Excellent. A game 7. As they say, anything can happen in a game 7. If Hill and Stevenson show up for Indiana on the road, Miami could be toast. I think Miami gets the job done though.

Curious what some people think about Lebron's/Wade's comments. You got Lebron throwing his teammates under the bus saying they are struggling and he has to revert back to his Cleveland days. You got Wade basically saying Lebron needs to get them the ball more. There would be a lot more chatter around here if this situation involved some other superstar.

I been all over LBJ about his comments after game 5 since thursday on the heat board. As I said last night throwing your teammates under the bus (especially Wade/Bosh) under the bus in front of the media is the wrong way to do it and wouldn't help either player confidence.

Did Wade/Bosh throw him under the bus to the media in 2011 when he played like shit against Dallas or did they support him and always have his back?

 

[Kold]

There would be a lot more chatter around here if this situation involved some other superstar.

The reason why is because they won that title last year. All of that pressure and media criticism has sort of leveled off since then. Now had this have been LAST year or the 1st year, those comments would've been magnified even more than they probably should've. Hearing those comments did sort of raise my eyebrows a bit though.

 

[lakersrule]

I been all over LBJ about his comments after game 5 since thursday on the heat board. As I said last night throwing your teammates under the bus (especially Wade/Bosh) under the bus in front of the media is the wrong way to do it and wouldn't help either player confidence.

Did Wade/Bosh throw him under the bus to the media in 2011 when he played like shit against Dallas or did they support him and always have his back?

Rarely visit the Heat board, so didn't realize you were all over Lebron for this BK. Well done. I believe Wade and Bosh supported Lebron after losing to Dallas. I don't think it was Lebron's intentions to throw his teammates under the bus. I just think his choice of words could have been a little better.

 

[lakersrule]

Riley needs to plaster the walls of the Heat's training facility and locker room with the message "no rebounds, no rings." They don't have to out-rebound Indy, just keep the margin close and limit those second chance opportunities. A 20 rebound differential is huge.