The Dolphins Make Me Cry.com - Forums

I know this a football board and all, but the Heat stunk it up big time in the finals!  I know there's a few apologists on this board, and I'm curious as to how to they'd spin the poorly played Finals. 

They were blown out in the 4 games they lost, and barely won their single game.  Are the Heat only making the Finals because of how awful the East is year in and year out?

No one is talking about them because you haters were waiting til right now to bust out with your shit talking. (typical) Laugh it up and be happy, because everyone was quiet for the last two years. One championship win off of these same Spurs. And save that "they gave the championship away" talk.

I am far from being an apologist, what the Spurs did was amazing to say the least. Setting records and playing sound basketball...  SA made Miami look like they didn't even belong in the Finals. Miami played awful. Congrats to San Antonio, they played incredible. Hats off.

And on a side note -- so the East magically became awful year in and year out in 2010. Jesus, you people and your hatred for that one guy is idiotic. Can't even give credit...  ::)

I see the haters out in full force on Facebook.  Believe me it's happening.  Fact is, the Spurs played team basketball and the Heat were basically a one man team.  Nobody else stepped up.

the heat were bound to lose at some point .. now they'll probably reload .. pick up some other players that'll make people "somad" like carmelo and they'll be back in the finals next year

I was also wondering why no one had mentioned the NBA finals at all. As for Carmelo, I don't see him in Miami and I really don't see him having chemistry with that team for a full season.

I agree.  Melo doesn't play any defense. And in Pat Riley's system, if you don't play defense, you don't play at all

if pat riley can get antoine walker to play championship level defense and be a model teammate as a bench player  .. he can get any player to do anything  .. so i'm not buying what you're selling

I love the HEAT, but I predicted San Antonio in 6.

They just give the HEAT matchup problems.  They peaked at the right time as well.  They played great basketball -- we just got beat by a better team.  What can you do.

I think it's pretty clear at this point that, while Wade is still a good player, he's not capable of carrying a team -- he's better suited as a role player.  I'm hoping that the team can get together and figure out a payroll that makes sense.

Also, guys like Haslem, Battier, Allen, Chalmers -- they are not giving you what they were.  ....need to look at some of these things and evaluate accordingly -- either bring in complementary players, cut bait, or finance differently.

Seems like, in past seasons, guys like Battier, Allen, Chalmers, and even Mike Miller stepped up to help out the "big 3" and play some critical roles in the playoffs.

This year, we saw flashes from Rashard Lewis, but not much else.  I don't recall seeing a whole lot of input from the team's supporting cast.  As a contrast, Patty Mills came off the bench for the Spurs in game 5 when Tony Parker was struggling and was nailing three's. 

I think this proves that you need more than just a star player...

It's not a simple answer.  It's a lot of things.

First off, you didn't have a big 3.  You had a big 1.  Wade had a horrific series.  He's probably just not the same player -- still good, but not capable of taking a game over in the Finals.   To a lesser extent, Bosh also under-delivered.  Allen was terrible.  And we have a lot of players who don't do enough things well.  Battier, Haslem, etc -- they're near the end of their careers.

But it's also because the Spurs shot really well and the HEAT went cold.  That affected defense.  The HEAT were always back on their heels, scrambling to get back on D.  When you don't hit shots, you get tired, because you can't set up while the other team in-bounds.  So, both ends of the floor were screwed.  The Spurs shot a finals high FG percentage.  It was a perfect storm.

The question now is how to proceed.  I think it's all about money.  The big three have to sit down with Riley and decide what they want.  It may be a payday, which is understandable.  It may be to re-organize payroll to bring in different roll-players.  I think that Wade is still capable of playing at a high level, but it's tough, because he's not a max-money type of guy anymore.  If he wants to take a reduced role, that'd be great.  Also, Bosh is a forward playing out of position -- it limits his ability.  We can change a lot of these things, if it's what the players want. 

wade would be smart to become a 6th man type guy and come off the bench .. that would be a perfect role for him

He only got one year out of him. Then the guy spent an entire month partying after the championship and showed up to camp overweight and out of shape.   Riley also failed to get good defense out of guys like Kevin Willis and Billy Owens so he quickly shipped them off. 

Some players have games that are not based on defense.  That doesn't make them bad players, just a bad fit in Riley's system.

I'm not a Heat Fan.  That said you have to congratulate them for making the finals four years in a row.  If the Dolphins did that you would be talking Dynasty.  They did have an easier path to the Finals, vs. Western Conference, but its still quite an accomplishment.  Like others have said they need to upgrade their bench.  The Spurs were on fire shooting the basketball, they deserve the credit for winning the Championship.  You gotta be disappointed in the fans leaving before the last game in Miami was over.  You just don't do that for a Championship game no matter what the point margin is, stay to show support for your team.

This same fan base supposedly sold a block of tickets to Maverick fans for game six of the 2011 finals. They essentially reduced the impact of a home court advantage for that game.

Miami sports fans are like this, across the board.  It kills me, as a Miami sports fan, to be lumped in with these jack-holes on a national level.  It clearly shows that those fans came SOLELY to see their "favorite" team win, rather than to see their "favorite" team PLAY.  There is a difference.

I get that losing sucks, but you're not "beating the traffic" - you're CREATING the traffic.  Its an epidemic here, where you can't sell a Dolphins' ticket, can't give away a Marlins ticket, and people barely even realize that the Panthers are a thing.  Unless you're winning and competing for championships, the fan base doesn't exist.

So, if LeBron and friends decide to opt out and take their talents to LA, New York, or any other city, you'll quickly see how those sold out Heat season tickets become 2/3 empty seats next season.

Sometimes, because of this, I hate being a Miami sports fan.  Its embarrassing...

I've actually been surprised at the amount of blame Wade has (deservedly) received for this loss.  I thought he was the untouchable golden boy.

What pissed me off is that the Spurs was HUNGRY. They wanted it more than Miami did. They played with heart.  Im a die hard HEAT fan since 88 and hell i did not see a sense of urgency from them.

WHAT  HAS CHANGED...... Miami was simply the same team as last yr minus Mike Miller. San Antonio not so much additions like Patty mills and benelli helped.

Its pondered from game 2 that The HEAT was expecting to play the same way they did last year and was not expecting the spurs to play with that level of intensity that they did in this series. Its not that the HEAT were bad is just that the SPURS was a different spurs team with a different approach to play the HEAT.

ALL the Haters got what they wanted. So what will Miami have to do, its never enough they went to 4 Finals in the Big 3 era,  winning 2 of 4.  Many teams in this modern era dont get to go yr after yr.  The spurs never went back to back let alone go to Finals every yr.   Hopefully this experience will humble  them and its time to adress the need of a true PG . Mario chalmers has never been a good PG and the need for a true center. Will the Greg oden experiment work next season, I hope so...  If the Big 3 remain,  its a matter of surrounding them with a supporting cast that will help

No the East has not been tough even before 2010. They have been a couple good teams at best. Look at the West. Much more competitive to make the playoffs and get through. Indiana, the team who was supposed to challenge the Heat, completely died prior to the playoffs. I am an East fan, and the conference has not been able to produce more than two really good teams for years.

No, the East really is Godawful and the Heat are partially to blame. To be a contender, you need at least one superstar and then solid teammates, some can even be All-Stars themselves. But, it's rare for a team to have 2 Hall of Famers or MVP candidates on the same roster.

Miami took Lebron James, killing the perennial contenders Cavs. They took Chris Bosh who wasn't doing much with Toronto, but could've pushed a team like the Bulls over the top and of course they have Wade who at the time was an elite player. So, they essentially raided the East and then Derek Rose essentially retires from the sport. That would be the MVP Derek Rose who led an excellent Chicago team.

The Knicks flirted with relevance for a season with Carmelo, but they are the Knicks and will never be good. However, Carmelo would make the Bulls legit contenders or the Rockets. Instead, he may go the sad sack route and join Miami for a cheap ring.

There really is only so much elite talent to go around, when you prevent other teams from having any, you eliminate your competition. Good strategy? Sure. Respected as all time greats like the 80's Lakers, 90's Bulls or 00's Spurs? Not even close.

Why is it even remotely relevant who else is good in the East?  Who were the "great teams" in the West when the Showtime Lakers went to the finals 9 times in 12 years?

The Eastern Conference champion still plays the Western Conference champion.  Miami beat the best team in the West twice.

Totally understand that and agreed. All I was trying to say is that for the last, oh I don't know, four years all I hear from the masses is the same contrived crap that Miami only made it to the Finals because the East was so bad. When Boston made it twice in three years (AFTER THEY AQUIRED Garnett and Allen for THEIR big three). Not a mention...

Since '99 really only two teams (Lakers and Spurs) have dominated the West. What does that really say about the West? I mean, that's the NBA, that type of domination goes back years. This isn't new.

Cry me a freakin river Edge. TOOK? Seriously? RAIDED?  Sort of the same way the Lakers TOOK Shaq, killing the perennial contenders Magic? Helping lead the Lakers to four appearances in 5 years to the Finals and three straight? I guess that's why the West was "godawful" from 1999 to 2004 where only the Spurs snuck one in during that time span. And have you actually followed Bosh since he's been in Miami? Just wondering...

Oh, and it really isn't that rare to have two HOF'ers on an NBA team. Check your list of champions ESPECIALLY those from the 80' and 90's. Oh wait, they were "built" not "bought" right?  Cause we know you're forbidden to make your team better through free agency. And relax, only two titles in four years. So they can be beat...



Listen up Yankees.

The Yankees spend like drunken sailors, bu even when they do get it right, there is still far more talent in MLB than NBA because that's how their game is. NBA teams have 5-6 real players and baseball has about 18 when you count the pitchers. Every real team has multiple stars....except the Astros because they are horrible.

It is pretty relevant the competition level of the East, the Heat have practically had a bye for 4 years. Not saying they wouldn't have made it anyway because of their talent level, but much like the Patriots name being put on the AFC East winners list before Week 1, it does leave a bunch of "What ifs?".

^^^ And plus baseball is really just standing around and catching and throwing. Not much skill necessary.  ;D

Like I said, the Showtime Lakers went to the Finals 9 times in 12 years.  They had no real competition at all.

This West > East is meaningless garbage.  Yes, their 4-8 teams are better, but you really had 4 teams that had a chance to win this year: Miami, San Antonio, OKC, and Indiana.   ...and OKC was generous to include.  Indiana fell apart, but was championship calibur earlier in the year.

But Miami would've rolled over anyone else in the West.  San Antonio got hot at the right time and play a brand of basketball that is tough for the HEAT to defend.