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it is all good, no excuses as both teams getting stars back. Early game of the year vs one of three possible ECF opponents to come out to face the Spurs in the finals this year.
Spurs I believe will be out to make a strong statement, and surely won't play "bored" against this team.
Love the passion!
Manu isn't yet close to 100% but he was still effective tonight. I hope he's closer to normal by Wednesday.
The key to beating the Heat will be to control Wade (ala Bowen) and if Walker, Shaq and others get their points so be it - Spurs will win.
bowen will be expected to shut down wade from our fans.
i wonder if parker starts on him or they put manu(if he is back). if that is the case how long before bowen switches over. usually pop gives the others 1Q against the superstar and if things start lookin ugly he switches over bowen.
lets just hope for another BOWED!!!!
This is the one guard in the league Bowen can't shut down. Wade will just keep attacking and is almost impossible to stop.
Obviously i want them to win this one, but this i highly doubt is a finals preview. I can not see anyone opposing the pistons in the east they look mighty hungry to reclaim their throne.
fuck shaq, lets hope rasho slides his feet under shaqs feet :D:D
Shaq will not be in game shape. He just sat out 3 weeks and will probably only play a limited amount of minutes. The Spurs win by 13. The Heat are way overrated.
i wanna see duncan posterize zo and shaq and outplay them both
Spurs can extend Heat's WC L streak to 3.
Jayson Williams, bad passes, and Antoine Walker airballing 50 foot threes.
I thought this was changing no that they are playing with Shaq?
Where are the peeps that told us this?!?!
Even if Wade gets his, the key is stopping the rest of the team from getting theirs. Shaq should be a little rusty after not playing almost the whole season.
The real key, IMO, is Parker. This is the game where his jump shooting improvement will have to shine through. With Alonzo/Shaq in the center, it's going to be harder for him to cruise in and get those layups like he's been doing all season. Alonzo is leading the league in shot blocks.
Of course, the rest of the team will have to step up as well. Namely, Manu, Finley, Horry, and Nazr.
I can't wait for this game!! :elephant
http://www.nba.com/games/20050213/SASMIA/boxscore.html
The Heat beat the Spurs @MIA last season by shutting down the paint (Spurs 34 pts), while Heat scored 48 pts in the paint (but Shaq only 16 total pts).
What really killed the Spurs was shooting 39% to Heat's 52%, mainly heavily covered Tim going 5-14, and left-open Rasho 2-10.
Shaq cannot get through Detroit. :fro
He has never beat Detroit in a series and this year will be no different.
SA vs Det. There is no reason to talk about anyone else
I think that Tony Parker will be an important factor. Not because of his scoring though. I think he will be able to get by Payton and Williams, but will have to give up the ball to the big men once he is in the lane.
Duncan, Nazr, and Rasho will have be ready for the ball once Parker drives in. Once this is established, the Heat will then he hesitant to leave the big guys underneath and will then give an opportunity for Parker to score.
Parker's dribble penetration will be very critical to this game. If he does a good job at it, it will also leave the outside shooters open.
"Shaq cannot get through Detroit.
He has never beat Detroit in a series and this year will be no different.
SA vs Det. There is no reason to talk about anyone else"
Shaq is not the issue, Dwyane Wade before he got hurt was shredding the Pistons at will last year and although Pistons have some very good on the ball defenders, ala, Billups,Prince and Hamilton, none are in the class of Bowen.
That is the advantage the Spurs have vs. Miami has versus Miami/Detroit and why the Pistons for all their recent gumption and good play, have a much tougher road to the finals than the Spurs will have (unless Amare makes a wonderous recovery and then the deeper than last year Suns could be a handful).
Shaq will not be in the game as stated in game preview.
Like Iverson, he doesn't have to be stopped, just contained.Quote:
Originally Posted by mavsfan1000
Without Wade dominating, the rest of the Heat aren't a cohesive enough unit to beat good teams at this point.
Of course, we'll see if they pull together more after Shaq gets back and find his rhythm.
Hype.. = shaq...
Shaq is gonna blow his Ab's or toe... he's done.
I hate to say it but I miss the rivalry with the Lakers now that Shaq-Fu is in Miami
.
Bowen is a helluva defender, the absolute best at the 1-2-3 positions.
I am very interested to the see the Bowen / Wade matchup. It will say one of 2 things.
1) Bowen is God, Wade is still amazing
2) Bowen is Human, Wade is still amazing
What I seen last year in the ECF from Wade was....uncanny. Gino beat the Pistons single-handedly last year, but didnt dominate even remotely close to the level DWade did.
Its a regular season game, so I am not betting the farm. If the game gets too out-of-hand one way or the other, no conclusions will be made. But if its a close game, conclusions can be drawn seeing as the teams were playing their hardest the whole way (like a playoff game). Blowouts prove nothing except that any team will quit when down 25+ points with 10 mins left.
Parker will most definitely be a huge factor in this game!
I'm sure Bowen will do a good job on Wade...
And Shaq's just Shaq..
So to sum up, Of course the spurs are gonna kick heat ass:D
As someone else has basically said, I'm much more worried about the Pistons than the Heat.
Having said that these games are better to watch than games against teams like Atlanta...
Well said.Quote:
Originally Posted by PM5K
I don't think the spurs match up well against Miami but they still should win this game. Shaq is out of shape for not playing in awhile.
Shaq isn't playing tomorrow night.
Why do we have to listen to a mavsfan on whether or not the Spurs matchup to the Heat?
Go away.
I said.........................
Shaq is not playing tomorrow night............ Do i need a link or are you tools going to believe me?
CQ is right. Shaq will not play manana....he says it's a no go.
I am not worried about the Pistons - they added nothing except for a coach who made it out of the first round 1X in many tries. Don't believe the hype after an 8-0 start against a weak schedule Pistons starting to come back to earth and IMO will not come out of the East.
If they do:
Spurs added a healthy TD (he beat them at 70% last year), Van Exel, Finley, Oberto and an improved Parker.
Spurs beginning to ramp up and off to one of their fastest starts ever, NBA be very afraid.
Manu will score 32 points
I doubt it manu is still getting healthy
i think he will explode on the heat and make shaq create a name for him
when your body is not healthy it is hard to explode
The Pistons were 2 minutes away from winning their second straight. No one is scared, but to discount their accomplishments is a discredit to your opinion as a writer. The Pistons are a legitimate roadblock in the Spurs way.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rummpd
I am not impressed.
That was not the same Spurs team, this is an improved and deeper team. The Pistons would be a tough team granted, but who have they added comparable to the Spurs or more importantly, do you not think a healthy Duncan is worth at least one more game?
Don't give the Pistons too much credit - fear no one in the league if the Spurs bring it.
To be perfectly fair, they have not yet played with Shaq.Quote:
Originally Posted by T Park
Although I don't expect SVG to teach the old dogs completly new tricks, it would be wise not to judge how they will play with Shaq, until they have.
Although the Pistons look solid, people need to understand a couple of things about their early season consistancy. They are in a stretch where they not only have had the same core for over 175 games, but during that time, they have been one of the healthiest teams in the history of the NBA over such a length of time. This has kept their starting lineup on the court more than any team in the NBA, and given them time to jell and build consistancy.
Miami on the other hand has changed many parts over the last 2 years, and combined with games missed by injury, has had as many starting lineups as any team in the NBA.
These two facts equate to a huge advantage Pistons ... so far. It has helped them become a champion and helped them get back to the finals. It has also made fans think the Pistons cannot be stopped in the East. But the NBA World is not always that easy.
Most expected the Pistons to have the advantage early in the year, as they returned their core, and the Heat made many changes. But like last year, if Shaq and Wade are healthy for a long stretch before and in the playoffs, expect the Heat to be able to go toe to toe with the Pistons by the end of the year.
While Piston fans will tell you it is all about heart, the truth is the Heat could have been well on their way to the finals, before Wade joined Shaq as the walking wounded.
It is not about last season. It is not about November, December, January, February, March or even April. It is only about how teams are jelling in May, and more so about how they can play in June. While the Pistons and Spurs are proven TEAM Champions, Shaq just might have enough left to team with Wade and the help, if they use their time to jell wisely.