2012 NBA Playoffs

[sealybobo]

I love Durant, he is the best basketball Player in the NBA.

Durant is great and will be a HOF if he has longevity, but I still think LBJ is better! OKC is deeper and that is why they can compete.

But ask yourself this? Name a player from that Cleveland team, other than LBJ, that LBJ brought to the finals? You will start naming some very shitty players. LBJ brought a horrible team to the finals!

Then ask yourself, regardless of personal feelings (I personally can't stand LBJ and love Durant), if you were building a team would you really pick Durant over LBJ? Doubtfully. I might not (more like probably not) pick him over Howard!

I would pick Durant over Lebron anyday of the week, Durant is younger and is not even in his prime yet, he is only 23. Lebron has been in the league 10 years and is 0-2 in the Finals so far, and if the refs don't get involved he will lose again. Lebron had 2 All stars with him last year in the Finals Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, there is no excuse for them to lose to the Mavericks, he had plenty of help last year. Jason Kidd in his prime took some pretty shitty New Jersey Nets teams to the Finals as well twice, but nobody cares because they didn't win.

Thunder just stole the ball with 12 seconds left and they are down 2. OMG!

 

[sealybobo]

James just came up HUGE!

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

I love Durant, he is the best basketball Player in the NBA.

And I love it that people are starting to realize that. Remember I compared him to Bill Russell and someone said Durant doesn't play defense? Well he played enough D to keep the Heat under 100 points. And enough to win. You only have to play tough D if you aren't scoring enough points. And from what I see, Durant does his job. He isn't a liability on D. And when he wins multiple championships, maybe then it will be ok for me to compare him to the great Bill Russell. I know its too early.

And what did you think about me calling Durant the black Larry Bird? My co-worker made that up after we watched some Bird highlights. My God was that guy amazing. Shooting the ball in the basket was easy for him. Durant too.

Durant COULD be the next Larry bird, but we should wait to see if he can close out this series before we annoint him that I still want to see how Durant does under pressure when the refs are giving every call to the Miami Heat and that will happen at some point in this series.

Durant can shoot like Bird. Although, it'd be hard for me to see Bird missing that chippie that Durant missed at the end of the game. But Durant will never be the playmaker or passer that Bird was. And I doubt he'd ever be the defender Bird was. But his defense has improved from last year to this year.

 

[Article 15]

The refs handed that game to Miami. Lebron fouled the crap out of Durant on that last shot. I don't care what point of the game it is that's a foul all day long. I dare anyone to watch that reply and tell me that was anything but a horrible non call.

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

The refs handed that game to Miami. Lebron fouled the crap out of Durant on that last shot. I don't care what point of the game it is that's a foul all day long. I dare anyone to watch that reply and tell me that was anything but a horrible non call.

I just did. And I don't think it was a foul. I'll say this though. I just watched the highlights and I saw two plays in which Bosh and then James were allowed to set moving screens. They were calling that crap all the time against the C's.

I only watched the last 7 minutes of the game from a distance at the gym. I didn't see anything especially blatant (other than possibly that out of bounds call in the final 2 minutes?). I would imagine that Miami got a few subtle calls. Stern had Dan Crawford on the case. But I think overall the Thunder have to blame themselves for getting down 15.

BTW, that 7 minutes is the all I've watched of the series so far. As far as I'm concerned it's not a real finals. The two best teams were/are the Spurs and Celtics and they both got robbed. I don't much feel like dignifying Stern's crap.

 

[Article 15]

The refs handed that game to Miami. Lebron fouled the crap out of Durant on that last shot. I don't care what point of the game it is that's a foul all day long. I dare anyone to watch that reply and tell me that was anything but a horrible non call.

I just did. And I don't think it was a foul. I'll say this though. I just watched the highlights and I saw two plays in which Bosh and then James were allowed to set moving screens. They were calling that crap all the time against the C's.

I only watched the last 7 minutes of the game from a distance at the gym. I didn't see anything especially blatant (other than possibly that out of bounds call in the final 2 minutes?). I would imagine that Miami got a few subtle calls. Stern had Dan Crawford on the case. But I think overall the Thunder have to blame themselves for getting down 15.

BTW, that 7 minutes is the all I've watched of the series so far. As far as I'm concerned it's not a real finals. The two best teams were/are the Spurs and Celtics and they both got robbed. I don't much feel like dignifying Stern's crap.

For all the whining you've been doing about refs this postseason and you are saying was the right non call?! lmfao! Lebron fouled him like three separate times that play.

And the Celtics aren't better than OKC, I hate to break it to you. They would have run us off the court in four straight.

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

The refs handed that game to Miami. Lebron fouled the crap out of Durant on that last shot. I don't care what point of the game it is that's a foul all day long. I dare anyone to watch that reply and tell me that was anything but a horrible non call.

I just did. And I don't think it was a foul. I'll say this though. I just watched the highlights and I saw two plays in which Bosh and then James were allowed to set moving screens. They were calling that crap all the time against the C's.

I only watched the last 7 minutes of the game from a distance at the gym. I didn't see anything especially blatant (other than possibly that out of bounds call in the final 2 minutes?). I would imagine that Miami got a few subtle calls. Stern had Dan Crawford on the case. But I think overall the Thunder have to blame themselves for getting down 15.

BTW, that 7 minutes is the all I've watched of the series so far. As far as I'm concerned it's not a real finals. The two best teams were/are the Spurs and Celtics and they both got robbed. I don't much feel like dignifying Stern's crap.

For all the whining you've been doing about refs this postseason and you are saying was the right non call?! lmfao! Lebron fouled him like three separate times that play.

And the Celtics aren't better than OKC, I hate to break it to you. They would have run us off the court in four straight.

I "whine" b/c the NBA is rigged and everyone and their dog knows it. Just the other day one of the top rated comments on the Manny P. boxing scandal was "the judges must've been NBA refs." It's no secret, the state of NBA reffing. And frankly, it wouldn't surprise me if OKC would have won Gm 2 with fair minded refs. I can't tell you how many times a game I watch Lebron barrel into the lane not caring who he hits and it's actually him going to the lane.

But all of that said, it doesn't mean that on any given play, the refs don't get a call right. You can watch the last play here: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pn8-xoEl7X4]Thunder vs. Heat - Game 2 Full Highlights | 2012 NBA Finals - YouTube[/ame]

I guess you could call a foul, b/c LBJ did stick his arm into him and he did have his arm come down on his knee. It'd have been a bit of a weak call IMO. So I have to backtrack a little in that respect. I think the ref was there and he probably should have given a late call after it clanked off the rim. It'd have been really weak for an and one though. I hate weak and one calls. I think a player should really have to get pounded to get the extra point.

But yea, I'd have to give it to you on further review. And it was Dan ******* Crawford there. Stern is paying him huge bucks to make that no-call and get the series back to Miami tied 1-1. Do you realize that NBA refs make more money in 2 to 5 playoff games than they do all season? Of course they're going to be sleezy when they understand Stern's game.

But the average NBA fan is a fucktard and Congress is too corrupt to do shit, so that's what you're stuck with; 5 on 8.

And when I said the Spurs/Celts were the two best teams; I think it was ******* obvious that I meant the Spurs were better than the Thunder and the C's were better than the Heat. The C's/Thunder argument isn't part of the equation. It was what two teams deserved to be in this year's final.

And no, the Thunder would not have swept the Celtics. The Heat are hanging in just fine with the Thunder and they aren't any better than them.

 

[High_Gravity]

I told you guys Miami in 6, the fix is in. There is way too much money invested in the Lebron James hype machine, Kevin Durant is only 23 and has the whole world in front of him he doesnt need to win right now, Lebron James needs to win NOW. He is 0-2 in the Finals and another embarassment will expose him as a fraud, he's not getting any younger and Wade did turn 30 this year, they need to win this and the refs will make sure of it. As we learned in the Boston/Miami series it really only takes 1 bad game to turn a series your way, that game 2 rig job gave Miami just enough breathing space for Bosh to come back and win it, without that Boston would have won 4-1. I don't think OKC would have swept Boston though, I actually think that would have been a better series than this ******* rig job.

 

[High_Gravity]

The refs handed that game to Miami. Lebron fouled the crap out of Durant on that last shot. I don't care what point of the game it is that's a foul all day long. I dare anyone to watch that reply and tell me that was anything but a horrible non call.

Why are you surprised? the refs had to give Miami a win they can't go back to Miami down 2-0 to OKC, its because of bullshit like this that I want absolutely nothing to do with this rigged series.

 

[theHawk]

I told you guys Miami in 6, the fix is in. There is way too much money invested in the Lebron James hype machine, Kevin Durant is only 23 and has the whole world in front of him he doesnt need to win right now, Lebron James needs to win NOW. He is 0-2 in the Finals and another embarassment will expose him as a fraud, he's not getting any younger and Wade did turn 30 this year, they need to win this and the refs will make sure of it. As we learned in the Boston/Miami series it really only takes 1 bad game to turn a series your way, that game 2 rig job gave Miami just enough breathing space for Bosh to come back and win it, without that Boston would have won 4-1. I don't think OKC would have swept Boston though, I actually think that would have been a better series than this ******* rig job.

Yup. This is what happens when a team (OKC) is elevated to the finals via Stern's orders. The OKC fans might of been happy to be the benefactors of Sterns refs, but now they are going to know what if feels like to get screwed over by Stern. They were only elevated to he finals to be the sacrificial lamb for LeBron.

 

[High_Gravity]

I told you guys Miami in 6, the fix is in. There is way too much money invested in the Lebron James hype machine, Kevin Durant is only 23 and has the whole world in front of him he doesnt need to win right now, Lebron James needs to win NOW. He is 0-2 in the Finals and another embarassment will expose him as a fraud, he's not getting any younger and Wade did turn 30 this year, they need to win this and the refs will make sure of it. As we learned in the Boston/Miami series it really only takes 1 bad game to turn a series your way, that game 2 rig job gave Miami just enough breathing space for Bosh to come back and win it, without that Boston would have won 4-1. I don't think OKC would have swept Boston though, I actually think that would have been a better series than this ******* rig job.

Yup. This is what happens when a team (OKC) is elevated to the finals via Stern's orders. The OKC fans might of been happy to be the benefactors of Sterns refs, but now they are going to know what if feels like to get screwed over by Stern. They were only elevated to he finals to be the sacrificial lamb for LeBron.

You just nailed it my man, none of my friends believe me but this OKC V.S Miami Finals was drawn up before the playoffs even started, it was actually quite easy to work with all the injuries like Derrick Rose, Dwight Howard, etc. In reality OKC is the better team than Miami but than again so was Boston, being the better team means nothing when the fix was in. Kevin Durant and the Thunder never had to play a series 8 on 5 with the fix in for you to lose, let's see how he does the next 3 games in Miami. The bottom line is Stern needs his Miami darlings to start winning championships Lebron has come up short too many times, he will win this year. This whole overhyped Miami circus was not put together to be the runner up.

 

[sealybobo]

I just did. And I don't think it was a foul. I'll say this though. I just watched the highlights and I saw two plays in which Bosh and then James were allowed to set moving screens. They were calling that crap all the time against the C's.

I only watched the last 7 minutes of the game from a distance at the gym. I didn't see anything especially blatant (other than possibly that out of bounds call in the final 2 minutes?). I would imagine that Miami got a few subtle calls. Stern had Dan Crawford on the case. But I think overall the Thunder have to blame themselves for getting down 15.

BTW, that 7 minutes is the all I've watched of the series so far. As far as I'm concerned it's not a real finals. The two best teams were/are the Spurs and Celtics and they both got robbed. I don't much feel like dignifying Stern's crap.

For all the whining you've been doing about refs this postseason and you are saying was the right non call?! lmfao! Lebron fouled him like three separate times that play.

And the Celtics aren't better than OKC, I hate to break it to you. They would have run us off the court in four straight.

I "whine" b/c the NBA is rigged and everyone and their dog knows it. Just the other day one of the top rated comments on the Manny P. boxing scandal was "the judges must've been NBA refs." It's no secret, the state of NBA reffing. And frankly, it wouldn't surprise me if OKC would have won Gm 2 with fair minded refs. I can't tell you how many times a game I watch Lebron barrel into the lane not caring who he hits and it's actually him going to the lane.

But all of that said, it doesn't mean that on any given play, the refs don't get a call right. You can watch the last play here: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pn8-xoEl7X4]Thunder vs. Heat - Game 2 Full Highlights | 2012 NBA Finals - YouTube[/ame]

I guess you could call a foul, b/c LBJ did stick his arm into him and he did have his arm come down on his knee. It'd have been a bit of a weak call IMO. So I have to backtrack a little in that respect. I think the ref was there and he probably should have given a late call after it clanked off the rim. It'd have been really weak for an and one though. I hate weak and one calls. I think a player should really have to get pounded to get the extra point.

But yea, I'd have to give it to you on further review. And it was Dan ******* Crawford there. Stern is paying him huge bucks to make that no-call and get the series back to Miami tied 1-1. Do you realize that NBA refs make more money in 2 to 5 playoff games than they do all season? Of course they're going to be sleezy when they understand Stern's game.

But the average NBA fan is a fucktard and Congress is too corrupt to do shit, so that's what you're stuck with; 5 on 8.

And when I said the Spurs/Celts were the two best teams; I think it was ******* obvious that I meant the Spurs were better than the Thunder and the C's were better than the Heat. The C's/Thunder argument isn't part of the equation. It was what two teams deserved to be in this year's final.

And no, the Thunder would not have swept the Celtics. The Heat are hanging in just fine with the Thunder and they aren't any better than them.

Yes the Thunder would have swept the Celtics.

Yes it was the Thunder who blew it in game 2, not the refs. The refs did/do favor the Heat and the NBA does want this to go 7, but the Thunder didn't deserve to win game 2, although they almost pulled it off. That should have been a foul and put Durant on the line to tie it up. That game should have and would have gone into OT if the refs were not favoring the Heat. But that is why OKC has to beat them by 6 or more points. Quit ******* around and going down 12 for 3 quarters. Game 2 should have woken them up. I think game 2 was a good loss for OKC. They will either bounce back stronger or Lebron wins his first championship.

I can't believe Lebron might actually win his first championship. Either way, I love this game!

 

[sealybobo]

I told you guys Miami in 6, the fix is in. There is way too much money invested in the Lebron James hype machine, Kevin Durant is only 23 and has the whole world in front of him he doesnt need to win right now, Lebron James needs to win NOW. He is 0-2 in the Finals and another embarassment will expose him as a fraud, he's not getting any younger and Wade did turn 30 this year, they need to win this and the refs will make sure of it. As we learned in the Boston/Miami series it really only takes 1 bad game to turn a series your way, that game 2 rig job gave Miami just enough breathing space for Bosh to come back and win it, without that Boston would have won 4-1. I don't think OKC would have swept Boston though, I actually think that would have been a better series than this ******* rig job.

Yup. This is what happens when a team (OKC) is elevated to the finals via Stern's orders. The OKC fans might of been happy to be the benefactors of Sterns refs, but now they are going to know what if feels like to get screwed over by Stern. They were only elevated to he finals to be the sacrificial lamb for LeBron.

You just nailed it my man, none of my friends believe me but this OKC V.S Miami Finals was drawn up before the playoffs even started, it was actually quite easy to work with all the injuries like Derrick Rose, Dwight Howard, etc. In reality OKC is the better team than Miami but than again so was Boston, being the better team means nothing when the fix was in. Kevin Durant and the Thunder never had to play a series 8 on 5 with the fix in for you to lose, let's see how he does the next 3 games in Miami. The bottom line is Stern needs his Miami darlings to start winning championships Lebron has come up short too many times, he will win this year. This whole overhyped Miami circus was not put together to be the runner up.

I can't believe it but you might actually end up being totally right. Even still, the Heat gotta make their shots and stop the Thunder which aint easy.

 

[sealybobo]

I told you guys Miami in 6, the fix is in. There is way too much money invested in the Lebron James hype machine, Kevin Durant is only 23 and has the whole world in front of him he doesnt need to win right now, Lebron James needs to win NOW. He is 0-2 in the Finals and another embarassment will expose him as a fraud, he's not getting any younger and Wade did turn 30 this year, they need to win this and the refs will make sure of it. As we learned in the Boston/Miami series it really only takes 1 bad game to turn a series your way, that game 2 rig job gave Miami just enough breathing space for Bosh to come back and win it, without that Boston would have won 4-1. I don't think OKC would have swept Boston though, I actually think that would have been a better series than this ******* rig job.

Yup. This is what happens when a team (OKC) is elevated to the finals via Stern's orders. The OKC fans might of been happy to be the benefactors of Sterns refs, but now they are going to know what if feels like to get screwed over by Stern. They were only elevated to he finals to be the sacrificial lamb for LeBron.

And they might not be able to keep Harden beyond this year. I think Durant will win his fair share of championships. How many did Larry Bird win? 2 or 3? Magic? 5? He will win at least 2 before its all done. He's only 23. Lebron's getting old.

 

[sealybobo]

Even though Lebron went straight to the NBA, he's gotta be getting older. He has played a lot of playoff games. I think they added up all the playoff games the 2004 Piston team members played in 10 years and it was the equvilant to an entire NBA season. Or something like that. Lebron has been in a lot of playoff games. I don't recall him ever missing the playoffs. So he has a lot of games under him at this point than some guy who's been in the league the same amount of years but on a team that has never made the playoffs.

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

I didn't watch Game 1. I watched the last 7 minutes of Game 2. And I turned on the game for the last 9 minutes of Game 3 and the first play I see is LBJ throw it off the back of the backboard and there was no call.

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

Game 1 Officials: Derrick Stafford , Ed Malloy , Monty Mccutchen

Monty and Ed are total company men.

Game 2: Tom Washington , Dan Crawford , Tony Brothers

Dan Crawford tows the company line.

Game 3: Joey Crawford, Ken Mauer, James Capers (Alternate: Bill Kennedy)

KM knows the business. JC is Stern's go to guy. He officiated Game 1, 5, 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals. He was one of the refs that conveniently missed Gasol traveling on the shot that clinched it for the Lakers. He was also Stern's go to man in Game 6 of last year's final; but he couldn't get the job done.

My guess is that Stern held JC til Game 3 b/c it'd be an opportunity to get the Heat up 2-1; or make sure they got the job done if they came back down 0-2.

I would expect to see JC in Game 5 if the series is tied 2-2. And I'd expect to see him in a Game 7. Stern doesn't use the same refs in back to back games to limit the chatter.

 

[sealybobo]

Game 1 Officials: Derrick Stafford , Ed Malloy , Monty Mccutchen

Monty and Ed are total company men.

Game 2: Tom Washington , Dan Crawford , Tony Brothers

Dan Crawford tows the company line.

Game 3: Joey Crawford, Ken Mauer, James Capers (Alternate: Bill Kennedy)

KM knows the business. JC is Stern's go to guy. He officiated Game 1, 5, 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals. He was one of the refs that conveniently missed Gasol traveling on the shot that clinched it for the Lakers. He was also Stern's go to man in Game 6 of last year's final; but he couldn't get the job done.

My guess is that Stern held JC til Game 3 b/c it'd be an opportunity to get the Heat up 2-1; or make sure they got the job done if they came back down 0-2.

I would expect to see JC in Game 5 if the series is tied 2-2. And I'd expect to see him in a Game 7. Stern doesn't use the same refs in back to back games to limit the chatter.

Looks to me like OKC is getting their ass kicked. And I'm rooting for them, so don't say I'm bias. If I thought it was the refs fault, I'd say it.

Only down by 3. 1:30 left.\ 1 pt game! Time out Miami. What a game.

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

Wade was all over Sefolosha's back. That should have been an and one. It's not all about the bad calls. NBA refs are great at letting no calls affect the game.

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

Game 1 Officials: Derrick Stafford , Ed Malloy , Monty Mccutchen

Monty and Ed are total company men.

Game 2: Tom Washington , Dan Crawford , Tony Brothers

Dan Crawford tows the company line.

Game 3: Joey Crawford, Ken Mauer, James Capers (Alternate: Bill Kennedy)

KM knows the business. JC is Stern's go to guy. He officiated Game 1, 5, 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals. He was one of the refs that conveniently missed Gasol traveling on the shot that clinched it for the Lakers. He was also Stern's go to man in Game 6 of last year's final; but he couldn't get the job done.

My guess is that Stern held JC til Game 3 b/c it'd be an opportunity to get the Heat up 2-1; or make sure they got the job done if they came back down 0-2.

I would expect to see JC in Game 5 if the series is tied 2-2. And I'd expect to see him in a Game 7. Stern doesn't use the same refs in back to back games to limit the chatter.

Looks to me like OKC is getting their ass kicked. And I'm rooting for them, so don't say I'm bias. If I thought it was the refs fault, I'd say it.

Only down by 3. 1:30 left.\ 1 pt game! Time out Miami. What a game.

Saying a team is getting their ass kicked doesn't mean much if the refs are calling the game off. They can affect every play if they want.

Here's what I just saw. LBJ drapes himself on Durant and he doesn't even hit the rim. On the next play Bosh gets away with hacking the ball handler. Then on the Heat's next play, Harden gets called and it should've been a no call but the official decided that they wanted to decide the game and not let the players play.

Also on an earlier play a couple minutes ago, Lebron grabbed Harden's arm to cause the TO and the Heat scored on the play. NBA is a joke.