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NBA Saturday ESPN - Heat at Cavaliers

5K views 176 replies 52 participants last post by  MiamiHeat03 
#1 ·
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After clinching a playoff berth for the first time since 1998 in their last outing, the Cleveland Cavaliers now try to move closer to securing home-court advantage in the first round of the postseason when they host the Miami Heat.

Cleveland earned a spot in the playoffs on Wednesday when it beat Dallas 107-94 for its sixth straight win. The Cavs lead Washington by a handful of games for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference

Miami clinched the Southeast Division title for the second straight season by virtue of Washington's 105-103 loss Friday to Houston. The Heat, however, are suffering through injuries to their frontcourt.

Miami has won five of the last six meetings with Cleveland.


Coverage begins 2 PM EST - Only on ESPN
 
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#128 ·
thank you for coming everyone. us long suffering cavs fans are happy to provide you some entertainment. good to see most of you figuring out we weren't just homers when predicting greatness from lbj.

we have no fear of indiana, milwaukee, or philly. the nets could surgically defuse the cavs defense but it would be a good series. if bron stays hot i can see the cavs going to the 2nd round. if they hit the pistons there they just have no answer for rasheed and chauncey. hughes is still a huge questions mark so i could see rip roaming free and lighting us up. if they get miami it will be up to big z. wade and lbj will do their thing, the role players will do their thing. today lbj flexed his muscles but in a 7 game series it will come down to the paint and if grizzled old all-underrated team captain zydrunas and his 23 foot screws can battle the 2 monsters from miami to a stalemate. if so the cavs could grow up in south beach and start the deep playoffs party early.

too much high pick and roll with lebron... i mean it's hard to argue with the success rate of that set but i don't like the reliance on either lbj taking it to the rack 1 on 3 or donyell/amon jones in the corner. although for the last month 1 of them has been hot every game.

if someone could get sasha some espressos... that kid can play when he's not nodding off or rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. andy varejao needs to stop hoping on man defense... active feet work great when he rebounds but he always gets out of position and hops off balance when covering the dribble.

where's drew gooden at the end of games?
 
#130 ·
Sir Patchwork said:
Because he is good?

My point is that most people believe an NBA superstar would absolutely dominate college basketball, but that isn't the case sometimes for the reasons I pointed out. Some players games are much better suited for the NBA.
I believe you've been describing a fella by the name of Michael Jordan, as well. Or was that intentional? ;)
 
#131 ·
Sir Patchwork said:
Because he is good?

My point is that most people believe an NBA superstar would absolutely dominate college basketball, but that isn't the case sometimes for the reasons I pointed out. Some players games are much better suited for the NBA.
I was actually intending to ask you to elabroate on how Wade overcame the obstacles you just described

poor choice of words on my part
 
#134 ·
In my opinion the biggest difference between the pros and college is the officiation and in particular the way the game is officiated for those who are considered superstars.What is generally considered good defense in college is not allowed in the NBA.The refs are more consistent and they consistently favor the offensive player.

In college you can pretty much handcheck a guy like Wade enough that he won't be able to get past you at near the rate he otherwise would.You hardly ever get a charge against a good offensive player whether you are there or not and they don't allow you to play jumpshooters so physically when they are running off screens.People think of the NBA as more physical,but that's not true on the perimeter the way it is in the paint.
 
#135 ·
DJRaz said:
thank you for coming everyone. us long suffering cavs fans are happy to provide you some entertainment. good to see most of you figuring out we weren't just homers when predicting greatness from lbj.

we have no fear of indiana, milwaukee, or philly. the nets could surgically defuse the cavs defense but it would be a good series. if bron stays hot i can see the cavs going to the 2nd round. if they hit the pistons there they just have no answer for rasheed and chauncey. hughes is still a huge questions mark so i could see rip roaming free and lighting us up. if they get miami it will be up to big z. wade and lbj will do their thing, the role players will do their thing. today lbj flexed his muscles but in a 7 game series it will come down to the paint and if grizzled old all-underrated team captain zydrunas and his 23 foot screws can battle the 2 monsters from miami to a stalemate. if so the cavs could grow up in south beach and start the deep playoffs party early.
as the 4th seed, you will kind of be stuck with the Pistons in the second round
 
#136 ·
GoDWade said:
I was actually intending to ask you to elabroate on how Wade overcame the obstacles you just described
I don't think he did overcome them. He was good in college no doubt, but seeing the player that he is now (better than he was in college clearly) while playing much better competition, I think it's fair to say that the college game did hold his game back quite a bit.

By that, I don't mean he would have been better coming straight to the NBA from high school. I just mean that his game is far better fit for the NBA, and that's why he is a better player in the NBA than he was in college despite playing against much better competition. I'm sure the college game encouraged him to round out his game when he couldn't just get to the hoop at will every time down, and that has really been beneficial. He is an excellent all around player as well as being the electric scorer.
 
#137 ·
Gio305 said:
:laugh:

i actually see it like:

Lebron=Wade
I agree with that one. They are very difficult to compare, but because they came out together the comparisons are irresistable. It sucks that they cant guard eachother. Lebron tried today, but i think that would be avoided if larry hughes were around. Wade cant guard lebron...he is probably no taller than 6'2 and just cant stop height. They are in the same class of superstars and they do different things. Lebron might pose more matchups problems with his height...Wade's got a killer instinct that doesnt come around often. Instead of nitpicking on differences and minor shortcomings..i think its more fun just to watch em both.
 
#139 ·
LeBron's Best Game Yet?

Is the matinee game versus the Heat the best game LeBron has ever played in his amazing, young career. I think it is. He dropped 47 by attempting 25 shots & also managed to record a triple double to tie Kidd for the lead in the league. Not to mention a very impressive 13-14 from the stripe & Miami was winning before he turned it up in the 4th. Great example of a great star carrying his team to victory.
 
#143 ·
Sir Patchwork said:
With the way LeBron is finishing the season it's going to be hard to give anyone else the MVP award.
And I think a few more voters may start to believe that as well. Wade is still my pick, but Nash and Lebron are probably the frontrunners at this point.

This weekend could turn out to be the turning point in the MVP race, especially if Nash has a subpar game tommorrow in Detroit on national television.
 
#144 ·
DuMa said:
i cant believe i missed this game.
it should be replayed at 3 a.m tomorrow.

it was an amazing game. Im going to set the timer and tape it
 
#145 ·
Re: LeBron's Best Game Yet?

You have to watch all of this kid's games to get a full appreciation. Last year he brought the team back from about 18 down to beat Phoenix in overtime. In his rookie year, he took over the last 5 minutes of the game to single-handedly defeat the New Jersey Nets. Every single one of his triple double games have been spectacular. So NO, I would not call today his best game. But it was one hell of a performance.
 
#146 ·
futuristxen said:
Does this game officially usher in a new era in the NBA?
All I could think during that 4th Quarter was "Wow...Do I really get two watch this guys get after each other for the next 10 years?" That game was surreal and I'm pretty sure it was the best quarter of basketball I've ever seen. Most amazing, high level of competition I've ever seen in an April game that essentially meant nothing in terms of playoff seeding anyway. Did you see Bron needing an ice bag on his head to keep from overheating? Unreal.

Legs was right on...That was the best showdown I've seen since the classic Bird/Dominique playoff shootout. TMac and Dirk had a pretty good one in the playoffs a year or two ago two where they both went for like 45. Other than those two games though, the only other thing I can think of that even comes close is Hagler/Hearns, Ali/Frazier or Corales/Castillo.

I hope they both stay in the East. Gonna be a GOOOOOOD decade.
 
#148 ·
Re: LeBron's Best Game Yet?

neoxsupreme said:
Is the matinee game versus the Heat the best game LeBron has ever played in his amazing, young career. I think it is. He dropped 47 by attempting 25 shots & also managed to record a triple double to tie Kidd for the lead in the league. Not to mention a very impressive 13-14 from the stripe & Miami was winning before he turned it up in the 4th. Great example of a great star carrying his team to victory.

He's actually had several games very close to this same thing (triple double with 40 or more points). It might be his best, but they are all very close overall.
 
#150 ·
Re: LeBron's Best Game Yet?

Gio305 said:
just curious....


had the cavs lost the game, would you have still make this thread?

just a thought :biggrin:
I think it still deserved mention. Even if we'd lost it was still a remarkable performance by LeBron and Wade put in in the 4th quarter.
 
#151 ·
JayRedd said:
And oh yeah, can we please stop pretending that Carmelo Anthony deserves to be mentioned in the same sentence as these two guys? I'd appreciate it.
seriously :cheers:
 
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