COURTSIDE VIEW: What Would you do for a Klondike Bar?

Johnny J

With the Miami Heat winning back-to-back NBA titles, it is official; I just lost another bet. In fact, I lost three bets that came out to a grand total of $60. I usually don't make bets unless I absolutely feel the team I pick will win. That didn't happen.  My luck was so bad, that one team I gambled on was actually swept in these playoffs, which made it worse. So the next day, when I saw the person who won the wagers, I quickly went up to him and paid off my debt. I don't like being in debt so I try and pay off my debtors as soon as possible. There's no chasing me down or confronting me because I would go looking for that person I owe money to first. There's no waiting until the next time I get paid because I would have the money on me already just in case I do lose. When that happens, I earn the reputation of me being an honest person. People don't mind making wages with me because I end up chasing them down to get rid of my debt. Chris Bosh, I hope you are taking notes because I feel you owe Pat Riley and your teammates your salary, which is just as bad as Ray Allen jumping on the bandwagon with the enemy.

Game 7, on Wednesday night, had to be one of the worst games, if not the worst for a so-called superstar in NBA history. Bosh didn't even score a single point. He played 28 minutes in one of the most anticipated games in an  NBA Finals. How did he come out on the floor like a person who just couldn't get the job done?  A superstar should do his job and show up to big games. He had zero points and seven rebounds. When Pat Riley signed him to a six-year, $109 million dollar contract, he pictured a dominant max contract player who was a productive, franchise-type player with the Toronto Raptors.  The same player who became the all-time leading scorer for the Raptors. A double-double average a night guy. Instead, he got a newborn baby who was brought in by a stork. A newborn who was looking to get nurtured by the real superstars of the team. In others words, Bosh is softer than ______(insert your favorite brand name fabric softener--Ed). He's someone who is riding backseat of a championship team. Riding the talents of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.

So be a man, chase Pat Riley down, and give him your whole earnings of your check. The whole $17 million and some change check for this past season because you're in debt, my friend. A grand total of seven rebounds...seven and one block. ITS AN NBA FINALS, GAME 7! Third String center Joel Anthony could have produced more stats in that time (and for one-fifth of the cost--Ed).  So between Bosh and Wade, I would have to say Bosh is the one who is gone next season (despite qualifying for Early Termination Option, highly doubt that Bosh will walk away from $19 million+ for next season--Ed). I can't see the Heat paying a salary that is just going to increase. Riley is probably trying to work out a deal/trade right now. Maybe a second round pick in return would suffice. Bosh must be best friends with Brooklyn Nets' player, Joe Johnson. I heard he steals from the front office as well. What would you do for a Klondike Bar, Bosh? For a ring, for a chance to glorify and get paid off of your teammates' talents? I would feel better sleeping if I knew Heat veteran, Shane Battier received that salary instead.

Mr. "He Got Game" himself, Ray Allen. Leaving your friendships with the Boston Celtics to jump on the back of LeBron James. Taking less money to join the enemy of your Celtics' team. One of the best shooters in NBA history, desperate for another ring, I see.  He had a few highlights in Game Six to help the Heat prevail, but overall  I see why Kevin Garnett doesn't talk to him any more. Where is your self-respect? I just threw out my, "He Got Game" movie. Allen may have eased his way to another ring, but I'm sure he is still upset about San Antonio Spurs' role-player, Danny Green breaking his record for most threes made in a NBA Finals.  I couldn't reside with the enemy, especially for less money. That's just something I couldn't do. Obviously he must have thought the Celtics were a step slower in reaching the Finals again (Doc Rivers definitely thinks so--Ed). If he continued to play for the Celtics and if Rajon Rondo was healthy, I believe  the Celtics could have reached the finals. What would you do for a Klondike Bar, Ray? Kiss the rival, lose your friend. It must be ice cream in the middle, because dishonor is something that carries weight. Enjoy the 2% fat Klondike bar.


Bosh is a fraud--a fraud I tell you (Kevin Durant would say he's a "fake tough guy."--Ed). Anywhere he goes, he is going to be stealing. Just seven rebounds in an NBA Finals is worse than terrible. He stole minutes as well.  He robbed somebody who was worthy of those 28 minutes. Riley knows what has to be done. Give him the boot and make him earn that $109 million salary somewhere else. As far as Ray goes, going AWOL on his former championship team; the things people will do to be in the spotlight. I didn't see him in any highlights on the Heat's 27 game win streak, so enjoy it while you can, you aren't getting any younger.

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COURTSIDE VIEW: Straight Sixes

Johnny J

Dice have six sides to it--six faces--with one one shot on landing on six for every time its rolled. The odds of rolling a six are 5:1. You can fail five times while only being successful one time. Now moving to a bigger scale. The Miami Heat were favored to beat the San Antonio Spurs, 5:12. That means if someone was betting on the game, they would have received $5 profit for every $12 wagered. But for a team that was favored to win it, the odds are not that high. Now with the Spurs leading three games to two, the outcome of the series can either end in game six or seven. The Heat have to win two games and the odds of them winning are 3:1 in seven games. The odds of the Spurs ending it in game six is 6:1 or 13:2 in seven. The odds are higher because they're not favored. Now for LeBron James to win Finals MVP is 4:9, while Tony Parker's odds are 9:2. But for a role player such as Danny Green on winning are a whopping 30:1. Right now he is the MVP. "Straight Sixes" is the discussion of the Heat's big three vs the Spurs' old three. A look at game six and LeBron James changing his number to six.

The Miami Heat are on the verge of being defeated in the NBA Finals for the second time in three years. James recorded a triple-double in a loss in game one and has been showing flashes of what an MVP should look like by simply looking more for his shots. Triple-doubles are astonishing in an NBA Finals, but it don't mean squat in a loss. Chris Bosh is more of a role player than a star. He puts mediocre stats up, but the biggest surprise to me is Dwyane Wade finding, looking, and driving to find his stats. Wade is doing what he has to do in order to take the pressure off of the King. In game five, he had 25 points and 10 assists. I just now remembered his name is "Flash." Thanks for finally reminding me, D-Wade. While Wade did what he had to, Parker did what he needed to, scoring 26 points. He is the leader of the team.  He knew the Spurs can't be down in the series going back to South Beach. He made Mario Chalmers look like a little kid who couldn't defend. Tim Duncan is amazing at his age. Still a very dangerous low-post threat, posting a double-double in Game Five and has been throughout the series. Manu Ginobili finally found his game in the starting lineup. Welcome to the party; better late than never! It was a great move by Gregg Popovich. It's what needed to be done to get his game going.

Looking ahead to Game Six, I expect the Miami Heat to win. The series has gone win, lose, win, lose for both teams. Home court advantage doesn't seem to matter. I know the NBA is happy as they're getting the most out of this NBA Finals (So is the TV Networks that pony up large sums of money into these Finals--Ed). If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Ginobili will be in the starting lineup again. Put him, Parker, and Duncan around shooters like Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard. That is a dangerous inside and out combination. Green went 6 for 10 behind the arc in Game Five. I felt like everything he threw at the rim was going in. This kid from the University of North Carolina, (Yeah Tar Heels!) has really made a name for himself. No more dancing in the Cleveland Cavaliers circles to entertain James. On the other side, I look for James to be more aggressive in the open-court. It's win or go home!  I don't expect him to do much passing.  I also expect Wade to also be aggressive. He looked good the last two games. I can finally stop saying, "There was a D-Wade sighting on the floor." Besides it's kind of late to make changes in a do or die game. The Spurs experimented with Ginobili and it payed off.

I bet when James and company were dancing on stage in their introduction to the Heat fans a couple of years ago, they probably thought that getting a ring wouldn't be this hard. Now on the verge of dancing back to the couch, I look at the man who changed his jersey number to build his own legacy. James gave up the number 23, for his Olympic jersey number six. He has accomplished a lot, including winning a gold medal. He has only one ring though, which doesn't scream "better than Michael Jordan." So with him changing his number, he showed to Jordan what he thinks about him and all the talk had died down on the comparison. Currently, James does have a lot of individual trophies, but he lacks the most important ones--Championships. Changing your number is fine (Kobe Bryant has went from wearing 8 to 24, but he has five rings!). So it's safe to say he had built his legacy around being a champion and LeBron has built his around being the best player in the game. Jordan changed his number from 23 to 45. Oh wait, he has six rings! How many rings does James have? One. Kobe and Jordan earned the right to change their number. Just like Jordan said, "I'll take Kobe Bryant over Lebron James with the first pick."

Landing on six: Gambling always has the number six involved. The lottery consists of six numbers for at least three of the big games. Straight Sixes: the old big three versus the Heat's big three. It's looking forward to Game Six and the legacy James has built wearing number six. I'm looking forward to see how James is going to come out. Is he going to look to get the Finals MVP with another triple-double, or going to consider winning it all is more important and that he has to take over?  The Heat are better with the floor being spread out, meaning Mike Miller and Ray Allen in at the same time. The Spurs are going to continue to put up points with their "we can't miss mentality." The Spurs are thinking of winning their 5th championship in Game 6 and cementing their own legacy as well.  Game 6 can't arrive fast enough!

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COURTSIDE VIEW: "Revenge is the Sweetest Joy"

Johnny J

2Pac once said, "Revenge is the sweetest Joy" (90% of our readers should know the rest of that line--Ed). To LeBron James, the 2007 Cleveland Cavaliers were suppose to win it all. Instead, those dreams were swept in a dust pan and thrown away by the San Antonio Spurs. Six years later, with a stacked resume, LeBron looks to have the last laugh. Since that defeat, LeBron has won an NBA championship, won Finals MVP, has reached the Finals, three consecutive years, won an NBA scoring title and has two gold medals in the Olympics. Oh, did I mention that he is considered the best player on the planet right now?

This year's best scorer in the NBA, Carmelo Anthony, still hasn't learned that it takes more than one player to win a championship. Now at 28, a mature and focused James is up to the challenge of facing the same team who crushed his chance of winning his first ring.

James also has two other All-Stars on his team in Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Yes, Bosh is soft, but he still was an All-Star. LeBron needed help from other superstars to eventually win a ring last year against the Oklahoma City Thunder.  An Avengers team was created and the Miami Heat have been too hot to extinguish. When the Heat lose, everyone panics--everyone but the Heat. They continue to play their game. My first thought on Game 7 between the Heat and the underdog Indiana Pacers was that LeBron is going to take over. I mean he has to because his team is not showing up. Instead in the first quarter, he passed on a few shots. He had 6 points at the end of the first quarter (on pace for 24 points--that's not too shabby!--Ed) and they were only down by two. He let the game come to him. At halftime he had 18 points (36 points' pace?--Ed) and he finished with 32 points. He scored when he needed to. There was even a Dwyane Wade sighting as he scored 21 points to help LeBron and company advance to the Finals.

But if their is a team, who I believe can put the flames out, it is the Spurs. Over the first three rounds, they showed me that old men can play (besides Uncle Drew that is).  They swept the Los Angeles Lakers, beat the young and talented backcourt of the Golden State Warriors, and swept the Memphis Grizzlies with the same broom they used on the Lakers. That's what opened my eyes, and then I closed them because dirt got in my eyes from the sweep. Oh wait, that was just the thought of me losing $40 bucks for thinking old men can't jump. The Spurs are not a physical team, but they can get up and down the court with the best of them. Even though they have three aging stars, they would have a total of nine days of rest before Thursday's Game 1 match-up.

(Not to be confused with the Louisville Cardinals' Second Wind.  Click here, if you want to read my entry on the Cardinals' march to the NCAA Championship). 

During the regular season, the Heat and Spurs played chess with each other.  Both teams sent messages to one another by not playing their "Big Three" on the road during their regular season match-ups.  The Spurs were fined a quarter of a million dollars for resting their big players against the Heat. Even though they lost, they only lost by five in Miami. That told me that they would still be a great team even without their stars. The Heat countered the Spurs by resting James and Wade in the Alamo (Bosh played so they wouldn't get fined, in my opinion).  Amazingly, the Heat won by two on a Bosh three-pointer. I don't know if they knew they would see each other in the Finals, but they didn't want to give away any scripts. Now is the time to see if that fine was worth it. No scripts given out here!

(Unless you believe in NBA conspiracies--Ed).

I believe this is the last year for the big three in Miami. Between Bosh being soft and Wade's bum knee, they're getting weaker.  Plus, with the Cavaliers getting yet another #1 overall pick, going back to Cleveland looks more appetizing for LeBron (irony much?--Ed). Is Pat Riley going to have to choke a player to get them to do what he wants them to do?  The Spurs have been through this for over a decade. They know what's at stake. A dynasty is getting ready to take the floor. I'll put my dustpan away for this series. It's definitely going to be long. James is going to be looking at making his list of accomplishments even longer and all that work he has put into making a name for himself.  This is the time to use the talents that took him to South Beach.  This is the time to silence all of the critics and haters.  This is the time for James to once again feel the sweet joy of revenge.

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NBA LESSONS: v5.1

Once again, the #Bulls out rebound the #Heat. One would think Miami fixed that issue for the #NBAplayoffs #NBAlessons #firstplaceissues
— Felipe M (@pathological_h8) May 7, 2013

Felipe M

Game 1 of the NBA Playoff match-up between the Chicago Bulls and the Miami Heat took a surprising turn as the short-handed Bulls upset the Heat in Miami on Monday night.  But if one were to take a closer look at the team statistics after the game, fans shouldn't have been that surprised as the Bulls have found ways to compete with, and even beat, the Miami Heat (minus one blowout) during the regular season with a similar formula for success.

As a Bulls' fan, I know better than to rely too heavily on regular season success.  However, we've seen the Heat struggle against the better, rebounding clubs in the NBA.  I even went as far as saying that "poor rebounding teams get exposed in the playoffs."  Sure enough, that's what happened in Game 1.  However, before we look too deep into Game 1, let's take a look at how both teams have fared against each other in the Regular Season to see if there's a pattern that we should be noticing.

Here is the first match-up of the regular season:

January 4, 2013 at Miami
Team	Score	3PT%	FT M-A	FT%	Total Rebs		Off Rebs	Pts in Paint
Chicago	96	35.7%	19-24	79.2%	48	19		46
Miami	89	25%	24-31	77.4%	28	4		34

As the score will indicate, this was a very close game.  The rest of the stats will prove that as FG%, Assists, Turnovers, etc. are pretty even.  However, as the table will show, despite the Heat attempting 31 free throw attempts, seven more than the Bulls (this stat is always a concern because of their three superstars: LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh and a tendency for officials to give them more foul calls), the Bulls, as I explained back in January, simply out-worked the Heat in rebounds and points in the paint.  The Bulls also shot a lot better from 3-point range, which would solidify their victory in Miami.  Nevertheless, the hard work done in the paint and in the glass against a seemingly, more finesse Heat team is the blueprint to victory.

Unfortunately for the Bulls in the second match-up, the Heat were looking for revenge and made Chicago look like "Lambs at the Slaughter":

February 21, 2013 at Chicago
Team	Score	FG%	FT%	Persnl Fouls	Stls + Blocks	TOs	Pts in Paint
Miami	86	50.7%	64.3%	15	20	17	38
Chicago	67	37.3%	81.8%	15	14	26	38

The Heat were hitting on all cylinders in the 2nd game, but despite the impressive field goal percentage, the Heat only scored 86 points.  However, their defense actually showed up in this game, as the allowed only 26 points combined in the 2nd and 4th quarter of this game.  The Heat controlled the tempo on offense.  One thing worth nothing is the high FT% that the Bulls shot.  This would be a recurring theme as the Bulls, despite getting lesser attempts at the line, would go on to dominate in terms of percentage.  

I spoke of the Heat controlling the game's tempo, but as one will notice, personal fouls called were distributed evenly.  Favoritism, in this regard, has not been shown to the Heat, but it's worth noting that of the four regular season games, the 30 combined fouls were the lowest called in their games.  The other three games always had a minimum of 35 fouls called combined by both teams.  Perhaps the lowered fouls called proved to benefit the Heat's preference to run up-and-down the court (again, "tempo").  

As mentioned, the Heat's defense came to play in this game as they were the more aggressive team on the defensive side, accumulating more blocks and steals and creating more turnovers.  The Heat would continue to dominate the "Steals+Blocks" category for the rest of this series.  However, despite the defensive prowess, the Bulls scored 57% of their points from the paint area.  Another recurring theme as this should be a red flag for a Miami Heat team that's had a reputation for being a perceived finesse team with no formidable defensive big man in the middle (Bosh, it seems, is not the answer).  So despite actually tying the Bulls in this category, the Heat settled for more jump shots (again, finesse) that were going in at a higher rate.  Nevertheless, all the jump-shooting meant less free throw attempts (only 14 in this game).  Despite the blowout, this game was more indicative of the Bulls' struggles on offense at this juncture of the season.  The way the Heat were playing, the results should have been a lot worse for the Bulls, but they only lost by 19 points.

#heatstreak? More like #heatstroke whoo! Great job #Bulls
— Felipe M (@pathological_h8) March 28, 2013

One of the most exhilarating games of the 2012-13 NBA season, the Bulls found a way to end the Heat's 27-game winning streak.  Not only did the Bulls win, but they won without the heart, soul, leader, and big presence in the middle, Joakim Noah:

March 27, 2013 at Chicago
Team	Score	FT M-A	FT%	Tot Rebs	Off Rebs	Asts	Pts in Paint
Miami	97	16-23	69.6%	31	6	15	54
Chicago	101	13-18	72.2%	43	12	27	40

The Heat were awarded more FT attempts, but not by a large margin.  And once again, they shot worse than the Bulls from the charity stripe.  If the Heat would have shot better from the line, perhaps the result would have been different.  Not listed on the table is that the Heat, again, dominated steals + blocks, but only had a +5 on the turnover margin.  They did a good job of controlling the ball and not making mistakes on the offensive end.  Unfortunately for them, it only produced 15 assists.  

However, the Bulls' win can be attributed to going after the Heat's weakness: dominating the glass.  Even though they took care of the ball, the Heat found it hard to get the ball back.  Twelve offensive rebounds for the Bulls means more time to kill off the clock by regaining ball possession and less of a chance for the Heat to score.  Fouls were called pretty evenly and a total of 35 were called in this game.  Again, the Bulls might benefit from more fouls being called as it slows down the Heat's uptempo style.  

Finally, the Heat did a good job scoring 54 points in the paint--with no Joakim Noah there to clog the middle, defensively.  Before this game, the Heat only averaged 36 points in the paint against the Bulls.  The fact that the Bulls were able to score 40 in the paint (42 points in the paint/game in the first two games against the Heat) without the services of Noah speaks volumes.

So inadequate free throw shooting along with terrible rebounding ended the Heat's historic winning streak.  For the finale, the Heat would avenge this loss, but not in a very impressive way:

April 14, 2013 at Miami
Team	Score	FG%	3-PT%	FT%	Tot Rebs	Off Rebs	Pts in Paint
Chicago	93	35.4%	42.3%	77.4%	45	11	24
Miami	105	51.4%	35.3%	65.9%	44	4	44

It is worth prefacing that both Noah and Taj Gibson were out for this game and the Bulls still managed to keep this game close.  The Heat won on the strength of their shooting, but the Bulls were able to keep it close with their free throw and 3-point shooting.  Despite having 10 more free throw attempts than the Bulls (41-31), Chicago still shot a better percentage from the line.  

Rebounds were pretty even without Gibson and Noah, but the Bulls still managed to grab 11 offensive rebounds.  And the Heat's "Big 3" played for more than 31 minutes/player so that's pretty inexcusable.  At least they dominated the paint by outscoring Chicago by 20, but that's like me getting 20 more points against a five-year old guarding me in the paint.  

Which brings us to Game 1:

May 6, 2013 at Miami
Team	Score	FG%	3-PT%	FT%	Tot Rebs	TOs	Pts in Paint
Chicago	93	43.7%	38.9%	82.8%	46	15	40
Miami	86	39.7%	29.2%	68%	32	8	32

What do you see?  The same formula that the Bulls have been using to be successful against the NBA Champions.  This time, however, the Bulls were shooting the ball better than the Heat.  Usually, the Heat have the advantage in the shooting department, or at worst for them it's pretty even, but the Bulls have not shot the ball better than the Heat.  Add to that the Heat's woeful 3-pt and FT%; if Miami just makes one more 3-pointer or hits a few more free throw shots, we might be talking about a different result.  

One will also notice that the Heat took extremely good care of the ball in this game.  Also, the offensive rebounds were pretty equal.  Nevertheless, the same recipe that help defeat the Heat in two out of the four regular season games is in full effect in this playoff game--Bulls outrebounded Miami by 14.  You add the fact that the Bulls, once again, dominated points in the paint and that pretty much sums up the Bulls' formula in defeating the Heat in this series: control the glass, control the paint.  Chicago will not outplay the Heat in the perimeter and will not win a shootout (at least not often) against them either.  The Bulls have to do the two things they have done well against the Heat this year--glass and paint.  

Again, many people were dismissing the Heat's rebounding struggles in the regular season by justifying that they would be ready for the playoffs.  Although the Heat have held their own in the rebounding department this postseason, they finished dead last in rebounds per game and were among the worst teams in the rebound differential category as well.  As mentioned before in early January, "poor rebounding teams get exposed in the playoffs."  If the Heat don't correct that part of their game soon, their chances to repeat as champions will disappear.  Because if they're struggling against the Bulls now, what happens in the event that they have to face the Indiana Pacers in the next round?  Why the Pacers?  Because they finished as the best rebounding team in the NBA.  

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