Was it ever really that close, this series?
I mean, when I watched in the first game, I thought, we're just outright better than them.
I asked this here earlier in the year - I think it was pre Hart- are we a bad good team or a good bad team?
And it was a bad good team because Hart immediately allowed us to stop being a bad good team and now we're a really good team.
Now - the worst news I got last night was no more MSG broadcasts of the games!
we outplayed and outcoached them on both ends of the floor.
Thibs pushed all the right buttons. Bickerstaff didnt change anything but move Levert/Okoro around. They were getting murdered on the boards EVERY game. We never saw Lopez once in the series. Not once. How do you not send him out there and just say "smash some bodies for 5 minutes"
fishmike wrote:we outplayed and outcoached them on both ends of the floor.Thibs pushed all the right buttons. Bickerstaff didnt change anything but move Levert/Okoro around. They were getting murdered on the boards EVERY game. We never saw Lopez once in the series. Not once. How do you not send him out there and just say "smash some bodies for 5 minutes"
I think our players have chemistry and a will to win, and that seemed missing with the Cavs. Mitchell is the better NBA talent, but he was invisible. He never even threatened to take over a game like a Kobe or MJ.
franco12 wrote:fishmike wrote:we outplayed and outcoached them on both ends of the floor.Thibs pushed all the right buttons. Bickerstaff didnt change anything but move Levert/Okoro around. They were getting murdered on the boards EVERY game. We never saw Lopez once in the series. Not once. How do you not send him out there and just say "smash some bodies for 5 minutes"
I think our players have chemistry and a will to win, and that seemed missing with the Cavs. Mitchell is the better NBA talent, but he was invisible. He never even threatened to take over a game like a Kobe or MJ.
In a way, Ainge was vindicated. Brunson outplayed Mitchell in the playoffs, when they were in the West. It might have played a role in Ainge wanting to move DM, given his stats and age.
Now Brunson outplayed Mitchell in the East. NBA fans were wondering why DM wasnt in Ainge's rebuilding plans. The playoffs might be the answer.
Somehow every game felt stressful. 12 point leads with 2 minutes left just wasn't relaxing. Honestly, if our shooters could hit shots in the first half, most of the games would not have been close. Having said that, the moment is clearly not too big for the team or Thibs.
GustavBahler wrote:franco12 wrote:fishmike wrote:we outplayed and outcoached them on both ends of the floor.Thibs pushed all the right buttons. Bickerstaff didnt change anything but move Levert/Okoro around. They were getting murdered on the boards EVERY game. We never saw Lopez once in the series. Not once. How do you not send him out there and just say "smash some bodies for 5 minutes"
I think our players have chemistry and a will to win, and that seemed missing with the Cavs. Mitchell is the better NBA talent, but he was invisible. He never even threatened to take over a game like a Kobe or MJ.
In a way, Ainge was vindicated. Brunson outplayed Mitchell in the playoffs, when they were in the West. It might have played a role in Ainge wanting to move DM, given his stats and age.
Now Brunson outplayed Mitchell in the East. NBA fans were wondering why DM wasnt in Ainge's rebuilding plans. The playoffs might be the answer.
I can get behind this thinking
Lots of fans claim "regular season doesn't matter".
But it does.
Cleveland might've been 31-10 @ home heading into the Playoffs but Cleveland had an ATROCIOUS Road Record this year.
And Cleveland's atrocious Road Record appeared it's ugly head come Postseason Play while going 0-2 @ NYC in MSG.
Now the KNICKS?!?!?
Throughout the entire Regular Season we've called ourselves ROAD WARRIORS.
And that ROAD WARRIOR Mentality showed up come Postseason Play. Not only 2-1 @ Cleveland but also showed KILLER INSTINCT by ELIMINATING Cleveland on the Road @ CLEVELAND.
Couldn't be more proud/excited for this team moving forward.
nycdan wrote:Somehow every game felt stressful. 12 point leads with 2 minutes left just wasn't relaxing. Honestly, if our shooters could hit shots in the first half, most of the games would not have been close. Having said that, the moment is clearly not too big for the team or Thibs.
I kind of felt a certain way about those situations. I thought the Cavs gave up to early in games like those. I expected sphincter tightening free throw contests. I got each team running out the shot clock with anything over 48 seconds left.
franco12 wrote:Was it ever really that close, this series?I mean, when I watched in the first game, I thought, we're just outright better than them.
I asked this here earlier in the year - I think it was pre Hart- are we a bad good team or a good bad team?
And it was a bad good team because Hart immediately allowed us to stop being a bad good team and now we're a really good team.
Now - the worst news I got last night was no more MSG broadcasts of the games!
It was clear we were the better team. The problem is this roster can't shoot worth a damn. If they don't shoot better they won't beat Miami. Miami isn't going to get beat for every single 50/50 ball. The Cavs were weak sauce man.
Match ups matter. We were a tough one for them. They won 51 games and was a better team by record.
They could not counter what we gave them and what we had enabled to expose their weaknesses.
Bucks were a better team than Miami but similarly they got beaten via matchup. At the end of the day call it what you want. The better teams wins but what made them better matters.
Records dictate we are the better team vs. Miami. We have depth too! Its not that talent that always makes the difference, its the match up. Miami might beat us badly. Not what I’d expect.
The Computers and predictions don’t always tell the story. Its why they play the games.
Nalod wrote:Match ups matter. We were a tough one for them. They won 51 games and was a better team by record.
They could not counter what we gave them and what we had enabled to expose their weaknesses. Bucks were a better team than Miami but similarly they got beaten via matchup. At the end of the day call it what you want. The better teams wins but what made them better matters.
Records dictate we are the better team vs. Miami. We have depth too! Its not that talent that always makes the difference, its the match up. Miami might beat us badly. Not what I’d expect.
The Computers and predictions don’t always tell the story. Its why they play the games.
Injuries are part of the game, but if Giannis didn't take his hard fall in game 1, I think the Bucks would have pulled it off. Losing Giannis for 2.5 games was rough for their chemistry and a big drain on their team talent-wise. Kudos to the Heat for capitalizing on his absence and taking advantage of him at less than 100% when he returned.
I don't expect the Heat to beat us up. I think we're in about as good a place as can be given our injuries to Randle/Grimes. It's been a team effort up and down the lineup for us, so that makes us a very tough opponent. They certainly can gear up on stopping Brunson, but that will leave others with a little more breathing room to do damage.
technomaster wrote:Nalod wrote:Match ups matter. We were a tough one for them. They won 51 games and was a better team by record.
They could not counter what we gave them and what we had enabled to expose their weaknesses. Bucks were a better team than Miami but similarly they got beaten via matchup. At the end of the day call it what you want. The better teams wins but what made them better matters.
Records dictate we are the better team vs. Miami. We have depth too! Its not that talent that always makes the difference, its the match up. Miami might beat us badly. Not what I’d expect.
The Computers and predictions don’t always tell the story. Its why they play the games.
Injuries are part of the game, but if Giannis didn't take his hard fall in game 1, I think the Bucks would have pulled it off. Losing Giannis for 2.5 games was rough for their chemistry and a big drain on their team talent-wise. Kudos to the Heat for capitalizing on his absence and taking advantage of him at less than 100% when he returned.
I don't expect the Heat to beat us up. I think we're in about as good a place as can be given our injuries to Randle/Grimes. It's been a team effort up and down the lineup for us, so that makes us a very tough opponent. They certainly can gear up on stopping Brunson, but that will leave others with a little more breathing room to do damage.
How do you figure? We haven't seen Ju play yet. Are you forgetting he was completely out of the flow for the first 4 games of the last series following his prior injury? Personally, I'd be more confident if Randle was at full strength.
