And Harden certainly isn't "un-selfish."

Prediction: Heat take Game 1 in OT and that sets the tone for the series. Heat in 6.

montequi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Prediction: Heat take Game 1 in OT and that sets
> the tone for the series. Heat in 6.


Let the gods of basketball hear you.

Dolphin1423,

I just think the Heat with only 3 players arent going to be able to beat OKC and their 8.

The Heat won against Boston partially because Boston got tired and faded. OKC will not tire, and will not fade.


But I hope our Heat win!!!!!!

---------------------

"When you suck long enough, you get a Hickey"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/11/2012 04:40PM by Aqua&Orange.

Following your post I think you meant "aren't" not "are" going to be able to beat OKC.

@Chyren,

Yes. You are right. I can't ever spell right on my stupid IPhone. Thanks for pointing it out so I can fix it!

---------------------

"When you suck long enough, you get a Hickey"

Actually it is already like that but not with the technology you gonna see in this video...

Example....

1. When you call a company be it the phone cable credit card dont they try to sell you things or especially credit cards where they tell you for a small fee we will protect your account?

2...dont they throw you from one operator to the next..

3. arent the operators confused as how to resolve the problem..

I think this is how the future will be believe it or not...

Everything is going to be by passwords and electronic..

everything almost already is!.

Interesting game one. Thunder got the win because Durant and Westbrook started nailing their mid range jumpers in the second half which opened up the rest of their offense. Durant or Westbrook might be able to do that again but I'd be surprised if they both get that hot at the same time again for an entire half.

Heat need Lebron, Wade, or Bosh to make their mid range jumpers in game two to open up the offense. Still waiting for the real DWade to show up, in fact I've been waiting since the Pacers series. It will be interesting to see how the teams come out in game two now that they have a feel for the faster pace of the game and each others athleticism. Especially the Heat, they have to realize now that their defensive rotations/closeouts must be much quicker because of the athleticism of the Thunder.

Series is always wide open until one team loses on their home floor so don't get too panicked fellow Heat fans, even if OKC takes game two tonight.

dolphin1423 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Series is always wide open until one team loses on
> their home floor so don't get too panicked fellow
> Heat fans, even if OKC takes game two tonight.

In a 2-3-2 series, it's very difficult for the team with the worse record to win 3 games in a row. I know Miami did it in 2006, but I think that's the only time it's ever happened. For Miami to win this series, they really have to try to get Game 2. If not, they're backs will be against the wall (again). On the other hand...they play better when they're under pressure...so..who knows?

This series hinges on D. Wade.

If he continues to play like he has the last 3 games, OKC will win.

---------------------

"When you suck long enough, you get a Hickey"

Aqua&Orange Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This series hinges on D. Wade.
>
> If he continues to play like he has the last 3
> games, OKC will win.

Why is it that Wade and Lebron can't play well together lately? What's up with Wade? He's officially come out and said he's deferring to Lebron and that this is Lebron's team....but this used to be Wade's team. Wade is the one with the ring and the finals MVP trophy. Wade is much better in the clutch than Lebron. But it seems like he's been holding back the last few games. I don't get it.

The Thunder lost tonight because what they failed to realize is that the refs were calling two different games.

I don't mean two different basketball games.

I mean two different games on the same court.

You see on the Heat side of the court when the Heat had the ball, they were refereeing a tennis match. And if there was contact when the Heat had the ball, the Thunder were called for fouls.

However, on the Thunder side of the Court, when the Thunder had the ball, they were refereeing a football game. And since there were no blows to the head, the Heat committed no fouls.

The Heat did what they had to do...steal one of the first 2 games. Now it's a series. It will be tough to win 3 in a row, but it will be good for Miami to be home. Miami dictated the pace, and that's how they need to play to win. It's obvious that for Miami to win they need to build a big lead in the 1st quarter (which they've done in both games so far). Miami lost the other 3 quarters...but still won the game!!

Chren the thunder lost last night because the heat outscored them. That simple...

The thunder had plays go their way and calls go their way as well i saw at least two plays one of them where ibaka clearly hit the ball out of bounce and they gave the ball to the thunder.

Lebron and wade go in sometimes get thrown to the floor and no call.

It goes both ways.

There is just no excuse for the thunder. The heat just outscored them.

BTW on that last foul on durant...Durant should not had even been on the floor since he had fouled out on a clear charge on battier.

I guess fans for different teams see calls AND NON CALLS different ways. It seems to me that an inordinate number of the fouls went in favor of the Heat.

As far as your "outscoring" point, that last non-call you talked about, which on local LA TV (LA has no dog in the fight) Lisa Leslie and Michael Cooper thoroughly agreed that it was an outrageous non-call. That shot would have made it a tie game with 7 seconds for the Heat to score to avoid overtime.

I'm sure the Miami players were told whatever you do, don't foul and that he was trying to get the foul. But the Heat players knew the calls were going their way.

chren if durant gets called on that charge against battier they do not score 2 points on that possesion either.


Like i said calls went bothways.

Well, different fans see it different ways.

In basketball, more than any other sport, calls will be missed. You will never ever see a game officiated more than about 75% correctly. If you can't deal with that then don't watch the NBA. Every team could complain about calls/no calls in every single game.

That being said, sometimes the officiating is awful. As in lopsided or just badly officiated all the way around. However, that really wasn't the case last night. That no call on Durant at the end is pretty standard. Officials are very hesitant to blow their whistle at the end of games. Especially on plays that will decide the game. Besides that type of contact is not called most of the time. There was slight contact on the ground but Durant was able to get in the air and cleanly release a shot.

OKC lost because they started the game terribly and Westbrook played a horrible first half. When Westbrook shoots that much they will probably lose unless he scores 35-40 points (which is kinda rare). Also, OKC got dominated on the boards.

I think this series is over unless Scotty Brooks can figure out that Perkins is not match for Bosh. Perkins can't play so many minutes since he only brings rebounding to the table and he got owned on the boards by the Heat's quicker, more athletic "bigs". OKC needs to go small or play Collison with Ibaka more. I wouldn't be worried about Westbrook if I was an OKC fan, he'll figure it out and won't cost them another game.

Hey iam a true heat fan and i see it like it is......Just like on that change by harden where mario chalmers flopped?

That was a missed call as well.....And it happened right by the second the fans were screaming refs $UCK REFS SUCK...

Iam telling you the heat fans better not start talking shit to the refs either or else expect some calls to go against the heat bigtime.

It's funny, SamSam and I started out disagreeing about the game but at least he said that calls when both ways. 1423, I don't think anyone would agree with you that the officiating was just fine and that wasn't the case last night.

What you say about reluctance to let a foul in the last seconds determine a game is correct but as Michael Cooper pointed out, if it is an obvious foul you've got to call it because a no call in that situation determines a game just as much as a questionable call.

Here, the foul was clear. Even SamSam admits it but says that the Thunder were the beneficiaries of bad calls themselves and that it evens itself out.

And the reason I say that is because he said "there were bad calls both ways." If there were bad calls both ways, then you really can't say that a FINAL bad call cost you the game.

But, as I explain more fully in the next post, to say, "well, if you had done this or that, you would have won anyway," really is a not logically sound position.

I am closer to his position than to yours, 1423.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/15/2012 12:06PM by ChyrenB.

And one can always go back in any game, including the SuperBowl and critique the entire performance of the losing team and say, "if they had done this better or if they had done that better," they would have won despite the foul.

That's always true but does nothing to change the fact that the referees get a paycheck and the job description is "get the calls right" and it is no excuse for them not doing their job to say.....

...... "Yeah but if you guys on the losing team had played like this, you would have won anyway."

Fact remains it was a 2 point game in the closing seconds and the refs blew a call that would have put the game into overtime.

Had the Thunder lost that overtime, then your excellent critique of the entire game would have a real purpose.

Now, we'll just never know.

ChyrenB Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It's funny, SamSam and I started out disagreeing
> about the game but at least he said that calls
> when both ways. 1423, I don't think anyone would
> agree with you that the officiating was just fine
> and that wasn't the case last night.

Didn't mean to say the officiating was fine last night. I was just referring to the one call at end not being a bad call. The contact on that play doesn't get called more often than not. I would say the officiating was about average last night, meaning that there were bad calls both ways but it was at least even. For a finals game, the officiating was sub standard but those are the breaks when your a basketball fan. I get tired of fans of various teams using the officiating as an excuse to explain why their team lost (not saying you do this, just generally). Rarely does a crucial, late game bad call cost a team one game but they play at least four games in a series so it's kind of a pathetic excuse.

> What you say about reluctance to let a foul in the
> last seconds determine a game is correct but as
> Michael Cooper pointed out, if it is an obvious
> foul you've got to call it because a no call in
> that situation determines a game just as much as a
> questionable call.

True, but I just don't think the contact was a big enough reason to call a foul. Durant was still on balance when he rose up to shoot and got off a clean shot. On a game deciding possession, I would only expect a foul call if a player was clearly knocked off balance or contact clearly affected his shooting motion.

> Here, the foul was clear. Even SamSam admits it
> but says that the Thunder were the beneficiaries
> of bad calls themselves and that it evens itself
> out.

Contact was clear but a foul was not. If a foul had been called I think there would just as much backlash the other way. Namely saying that contact like that happens all the time and doesn't get called so why call it on a game deciding possession. I certainly don't think its a clear foul and it's probably called fifty percent of the time at best. I agree that bad calls were pretty even. To put it this way, if LeBron was similarly fouled I would have no qualms with a no call(easy for me to say I know, but still true).

> And the reason I say that is because he said
> "there were bad calls both ways." If there were
> bad calls both ways, then you really can't say
> that a FINAL bad call cost you the game.

Agreed and a good point by him.

> But, as I explain more fully in the next post, to
> say, "well, if you had done this or that, you
> would have won anyway," really is a not logically
> sound position.

I agree with this point you made in your second post. I wasn't trying to say the thunder deserved to lose regardless of the call. My position is more that the no call was not horrible and that the officiating didn't ultimately decide the outcome of this game.

> I am closer to his position than to yours, 1423.

I understand, we will just have to agree to disagree.

Gonna miss the first half tonight because of being taken to dinner.

ChyrenB Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Gonna miss the first half tonight because of being
> taken to dinner.

You missed a good one!

Monte and chren did you see the hit on bosh that didnt get called?

Iam telling you it goes both ways man.

And i do not blame the refs for some calls either...Its 3 refs right?

And the 3 gotta call fouls for 10 players.....Its a very hard job to do.

I haven't complained about the refs at all. They have a really tough job. After watching the NBA for over 20 years, I've realized that an NBA ref's role is to call the game FAIR...not PERFECT. Refs miss calls...and make up those with bad calls on the other side. They deny it, but I've seen it happen...and it balances out the game.

Pat Riley is also well aware of this, which is why you don't see the Heat players or coaches making a huge deal when calls aren't made. They may complain a little but no techs (as opposed to the OKC coach..who lost it on a call that was reversed anyway!!).

To change the subject, how does everyone feel about the Heat's chances now? I think there's a real possibility that Miami will be celebrating their championship on their home floor (i.e. after winning games 4 and 5).