Eastern Conference Finals Thread

Retburj13

Retburj13

SpongeBob Squarecapper
Lebron says " We will be ready for Indiana"

superstars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade enjoying their day off poolside with some family members in Miami...and rubbed tanning oil on each others back.

Wade going in for the LeBron ass grab...

LeBron+James+LeBron+James+Dwyane+Wade+Hang+dCciEcaq135x-500x566.jpg


[TABLE="class: linesTbl"]
<tbody>[TR="class: linesAlt1"]
[TD="class: linesDate"]Wed 5/22[/TD]
[TD="class: linesRotNumBold"]503[/TD]
[TD="class: linesTeam"]Indiana Pacers[/TD]
[TD="class: linesScore"][/TD]
[TD="class: linesSpread"]+7.5 1.971[/TD]
[TD="class: linesMLine"] 4.260[/TD]
[TD="class: linesTotals"]Over 182.5 1.935[/TD]
[TD="class: linesMore, align: center"][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: linesAlt1"]
[TD]05:05 PM[/TD]
[TD="class: linesRotNumBold"]504[/TD]
[TD="class: linesTeam"]Miami Heat[/TD]
[TD="class: linesScore"][/TD]
[TD="class: linesSpread"]-7.5 1.935[/TD]
[TD="class: linesMLine"] 1.267[/TD]
[TD="class: linesTotals"]Under 182.5 1.971[/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]

This series starting on Wednesday is a joke btw...
 
Tony Brothers in Miami.... There goes my heat play.

Have a feeling Miami could start out rusty. Will wait for halftime.
 
Heat 1-4 ats first half home playoffs so far with the 1 cover coming on a late 2q run the game after their 1 playoff loss. Same exact page as you fan, lean heat but wouldn't be surprised to see a 1 point game at half and get a more favorable number.

Keep in mind, Indiana hasn't had to adjust in game to anybody yet in the playoffs. The Knicks and hawks both did them favors. Spoelstra knows his personnel and knows that if he sticks with the small lineup Vogel will eventually have to adjust, which isn't a strong suit for an Indiana team that has the most success strictly with all of its starting 5 together at once. Wouldn't be shocked to see Miami tweak a few small ball calls at half and get rolling shortly thereafter.
 
in the end though i think miami wins by DD... right now im still leaning on taking the heat, if they dont cover the 1h line i will probably add more at half time

tony brothers does worry me some but i just think the pacers will get a strong wake up call after playing a knicks team that is all iso and does not share the ball anywhere close to how miami does... turnovers will be a big factor for indy's demise
 
Pacers should win this series, the only question is, can Heat win ATS at least one game in this series.

Hibbert is the obvious key here and three pointers for both teams.

Heat need three pointers, to stop Pacers from closing the paint and allow Bron and Wade to have the option to kick the ball out.

Pacers have mediocre offense and need three pointers to score 90+ points that they need to win the games...

Hibbert is the obvious advantage and disadvantage for the Pacers.

Pacers killed Heat on the boards. Pacers outrebounded the Heat by 44 rebounds in three games combined in regular season and the only game that Heat won, was the only game that they lost on the boards in single digits.

It's not just Hibbert of course (that wasn't top rebounder in two of the three games), but his presence simply changes everything in both teams style of play...

If Vogel will find a way to keep Hibbert productive on both ends of the floor, even with Bron playing Center, Heat don't stand any chance. But not sure he will be able to do so...
 
regular season stats mean nothing....


and "Pacers should win this series"....

Typo?


In addition, the pacers bench is hideous...
 
As I see it, Pacers almost won the series last season. This season, they are better than last season, while Heat are more or less the same...
They and Memphis really have great match ups against the Heat and I don't know how can you say that regular season means nothing, when you can clearly see that it means everything so far this post season...
 
Just think the playoffs are a completely different animal. The heat realistically cared about maybe 10-15 games this year where they played with 100% focus and determination.. i really dont think they gave two shits about an indy team that most did not think had a shot of being a contender

Hibbert is a very good player but I think the heat will be just fine against him

the good ole knicks and hawks defense was nice and dandy... tonight the pacers get a wake up call
 
Obviously motivation is different, but rebounds are rebounds and Heat didn't get bigger just because it's the playoffs.

Look at SAS - Memphis series. Obviously motivation is bigger, but TP was great in regular season against Memphis and the same now. Z-Bo was poor against Spurs in regular season and the same now...

I believe that match ups don't change just because it's the playoffs...
 
We will see. But IMO rebounding numbers are very skewed for many reasons. Yes size is important. But if a team doesn't give full effort that is going to greatly impact their rebounding numbers. And if a team shoots a lot of jumpers (Knicks and Atlanta) the opposition is obviously going to get a lot of rebounds. The pacers are not going to be dictating the pace of this series and will be forced to do things that the team does not want to do...which will cause a lot of turnovers and easy transition buckets for Miami.


Thats just how I see it playing out.
 
Also, this is the first series for the heat this post season where they aren't expected to roll over the opposition so it's less likely the team will be taking anything for granted
 
nbafan88 said:
Tony Brothers in Miami.... There goes my heat play.

Have a feeling Miami could start out rusty. Will wait for halftime.
Click to expand...

Home team is a perfect 1.000% in the playoffs with him working the crew with an 11.4 points differential...
 
Pacers at Heat, 8:30 p.m., ET
TV: TNT


As expected, Heat guard Dwyane Wade is in the starting lineup. Wade had no setbacks on his sore right knee after practicing every day in between series.
Heat coach Erik Spolestra waited until pre-game to announce Udonis Haslem would start at power forward. There was debate the choice would be Shane Battier, who could help the Heat spread the floor and possibly bring Pacers center Roy Hibbert out of the paint more. Still, Battier is expected to log the majority of the minutes. Haslem said he will likely play “17 to 18″ minutes.
Pacers forward David West said after the morning shootaround that he will spend more time than Hibbert guarding Heat center Chris Bosh. Hibbert will split his defensive duties between Bosh and Haslem.
Indiana forward Paul George said he looks at this as his opportunity to show he is one of the league’s elite players. He will primarily square off against LeBron James after facing New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony in the previous series. George said, “I don’t want to shy away from this moment.”
Backup center Ian Mahinmi is the only Pacer to play in the Eastern Conference Finals. He was a member of the Dallas Mavericks team that beat the Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals.
 
Lol at these refs. They are making calls that are so strange. I mean I guess they are appropriate calls but these were not called all season.
 
nbafan88 said:
Lol at these refs. They are making calls that are so strange. I mean I guess they are appropriate calls but these were not called all season.
Click to expand...

This.

It's honestly getting ridiculous. 5 second violation, lol. Come on man.

Looks like Stern leans Pacers early on...
 
vogel...out did himself twice and both times bron took it to the rim to the pacers demise

smh...

but to lebums credit, no one but bron makes that play
2 secs and gets to rim with easy layup...everyone else woulda pulled up to take the short 50/50 jumper
 
True Ret. Only LBJ attacks the rim there, KD had the same exact play in the Memphis series and chose the weak option.

Was hoping the Pacers won SU so I could unleash a Kraken sized play on the Heat in Game 2 and reclaim my Game 1 losses...
 
George Hill was half the reason the Pacers lost as well, he was terrible and that's being nice...
 
Vogel made absolutely horrible decision. I can understand him taking a chance the first time. But he saw how easily Miami scored under the rim with Hibbert out, why on earth would he be benched for the final play...

Heat scored almost all their baskets in the paint in OT (and in the last minutes of 4th quarter), missing a bunch of mid range shots.
Why not force them to shoot another mid range shot, instead of inviting them to score a lay up?!

Unfortunately, it may have been Pacers best chance to win a game in Miami and they blew it...

Heat missed tons of three pointers, made a lot of dumb fouls and still won...
 
And can't agree about Hill. He was terrible against the Heat in previous games as well and still Pacers won.
It actually was his best game this season against the Heat (I think)...

It's up to Pacers big guys to win the game/ series for the Pacers - everything they can get from the backcourt is a nice addition...
 
If Indy had any chance to win this series, they needed to win a game like that when it occurred on Miami's floor. They didn't. They're cooked.

Ditto for Memphis re their Game 2.
 
divol said:
Look at SAS - Memphis series. Obviously motivation is bigger, but TP was great in regular season against Memphis and the same now. Z-Bo was poor against Spurs in regular season and the same now...
Click to expand...

Logically that sounds fine, but then when did GS's Thompson torch SAS in the regular season like he did in the first half of Game 2? If you're capable of having a big game, you can do it anywhere, at anytime, vs anyone. The past maybe the best predictor of future behaviour, but it's not a perfect one.

In NZ rugby, there's the archetypical player who always gives/shows his best when he plays for the All Blacks, but rarely shows the same for his province of origin. The biggest stage is what said player needs to inspire him to produce his very best. I find it hard to imagine that archetype doesn't exist in every sport.
 
I'm still dumbfounded by that last play. Charles' explanation made me even more confused. The reason to take hibbert out is so bosh doesn't get an open jump shot? He is by far their best defender. Their paint presence. Lebron is not the only guy that can get to the rim in that much time.

Vogel tried to get way too cute. You have to put your best player on the court in such a critical possession. And then there's David west who is just watching Lebron glide to the rim lol.
 
It was a dumb mistake. Rookie mistake by someone that I have always respected as a coach...

The thing that annoys me the most is that he did this mistake twice.

Once I can understand. Tried, Heat got a very easy lay up. Learn from that mistake, don't repeat it...

The Bosh bs is just what it is, a bs...

If the choice is risking mid range jumper from Bosh or risking a lay up from LeBron... You don't have to be 5th in the run for COY to make the right choice here...
 
BetCrimes1984 said:
Logically that sounds fine, but then when did GS's Thompson torch SAS in the regular season like he did in the first half of Game 2? If you're capable of having a big game, you can do it anywhere, at anytime, vs anyone. The past maybe the best predictor of future behaviour, but it's not a perfect one.

In NZ rugby, there's the archetypical player who always gives/shows his best when he plays for the All Blacks, but rarely shows the same for his province of origin. The biggest stage is what said player needs to inspire him to produce his very best. I find it hard to imagine that archetype doesn't exist in every sport.
Click to expand...

Obviously some things aren't the same. But West was best scorer for the Pacers in regular season against the Heat and the same in Game 1.
Match ups remain match ups...

Thompson just got tons of confidence and it was very hard to stop him.

Obviously teams will also make adjustments and I don't expect TP to be as dominant in Memphis or Z-Bo to be that poor in Memphis, just like I don't expect West to continue to score 20+ points in this series.

Will see, but for now, we got really nice CF, with 2 out of 3 first games going to OT :)
 
Dwayne Wade played like absolute crap. He had a few turnovers that just made you scratch your head and it was when he was handling the ball. The pacers are expected to have a lot of turnovers. If wade is going to continue having his issues handing the ball and ray Allen continues to play like crap then the pacers have a real shot... But I think the role players are going to be better next game. The layoff definitely had an effect on their rhythm.
 
I'm with what Kenny said on TNT last night before the game, Indy matches up very well with Miami and Heat will need LeBron to continue being Superman whole series in order to win. This should be a very fun battle to watch all the way and I have to say level of basketball here is so clearly higher than in WCF.
 
Sharpshooter said:
I'm with what Kenny said on TNT last night before the game, Indy matches up very well with Miami and Heat will need LeBron to continue being Superman whole series in order to win. This should be a very fun battle to watch all the way and I have to say level of basketball here is so clearly higher than in WCF.
Click to expand...

Agree with the point that Kenny made as well, but if there's anyone in the league who can continue to play like Superman it certainly is LeBron. Losing that game last night may just end up being what costs Indy the series.
 
Thoughts for Game 2:

It's not easy to decide here what is the right side (or to be exact, should Pacers be the bet again), but I think so.
Vogel said one very true thing in one of the time outs, that they are beating themselves.

If Pacers play their game, it would take amazing step up from LeBron to give Heat a chance in this series.

Pacers are just too big and too good on defense and the fact that they are the best perimeter defense team in the league, means that you just can't expect three pointers to drop.

I think that Heat can't afford to shoot the same percentage as Pacers from behind the arc. I doubt they will, but Pacers actually shot very good percentage against the Heat in both wins in regular season and if they catch a hand, Heat will be in big trouble.
Haslem + Battier + Allen + Cole won't do 3 from 22 again, but can't see Birdman doing 7 from 7 again and with Bron and Wade playing almost a perfect game, it's hard to see where more points from the Heat will come from.

It's so hard to believe that Pacers shot three pointers a bit better, made the same turnovers as the Heat and still lost the game.
But, Pacers won the boards only by 5 rebounds and I think it's safe to assume it was the smallest difference we will see in this series and the other game will restore the balance and keep Pacers at double digits distance from the Heat.

Bottom line here is simple in my eyes. Heat should score better from the arc in Game 2, but not too much, because Pacers know how to stop three point shooters.
On the other hand, I fully expect Birdman to come back to earth and that means - less rebounds and less points in the paint - so Pacers domination there, should make up for the points that Heat may score behind the arc.

In Game 1, both teams trios gave a huge game. 66 points from Miami trio and 72 points from Pacers trio. I think that it will be very hard for both trios to put such numbers again (also because of OT factor), but it will be interesting to see which trio will come closest to their numbers in Game 1.

I think that Heat should score around 88 - 92 points in Game 2 and that it just won't be enough to win, not to mention to cover, against the Pacers...
 
Lareux said:
Agree with the point that Kenny made as well, but if there's anyone in the league who can continue to play like Superman it certainly is LeBron. Losing that game last night may just end up being what costs Indy the series.
Click to expand...

Agree, LeBron's level of play this season has been unreal. Pacers showed lots of toughness in game 1, and that was one of my main worries about them, with most of their guys being for the first time in the spotlight. Another big test is coming now how they will react after heart-breaking loss. Miami will also need someone else to step up, and I'm not sure if Wade and Chalmers will be physically able to. Can't wait for game 2.
 
Refs need to be factored in a little more. They have been all over the Conference Finals so far...
 
I know every game is independent but it seems so far in the playoffs teams that suffer heartbreaking losses (OT, buzzer beaters, basically when people agree they blew a great chance) they come back strong the next game. GSW twice against DEN and SAS. SAS against GS G4. MEM twice against LAC and OKC. BK against CHI G4. The only team that didn't was OKC after G4 MEM.

With that in mind, I think IND is a tough team that would also bounce back after this loss and MIA is maybe overconfident enough to feel very good about themselves after that and IND will win this SU or come close again.
 
Maybe not overconfident but they definitely know they got away with one. So the motivation to win by dd to me is really low.

Unless IND completely falls apart (as i said doubtful and they already said as much that their confidence is higher) and MIA just unleashes a barrage of 3's (IND best team in league against 3's as we saw against NY)i don't see them getting blown out.
 
Miami took them lightly on that 1st game and had to play from behind. I think they make a statement tonight, from the start.
 
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