2013-2014 NBA FINALS Thread

2-2-1-1-1 format this year btw

Fully expect the Heat to win but I think it goes seven again.

Originally posted by LA9erFan:

I can't do a full breakdown, JoeCool, but I think the story of the series will be this.

Assists by Team, Rank

Charlotte: 16th (1st Round)
Brooklyn: 25th (2nd Round)
Indiana: 27th (ECF)
San Antonio: 1st (Finals)

Team assists are pretty indicative of ball movement. (rather than individual assists, which indicate ball dominance) Miami hasn't played anyone that's prepared them for this Spurs team. Atlanta (2nd, led by former Spur assistant Budenholzer) or Washington (8th IIRC) would have been a much better tuneup for them, but the brackets didn't work out that way.

I think the Spurs have a decent shot of winning this in 5. I only hesitate because Miami is the champ and know how to grind through less than ideal circumstances. I'll be very impressed if they pull this one out.

Thanks. MIA is long and I remember they can disrupt ball movement due to their athleticism. Last time I remember, thy are good at getting their hands on the ball and make it difficult for crisp passes. This is also one area SA has gotten stronger because we don't need to heavily rely on Parker initiating the offense. Actually, vs the more athletic back courts, Parker tends to over dribble. What I am liking is that splitter, Diaw, Leonard, and Mills are playing with much more confidence and decisiveness this year.

Thursday can't get here fast enough. Also happy that there aren't any long layoffs between games besides the Thurs to Sunday spots.

lol

http://www.sportspickle.com/2014/05/report-spurs-think-youre-boring

Originally posted by LA9erFan:
I can't do a full breakdown, JoeCool, but I think the story of the series will be this.

Assists by Team, Rank

Charlotte: 16th (1st Round)
Brooklyn: 25th (2nd Round)
Indiana: 27th (ECF)
San Antonio: 1st (Finals)

Team assists are pretty indicative of ball movement. (rather than individual assists, which indicate ball dominance) Miami hasn't played anyone that's prepared them for this Spurs team. Atlanta (2nd, led by former Spur assistant Budenholzer) or Washington (8th IIRC) would have been a much better tuneup for them, but the brackets didn't work out that way.

I think the Spurs have a decent shot of winning this in 5. I only hesitate because Miami is the champ and know how to grind through less than ideal circumstances. I'll be very impressed if they pull this one out.

hey hey, i was telling others that my brain thinks spurs in 5 but my heart says heat in six. yeah this will be their toughest test out of their last three finals appearances. spurs just look like a much more complete team. miami will need consistent bench support, ferocious non-stop d, and all star performances from lebron, wade, and bosh all at the same time in at least 4 games.

So do you think the Heat win in next year as well? A Fourpeat... Do It LeBron.

Originally posted by LA9erFan:
I can't do a full breakdown, JoeCool, but I think the story of the series will be this.

Assists by Team, Rank

Charlotte: 16th (1st Round)
Brooklyn: 25th (2nd Round)
Indiana: 27th (ECF)
San Antonio: 1st (Finals)

Team assists are pretty indicative of ball movement. (rather than individual assists, which indicate ball dominance) Miami hasn't played anyone that's prepared them for this Spurs team. Atlanta (2nd, led by former Spur assistant Budenholzer) or Washington (8th IIRC) would have been a much better tuneup for them, but the brackets didn't work out that way.

I think the Spurs have a decent shot of winning this in 5. I only hesitate because Miami is the champ and know how to grind through less than ideal circumstances. I'll be very impressed if they pull this one out.

I did a quick search and this is what I found:

Spurs team assists this year: 25.2
Last year: 25.1

Pacers this year: 20.1
Last year: 20.4

Assist/TO for Spurs last year was 1.71 and this year it's 1.75

There is no question Spurs are a better team than last year and they're scoring more points...but everyone in the Western Conf. is scoring more pts this season. I think pace has a lot to do with it and if you compare the pace of Western Conf. this year vs. last year - you'll notice a good jump.

I get the impression this series is a continuation of last years' final. It's unfinished business, on both sides. Tim Duncan never says anything about the opposition, but after winning the West he said the Spurs wanted the Heat. This is a must win for LeBron's legacy, first off it's a three peat, secondly if he loses that would be three finals defeats out of five. I don't think he makes the NBA's version of Mt. Rushmore with that stat. Can't wait.

Originally posted by 4ML:
I did a quick search and this is what I found:

Spurs team assists this year: 25.2
Last year: 25.1

Pacers this year: 20.1
Last year: 20.4

Assist/TO for Spurs last year was 1.71 and this year it's 1.75

There is no question Spurs are a better team than last year and they're scoring more points...but everyone in the Western Conf. is scoring more pts this season. I think pace has a lot to do with it and if you compare the pace of Western Conf. this year vs. last year - you'll notice a good jump.

The simpler answer would be that the East just plays terrible offense and has for as long as I can remember.

Originally posted by 4ML:
I did a quick search and this is what I found:

Spurs team assists this year: 25.2
Last year: 25.1

Pacers this year: 20.1
Last year: 20.4

Assist/TO for Spurs last year was 1.71 and this year it's 1.75

There is no question Spurs are a better team than last year and they're scoring more points...but everyone in the Western Conf. is scoring more pts this season. I think pace has a lot to do with it and if you compare the pace of Western Conf. this year vs. last year - you'll notice a good jump.

I'm not saying that the Spurs are different than they were a year ago in how they move the ball, I'm saying that that unlike last year, Miami hasn't faced anyone that's remotely close to their style. Last year, Milwaukee and Chicago were both Top 10 teams in terms of APG. This year, every team they've played has had below average ball movement, and now they're going up against the best in the business in this respect. Very difficult to jump from one extreme to another effectively.

Originally posted by LA9erFan:

Originally posted by 4ML:

I did a quick search and this is what I found:

Spurs team assists this year: 25.2
Last year: 25.1

Pacers this year: 20.1
Last year: 20.4

Assist/TO for Spurs last year was 1.71 and this year it's 1.75

There is no question Spurs are a better team than last year and they're scoring more points...but everyone in the Western Conf. is scoring more pts this season. I think pace has a lot to do with it and if you compare the pace of Western Conf. this year vs. last year - you'll notice a good jump.

I'm not saying that the Spurs are different than they were a year ago in how they move the ball, I'm saying that that unlike last year, Miami hasn't faced anyone that's remotely close to their style. Last year, Milwaukee and Chicago were both Top 10 teams in terms of APG. This year, every team they've played has had below average ball movement, and now they're going up against the best in the business in this respect. Very difficult to jump from one extreme to another effectively.

True but if there is a team that has the ability to make that adjustment, it is MIA. I just hope SA, role players play with more confidence and Manu doesn't hand any game to MIA.

the biggest question isnt who wins, its how many games does joey crawford do?

Originally posted by TX9R:

Originally posted by 4ML:
I did a quick search and this is what I found:

Spurs team assists this year: 25.2
Last year: 25.1

Pacers this year: 20.1
Last year: 20.4

Assist/TO for Spurs last year was 1.71 and this year it's 1.75

There is no question Spurs are a better team than last year and they're scoring more points...but everyone in the Western Conf. is scoring more pts this season. I think pace has a lot to do with it and if you compare the pace of Western Conf. this year vs. last year - you'll notice a good jump.

The simpler answer would be that the East just plays terrible offense and has for as long as I can remember.

It's a bit of both - and stats back up what I said earlier. Yes, West plays better offensively but they also don't play a whole lot of defense. East is much better defensively but their offense isn't on par with the West.

Top defenses against West:

Bulls allowed 95.6pts to the teams in West (ranked 1)
Pacers allowed 96.9 (ranked 3)
Bobcats allowed 98.1 (ranked 4)
Nets allowed 98.8 (ranked 6)

Originally posted by LA9erFan:

Originally posted by 4ML:
I did a quick search and this is what I found:

Spurs team assists this year: 25.2
Last year: 25.1

Pacers this year: 20.1
Last year: 20.4

Assist/TO for Spurs last year was 1.71 and this year it's 1.75

There is no question Spurs are a better team than last year and they're scoring more points...but everyone in the Western Conf. is scoring more pts this season. I think pace has a lot to do with it and if you compare the pace of Western Conf. this year vs. last year - you'll notice a good jump.

I'm not saying that the Spurs are different than they were a year ago in how they move the ball, I'm saying that that unlike last year, Miami hasn't faced anyone that's remotely close to their style. Last year, Milwaukee and Chicago were both Top 10 teams in terms of APG. This year, every team they've played has had below average ball movement, and now they're going up against the best in the business in this respect. Very difficult to jump from one extreme to another effectively.

Gotcha. But, by the same token - Spurs haven't played a defense like Miami in these playoffs.

Since, Western Conf. was much better offensively...I'll use the stat: pts allowed against West only.

Mavs were 24th ranked pts. allowed against Western Conf.
Blazers were 21st ranked
OKC were 8th ranked (but that was with Ibaka). I doubt they would be ranked in top 16 without him.

Miami Heat were ranked 9th and they were lollygagging (ah thank you Madden) all season, especially at the defensive end.

On the other hand...every opponent of Miami in these play-offs was ranked in top 6 (pts. allowed per game) against Western Conf.