Post: #2001

Yeah the calls are egregious. Looks like the Heat sixth man showed up finally.

Post: #2002

Post: #2003

Who's watching this? Even when I hated the Spurs, I loved Ginobili

Post: #2004

Big alley oop dunk and 3 pointer by Leonard.

Post: #2005

Women in the crowd are still ugly. Churro industry still strong.

Post: #2006

Wade is incredibly impotent.

Post: #2007

Its looking like another route. I am happy with that. Heat need a reality check that their team is full of holes and they need to need to do serious work. It would be a sham for them to win another ring and perpetuate the trend of blowing teams up to shill for 2-3 players. Heat would of been out in the first round if they played in the West.

(06-15-2014 08:57 PM)Kabal Wrote:  Wade is incredibly impotent.

He rested all year to be a non-factor in these finals.....

Bron could of had one more 'level up' in him. Even with all minutes he has clocked they never gave the man ample rest. You wonder if he could of used a extra battery pack in these finals. Heat had no choice though and you can see its ramifications in these finals.

With Wade though,they will write him checks because frankly he gave the Heat 3 rings, he facilitated the Big 3. But he is out of gas. It pains me to say it as he has been a favorite of mine but dude is basically just going through the motions now, his place on the team doesn't warrant his skill level right now. He will give you like 8 elite games a year these days.

Post: #2008

(06-13-2014 08:40 PM)Brosemite Wrote:  Takes a lot of reps, strenuous player development, right personnel and time to build chemistry for a system like this to work successfully. Great model...but to implement it as effectively as the Spurs do is easier said than done.

All true Brosemite, however the most overlooked, but perhaps most important is the man that put it all together GM, RC Buford. It's amazing to think that he just won Executive of the year considering the following has happened under his tenure:

• 4 NBA titles('03,'05,07,'14)
• 71% win percentage during his 12 seasons
• Averaged 53 wins/season during his tenure
  

Even more impressive is his eye for talent, since within the NBA system a successful team usually means low draft picks. Despite never having a pick higher than 26th, he has drafted the players like:

• John Salmons(26th)
• George HIll(26th)
• Goran Dragic(45th)
• Dejuan Blair
  *Not to mention Manu who went 57th and Parker who went 28th, both before Buford got there
  

In similar fashion, he has an ability to find valuable free agents which are malleable to the system as we've seen this postseason like Danny Green, Marco Bellinelli, and Patty Mills, none of whom were particularly sought after by other teams. When you also consider the way that Pop runs the team in such a regimented manner, the fact that Manu, Tim, and Tony have played forever, and that there never seems to be any kind of internal strife like contract disputes, players trying to get coaches fired, and egoism, its really no surprise why the Spurs are such a dynasty.

Post: #2009

Post: #2010

Silver just said: "The Heat should hang their heads high tonight"

Was he trying to say they should hold their heads high tonight or hang their heads in shame?

Post: #2011

Patty Mills was huge in this series!!

Post: #2012

I don't remember another Finals MVP being more up for grabs, I had no idea who would get it. It was very cool seeing Kawhi win it, everyone was so genuinely happy for him.

This is one of the greatest teams of the last 25 years, for sure. I think they beat every single past champion dating back to 1991 besides Jordan's Bulls and the 2001 Lakers. They're the 2002 Kings on steroids.

Popovich is in the conversation for best coach of all time. Impressive all around, I can't believe I picked the Heat. I also agree with Kosko above, I'm glad they lost because they really are a flawed team. Wade has nothing left. That's what you get when a short shooting guard that can't shoot and relies on athleticism ages... I always thought the fall would be precipitous and ugly, and we saw it these finals.

Post: #2013

**Delete if pic didn't work....

Post: #2014

(06-15-2014 10:21 PM)Rotisserie Wrote:  Wade has nothing left. That's what you get when a short shooting guard that can't shoot and relies on athleticism ages...

Wade losing his athleticism with aging is an allegory for women hitting the wall with their looks.

One day you're in your early 30s--and all of a sudden--your most important feature, athleticism (looks), is suddenly gone.

Should have worked on that 3-pointer (snagged a husband and had kids) while you were younger--now you're playing catch-up.

Post: #2015

(06-15-2014 10:21 PM)Rotisserie Wrote:  Popovich is in the conversation for best coach of all time.

How could anyone make an argument that Pop is the greatest coach ever? Better then Phil Jackson?

Phil Jackson has won 6 more titles and with 2 different franchises.

Post: #2016

(06-15-2014 10:49 PM)Kish Wrote:  

(06-15-2014 10:21 PM)Rotisserie Wrote:  Popovich is in the conversation for best coach of all time.

How could anyone make an argument that Pop is the greatest coach ever? Better then Phil Jackson?

Phil Jackson has won 6 more titles and with 2 different franchises.

I'm not ready to say outright Pop is better than Phil, but he's in the conversation. Phil did it with MJ, Shaq, and Kobe, the best players in the league during their respective title reigns. It's really pretty easy to poke holes in that résumé when you've only won with the most transcendent players of your generation.

Pop has been lucky to have Duncan by his side, who has the perfect temperament for this type of system to work, although he is less 'transcendental' than prime MJ, Shaq, and Kobe. Pop's system has won championships over the span of 15 years, with wildly different players. See what iWin wrote above... Pop's system incorporates players no one else wanted (Diaw, cut from the BOBCATS of all teams, 2 whole years ago?) and makes them indispensable and downright unstoppable, within his team-oriented system. Additionally, how many coaches would be able to motivate their team to recover from the absolute heartbreak of being 30 seconds from a title a year before, losing it, and then coming back to destroy the same opponent a year later?

Pop did more with less. You can't discount that Pop's system is more likely to work with most teams than Phil's... and THAT puts him in the conversation for GOAT.

Post: #2017

Post: #2018

Post: #2019

Post: #2020

Post: #2021

This is great for the International game/hustle for the NBA. Yeah Bron might be the most popular single player, but kids will be picking up a ball in OZ now because of Patty Mills.

Back to Wade. I agree 100% on the female analogy. I can remember like it was yesterday when Wade was top 3 in the league and conversations were about if he could toss aside Kobe. His only flaw then was his weak shot, and people just assumed he would get it right in time, and get some range in his game... He never did... He was bash and burn to the point he has been having to wear padding under his shirt and shorts - he has hit his wall.

Look at what Bosh did. Prior to ditching Toronto Bosh was starting to work on his outside game. He was showing flashes of it in Toronto but was streaky with a inflated 3PM% from him benefiting from uncontested shots since nobody would think he had any range. He got his shot down in full in his second year in Miami I would say, and even before then, he transformed himself into a lean guy with a shot - versus the inside monster he was in Toronto. I feel his bulk would of helped him but that is gone now, all I know is that Bosh will have a way longer career then Wade will simply because Bosh can get a shot down and create some things for himself since he has some speed now.

Any contending team would want to have him around, I feel he will be HOF worthy once his career is done. Wade is HOF worthy now, but his career is crapped out He will be riding benches soon, while Bosh can easily get in another 5-7 years at a high level.

It comical when your two "big men" in Bron and Bosh have better outside %'ages then your starting SG.

Post: #2022

Quote:Bosh said, “We’re not going down...we’re going to win this game tonight … plain and simple we’re going to win this game.”

Post: #2023

i almost wanted to give the finals mvp to boris fucking diaw. That's how good pop's system was. hats off to the spurs - even if I did call them boring.

Post: #2024

(06-16-2014 12:08 AM)kosko Wrote:  This is great for the International game/hustle for the NBA. Yeah Bron might be the most popular single player, but kids will be picking up a ball in OZ now because of Patty Mills.

Back to Wade. I agree 100% on the female analogy. I can remember like it was yesterday when Wade was top 3 in the league and conversations were about if he could toss aside Kobe. His only flaw then was his weak shot, and people just assumed he would get it right in time, and get some range in his game... He never did... He was bash and burn to the point he has been having to wear padding under his shirt and shorts - he has hit his wall.

Look at what Bosh did. Prior to ditching Toronto Bosh was starting to work on his outside game. He was showing flashes of it in Toronto but was streaky with a inflated 3PM% from him benefiting from uncontested shots since nobody would think he had any range. He got his shot down in full in his second year in Miami I would say, and even before then, he transformed himself into a lean guy with a shot - versus the inside monster he was in Toronto. I feel his bulk would of helped him but that is gone now, all I know is that Bosh will have a way longer career then Wade will simply because Bosh can get a shot down and create some things for himself since he has some speed now.

Any contending team would want to have him around, I feel he will be HOF worthy once his career is done. Wade is HOF worthy now, but his career is crapped out He will be riding benches soon, while Bosh can easily get in another 5-7 years at a high level.

It comical when your two "big men" in Bron and Bosh have better outside %'ages then your starting SG.

I really thought they should have just de facto switched bosh to the number 2 option in this series. He clearly could have done more damage if he had been given the ball more - maybe do a little post up, or slashing from the elbows for layups. I remember watching bosh in toronto - he can create his shot just fine and has a pretty diverse offensive arsenal. The heat relied too much on d-wade this series to supply the back up firepower for lebron. I blame spoelstra for not making the rotation.

Also, in both games 4 and 5 I really thought Spoelstra was just gonna give Lebron the greenlight to go HAM on the spurs for 48 or something the way he did to the 2007 pistons in the eastern conference finals. But it never happened. Maybe spo felt bron didn't have the legs for it anymore given the amount of the load he had to carry during the regular season. Still...

Post: #2025

As a lifelong Spur fan, I'm ecstatic to see the team not only win but trounce in such a convincing fashion the double defending champs. They were robbed last year and winning it by annihilating the Heat this year, someway, made up for last year's heart breaking loss.

I'm convinced that the team will keep on being at the top next year and in the future due to the great organization behind it. Even if Duncan retires. I hope he continues for at least another year, if not two more seasons. His leadership and experience are invaluable.

Now regarding Lebron, I have to say I'm dissapointed by his performance. Or rather lack of thereof in the biggest stage of all, when the team needs him more than ever. In a way, to make a comparison with football/soccer, he reminds me of Zlatan. Both are supremely talented with superior athleticism which make them almost impossible to stop. However, both perform only against the minnow teams. When the team really needs him, in a key moment if a game or in a big game, he fades away and disappears. Despite their incredible talent and above average physical strength, they suffer from a weak mentality syndrome where in key moments of matches or in big games, they fade away and disappear.

For that reason, I don't put him in the same category of a Kobe for example whose trademark was to take over a game and be the Boss.