It was kinda funny, LeBron giving Rondo a little love tap and Rondo blushing
That was such a bizarre moment in NBA history. I replayed it 3 times on the DVR. LOL
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
NBA Playoff thread 2012
- Thread starter Chris Fitzgerald
- Start date
That was such a bizarre moment in NBA history. I replayed it 3 times on the DVR. LOL
Woot! I'm really happy to see Miami win the way they did, toughing it out in the 4th, taking over on both ends of the floor. I think it's safe to say they missed having a reasonably healthy Bosh!
Still hard for me to see them beating OKC. But if they play like they did tonight--only with far fewer first-half turnovers--the games should be very good.
Still hard for me to see them beating OKC. But if they play like they did tonight--only with far fewer first-half turnovers--the games should be very good.
That turned out to be Rondo and KG, running into the locker room before the clock even hit zero.
The rest of the Celtics were classy. Also, nice to see that Doc and Lebron have a mutual respect thing going on.
So, I've been out of the country for several weeks with no access to internet nor English-speaking TV, so I completely missed the Conference Finals (except for Game 7 of Celtics-Heat last night).
Can someone give me a Cliff Notes explanation of how a team that swept the first two rounds of the playoffs managed to lose four in a row after going up 2-0?
I don't doubt the Thunder deserves a trip to the finals, but did the Spurs just completely fold or was there a crucial injury/suspension/epic act of stupidity that brought their streak to this screeching halt?
I think what really happened was the Spurs were a well coached team where everyone knew their roles that just revealed what frauds and how deficient many of the so called contenders were. Dallas was a disaster without a defensive presence in the middle to cover for Dirks glaring defensive liabilities, Memphis had a pile of injuries, the Clippers needed Chauncys veteran leadership, and the Lakers were soft and coached by a guy who has no idea what an NBA offense looks like. It wasn't that SA was exceptional, its that the rest of the West was mediocre.
But the Spurs one glaring flaw (the lack of a defensive stopper on the wings) was exposed against OK. They just had no answer for Durrant, not that he could be stopped, but they couldn't make him even work. Bruce Bowen use to be that guy in SA, he's retired. Plus the additional playoff minutes seemed to slow down the Spurs aging big three.
For OK, I think you have a very good young team that has no idea how good they are. When the blew out SA, they all of the sudden got confidence. They reminded me a lot of the Pistons teams in the late 80's that had to get by LA and Boston.
Dig at Nowitzki: Check.
Homer plug for ex-Piston from glory days: Check.
Slam on the entire dominant conference as weak: Check.
Misspelling of "Durant": Check.
Complimenting a notoriously dirty defensive player: Check
Comparing the most talented team in the league to the glory days Pistons: Check.
It's official: Steve has made a post about the NBA!
J/K, Steve.
I actually agree with you about everything except the bit about how weak the west is this year. I think the Spurs WERE great this year, and far and away the best coached team in the league. But the Thunder have another gear called YOUTH, an incredibly well balanced roster, two of the fastest players in the league in Durant and Westbrook, and the greatest scorer in the league today in Durant. They also have two dedicated defensive role players in Ibaka and Sefolosha, a great 6th man in Harden (even if he flops almost as much as Wade), and a versatile rotation that allows them to play big or small. And when they play small, there is NOBODY who can match their speed. As much as the Celts were a sentimental favorite for me this year, I think I will enjoy watching the Thunder completely dismantle the Heat immensely. It's funny - watching the last two Heat series have made me like/respect LBJ's game a whole lot more, and Wade's a whole lot less. I like the game face LJ has been wearing in the past few games, and his game has been tremendous. Wade seems to be playing the rules/refs more often than the game, and represents everything I hate about the league - it's like he's a lawyer of athletics playing the letter of the law rather than the spirit. I'm amazed every time he doesn't fall down and whine for a call at the end of a play. James, on the other hand, is trying to put the ball in the hole whether he gets fouled or not. He's growing up in these playoffs, IMO, and I've got to give him props for that. If he can keep them in this series, I'll be even more impressed.
Dig at Nowitzki: Check.
Homer plug for ex-Piston from glory days: Check.
Slam on the entire dominant conference as weak: Check.
Misspelling of "Durant": Check.
Complimenting a notoriously dirty defensive player: Check
Comparing the most talented team in the league to the glory days Pistons: Check.
It's official: Steve has made a post about the NBA!
J/K, Steve.
As much as the Celts were a sentimental favorite for me this year, I think I will enjoy watching the Thunder completely dismantle the Heat immensely. It's funny - watching the last two Heat series have made me like/respect LBJ's game a whole lot more, and Wade's a whole lot less. I like the game face LJ has been wearing in the past few games, and his game has been tremendous. Wade seems to be playing the rules/refs more often than the game, and represents everything I hate about the league - it's like he's a lawyer of athletics playing the letter of the law rather than the spirit. I'm amazed every time he doesn't fall down and whine for a call at the end of a play. James, on the other hand, is trying to put the ball in the hole whether he gets fouled or not. He's growing up in these playoffs, IMO, and I've got to give him props for that. If he can keep them in this series, I'll be even more impressed.
Chris, a few quick points.
1) My slam on the weakness of the West was no defense of the East. The reality is with the exception of OK their are no teams that are even close to the complete in the NBA at this point. I was not arguing the West was worse than the East, only that San Antonio's romp thru the West was perhaps a false indication of the quality of their team.
2) The Clippers were on a roll until they lost Billups outside shooting and leadership. A healthy Clippers would have certainly gotten by LA or Dallas for instance.
3) Like or not SA missed Bowens ability to slow down big scorers, I could have substituted Posey or Prince in his prime. You have to have at least one defensive stopper to slow down the good wing players in this league, SA didn't
4) I'm sorry Chris I can't compare OK to the Louisville Cardinals or whatever pro team you have down their in KY.
The Pistons of the late 80's are an easy reference for me, I'm a homer, I grew up with them, and they were a great and dominant team, that had a 15-3 playoff run one season. Like OK they could play fast or slow, they played D, and their players knew their roles.
5) Dirk is a great player who deserves to be in the Hall, I'd take him over Malone personally because he doesn't have Malones brain freezes BUT, he can't cover anyone, he's to slow to cover a three, and not physical enough to guard a good four. When Dallas had Chandler they could hide him a bit, but no one is hesitating from driving on Dallas because Dirk is a shot blocking threat. Bird had similar problems late in his career but early in his career he made up for it with great footwork. Dirk just doesn't bother on defense.
4) I'm sorry Chris I can't compare OK to the Louisville Cardinals or whatever pro team you have down their in KY.
Zing!
it would be bad form to mention the officiating in the 4th quarter of game 6 so i won't.
afaik, timmmy complains all the time during a game but never afters...say what?
“Down the stretch, for a period there, it seemed like they got every whistle possible. That really changed the tides. We were playing tough defense, we were trying to make stops and push it back, and the whistle kept blowing. They kept going to the line and getting free points there. That’s them being aggressive, that’s them continuing to attack, and credit to them.”
just saying that is needs to be added to the list as one of many factors.
afaik, timmmy complains all the time during a game but never afters...say what?
“Down the stretch, for a period there, it seemed like they got every whistle possible. That really changed the tides. We were playing tough defense, we were trying to make stops and push it back, and the whistle kept blowing. They kept going to the line and getting free points there. That’s them being aggressive, that’s them continuing to attack, and credit to them.”
just saying that is needs to be added to the list as one of many factors.
So I'm glad to see I got the finals match up I was hoping to see. It was the highlight of my Saturday night after seeing the Kings lose and being a witness to a robbery (Bradley...seriously?). Although when first seeing the match-up I went with Thunder in 6, and flip flopping a few times since then till today, I can honestly say I think this is Lebrons time finally. I think he's matured enough to act like a beast when he needs to be and not be distracted when things go sour. Heat in 7 after a epic showdown between The King and Durantula ha ha
MakiSupaStar said:
I hope they sweep them... I'm not too confident though. The Heat actually displayed some *gasp* maturity this series. If that carries over I can see them pulling out a championship.
Aye. D-Flop is getting less and less of his homer flop calls, and he'll have to share the flop light with Harden in this series. Thunder in 6.
You know what the worst part is? I don't even hate the Heat. I'm the furthest thing from a hater...it's just that Lebron rubs me the wrong way. The Heat are just innocent bystanders.
So bittersweet for Seattle Sonic fans like myself. Makes me get pissed off at Clay and Aubrey all over again.
You guys should check out the movie "Sonicsgate: Requiem for a Team". I had a front row seat for that whole fiasco when we lived back there. Sad, frustrating, mad, disappointed all rolled into one.
-Mike
You guys should check out the movie "Sonicsgate: Requiem for a Team". I had a front row seat for that whole fiasco when we lived back there. Sad, frustrating, mad, disappointed all rolled into one.
-Mike
I've never been a Heat Heater, I just didn't like the last Heat championship because I felt the league looked the other way with two key player acquisitions for that team because Stern wanted a contender in S. Beach. Mourning should have never been allowed to void the contract of a team that payed big money for him and waited thru his Kidney transplant because he didn't feel like coming back with them. And the Shaq trade was a trade Stern would have voided with some other teams. I still feel to this day that three of the most undeserving players in NBA history got their rings (Antoine Walker, Alonzo Mourning, and Jason Williams) because the league had a different set of rules for them.
As far as the current Heat, I can't stand Wades flopping, Or Lebrons immaturity. So I'm not a fan of the current Heat either. I actually liked them a lot in Wades first year.
