Game Thread: NBA FINALS!!! SA vs MIA

[Hornsstampede2.0]

Trojan nailed it.


It is no big secret for athletic 2-guards and aging.
That position tends to fade fast and cruelly more than any other position.


The best 2-guards extend their career by becoming more lethal shooters.


Wade needs to develop a 3 point shot.
He has never had one, but its possible as history has shown us with hard work to get one.


If he can get a reliable 3pt stroke, he can maintain elite status for several more years.
If he cannot, he might be done before our eyes.

 

[avalon2423]

How much more rest do you need then the months during the summer.. I dont buy that fatigue thing from 4 seasons.. after a a couple weeks your body should be good to go.

 

[Sportsman]

Wade and Bosh are why Lebron needs to leave the Heat, Wade will continue to think he is a much better than he is and demand the money and the ball while not producing like an elite player. Bosh just isn't that good, he is a classic tweener who doesn't give you that toughness up front nor the volume scoring of a small forward, he just vacillates between the two never providing either adequately. Wade and Bosh would have to take a 50% pay cut each for this work out for the Heat, otherwise Lebron needs to walk or risk being ringless the next 2-3 years which is still in his prime.

 

[trojanfan12]

How much more rest do you need then the months during the summer.. I dont buy that fatigue thing from 4 seasons.. after a a couple weeks your body should be good to go.

It's the accumulation of the minutes from going so deep into the playoffs. These guys have injuries that are never allowed to fully heal because they just don't get the time for it. There was a stat out there that showed that over the past 4 years, the Heat big 3 has played 10,000 more minutes than the Spurs big 3. That's a huge difference.

As a Lakers fan, I think that the best thing for Kobe was missing the entire playoffs last year (all 4 games of it for the Lakers) and missing all but 6 games this year. While the Achilles will likely further hamper his explosiveness, the fact that he's had time for all of those nagging injuries that he's just played through for years, have finally had a chance to heal which should help him over the next 2 years.

 

[Sportsman]

Wade can still be an effective player and maybe even earn the money he has coming to him over the next 2 years (not that he hasn't earned it based on what he has meant to the Heat over the years), but he needs to understand that it's not 2006 anymore.

The smartest thing Kobe has done to remain a top player was acknowledge that he has gotten older and doesn't have the explosiveness anymore. Several years ago he started working on post moves, fade aways, a mid-range jumper and shooting 3's. This enables him to set the defense up so that he can still pick and choose when to use what little explosiveness he has left.

D-Wade should spend his off-season working on that aspect of his game. If he does, he can likely still be very effective for at least a couple of seasons.

Kobe has always been a better catch and shoot player than Wade. Wade needs to set up his jump shot with dribbles and moves first, which negates any open shots he gets from playing with lebron. Kobe is a complete outside shooter while Wade is good only in certain circumstances which usually involve him dribbling the ball a lot. I don't think Wade could develop into a great catch and shoot guy either, he could get better but never that great where a team would fear his outside shooting the way they fear Kobe's.

 

[Sportsman]

Wade hurt us more then he helped us this Finals. He was a drive killer.

Yep, he missed some very easy shots that took the wind out of sails of Miami.

 

[Retroram52]

Yea, Wade looked especially spent and his knees are due for the connective tissue replenishment procedure in Germany that Kobe and Nowitske both had done. The rest of the Heat also looked mentally tired. All those minutes TJF12 mentioned take their toll. They are still human and they do indeed get tired.

 

[Sportsman]

Another thing and I know Heat fans would not want to hear this but:

in the long run, it might not be a bad thing for LeBron and Co. to go out in the first round next year. And let him have an extra month's rest in the offseason.

We all could see he was running on fumes here.

Lebron looked mentally exhausted this series. I knew 4 finals in a row would catch up to the guy, especially when Wade took off so many games during the season.

 

[trojanfan12]

Kobe has always been a better catch and shoot player than Wade. Wade needs to set up his jump shot with dribbles and moves first, which negates any open shots he gets from playing with lebron. Kobe is a complete outside shooter while Wade is good only in certain circumstances which usually involve him dribbling the ball a lot. I don't think Wade could develop into a great catch and shoot guy either, he could get better but never that great where a team would fear his outside shooting the way they fear Kobe's.

I disagree................sort of. Kobe did start developing an outside shot earlier than Wade has due to Shaq's presence in the middle. But he didn't have an outside shot that anyone feared. It mainly helped set him up for drives and helped to keep teams from just dropping their whole defense into Shaq's lap.

He really started working a lot harder on it once he realized that he didn't have the explosiveness in his game anymore. That's when he became an outside shooter that teams actually feared. It might be too late for Wade to develop an outside shot that is as dependable as Kobe's, but he could still develop one that teams at least have to respect.

 

[OregonDucks]

Heat probably should have rested more throughout the season. Similar to what the Spurs did/do. No need for Miami to gun for that #1 seed in the EAst. Miami could enter the playoffs the 8th seed and still make it to the Finals. LeBron and Co. probably should have played about 50 games this year and Miami would have been fine.

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

Wade can still be an effective player and maybe even earn the money he has coming to him over the next 2 years (not that he hasn't earned it based on what he has meant to the Heat over the years), but he needs to understand that it's not 2006 anymore.

The smartest thing Kobe has done to remain a top player

was acknowledge that he has gotten older and doesn't have the explosiveness anymore. Several years ago he started working on post moves, fade aways, a mid-range jumper and shooting 3's. This enables him to set the defense up so that he can still pick and choose when to use what little explosiveness he has left.

D-Wade should spend his off-season working on that aspect of his game. If he does, he can likely still be very effective for at least a couple of seasons.

Could happen, but as of today Ill file that under the extreme homer/wishful thinking category.

That being said, from what I saw last week, I'd take him over Wade (minus the 24M) and hope for the best...

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

Lebron looked mentally exhausted this series. I knew 4 finals in a row would catch up to the guy, especially when Wade took off so many games during the season.

I think he was just exhausted from watching Wade suck and all of the other shooters missing shots they usually make.

 

[OregonDucks]

All this wade hating...Lets Remember, Wade has more rings than LeBron.

 

[ckhokie]

All this wade hating...Lets Remember, Wade has more rings than LeBron.

just stop.

 

[gordontrue]

All this wade hating...Lets Remember, Wade has more rings than LeBron.

I will say that Wade put on one of the most amazing (you could actually make the argument for #1 most amazing) Finals performances every by any player back in 06.

That Wade and this Wade are incredibly different players.

 

[Sportsman]

I disagree................sort of. Kobe did start developing an outside shot earlier than Wade has due to Shaq's presence in the middle. But he didn't have an outside shot that anyone feared. It mainly helped set him up for drives and helped to keep teams from just dropping their whole defense into Shaq's lap.

He really started working a lot harder on it once he realized that he didn't have the explosiveness in his game anymore. That's when he became an outside shooter that teams actually feared. It might be too late for Wade to develop an outside shot that is as dependable as Kobe's, but he could still develop one that teams at least have to respect.

Kobe always had a good outside shot, and it didn't take long for him to become deadly, this was way before his skills declined. I'm not sure what Kobe you have been watching.

 

[Heatles84]

That happens when you have guys willing to take less than max contracts to play together. Duncan, Parker, and Ginobli don't take max contracts.

That said, I am sure we'll hear about it the moment Lebron and others sign somewhere for less than max deal and how they're just chasing rings.

The Spurs big 3 took a serious sacrifice, while Miami's big 3 left some money on the table. If Miami wants to make a Spurs run, they'll (Lebron, Wade, and Bosh more the latter two) need to look at Duncan and Parker's contract.

Sadly, I think Lebron of all people would be the only one who truly would opt out for that kind of deal. I saw a segment by Windhorst on ESPN how Lebron is trying to reach MJ and Magic status off the court (business-wise). That will involve more rings and money (as far as NBA salary goes) is not the issue.

But as has been mentioned before, Wade will never get a large money deal again. Wade needs to seriously change up his game and become more of a perimeter player. Bosh needs to assume the role of number two at this point, he's inconsistent in that respect as he's always been the 3rd option and camped out on the perimeter.

It will certainly be an interesting offseason to say the least. And oh yeah, Miami definitely needs an upgrade at the starting PG position. I like Cole, but he still needs to develop more and is fine off the bench. I'll take Patty Mills all day - he (along with Duncan and Kawhi) were the main catalysts in the Heat losing. I guess Manu did something as well...

 

[Sportsman]

I think he was just exhausted from watching Wade suck and all of the other shooters missing shots they usually make.

Ya, he looked pretty frustrated at Wade and Bosh missing wide open shots and layups. At some point you have to get pretty discourage with teammates not being able to convert very makeable baskets.

 

[OregonDucks]

I will say that Wade put on one of the most amazing (you could actually make the argument for #1 most amazing) Finals performances every by any player back in 06.

That Wade and this Wade are incredibly different players.

So the dude has been apart of your franchise since day 1. You could argue that Wade is also the reason you even got LeBron and Bosh to come to Miami, hes done A LOT for the franchise. I say give the guy some slack and give him some credit. He might be the reason Miami has all these titles in 8 years.

 

[Heatles84]

Wade just doesnt have anything left in his legs. He sat out most the season just so he could be fresh in the Finals and he wasnt even close at all. he has no lift anymore. Love would be a great fit, but it would require us trading Bosh. and i dont know if Riley is willing to do that,.

At this point, if Bosh isn't willing to re-sign for less, then I'd make the trade. The Timberwolves would likely take the deal. Well....maybe.