NBA Playoffs - Round One

ty tm


Heat looking alright atm, hope they can continue the push. I mentioned on another thread it either will be close or a blowout. Half Court game really is Hawks cryptonite and play too much one on one ball. Heat are exposing their weaknesses.

i got it at -3.5

wincows - Hell of a reverse line movement with public pounding Miami. Hope miami can maintain this lead.

yea. i was like  for a few minutes. i was going to make a big play on the mia but that line movement made me second guess myself and turn it to a regular play. but when he told me it was -3.5 i was like hell yea i take it.(bookie)

looks like we are good. only 4 minutes left

Congrats wincows


Great day, not only did i have a flawless day, FINALLY!!!!! but My Heat covered with a nice blowout taking the series 2-1.

Highly anticipating the line for Game 4. It will be interesting to see the adjustments Hawks must make in order to stay in this series because they have been blown out in 2 consecutive games and one on their own home court.

J.O. has been a MASSIVE factor for Miami, Wade has found his new Shaq and if J.O. continues to play this way Hawks may be going fishing early as Miami has finally rediscovered their inside presence.

Granted there's still plenty of games left and i know Hawks will bring it in game 4 but if Miami continues to set the pace of the game, keep forcing the Hawks to play a half court game and keep defending hawks transition offense added to others stepping up and making shots Miami will wrap up this series right quick!!! not gonna jump the gun but that's how i see it.


3-0 saturday

19-16 postseason

i hope the heat will continue to play like a team.

MV3

BOL

will post soon tm.

I hope they continue to play the way they have been in the past 2 games also tribu wakwak


check the stats:

"When teams split the first two games of an NBA series, the Game 3 winner advances 76 percent of the time. And in recent years, the edge has been even more pronounced -- of the last 27 series that were tied at 1-1, the Game 3 winner ultimately prevailed on 22 occasions"

Sunday picks:

BOS +2.5

Chicago are done!

CLE -8.5

Detroit are done!

PHI +4

Orlando are struggling.

HOU -5

Rockets will not allow Portland to spoil passing round 1 of the playoffs this time round.

BOS/CHI OVER 200

Bulls desperation will push the tempo.

CLE/DET OVER 177

Same as above for Pistons.

i like your plays, but still thinking the PHIL.

BOL

POR/HOU UNDER 181.5

Rox shut down Blazers.

Got dang Hornets, ruined my day. That they couldn't maintain an 11-pt lead with 3mins left in the game only shows they couldn't handle the Nugs. They were basically living off the free throw stripe in the 4th. Anyway, on to the next day...

HOUS -4.5
CLEV -8.5 (Oh yeah!)
PHIL +4 (small play)

Good luck 3BB, and to all who share the same bets! 

4-3 Sunday

19-16 postseason.

OK back to Miami & Atlanta.

They Key for Miami in game 4 is Jermaine O'neal, JERMAINE O'NEAL, JERMAINE O-FUCKING-NEAL!!!! What was it that Miami was seriously missing at the start of the season?? A Center that could be a factor in the middle for the small Heat squad. When Marion & Banks was Traded for O'neal and Moon both players really didn't make much of an inpact infact O'neal just looked like a washed up vet with bung knees who did nothing to improve Miami making the trade look like a complete flop!!

Well, it looks like he may have broken out of that slump and that troublesome knee is looking very healthy looking more like the old O'neal of his better Pacer days!! In game 2 he bounced back with 19 pts, 4 blocks & 6 rebounds, in game 3 he dominated with 22 pts, 3 blocks & 10 rebounds.

O'neal wasn't really too happy, comfortable and perhaps frustrated with the way Miami never really exploiting his strengths instead he had to adjust to new roles & offensive sets. After game 1's embarassing loss he approached coach Erik Spo & mentioned his frustrations........

"After he finished with five points and two rebounds in the Heat's 90-64 loss to Atlanta in Game 1, a dejected O'Neal had yet another meeting with coach Erik Spoelstra.

The message from coach to player was the same as it was in February after O'Neal arrived with Jamario Moon in the trade that sent Shawn Marion to the Raptors.

O'Neal was challenged to find his way in the system, be patient, trust teammates and be a defensive stopper at the rim. O'Neal wanted more touches in the post near the basket. Spoelstra wanted O'Neal to adjust to a perimeter offense around Wade and pick his spots.

The two met in the middle, with Spoelstra committing more to a low-post game after the 26-point loss in Game 1. O'Neal had to accept that his defensive effort needed to be just as vital as his offense." - miami herald

As stated he wanted the ball more inside where he can be a factor & mentioned how Miami isn't a post up sort of team which would deem him useless as that is his main strength. Well, looks like Erik Spo finally listened & has now incorporated  plays for O'neal which has led to..........

"O'Neal has averaged 20.5 points, eight rebounds, 3.5 blocks, and two assists on 57-percent shooting in two wins" - miami herald

''He's finally starting to do some of the things he's wanted,'' Wade said of O'Neal, who has turned this best-of-7 series into his own comeback tour." - miami herald

''That was like the old Jermaine O'Neal -- the J.O. of his prime,'' Hawks forward Josh Smith said of the pick-your-poison predicament O'Neal has created with his improved play.


With Jermaine now a factor in the middle, as i mentioned in other posts, Miami now has established an inside outside game. Hawks are now double teaming O'neal wich leaves Miami open for more options. It spreads the floor and also allows Wade to operate without having to do as much. And what's great about this is, spite of Miami shooting the ball well from the arc & rebounding well against a taller more atheletic Hawks team, they do not need to do all this in order to win with O'neal giving this sort of production Miami will have a much better opportunity to win games!!!!!


So now it's just a matter of O'neal continuing this sort of production in the middle for Miami. He keeps dominating and Miami will run away with this series BUT he must continue to play well & be a factor!!

AGREED.  I don't see a newly rejuvenated JO slipping from his newfound role in the slightly revamped Heat offense. JO + DWade = inside-outside threat; now why didn't Spoelstra exploit that earlier?

So in short I believe how well J.O. plays determines this series!!!!

''Jermaine has been the problem,'' Atlanta coach Mike Woodson said. ``Our bigs have got to do a better job of battling him. Bottom line, they are outworking us.''

For O'Neal, his most effective and lively performance as a Heat player was gratifying, because he has often been called a washed-up mistake since the February trade. His brother, Clifford, called him after his abominable Game 1 and asked when he had last enjoyed a game and played with any emotion.

''That was my calling card in Indiana,'' O'Neal said. ``But I haven't done that in Miami because I haven't felt comfortable. You tend to overthink things. Now I'm comfortable with the sets. Time has helped in my relationship with the guys. And this is the best I've felt physically in the last two or three years.''

On another note Miami also has exposed Atlanta's weakness - Half Court Game. Forcing them to play a half court game is The Hawks cryptonite. Furthermore Miami's defense is stemming Hawks transition offense which is one of their main strengths as a young athletic team. Atlanta just look lost being forced to play half court without being able to run in turn they shot 36.75 in game 3. They were also out rebounded 48 to 35. Thing with Miami is even before Marion was traded as a small team they did reasonably well rebounding against taller clubs but with O'neal playing well their rebounding has improved even further which is crucial and has made Miami an improved squad.

And oh yes, Atlanta's plan was to not double team Wade at the arc which has lead to many open shots for him at the perimeter. Their main focus is to stop him from driving so allowing him to attempt shots at that range. Will they continue to do this in game 4? If so, with Wade adding the 3 point bomb to his repertoir this season it may be raining 3's yet again.

Best believe Atlanta will throw the kitchen sink & pipes attached but if Miami, j.O. Wade, Haslem continue to play like this how are they going to stop Miami? Their best chance is to set the tempo but it's not so easy @ AAA where Miami amp up their Defensive intensity. To add the crowd all dressed in black screaming for their Heat to whoop the Hawks may be again too much for the HOMESICK HAWKS who have lost something like 12 in a row on the rd in the playoffs and don't forget they also still must deal with that guy dubbed "FLASH" - THE NBA's SCORING CHAMPION & 3rd in DEFENSE in the LEAGUE. The man who STEPS UP his INTENSITY in games & situations like this. Do yo think he will allow Hawks to bounce back & steal one in "HIS HOUSE"?!!?

I've never been overly very confident backing Miami in this series where i am 2-1 thus far because i know The Hawks are a good squad & i don'twant to start jumping the gun now but i do feel some what confident that Miami can win on Monday & cover this spread. Momentum can switch very quickly and Hawks are still a dangerous team but i know if Miami play the way they have been in the last 2 games they outmatch Atlanta in this series. But will they be able to carry on their last 2 performances in to game 4?


With all this said fuckin aye i'm taking MIAMI & the -4.5 pts and will be my only wager for Monday. going reasonably heavy also.

Well now that's the smartest thing somebody has said about this situation since J.O. was traded to Miami!!!!! Your a fucking genius Borat!!! if only you could have slapped Spo & told this to his face we could have had good early production from J.O. earlier in the season. Why would you not allow a post player to post? well it's all good now, let's see if J.O.'s last 2 games was a start to something beautifull!

Here's an interesting blog i found:

Ah, so the Hawks were the underdogs after all

> Posted by Ira Winderman on April 26, 2009 12:56 PM

            Entering this playoff series, the talk was about how the Hawks were the battle-tested team, had taken the Celtics to seven games last spring, were about to break through this year.

                                             

            It made sense, especially with homecourt advantage in the first round. Heck, with a victory in Monday's Game 4, the series not only would be tied 2-2, but Atlanta again would have homecourt advantage in what would turn into best-of-three.

                                           

            Even history makes a strong argument that this is not over, considering how the Heat held a 2-1 lead the only other time these teams met in the playoffs, in the 1994 first round, and lost that series.

                                                              

            Yet there was Hawks coach Mike Woodson offering this Sunday at AmericanAirlines Arena:

                                           

            "Hey listen, you've got O'Neal who's been a six, seven-time All-Star. You've got Haslem who's played championship basketball. I mean, they've got guys, veteran enough guys that have been through the battles. My guys haven't been battle tested. It's something new for our basketball team."

                                                      

            OMG. The team that went 15-67 last season, struggled to a 43-39 finish, is even worse on the road, barely held on to the No. 5 seed, now is the team to be feared?

                                          

            Woodson apparently isn't coaching to get back into this series and into the second round. He's apparently coaching for his job.

                                                      

            Monday the Heat will have another opportunity to pick at the carcass. Then, Wednesday, it just might be able to scavenge at the remains.

                                                       

            Why not? Suddenly, according to the opposition, Erik Spoelstra's squad is the better team.