El Che's 7 Keys to the 2014 NBA Finals

[ElNono]

People that think Kawhi's big hands help him a lot defensively, should check Wade's hands. He's also a genetic beast, and he does a good job in getting on the passing lanes and disrupting. That's probably going to be one of the biggest challenges our team will have to overcome, especially since we like to pass the ball a lot.

[Malik Hairston]

Duncan is a defensive liability when he has to move around, guard the pick&roll, etc..especially against guards that can shoot, since he can't contest their shot without losing the ability to recover..

If you allow Duncan to stay in position around the rim, he's still a great defender..

Wade is only going to be effective in this series when he feeds off the attention the Spurs are going to commit to Lebron as a creator and Bosh as a shooter..if the Heat are going to make him a focal point, the Spurs will be happy, just like they were in last year's Finals..

The Heat were something like -56 in the Finals last year when Wade was on the floor..his injury limited his explosiveness, but he still doesn't match up well against the Spurs defensive style..

Miami's scariest lineup for the Spurs is:

Chalmers
Allen
Lebron
Battier or Lewis
Bosh

Lebron + shooters killed the Spurs last year, it's the primary concern, defensively..

If Wade has a hot shooting series where he's making the mid-range jump shot and even some 3s, then you live with it IMO, they earned their W..

[hater]

and yet the Heat get swept last year without Wade.

[spurraider21]

People that think Kawhi's big hands help him a lot defensively, should check Wade's hands. He's also a genetic beast, and he does a good job in getting on the passing lanes and disrupting. That's probably going to be one of the biggest challenges our team will have to overcome, especially since we like to pass the ball a lot.

This is one of the reasons I think OKC was a good training round. I know Miami plays much smarter team ball offensively instead of isoball, but they share some characteristics. Both teams are hyper-aggressive defensively (westbrook/durant love jumping passing lanes) except Miami lacks an Ibaka type presence at the rim.

It was also a good series to get the guys' transition defense in shape, since that's another area Miami thrives. Having played the Lakers, Warriors, and Grizzlies in last years playoffs, there was really nothing during that run to prepare us for Miami

[Mugen]

Westbrook is a much tougher cover than Wade IMO. Wade's been very efficient so far and looks better this year but unless he's getting the 2006 ref treatment like Russ got last series than the Spurs are equipped to handle him.

Durant is even a tougher individual cover for the Spurs than LeBron. It's just that the Heat are just a much smarter team than OKC that actually employs an offense similar to San Antonio. Bosh killed us in the last matchup and is a legit 3pt threat this series.

Boris becomes absolutely huge again in this matchup tbh.

[spurraider21]

Westbrook is a much tougher cover than Wade IMO. Wade's been very efficient so far and looks better this year but unless he's getting the 2006 ref treatment like Russ got last series than the Spurs are equipped to handle him.

Durant is even a tougher individual cover for the Spurs than LeBron. It's just that the Heat are just a much smarter team than OKC that actually employs an offense similar to San Antonio. Bosh killed us in the last matchup and is a legit 3pt threat this series.

Boris becomes absolutely huge again in this matchup tbh.

Bosh averaged 12 ppg on 46% shooting in last year's finals. he's been strong in the regular season against us this year though. 24 points on 9/10 in their win, 24 points on 10/16 in our win. To be fair Duncan dropped 23 on him in both games this year

[therealtruth]

I feel our depth wore down OKC in game 6. We've got to maintain that advantage.

[ginobilized]

Depth, defense, desire for revenge and a doggedly determined coach are our strengths. I think Pop will pull out all the stops in his coaching arsenal for once.

Also, we beat OKC with the 2 best players on the court by a longshot, and with minimal contribution from our best player. That just illustrates one way that the intangibles are likely very high in this series.

[timmy2003]

I agree with this point. Wade is a smarter player than Westbrook but he's not as athletic or explosive as Westbrook at this point of time. That is why I don't see the spurs struggling that much with Wade since Westbrook was athletically more of a challenge.

I agree. But Wade is a far more efficient player than Westbrook. He also has a reliable midrange jumper.

[EVAY]

Thanks for the analysis.

I hope you are right about your assessments.

I believe that Miami will be the best TEAM we face. They are playing far better as a team than they were even last year, and LeBron is just a freak of nature physically. Seemingly literally invincible, physically.

Still, I think it is possible that we win, but I believe it will be ugly, hard, and physically more demanding than anything we have seen.

We are, I believe, the best-prepared in terms of who we have seen in the playoffs so far and the level of talent we have faced. BUT, Miami is a quick learner and the longer this series goes the better they will figure us out.

I honestly think that Pop has to limit Parker's minutes. He has become way too fragile for us to be able to ride him like we did last year, and last year he was hurt by the third or fourth game of the series. I fear that if we leave him in for as long as we have been he will fall apart again. I would prefer that he be better for shorter periods of time than go through the 'diminishing returns' pattern that we have seen too often this season with him.

[downunder]

The real question is whether Duncan and any other big on the floor can stop the athletic James. James is no Jordan but is a great player and is young and confident by comparison Spurs are old and slow. Their quick passing has made up for their slow pace and threes have saved them as well. Wade still has that deadly look in his eye and will take some guarding. I think Pop will aim to wear James out over the series . You can't stop him scoring but you must make him work for it.

[xmas1997]

Wade, being healthy this time around, is who worries me. If Green has him, he'll have his hands full. I think Tiago can take care of Bosh.

[hsxvvd]

LeBron might now be the GOAT, over Jordan.

LeBron might now be the GOAT, over Jordan.

[pgardn]

Wade is still super strong and makes himself room for little jumpers in the lane that are far more controlled than Westbrook.
And he still has range. We need to make him work on defense.
Miami also has guys that can hit 3s at every position.

They are more worthy opponents imo. It will be very tough.

[tmtcsc]

More boogeyman talk. Spurs in 5. We almost beat these chumps w/ a hideous series by Manu. Not only was he missing in action most of the series (except Game 5), he hurt the team. TP was limited in 6 & 7. Tiago had a wake up call too.

Geezus, the respect for Miami is out of control. Its all about Lebron. We'll have Wade and Bosh marginalized. OKC will end up being the tougher out for the Spurs because of Westbrook, Durant and Ibaka. Miami is smarter than OKC and play better defense but they won't be able to hang with the Spurs offensively.

[benstanfield]

Wade is averaging like 3 more ppg in these playoffs than last year, while getting 1 less rebound and 1 less assist per game. He's shooting better but playing less minutes and with worse defensive metrics.

He may be feeling better but he isn't going 2006 mode. If Manu plays like he has been the difference in his play will be much bigger than in Wade's.

[Uriel]

More boogeyman talk. Spurs in 5. We almost beat these chumps w/ a hideous series by Manu. Not only was he missing in action most of the series (except Game 5), he hurt the team. TP was limited in 6 & 7. Tiago had a wake up call too.

Geezus, the respect for Miami is out of control. Its all about Lebron. We'll have Wade and Bosh marginalized. OKC will end up being the tougher out for the Spurs because of Westbrook, Durant and Ibaka. Miami is smarter than OKC and play better defense but they won't be able to hang with the Spurs offensively.

First of all, Miami was 2nd in the league in offensive efficiency behind only the Clippers. The Spurs, by comparison, ranked 6th.

Second, OKC ranked 5th in the NBA in defensive efficiency. Miami, by comparison, ranked 11th.

[dg7md]

We just beat a team that had the two best players on the court.

This. People are underestimating how good Durant and Westbrook are... two of the top ten players in the league tbh.

LeBron is better than Durant, but not by a whole lot, and Westbrook, at this stage in his career, is better than Wade.

Roleplayers will make the most difference in this series and we definitely have the advantage there.

[cd021]

Wade is the smarter IQ player(by far) and better defensive asset. Sure WB is an offensive beast but an offensive beast is probably not what Miami needs next to Lebron IMO

did you say that Wade was better defensively??? WB doesn't constantly get burned in transition complaining about calls.

[tmtcsc]

First of all, Miami was 2nd in the league in offensive efficiency behind only the Clippers. The Spurs, by comparison, ranked 6th.

Second, OKC ranked 5th in the NBA in defensive efficiency. Miami, by comparison, ranked 11th.

I'm not trying to be a contrarian here but the East was such a terrible conference and its hard to get an apples to apples comparison. Do we know what the Heat's, Spurs' and Thunder's offensive and defensive efficiency was against West teams only ?

Update: I couldn't find the stats I was looking for but I can tell you the following:

Winning %'s:

Spurs vs East teams = 80 %
Spurs vs West teams = 73 %

Heat vs West = 67 %
Heat vs East = 65 %

[Rummpd]

True, but neither one of those was LeBron. LeBron might now be the GOAT, over Jordan.


Specifically, LeBron will not be doing the following like we saw in the OKC series:

- throw the ball away in key situations down the stretch (vs. Chimpbrook)
- rely solely on FTs to score. He can and will take it to the cup (vs. KD and the Chimp who whined and flailed for everything)
- shy away from the biggest game of his life (like KD did several times)
- get tired, ever (unline KD and the Chimp in game 6)
- refuse to run plays. He will run them expertly since his brain is the size of two normal brains (vs. the Chimp, who, while has a very very large forehead, has not yet filled it with brain cells)
- refuse to play defense after getting beat (like all of OKC beside Ibaka did). LeBron is the best in the league at erasing any advantage mid-play. We will see a lot of almost-scores this series.

LeBron has won multiple championships, unlike the ThunderTwins, and has the experience to pull off another one against us. I'd say our odds of winning are a coin-flip at best, even with HCA.

How soon we forget
LeBron turned the ball over at least 2x in game 6 down the stretch and arguebly would have been the goat if not for the Spur's collapse (and unlucky bounces)

[hater]

did you say that Wade was better defensively??? WB doesn't constantly get burned in transition complaining about calls.

Did you say WB doesnt complain about calls?? Wow

[hater]

How soon we forget
LeBron turned the ball over at least 2x in game 6 down the stretch and arguebly would have been the goat if not for the Spur's collapse (and unlucky bounces)

Its true Lebron had 6 turnovers in game 6 and would have been labeld a career choker if not for th Allen bailout.

but it was tbe Spurs, Manus 8 TOs and Pop that erased that fate for Lebron

[T Park]

Wade doesn't seem to regularly run to half court and shoot 26 footers with 20 left in the clock tbh

Nor can he blow by a Kawhi Leonard or Danny green and dunk in traffic.

[hater]

Nor can he blow by a Kawhi Leonard or Danny green and dunk in traffic.

Neither can any of the Spurs and still made it to the Finals