All posts tagged Chris Bosh

NBA Finals Heat Up in Miami

Andrew Upshaw

The Miami Heat beat the Thunder 91-86 tonight in another exciting NBA Finals game. The Heat are now up 2-1 in the series with two more games left to play in Miami. This time it was the Heat’s turn to comeback on the Thunder erasing a 9 point lead early in the third quarter to go up by 2 going into the fourth quarter. The 4th quarter was ugly on both sides of the floor. The Heat turned the ball over again and again. The Thunder did the same, the difference was when they turned the ball over. The Heat turned the ball over early in the 4th and the Thunder turned the ball over late.

LeBron James was the best player on the floor for the second straight game. Kevin Durant got in foul trouble again, which is weird cuz I can’t remember any other time this season when he was in foul trouble. Both teams struggled to score, Kevin Durant included. Durant wasn’t able to go OFF in the fourth quarter thanks to Lebron’s defense and Chris Bosh‘s help defense. Lebron took away the open look and when Durant drove Bosh was there to block or alter the shot every time. That was the difference in the game. People will note how many mistakes the Thunder made but the Heat made just as many and got bailed out when Lebron threw the ball off the bottom of the backboard which lead to a Heat basket. The Thunder’s mistakes will probably be attributed to their youth or to Russell Westbrook, because the when the Heat win its Westbrook’s fault and when the Thunder win it’s on Lebron. People are stupid.

Westbrook played well, Durant did too but they could have played better. James Harden went M.I.A again shooting just 2-10 from the field for just 9 points. The troubling part of this game wasn’t just the way they lost, by making mistakes at the end but the fact that their offense finally got slowed down. We’ve said all series the Heat have the best defense that the Thunder have seen this postseason and tonight was he first time the Heat proved it, holding the Thunder to just 85 points. The Thunder scored 18 points in the fourth quarter, which was about as much as Durant scored by himself in the 4th quarter of game 1 and 2.

The Heat have the series lead but it would be foolish to write the Thunder off. The Heat finally slowed the thunder down, but they barely won and they have outscored the Thunder by only 1 point in this series. That’s a close series homie. The Heat know that. Last year they led the Dallas Mavericks 2-1 and never won another game. Lebron was all business after the game as he should be. Game 4 is Tuesday and that’s the only thing Lebron, The Heat and the Thunder care about. NBA fans should do the same.

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by labatman24 on June 17, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Dwanye Wade, Kevin Durant, Lebron James, NBA FInals, NBA Playoffs, Russell Westbrook, The Heat, The Thunder
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Posted by labatman24 on June 17, 2012

https://andrew2486.wordpress.com/2012/06/17/nba-finals-heat-up-in-miami/

NBA Finals Game 2 Reaction

Andrew Upshaw

LeBron James shoots over Thabo Sefolosha and Serge Ibaka for three in the fourth quarter during Game 2 of the NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder at the Chesapeake Energy Arena on Thursday, June 14, 2012. Al Diaz / Staff Photo
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/14/2850225/heat-at-thunder-game-2-thu-june.html#storylink=cpy

Game 2 was a lot like game 1 of the Finals. Once again the Thunder started out slow and once again the Heat blew a big lead. The end result was different this time around as the heat were able to do enough to secure the win.

Early on, Russell Westbrook struggled again gong 2-10 from the field in the first half. Kevin Durant and James Harden kept the Thunder somewhat competitive in the second quarter. harden had 17 points at the half but only scored 4 in the second half. LeBron James got more help from Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. Wade scored 24 points and had 5 assists and 6 boards. Bosh had 16 points but more importantly had 15 rebounds 7 of which were offensive boards. He had a few down the stretch that were huge for Miami. He also whiffed on a high-five with Ronny Turiaf. Shane Battier continue to defy God and hit a ton of threes including a bank shot in the 4th quarter that had no business going in.

Bosh is goofy, yes but some of this should be on Turiaf. Turiaf is basically a professional high-fiver, that’s all he really does for this Heat team. He should be able to carry a high five like Lebron carries the Heat night in and night out.

The Thunder kept coming though, like they always do. They’re like the T-1000 from Terminator 2, the only way to kill them is to melt them in lava. They can look terrible in one stretch and then they’ll completely forget about and play lights out. No Thunder player illustrates this point better than Russell Westbrook. He shook off a bad first half and scored 27 points, had 7 assists and 8 rebounds. I said earlier in the playoffs that I thought that Russ Westbrook was Durant’s equal and while I now admit that Durant is the Thunders best player, at times it feels like Westbrook is their most important player. He’s their motor. Durant was great again and was just as big in the fourth as he was in game 1. He just kills people with those threes. And yet I feel like a big reason Durant gets those open looks is that Heat are scared of Westbrook’s drives to the hoop. Both of those dudes had some amazing ass plays in the fourth. There was Russ’s amazing put-back dunk and Durant’s barrage of threes late.

The only way to beat the Thunder is to melt them in lava, like the T-1000 from Terminator 2.

The Heat, unlike in game 1 and unlike the Spurs last series answered the Thunder’s scoring just enough to get the win. Lebron looked gassed down the stretch and for some reason tried to run out the clock on every play as if this were football. Lebron also hit a huge clutch bank shot late in the game and iced a bunch of clutch free throws. He missed that three but what are you gonna do.

A lot of people are talking about that final play for the Thunder where Lebron guarded Durant. I’ll post it here:

When I saw it right here I did not see a foul. Neither did you. I absolutely think its reasonable for the refs to miss that call. It wasn’t a shooting foul. The only reason we know there was a foul is because of instant replay. Hell it still took Van Gundy three times to see the foul. And even if the refs missed the foul I still could see them not calling it. This is one of the fouls that exposes our biases. A Heat fan likes the no-call because this is the playoffs and you let physical contact slide in the playoffs unless its egregious. A Thunder fan is pissed off that they didn’t call it and is cussing at the T.V. If it were the other way around the Heat fan would be complaining and Thunder fans would like the no-call.

The refs give the stars calls but they also let them get away with fouling more. It looked like Durant could still have made the shot and I assumed he was going to, that’s how hot he was. You don’t want a great game of this magnitude to be decided by a foul call and free throws, unless its your team. Kevin Durant manned up and moved on, so Thunder fans should do the same.

Game 3 is on Sunday and we will see then how Kevin Durant and the Thunder respond to their first home playoff loss.

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by labatman24 on June 15, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Basketball, Dwanye Wade, Lebron James, NBA FInals, NBA Playoffs, Russell Westbrook, Sports, The Heat, The Thunder
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Posted by labatman24 on June 15, 2012

https://andrew2486.wordpress.com/2012/06/15/nba-finals-game-2-reaction/

NBA Finals: Thunder Up! For now…

Andrew Upshaw

(Noah Graham /NBAE via Getty Images)

Kevin Durant was great in game 1 of the NBA Finals. His scoring kept the Thunder in the game in the first half when they were down by 10+ most of the time. The Thunder were able to cut the lead to 7 at the break and grabbed the lead in the third quarter. Durant’s homie Russell Westbrook shook off a shaky first half and start to get to the rim in the second half. Russ also got his board on and dished 11 assists. he found Durant many times and when he didn’t it didn’t matter, he got to the rim instead.

The Thunder were rolling in the fourth quarter when Durant starting killing the Heat with jump shot after jump shot. It was reminiscent of Dirk Nowinzki’s performance last year except for the fact that Durant can put it on the floor and dunk too. What was weird is how open Durant was at times. The Heat seemed to be overly concerned with slowing own Westbrook and left Durant too much space to operate. Durant is 6’10 and has a 7’4 wing span, he’s not a dude that you leave open. Game 1 looked mad similar to the Western Conference Finals. Just when the heat though they had slowed down the Thunder the Thunder went off and score at will.

That the Thunder came back and won after being down 13 in the first had doesn’t sound encouraging to Heat fans. According to smarter people than me (Sebastian Prutti of Grantland), The Heat changed their defensive approach to the Thunder in the second half. In the First half the heat looked to trap the Thunder on the pick n’ roll. They were pretty successful until the thunder used Serge Ibaka to make plays he normally doesn’t even try. Ibaka rolled to the rim for a dunk and then found Durant WIDE open for three later. In the second half the Heat switched on the pick and roll and got burned. Chris Bosh would end up on Westbrook and he’d blow by him. Dwayne Wade would end up on Durant who just shot right over him. While I was watching the game they looked overmatched just like the Spurs before them. What was weird about it was that James Harden didn’t really play well(or even play really). And then Durant was open. A lot. Why? John Hollinger feels like the heat were fatigued. That makes sense to me and explains how they could make so many mistakes on defense. The Heat probably also overreacted on D and changed up too much. The traps they used in the first half worked for the most part so there was no need to abandon them in the second half. Also, yo they might want to put a guy on Durant at all times. The conventional wisdom says that the Heat should put LeBron James on Durant at all times. That sounds good in theory and Lebron did guard Durant at times in game 1. He did decent, I guess and Lebron should probably be on Durant more. The problem for Lebron is that he’s the heat’s most versatile defender and they like to have him guard every body. Lebron also checked Russ Westbrook at times in game 1. The rest of the Heat  aren’t as versatile as lebron and sometimes he has to cover for them.

And that brings me the rest of the Heat problems, which is every one except LeBron James. D Wade was aiight in game 1. He drove a little bit and made some plays for himself and others (he had 8 assists). He also missed a ton of jumpshots. Really D Wade shouldn’t even bother with that shit any more,  he’s at Metta World Peace level where every Heat fan cringes when he pulls up for a jumper. Chris Bosh played 31 minutes and hit a few jumpers here and there but took too many threes for my taste. Bosh needs more playing time cuz damn, look at the other options for the Heat. Udonis Haslem fell off last year but he and Eric Spolesta still haven’t realized it. Haslem also decided to compete for the title of worst facial hair/hair combination on the Heat with Mike Miller. Actually Mike Millerlooks kind of normal now that’s his hair grown out a bit. Haslem’s beard or whatever its suppose to be is all over the place. Its disconnected from his hair which already doesn’t work unless you’re bald, then its a strip that connects to his chin hair. His chin hair is grown out too long and he doesn’t have any hair in the mustache area. Then there’s his hair which isn’t that bad it just isn’t his look. Dude needs to go back to braids and shave.  Really though how are you suppose to be the “tough” guy on an NBA team with hair that wack? Admittedly Lebron’s facial hair is also pretty wack ( he just grows out chin hair that isn’t connected to anything. It’s the kind of facial hair white stoner college kids had in 1998) but Lebron is offsetting that by the not only being the heat’s best player but by being their best player at everything. Lebron’s their best scorer, passer, rebounder, AND defender. It’s too much of a load to bear for the MVP and without some help this series is gonna be short.

Actually he looks kind of cool here, like a pirate. I wonder how’d he look with an eye patch?

Lebron had a very good game 1. He didn’t have how jumper falling so he looked to drive more than usual. In the fourth quarter he was overshadowed by Durant and rightfully so. But Lebron scored 7 points and had 2 assists. He was aggressive and missed some shots, shots that he makes sometimes so this wasn’t the case of Lebron choking or whatever stupid people like to say. FOr all of the negatives the Heat were ahead for a lot of game 1. I expect lebron to play better in game 2. I also expect the heat’s defense to play better. Chris Bosh should get better with more minute out there and D Wade has vowed to be more aggressive in game 2. The Thunder also could play better(James Harden)  and I expect game 2 to be as competitive and fun to watch as game 1.

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by labatman24 on June 14, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Basketball, Dwanye Wade, Kevin Durant, Lebron James, NBA FInals, NBA Playoffs, Russell Westbrook, Sports, The Heat, The Thunder, Udonis Haslem
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Posted by labatman24 on June 14, 2012

https://andrew2486.wordpress.com/2012/06/14/nba-finals-thunder-up-for-now/

NBA Finals Preview

The NBA Finals between The Thunder and Miami Heat start tonight. Every one and their Mama is mad excited. I am too. This series has great potential. First we have the OKC Thunder who have rolled up every one including the previously invincible San Antonio Spurs. Kevin Durant is a superstar, but we know that. He has been great the entire postseason. Russell Westbrook has quieted his haters for a minute and is playing some of his best basketball to the point that I wondered if he was the Thunder’s best player during the Laker series (he slowed up a bit against the Spurs but was big in games 5 and 6). James Harden is the best sixth man in the league and the third star for the Thunder. He has hit mad big shots down the stretch against The Spurs and is the best passer on the team. The real development in the series against the Spurs was how the Thunder got their role players involved. Game 4 swung the series and it wouldn’t have been possible without Serge Ibaka going 11-11 from the field and scoring 27 points or Kendrick Perkins going 7-9 for 15 points. The Thunder also got big contributions from Thabo Selfalosha, Derek Fisher, and Daequan Cook. The extra firepower transformed the Thunder to from a great offense team into an unstoppable force. They overwhelmed the Spurs the last four games. Much of the credit has to be given to Scotty Brooks who gave Thabo more minutes and stressed more ball movement for the isolation-happy Thunder. The ball movement freed up the Thunder stars to play a more open game an allowed them to thrive playing together. The Thunder also ran plays involving two more of their stars own the stretch which made them less predictable. The media and fans tend to treat the Thunder’s great play as meaning they have made a leap and this is who they are now. If we were talking only about their great players I’d agree but much of the Thunder’s success against the Spurs rested on dudes hitting shots they don’t usually make (or even attempt).

Also there is the fact that the Thunder haven’t played a defense as good as the Heat yet. The Spurs defense was good but The Heat have one of the best three defenses in the league. The Heat also have LeBron James and as good as Kevin Durant has been, Lebron was the MVP for a reason. He’s the best player in the league and I’d say that it isn’t really that close. Durant has had a lot of clutch moments in these playoffs but Lebron CARRIED the Heat on his back into the Finals. When was the last time Lebron wasnt the best player in a playoff game? Game two of the Celtics series when Rondo went off? Lebron won game 6 against the Celtics by his damn self and kept the Heat in the game in game 7 until Chris Bosh and D Wade got going. Kevin Durant‘s shining moment this postseason came in the aforementioned game 4 of the Spurs series when he went off in the fourth quarter. It was awesome but Kevin hasn’t done that for an entire game this postseason. I’m not talking shit on KD or that great performance but Lebron has been on a different level. Its not an insult to say that Kevin Durant is second best to Lebron. There’s also the possibility that the second best player has the better team and that’s what really matters.

Lebron can win a game or two himself but he’s gonna need help if the Heat are gonna win a championship. Dwayne Wade has been on and off all post-season. The Heat need him on more than off. Chris Bosh has been hurt much of the post season and just had his first quality game after coming back form injury in game 7 going 8-10 from the field and scoring 19 points to finally beat the Celtics. Chris Bosh needs to have a few games like that in the finals. Is he healthy enough? The Heat supporting cast are who they are. Probably not as good as the Thunder’s but not too far away. These teams are evenly matched if we played this series on NBA2k. The Thunder are on a roll and the Heat are beat up, so it makes sense that the Thunder are the favorites. The Thunder rolled the Spurs, Lakers, and Mavericks up. The Heat struggled to get past The Pacers and Celtics. LeBron James has used up a lot of energy to beat the Celtics and Pacers while Kevin Durant has just been chillin and playing Doodle Jump.

My gut says that if Miami can get consistent production from D Wade and Bosh then Lebron will take care of the rest. If the Heat lose Lebron is bound to be questioned and pieced apart like a motherfucker. Nothing new. I’m confident that Lebron will play his ass off. Lebron looks much more comfortable than a year ago, when he had a better team around him. But the adversity he’s faced (real adversity, on the basketball court) in the playoffs this year have allowed him to play his game. No more trying to fit in with D Wade, this is Lebron’s team now. If the rest of the heat can come close to matching Lebron the heat will be champions. I’m not hating on he Thunder at all and I certainly think they can win the title. If both teams are at their best I have Miami in 7. If Miami is still banged up I expect Lebron to make it tough for The Thunder but I’d lean toward the Thunder. Really though I’m just looking forward to an exciting ass series. I really don’t know what the hell to expect.

Note: I changed my mind a little bit after watching the Heat beat the Celtics in game 6 and 7. I’ve been saying that the real NBA Finals were the Western Conference Finals between The Spurs and Thunder. Those were the two best teams because I felt that without Bosh back an playing at  high level the heat would have no chance. Bosh looked good in game seven and I figured I’d be an optimist. We don’t want injuries to settle the NBA Finals.

Another Note: If Kendrick Perkins gets hurt at any point and the Thunder lose do not blame it on Perk’s injury. He sucks.

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by labatman24 on June 12, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Basketball, Dwanye Wade, Kevin Durant, Lebron James, NBA, NBA FInals, NBA Playoffs, Sports, The Heat, The Thunder
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Posted by labatman24 on June 12, 2012

https://andrew2486.wordpress.com/2012/06/12/nba-finals-preview/

Lebron silences His Haters(who don’t matter)

Andrew Upshaw

Lebron James beat the Celtics by himself last night. He dropped 45 points, had 15 boards, and five dimes. He had 30 at the half and the heat had at least a 10 point lead all the way. Dude was unconscious from the floor hitting 19-26. That’s 73% shooting. He made it look easy at times and also hit a bunch of difficult shots, which he also made look easy. Going into the game there was chatter (again!) that Lebron isn’t clutch which Lebron responded to with one of his greatest games ever. The haters and Boston Celtics fans were quieted. For one day. If the Heat lose game 7 Lebron will hear it all over again. These people are stupid and don’t matter. Haters are saying that Lebron’s performance wasn’t truly clutch because it wasn’t a close game or the stakes weren’t high enough. Stupid.

Zach Lowe goes into detail here about Lebron’s Clutchness. He remembers the 2009 conference Finals between the Heat and Magic. Lebron was amazing in that series averaging 40, 10, and 10. No body remembers this because the Cavs lost. The bottom line in the column: sometimes Lebron is clutch, and sometimes he isn’t. Yo, it’s actually true of a lot of great players. Take Kobe for instance. Sometimes Kobe is clutch and sometimes he isn’t. Lebrn failed miserably in the Finals last year. Kobe failed miserably in the Finals in 2004 except no body remembers. That’s what happens when you have five championships. That’s what Lebron is trying to do right now. The best part about game 6 was Lebron’s demeanor. He was all business and didn’t get caught up in any bullshit. Lebron wants to win for his own sake, not for validation from a bunch of stupid people. He knows that if the heat lose in game 7 or in the Finals people will be on his ass. But those people don’t matter to him.

Lebron was amazing in game 6, but we can’t expect him to do that every time. There are some other positives from game 6 for the Heat. As John Hollinger of ESPN writes, The Heat held the Celtics to only 79 points. Unlike earlier in the series they got back on defense and stopped Rajon Rondo from going crazy on them. Chris Bosh played 28 minutes and was rusty again. But Kevin Garnett was only 6-14 form the field and scored only 12 points. Some of that could be Chris bosh because Bosh, unlike the other Heat players is tall enough to bother KG’s shot. Dwayne Wade was a no show for the first half again and when he started playing well in the fourth quarter the Heat ran away with the game. D Wade looked slow for the first three quarters and then got aggressive late. I think were 100% sure he’s not 100%. But did D Wade get better as the game went on or was his performance by design? A part of me thinks he was saving his burst and energy for when it mattered and with Lebron killing it early D Wade rode the wave and waited to aggressive later in the game. In game 7, the Heat would like to get more help for Lebron but I think the defense will be the key and if they can get stops consistently they’ll win game 7.

Against the Thunder, Lebron is gonna need some real help. He may have a game or two that he dominates so severely that the Heat roll easily, but OKC has scores like Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden. People will focus on the math up between Durant and Lebron, but at this point Kevin Durant has more support. And then the real question for the Heat becomes the health of D Wade and Chris Bosh.

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by labatman24 on June 8, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Basketball, Lebron James, NBA, NBA Playoffs, Sports, The Celtics, The Heat
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Posted by labatman24 on June 8, 2012

https://andrew2486.wordpress.com/2012/06/08/lebron-silences-his-haterswho-dont-matter/

The Heat Lose to The Pacers And Every One is Stupid

Andrew Upshaw

The Heat lost to the Pacers in a close-ass game without Chris Bosh. They trailed the Pacers by 9 going into the fourth when LeBron James and Dwayne Wade wade took over and got them right back into it. Down 2 with 15 seconds to go Lebron had the ball at the three-point line and hit D Wade with a pass at the free throw line. D Wade drove to the rim and MISSED a relatively easy lay-up. Now lebron is getting more “he’s not clutch shit” from his detractors as well as all of the old-school motherfuckers who always made sure that every one knew they were the MAN on they team! Shaq and Charles Barkley talked a bit about this on inside the NBA although they weren’t as insufferable as Lebron hater and most of the rest of the media are/and will be. They both essentially felt like Lebron should be taking that shot cuz he’s the best player on the team. Shaq felt like it’s on Lebron to take the shot while Chuck said that it’s on the coach to draw ups play for Lebron.

I say watch the damn clip (It’s at the end).

Dwayne Wade missed a lay-up! It was a clean lay-up too a shot that D Wade makes 9 times out of 10. Why is Lebron even in the discussion? If anyone choked in that situation it was Dwayne Wade! I guess the (stupid) argument is that Lebron had the ball in his hands and he didn’t try to make a move, that he should have been more aggressive. But it not like he passed off to Haslem or Mike Miller or Mario Chalmers, he passed to Dwayne Wade, the second or third (depending on how you feel about Kevin Durant) best player in the NBA! Future hall of famer D Wade, a guy who most conventional NBA fans and writers believe is the closer, killer, clutch ass mother-fucker that Lebron will never be, because he’s too much of a pussy. But you can’t have it both ways. If you believe that Lebron is a soft dude who’s scared you can’t get mad when he passes to the guy who is clutch and isn’t afraid. I’m not a Heat fan or any thing like that but I cannot wait for Lebron the have  clutch moments in the Finals and win his first championship because the Lebrons haters have got to go. There are fair criticisms to make about the man but yo, D Wade blew the lay-up. Blame him. Blame the Heat for being down to the pacers in the first place. Blame Chris Bosh for being hurt. Just don’t try to put all of the weight onto Lebron.

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by labatman24 on May 16, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Basketball, Dwanye Wade, Lebron James, NBA, NBA Playoffs, Pacers, The Heat
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Posted by labatman24 on May 16, 2012

https://andrew2486.wordpress.com/2012/05/16/the-heat-lose-to-the-pacers-and-every-one-is-stupid/