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I am really excited about this year's NBA Finals. More so than I usually am.
The reason being is that 6 of the best players in the league right now will be facing off against each other. Two sets of "Big 3's" going at each other.
LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh against Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden.
I honestly do not know who I want to win. I could care less about either team (the Heat and the Thunder) but I love the players for both. LeBron James and Kevin Durant are my two favorite players in the league. James being my idol and Durant played for the University I go to (the University of Texas).
Many people thought James vs Kobe Bryant a few years ago would be the match up of our generation, but I personally think that the James vs Durant match up will be one of the all time most exciting and greatest match ups. Up there rivaling even that of Larry Bird vs Magic Johnson.
Regardless of your opinion of either team and their players, you have to admit that this will be some of the greatest basketball we may ever watch in our lifetime. I for one and excited.
Game 1 is Tuesday, June 12 in Oklahoma City.
EDIT: P.S I made my sig right after the forum change happened... I guess I can tell the future
Thunder gonna **** on Heat, ez. I'm a Nets fan, but they're terrible, and my second favorite team is the Thunder. They've got youth and Durantula.
bench - advantage thunder. no doubt
big three - even. bosh is hurt.
defense - even. thunder have strong interior defense, but they dont have a lockdown defender to throw at LBJ. at the same time the heat have noone that can really guard KD. battier is too slow and too short, and LBJ has to carry the load offensively.
clutch time - thunder. KD/Harden over LBJ/wade any day.
and the thunder has home court, which is huge.
simply put, the thunder is a championship caliber team, and we dont know which version of lebron is going to show. ill take the thunder in 5.
and honestly, the geriatric celtics took the heat to 7 games. the thunder is a way better team then the celtics.
Anyone else tired of ESPN and how much drama they create one day and then do a complete 180 when something else happens? They're getting pretty sensationalist. After the Heat lost game 5 the only thing you'd hear on ESPN was how the Heat are done and how the Celtics were going to win. Stephen A. Smith comes to mind when he was all emo and sad about how he wouldn't get to go to Miami for a finals and how the Heat were done. Then after game 6 I hear him again and he's predicts it's going to be a close game but then the heat are going to pull away late in the 4th and win by 10 (pretty accurate though btw).
Then another example is the Stanley Cup finals. Starting around after game 2, everyone was writing off the Devils completely, especially that guy Barry Melrose. It was a huge LA bandwagon all over ESPN. And then the Devils win a couple games and now it's not as bad.
And around last month or so, all they talked about was Tebow and the Jets, trying to stir up some drama about him possibly taking over Sanchez's QB job when there's no way in hell that would happen.
Also, one thing about the Thunder I don't like is how Westbrook can be extremely greedy and stupid at times. Durant is the ****ing 3 time scoring champion and he can go for long stretches without getting the ball.
Last edited by `Fluttershy; 06-10-2012 at 04:55 AM.
honestly the heat did get pretty lucky winning game 6. LBJ's monster game was really the only reason they won and are going to the finals.
and matt sanchez is a ****ing awful QB. if he loses the first few, i wouldnt be surprised if its tebow time.
This is such a exciting time for sports.
As Homer would say, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDpzJk3X020
Ramsay Sound Pack
People shouldn't need to validate themselves to others. Report to yourself.
Everyone needs a personal sanctuary, find yours.
Don't forget when LeBron was still with the Cavaliers, when they lost a playoff series to I forget who, they had like a 5 minute montage of LeBron highlights while they had some stupid script about how he was a great player and that even though this year wasn't "his year" he's a great player and he'll win a championship eventually, fast forward a few years and I honestly think BSPN started the whole "let's hate LeBron for no reason" and are still perpetuating it to this day.Originally Posted by `Fluttershy
I've been a huge Thunder fan since watching them in the WCF last year, so it's really exciting to see them reach the finals this year. I really think Miami is outmatched, but hopefully there will be some great games and officiating won't decide any of them.
Another thing to note is that OKC went through the Mavericks, the Lakers and the Spurs, who are the only Western teams to get to the finals since 88. It's a clear passing of the torch if the Thunder win and I'd really like to see that happen.
Also, Harden!
It's funny because I remember Jeff Van Gundy saying how Lebron is the best player and he couldn't understand why anyone hates Lebron.
The problem with ESPN has been that they have over the course of the last 5 or so years started to allow their "Opinionist" and ex-players decide the "stance" of the company. They then say that this in turn is how the nation feels about a certain subject and their reporters then use that in their news reports. You could say they create their own stories, or essentially are becoming like any other news network such as Fox or NBC.
Having shows like First Take, Around the Horn, and PTI are fine as long as the opinions that are stated there are kept there. However, when those opinions are taken from the analysts and used by the reporters and hosts of SportsCenter and other "unbiased" segments then there becomes a problem of not reporting what actually happened and instead reporting the opinion of their own staff. Even having the analyst come on the other programs is too far as they are just that: analyst. They are paid to assess the situation and give their opinion of it while the hosts and reporters of SportsCenter are supposed to tell the first hand stories as reported by their journalists and insiders.
This slow and steady merging of the two types of programs on ESPN has been causing a vast over-dramatizing of many subjects such as: Tim Tebow, Jeremy Lin, Peyton Manning, Ryan Braun, LeBron James, etc.
They focus so much on the personalities of these players and how "sensational" or "anti-sensational" they are that they have begun ignoring larger potential stories such as: David Stern's tyranny over the NBA and the piss poor CBA they continue to have, the MLB's unnecessary conservatism towards instant replay, the NFL's fake feelings towards injuries and the overzealous approach they are taking to remedy, etc.
Anyhow, this is derailing the topic
**** Lebron.
i have no clue what any of those names mean.
Arrogance cited here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3O4xFiHaMkw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT-I8jQDQ7c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MT1jgFZZryE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTeCc8jy7FI
Some could say they got pretty lucky winning game 2 as well. Without that potential five point swing (-2 Rondo points on FT) and (+3 on DWade AND1) we may have seen a different outcome. Analysts even claim Boston outplayed the Heat that game. (I even think they did)
That being said, Chris Bosh could not have had a more timely return, and who would have that he'd play like that coming off an injury? Guy played 200% better vs the Celtics than he did in the past.
Anyways, Thunder in six. Durant is harder to stop than LBJ (considering LBJ lives in the paint for the most part), when Durant is cooking, he's unstoppable with his reach. Sefolosha is one of the top perimeter defenders in the league. It's really on Chris Bosh again for this series for the Heat to have a shot.
Game 2 in the Boston/Heat series was the one with the no-call on Wade hitting Rondo in the head that led to the Heat fast-break right? Whichever game that was, it totally disrupted the momentum and really has no place in a competitive game. I wish they'd work out some kind of challenge system like the NFL has. Coaches get 1 or 2 challenges per game, lose a timeout if they're wrong and also give the opposing team FT or something. I understand that they don't want to disrupt the flow of the game, but one bad call can completely change the outcome of a game. What bothers me the most is incorrect out of bound calls when the official is directly in line with the player and the edge of the court. If you can't be sure, DON'T MAKE THE DAMN CALL.
Nah, a challenge system wouldn't be nearly as effective as it is in the NFL. In the NFL, the time stops after every play (once a player is tackled/incomplete pass, etc). How could you implement that in basketball? The only situation it would be effective is when there's a dead ball immediately following as a result of the incident. (And most of the time, the refs will at least huddle up and discuss the call if there seems to be a lot of fan/player opposition to it, if not use the instant replay system.)
Just use the Rondo example, how could you challenge that, after the heat already ran a play with Dwayne Wade scoring a layup on the other end? Oh, we'll reverse everything after the play? Or just reward Rondo the free throws he deserved and resume the game with Dwayne Wade's free throw? The only way the challenge system (like it is in the NFL) could be effective is if you can challenge the play without any subsequent plays succeeding the play in question. With this, you'd be forced to stop play in the middle of the game, and it could be abused hardcore (Player is on a two on nothing breakaway for two SURE points) - Oh wait! The missed shot was challenged! The coach is challenging whether Chris Paul got fouled on that previous missed shot!
I think there should just be less limitations on the instant replay system for referees. (I know they can only review most things only if it occured within the last two minutes) - but also at the same time, don't make it too ridiculous.
Unfortunately, missed/bad foul calls are pretty much unavoidable, and will happen more often with the amount of "flopping" going on in today's game :<
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