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

[ghenges]

We need to find another message board with a game day thread and go make accounts over there.

NikeTalk is starting to suck with this Yuku horse crap.

 

[buggz05]

^Seriously.

I'll post cliff notes of what I typed up.

The "on" and "off" is really just them hitting jump shots and not. Watching them on TV, the production makes them look like they are wild but watching them live they are extremely consistent (and not necessarily in a good way) but it's just that they hit shots and they don't.

 

[KMante]

Originally Posted by truthteller

Originally Posted by KMante

The Thunder's switch should always be "on" and it's very odd to me why it isn't.

Kinda unrealistic fam, no team in history has always had the switch in the on position. Its only human nature to have lapses in intensity during games or series, now the frequency of those lapses are too high in OKC's case. But to expect them to be ''on'' every game for 48 minutes isnt being fair.

I know. What I'm getting at is that they have too many lapses, especially for a YOUNG team!

 

[KMante]

Originally Posted by buggz05

^Seriously.

I'll post cliff notes of what I typed up.

The "on" and "off" is really just them hitting jump shots and not. Watching them on TV, the production makes them look like they are wild but watching them live they are extremely consistent (and not necessarily in a good way) but it's just that they hit shots and they don't.

My god YUKU is turrible

I see what you are getting at.




@ the bolded. Some other problems with the Thunder is they rely heavily on jump shots and isolation play, even more than the Heat. They are dead last in the NBA in assists!

 

[buggz05]

Originally Posted by KMante

Originally Posted by buggz05

Originally Posted by Mr S J King


In my opinion the Thunder are shook. 

No, that's just how the Thunder play. 

True. 



The surprising thing about this is that they already have bad veteran habits and they aren't a veteran team by any means. They already have an "on" and "off" switch. That somewhat makes sense for a veteran team, because they don't have nearly as much energy or legs. 




The Thunder's switch should always be "on" and it's very odd to me why it isn't.

I kind of see it as a warming-up verses on and off. They warm-up in the first half and ball hard in the second half when they're down, but if I can say anything it is a consistent "cruise-control" of sorts  at which they play every game in.


They are a 4th quarter team who doesn't give up regardless of how far down they are. 

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They remind me of the San Diego Chargers; lack of defense and fundamentals, a headcoach on the hotseat, complete with slow-starts and a 4th quarter resurgence type of consistency in their play. 

 Besides the different sports, the difference between the two teams are the fans. Cheasepeake/Loud City does not give up either, they scream at the top of their lungs regardless of how far down the team is.

 

[1994ss]

Man people are hoeing on Westbrook hard man. Not deserved. Yes he's not the best PG to exist, but he wasn't terrible as everyone is making it sound like

 

[elpablo21]

Well Westbrook told all ya'll critics to kiss his +%%, he ain't changing ++!%

[h1][/h1]

[h1]Russell Westbrook not tweaking play[/h1]

Updated: June 16, 2012, 3:13 PM ET
By Brian Windhorst | ESPN.com

[h5]Stephen A Smith: "A Pathetic Performance"[/h5]
Stephen A. Smith, Skip Bayless discuss Russell Westbrook's Game 2 performance.Tags: First Take, Skip Bayless, Stephen A. Smith, NBA Playoffs, Heat-Thunder, Game 2, NBA Finals, Scott Brooks

[h6]NEXT VIDEO

[/h6]

• Next Level - Heat In Transition

MIAMI -- Russell Westbrook has been the NBA Finals' most polarizing figure so far, and he has no intention of changing that, or his game.

Westbrook has drawn criticism for his decision-making and shot selection that has contributed to the Oklahoma City Thunder falling behind the Miami Heat in the first halves of Games 1 and 2.

ABC analyst Magic Johnson said Westbrook had one of the worst performances for a point guard in the Finals that he'd seen, after the Heat built a 17-point lead in the first half of Game 2 en route to a 100-96 win, evening the series at 1-1.

[h4]NBA Finals[/h4]

Get all the news and commentary on the Heat-Thunder matchup on ESPN.com's series page.

• Predictions: Simulator | SportsNation
• More: TrueHoop | Schedule | Bracket
• For more info, check the Heat Index

"I'm not making no adjustments, regardless of what anybody says," Westbrook said Saturday before the Thunder's practice. "I'm going to play my game regardless of what happens."

Westbrook is averaging what would seem like an impressive 27 points, eight rebounds and nine assists in the Finals, but it's his 40 percent shooting on a team-high 50 shots in the first two games that's garnered more ire. Kevin Durant, who is shooting a remarkable 57 percent in the Finals, has taken eight fewer shots.

Teammates and coach Scott Brooks, however, have been staunch in defending Westbrook's play.

"We need Russell to score. I know some (people) don't like that," Brooks said. "He got off to a bad start but he came back. Him and Kevin are both terrific players, they both have to score points for us to be successful. I don't look at who gets more, who doesn't get more. I look at the quality of the shots. Could Russell have taken two or three better shots? Absolutely. Going into (Game 3), hopefully that's the case."

Said Durant: "Everyone thinks he should be a traditional point guard like a (John) Stockton. There's a lot of people that cannot be like Russ either. Of course he's going to make mistakes."

This is the continuation of an issue that has been a common talking point since the playoffs last year. The shot comparison between Durant and Westbrook is closely watched by critics. Westbrook's attitude on the matter has remained mostly constant.
"It's just something that comes along with the territory," Westbrook said. "We're in the NBA Finals now and the more negative you hear, the better you're doing. That's how I look at

 

[SneakerProSr.]

Originally Posted by Mr S J King

KMante wrote:

People need to look at the real issues with the Thunder!

Most people dont get to see the Thunder that much to know what their real issues are.
Their real issues are #1 they dont play defense on the perimeter, and the coach still hasn't established his superstar.

Here's a stat that could be the downfall of the Thunder in the Finals.

OKC has played 17 playoff games so far. The Thunder have trailed the other team going into the 4th quarter in 11 of those 17 games.

Miami has played 20 playoff games this season. The HEAT have trailed the other team going into the 4th quarter in only 6 of those 20 games.

OKC has made it a habit of falling behind and winning in heroic fashion. It didn't work in game two.




In my opinion the Thunder are shook. For the first time this post season they couldn't complete the "comeback".

I don't think this team has the leadership to bounce back and win 3 out of the next 5 games against their current opponent.

You can't win a NBA title if you don't know who your leader on the team is. 





I'm too lazy to look it up but I'm willing to bet good money that the 2011 World Champion Dallas Mavericks were down going into the 4th of every single Finals game short of Game 6, every single WCF game short of games 1 and 3 and 2 of the 4 games when we swept the Lakers.

Champions close. The Thunder were down 0-2 to a team that hadn't lost in two months but they gonna be shook against the choking !$# Miami Heat?

 

[dman14]

this is when the spurs series help okc. they been in a tougher spot than this. they gave up homecourt, but they have shown they are capable winning on the road. there was a point in the third where they got in the bonus fairly early, wish they would have just put their heads down kept attacking the paint and just went to the line.

 

[buggz05]

Oops yuku

 

[abutta13]

Originally Posted by KMante

Originally Posted by buggz05

Originally Posted by Mr S J King


In my opinion the Thunder are shook. 

No, that's just how the Thunder play. 

True. 



The surprising thing about this is that they already have bad veteran habits and they aren't a veteran team by any means. They already have an "on" and "off" switch. That somewhat makes sense for a veteran team, because they don't have nearly as much energy or legs. 




The Thunder's switch should always be "on" and it's very odd to me why it isn't.

i hope the irony and absurdness of this does not go unnoticed if u are a heat fan.  

 

[xtapolapacetl]

The Thunder were down 0-2 to a team that hadn't lost in two months but they gonna be shook against the choking !$# Miami Heat?


Except even that team didn't beat them at home. No team beat them at home once these playoffs. The Heat did a couple of nights ago.

See, I can find anomalies too. But anomalies don't win games because the games are played on the court and not on paper. So let's just see what happens. These weak "they're 15-0 when..." or similar arguments mean jack %#+$ when the game is actually played. I'll take players actually playing well, hard and smart over some favorable stat where they're 25-0 in whatever situation any day. Because that won't help one bit if the players don't show up.

 

[ghenges]

Originally Posted by Elpablo21




[h1][/h1]

[h1]Russell Westbrook not tweaking play[/h1]

"I'm not making no adjustments, regardless of what anybody says," Westbrook said Saturday before the Thunder's practice. "I'm going to play my game regardless of what happens."

Westbrook is averaging what would seem like an impressive 27 points, eight rebounds and nine assists in the Finals, but it's his 40 percent shooting on a team-high 50 shots in the first two games that's garnered more ire. Kevin Durant, who is shooting a remarkable 57 percent in the Finals, has taken eight fewer shots.

Teammates and coach Scott Brooks, however, have been staunch in defending Westbrook's play.

"We need Russell to score. I know some (people) don't like that," Brooks said. "He got off to a bad start but he came back. Him and Kevin are both terrific players, they both have to score points for us to be successful. I don't look at who gets more, who doesn't get more. I look at the quality of the shots. Could Russell have taken two or three better shots? Absolutely. Going into (Game 3), hopefully that's the case."

Said Durant: "Everyone thinks he should be a traditional point guard like a (John) Stockton. There's a lot of people that cannot be like Russ either. Of course he's going to make mistakes."

This is the continuation of an issue that has been a common talking point since the playoffs last year. The shot comparison between Durant and Westbrook is closely watched by critics. Westbrook's attitude on the matter has remained mostly constant.
"It's just something that comes along with the territory," Westbrook said. "We're in the NBA Finals now and the more negative you hear, the better you're doing. That's how I look at

The Thunder will not say anything to the media that will cause internal strife in the team.  Westbrook comes off as emotional and unstable at times.  Any criticism from a coach could cause him to totally shut down.  I'm sure the coaching staff of the Thunder had a discussion on how to approach him about his terrible shot selection.  Based on what Scott Brooks said in that article, it looks like they did say something to him. 

However, for his coach to say "...he could have taken 2 or 3 better shots" and for him to say "I'm not making ANY adjustments, no matter what anybody says" is pretty alarming.  He could have easily admitted that he took some bad shots and that he will try to do better in the next game, which would have been a respectable thing to say.  He didn't though.  His stubbornness isn't fair to his teammates (especially KD who deserves better than that).

 

[KMante]

Originally Posted by abutta13

Originally Posted by KMante

Originally Posted by buggz05

No, that's just how the Thunder play. 

True. 



The surprising thing about this is that they already have bad veteran habits and they aren't a veteran team by any means. They already have an "on" and "off" switch. That somewhat makes sense for a veteran team, because they don't have nearly as much energy or legs. 




The Thunder's switch should always be "on" and it's very odd to me why it isn't.

i hope the irony and absurdness of this does not go unnoticed if u are a heat fan.  

 Not a Heat fan. I'm a LeBron, Chalmers and KD fan. That's why I love this series!



I think you are reading into this too literally. Obviously no one will ever have the switch on all the time, but for whatever reasons they have, they seem to always seem to just go through the game like it's whatever. Then if they are getting down a decent amount, which happens often, that's when we see a new team. 




My question is why?? I don't understand it. Go for the throat early and maintain! They have no reason not to.

 

[mez 0ne]

Westbrook is shooting 20 for 50 in the first two games in the series yet people want to bash him? He makes a few of those gimmie's from point blank range that rimmed out he can easily be shooting over 50% from the field....had two turnovers last game. Yes, lets keep focusing on the negatives, you want KD to shoot 40 times?

.....and Perkins has no use in this series, the Thunder don't look good with Perkins/Ibaka out there.....they need to go small and stay small for the entire series.

Hopefully the refs don't get greedy and start putting star players in foul trouble again, but thats wishful thinking.

 

[ThaxbyChamblis]

Hopefully they simply don't commit the dumb fouls they did in the beginning of G2

 

[metrokid26]

You have to love when the Thunder win a game, they want to talk about how great KD played, but when they lose, it's how much of a liability Westbrook is.

I'm not even rooting for OKC, I'm waiting for the south beach boys to get their first together, but above all, I love the sport, and if you really watch the sport you know what it is.

- Yes. Westbrook can be foolish at times, in fact, sometimes he doesn't play in the context of the game, and becomes a jump shooter, which shows his inconsistency at times, but....

- If it wasn't for Westbrook, Durant would be Carmelo Anthony 2.0. The guy isn't a great defender, Westbrook is.
- When Westbrook gets into that 20-7-7 mode, the Thunder are very hard to contain. Truth of the matter is he needs to play like that, with Durant slaying teams on the perimeter, and Westbrook attacking & kicking the ball out, That's why they made it here. That's why their Western Conference Champions.

If the Thunder win, they will just talk about how incredible Durant is, and not talk about Westbrook's impact.

 

[ghenges]

What KD is doing is amazing. 57% shooting is ridiculous for someone who doesn't play a back-to-the-basket post up game. All of it coming off jump shots and drives and that's with the best Miami defender guarding him (who is also their best scorer that he has to guard on the other end). But feel free to call him out when they lose if you think he's not doing enough.

 

[ghenges]

Also, just because Westbrook is getting called out for taking a lot of shots doesn't automatically mean KD should be shooting more. Harden is shooting 53% on 8 attempts per game. Why not run more plays for him?

 

[rashi]

The Thunder are "shook"? GTFOOH. 

 

[atransta]

Gotta walk for my commencement today, hopefully it ends soon so I can rush back home and catch the game. Go Thunder!

 

[air freshh 23]

Soon as Miami win 3 games, I'm flying to Miami.

When they win that fourth game... I'm gonna be celebrating like theres no tomorrow.

Keep the faith ALIVE!!!

LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MIAMIIIIIIIIII HEATTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!

 

[651akathepaul]

I feel like it's been forever since Game 2.

 

[dakid23]

Originally Posted by 651akathePaul

I feel like it's been forever since Game 2.

I feel like this too.

 

[big j 33]

Look at the article I posted a few pages back, after game 1, when Russ had a legitimate reason to toot his own horn, he didn't. He kept talking about the team's defense over himself.

@ people if they really think Russ isn't listening to anyone even his coaches. That comment was more about not listening to the media or critics about him, which is what you want out of a player, to ignore the nonsense.

And people always point out "Well of course Durant and Brooks won't bad mouth Russ to the press", as if they're just dying to trash him. Even when his teammates and coach repeatedly stress their support, we all just KNOW that they don't believe it and they're only saying it because Russ is so "unstable", right? This guy cannot catch a break.