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Should be an interesting game tonight. Spurs can see it in their grasp, hopefully that gives them the drive to finally win two in a row in this series.
But I have a feeling we're going to see a ref job tonight. Stern isn't going to sit and just watch the Heat go out in 6. Plus Heat are going to throw everything they have at SA tonight.
I'm really wanting Spurs tonight. But smart money is on the Heat.
The only reason people are saying Spoelstra is a great coach is because it helps their agenda of trying to pin all the blame on Lebron. The most vocal Lebron critics are also the most vocal Spoelstra supporters and that's not a coincidence.
Spoelstra only coached 2 years before the big 3, that's the entirety of his head coaching career before Lebron and Bosh. 2011 in the finals the Heat couldn't do anything to counter Dallas' zone. Spoelstra didn't make any effective adjustments to attack the zone, and their best shooter, James Jones, racked up DNP after DNP. Dallas also lit them up from the 3-point line like San Antonio has done this year and the reason is because their defense doubles/traps too aggressively to try to force turnovers.
That's effective against lesser teams but veteran teams like the Mavs and Spurs that move the ball well and have great 3-point shooters just work the ball to the open guy and knock down the shots. Or they exploit mismatches inside caused by all the switching (notice how Duncan and Splitter are constantly matched up against guards inside). They also expend a ton of energy rotating all over the floor and suffer frequent defensive breakdowns where guys get mixed up on who is supposed to rotate out to open shooter, so no one does.
You want to say Spoelstra is a great coach because he made 3 finals in a row? That was an expectation for this team, only they weren't expected to lose 2 of them. If the Heat lose this series the past 3 years will be widely considered a failure and there will be constant talk in the off season of blowing the team up.
People will say Lebron's legacy has been tarnished. So Spoelstra is a great coach because he made it to 3 finals in a row and lost 2 of them, while Lebron will be considered an overrated bum because he made it to 3 finals in a row and lost 2 of them. See the problem here?
I don't think Spoelstra is a bad coach but I'm not sure he's in the top half of NBA coaches, and I don't think he's that good on the offensive side. I think he's kind of in over his head with his limited experience and being only 42 or 43 or however old he is. 5+ years from now he might be one of the better coaches in the league.
Last edited by EugeneOnegin; 06-18-2013 at 12:29 PM..
I thought San Antonio clearly got the better end of the officiating game 5 so I'm not sure why you guys are already claiming conspiracy.
The first four games were fairly officiated. Overall, the officiating has been pretty good and hasn't really been much of a factor.
Joey Crawford is an idiot and a terrible official though, I don't know why the NBA keeps bring him back, let alone having him do the biggest playoff games.
I thought San Antonio clearly got the better end of the officiating game 5 so I'm not sure why you guys are already claiming conspiracy.
The first four games were fairly officiated. Overall, the officiating has been pretty good and hasn't really been much of a factor.
Joey Crawford is an idiot and a terrible official though, I don't know why the NBA keeps bring him back, let alone having him do the biggest playoff games.
Actually, it seems to me like in game three and game five, in the beginning the Spurs got bad call after bad call. But when you start shooting 3's like that, even officiating doesn't really matter.
But even so, tonight is game six and the Heat are on the brink. No way Stern lets miami go down in 6. Bad for business.
Spoelstra's coaching ability was brought up because someone said he was "dumb" and can't coach and should be fired. I don't think he's a great coach but he's not a bad one neither. When the Heat wins, Spoelstra doesn't get any credit because it was "expected", he simply rolls out the ball. When the Heat loses, Spoelstra gets the blame because he failed to "make adjustments". It's a lose-lose proposition.
You hear these things about Phil as well ... he won because he had GOATs on his team - MJ, Pippen, Shaq, Kobe. Same was said about Riley.
Now someone's going to accuse me of comparing Spoelstra's coaching ability with Phil and Riles. lol
series is already over and we didnt even know it, or at least according to nike!
these are pictures of the newest lebron shoe.
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