***The Official 2011-2012 Miami Heat Thread*** | Page 34 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

***The Official 2011-2012 Miami Heat Thread***

Ferretsquig said:
Wade and Bosh played awful and the Heat were in it to the end. I don't quite see why people think they're in any way overmatched.

Obviously Wade can't have many games like that if the Heat are going to win anything. This whole falling asleep until the 4th quarter act has gotta stop.....you can't expect to shut down the Thunder late in the game like they did the Pacers and Celtics. But overall I think they were fine. Ibaka and Perkins had no real impact on the game and the Thunder were doing pretty much what the Heat wanted them to on the offensive end. They just hit the shots, and if Westbrook is going to hit the long jumper I think you just tip your hat and move on to the next game.
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LBJ and Durant cancel each other out to some degree - though Durant's skill set is much better for his supporting group than James' skill set is for his own. Aside from that, though, the Thunder have more talent all over the floor, and their talent compliments itself SO much better than the talent of Miami. We're getting back to the issues I said Miami would have when they first put the team together. LBJ and Wade can't both be at their best, because to be at their best, they require the ball in their hands. There's only one ball. Durant and Harden are both knock-down shooters who are threats without the ball. Westbrook is a better shooter than Wade or James. Each of the three can win in isolation or screen and roll situations, and each can spot up. They play off of each other. James and Wade take turns. Bosh has the skill set to compliment both Wade and James, but that's one of the three, and they're paying max money to all three, so the rest of the roster suffers. They lack size and depth inside. They lack depth and dynamic play (outside of Wade and James of course) from outside positions. James came to Miami so that he wouldn't have to do everything. Guess what? He has to do everything. He's their best defensive player, their best passer, their best ball handler, and their best scorer. OKC's best scorer is Durant; their best ball handler is Westbrook; their best defensive players are Ibaka, Sefolosha, and Perkins; and they have Harden coming off the bench to add scoring and/or ball handling responsibilities as needed. Oh, and he only had five points last night. Westbrook and Harden are both better players - at this point - than Wade is. Ibaka, Perkins, Collison make for a much better front line than Bosh and Haslem. Miami is in serious trouble, and they were before the series started. There are two ways OKC loses a game in this series: their youth shows, and/or LBJ puts in a historic performance. Probably a combination. There is only one way Miami wins this series: OKC falls apart. The Heat weren't built as well as the Thunder. It's a little surprising that OKC is putting it together so soon (considering their age), but it looks like there's no stopping them.
 
Lose one game and the naysayers sure do pile on.

If Harden is a better player than Wade then I agree, OKC will win with ease. Personally I don't think hes anywhere close to the player Wade is.....hes a one trick pony and I don't think the Heat will have much difficulty containing him. Westbrook is not a very good shooter. He'll have his moments, but in general he'll hit less than a third of his jumpers, and the Heat will be happy to give them to him all game long.

The Heat are in the same position they've put themselves in countless times the past couple seasons. If Wade and James are settling for jumpers they're not going to be a very good offensive team. If they attack off the dribble or post up inside they're the most efficient scorers in the league. Against Boston they got away from what had been so effective against the Pacers, in part because Boston was a much better defensive team. There's no real excuse now......with Bosh and Haslem out there spreading the floor Wade in particular should make a living in the paint.
 
I'm still bothered. I really want them to win this ****ing championship. I don't give a **** if I take this to serious but this **** hurts. If we fall again, It's going to drive me crazy. No matter what though I want to send a big **** you to the haters. #Heatnation #305bitches
 
Ferretsquig said:
Lose one game and the naysayers sure do pile on.

If Harden is a better player than Wade then I agree, OKC will win with ease. Personally I don't think hes anywhere close to the player Wade is.....hes a one trick pony and I don't think the Heat will have much difficulty containing him. Westbrook is not a very good shooter. He'll have his moments, but in general he'll hit less than a third of his jumpers, and the Heat will be happy to give them to him all game long.

The Heat are in the same position they've put themselves in countless times the past couple seasons. If Wade and James are settling for jumpers they're not going to be a very good offensive team. If they attack off the dribble or post up inside they're the most efficient scorers in the league. Against Boston they got away from what had been so effective against the Pacers, in part because Boston was a much better defensive team. There's no real excuse now......with Bosh and Haslem out there spreading the floor Wade in particular should make a living in the paint.
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Please justify the statement that Harden is a one trick pony.
 
I guess I should have said two tricks. He shoots the three or takes it to the rim. Granted hes very good at both but not having anything else in the arsenal really limits what he can do on the court.

Against the Heat I think hes more of a three point specialist. If the Heat go down on defense its going to be because of Durant and Westbrook hitting shots like Durant was early and Westbrook was late.

We'll see how game three goes. The Heat need the Wade of a month ago and I'm sure hes aware of that. Whether or not he can deliver who knows.
 
The key for the Miami Heat is Dwyane Wade.

If he can play Russell Westbrook to a draw then we can win this series.

If Russell Westbrook is held in check, then it will be too much for Kevin Durant to shoulder alone.

James Harden is the X-factor in all of this.
 
JCane said:
The key for the Miami Heat is Dwyane Wade.

If he can play Russell Westbrook to a draw then we can win this series.

If Russell Westbrook is held in check, then it will be too much for Kevin Durant to shoulder alone.

James Harden is the X-factor in all of this.
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But if Wade and Westbrook cancel out and Lebron and Durant cancel out, do you really think the rest of the Heat are better than the rest of the Thunder?
 
Series split 1-1 heading back to Miami!!!!! this series is going to be the death of several of our members........Miami has got to take care of business at home OKC is good, really really damn good, whew!!
 
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Hell of a game there. Heat almost threw the game away in the last minute there. They've gotta play better BOTH halves at home, though. Too many defensive lapses in the second half let them right back in this game. It'll be an interesting one Sunday for sure.
 
j-off-her-doll said:
But if Wade and Westbrook cancel out and Lebron and Durant cancel out, do you really think the rest of the Heat are better than the rest of the Thunder?
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Durant and LeBron don't cancel each other out though. LeBron and Durant are superstar dudes in the NBA.

They're going to get theirs. You're not shutting those two down. They'll score whenever they please.

If Westbrook lays a turd and Durant is great, even if Wade plays poorly we have enough from LeBron and Bosh to put us ahead.

The difference tonight was that Miami's 4th quarter offense, as poor as it was, was better than the Thunder's 1st quarter offense.

Wade playing well tonight is what kept us from being blown out and down 0-2.

Wade is the key to this series. LeBron does enough on the defensive end and on the boards to outplay Durant every night.

But other guys gotta step up and contribute. Guys like Norris Cole and Mario Chalmers tonight really were able to create a lot for Wade.

What I'm seeing that really frustrates me though is bringing the ball up the floor and LeBron or Wade at the top of the key in isolation. Too much pausing and not enough attacking. It's playground basketball. This team doesn't have an identity on offense.

And TV crews are always wanting to put cameras inside a huddle during a timeout to get a feel for what the coaches are thinking. Makes me wonder what Spoelstra is saying to these guys. They're not putting cameras in there often.
 
Isolating and creating off the dribble while everyone else stands around isn't an identity? I thought that was their trademark......and that of OKC too for that matter.

They probably should get back to running that flex stuff initially with Bosh but I think Lowe over at SI said it best when he made the comment that the Heat thrive on chaos. Aside from the pick and roll, which hasn't been quite as effective as people want to make it out to be, the main way Wade and James have succeeded playing off one another is for one of them to find his way into the paint while the other occupies the eyes of the defense with the ball on the perimeter. Some of it is planned and some of it seems to be pure instinct.

The reality is that neither team is going to be all that great in the half court set. The Heat will be better than the Thunder, and I think they'll win most games in which they can match or exceed OKC's opportunities in transition.
 
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