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****The Official 2014-15 NBA Thread****

Discussion in 'Other Sports Forum' started by schmolioot, Jul 7, 2014.

  1. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    This is the Luol Deng I remember. Dude was always a big thorn in the Heat's side.

    [video=youtube;D_B4dhE3d_E]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_B4dhE3d_E[/video]

    Chris Bosh is going to get a lot more action playing with Deng.
     
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  2. Alex44

    Alex44 Boshosaurus Rex

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    Rice Jr looks great but he's in the Ennis boat of "Lets see against top competition."

    As for Ariza/Pierce...very close. I'd take Ariza based on age.
     
  3. Sumlit

    Sumlit Well-Known Member

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    Beacon Journal reporting James Jones signed a 1 year deal of Cleveland. Ugh.
     
  4. Alex44

    Alex44 Boshosaurus Rex

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    Not sure he's a huge difference maker. Vets are important but I don't see why they are burying their younger talent.

    We all like JJ but honestly he gets hyped more than he produces
     
  5. sports24/7

    sports24/7 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    I'm fine with losing JJ. I liked him, but he probably wasn't going to play for the Heat and I'd rather see them give his roster spot to a player with some upside like Tyler Honeycutt.
     
  6. TooGoodForDez

    TooGoodForDez Deion Sanders for GM

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    We should be better defensively too with Deng and McBob.
     
  7. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    I don't know what LeBron sees in James Jones. Whatever he sees in him must be exclusive to practice. During games he seems to never shoot threes up to his ability, and he is the worst kind of liability on defense. What LeBron is trying to do with Mike Miller and James Jones though is help import the Heat culture into a locker room that I believe someone here mentioned Luol Deng called "shocking".
     
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  8. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    Fast-forward to about 1:34 of this video. What a pass by McBob. And they mention that it was his second behind the back pass of that game. Then a play or so later he does it again under the basket. Chris Bosh is gonna EAT.

    [video=youtube;940aORsBxk4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=940aORsBxk4[/video]

    Of course the whole video worth watching. Heat have really upgraded their passing with McBob and Deng, even with the loss of LeBron (who was a superb passer).

    PS. Love the play that starts at about 2:08 because really that's a superb pass from Deng down to Boozer in the paint but then McBob blocks Boozer at the rim.
     
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  9. Sumlit

    Sumlit Well-Known Member

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    Problem is, you bring those guys and you stunt what is supposed to be the strength of the Cavs, youth. Every minute JJ and MM get is less minutes for the young players to develop.

    What's going to happen when the first struggles for the Cavs hit, and they will hit, and Lebron starts demanding more minutes for his veterans?
     
  10. sports24/7

    sports24/7 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Ball movement was something I felt the Heat really got away from last year. It's how the Spurs destroyed us. Hopefully with this roster, they will get back to that.
     
  11. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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  12. Alex44

    Alex44 Boshosaurus Rex

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    Mike Miller can teach them how to hobble down the court and JJ can teach them how to.....not perform well in games? :shifty:
     
  13. TooGoodForDez

    TooGoodForDez Deion Sanders for GM

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    We know James is a drive and dish guy, and they are just getting insurance in 3 pt shooters. Miller is more than that tho, he gives you length and hustle, good spacing and D.


    McBob is a sight to behold, he is fun to watch.
     
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  14. Sumlit

    Sumlit Well-Known Member

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    Watching that video for some reason I thought about Ramon Sessions. Isn't he a free agent, he could be a decent backup guard. He can score really well.
     
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  15. Alex44

    Alex44 Boshosaurus Rex

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    His assist numbers should be even better assuming we use him to his strengths. We still have a top team.

    Loved what Wade said. Not about the whole home thing but the "my house!" at the end. I feel like he must be motivated.
     
  16. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    Yeah the Spurs series was basically a full series of straight Josh McRoberts highlight film. Which is insane. I've never seen a team play that well, that consistently against the Heat.
     
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  17. Desides

    Desides Well-Known Member

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    I believe this is what you're referring to.
     
  18. TooGoodForDez

    TooGoodForDez Deion Sanders for GM

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    Should be FMVP 2015
     
  19. Mainge

    Mainge Season Ticket Holder

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    No. The Cavaliers as currently constructed are better than we are. This is going to be unpopular but I think we're a 4-6 seed right now and clearly not as good as Chicago, Indiana, or Cleveland.

    Unless Wade is healthy and has some of his old explosiveness back.
     
  20. Alex44

    Alex44 Boshosaurus Rex

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    That will be unpopular because in all honesty it makes no sense. Chicago is the only team you can argue is better right now.
     
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  21. schmolioot

    schmolioot Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Even if we're only a 4 seed that's still amazing considering we lost LeBron.

    LeBron doesn't know what he's walking into in that locker room, which was a dysfunctional mess last year, with a coach who he doesn't know, and the only veterans of consequence are Varaejo and two Heat rejects.

    I mean, is Blatt going to have any power there? If LeBron decides JJ should play, I don't see how Blatt doesn't acquiesce.

    As Greg Cote put it, LJ decided to be a Kindergarten Cop, rather than make a 5th straight Finals. Take away the gauzy, saccharine sweet, made for sportswriters and tv talking heads story, that's exactly what you have. The best player in the game turning down a near guaranteed trip to a 5th straight Finals.
     
  22. sports24/7

    sports24/7 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Wade doesn't have to be his old self to make a big impact. He needs to transform his game a bit. He did some last year, but now he's going to have to carry more of the load.

    I don't see how you can say the Heat are "clearly" not as good as any of those teams, but surely a case could be made for being better than Indiana without Stephenson, and Rose is still a question mark in Chicago. If he gets hurt again or doesn't regain his form, the Heat could be better than them as well. As for Cleveland, LeBron makes them great, but after that there are a bunch of question marks. Irving is not as good as Wade has been the past few years and there isn't any other proven talent on that team. I would guess they finish ahead of the Heat, but it's not a given.
     
  23. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    To be honest kind of wondering where Carlos Boozer would fit in all of this but then again, I suppose it's a long season and depth is a good thing.
     
  24. NaboCane

    NaboCane Banned

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    If $9M was all it was gonna take to get Stephenson, we should have done it. We should have made room and gotten it done.

    With a 3yr contract, Charlotte will have his full Bird rights in 2017-2018.

    Aim for '16 all you want, but Lance is young and should be the core of that team for the next decade. Big philosophical miss by Riley there.
     
  25. sports24/7

    sports24/7 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    As a scoring big off the bench. Right now, the only true PF the Heat have off the bench is UD and we don't know what he has left. Deng and Granger can play that position, and probably will at times, but they are natural 3s.
     
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  26. TooGoodForDez

    TooGoodForDez Deion Sanders for GM

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    I think no team in the East is clearly better than the Heat. I even extend that to the west with the exception of the Spurs.
     
  27. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    Here's what I don't get. Yes. He probably turned down a 5th straight Finals appearance. Yes, he's going to go play Kindergarten Cop. Disgruntled Heat fans and media are concentrating solely on that and conveniently dismissing what you dub to be the "saccharine sweet, made for sportswriter and tv talking heads story"...yet if you dismiss that then why did LeBron give up the 5th straight Finals appearance to go babysit a team he admitted has to be built from the ground-up?

    Could it be that (gasp) the saccharine sweet made for sportswriter and tv talking heads story is actually the truth, and that's why he went back?

    He went back for his reasons and I think people should stop acting all butt hurt about it. It's not a good look.
     
  28. phinswolverinesrockets

    phinswolverinesrockets If he dies, he dies

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    Yeah, Charlotte is going to be a problem in the East if Big Al can stay healthy. I could see them as a 3 seed with this Stephenson move.
     
  29. TooGoodForDez

    TooGoodForDez Deion Sanders for GM

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    Agree. If you look at the Spurs bench with Diaw, Belinelli, Ginobili, joseph, super efficient bench. We need to build that. Right now we have Anderson for McBob, Granger for Deng, Cole for Chalmers. It's good but I agree we need 2 and a 4, preferably efficient.
     
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  30. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    Crazy as a damn loon though. He helped destroy what could have easily been a valid Eastern Conference title run. That's my issue with the Lance Stephenson talk. The Faustian nature of it bugs me. One thing I think we've learned or we should have learned is that chemistry in basketball matters. It's not just a collection of individual talents.

    A very BIG reason why the Heat experiment actually worked was because of how well all these guys got along together and how they all made it a habit to do things that foster chemistry and unselfish play, despite their inner demons telling them to be total *****.
     
  31. sports24/7

    sports24/7 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Do you really want to gamble a shot at a really big fish on Lance Stephenson, despite the fact that he's certifiably crazy? There's no denying his talent, but you cannot count on him right now. It's possible that the Heat culture could set him straight, but are you willing to bank on that? I'm not. Plus, this is a guy who scored less than 14 pts per game last year, so it's not like he's setting the league on fire.
     
  32. NaboCane

    NaboCane Banned

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    Jesus, he's fun to watch.
     
  33. Mrtree

    Mrtree Juan Huron's agent

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    Lance was no model teammate last year. He was known for padding his stats at teammates expense and caused a lot of the acrimony that happened with the Pacers.


    There's a reason I couldn't get in board with the Heat signing him.


    Caveat Emptor
     
  34. NaboCane

    NaboCane Banned

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    Rice is Lance Stephenson without the steady, even personality and polite demeanor.
     
  35. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    As for how good the Heat could be, I suppose it's hard to tell. But I know this: if the Big 3 experiment had never happened and the Heat were to suddenly acquire Chris Bosh from the Minnesota Timberwolves and Luol Deng from the Chicago Bulls, putting them together with Dwyane Wade in Miami, and surrounding them with guys like Chris Andersen and Josh McRoberts, I'm pretty sure the folks that have never seen a "Big 3" and don't know what that means would be very impressed with the Heat's potential to contend for the Eastern Conference title.
     
  36. phinswolverinesrockets

    phinswolverinesrockets If he dies, he dies

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    Lance did that as a 3rd option. He was third on the Pacers in shot attempts. He hit 49% of those by the way.
     
  37. Sumlit

    Sumlit Well-Known Member

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    Stephenson would have come at the expense of Deng + bench depth. Not worth it for the gamble that he is. Talented, yes, but a gamble nonetheless. Deng also fit an immediate need, whereas Stephenson would have likely been played out of position at PG.
     
  38. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    We should honestly know. We had the best seats in the house to witness it. His antics took the life right out of his teammates over and over again during the Eastern Conference Finals. If he's a model citizen and everyone was getting along (including especially Hibbert), they probably face the Spurs in the Finals.
     
  39. ckparrothead

    ckparrothead Draft Forum Moderator Luxury Box

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    This was just as fun to watch. Love the two puzzle pieces they added. Lots of style to these guys.

    [video=youtube;940aORsBxk4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=940aORsBxk4[/video]
     
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  40. schmolioot

    schmolioot Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    It may very well be the only reason.

    However, there is too much other stuff out there that makes me cynical about it.

    And it's not being "butt hurt". If he doesn't want to be here, then he doesn't have to be here. But don't write this love letter to Akron and how sorry you are you abandoned it when you just did the exact same thing to your "second home".
     

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