Series Thread: 3) Miami Heat (48-34) vs 6) Charlotte Hornets (48-34)

[Shanemansj13]

I have no clue. I read an article not too long ago that said if Pop was the coach of OKC that team would never lose a game.

OKC is healthy for once and has more depth than they have ever had and with free agency approaching this ver very well might be their best team ever. I think they finally have a solid stable of big men to throw at the opposition...they need the guards- Waiters and Roberson to shoot well from 3 and to guard well.

Its really hard for me to pick against the Spurs but for some reason i think OKC might get this series. I think the Durant/Leonard matchup should be absolutely awesome to watch.

I of course have very little confidence in this pick as i ahve no idea how this series will go- but i think OKC matches up well with the Spurs and will win in 6. Like I said- if OKC cant get it done right now- they never will in all likelihood.

Well you had OKC in the Finals if I am correct, not a bad pick just not a trendy one lol. Durant and Westbrook are on a tear and if they play like they have been and the team plays good defense this team is very very dangerous especially against this Spurs team. They have always given them problems.

 

[Heatles84]

I think they PROBABLY could move Dragic if they wanted to- not that i really think they want to. Id imagine it would be good for them to bring Joe Johnson back as i think he fits their system well. Deng will be gone.

They need to get younger, more athletic, and better defensively more than anything in my opinion. Winslow and Richardson are good starts- but its hard to augment your roster with no draft picks since those are the type of guys you can develop and are cheap...if i am the Heat i try and add a young-defense first point guard in the draft somehow along with a young stretch 4 that can guard a little bit. Tyler Johnson continuing to improve should help with a little depth but he cant play PG- and they need a PG that can shoot a 3 and play a litle D to take pressure off Dragic.

McBob - you are prob right about -they cant unload him without attaching an asset or taking a problem back one would think.

Agree with all of this. I love Dragic, but Spoelstra refuses to use him properly. This was particularly evident on the last few plays where after a timeout, the plays were Wade in ISO. No ball movement, no player movement....nothing. Sad thing is, Spo will be the coach next year.

But yeah, Wiggy's right (wtf is going on with me agreeing with him lately). Deng and Johnson have been the most consistent players for the Heat. But they need to get younger and this is where the Heat's scouting department is going to have to do wonders.

Thing is, I don't know where the Heat go from here.

 

[Heatles84]

I have no clue. I read an article not too long ago that said if Pop was the coach of OKC that team would never lose a game.

OKC is healthy for once and has more depth than they have ever had and with free agency approaching this ver very well might be their best team ever. I think they finally have a solid stable of big men to throw at the opposition...they need the guards- Waiters and Roberson to shoot well from 3 and to guard well.

Its really hard for me to pick against the Spurs but for some reason i think OKC might get this series. I think the Durant/Leonard matchup should be absolutely awesome to watch.

I of course have very little confidence in this pick as i ahve no idea how this series will go- but i think OKC matches up well with the Spurs and will win in 6. Like I said- if OKC cant get it done right now- they never will in all likelihood.

I think it comes down to coaching. I've seen OKC have depth advantages yet lose due to subpar coaching. The offense still looks the same as its always been. One thing Kenny Smith pointed out was that OKC doesn't know how to make the "winning plays". More specifically, role players are going to take their shots whether it's a good one or not, because they know Westbrook and Durant will take the lion's share of attempts - and rightfully so.

It'll be close, but I have Spurs in 6.

 

[trojanfan12]

I think the Durant/Leonard matchup should be absolutely awesome to watch.

Unless and until the Spurs and Cavs end up in the finals when we would get Kawhi vs. Lebron v2.0. This is the player vs. player matchup that I am most looking forward to in the playoffs.

 

[Heatles84]

Unless and until the Spurs and Cavs end up in the finals when we would get Kawhi vs. Lebron v2.0. This is the player vs. player matchup that I am most looking forward to in the playoffs.

I'd honestly feel bad for Lebron. In 3 straight Finals he would've been matched up against Leonard and Iguodala. It's got to suck for Lebron that you're kind of hoping to play the Warriors as Leonard's the better defender. That's why Cleveland is hoping for OKC - they'll destroy OKC based on matchups.

 

[WiggyRuss]

I'd honestly feel bad for Lebron. In 3 straight Finals he would've been matched up against Leonard and Iguodala. It's got to suck for Lebron that you're kind of hoping to play the Warriors as Leonard's the better defender. That's why Cleveland is hoping for OKC - they'll destroy OKC based on matchups.

i am hoping for OKC....than GSW after the Curry injury...than Spurs.....i know that Curry will be playing by then, but it would be hard for me to believe he will be 100% and i think thats enough to tip the scales for the spurs slightly.

 

[Heatles84]

i am hoping for OKC....than GSW after the Curry injury...than Spurs.....i know that Curry will be playing by then, but it would be hard for me to believe he will be 100% and i think thats enough to tip the scales for the spurs slightly.

Yeah, Curry's going to be limited from here on out as lateral movement will be what to keep an eye on. Lebron has always owned Durant's OKC teams whether he was in Miami or in Cleveland. If it's Cleveland vs. OKC in the Finals, I have Cavs in 5. Durant and Westbrook will get them a game.

Spurs are just so god damn deep and talented as well. I don't think anyone wants a piece of San Antonio right now.

 

[LAD]

Unreal. Such garbage

Hmmmmmm......are you complaining about calls???

 

[LAD]

FUCK SHIT!!

What in tarnation happened last night???

 

[LAD]

It was a foul, butttttt......
1. Heat were worrying about the refs all night.
2. Refs didn't tell Spoelstra to play McBum
3. Refs didn't decide to sit Wade/Whiteside extended minutes.
4. Refs didn't take Dragic out the last few minutes so Wade could stand there and dribble the shot clock down to nothing before making poor decisions.
5. Refs didn't tell Spoelstra he couldn't call a timeout with 8-9 seconds left once it was clear that Wade standing there dribbling wasn't going to get him the look he wanted.


I can go on and on, but it doesn't matter.
I think Friday's game is huge for Spoelstra, Wade and 2-3 others on this roster.
If they end up losing 4 in a row, Riley will not be happy or invest in this same group.

Maybe Beasley will be available now that his vaca has officially started???

 

[LAD]

I think it comes down to coaching. I've seen OKC have depth advantages yet lose due to subpar coaching. The offense still looks the same as its always been. One thing Kenny Smith pointed out was that OKC doesn't know how to make the "winning plays". More specifically, role players are going to take their shots whether it's a good one or not, because they know Westbrook and Durant will take the lion's share of attempts - and rightfully so.

It'll be close, but I have Spurs in 6.

I agree with all of this-but more importantly I think it's key for Westbrook to learn how to make "winning plays". If he can raise his IQ to overcome his temptation to play hero ball they will win more games and get back into the WC at the very least.

 

[bksballer89]

i am hoping for OKC....than GSW after the Curry injury...than Spurs.....i know that Curry will be playing by then, but it would be hard for me to believe he will be 100% and i think thats enough to tip the scales for the spurs slightly.

No surprise you're hoping for OKC. IMO that's the only way Cleveland win the title this season. Don't see them beating GSW or SAS 4 of 7

 

[Montalban]

Miami made the mistake of thinking they had this one. They thought Charlotte would lay down. Now they are up against it. One more loss and they'll be sent packing. I love it.

 

[Shanemansj13]

No surprise you're hoping for OKC. IMO that's the only way Cleveland win the title this season. Don't see them beating GSW or SAS 4 of 7

You might be right but it is only the first round, there is time to improve. We haven't seen the Cavs play their best ball yet but we have seen some good signs from key players.

 

[bksballer89]

Miami made the mistake of thinking they had this one. They thought Charlotte would lay down. Now they are up against it. One more loss and they'll be sent packing. I love it.

I don't think they thought they had anything

 

[The Derski]

Late to responding on the whole Wade fiasco. Wade made it look way worse than it was and after watching the play numerous times I agree with the non call. Wade sure knows how to flail around like a fish out of water though. And Gabriel Union needs to ban herself from Twitter.

 

[LAD]

Late to responding on the whole Wade fiasco. Wade made it look way worse than it was and after watching the play numerous times I agree with the non all. Wade sure knows how to flail around like a fish out of water though. And Gabriel Union needs to ban herself from Twitter.

LOL what did she say?

 

[The Derski]

LOL what did she say?

She made like 50 tweets last night calling people names, saying the refs should be fined, the NBA is rigged, people need to be held accountable, etc.

Basically a meltdown.

 

[WiggyRuss]

Late to responding on the whole Wade fiasco. Wade made it look way worse than it was and after watching the play numerous times I agree with the non call. Wade sure knows how to flail around like a fish out of water though. And Gabriel Union needs to ban herself from Twitter.

could u even imagine the ridicule LeBron would be receiving if his wife had to stick up for him via twitter like that and was going nuts? it would be awful...

at least GU is hot...

 

[bksballer89]

Late to responding on the whole Wade fiasco. Wade made it look way worse than it was and after watching the play numerous times I agree with the non call. Wade sure knows how to flail around like a fish out of water though. And Gabriel Union needs to ban herself from Twitter.

There's a screen shot which shows Lee clearly hitting Wade on his forearm....really nothing to debate. Clearly was a missed call. You slap someone on their forearm. It is supposed to be a foul everytime. If it was just the Zeller contact, I could live with a no call there because that's borderline but you can't just slap someone across their forearm