2010-2011 NBA Thread

[Jenksismyhero]

Or when Lebron buried the 3 as the shot clock wound down right in front of the Celtics bench? Or when Wade nailed that 23-foot turnaround shot with a defender in his face? Or when Bosh boxed out everyone down low to get the key tip-in to ice the game?

 

Right, after they nearly lost it and the Celtics failed to get a shot off.

[Soxbadger]

Its interesting that some one brought up the Kings and Trailblazers losing to the Lakers, both of those series have games where the reffing has been questioned.

 

If the Bulls and Hear play it could go either way. Unlike the Kings or Traiblazers the Bulls have a lot more cache and I think the refs will keep it pretty even.

[Balta1701]

Bibby is terrible. He may be the worst PG in the league.

the Heat's offense got a lot better when Bibby replaced Chalmers as their starting PG.

[Chisoxfn]

But we didn't play the Heat 82 times. Chances our if we did we don't win 62 games. I'm talking a best of 7 conference finals. Forget about the regular season. I know we went 3-0 against them. Great. But this will be BY FAR the Bulls' biggest challenge. I'm 50-50. The Bulls fans in me wants to say Bulls in 7. The NBA fan in me thinks that 9 times out of 10 star power wins out. So we shall see. I'm lookin' forward to it.

The Bulls fan in me says we'll take it 6 games or so. The Basketball fan in me says it goes 5 and the Heat clobber us. THey just have so much star power and firepower. But you know what, I'm hoping the Bulls step up there game and just kick some ass.

[Soxbadger]

If the bulls and heat play, i cant see it going any less than 6 games. A Bulls- Heat series may generate better ratings and more revenue than the actual finals.

[LittleHurt05]

This is just a reality. These three knew what they were doing well before The Decision. The Heat, much like the Bulls of the 90's, figure to be in the way of a lot of teams for quite a while.

 

Can you imagine if they ever get a supporting cast? In OT, the other two players on the court were James Jones & Mario Chalmers. Replace them with Steve Kerr, Robert Horry type players, like Jordan & Shaq had, that's gonna be real tough to beat.

[Soxbadger]

The Heat arent on the same planet as the 90's Bulls.

 

Before we start proclaiming them as champions, maybe they should earn it first?

 

The Heat are good, but if you gave me the choice of facing any of the Bulls championship squads or the Heat, Id take the Heat.

 

 

[BigSqwert]

The Heat arent on the same planet as the 90's Bulls.

 

Before we start proclaiming them as champions, maybe they should earn it first?

 

The Heat are good, but if you gave me the choice of facing any of the Bulls championship squads or the Heat, Id take the Heat.

So you really think that having excellent role players and an elite coaching staff matters?

[Jenksismyhero]

The Heat arent on the same planet as the 90's Bulls.

 

Before we start proclaiming them as champions, maybe they should earn it first?

 

The Heat are good, but if you gave me the choice of facing any of the Bulls championship squads or the Heat, Id take the Heat.

 

It was "King" James before he won anything. He's already promised 8 championships. That's par for the course.

[LittleHurt05]

So you really think that having excellent role players and an elite coaching staff matters?

 

I think we are going to find out next round.

[LittleHurt05]

Right, after they nearly lost it and the Celtics failed to get a shot off.

 

You are right. The Heat did everything they can to blow the game and the Celtics just handed it back to them. The Heat did nothing right to stay in the game on the road in front of a hostile crowd and take it over in overtime.

 

Yes, LeBron did turn the ball over sloppily in a tie game late. That was real bad. But to just point to that one play and say, They can't execute down the stretch is wrong. They did a lot of other things right to win that game.

[Soxbadger]

Well the Bulls were a better constructed team than the Heat. Even if you just look at the top 3 players on each team, the Bulls were better constructed. The Bulls did not have the question of "Who is the finisher" or "Who should have the ball in their hands more", the answer was Jordan. Pippen is a better second player to a superstar than Wade.

 

Then we could get even deeper into the argument and compare why a guy like Paxson was invaluable, why the Bulls had more height and depth than the Heat at Center.

 

I just dont see it as a very apt comparison, because the Bulls were carefully crafted over years, whereas the Heat were hastily put together in an off-season. Everyone knew the Heat would be good, I just never thought they would be 72 wins good (which played itself out this year), maybe as they progress and add parts, but the team that is out there right now is not a dynasty level team.

 

 

[Jenksismyhero]

You are right. The Heat did everything they can to blow the game and the Celtics just handed it back to them. The Heat did nothing right to stay in the game on the road in front of a hostile crowd and take it over in overtime.

 

Yes, LeBron did turn the ball over sloppily in a tie game late. That was real bad. But to just point to that one play and say, They can't execute down the stretch is wrong. They did a lot of other things right to win that game.

 

Valid point, but they still escaped that game. They're something like 3-16 in games decided in the last minute.

[Chisoxfn]

The Blazers and Kings had bench mobs in the early 2000s. The Lakers had Shaq and Kobe. The end. Again, not saying the Bulls can't win. But I don't see either bench playing a huge role in the upcoming series.

And if it weren't for refs, complete choke-jobs, and a couple lucky bounces, the Lakers would have 1 to 2 less titles during that run. Those teams were loaded and all of the teams you describe were in my opinion world championship caliber clubs.

[Soxbadger]

Heat did enough not to give the game back to Boston. But Lebron's turnover with the game tied and giving the Celtics a chance to win on the final possession was pretty horrific. If I was a Heat fan Id be really worried about that type of nonsense. Its one thing to throw up a prayer and go to OT, its another to actually give the other team a chance to win.

 

Im not sure what Lebron's deal is, I think hes just putting to much pressure on himself. That in part leads to Wade sometimes being misused because Lebron is hell-bent on scoring or making up for the play before.

[bmags]

the Heat's offense got a lot better when Bibby replaced Chalmers as their starting PG.

 

chalmers was even worse, but that doesn't prove anything.

[Kyyle23]

Fisher, Horry, Fox, George, Shaw vs Bosh, Bibby, Jones Z and I guess Miller?

 

Are you serious? There is a lot of rings on Fisher, Horry, George and Shaw(and not only from the lakers), and every single one of those guys played big minutes for the Lakers. Phil counted on every single one of those guys. It is unanimous in this thread that the Heats bench is just a bunch of guys

[LittleHurt05]

Valid point, but they still escaped that game. They're something like 3-16 in games decided in the last minute.

 

That stat is still crazy. Wade carried a team on his back down 0-2 to an NBA title. Lebron did quit in frustration last year, but he still has a few Jordan-esque playoff peformances in his past. So it's not like they have never performed well when it mattered. But for some reason this year they have been awful in the waning seconds. Hopefully, it's not a stat that's due to correct itself over time.

[bmags]

That stat is still crazy. Wade carried a team on his back down 0-2 to an NBA title.

 

Wade played amazing in that series and this is going to sound petty, but that was among the most controversial games (game 3) in NBA history.

[LittleHurt05]

Wade played amazing in that series and this is going to sound petty, but that was among the most controversial games (game 3) in NBA history.

 

I remember that. That series actually made me lose a bit of interest in watching the NBA with all the foul controversies.

[Rowand44]

Did we really compare this years Heat team to the 90's Bulls? We're doing this crap again?

[Jordan4life_2007]

I never tried to make an actual comparison between these Heat and the 90's Bulls. Just that they're going to be in the way of teams with championship aspirations for years to come, like the 90's Bulls were for the Knicks, Heat, Cavs, Jazz, etc.

[bmags]

I never tried to make an actual comparison between these Heat and the 90's Bulls. Just that they're going to be in the way of teams with championship aspirations for years to come, like the 90's Bulls were for the Knicks, Heat, Cavs, Jazz, etc.

 

I am not confident that Wade will be able to last consecutive seasons from hereon without a really serious injury.

[Balta1701]

I am not confident that Wade will be able to last consecutive seasons from hereon without a really serious injury.

So, if 1/2 the season next year is missing, that's a big boost to the Heat.

[Soxbadger]

Going to be in the way was somewhat unique to the Bulls and Jordan years. When I hear that referred to, I think of HOF players like Karl Malone, etc who couldnt win a championship because of the Bulls. Im not sure if the Heat are going to be so good that they basically shut out a generation of superstars from winning a title.

 

During the Jordan dominant years 2 teams won titles, Bulls and Rockets.

 

From 1983- 1998 only 5 teams won Championships, Celtics, Lakers, Pistons, Bulls, Rockets.

 

I just dont see the Heat on the same level as the teams I listed above.