The Heat are going to have a lot more trouble with the Pacers than the Bulls had with the Knicks. That's the biggest difference between the two situations. The Heat are essentially going to have to play the NBA Finals TWICE this year to win. If OKC wins, they should have the advantage over either Eastern Conference team due to that factor.
Agreed, also people forget that the Knicks had a better record then the Bulls that year and home court advantage in the Eastern Conference for the playoffs. Having pushed the Bulls to 7 games the year earlier, many thought that New York had a great chance of taking the Bulls down, and should have. Besides the Charles Smith blown layup. The Bulls still had the best player in the world and that was the difference. The Heat remind me very much of the 1993 Chicago Bulls team.
How so? The Bulls did it, why can't the Heat do it? The Pacers have yet to prove they can beat the Heat when it matters. They've certainly pushed them, but they've come up short in the end result. Unless Bron suffers a major injury Miami still has to be the favorite imo.
indy will probably have home court this year. that alone could be the difference. then you must factor in the improvement of george and stephenson. then you must factor in the additions of scola, granger, watson, copeland, bynum. then you must consider the possible decline of an older wade.
You Make it Seem as if OKC is Gonna just SWEEP Every Western Conference Team, on their Way to the Finals... 1st & Foremost, they Need a HEALTHY Westbrook...As GREAT as Durant is, they AIN'T Coming within Smelling Distance of a Championship, if Westbrook Isn't WESTBROOK...We JUST Witnessed this Last Year, when Memphis TOYED w/OKC... Then there's the Clippers, Spurs, Golden State...They're All MORE than Capable of EXTENDING OKC in a Playoff Series... We're NOT Even @ the All Star Break, yet Guys are ALREADY Crowning OKC???... REED::
THIS... The Bulls LOST 25 Regular Season Games that Year & were WIDELY Viewed as a Team whose Championship Window had CLOSED... Anybody Thinking the Heat WON'T Win it Again This Year Needs to Ask Themselves 1 Question...What MOTIVATION is there for LeBron James & the Heat to Produce an Impressive REGULAR Season???... When You've WON @ the Level they've Won, it's UNDERSTANDABLE to Not Give a Fuck about a Regular Season Game in December or January... There's HUNGRIER Teams than the Heat, but Hunger DOESN'T Win Championships... REED:hammert:
X factors for the Pacers are Granger and Bynum. It would be HUGE if Bynum could be a decent backup to Hibbert. Roy will be in foul trouble vs the Heat in the ECF. If Granger can play much better, that would be huge too. He hasn't been playing very well. If those two can play (Bynum) and play much better (Granger) I'd make them slight favorites, as of right now, the Heat are. The Pacers would take out the Thunder in 6 games, terrible matchup for OKC. One thing about the Pacers, if they are able to win it all this year, they could be a one hit wonder depending on if their owner is willing to go into Luxury Tax territory. They would be at 64 million even after not picking up the options on Johnson and Sloan and not resigning Granger. That leaves them at 64 million with 9 players (they would need to sign 6 more) and a LT threshold to be at about 73 million next year. Are they going to resign Stephenson? It wouldn't just be LT, it would be repeater LT since as soon as Scola and Copeland come off the books for some relief, Hibbert has a player option and will opt out. If this team wants to give this owner a reason to pay most likely and eventually the repeater Luxury Tax, they need to win it this year and even then, will he?
Jordan averaged 41 points per game in the 93 finals. The man had an EXTRA EXTRA gear in him that Lebron could only DREAM to have.
w/All Due Respect, Brother X, YOU Were Referring to LeBron as "Queen James", this Time 2 Years Ago & SWORE Up & Down he was a CHOKER who'd NEVER Win an NBA Title... REEDopcorn:
And to his credit, he proved me wrong. Still, Jordan in 93 is arguably the best individual playoff run in history. That was the last year of VINTAGE Jordan. Lebron has NEVER played at THAT insane a level before, so there's no reason to expect it this year. Let's not forget how UNDERWHELMING Bron was in the 2013 finals. BTW, that 93 Suns team would have beaten the Heat. They were a lot better than the old ass Spurs. It would have been COMICAL watching faggot ass Bosh trying to guard a prime Barkley. That Suns team also had a prime KJ, and some very good role players.
Finals MVP: LeBron James (25.3/10.9/7.0) those aren't underwhelming numbers. Plus Bron had over 30 points in Game 7 to clinch the title for the Heat. The Heat are clearly coasting through the regular season.
bosh sure aint coasting. he is in a contract year and has been bringing it. we shall see if his play maintains against indy when it counts against west and hibbert.
I still say we should have a tourney for the #1 draft pick; 14 teams might be a little too much, how bout the eight worst records? 1. Milwaukee 2. Philly 3. Orlando 4. Sacramento 5. Utah 6. Cleveland 7. LA Lakers 8. Boston From these crap teams, who would win the #1 pick
Heat Visiting the Pacers Basketball PATRIARCHS, the Phoenix Suns...Already, the Suns have SWEPT Indiana, Beaten Portland Twice, the Clippers AND Golden State...They were Up by 12 on Miami, but the Heat Closed it to 25-22, to End the 1st Quarter....
Trying to Outdo his Fellow UT Alum, LaMarcus Aldridge???...Oh, You're Referencing the Oden Draft:l2:...DUH!!!...
Heat in a GOOD Groove Offensively...Take a 60-55 Lead, Midway Through the 3rd...The BEAUTY of the Heat is they Can Play ANY Tempo...The Grind it Out, Halfcourt Game that Indy Likes OR the Wide Open, Frenetic Pace Most Western Conference Teams Prefer...Bron w/19 Now...Bosh w/16 & 6...
Phoenix Storms Back to Close Out the 3rd...74-71 Phoenix...Bron 23, Bosh 18...Gerald Green Leading Phoenix w/17.
Heat Wins 103-97...Bron w/37pts, 9boards, 5steals and 3dimes...Bosh w/a QUIET 21 & 8, 2-2 from the 3...Gerald Green is Giving Lance Stephenson SLIGHT Competition for the "Most Improved Player" Award and Finished w/26...
No Position FRUSTRATES REED like "Stretch 4's" Do:hair:...It's GREAT if a BIG has Perimeter Skills, but that Should Be a BONUS, as Opposed to the CRUX of His Game...Case in Point, LaMarcus Aldridge...Sure, OKC has EXCELLENT Post Defenders in Perkins and Ibaka, but that's NO Excuse to SETTLE for Jumpers All Night, to the Tune of 5-18 Shooting...
I'm really surprised Portalnd lost they were playing so much better, they eschewed their excellent ball movement for a lot of Aldridge post ups which was a big mistake. They should have played through Batum.
