IMO, Bulls NEED to win at least one in Miami to show they can win on the road and show the toughness needed to win an NBA championship. Losing one at home means you NEED to get it back quick, if not the momentum definitely shifts heavily to the Heat's side.
They're smothering the feeders as expected and KD is being really aggressive. Hold on to your hats folks! Who's gonna wilt under the pressure?!!!! The winner of this game is gonna walk away with one heck of a psychological edge.
Absolutely. The X-men. Like Leon Powe in Game 2 in the '08 Finals. And Barea in Game 4 against LAL. You can't stop them. They seem possessed, at least for that game alone. Coach Rick has to go back to the drawing board like what Coach Thibs is doing now. Pondering on what to do to stop these sort of bench players, and CREATING their own X-men. I do not even know a guard called Maynor existed in the NBA prior to tonight. And the guy is now on the map of scouts and GMs.
These Game 2 wins by Miami and OKC show that a team cannot live on outside shots all the time. A 7 game series can be gruelling but it provides the chance for the losing team to adjust and re-map on the next game. Somehow, James and Wade are the players that has been consistently scoring in these playoffs, not high scoring, but scoring when it's needed, something MJ and Kobe did in those championship runs. Dirk could not convert in the key shots to spark a rally in the last few minutes, but James did yesterday - the mark of a gritty player.
These Game 2 wins by Miami and OKC show that a team cannot live on outside shots all the time. A 7 game series can be gruelling but it provides the chance for the losing team to adjust and re-map on the next game. Somehow, James and Wade are the players that has been consistently scoring in these playoffs, not high scoring, but scoring when it's needed, something MJ and Kobe did in those championship runs. Dirk could not convert in the key shots to spark a rally in the last few minutes, but James did yesterday - the mark to a gritty player.
+1 ... To me that is the main weakness of Dallas .. If they were to win .. I don't see how they would beat Miami or Chicago in a 7 games series Both teams have excellent defenses .. A little premature but looks very much like a Miami vs OKC to me , something I would have never thought of in eons
Funny too that these last 2 Games 2's had the trailing teams (Chicago and Dallas) trying to catch up by means of taking low percentage outside shots. Rose threw a couple of long airballs, Dirk missed a couple of tight jumpshots, Terry, Kidd and Peja missed long shots. Whatever happened to high percentage inside drives and penetration and short stabs? Dallas lost game 6 to Miami in '06 in this same fashion - choking when it counted most. And we saw them do it again tonight. Rick had to set up better plays for crunch time. Game 3 or 4 is mandatory for Chicago and Dallas to win if they are to set the pace in the series. The momentum seems tilted to Miami and OKC in the meantime.
Teams that rely on Jumpshot usually don't win championships .. Dallas interior game is to me suspect .. Chicago however does have an interior game with Rose penetration , Deng and these days more and more Noah ... They also have one hell of a coach with Thibodeau who understands defense and discipline.. Miami does have Lebron and Wade and Bosh ...but their center are average, hardly offensive or defensive interior threat ... One really can't tell just yet whose going to win ... It can go either way..
Teams that rely on Jumpshot usually don't win championships .. Dallas interior game is to me suspect .. Chicago however does have an interior game with Rose penetration , Deng and these days more and more Noah ... They also have one hell of a coach with Thibodeau who understands defense and discipline.. Miami does have Lebron and Wade and Bosh ...but their center are average, hardly offensive or defensive interior threat ... One really can't tell just yet whose going to win ... It can go either way..
It's hard enough to predict the winners of each remaining game! These are classic coaching series'. We've got 2 chess matches going on. I'm seriously loving it.
Dallas gets back on track, retaking home court advantage with a solid game. Let's see if Chicago and take back home court immediately tomorrow. The Bulls have to come out blazing in the first few minutes to set momentum the way Dallas did today.
"Jerry West, one of the most respected executives in NBA history, has agreed to join the Warriors front office in a non-decision-making, advisory role, multiple NBA sources confirmed tonight."
Very interesting move by the Warriors. Now we wonder what it means to be in the front office in a non-decision-making role. Maybe to be a top brass scout? But whatever he does, I believe it will help the Warriors future.
Miami is playing very tough defense. I've never seen Rose challenged and denied so much in his drive in penetrations till now. Also, interesting a clip showing during the Heat practice, Pat Riley sitting with a laptop in a table, giving some directives to Spoelstra. Hmmm. Riley is so involved in this.
The Bulls need to win Game 4. As depressing as this loss tonight is to them, they're actually only a game away from regaining their home court advantage. Game 4 is do-or-die for Chicago. At this point, will all the talk about the Bulls having the league's number 1 defense, it is Miami that is playing an elevated level of defense - virtually each shot is challenged and blocked, and Rose always runs into a brick wall, as they keep saying. Coach Thibs has to find a way around this to created better offense than what they had been playing. They need this offense to keep up with Miami, who is having a very fluid offense themselves so far.
