Official 2010-2011 NBA Playoffs Thread

[OILFIELDTRASH]

I'll take the mavs bench over the bulls bench.
Terry, Barea, Haywood, Brewer, and Stojakovic.

 

[vi edit]

I'll take the mavs bench over the bulls bench.
Terry, Barea, Haywood, Brewer, and Stojakovic.

Depends on your style. Those guys are mostly offense oriented (Haywood excluded) and can extend a lead. If it's a tight game and your shots aren't falling then you want defense.

Offense wise that 80 some point outburst in game 4 vs LA was just ridonkulous. Everything they threw at the rim went in. Definitely the best scoring bench left in the playoffs.

Defense wise I'll stick to Chicago. That's just how they are built. It's a team constructed to prevent big leads and keep games close. And their bench players are there to maintain existing leads. Korver is really the only offense oriented guy that comes in.

 

[wheresmybacon]

I'll take the mavs bench over the bulls bench.
Terry, Barea, Haywood, Brewer, and Stojakovic.

Mavs bench could start on half the teams in the league. Easily. Taking care of the ball, Dirk going crazy, and bench play have really been the theme for their dominant run so far this post season.

 

[Via]

As a Bulls fan I'm definitely worried about the Heat, but I'm not putting too much stock in their ousting of the Celtics.

I could tell when the Celtics played the Bulls late in the regular season and got absolutely demolished that they were pretty much done as a title contender. It seemed to me they wanted to keep up but couldn't.

If the Bulls do beat ATL and play the Heat the key will be Rose's three point shooting. He can win games by himself if the threes are falling.

 

[wheresmybacon]

I also made the right exception to "complete", which was needing a better 2 guard.

As for deep, they are the deepest team in the playoffs, and the bench is the best defensive bench in the league (statistically better than the bulls starting squad). I think they only gave up 90 pts per 100 possessions, the best in the league (at the time I heard this stat...a month or two ago.)

The fact that 3 of them closed the last game for the bulls isn't really a shocker.

Defensively, I'll give you deep. I was thinking on the other side of the ball. I hope they get past Atlanta. I want to see Bulls Heat!!!!

 

[Miramonti]

That Gibson - Asik - Brewer combo is pretty impressive on the defensive side. They locked down the rim in the 4th.

Scary to think what that interior defense would be like with Dwight Howard instead of that bum Boozer.

I would happily give up Noah (albeit with sadness) and Booz for Howard and some other salaries (I've always liked Bass)...

That would give them solid starters and get something for Howard, who there is probably 0 chance of him resigning with orlando.

 

[vi edit]

Defensively, I'll give you deep. I was thinking on the other side of the ball. I hope they get past Atlanta. I want to see Bulls Heat!!!!

What those summer text messages really meant...

"Hey Dwade and Bron Bron...come to Chicago...in the eastern conference finals where we have home court bitches!....your pal...DRose."

 

[Miramonti]

Mavs bench could start on half the teams in the league. Easily. Taking care of the ball, Dirk going crazy, and bench play have really been the theme for their dominant run so far this post season.

When you watch the video 'Raining 3's', you can see how many open and barely contested 3's they had against LA. LA's defense was so weak it was shameful. There is no chance of that happening against the Bulls, who have the best 3pt defense in the league.

For the bench, the bulls have Korver (>PS), Asik (>Haywood in blocks/rebounds per minutes), Watson (solid scorer...perhaps <barea but not always since bulls have solid pick/roll defense), Ronnie brewer (>your brewer), and Taj Gibson. Terry...hmmm...I'm really not sure how he is in a grind-it-out defensive game, but he of course can be better than everyone.

I respect Dallas and would absolutely love to see them advance to the finals, just not win it if the bulls have advanced as well. If the bulls aren't there of course, I'm 100% behind dallas.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

I would happily give up Noah (albeit with sadness) and Booz for Howard and some other salaries (I've always liked Bass)...

That would give them solid starters and get something for Howard, who there is probably 0 chance of him resigning with orlando.

Bass is a beast. Dallas just basically let him walk when they were trying to get Gortat. They lost Gortat and Bass to the magic. I always liked Bass.

I haven't been keeping up but why the hell would Orlando even consider trading Howard? He is the best center in the league by far. You don't trade those guys.

 

[Miramonti]

Bass is a beast. Dallas just basically let him walk when they were trying to get Gortat. They lost Gortat and Bass to the magic. I always liked Bass.

I haven't been keeping up but why the hell would Orlando even consider trading Howard? He is the best center in the league by far. You don't trade those guys.

Partially the same reason the Celtics got rid of perkins...to avoid getting Lebron'ed...ie losing your top star in free agency for little to nothing.

Danny Ainge didn't think they could pay Perkins what he was asking, as they had already discussed contract numbers. As for Howard, he wants to win and play on a competent team. There's probably been too much early speculation that he won't re-sign with Orlando after next year, but given how annoying van gundy is and how crappy their team is, and particularly how early they exited the playoffs this year, I don't expect him to resign.

If we traded Noah and Booz to them, they'd have 2 allstar caliber starters to keep fans in their seats while they chart a different path. They also have Jameer Nelson, so I think they'd be in great shape. I'm not sure another team could offer so much starting talent.

 

[vi edit]

I'm not sure another team could offer so much starting talent.

LA. Bynum, Gasol, Odom, Brown, Barnes. Plenty of playing pieces on that roster.

 

[Via]

Doesn't Noah's contract have a poison pill in it?

I remember reading about that a while back.

 

[Miramonti]

LA. Bynum, Gasol, Odom, Brown, Barnes. Plenty of playing pieces on that roster.

Yeah, very true. It would probably be easier to matchup salaries in a deal with them as well.

FWIW, great article about Gar/Tim Floyd.

 

[Miramonti]

Doesn't Noah's contract have a poison pill in it?

I remember reading about that a while back.

That would be news to me but if so, I wouldn't blame him since he settled for a somewhat conservative $12m/year to get it done and stay with the bulls.

 

[Via]

I looked it up: It does.

 

[IAteYourMother]

Partially the same reason the Celtics got rid of perkins...to avoid getting Lebron'ed...ie losing your top star in free agency for little to nothing.

Danny Ainge didn't think they could pay Perkins what he was asking, as they had already discussed contract numbers. As for Howard, he wants to win and play on a competent team. There's probably been too much early speculation that he won't re-sign with Orlando after next year, but given how annoying van gundy is and how crappy their team is, and particularly how early they exited the playoffs this year, I don't expect him to resign.

If we traded Noah and Booz to them, they'd have 2 allstar caliber starters to keep fans in their seats while they chart a different path. They also have Jameer Nelson, so I think they'd be in great shape. I'm not sure another team could offer so much starting talent.

LOL I don't think Perkins leaving the Celtics for more money is what I would call getting "Lebron'ed." I mean if Jeff Green is all you can get, then he's probably a few rungs down on the ladder...

 

[Merithynos]

(snip)
Celtics don't win this series with Perkins, nor do they go beyond 5 games. The "problem" for the Celtics was that it is not possible to stop Wade and Lebron.

It's impossible for the Celtics to win the series when their only choice while playing in Miami was to step out of the way and allow Wade and LeBron to get easy baskets, or play defense and get called for cheap fouls. The Heat shot 46 more free throws in the three games on their home court. Wade and LeBron alone matched or exceeded the entire Celtics roster's free throw attempts in each game.

The Heat made 12 more FTs in Game 1, and won by 9.
The Heat made 10 more FTs in Game 2, and won by 11.
The Heat made 12 more FT's in Game 5, and won by 10.

There is no team in the league that is going to overcome that kind of home-court "advantage".

Pierce getting thrown out on the BS double-technical, and Rondo getting maimed by Wade didn't help either. Wade is lucky Perkins got traded - had Perk been on the floor when Wade leg-whipped Rondo, Wade would probably *still* be in the ICU.

 

[Schfifty Five]

It's impossible for the Celtics to win the series when their only choice while playing in Miami was to step out of the way and allow Wade and LeBron to get easy baskets, or play defense and get called for cheap fouls. The Heat shot 46 more free throws in the three games on their home court. Wade and LeBron alone matched or exceeded the entire Celtics roster's free throw attempts in each game.

The Heat made 12 more FTs in Game 1, and won by 9.
The Heat made 10 more FTs in Game 2, and won by 11.
The Heat made 12 more FT's in Game 5, and won by 10.

There is no team in the league that is going to overcome that kind of home-court "advantage".

Pierce getting thrown out on the BS double-technical, and Rondo getting maimed by Wade didn't help either. Wade is lucky Perkins got traded - had Perk been on the floor when Wade leg-whipped Rondo, Wade would probably *still* be in the ICU.

No he wouldn't.

 

[Miramonti]

I looked it up: It does.

Interesting. That's not always a deal-killer tho. Once a player finds out the organization wants to trade them, and the recipient team really wants them, they often concede, as long as it's a team is respectable or whatever is important to them.

 

[actuarial]

It's impossible for the Celtics to win the series when their only choice while playing in Miami was to step out of the way and allow Wade and LeBron to get easy baskets, or play defense and get called for cheap fouls. The Heat shot 46 more free throws in the three games on their home court. Wade and LeBron alone matched or exceeded the entire Celtics roster's free throw attempts in each game.

The Heat made 12 more FTs in Game 1, and won by 9.
The Heat made 10 more FTs in Game 2, and won by 11.
The Heat made 12 more FT's in Game 5, and won by 10.

There is no team in the league that is going to overcome that kind of home-court "advantage".

I always read these arguments, but they're crap. Wade/Lebron deserve to get more calls than anyone else in the league. They certainly get calls they don't deserve, but when you earn that many calls you're naturally going to get the benefit of the doubt on others.

I'd suggest that, given their styles of play, the fact that the FT's made were equal in games 3 and 4 was home cooking for the Celtics.

% of shots / total points in close
Wade 39% / 9.5 points - Allen 17% / 2.7 points
Lebron 31% / 8.1 points - Pierce 29% / 5.2 points
Bosh 29% / 5.3 points - Garnett 24% / 3.9 points

Those are regular season numbers, but I don't have any playoff numbers for comparison. Get in the paint and you'll be rewarded.

 

[vi edit]

Get in the paint and you'll be rewarded.

Pretty much. You don't get 30 FT attempts a game settling for 15' jumpers.

 

[HendrixFan]

There is no team in the league that is going to overcome that kind of home-court "advantage".

Did you see Pierce, Allen, Rondo and Garnett attacking the basket? How exactly do you get to the FT line when you shoot jumpers? Teams that attack the painted area get FTs. The Celtics did not do so.

Edit: I see that was already clarified. It is basketball 101.

 

[vi edit]

I do have to say that I am largely annoyed by the pure advantage given to the offensive player when it comes to driving the lane. Wade single handidly won that championship for the Heat by living at the FT line. It seems like you can pretty much just ram yourself into lane and throw up some shot and lobby for a call. I don't care about the team, I don't care about the player, I don't care the particulars of the game. It's just a really subjective call in many situations. The block/charge calls are so finicky and need a major overhaul with the power and speed that todays athletes are exploding to the rim with.

 

[cheezy321]

I always read these arguments, but they're crap. Wade/Lebron deserve to get more calls than anyone else in the league. They certainly get calls they don't deserve, but when you earn that many calls you're naturally going to get the benefit of the doubt on others.

I'd suggest that, given their styles of play, the fact that the FT's made were equal in games 3 and 4 was home cooking for the Celtics.

&#37; of shots / total points in close
Wade 39% / 9.5 points - Allen 17% / 2.7 points
Lebron 31% / 8.1 points - Pierce 29% / 5.2 points
Bosh 29% / 5.3 points - Garnett 24% / 3.9 points

Those are regular season numbers, but I don't have any playoff numbers for comparison. Get in the paint and you'll be rewarded.

2006 NBA finals. Game 5. Nuff said.
http://www.nba.com/games/20060618/DALMIA/boxscore.html

Dwayne Wade shot as many FT's as the ENTIRE Dallas Mavericks. If that isnt favorable treatment by the refs, I dunno what is.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

2006 NBA finals. Game 6. Nuff said.
http://www.nba.com/games/20060618/DALMIA/boxscore.html

Dwayne Wade shot as many FT's as the ENTIRE Dallas Mavericks. If that isnt favorable treatment by the refs, I dunno what is.

Yep, and don't forget that that year Mark Cuban was in a full on war of words with the NBA commish and several NBA refs and was fined hundreds of thousands of dollars. Pretty sure the refs had a point to prove in that game.