Eastern Conference Series Thread (Miami Heat)

[bksballer89]

The biggest adjustment heading into game 2 has to be Birdman seeing more minutes and Haslem seeing way less.. Birdman has a 32.7 playoff PER.. I still think Birdman should be starting at center with Bosh back at the 4. I understand Birdman brings something off the bench, but Ray Allen and Cole have been big sparks off the bench, we need our starting unit to play more efficient.

Birdman shouldn't start as it makes our bench much weaker with him in the lineup. If Birdman started we would of gotten a total of 11 points from our bench. Cole is not consistent enough offensively to feel like he and Allen can carry the load on offense.

 

[bksballer89]

Yeah West was not in a position to shoot so that was the perfect point to foul West.

George made a big 3 but Lebron really should have contested the shot as he basically had a wide open 3 because LBJ never put his hand up.

I'm so glad we did not lose this game because I would of been pissed off because we got robbed on the finals pacers possession. Cole had the ball and George Hill landed on his head but no foul was called and Wade never touched George and they call that cheap foul.

Looking ahead to G2, Bosh needs to rebound better. 2 rebounds in a game that went to OT is unacceptable....Thankfully we only lost the rebounding battle by 5.

If we keep the turnovers down and hit our 3's, I love our chances of winning tomorrow.

Spo really should go to Miller or Lewis if Battier is useless as he was last night. Battier was not hitting his 3 and West was abusing him.

I really hope we re-sign Birdman

I have yet to see one replay where I see wade clearly hit him.

 

[geneh_33]

The biggest adjustment heading into game 2 has to be Birdman seeing more minutes and Haslem seeing way less.. Birdman has a 32.7 playoff PER.. I still think Birdman should be starting at center with Bosh back at the 4. I understand Birdman brings something off the bench, but Ray Allen and Cole have been big sparks off the bench, we need our starting unit to play more efficient.

The Birdman was the difference in Game 1. Big time.

 

[Heatles84]

The series is definitely going to be a stressful one for sure. The only positives I take is that the Heat ultimately won the game and that we were pretty sloppy for the first half of this game and that's likely to not happen again. David West is the X-factor for the series. I'd like to say he won't have a game similar to last night, but he's now had 4 games against us including the regular season where he just flat out balled.

I might need to invest in some heart medication, because I can easily see this going 6 with all games being pretty close.

 

[Paolo305613]

Battier/Miller are role players. Role players are somewhat inconsistent. Battier should get

What else is new? Flauge making excuses and giving a free pass to the over-valued scrub that is Shane Battier.

Birdman is a high energy, productive quality player - He is the only guy on our bench that plays with the energy he does... The other guys are productive but the energy level is not the same.

There are positives and negatives to Birdman being a high energy guy - We saw it last night with how he played offensively - the negative is, he sometimes gets into early foul trouble because he is erratic at times. For this reason, it is best to have a guy like him to come off the bench as opposed to starting him and being left with little to no options when he has to come out.

The Heat got this far with this lineup they need to continue to live with it til death. A lot of the guys people are suggesting we start Chris Andersen, Norris Cole, Shane Battier are all guys who play big minutes off the bench already... So, people just need to let it go.

The only adjustment the Heat staff has to do, which is one ive been calling for since last season is, relegate Shane to garbagge minutes because that is all he is worthy of and get the other guys on the bench a chance he will surely be productive.

The Heat have control of this series currently and can control how easy or difficult it will be - It starts with Spo, he needs to realize the scrub does not deserve the minutes he is getting and he needs to start using other options off the bench. Spo needs to realize that you can’t give these guys a full day off... They need to put in some work each day even on off days to decrease their chances of being rusty, which will then lead to excuses being made by the apologist in here.

 

[bksballer89]

The series is definitely going to be a stressful one for sure. The only positives I take is that the Heat ultimately won the game and that we were pretty sloppy for the first half of this game and that's likely to not happen again. David West is the X-factor for the series. I'd like to say he won't have a game similar to last night, but he's now had 4 games against us including the regular season where he just flat out balled.

I might need to invest in some heart medication, because I can easily see this going 6 with all games being pretty close.

Well if our dumbass coach continues to put Battier on him, he'll continue to dominated.

The one positive is we shut him down in the 2nd half.

 

[Paolo305613]

Well if our dumbass coach continues to put Battier on him, he'll continue to dominated.

While Spo is the head-coach, I would not single him out when it comes to placing blame regarding this matter... The entire coaching staff and players are to blame - Hell, I will even go as far as to say the front office is to blame... This is what happens when you over-value such a scrub, they did it with Beasley years back and now with Shane.

Every time I bring this up people want to bring up how other guys on the team say good things about Shane - That means nothing. The fact that the coaching staff approves of this scrub and allows him to play so much puts the rest of the players against the wall and they pretty much have to like the scrub and put up with him playing so much while he continues to be the biggest liability on the roster in every sense of the word.

It is truly sad for a hometown guy like James Jones and quality players and capable, proven players like Mike Miller and Rashard Lewis even Joel Anthony and Juwuan Howard to have to rot on the bench in the most crucial parts of the season in place of a useless scrub.

I have said it once and will say it again, it is truly, tragically, devastating that this scrub can be on this team and walk away from the game with multiple rings and have done nothing to earn them. Just pure crap.

 

[Paolo305613]

Stuff I found on the Latest Ask Ira on the Chris Andersen matter
Q: Ira, Birdman played the game of his life. Why did he not get more playing time if he was on fire? -- David, Plantation.

A: One of the advantages of seeing the game in person, and being able to see the entire court, is being able to notice how Chris Andersen often plays himself to the point of fatigue. Chris is best in short bursts. Erik Spoelstra knows that. That's why he plays him that way.

I put in bold the reason I think Birdman is better off the bench and playing the minutes he does - Ira seems to agree as most beat writers. Birdman is a high energy guy and wears out quickly - this sometimes leads to quick, silly fouls.

 

[Paolo305613]

Mario Chalmers questionable for the game - Mike Miller would be, or at least SHOULD BE the option if need be.

 

[Paolo305613]

U can knee or kick me every time u drive 2the rim. Ill be there 2protect the rim. That wasn't inadvertent. Battier knew what he was doing

Tweet from Roy Hibbert.

If a big-name guy on our team had done this, or a more important player on the team had done this- he probably would have gotten fined or suspended by the league... Sadly, it was only Shane Battier, unfortunately - it seems the league will give him a pass for this so we will have to deal with his uselessness tonight again... Unless he commits the same offense, then discipline will be awarded

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

U can knee or kick me every time u drive 2the rim. Ill be there 2protect the rim. That wasn't inadvertent. Battier knew what he was doing

Tweet from Roy Hibbert.

If a big-name guy on our team had done this, or a more important player on the team had done this- he probably would have gotten fined or suspended by the league... Sadly, it was only Shane Battier, unfortunately - it seems the league will give him a pass for this so we will have to deal with his uselessness tonight again... Unless he commits the same offense, then discipline will be awarded

Battier hasn't been great lately but neither have several players or the decisions they have been making. IMO, the Heat try way to hard to get Wade involved by forcing him the ball vs just letting the posessions flow and end up where they end up. The ball should never be passes to UD for that wide open jumper when the Big 3 and anyone else is on the court. There is a reason he is wide open.

As far as Battier. Wasn't he the man who scored 58 points in the Finals last year hitting 15-26 3's? I wouldn't call that useless.

 

[Flauge]

turnup-

youre wasting your time on him.

Battier played poor game 1. It happens. He is a role player. Hopefully he has a better game tonight. He deserves minutes because the guy can hit open 3's and defend well. On night's where he is struggling, I for one would like to Mike Miller or Birdman creep into his minutes.

And UD... Man that jumper used to be automatic. I dont get it. I know the injury a few years back has drained his athleticism a bit, but his jumper is gone. I dont think it will ever come back. Remember when he took less money to stay in Miami? Now, that contract is looking bad for the Heat.

We got some tough issues this offseason. Birdman has earned a better contract.. and Miami needs to make it a priority to resign him. That 27 game win streak and 42 of the last 45.. it's no coincedence this stuff started right after Birdman got here. But enough about that.. I'm going to enjoy our title run this year. 3 ECF in a row. These are the days we will remember 20 years from now.. Much like bulls fans with Jordan.

 

[Heatles84]

turnup-

youre wasting your time on him.

Battier played poor game 1. It happens. He is a role player. Hopefully he has a better game tonight. He deserves minutes because the guy can hit open 3's and defend well. On night's where he is struggling, I for one would like to Mike Miller or Birdman creep into his minutes.

And UD... Man that jumper used to be automatic. I dont get it. I know the injury a few years back has drained his athleticism a bit, but his jumper is gone. I dont think it will ever come back. Remember when he took less money to stay in Miami? Now, that contract is looking bad for the Heat.

We got some tough issues this offseason. Birdman has earned a better contract.. and Miami needs to make it a priority to resign him. That 27 game win streak and 42 of the last 45.. it's no coincedence this stuff started right after Birdman got here. But enough about that.. I'm going to enjoy our title run this year. 3 ECF in a row. These are the days we will remember 20 years from now.. Much like bulls fans with Jordan.

I'm not sure of the CBA situation, but I think Birdman has to be on this team another year before the Heat can offer him a better salary per year. Hopefully he'll take the veteran's minimum and get his next big contract next year. The guy has been amazing and surpassed my lofty expectations. Clearly the most valuable player off the bench.

Turnup, just ignore Paolo. It was hard to do on CBS because you couldn't help but sometimes glance at his posts and just wonder what the hell this kid was on. When you ignore him all you see is that he posted some jibberish, but you don't see it. It's a beautiful thing.

 

[Paolo305613]

IMO, the Heat try way to hard to get Wade involved by forcing him the ball vs just letting the posessions flow and end up where they end up.

The problem is a mixture of things: Between the Heat trying too hard to get Wade involved and him just forcing the issue at times. Both parties have to find a balance in their approach.

It is a tricky situation, if the team goes to him early and often and it gets him going that would be great - But, at some point the defense will adjust. Does the team then go elsewhere for offense? Do they give him a breather on the bench? Any time the hot-hand is given a break people in here have a fit... yet those same people then are complaining about that guy not getting a break when he is worn out.

Wade just has to do a better job at making decision with the ball in hand as far as when to attack and take his shots and when to differ. The downside of all this if he starts off slow he tends to force the issue even more and play lackluster defense.

 

[Paolo305613]

NBA upgrades foul to flagrant on . . . Indiana Pacers' Ian Mahinmi - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

Also according to Ira, Mario Chalmers went through shoot around entirely

 

[Paolo305613]

Mario Chalmers will be ready to go after all for tonight

 

[Paolo305613]

Not Breaking News- Same starters and inactives for the Heat

 

[Heatles84]

Almost game time boys!!!! LET'S GO HEAT!!!!

 

[geneh_33]

 

[bksballer89]

That 7"2 foot Hibbert is one little baby.