Bubble Talk

RosalieTCeltics wrote:Is this serious?  How foolish can fans get?  I am laughing here at the expression on LB's face!!!!!!!!!!  Maybe he has been watching Rondo too much, he is the only one who could possibly get away with a pass like this!!!

Rosalie,

If you look at the video, it wasn't even a nice, soft laydown pass.  It was high and hard, that LBJ had no shot at.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1312204517945925632


bob


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LeBron just walked away, didn't even help him up. Oh well, he was excited, I guess!!!

Looking ahead at the scheduling, the only thing that could really throw a wrench into the coronation plans for ESPN and the Lakers would be the slim and none (with the emphasis on none) chance that MIA wins tonight's game and LA has to sit there for 72 hours and be bombarded by the press and everyone in the bubble answering annoying questions about how the wheels have come off the wagon.  

I just don't think coach Spo is going to go down quietly.  Frank Vogel is in what I call the Norm Sloan coaching position.  Norm Sloan was the coach of the NC State Wolfpack back in 1974.  Everyone is Raleigh and across the country except at UCLA (with Bill Walton, who surprisingly in all my days does not say much about 1974 in all his rhetoric) believed NC State was going to be the national champions.  Norm Sloan was highly respected but many would always say jokingly, "Well, I could have coached that team to a national championship!"  

Now, yes, there is no truth in that but to put that in perspective and in another way, Vogel would have to do/not do an awful lot to screw up anything less than a championship this year.

Spo is the puppet master.  Pretty sure he's a far better coach than Vogel and if there ever was a "collaborative" effort for a coach in the league, I'm pretty sure Lebron has spoken up maybe just a few times and told Vogel about his past experiences in winning championships.  Since this is AD's first trip, he's letting Lebron do all the talking.

Anyway, none of this is going to matter after tonight because it will be 3-1.  Dwayne Wade isn't walking through that door and bringing the Heat back from 0-2 for another MIA championship.

db

Lakers with lackluster effort then putting enough effort in at 4th to pull it out. Both these teams would get killed by 86 Celtics. Lebron and AD can take a whole first half off and turn it on to beat this Heat team. The relentless nature and attack/beast mode of that 86 team would overpower either of these teams.

Brian Robb @BrianTRobb
about 8 hours ago
Robert Williams led the NBA in FG percentage (min: 20 FGA) during the seeding games (84 percent) and playoffs (74 percent) in the Orlando bubble


Bob


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I just wish the kid would have more stamina, seems he gets lost out there at times. I love the kid. I said at the beginning of the year when Boston beat Milwaukee here in Boston that I thought he might be a starter by Jan/Feb. Then Theis played so terrific that there was no way he was getting in there and then he got hurt. That is the big question about him, can he play a full season??

By the way, It sounds like Wanny has woken up the league to his skills. They have him all over the place, one being LALakers. Interesting, think Danny will just let him go or try some way to keep him?

RosalieTCeltics wrote:By the way, It sounds like Wanny has woken up the league to his skills. They have him all over the place, one being LALakers. Interesting, think Danny will just let him go or try some way to keep him?

Rosalie,

He's a RFA.  Danny can extend a Qualifying Offer of about $1.4M and retain control of him.


Bob


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Really, Bleacher Report had him as a guy who would be of interest to many teams, it made it seem like he was a FA. I know that Theis is ours still.

So who will be gone???

Another master class by Jimmy and the non all stars on winning basketball. Reply, rebut, ignore, gas light — but no denying the Heat were and are the far better team than the Celtics. The Heat are playing like I expect a Celtics team to play. LeBron was a beast but now Davis is hobbling. No quit from Jimmy and the non all stars.

Jimmy Butler has been out of his mind this series, I didn’t think he was this good, has a knack for scoring in traffic, he plays hard and unselfish, goes right at Lebron. Fearless, what a mistake for Sixers not being able to keep him.

Tyler Herro still hasn’t had a breakout 30plus game yet and Spolstra always shows new looks every game. Heat have a chance, especially if AD is not right.

As good as this series seems to be, move along everyone because there is nothing to see here until G6. Heat still have no "Save Me" chips. Plus they don't have LeBron.

This game was interesting in that it disproved the Charles Barkley theory about for LAL to win, Only LeBron and AD have to have 4 great games and they will win.

This leaves the door only slightly cracked now that was originally slammed shut, triple locked and cemented closed in that if AD or Lebron don't have a great game Sunday, the Heat have another chance at the grand prize and forcing a G7. Clearly the LAL bench was AWOL, and they still had a shot at the end to go ahead at least.

The only way this long drawn out series gets interesting is with a Heat win tomorrow. LAL is in slightly new territory with now having lost two out of the last 3 games. But other than that, it's business as usual. Expect the same old we didn't come out aggressive as we needed to coach/playerspeak and expect better next game.

Obviously if MIA wins G6, all bets are off and you can probably remove the purple and gold balloons and confetti from the rafters...at least temporarily. ESPN has had them up there since the beginning of the regular season ending/playoffs in the bubble.

Looks like the Black Mamba Jerseys didn't exactly deliver their magic either. Should have worn them the whole time. Kobe would have.

But this is Lebron's team, not Kobe's. He'll win it his way. But he better snuff out the smoldering fire that is quickly approaching the gas station sooner rather than later. This would be far worse and more devastating than what Final's Jerry West had to endure through all the 60's if things don't go like ESPN has bet the farm on.

As I said, though, move along, nothing to see here. Call me after G6.

db

Hi,
It looks like MIA is the best team in the Bubble. It's just the shear fire power of LAL that ultimately will bring the victory to the latter.
I would send Brad as understudy to Spoelstra to find out what and how he did to make his team to beat 2 "better" teams and still standing and fighting against the 3rd much more powerful team.

AK

The Lakers bench was dreadful last night. They shot 5-22 and had 7 turnovers.
Jimmy and LeBron pretty much canceled each other out.
Two incredible games by studs who step up when the pressure is on.
AD and D. Robinson were very good.
The Lakers need to stop running into 3 point shooters.
I thought the Lakers would miss Avery Bradley against Lillard, McCollum, Harden, Westbrook and Murray. They didn’t miss Avery against those guys. This is the series the Lakers miss him. Miami’s great shooters constantly come over a screen or double screen. Avery is the Lakers best defender when getting through screens.
Last nights game was the most stressful for me since Game 7 of the 2010 Finals.
I am confident that LeBron and AD can replicate their game 5 performances. If LA gets decent bench help they can close the series out.
Man, Miami is scrappy and good.
They will be a handful next year too.

bobheckler wrote:

RosalieTCeltics wrote:By the way, It sounds like Wanny has woken up the league to his skills. They have him all over the place, one being LALakers. Interesting, think Danny will just let him go or try some way to keep him?

Rosalie,

He's a RFA.  Danny can extend a Qualifying Offer of about $1.4M and retain control of him.


Bob


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The QA is a starting point. I think he will get an offer more in the $2.5-$3 mill range (2 year deal) I think Boston should Draft a high end PG now but I would still keep Wanny for the time being.

I guess I am the only one really concerned about Walker. My evaluation goes back to just before they shut down in March. Kemba was having knee issues. He had from March to July to get back to normal and his knee did not respond well after 4 months. He had some really good games during the playoffs but you could see that he was really struggling to create separation in order to free up his shot. On defense he just could not stay with his man which created a domino effect. Because Kemba is an undersized PG the one thing that has made him special is his elite speed and quickness. Take that away and he is much less impactful.

tjmakz wrote:The Lakers bench was dreadful last night. They shot 5-22 and had 7 turnovers.
Jimmy and LeBron pretty much canceled each other out.
Two incredible games by studs who step up when the pressure is on.
AD and D. Robinson were very good.
The Lakers need to stop running into 3 point shooters.
I thought the Lakers would miss Avery Bradley against Lillard, McCollum, Harden, Westbrook and Murray. They didn’t miss Avery against those guys. This is the series the Lakers miss him. Miami’s great shooters constantly come over a screen or double screen. Avery is the Lakers best defender when getting through screens.
Last nights game was the most stressful for me since Game 7 of the 2010 Finals.
I am confident that LeBron and AD can replicate their game 5 performances. If LA gets decent bench help they can close the series out.
Man, Miami is scrappy and good.
They will be a handful next year too.

It sure looked like AD was limping quick a bit last night. His availability for game 6 is the key for LA. Also the game last night revealed what we already know. Dwight Howard is an idiot and Morris is a dim light in the socket.

Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
yesterday
Spo on his role players: "They're like sticks of dynamite and they can go off at any time."


Bob
MY NOTE:  This is our weakness, obviously.  We don't have a player that is a stick of dynamite.  Carsen Edwards was supposed to be but he turned into a pumpkin as soon as the regular season started and players started to play defense on him.  Man-to-man defense has become a bit passe as zones and swarming have taken over due to the transition towards raptor-like aggressors and away from T-Rex's.  The way to break a zone is with movement and outside shooting.  Draw-and-kick.  We need shooters off the bench, we all know this.  Danny must make this the #1 priority heading into next season.  We can survive with Theis, Kanter and RWill at center, a 3-headed monster, because of the quality of the rest of our starting unit but we need sticks of dynamite coming off the bench for when they need to sit.  Spo has multiple such players, Brad had none.


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bobheckler wrote:Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
yesterday
Spo on his role players: "They're like sticks of dynamite and they can go off at any time."


Bob
MY NOTE:  This is our weakness, obviously.  We don't have a player that is a stick of dynamite.  Carsen Edwards was supposed to be but he turned into a pumpkin as soon as the regular season started and players started to play defense on him.  Man-to-man defense has become a bit passe as zones and swarming have taken over due to the transition towards raptor-like aggressors and away from T-Rex's.  The way to break a zone is with movement and outside shooting.  Draw-and-kick.  We need shooters off the bench, we all know this.  Danny must make this the #1 priority heading into next season.  We can survive with Theis, Kanter and RWill at center, a 3-headed monster, because of the quality of the rest of our starting unit but we need sticks of dynamite coming off the bench for when they need to sit.  Spo has multiple such players, Brad had none.


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The Heat are a well coached disciplined team and the Celtics are not. The Heat have a balanced attack 1-5 and the Celtics do not.

Danny put this team together and all he does is make lame excuses. He never upgraded the 5, he over paid for a PG and he neglected to strengthen his bench, He squandered the draft and added 7 rookies to an NBA team. No one does that. Danny has been fiddling and diddling with this team since the Big Nets trade. Coach Stevens is a good coach but he lacks the ability to instill discipline in his teams.

dboss,

Howard is def along for the ride. But I agree with your assessment!

db

Also, MIA is going to have to find a way to get past the Butler heroic game(s) and winning the next game. If Butler leaves it all on the floor as he did in G3 and losing G4, G5's effort will be for naught when G6 rolls around, again with only one day off. MIA won G5 with the 2 days off as well.

All-in on the Lakers.

db

I have been begging for three years for a guy to come off the bench, play his minutes, whatever they are, and hit shots. No complaints about time, because if he is hitting, he will get his playing time. We have lacked this for years. That is the main and only reason I would have taken a shot with IT at the deadline, or at least going into the bubble. What's the big deal? Cutting or inactivating a player?? So what? Take Edwards or Waters off the bench, they were not going to play any way. Hurt feelings? Hey, you had a shot, it did not work this year, bring in a shooter.
Now I read that he had a hip procedure and is feeling great, so maybe it is a good thing for him. I hope he gets the shot he deserves next season.
I know we need someone at the center position, someone mobile, not a Drummond for sure.

I will end this with an eating of my words: Jimmy Butler has proved to me that he is one quality player, willing to put it all out there and WIN. I have been critical of him in the past, but he has proved to me that he is one hell of a ballplayer. I hope he helps throw a wrench in the balloon party. The poor guy could barely walk after last nights game, 35 pts, 12 rb, 11 asists. What a line. He is the MVP of these playoffs, go ahead Jimmy, really piss LBJ off and win it all.

The Celtics were deep last year but brad could not get KI to buy in.   Brad did not know how to coach that team.  He buried Jaylen on the bench.  It was a really poor decision.  

Having a bench is needed but a coach needs to know how to use them to maximize their productivity.

Boy you are really down on Brad. Not sure I can agree with all you say, he does need to improve, but I am not selling him down the river.

Where's Eddie House when we need him?!!

That's who we need. Just 15-20 points per game you can count on game in, game out.

db

Pat Riley is a better GM than Danny. Spo is a better coach than Brad. Jimmy B is a better player with a greater will to win than any Celtic on our roster today although his window is closing as Jayson and Jaylen develop.
The Heat team is more disciplined than ours, and when they played us they were healthier than the C's. That in a nutshell is my diagnosis.

One thing I can't figure out is why RWill gets fewer minutes than GWill, and don't point to Grant's D, please.