2020 NBA Catch-All: Offseason

Heat it is!

Top_Shelf wrote:

I think the Celts have a better matchup but I want me some 04 Finals where the big swinging Lakers go down to the scrappy team of hard workers! Go Heat!

I feel like the Heat have a better chance. Butler and Bam can credibly check LeBron and AD respectively. Iguodala can defend LeBron when Butler needs a break,

I think the Heat’s issue might be when the Lakers go large with one of McGee or Howard. I’m not sure how those lineups have fared but the Heat would either need to reintroduce Leonard or Olynyk and I don’t like those guys in this matchup. Or maybe they would slide Butler to 4 and bring in Iggy.

Blind_Evil wrote:
Top_Shelf wrote:

I think the Celts have a better matchup but I want me some 04 Finals where the big swinging Lakers go down to the scrappy team of hard workers! Go Heat!

I feel like the Heat have a better chance. Butler and Bam can credibly check LeBron and AD respectively. Iguodala can defend LeBron when Butler needs a break,

I think the Heat’s issue might be when the Lakers go large with one of McGee or Howard. I’m not sure how those lineups have fared but the Heat would either need to reintroduce Leonard or Olynyk and I don’t like those guys in this matchup. Or maybe they would slide Butler to 4 and bring in Iggy.

Heat are massive dogs sports book wise and I don't get it.

The Heat look like a team. The Lakers look like 2 max players and whatever else they could cobble together roster wise.

I guess maybe AD LeBron could just will the Lakers to the win but for the NBA and the sport it would be nice to see a team working together dismantle the stars.

Never thought I'd route for the Heat. But here we are.

Odds makers, and the majority of talking heads, are convinced that you 100% need multiple stars to win a championship. This is typically true when you also have depth (otherwise you're the Rockets). I think the Heat a very real chance but they have to wear out LeBron and put a tonne of pressure on AD. Heat have to figure out a way to force the Lakers to try and rely on their other players while not getting exhausted themselves.

Yeah, I honestly think the Heat have, at worst, a 40% chance of winning, and I probably favor them to do so.

The Lakers clearly have the best 1-2, but the Heat have the best everyone else, by a huge gap. From what I've seen, if Jimmy Butler doesn't do it, there are at least three other Heat who might give you a big game, whereas, if LeBron and AD aren't doing it, I don't know who on the Lakers is going to fill in.

Also, the Heat are REALLY GOOD on defense, and the Lakers are going to be really shocked by that, I'd bet.

I’ve seen Lebron will his team almost by himself to victory or at least near victory that I can’t imagine they don’t win. That being said I wouldn’t be shocked if the Heat did win in a tough 7 game series.

Yeah, I wouldn't be SHOCKED if the Heat win, but I expect the Lakers to get the trophy. I think the Heat are a worse match-up for them than the Celtics would have been but the Lakers will have the two best players and their coaches have been really good about making quick adjustments in the playoffs.

One thing that really surprises me: I’m fine with either team winning. Generally the narratives form a rooting interest for me, but that’s about even this year.

The Heat, as people have mentioned, are scrappy and hard workers, and the quick rebuild from the Heatles is really impressive.

Normally I don’t like the Lakers, but the franchise has been through the ringer for a while and like him or not, losing Kobe this year was a blow. Also LeBron winning a championship with a third team maybe inches him closer to GOAT status. It’s becoming impressive.

I’m slightly pulling for the Heat I guess, but more to see the narrative that develops around the Lakers if they lose.

I can only assume one of the stars complained, otherwise I don't see why they didn't give him another year to see what he could do with his new team. I don't think you could really judge his performance on this year with its split schedule, the bubble, two new stars who were both in and out of the lineup.

If he wants one he probably has at least three other head coaching jobs waiting for him.

Sounds like a fit in Philly to me? Better than D’Antoni anyway.

I don't trust Ballmer's "leadership" so it'll be interesting to see what direction they go in. JVG? Gimme a break. Lue? Could be interesting. Sam Cassell is getting talked about.

I think Ballmer is all about splash, so I think he does the boneheaded thing and hires Van Gundy The Younger.

Interesting note from The Ringer:

Miami’s only top-10 pick in the 2010s was Justise Winslow (no. 10 in 2015), who went to Memphis at this season’s trade deadline in the trade for Iguodala and Crowder. Essentially this whole Heat team came from later in the draft, or out of it entirely. Adebayo and Tyler Herro were late lottery picks. Butler went 30th overall. Crowder and Goran Dragic were second-rounders. Duncan Robinson and Kendrick Nunn were undrafted.

Also they’re the first 5 seed to make the finals ever.

Blind_Evil wrote:

Also they’re the first 5 seed to make the finals ever.

I think I made that point when people complained about ratings opposite MNF a couple weeks ago... When have we ever had a 3v5 conference finals?

Stele wrote:
Blind_Evil wrote:

Also they’re the first 5 seed to make the finals ever.

I think I made that point when people complained about ratings opposite MNF a couple weeks ago... When have we ever had a 3v5 conference finals?

1990 WCF!

Edit: that one I actually knew off the top of my head because I was a Suns fan til I moved to North Carolina in 1993. However I did find a less likely CF - 1981 WCF was a 5-6 matchup.

First 5 seed, but that’s just a curiosity. The Knicks made the Finals as an 8th seed. The Rockets won the title as a 6 seed.

I’m pulling for the Heat. I like watching franchises more or less build a team organically through developing personnel.

Finals night!

Looked like the Heat were ready to play. Then the Lakers hit all the 3s. Franchise record 11 in the half, good grief.

I’m not sure what the Heat could or should be doing differently. Lakers aren’t an unstoppable team but this is one of those stretches where they look like it. The size is an issue like I suspected. A lot of second and third chances for the bigs.

Plus the Heat were behind a lot in the Celtics series and came back from being behind big. I don't think the Lakers will allow that as much as the Celtics did.

That was a surprising amount of domination by my Lakers in game 1, especially as everyone has seemed to talk nonstop about how tough the Heat are.

Lakers hit team record first half 3s? Or I may have misheard that.

Lakers shot 39.5% from 3 vs Miami's 31.4%. Most teams will lose if they are the latter in that equation.

I think more worrying was the injuries. Both Dragic and Butler were pretty freak 0 contact. Butler's even more so. He plants his foot and essentially his shoe says f*ck it.

Adebayo is a tough one also because from what I've seen from Howard especially last series he's full on WWE style. Maybe 2020 is softer by comparison but how physical Howard is playing even if Adebayo comes back I just expect to see him end up in a finger four leg lock.

I really thought my Raptors could have beaten the Heat if they hadn't crapped the bed against the Celtics... I know it's a moot point, but nonetheless it's been bumming me out. Watching the Lakers last night cheered me up a bit. They look real good right now. Not sure I could have handled another Lebronto domination, lol.

I actually have gained quite a bit of respect for Lebron during the bubble. He has been focused and he seems to have stressed the importance of making it count when you have the chance to play for a title. I also kind of like his pissed of, disrespected attitude. And my word, AD is a beast when he is on.

The Heat certainly showed resilience being down by 30 at one point. They brought it down to 15 and had opportunities to bring it down even more with a lotta minutes left on the clock. (4? 5?)

I actually had to look up who was on the Heat because I was shocked they made the finals. (I had totally not been paying attention to the NBA Bubble at all)
Once I saw their roster was much more than Butler (which is pretty much all the west coast press mentioned this entire season) I blurted "wow!" I mean Iggy and Dragic would have been enough but it looks like they have some great young talent to boot.

Everyone is mentioning the 3s raining but I think while you would expect the Lakers to have great interior defense, it was the dominating factor. This started from the point the Lakers were down 25-12 and the quarter ended with the Lakers up 30-28. Davis himself probably knocked down the layup shooting percentage by 15%. That will win a lot of games.

I do see the Heat's threat increasing as the series goes on though. They certainly have the skill, talent and speed to wear out Davis and James. (and certainly Iggy adds leadership and finals experience on top)

The Smart Van Gundy Brother was saying this morning on Lebatard that the Heat cannot win if they don't shoot 39% from 3, have these injuries AND the Lakers hit their 3's. It's just not going to happen.

If two of those variables flip, it could be a series.

Wait, which one is the smart one? If you're cutting on Stan, Stan is actually quite smart about politics, at least.

DSGamer wrote:

Wait, which one is the smart one?

The Smart One.

Spoiler:

Stan

Top_Shelf wrote:
DSGamer wrote:

Wait, which one is the smart one?

The Smart One.

Spoiler:

IMAGE(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CRuBWazUYAAe8Yf?format=jpg&name=small)

Fixed.

Stan is great.

Okay. Just making sure. Stan is a great person and cares about the right things. I wanted to make sure you weren't dissing Stan.