I agree with you that the Mavs were playing FANTASTIC ball, but i don't think anybody (outside Mavs fans MAYBE) thinks that if LeBron plays like himself, that the Heat woulda lost that series. Sure, he didn't have the post game he has now, but he was just chucking ill-advised J's, and letting Barea guard him in the post. He was totally disengaged. And even then, like you said, the games were close.
Comparing the Heat in 2010 to the Heat now.
- Thread starter abake6
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I agree with you that the Mavs were playing FANTASTIC ball, but i don't think anybody (outside Mavs fans MAYBE) thinks that if LeBron plays like himself, that the Heat woulda lost that series. Sure, he didn't have the post game he has now, but he was just chucking ill-advised J's, and letting Barea guard him in the post. He was totally disengaged. And even then, like you said, the games were close.
Sure they deserve credit, however the games were close despite LeBron not being aggressive. It's one thing if they clamped down on him and he was just missing a lot of shots, it's another thing altogether that he was passive. It wasn't their D either, the effectiveness of the zone is completely overstated, he shredded the Bulls defense which was much better. He stopped being aggressive and lost all confidence in his jumper.
How he played game 1 and then the rest of the series are entirely different, once it looked like Wade could carry them to wins he took his foot off the gas and was content with Wade running the show.
really good and in depth article about the Heat, and how they have changed. Goes perfectly with this thread. How the Miami Heat went on a historic winning streak and came to dominate the league - Grantland
They are a much better team now than they were in that year. But they still should have won the title. Theres no doubt in my mind about that. But that bench is so much better and a guy like Battier who can guard the perimeter players when Bron or Wade are sitting is huge for them. And Birdman was a huge signing for them and he has pushed Joel Anthony to the bench where he needs to be.
Yup. The Mavs played great and give them credit, but If Bron doesn't disappear, the Heat still win that series. That might have been the worst bench I've ever seen in a finals though. If you look at last year's run, other than LeBron playing in God-mode, a big game from one of the support players ever game was key in that title run
cough....07 Finals....cough