NBA Playoffs

[jipops]

Dirk is 1-30 yet Dallas is up by 2 at the half (thanks to Terry). I guess the Mavs are in decent shape right now.

[Billy Dat]

I just wrote a long tribute to the Mavs and the NBA with some great digs at the Heat...and it never posted. You'll have to trust me, it was grand.

Great finals, great playoffs, great season, happy for the Mavs vets, happy for all the Mavs save for Haywood ;^), happy for Carlisle, happy for Cuban, happy there is a new team that I think most of America hates more than Duke, can't wait to see Riley back on the bench, sad that hoop is done for close to 6 months, it's been fun sharing these playoffs with all you dedicated DBR NBA fans!

[superdave]

I am very glad to see Dirk, Kidd, Terry and Marion win a title. It's always nice to see a veteran get that capstone achievement. Also, Chandler, Barea and Coach Carlisle deserve a ton of credit. On to the silly season...

Super "Good for you, Mark Cuban" Dave

[darjum]

I just wrote a long tribute to the Mavs and the NBA with some great digs at the Heat...and it never posted. You'll have to trust me, it was grand.

Great finals, great playoffs, great season, happy for the Mavs vets, happy for all the Mavs save for Haywood ;^), happy for Carlisle, happy for Cuban, happy there is a new team that I think most of America hates more than Duke, can't wait to see Riley back on the bench, sad that hoop is done for close to 6 months, it's been fun sharing these playoffs with all you dedicated DBR NBA fans!

I am very glad to see Dirk, Kidd, Terry and Marion win a title. It's always nice to see a veteran get that capstone achievement. Also, Chandler, Barea and Coach Carlisle deserve a ton of credit. On to the silly season...

Super "Good for you, Mark Cuban" Dave

Can't believe it, not even a world championships or Olympics to make the time go faster...But what a great finals series it was. People might even feel a bit better about watching the Heat in the future now they've had to swallow a bitter pill.

The Mavs were just tougher mentally in this series, too many veteran guys who a) were desperate to win b) figured out how to win. In game 6 every time Miami would make a push, Dallas would execute. In the previous series against 76ers, Celts & Bulls the Heat controlled the final quarters, not in the finals.

I really appreciate the legacy side of basketball and Dirk & Kidd just moved up a notch. And what a wonderful reclamation series of Terry. Carlisle was great and proved he really is one of the elite coaches, that's three separate teams to at least the conference finals + an NBA championship to boot.

The Heat have a long off-season ahead of them and a bit of soul searching too. I have no doubt they'll be back and stronger than this year. They need a full healthy year of Haslem and they really need more out of Mike Miller. Wade and James will sort themselves out and Bosh seems content to fit in.

Either way a fun playoffs, I've enjoyed the discussion on this board and here's hoping there's a season next year?!

[CDu]

Unbelievable shooting performance from the Mavs. The non-Dirk Mavs went 10-19 from 3pt range last night. That's on the heels of a 68% effort from 3pt range the night before. Kudos to Jason Terry for refusing to miss shots. He must have hit 5-6 15-18 footers last night, and he only missed 2 shots inside the line. The Mavs' team shooting was the difference.

I'm very happy for Nowitzki to get the championship monkey off his back and shake the undeserved soft label. The guy had a rough night overall (atrocious first half, and even his 2nd half points per shot wasn't stellar), but he came up with some miraculous shots in the fourth quarter. The Heat defended him fairly well all night, but there's not much you can do with a 7-footer with that shooting touch.

Not the best PR-effort in closing by James:

“All the people that were rooting me on to fail, at the end of the day they have to wake up tomorrow and have the same life they had before,” James said. “They have the same personal problems they had to today. I’m going to continue to live the way I want to live and continue to do the things that I want with me and my family and be happy with that.”

“They can get a few days or a few months or whatever the case may be on being happy that not only myself, but the Miami Heat not accomplishing their goal,” James said. “But they’ll have to get back to the real world at some point.”

The guy needs to learn when not to open his mouth. And he needs to learn that scrutiny comes with the territory of making millions of dollars. Biting the hand that feeds you isn't the classiest of moves.

[Acymetric]

Unbelievable shooting performance from the Mavs. The non-Dirk Mavs went 10-19 from 3pt range last night. That's on the heels of a 68% effort from 3pt range the night before. Kudos to Jason Terry for refusing to miss shots. He must have hit 5-6 15-18 footers last night, and he only missed 2 shots inside the line. The Mavs' team shooting was the difference.

I'm very happy for Nowitzki to get the championship monkey off his back and shake the undeserved soft label. The guy had a rough night overall (atrocious first half, and even his 2nd half points per shot wasn't stellar), but he came up with some miraculous shots in the fourth quarter. The Heat defended him fairly well all night, but there's not much you can do with a 7-footer with that shooting touch.

Not the best PR-effort in closing by James:

“All the people that were rooting me on to fail, at the end of the day they have to wake up tomorrow and have the same life they had before,” James said. “They have the same personal problems they had to today. I’m going to continue to live the way I want to live and continue to do the things that I want with me and my family and be happy with that.”

“They can get a few days or a few months or whatever the case may be on being happy that not only myself, but the Miami Heat not accomplishing their goal,” James said. “But they’ll have to get back to the real world at some point.”

The guy needs to learn when not to open his mouth. And he needs to learn that scrutiny comes with the territory of making millions of dollars. Biting the hand that feeds you isn't the classiest of moves.

His family? Glad the only time he brings that up is when he's trying to shove his wealth in other peoples' faces. That's pretty much the only subject that I would consider touchy to me, but I never see James talk about his kids in interviews. How convenient for him to drop it as a defense now. Even though Wade has sort of been turning into a prick these playoffs at least he's always quick to mention his kid as one of the most important things to him. Seems that for James they're only important as deflections.

[Starter]

Fantastic series, great playoffs... now we hope there's actually a season at some point next year.

I said this on Twitter last night, but with LeBron's final comments, he knows by now that everyone despises him. He might as well just go scorched earth at some point. I don't know what the hell is the matter with him down the stretch of these games -- he used to be so money -- but I'd have to think he's going to win a title (or three) at some point, and he knows that. So he might as well embrace the villain role.

But man, what a crushing defeat, at least for now.

And props to the Mavs. What a fantastic team effort, and Dirk was phenomenal the whole time. That should properly put a bow tie on his Hall of Fame career.

Really enjoyed talking playoffs with you guys all spring. See you guys draft night, too, hopefully.

[MulletMan]

I don't know what the hell is the matter with him down the stretch of these games -- he used to be so money -- oyed talking playoffs with you guys all spring. See you guys draft night, too, hopefully.

When? When was LeBron money? In one game against Detroit 4 years ago? In one game against the Magic last season at the buzzer? Hello! LeBron is afraid to fail. He wilts under the pressure of the challenge. He has never been money.

[Duvall]

When? When was LeBron money?

Two weeks ago?

[hq2]

Lebron didn't play that badly; he had 7 points in the 4th quarter, and was a factor. However, no one seems to be pointing out that Bosh and Wade didn't step up at the end either. You can't blame it all on Lebron; he did what he could against a good zone defense with a 7'1 shot blocker in the middle. Hand it to Tyson Chandler; he made a difference. And, lest anyone forget, he was a former very high draft pick who had been labeled a bust too.

Overall, the Mavs had a lot of players with things to prove too, and they were older; this was their last chance at redemption. Lebron will get his later.

[superdave]

Two weeks ago?

Yep. Lebron destroyed the Bulls. He was incredible, and it's the first time he's ever strung together several incredible and clutch playoff performances. Everyone expected him to do it again in the Finals, especially after their Game 1 win. But he didnt come close.

The Heat will be fine. They need to push Juwan Howard, Eric Dampier and Zyldrunas Ilgauskus out and get a couple of centers under the age of 30 (can they clone the Uhaul or Anthony?).

The Heat also may have found a permanent point guard in Mario "Superintendent" Chalmers. I would expect him to start going forward. With Haslem and Miller healthy all season, they will be fine.

[theAlaskanBear]

When? When was LeBron money? In one game against Detroit 4 years ago? In one game against the Magic last season at the buzzer? Hello! LeBron is afraid to fail. He wilts under the pressure of the challenge. He has never been money.

Hmm, well lets see...how about his whole career minus one Boston series? You remember vs. the Pistons, those battles vs the Wizards, how he willed a team to the NBA Finals solo?

LeBron had a regretable series, after a tremendous playoffs up to this point. But all this name-calling and finger-pointing at LeBron by fans and the media is nonsense. I forgive the fans, but ESPN should know better.

At what point do we sit down and say, "Dallas was the better team"? Dallas won 57 games during the regular season -- one less than the Heat -- in a much deeper Wester Conference. Bottom line Dallas was a better team, and Carlisle was masterful at mixing zones, playing matchups, making personel decisions. His choice to sit Hayward and Peja, and play Cardinal, start Barea instead of Stevenson...just a great job. Dallas was the veteran team, with some great players and one of the best 3-pt shooting clinics I have ever seen. They could not miss. They drained open shots, they drained shots that were as well defended as they could be. Carlisle said it best, "We would not be denied." When Cuban said that the team only packed one set of clothes, that they all wore black on the bench because you wear black to a funeral...that's very telling.

But ESPN wants this to be about LeBron...because it plays into their reality-sports-soap-saga they have going on. Reality was the Heat didn't play well as a team...last night Wade had a bad 4th quarter -- some killer turnovers that turned into Mavs points and some questionable shots. Chalmers took some ill-advised shots as well. There were also some missed calls by the refs...thats just the way the ball bounces sometimes.

If anyone deserves scrutiny, Spoelstra should be getting the lions share. Anyone else catch his interview during last nights game? Q: "The Mavs are killing you from three, what adjustments do you need to make?" A: "Play harder, play better." I don't think I heard a single X's & O's comment from him this whole series. It's all been about effort, mentality, energy. If your team is looks lost in the 4th -- draw up some plays, get some ball movement! If the Mavs SHRED your defense in the last two games -- make some defensive adjustments! Spoelstra talked a lot about staying tough and not panicking...which is akin to telling a panicking swimmer not to panic...it makes it worse. Instead you should use concrete things: breathe, tread water, breathe, swim with the tide, kick your legs, etc.

And finally, I want to slam ESPN one last time for their ad-naseum coverage of LeBron. Despite having made it all the way to the NBA Finals in their first year together...with a non-existant bench, its all about choking and failing as though it's god's will they beat the Mavs...an equally good, deeper team.

[theAlaskanBear]

Fantastic series, great playoffs... now we hope there's actually a season at some point next year.

I said this on Twitter last night, but with LeBron's final comments, he knows by now that everyone despises him. He might as well just go scorched earth at some point. I don't know what the hell is the matter with him down the stretch of these games -- he used to be so money -- but I'd have to think he's going to win a title (or three) at some point, and he knows that. So he might as well embrace the villain role.

But man, what a crushing defeat, at least for now.

And props to the Mavs. What a fantastic team effort, and Dirk was phenomenal the whole time. That should properly put a bow tie on his Hall of Fame career.

Really enjoyed talking playoffs with you guys all spring. See you guys draft night, too, hopefully.

Great playoffs. Great conversation. I want to thank everyone in this thread for their overtime summer-NBA contributions. Can't wait for the college season to start up! Go Duke!

[MulletMan]

(Many many spot on comments about how well Carlisle made changes and played match ups in the series.)

If anyone deserves scrutiny, Spoelstra should be getting the lions share. Anyone else catch his interview during last nights game? Q: "The Mavs are killing you from three, what adjustments do you need to make?" A: "Play harder, play better." I don't think I heard a single X's & O's comment from him this whole series. It's all been about effort, mentality, energy. If your team is looks lost in the 4th -- draw up some plays, get some ball movement! If the Mavs SHRED your defense in the last two games -- make some defensive adjustments! Spoelstra talked a lot about staying tough and not panicking...which is akin to telling a panicking swimmer not to panic...it makes it worse. Instead you should use concrete things: breathe, tread water, breathe, swim with the tide, kick your legs, etc.

And finally, I want to slam ESPN one last time for their ad-naseum coverage of LeBron. Despite having made it all the way to the NBA Finals in their first year together...with a non-existant bench, its all about choking and failing as though it's god's will they beat the Mavs...an equally good, deeper team.

Excellent, excellent points regarding the apparent coaching disparity in the finals. No doubt that it appeared that Spo was unable to make the changes needed. Here's what shocks me about that though... he's supposed to be an incredibly driven, and meticulous preparer. Guru of film and strategy... why couldn't he translate that into the game plan?

I also wonder if there was a lack of execution from the Heat players? Was Spo really telling LeBron to run the freshman JJ play where he stands in the corner waiting for a kickout? That doesn't seem right. But your points stand... seems like Carlisle slaughtered Spo.

As to your final paragraph... the fault of overexposing the Heat lies not only with ESPN. At the same time, those three guys brought it on themselves. Especially LeBron when he predicted "not one, not two, not three, not four, not five..." championships and repeatedly said that this season would be a failure if they didn't win it.

As for choking and failing, the sports coverage was exactly the same in 06 when the Heat beat the Mavs. The Mavs lost 4 straight and Dirk was labeled a choker and soft after that series for missing FTs and big shots. The Heat, this year, lost a 15 point lead in game 2 when they could have put their foot on the Mavs' collective throats, Wade missed a crucial FT and LeBron missed everything and disappeared in the 4th Q of pretty much the entire series. That's why words like choke and failure are being used.

On a related note... what if the worst case scenario happens and the NBA lockout claims a season? What if, as some of the bleakest predictors have stated, it claims two? What if LeBron isn't on the floor again until 2013? 10 years after starting his NBA career... how big is the pressure then? When does his window of being able to take a team to the NBA title close?

Final thought... I enjoy that in this post-Decision season where LeBron apologists basically said that championship teams need multiple superstar players, a team with one superstar player and one superstar who is clearly well past his prime won the NBA title with a bunch of role players by playing solid team basketball.

[Billy Dat]

There are limitations to the +/-, but this is pretty damning:

D Wade - 41 minutes - +3
Bosh - 39 minutes - +4
Lebron James - 40 minutes - -24

[MCFinARL]

"Hungry and Humble." He has the hungry part right, I think, but obviously needs to work on the humble part.

I agree with theAlaskanBear that, as a matter of basketball, LeBron has been getting too much of the blame for not winning the finals. And perhaps, as a matter of celebrity, he is paying too much and too long for his regrettable decision to announce his move to Miami in a hokey TV special. But combativeness will only exacerbate the "let's blame LeBron" storyline where a little humility, and a little willingness to show his disappointment in not winning the title (with a fair share of that disappointment relating to his less than perfect 4th quarter play) might have gone a long way to turning that ship around.

Maybe LeBron can be motivated by the feeling that "they are all against me." But it seems to me he was pretty comfortable in Cleveland, and played terrifically with almost no help, in the "they all love me" role.

[Starter]

Maybe LeBron can be motivated by the feeling that "they are all against me." But it seems to me he was pretty comfortable in Cleveland, and played terrifically with almost no help, in the "they all love me" role.

Hard to deny he was a much more effective crunch-time player before everyone hated his guts, coincidence or not. (I would think not, since there were times during the regular season -- such as in their five-game losing streak -- when the pressure and scrutiny seemed to be too much for him.)

[Bluedog]

"Hungry and Humble." He has the hungry part right, I think, but obviously needs to work on the humble part.

I don't think a great basketball player absolutely needs to be humble. Exhibit A thru Z: Michael Jordan. Possibly the least humble human being on the planet. Have you ever heard him talk about himself compared to LeBron? LeBron is humble by comparison, haha. Maybe in this age of twitter, etc. it's better for endorsements and stuff, but MJ did all right for himself. Nontheless, I would agree that's it a good trait to have still, but I don't think it's absolutely necessary for success in basketball if you can back it up with great performances. Of course you could easily argue that MJ backed it up time after time while LeBron has not. While LeBron didn't have a monster series, he's extremely unselfish on the court. I personally don't really get all the LeBron hate. There are a lot of players in the league that come off in a more selfish, whiny manner in my mind (e.g. Paul Pierce). Although I'll admit I was definitely cheering for the Mavs as I wanted to see Kidd, Terry, Nowitzki, and Cuban get a championship. Great series. The Mavs definitely deserved to win and shot amazingly well from 3-point land. But really all the games came down to the wire except for last night, so it could have easily gone the other way. The Heat will probably be back soon...

[CDu]

When? When was LeBron money? In one game against Detroit 4 years ago? In one game against the Magic last season at the buzzer? Hello! LeBron is afraid to fail. He wilts under the pressure of the challenge. He has never been money.

Umm, James was pretty money in the 4th against Boston and Chicago this year. He was especially instrumental in the Chicago series where Wade struggled. How quickly people forget those moments when it's convenient for a story line. And he did score 7 (on 3 of 5 shooting) in the 4th last night, so he wasn't awful either. He just didn't get a ton of help (this time it was Bosh and Wade failing the team down the stretch), and the Heat couldn't stop the Mavs enough on the other end.

The "James can't finish" thing is highly overstated. He had a strange series for sure, but he's had plenty of good 4th quarter performances. He seems like kind of a punk and he's brought a ton of the angst on himself, but he's definitely been up to the challenge plenty of times in the past.

[MCFinARL]

I don't think a great basketball player absolutely needs to be humble. Exhibit A thru Z: Michael Jordan. Possibly the least humble human being on the planet. Have you ever heard him talk about himself compared to LeBron? LeBron is humble by comparison, haha. Maybe in this age of twitter, etc. it's better for endorsements and stuff, but MJ did all right for himself. Nontheless, I would agree that's it a good trait to have still, but I don't think it's absolutely necessary for success in basketball if you can back it up with great performances. Of course you could easily argue that MJ backed it up time after time while LeBron has not. While LeBron didn't have a monster series, he's extremely unselfish on the court. I personally don't really get all the LeBron hate. There are a lot of players in the league that come off in a more selfish, whiny manner in my mind (e.g. Paul Pierce). Although I'll admit I was definitely cheering for the Mavs as I wanted to see Kidd, Terry, Nowitzki, and Cuban get a championship. Great series. The Mavs definitely deserved to win and shot amazingly well from 3-point land. But really all the games came down to the wire except for last night, so it could have easily gone the other way. The Heat will probably be back soon...

You are right about MJ, of course, and I think it's also right that, from a personality/endorsement point of view, MJ was lucky to be in the pre-twitter generation--because he was a mega-star with mega-endorsements before the everyday fans realized he could be, well, sort of a jerk.

Certainly from the point of view of success on the court, confidence and even cockiness can be huge assets, as long as they are balanced by a good sense of what your teammates can do and good judgement about when to defer to them and when to do things yourself. And you are also right that LeBron is not unselfish on the court (some critics, in fact, suggested he wasn't selfish enough).

But there's a difference between being humble on the court (I don't think Kyrie Irving is humble there) and being humble, or perhaps more accurately having a sense of perspective about your role on a team and in the game, off the court. I think these aspects do affect how players are perceived and what kinds of legacies they leave with fans (although it's obviously sort of individual--personally, I like Paul Pierce, for example--but then I'm a Celtics fan).

Bottom line for LeBron is, I think he has two choices now. He can continue to develop the confrontational anti-hero stance and hope that the chip on his shoulder will make him stronger, or he can dial that back and try to win back fan support by dealing with losses a little more gracefully and publicly shouldering more responsibility for them (I suspect he may do this in private), and by toning down his rather "entitled" sounding predictions of multiple titles. His choice, obviously, and I don't have any special insight into which is likely to make him more effective on the court. But my gut instinct, as noted above, is that he was more relaxed as the hero than as the villain.