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[XUFan09]

http://fromstaaktomack.wordpress.com/2013/06/02/some-off-season-notes-part-4/

It isn't that in-depth, but I probably won't have one for a couple weeks, as wedding planning and moving to Richmond (thank God I've left West Virginia) will take up too much of my time.

[bobbiemcgee]

Congrats. (assuming it is YOUR wedding) I have a gut feeling this team will be much better than most are expecting. I think Reynolds play may be the key.
Hope Pacers can pull off a miracle.

[XUFan09]

Congrats. (assuming it is YOUR wedding) I have a gut feeling this team will be much better than most are expecting. I think Reynolds play may be the key.
Hope Pacers can pull off a miracle.

Thanks, and yes! Yeah, I think this will be a good tournament team. Maybe not Sweet 16 level, barring some serious upsets, but they could win a game. I had a UC fan (here in Richmond, coincidentally) say that he didn't think Xavier would be that good. I don't think he was aware of the talent unable to play this year plus three new recruits (neither is some of the media (http://playforthegarden.com/2013/05/24/pre-summer-big-east-power-rankings/)). Stain could be dominant and at least will be good. Reynolds could be the X factor for the team, as you said. M. Davis and Randolph could be serious contributors that make divying up minutes difficult for Mack. Who knows what Richards and Vezenkov could bring in their freshman year.

I was telling a friend a bit ago that either the Pacers will win or Lebron will win. The Pacers are made out to be huge underdogs, but really that's only because they're up against the greatest player on the planet. The Pacers blogger wrote an article (http://www.eightpointsnineseconds.com/2013/05/this-aint-no-cinderella/) where he argued that the Pacers might have the second-through-fifth best players. Who would you take, Hibbert or Bosh? West or insert-Miami-big-here? Hell, Stephenson vs. Wade is a real competition. Lebron is ridiculous, though, so hopefully the Pacers can just eliminate his entire supporting cast and pull it out. That's quite a tall task, though, especialy on the road, because Lebron is so good at making his teammates better too.

[XU-PA]

Hell, Stephenson vs. Wade is a real competition.

Everything you said was OK till that. Nope, not even close. Stephenson is a blip.

[Milhouse]

Yeah Stephenson has had a good playoff run but to even say his name in the same breath as Wade is an insult to the sport. Hell Stephenson had 4 points the other night, not to mention a dunk in garbage minutes so essentially he had 2 points.

[PMI]

What has Wade done this series to impress you guys?

[Juice]

Yeah Stephenson has had a good playoff run but to even say his name in the same breath as Wade is an insult to the sport. Hell Stephenson had 4 points the other night, not to mention a dunk in garbage minutes so essentially he had 2 points.

Completely agree. For every 20 point game Born Ready has, he follows it up with a stinker. But he has definitely taken a huge step forward this year.

[DC Muskie]

Yeah Stephenson has had a good playoff run but to even say his name in the same breath as Wade is an insult to the sport. Hell Stephenson had 4 points the other night, not to mention a dunk in garbage minutes so essentially he had 2 points.

Wade scored six more points than Lance. He didn't even start the 4th quarter. This is Dwayne Wade.

The last three games Wade has had 36 points. Lance has had 28.

What's an insult is Wade's play this series.

[PMI]

Yea, I don't think anyone is foolish enough to be comparing their careers, but in this particular matchup, it has been a competition. Wade has spent most of this series looking like another guy out there. In fact, everyone on the Heat other than Lebron can be lumped in that category.

[XUFan09]

Everything you said was OK till that. Nope, not even close. Stephenson is a blip.

Wade has been a shell of himself this postseason. Stephenson's scoring output might fluctuate between 20 and 5, but Wade has only reached 20 once this postseason. Once. The bone bruises on his knee have really hampered his athleticism, and since he's only an okay jump shooter, he doesn't have much else he can give except leadership and IQ. Those are important and he definitely has Stephenson beat in those categories, but right now if I were to give the ball to someone and ask him to make something happen, it would be Stephenson. Two months ago? Wade. Next season? Probably Wade. But not as of this moment.

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[ammtd34]

Someone, I forget who, tweeted that Wade has as many 20 point games this postseason as Andrew Goudelock.

[XUFan09]

Someone, I forget who, tweeted that Wade has as many 20 point games this postseason as Andrew Goudelock.

Haha that's great. I'd say Mario Chalmers is the #2 guy for the Heat right now, which makes it interesting to see what he or George Hill will bring to the table each game.

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[PMI]

Tonight will be no exception. It will take a superhero effort from Lebron for the Heat to win. Six games (as well as the regular season series) is enough of a sample size to see that Miami cannot handle Hibbert and West down low. The way the Heat can beat this very good, complete Indiana team is by having the best player on the floor be that much better than everyone else. Hopefully that doesn't happen.

[drudy23]

Tonight will be no exception. It will take a superhero effort from Lebron for the Heat to win. Six games (as well as the regular season series) is enough of a sample size to see that Miami cannot handle Hibbert and West down low. The way the Heat can beat this very good, complete Indiana team is by having the best player on the floor be that much better than everyone else. Hopefully that doesn't happen.

Not true...Bosh and Wade, although not playing well, are more than capable of putting up 20, and 25 respectively, and you know LeBron will get his 30. Wade is still good enough to be unguardable if he gets into one of his zones.

[PMI]

Not true...Bosh and Wade, although not playing well, are more than capable of putting up 20, and 25 respectively, and you know LeBron will get his 30. Wade is still good enough to be unguardable if he gets into one of his zones.

OK, you can take that to the bank if you're that confident. Of course they could put up huge numbers, but it's very unlikely, especially for Wade. Do you really think the Heat want Wade shooting at the volume it is going to take for him to put up his best game of the playoffs? Wade really is a shell of his former self at this particular point in time. What makes you believe he's going to just flip the switch? I know he's clutch and he's tough, but physically, he is just not himself right now. The odds are stacked way, way against the Heat unless Lebron puts up the kind of ridiculous numbers we all come to expect him to. The Heat are far more reliant on him than the Pacers are on any one player. I'll go on the line again, the only way Miami wins tonight is if Lebron is by far the best player on the floor (which he probably should be.) If he's not GREAT, the Heat are not the better team right now.

[LA Muskie]

The odds are stacked way, way against the Heat unless Lebron puts up the kind of ridiculous numbers we all come to expect him to.
Game 7 at home. And the odds are stacked AGAINST them? Methinks not. Although I do hope Indy wins.

[XUFan09]

If it was mental struggles, it could be possible for Wade to just flip a switch and go to town on the Pacers like he did in game 4 of last year's conference a semis. But, it's not. His body is betraying him right now. You can't just flip a switch for rusty This playoffs, when analysts try to be positive about Wade's play, they don't mention his game as a whole. They talk about this play or that play, kind of how you would talk about the performance of a promising reserve, not a supposed superstar.

With Bosh, he MIGHT get got from deep, but he has shown no ability to put up a more complete offensive game, and he hasn't been a decent rebounder either.

You'll see 20 from Chalmers or Haslem long before you see it from Wade or Bosh. The regular storyline of this series and the playoffs in general for the Heat has been that "the Big Three" is probably not an appropriate moniker right now. Instead, Lebron has just been otherworldly.

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[PMI]

Game 7 at home. And the odds are stacked AGAINST them? Methinks not. Although I do hope Indy wins.

Ugh. Please read what I actually posted. The Heat are favored by 7. That is with Vegas taking into account the performance they expect Lebron to turn in, which is worth far more than the 4 points (take 3 away for home court) that makes up the difference. My point, if you were to read it, is that Lebron needs to be really great on this particular Heat team in order for them to beat Indiana. Indiana is well-balanced and does not rely as heavily on one player, which is also in part because they don't have a Lebron, of course. But if Lebron were to have, say, 23 points and 7 assists, numbers that are good for most anyone else, then Miami is going to be in trouble. My point is, you can't rely on Wade to be what he's been over the years. If it happens, he'll have to hit open shots at a much higher rate than he typically does, or he will have to find a way to heal up faster than anyone ever has. Bosh could certainly have an offensive outburst, but I think we have enough of a sample size to say that he and the other bigs probably won't be shutting down Hibbert/West underneath.

But yes, if Lebron doesn't put up the ridiculous numbers we've become used to (and what Vegas projects him to) than the Heat are fighting an uphill battle. Wade's condition/level of play is certainly a handicap. Let's be honest, if he were healthy and himself, this game isn't taking place tonight, and we'd probably already be underway in the finals.

[PMI]

If it was mental struggles, it could be possible for Wade to just flip a switch and go to town on the Pacers like he did in game 4 of last year's conference a semis. But, it's not. His body is betraying him right now. You can't just flip a switch for rusty This playoffs, when analysts try to be positive about Wade's play, they don't mention his game as a whole. They talk about this play or that play, kind of how you would talk about the performance of a promising reserve, not a supposed superstar.

With Bosh, he MIGHT get got from deep, but he has shown no ability to put up a more complete offensive game, and he hasn't been a decent rebounder either.

You'll see 20 from Chalmers or Haslem long before you see it from Wade or Bosh. The regular storyline of this series and the playoffs in general for the Heat has been that "the Big Three" is probably not an appropriate moniker right now. Instead, Lebron has just been otherworldly.

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Exactly. The "Big Three" really hasn't been. It's been Lebron. Wade and Bosh are playing like role players. It's not a shot at them. Wade is legitimately hurt and Bosh, great a player as he is, is a soft big. The Pacers are the type of team that gives Bosh fits. The difference is Lebron. Period. He has to be really great, or else the Heat is not great at all.

[bobbiemcgee]

I'm hoping DWest has the game of his life...no homo

[PMI]

D West is going off for 47 and 18. You heard it here first.

[DC Muskie]

D West is going off for 47 and 18. You heard it here first.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQb3h0EEK8Y

[LA Muskie]

Ugh. Please read what I actually posted. The Heat are favored by 7. That is with Vegas taking into account the performance they expect Lebron to turn in, which is worth far more than the 4 points (take 3 away for home court) that makes up the difference. My point, if you were to read it, is that Lebron needs to be really great on this particular Heat team in order for them to beat Indiana. Indiana is well-balanced and does not rely as heavily on one player, which is also in part because they don't have a Lebron, of course. But if Lebron were to have, say, 23 points and 7 assists, numbers that are good for most anyone else, then Miami is going to be in trouble. My point is, you can't rely on Wade to be what he's been over the years. If it happens, he'll have to hit open shots at a much higher rate than he typically does, or he will have to find a way to heal up faster than anyone ever has. Bosh could certainly have an offensive outburst, but I think we have enough of a sample size to say that he and the other bigs probably won't be shutting down Hibbert/West underneath.

But yes, if Lebron doesn't put up the ridiculous numbers we've become used to (and what Vegas projects him to) than the Heat are fighting an uphill battle. Wade's condition/level of play is certainly a handicap. Let's be honest, if he were healthy and himself, this game isn't taking place tonight, and we'd probably already be underway in the finals.
I get your point. I just think you are wrong. The odds are stacked against the Pacers. Game 7 at home = huge advantage to Miami. But I also disagree that Lebron having a monster game is the way they win. There's always that chance with him, but I think the more likely result is that Wade digs down deep and has a big game while Bosh handles West and Hibbert at least a little better (I think he's outmatched).

But again, I am rooting for the Pacers. And I think they have a shot. I just think you are wrong with respect to the advantage heading into tonight's game.

[PMI]

I get your point. I just think you are wrong. The odds are stacked against the Pacers. Game 7 at home = huge advantage to Miami. But I also disagree that Lebron having a monster game is the way they win. There's always that chance with him, but I think the more likely result is that Wade digs down deep and has a big game while Bosh handles West and Hibbert at least a little better (I think he's outmatched).

But again, I am rooting for the Pacers. And I think they have a shot. I just think you are wrong with respect to the advantage heading into tonight's game.

Well, you were right about that. Wade definitely dug deep and played like a superstar. Not one single Pacer had an even halfway decent game. Recipe for a long, long night for Indiana. It's hard to explain how all the Pacers could play so poorly. I felt like they actually got the benefit of the officiating in the sense that they got some calls to try and help them stay in the game, but they just could not do anything. I didn't think Bosh did all that much to really stop Hibbert and West. Unforced turnovers and fouls pretty much summed up the night for most of the Pacers. Honestly, had the Pacers played the way they had been playing, it probably would've been a pretty close game. They were just so much worse than Miami was good, and Miami was definitely good. Oh well. I really wanted to see David West in the finals but Heat/Spurs is probably a better matchup.

[paulxu]

What's with Bosch and the open mouth scream? Very weird looking.

[PMI]

What's with Bosch and the open mouth scream? Very weird looking.

I'm pretty sure that sometime between when he was drafted by Toronto and when he left, he literally evolved into a Raptor. I want to be careful about using any derogatory slurs toward Raptors, as you never know when the species might make a comeback, or how sensitive they'll be once they do, but Bosh really does look like he's from Jurassic Park. At the end of the day though, it doesn't matter how weird he is, what he looks like, how soft he is, because he's good. I don't like his game for a guy that long (although he has his moments), but he's really good. And frankly, his team butt-raped the Pacers, no homo.