COY is mostly a joke, without checking I don't think Riley ever won the award either, the other coaches around the league know who the top tier coaches are, and they'll have Spo atop the listI'm trying to reconcile how Byron Scott has won Coach of the Year but Spo never.
At least Boston made some game 7 history last night, as the Bruins and Celtics became the first hockey and basketball teams to lose game 7s in the same season.
Even though the road now ends, the price is way too high.Miami is a very interesting team. They adapt to any style. Bucks had rim protectors, Knicks were physical, and Boston athletic....they beat
them all, yet very little respect in the marketplace again.
I have this weird feeling that Bos makes history.
The NBA is about matchups and I believe that every other team the Nuggets have played match up better than the Heat does.Celtics and Bucks superior to Nuggets. Try again, Ruca.
Ruca, while I agree the Nuggets win the series, you can't look at matchups, on paper the Heat didn't matchup against the Bucks, Knicks, or Celtics. The Heat don't have a roster full of stars, they have one great player along with a bunch of role players, guys like Vincent, Martin, Strus, Duncan, and Highsmith don't wow you with their play, but they all play their assigned roles, they also play solid team defense and their coach is the best in the league, with the Heat, their whole is greater than the sum of their parts, they're a bunch of no named, hard working, physically tough, mentally tough, guys who play the game the right way, they're an easy team to underestimate given the names on their roster, so while I expect a Denver win, I don't think it comes as easy as you thinkThe NBA is about matchups and I believe that every other team the Nuggets have played match up better than the Heat does.
I think game 1 will be the largest scoring discrepancy of them all.The Heat has been winning on the road. That ain't happening in Denver. Albeit, they're a little vulnerable tomorrow with the
long layoff. I don't believe DEN has lost at home in the playoffs.
I've done a deep dive like I do every series. The makeup of each team is very similar one star and a bunch of role players. You could easily argue 2 of the 3 best players are on the Heat but the next 5 best players all play for the Nuggets. Denver crushes zone defenses (I think they've scored on every possession in the playoffs). Butler avg 11.9 points per 100 possessions with AG guarding him the next best player in the league was over 17. Nuggets 6-0 in their last 6 meetings. I mean I'm just being honest here not trying to shit on the Heat what they've done to get here is beyond impressive but I was more worried about Minnesota than I am Miami. Like I said I'm sure Celtics fans thought the same thing and of coarse I've been wrong way to many times to count but I just don't see it here.Ruca, while I agree the Nuggets win the series, you can't look at matchups, on paper the Heat didn't matchup against the Bucks, Knicks, or Celtics. The Heat don't have a roster full of stars, they have one great player along with a bunch of role players, guys like Vincent, Martin, Strus, Duncan, and Highsmith don't wow you with their play, but they all play their assigned roles, they also play solid team defense and their coach is the best in the league, with the Heat, their whole is greater than the sum of their parts, they're a bunch of no named, hard working, physically tough, mentally tough, guys who play the game the right way, they're an easy team to underestimate given the names on their roster, so while I expect a Denver win, I don't think it comes as easy as you think
▪ Heat owner Micky Arison tweeted “Three Percent” after the game — a reference to ESPN’s analytics department giving Miami only a 3 percent chance to win the series. ESPN’s analytics department gives the Heat an 11.3 percent chance to beat Denver in the NBA Finals.
In last year's finals between the Celtics and Warriors, they had the Celtics winning the series at a crazy high percentage, can't recall the exact numbers, but it made no sense, and they were wrong againESPN needs to overhaul their analytics dept. How often have we heard "team A only had a 1% chance to win the game? And they go on to win.
This could be one of the major factors in the series, the Heat play zone as much or more than any team in the playoffs, and they've had great success with it, the problem is, like you alluded to, the Nuggets are good at beating the zone, it's due to Jokic's ability to always find the open man, the Celtics couldn't figure it out, but having a big man who can pass the ball at an elite level is key to beating a zone. I think what the Heat will try to do defensively is allow Jokic be a scorer, but limit him as a playmaker, no one in the league can stop him, or even contain him, but to have a chance, I think the Heat need to single cover him and not allow him to pick their D apart, which is what will happen if they double him, they need Jokic to be more of a scorer and less of a facilitator to have a shotDenver crushes zone defenses
Funny you mention him, in Eddie's timeline LeBron was the name others mentioned, but you're right, LeBron's best years were spent with Miami, his career numbers in Miami, Cleveland, and LA are similar except when it comes to shooting, his most efficient shooting came during his time in MiamiNot Lebron.