Vmart wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:

OasisBU wrote:

gunsnewing wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:

gunsnewing wrote:They really need to trade Wade

They're talking on ESPN about trading Bosh and Wade to the Magic for Howard. Interesting idea.

Wow if Miami goes down early I can definitely see that. Orlando will never get better value in return

That trade would probably get Lebron his ring if Howard recovers from his backiotomy.

Bosh is mediocre and Wade is aging. Not a smart trade for Orlando.

Now you have two guys who can't hit clutch free throws.

gunsnewing wrote:Howard and Nelson, Anderson or Turkeyglue. 2 for 2. I think Miami will do it to get the arguably the 2 bsst players on the same team. It would be like shaq and kobe. Well a poor mans because Lebron is not Kobe. Like Bonn said Wade is breaking down a bit having logged a lot of minutes but so has garnett, pierce & allen

The more glaring thing is not that LeBron is not Kobe. Howard is not Shaq. Nowhere close. LeBron is a lot closer to Kobe (some might argue LeBron is better) than Dwight Howard is to Shaq.

If Miami loses, the days of "the Big 3" to win a championship way of building a team hopefully starts to fade.

Makes me less inclined to do a major trade. Let us see what 1 year of this team, under a stable coach (uggghh can we even get that) can do.

And considering how bad our track record is of hiring players on the brink of breaking down, get a better medical team.

AnubisADL wrote:When you have a big 3 you need all 3 in the semi finals not just 2.

I think you can say that about pretty much every team in the playoffs - miss a key starter and you are pretty much hosed.

smackeddog wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:

OasisBU wrote:I dont think the Pacers are just making Wade/Lebron look bad - I think it makes the Knicks look awful.

We have Stat, Melo, and Chandler - 3 much bigger names than any player on the Pacers - and we only got 1 game.

Now I would point out that Granger looks like he can match Lebron's size which helps the Pacers defend. Even if we had a healthy Shump I think it is a tall order for our guards and even Melo to guard him.

That being said, we should have been more competitive.

I still think the Heat can turn the series around but they look like they are struggling.

We were lucky to get that one game (Bibby be praised ).

Pacers have better ball movement in the playoffs, defense, and they're playing with a chip on their shoulders.

They're a well balanced squad and they're hungry, can't say that about these Knicks. We played them well in the regular season in part because the Pacers were talking trash and the Knicks responded with some attitude. I didn't see the same attitude in the playoffs.

I think that was because Tyson and Shump were key players this season in bringing that attitude- Tyson had flu the first game, then Shump went out. Then Amar'e, then BD- on top of the massacre in game 1 and the ref's calling every foul- it just killed our confidedence.

Pacers have gotten lucky these playoffs due to injuries to the teams they are facing.

Take this Pacers team, have Hibbert come down with flu, George Hill tear his ACL, Collinson be out with a torn meniscus, Barbosa tear his ACL, David West cut open his hand and miss a game, and have Lou Amundson be limited to 5 mins per game on a gimpy knee. Would they really stand a chance vs a fully healthy heat team? What other team in the league could have had the injuries we had and still won a series? I honestly don't think there are any.

People went into panic mode after we lost, but our injuries were crazy. Knicks at full strength are better than the Pacers, IMO.

I agree there are good reasons why they weren't as fired up as they should have been. Even if these injuries hadn't happened I don't believe they would have shown the same fire that the Pacers are showing now. In all fairness, not many teams do.

I wouldn't say I'm in panic mode myself. I was talking about making the same changes well before the playoffs started. We need a veteran PG who can get all these disparate pieces to fit. The way the Pacers are playing now if both teams were at full strength I could see it going to seven. Woodson was having trouble making adjustments in the playoffs so its hard to say who would win IMO.

OasisBU wrote:I dont think the Pacers are just making Wade/Lebron look bad - I think it makes the Knicks look awful.

We have Stat, Melo, and Chandler - 3 much bigger names than any player on the Pacers - and we only got 1 game.

Now I would point out that Granger looks like he can match Lebron's size which helps the Pacers defend. Even if we had a healthy Shump I think it is a tall order for our guards and even Melo to guard him.

That being said, we should have been more competitive.

I still think the Heat can turn the series around but they look like they are struggling.

How many players were we missing? You can't underestimate the importance of a point guard. We had to make do with Baron at first who played better than expected but then blew out the knee. Bibby can't be your starting point which, showed forcing us to go with JR Smith. Talk about being behind the 8ball.....we should be happy we weren't swept.

GustavBahler wrote:ESPN reporting that the Heat cancelled practice and media availability. Hmmmm

Possible trouble in paradise:

MS wrote:The interesting thing about the Knicks as opposed to the heat is you can only really bring up Shumpert for who the Knicks were missing.

Baron Davis was an injured player that we were only able to sign because of the amnesty and Jeremy Lin was more of a flyer than anything. He played 16 games.

Bosh had a legitmate injury. We got bad luck with Chandler getting the flu, Amare brought his injury upon himself. The Pacers are a nice little team that will likely lose Hibbert in the offseason and benefited greatly from Dwight Howard being injured. They would have lost in the first round of the playoffs with Dwight in the fold.

The Knicks are a dumb team. Woodson was stubborn in the series. There is no reason the Knicks shouldn't have used zone defense. The heat do not have good shooters, Battier and Miller are past their prime. We lost because the Knicks are chumps. They foul like little girls they don't send messages they leave guys in transition and don't understand how to attack. How many times was Lebron or Wade able to get a basket while getting fouled, inexcusable. Carmelo? How many ****ing jumpers do we have to watch the guy take contested. He is unguardable in the post, he punsihes guys down low. Why couldn't we run a few more plays for Novak way to much trust in Smith from Woodson. Jorts played quailty minutes and then never came back on the floor. I didn't see any adjustments out there.

I love this! So spot on- Knicks are such chumps - starts at the top.

And as far as adjustments - I believe it was after Game 2 - Pacer's Coach Vogel mentioned some things they had spotted with the heat that they made adjustments to exploit - and he wasn't going to say what they were lest the Heat adjust.

Woodson made no adjustments - or so it seemed to me.

franco12 wrote:

MS wrote:The interesting thing about the Knicks as opposed to the heat is you can only really bring up Shumpert for who the Knicks were missing.

Baron Davis was an injured player that we were only able to sign because of the amnesty and Jeremy Lin was more of a flyer than anything. He played 16 games.

Bosh had a legitmate injury. We got bad luck with Chandler getting the flu, Amare brought his injury upon himself. The Pacers are a nice little team that will likely lose Hibbert in the offseason and benefited greatly from Dwight Howard being injured. They would have lost in the first round of the playoffs with Dwight in the fold.

The Knicks are a dumb team. Woodson was stubborn in the series. There is no reason the Knicks shouldn't have used zone defense. The heat do not have good shooters, Battier and Miller are past their prime. We lost because the Knicks are chumps. They foul like little girls they don't send messages they leave guys in transition and don't understand how to attack. How many times was Lebron or Wade able to get a basket while getting fouled, inexcusable. Carmelo? How many ****ing jumpers do we have to watch the guy take contested. He is unguardable in the post, he punsihes guys down low. Why couldn't we run a few more plays for Novak way to much trust in Smith from Woodson. Jorts played quailty minutes and then never came back on the floor. I didn't see any adjustments out there.

I love this! So spot on- Knicks are such chumps - starts at the top.

And as far as adjustments - I believe it was after Game 2 - Pacer's Coach Vogel mentioned some things they had spotted with the heat that they made adjustments to exploit - and he wasn't going to say what they were lest the Heat adjust.

Woodson made no adjustments - or so it seemed to me.

it's tough to make adjustments when key pieces of your team are in and out of the lineup. I thought Woody didn't do a good job in the last game - Melo and JR just hoisting shots?

First 2 games he misses his C. Shumpert goes down. Amare punches glass and misses a game and you can't count on him for offense (and never for defense/rebounding). Then his PGs knee explodes. JJ is ineffective.

Not much room to adjust.

franco12 wrote:

AnubisADL wrote:The Indiana Pacers are in a bad spot. They have a few guys looking to get paid this summer. Hill, Hibbert, Barbosa, and West are playing for new contracts.

They have to choose to lose or overpay those guys.

Normally I'd ask to smoke some of whatever it is you just smoked - but clearly causing some brain damage there!

Indiana up 2-1 on the heat- this close to getting to the finals, and do you think they are even thinking about who is getting paid in the off season?

Indiana isn't that good. Miami is playing bad.

Would they have even got past Orlando if Dwight had played? Not likely.

Indiana advancing just gives the West as easy run at the championship.