Official Miami Heat (4) vs OKC Thunder (1) NBA Finals Thread - Miami Heat NBA Champions

[westcoastsfinest]

Originally Posted by Sorkoram

You can't let one call in 48 minutes decide a game.

But it also can change the outcome of the series. At the same time, give credit to the Miami Heat for building a big lead. 

 

[|A-Man|]

Don't know if my last post after the game went through but KD definitely got fouled but it was his fault for stepping back and fading instead of going strong in that open lane and dunking it with his two hands.

Shane Battier being this consistent as a scorer is why the Heat won imo. Nobody expected this from him. Bosh should've been starting.

 

[certifiedsw]

Let's not forget the horrible blocking call they made on Battier that should have been a charge on Durant and taken him out of the game. Bad calls both ways.

Almost had like 7 heart attacks watching the game though.

 

[itsabaythang]

The Heat expected this kind of production from Battier when they signed him.  Dude plays D and drains open 3's.  He hasnt been draining 3's consistently this season but got hot at the right time.  
NT still feelin the aftermath of KD's 3.  

 

[getthismoney]

Originally Posted by CertifiedSW

Let's not forget the horrible blocking call they made on Battier that should have been a charge on Durant and taken him out of the game. Bad calls both ways.

Almost had like 7 heart attacks watching the game though.

The stress from this series insane. So far this is looking like the most exciting finals I've witnessed, KD and Lebron are playing on incredible levels.

 

[scientific method]

He is not going to do it, but Brooks needs to change the starting lineup. There's no reason for us to keep trotting our 2 big starting lineup out there. It works against LA, against most every other team it is a liability. Even though Perkins had 15 rebounds through 2 games, Miami is willing to concede that since he isn't going to score them anyways and it leaves them with a massive mismatch on the perimeter on the other end (like Perkins guarding LeBron, literally) and our bigs losing their men on the perimeter leading to open 3s.

He needs to kick Perk out, insert Harden or at least Cook, or even Fisher. Then after that %@*!$! !%! lineup got us out to a slow start again, and the small ball lineup came out guns blazing and got us back into it, he puts Perk back in. This is more of a Collison series.

I did feel like LeBron fouled both KD and even Russ on that offensive rebound, but you dig an 18 pt hole from jump street and you leave yourself in that position. I'm more concerned with Brooks and why he plays Perkins so much and that 2 big starting lineup, then even came right back to it to start the 2nd half. He was asked about it, a reporter pointed out our small ball lineup is better on both sides of the ball and would he change it, he said no, Perk is one of our better players.

 

[big j 33]

In regards to the Westbrook criticism..
He didn't play well at all.. far from the worst PG performance in Finals history or whatever gibberish Magic was talking about. Things that were his fault: Missing so many shots at the rim, he was 6-13 and he had easy layups he needs to make. 3-15 feet he was 0-3 so that obviously sucked. 2-4 from 16-23 feet, no problem there. 2-6 from 3 and that's too many. He gambled on defense a few times that was costly. Didn't hit Durant or Fisher when they were open as he was driving a few times. I believe he shot 50% in the 2nd half so he didn't finish as poorly, but he takes most of the responsibility for that 1st quarter deficit in his missed shots.

Things that are not his fault: Lebron getting what he wanted in the 1st quarter. Coach Brooks waiting almost 6 minutes before he called a timeout down 13-2 when it was more than obvious things weren't working. Durant being covered very well to start the game made life difficult. With Perkins and Thabo as non-factors on offense, when KD struggles to get open, it's Russ and Ibaka with Miami's D focused in on the ball. As much as it's easy to point out the faults of his PG play (and they're clearly there at times), credit Miami's defense too. He had huge plays down the stretch, from the and-1 on Lebron to passing up the open shot and giving Durant the open 3 pointer. Despite the poor play to start the game, you can't ignore the positives in the 2nd half because had he continued to struggle, we would absolutely bring that up.

I think I'm a reasonable fan and don't often exhibit stanish behavior, so I won't defend Westbrook from all criticism. He didn't play well last night and he deserves some blame for the loss, no denying that. Funny thing is though, he didn't play all that different from game 1, the only difference is OKC lost this one. Where I'll speak up in his defense is the absurd notion that he's some egomanical villain who is single-handedly destroying the Thunder from within. Or that he's so selfish and jealous and wants to be THE MAN that he can't give up the ball for Durant. For one, the era of fans/reporters being psychologists is annoying. Everyone reads into every word or reaction a thousand times over and can twist it to say whatever they want. Secondly, if you're not a fan of his style of play, if you prefer a traditional PG, that's cool... I can't argue against how you feel about that. But where I get confused is when people make such absolute and unflinching proclamations about a 23 year old kid who has improved each year in the league and who continues to learn how to play point guard. He's not above criticism just because he's young, but he's not some 12 year vet who has shown year after year to be a selfish and poor teammate. Or that he plays this way every single game and he has no part in OKC's success. When anyone plays bad, they deserve criticism, but people really go above and beyond when it comes to Westbrook.

Scoop Jackson makes a great point

There was a moment in Game 1 in which Russell Westbrook had to make a decision.

With just over two minutes left in the third quarter, he could sit back to wait for James Harden orKevin Durant to do something or he could literally take over the game himself. Westbrook grabbed a rebound, saw the Miami Heat were sleeping, took the ball the length of the court, cut into the lane and scored two points. The Heat called a 20-second timeout.

But it was too late. Westbrook already had made his decision.

Next possession, he was fouled while trying to score again. He went to the line and made the first of two free throws. A minute later, with 16 seconds left in the quarter, he drove the lane (again), catching the Heat on their heels (again), and scored on a layup and was fouled.

When his "and-1" went through the net, it gave the Oklahoma City Thunder their first lead of the night. One that they would not relinquish. Essentially the game was over at that moment. Takeover accomplished.

Yet while getting his "Urkel" on at the podium following the game, Westbrook acted as if those two minutes never happened, providing no acknowledgment that he singlehandedly seized a situation that gave his team the momentum to secure the -- thus far -- biggest win in the franchise's post-Sonics history.

He just sat there next to Durant, talking about how "defense" is the alpha and omega of how this team is built. And he reiterated D is why they win.

He very rarely said the word "I" or mentioned himself in the first or third person. He showed us that he is exactly who we thought he was not.

 

[big j 33]

Originally Posted by Scientific Method

He is not going to do it, but Brooks needs to change the starting lineup. There's no reason for us to keep trotting our 2 big starting lineup out there. It works against LA, against most every other team it is a liability. Even though Perkins had 15 rebounds through 2 games, Miami is willing to concede that since he isn't going to score them anyways and it leaves them with a massive mismatch on the perimeter on the other end (like Perkins guarding LeBron, literally) and our bigs losing their men on the perimeter leading to open 3s.

He needs to kick Perk out, insert Harden or at least Cook, or even Fisher. Then after that %@*!$! !%! lineup got us out to a slow start again, and the small ball lineup came out guns blazing and got us back into it, he puts Perk back in. This is more of a Collison series.

But that’s what happened all season when the Thunder starting lineup of Kevin Durant, Serge Ibaka, Kendrick Perkins, Russell Westbrook and Thabo Sefolosha was on the floor. That five-man group scored 100.5 points per 100 possessions, a mark that would have put the Thunder between the Kings and Nets at 24th in the league, according to NBA.com’s stats tool.

But that group was fantastic defensively, holding teams to about 93 points per 100 possessions, which is to say it turned every opponent into the Bobcats. That was the trade-off: Playing three non-scorers in Perkins, Ibaka and Sefolosha sabotaged the offense, but it also boosted the defense and kept the Thunder’s bench dynamic intact. It was an imperfect balance, just as it had been in previous seasons with former Oklahoma city forward Jeff Green starting, but it worked.

Problem: It hasn’t worked in the playoffs, and it has fallen on its face as the competition has gotten better. Playoff opponents have outscored the Thunder starters by about 4.5 points per 100 possessions, with all the damage coming via the Spurs in the Western Conference finals and the Heat in the Finals. The Thunder starters actually outplayed the Mavericks’ and Lakers’ in the first two rounds, but they have been unable to keep up with better teams that play a smaller, quicker style and put more shooting on the floor.

If Brooks is going to start the same five players in Miami, he at least has to come with a quicker hook on one of his big men. There is just no reason to keep this unit — any unit, really — on the floor for nearly seven minutes when it’s clear an opponent is eating it up.

The big, slow Perkins will be the scapegoat here. But the issue is less about Perkins than about what happens when you play three guys who require very little defensive attention. The floor shrinks, space disappears, players with similarly little shooting range bump into each other in the lane and entire possessions go to waste. This is a problem for every team, but perhaps a more pressing one for Oklahoma City, both in general and in this series. Their two productive scoring starters, Durant and Westbrook, bring limitations that make the work even more difficult. Westbrook is a below-average three-point shooter whom defenses do not have to guard beyond the arc. And Durant, for all his greatness, can still become a passive bystander once the first action designed to free him fails.

Link

 

[Mound Raised]

KD shoulda got that call..


Thats all

 

[sosap23]

Nope KD should have been out of the game with the missed charge call but the refs saved him. Great game overall, bron was clutch for miami.

 

[pmatic]

It's going to be funny when Russell Westbrook plays similarly to last night and the Thunder win.

 

[ps2child]

Game 2 was amazing! There's not much to say about each team. Its apparent that the heat are exhausted from the boston series. How you gonna go up 17 and let them get within 2? or even game 1 go up 12-13 and loose. And the Durants last shot, was just a fluke. Scrap a foul call. Durant makes those shots allllll theeee time and proven during the playoffs. Like Durant said him self when asked about the "no call"; he just missed it. The Result of this series has already been determined for me. Once OKC makes their adjustments with Westbrook taking so many shots, its a wrap. Thunder in 7.

 

[T0INE]

Man I thought this thread broke NT.

LeBron could've been called for a foul on that last shot by KD, but it still took 2 FTs from him to seal the game.

The Heat almost let that game slip away. They went away from LeBron in the post in the 4th and back to having him iso 30 ft from the basket.

Can't have that.

Since LeBron has been playing well thus far in the Finals, ESPN has made Westbrook the target of their criticism.

Magic calling him the worst PG in Finals history; Screamin' A saying he's selfish and taking too many shots.

The only issue I see with Westbrook's Game 2 performance is that he didn't involve his teammates as much as he did in Game 1 as evidenced by his drop in assists.

The story for the Heat thus far has been Battier. He's been clanking his 3's all season but now he can't miss. His scoring has been crucial given how erratic Rio has been.

As for the rest of this series I don't see any team win 3 straight in Miami, so this series will finish in OKC no matter what IMO.

 

[dior paint]

Swap KD/Bron in that situation...Bron's at the line shooting 2.

And Kendrick Perkins is useless BTW.

He should be amnestied in the off-season.

 

[durantula]

People stay saying that was a charge, but i'm pretty sure in order for it to be a charge you have to be set before the offensive player takes off and while durant was in the air Battier slid his foot over to get in position, hence a blocking foul.

(I think thats the rule, if wrong can someone please explain the actual rule to me.)

 

[bhzmafia14]

 @ that Perkins commercial

 

[KMante]

KD scored 6 points after he fouled out 

LeBron fouled KD at the end of the game, no question.



The ref was completely out of position to see the foul.




With that said, 18-2 was the death of OKC.




Blaming refs for a loss is a weak copout and distracts from the REAL reasons why the Thunder lost the game.




Thrilling game to watch!!!

 

[KMante]

YUKU lulz 

 

[mr s j king]

What Magic said was accurate based on what he was accustom too when he played.
Magic played against guys like Maurice Cheeks and Isaiah Thomas, just to name a few.
So when a point guard has 27 shots and 0-3 assist, in Magics eyes that is not the way a point guard plays.
Especially a point guard that has arguably the best shooter in the game right now.

Unfortunately that game last night shook OKC's confidence and this series is over.
The Heat will force Westbrook to shoot by doubling Durant.
They now know if they force Harden right he has nothing.
Ibaka aint going 10-10 every night and Bosh pulls him out of the paint, so he gets no blocks.
The Heat are a tough match up for OKC.

 

[IATT]

shouldn't have let it come down to this:

and i agree with scientific method, this just isn't the series for perk.. if you want to play 2 bigs, play collison and ibaka combo

 

[durantula]

Originally Posted by Mr S J King

What Magic said was accurate based on what he was accustom too when he played.
Magic played against guys like Maurice Cheeks and Isaiah Thomas, just to name a few.
So when a point guard has 27 shots and 0-3 assist, in Magics eyes that is not the way a point guard plays.
Especially a point guard that has arguably the best shooter in the game right now.

Unfortunately that game last night shook OKC's confidence and this series is over.
The Heat will force Westbrook to shoot by doubling Durant.
They now know if they force Harden right he has nothing.
Ibaka aint going 10-10 every night and Bosh pulls him out of the paint, so he gets no blocks.
The Heat are a tough match up for OKC.

This series is over?

, if forcing harden right was so easy then why dont all teams do it? Ibaka shot 2-5? He also had 5 blocks last night. All of your points are pretty dumb/invalid. Thats like saying Oh OKC knows Miami's weakness, we just can let lebron drive.

But overall, saying a series is over after 2 games when the series is tied is just straight up stupid.

 

[memphisboi55]

Originally Posted by CertifiedSW

Let's not forget the horrible blocking call they made on Battier that should have been a charge on Durant and taken him out of the game. Bad calls both ways.

Almost had like 7 heart attacks watching the game though.

So you didn't see Shane move his position at the last second to try and get under KD?

 

[mr s j king]

Originally Posted by durantula

Originally Posted by Mr S J King

What Magic said was accurate based on what he was accustom too when he played.
Magic played against guys like Maurice Cheeks and Isaiah Thomas, just to name a few.
So when a point guard has 27 shots and 0-3 assist, in Magics eyes that is not the way a point guard plays.
Especially a point guard that has arguably the best shooter in the game right now.

Unfortunately that game last night shook OKC's confidence and this series is over.
The Heat will force Westbrook to shoot by doubling Durant.
They now know if they force Harden right he has nothing.
Ibaka aint going 10-10 every night and Bosh pulls him out of the paint, so he gets no blocks.
The Heat are a tough match up for OKC.

This series is over?

, if forcing harden right was so easy then why dont all teams do it? Ibaka shot 2-5? He also had 5 blocks last night. All of your points are pretty dumb/invalid. Thats like saying Oh OKC knows Miami's weakness, we just can let lebron drive.

But overall, saying a series is over after 2 games when the series is tied is just straight up stupid.

Bro yall lost at home and never led the entire game. This is the FINALS. Losing home court is disastrous.
Ibaka had ZERO blocks game 1. The five he had last night are mute at this point.
Yall are young and fast, but can they handle this type of pressure against this type of team?

 

[scientific method]

ESPN been on Westbrook hate, he is right behind LeBron on that front; only 2 guys who get criticized for entire 5 minute sports show segments even after wins. What is he averaging now, 27/9.5/8? Yea, worst pg play ever.

The link Big J posted highlights the offensive problems (spacing since there are 3 non offensive players) caused by that starting lineup and obviously defense is an issue with Battier getting lost as the bigs naturally gravitate towards the paint. Since he isn't going to change the starting lineup, he should at least come with the change earlier but I bet everything I own he doesn't. Regardless of situation, James comes in at 5 minutes. Collison comes in 2 possessions later.

On the opposite hand, Spo played Bosh at the 5 with Battier at the 4. How often does he use that lineup? NEVER. He knew Brooks would be too stupid to change his lineup so he could go small and count on a 6 minute headstart at the beginning of the game and the beginning of the 3rd.

Westbrook shot 9-19 when the starting lineup was not on the floor, which again points to compatibility and [lack of] spacing being an issue.

Some article, I think it may have been the Greg Doye one, also claims from a "source" that Harden was steaming mad after game 1 and had to be calmed down by Perk and Fisher. No names, "sources," that an East Coast writer allegedly has within the Oklahoma City Thunder organization, and of course spoke on the condition of anonimity.

He did look off KD a few times and especially early in the clock I'd like to see him give KD the pill right away when they're coming down the court (fact that WB dribbles right up the middle of the floor doesn't help spacing either) and KD is about 3 steps passed the 3pt line and his defender hasn't attached himself to the inside of KD's jersey and there's 18 seconds on the clock, rather than to call a play which is just intended to get KD the ball anyways after running him through 5 screens and having him get pushed out by his defender where he ends up geting the ball at the same place anyways.

And KD has to grab more than 3 boards (Westbrook and Perk tied for the lead with 8, nobody else had more than 4), and work on sealing his man behind him. When LeBron fronts him, you can't get him the ball. Even Rondo couldn't make that pass. What are you going to do, lob it over LeBron? Dude just stands there with his hands up. He gets away with it on Wade because he's so much taller though.

Hopefully they figure something out though. We saw how it took Brooks 2 games to figure out what everyone else saw in the San Antonio series. The Heat were living in the paint too to start the game.



ESPN Article on Whether or Not Westbrook is to blame and how much, and the Thunder's records when he takes more shots than KD. Click Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler [+]

Spoiler

After the Oklahoma City Thunder’s loss to the Miami Heat in Game 2, many people are placing the blame on Russell Westbrook.

Westbrook took the most shots of anyone in the game, going 10-of-26 from the field and scoring 27 points. In some cases, the main thought seems to be that Kevin Durant, who went 12-for-22 from the field and finished with 32 points, should have gotten some of the opportunities that Westbrook “took away.

 

[durantula]

Originally Posted by Mr S J King

Originally Posted by durantula

Originally Posted by Mr S J King

What Magic said was accurate based on what he was accustom too when he played.
Magic played against guys like Maurice Cheeks and Isaiah Thomas, just to name a few.
So when a point guard has 27 shots and 0-3 assist, in Magics eyes that is not the way a point guard plays.
Especially a point guard that has arguably the best shooter in the game right now.

Unfortunately that game last night shook OKC's confidence and this series is over.
The Heat will force Westbrook to shoot by doubling Durant.
They now know if they force Harden right he has nothing.
Ibaka aint going 10-10 every night and Bosh pulls him out of the paint, so he gets no blocks.
The Heat are a tough match up for OKC.

This series is over?

, if forcing harden right was so easy then why dont all teams do it? Ibaka shot 2-5? He also had 5 blocks last night. All of your points are pretty dumb/invalid. Thats like saying Oh OKC knows Miami's weakness, we just can let lebron drive.

But overall, saying a series is over after 2 games when the series is tied is just straight up stupid.

Bro yall lost at home and never led the entire game. This is the FINALS. Losing home court is disastrous.
Ibaka had ZERO blocks game 1. The five he had last night are mute at this point.
Yall are young and fast, but can they handle this type of pressure against this type of team?

You said bosh pulls him out of the paint so he gets no blocks, yet had 5 blocks last night. That's that, hes gonna get his blocks just like Bosh will get his points. Look at last year, Miami had a heart wrenching loss in game 2 of the finals, but they won game 3. Just LeBron didnt show up in that series, if he would have, more likely than not they would have won that series. OKC just needs to come out strong, make a few adjustments and they'll move on from this loss. Winning game 3 for OKC would be nice because then it would give them a better chance of stealing game 5 and going back to OKC with a 3-2 lead, because at the end of they day, I dont see OKC winning 2 straight in Mia. But idk OKC has shown some serious heart in these playoffs.