Official 2012 NBA Finals Thread

[CameronCrazy06]

Not to mention Durant was very cold to start the game too.

Yup. I don't think the starting lineup is causing Durant/Westbrook to miss shots. They just need to come out with more energy, it's not the matchup.

 

[elcheato]

Ibaka on Bosh? That's a mismatch in more than one way.

First off, Ibaka isn't a "defensive player of the year" type guy. He's a great shotblocker, a good rebounder, but he'll get caught out of position and over pursues plays (which has also been a problem, Ibaka will leave his man on p&r situations to try and get a block, which isn't his responsibility). He's also not as good of a actual defender as people are led to believe so Bosh vs Ibaka one on one is a mismatch.

Secondly, you still have the same problem you had in games 1 and 2. Ibaka is a rim protector, and Battier would drag him away from the rim. Chris Bosh would still pull Ibaka away from the rim and take away his biggest skill, in a lesser extent obviously. But Chris Bosh isn't a paint player in any sense of the word, which like I said, nullifies Ibakas biggest strength which is protecting the paint by pulling him away from the rim closer to the 3 point line and short corner.

The bigger problem is when DWade and Lebron put their minds to it, nobody on OKC can stay in front of them going to the rim putting OKC's bigs in bad spots. Which I guess is a problem every team has.

Ibaka on Bosh has to happen, because Perkins is an even worse idea. I guess you can put Collison on him, but Scott Brooks isn't going to make a single change to his lineup, let alone 3.

It's better than having Bosh AND Battier pull Ibaka and Perkins away from the rim.

They can't continue to play 2 big men at the same time against the Heat, it's not working.

 

[RipCity32]

If Battier doesn't come out shooting like Reggie Miller to start the first two games, the first quarter is a much closer contest.

 

[elcheato]

He's just hot, and if you're the Thunder, you have to live with that.

Starting James Harden at this point would be absolutely idiotic because they'd have nothing to go to off the bench scoring wise.

The Heat don't have anyone for bench scoring, either and if it's really that big of a concern then just start Fisher with Westbrook, even though he sucks too.

 

[elcheato]

If Battier doesn't come out shooting like Reggie Miller to start the first two games, the first quarter is a much closer contest.

He's not shooting like Reggie Miller. He's shooting like anyone who is given 20 feet of space from a big man camping in the paint.

 

[RipCity32]

I was just looking for a reference of someone who made 3 pointers often lol.

 

[jonathanlambert33]

Ibaka on Bosh has to happen, because Perkins is an even worse idea. I guess you can put Collison on him, but Scott Brooks isn't going to make a single change to his lineup, let alone 3.

It's better than having Bosh AND Battier pull Ibaka and Perkins away from the rim.

They can't continue to play 2 big men at the same time against the Heat, it's not working.

Oh I agree completely, just saying OKC is put in a bad position even though it's really their only option. Fact of the matter is though, defense starts on the perimeter, and they don't have good enough perimeter defends. Durant has turned himself into a good perimeter defender, but you have to be great to match up with Wade and Lebron. Thabo is a quality defender, but he's not a guy to brag about. Westy and Harden are horrible defenders.

Have to wonder if maybe they should just try to play some zone and see how that works out.

 

[CameronCrazy06]

OKC is 44-15 with this starting lineup this season. Why the hell would they switch it....

 

[elcheato]

Westbrook has done a decent enough job on Wade. You could easily put Thabo on LeBron, Westbrook on Wade, Durant on Battier and Harden on Chalmers. A lot better than having Perkins or Ibaka chase Battier around the perimeter.

 

[elcheato]

OKC is 44-15 with this starting lineup this season. Why the hell would they switch it....

This is the exact logic that loses a series. It's called match ups, they didn't beat the Heat 44 times.

 

[Elite]

OKC is 44-15 with this starting lineup this season. Why the hell would they switch it....

Because it's only 2-2 against the Heat

 

[CameronCrazy06]

This is the exact logic that loses a series. It's called match ups, they didn't beat the Heat 44 times.

But why would they mess with what has worked all season long? They didn't lose Game 2 because of matchups, they lost Game 2 because they played terrible in the first half and dug themselves in too deep a hole to get out of.

 

[CameronCrazy06]

Because it's only 2-2 against the Heat

Only?

 

[ZigZag]

Westbrook is a decent defender. If he didn't take risks he'd be a very good defender

 

[Elite]

Only?

The difference between a .500 winning percentage and a .700 winning percentage is significant.

 

[CameronCrazy06]

The difference between a .500 winning percentage and a .700 winning percentage is significant.

Alright then so the Heat should change their lineup because they're only 2-2 against the Thunder.

The point is 2-2 against one of the best teams in the league isn't bad at all.

 

[Yankees2772]

Margin of error for a sample size of 4 is 50%... Please don't compare the 2-2 sample record vs a 59 game sample.

With that said, the Thunder can't change the lineups for a simple factor: emotions. A team with that great a record and that great a run can't afford to essentially exile one of their key contributors just to "shake things up" or "play matchups". It's not FBB, you can't fuck with people's emotions like that and not expect it to impact the outcome.

 

[Elite]

Alright then so the Heat should change their lineup because they're only 2-2 against the Thunder.

The point is 2-2 against one of the best teams in the league isn't bad at all.

The Heat's starting lineup isn't losing the 1st quarter every game

 

[CameronCrazy06]

The point is that that's not because of the matchup, and switching the starting lineup because of it would be overreacting.

The problem is 100% Durant and Westbrook coming out slow.

 

[elcheato]

The Heat scored 29 points in the first quarter in game 1, and 27 in game 2. They've only scored over 25 once in another quarter. Durant and Westbrook haven't had hot starts, but their defense has been bad.