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LedZep
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- #161
- Posted: 09/30/2020 05:08
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| AfterHours wrote: | | LedZep wrote: | | AfterHours wrote: | Lakers over Miami in 5
Lebron James Finals MVP |
Hot take lol
Here's my hot take: Heat in 6. (That's not gonna happen unfortunately) |
Apologies for the logic  |
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AfterHours
Gender: Male
Location: originally from scaruffi.com ;-)
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- #162
- Posted: 09/30/2020 18:54
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Okay, final Finals pick...
Lakers over Miami in 6
After more thought Ive (perhaps regrettably) talked myself into thinking Miami will take a 2nd game. My thinking is they have enough 3 pt shooting, depth and capable enough defenders of the Lakers best players (Butler, Igoudala, Abedayo...), plus their relentless and fearless effort (Im 50/50 on it but Im leaning towards it in the hopes of an exciting Finals). Theyre kind of a somewhat less talented version of the Clippers (Bam Abedayo being the most different parallel between them). However theyre better coached and more disciplined; very good at playing to their potential consistently whereas the Clippers played below it for half the season and most of the playoffs (partially due to players being in and out of the lineup; partially due to mediocre coaching and not fitting the pieces together very cohesively; partially due to 'prima donna' attitudes).
This could be a very interesting series but in the end Lebron and Davis will be too much to overcome (and this will become increasingly evident as the series wears on and the Heat are at a loss for answers). Plus a reliable but revolving door for a 3rd and 4th guy always showing up, whether Howard and/or Rondo and/or Kuzma and/or Green and/or Morris and/or Caruso... Lakers depth is quite underrated btw. Remember thats without Bradley and also the not implausible reach that Caldwell Pope and even McGee are capable of breakout games at times. Howard and Rondo are not just run of the mill role players but 1 is a prior superstar who can still approach that dominance in spurts (so long as he isnt too foul prone) and Rondo is very high IQ and still outstanding defensive player and playmaker and surprisingly solid 3 pt shooter, plus he can still fly to the basket from a wing-angle out of no where. Howard also becomes semi unguardable when you have to focus all your attention on Davis ... and Lebron (who shoots an insane percentage on drives). Golden State has kind of tricked us into thinking you need 2 superstars and 2 all stars whereas most great teams before them usually had 1 superstar and 1 high end all star and 1 near or occasional or past all star plus a bunch of solid to excellent pieces that were very diversified.
Lebron will be Finals MVP and there will definitely be a speech and dedication to Kobe. He will avg a triple dbl or close, something on the order of 27 pts, 12 assists and 8-9 rebounds. Davis will threaten MVP but, if Howard is in the lineup consistently, probably wont get enough rebounds to solidfy his case even if he avgs around 30 pts.
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mickilennial
The Most Trusted Name in News
Gender: Female
Age: 35
Location: Detroit
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- #163
- Posted: 09/30/2020 19:20
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best case scenario for the Miami Heat is they turn into the 2004 Detroit Pistons
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19loveless91
mag. druž. inf
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- #164
- Posted: 10/01/2020 03:48
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Welp, it was always going to be tough for Miami, but when your three best players get injured, one likely done for the season... this may end up being a pretty boring finals series.
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mickilennial
The Most Trusted Name in News
Gender: Female
Age: 35
Location: Detroit
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- #165
- Posted: 10/01/2020 13:30
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yeah may as well call it now for good
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LedZep
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- #166
- Posted: 10/01/2020 14:54
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Beside that, even if no one was injured there was no way that Heat were beating the Lakers tonight. Apart from garbage time, they shot over 55% from the field and over 57% from the three and 100% from the free throw line.. Hornets would’ve won with those percentages...
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AfterHours
Gender: Male
Location: originally from scaruffi.com ;-)
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- #167
- Posted: 10/01/2020 16:04
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| AfterHours wrote: | | Lakers are the best passing team in the league (and perhaps since the 2014 Spurs) and they're going to tear Miami's zone apart. By 3 games in I expect Miami's defense to be in a bit of panic (they won't necessarily look panicked but they will be struggling for solutions, hoping for misses). If Miami wants a chance at getting to 7, they must must must take the first game, before Lebron (and Vogel) is settled in and has them figured out. |
Yikes. Maybe I shouldve said "by 3 quarters in"?
We may be overreacting after 1 game but its hard not to think Miami looks even more overmatched than the most optimistic Lakers projections. After 23 - 10 the Lakers (led by the bench and then emotionally by Lebron once Crowder started mucking it up with him) basically said "F_ck this, if they want to try getting physical with us, let's hit back and run them off the damn floor". I knew the sense of inspiration and vengance would be there but that Lakers team from the mid 1st quarter through the 3rd is terrifyingly great (and is an example of what I think wouldve happened to the Clippers sooner or later). It's pretty much game over when Lebron starts playing with that level of intensity and motivation (especially if he has the equal or more talented team backing him, and they all follow his lead). His halftime reverse-slam message to Crowder was the exclamation point 2 quarters before the end of the game.
Hopefully the Heat's injuries arent too crippling and they can make this interesting. If they get super intense and physical back, they could still pull a game or 2 off and remind us of the 1990s Bulls-Knicks battles.
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Last edited by AfterHours on 10/01/2020 16:28; edited 1 time in total
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mickilennial
The Most Trusted Name in News
Gender: Female
Age: 35
Location: Detroit
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- #168
- Posted: 10/01/2020 16:20
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I don't want Jimmy to keep playing on that bad ankle when he's had a career renaissance.
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CA Dreamin
Gender: Male
Location: LA
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- #169
- Posted: 10/01/2020 17:52
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Wait, really? Three of Miami's starters got injured in the same game? I worked last night and didn't see anything. All I heard was LA won. But wow, that totally sucks. AfterHours's Lakers in 5 prediction now seems inevitable. Might even be Lakers in 4.
This should've been an exciting NBA playoffs, but injuries (POR, BOS, PHI, IND, now MIA) and coaching mismanagement (PHI, MIL, LAC) have taken away so many potentially great series. That's too bad. I hope Miami can recover and make it interesting, but I'm not counting on it. Oh well, on to the MLB playoffs.
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19loveless91
mag. druž. inf
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- #170
- Posted: 10/01/2020 18:03
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| CA Dreamin wrote: | Wait, really? Three of Miami's starters got injured in the same game? I worked last night and didn't see anything. All I heard was LA won. But wow, that totally sucks. AfterHours's Lakers in 5 prediction now seems inevitable. Might even be Lakers in 4.
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Dragić got hurt in the second quarter, played on for a bit, but then didn't show up in the second half. Torn plantar fascia, likely out for the series.
Jimmy turned his ankle near the end of the first half, IMO looked a lot less aggressive in the second half. Will definitely play in the next game.
Adebayo made contact with Howard in the third, hurt his shoulder (that has been bothering him in the Celtics series), went out and hadn't returned. They'll reevaluate him, I'm assuming he will play.
I got up at 3am to watch this, a Dragić fan as a Slovenian, but also rooting for Heat in general these playoffs, this has been a very painful game to watch. It just got worse and worse as it went along.
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