whaler11
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100% absolute crap what he posts. Funny they are always winners too.
Heat-Pacers
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100% absolute crap what he posts. Funny they are always winners too.
whaler11
Head Happy Hour Coach
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The New York Daily News uses as a source @pregame_steam. You've got to be $&ing kidding me that any even remotely legitimate news outlet could use that for a story. . Rock bottom for sports 'journalism'.
I have 30 followers on twitter. I have sent like 5 tweets in 2 years. One of my 30 followers is @pregame_steam and I don't follow him or her or whatever is on the other end of that handle.
I have 30 followers on twitter. I have sent like 5 tweets in 2 years. One of my 30 followers is @pregame_steam and I don't follow him or her or whatever is on the other end of that handle.
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This is quite the stretch. George Hill and Lance Stephenson are both well above average defensively, and Hill is a solid two-way player who can space the floor. Stephenson has morphed into one of the best rebounding guards in the league, a stingy defender, an improved play-maker, and an occasinally explosive scorer (25 in the closeout against the Knicks, 20 against the Heat in game four). You're only looking at one end of the floor if you think this tandem is even close to the worst backcourt in the league - I'll name you eight worse one's:
Toronto
Detroit
Atlanta
Orlando
Sacramento
Dallas
Utah
Minnesota
And if you haven't noticed, Miami's not exactly a template of team basketball right now themselves - they were largely a one man show in that series with sporadic contributions from Udonis Haslem, D-Wade, Mario Chalmers, Norris Cole, and Chris Anderson. Here's my more extensive take from a different thread, if you care:
Indiana has the perfect collection of players to expose Miami's one, and potentially fatal flaw, which is the lack of a pure center. The Indiana-Miami series is actually very reminicient of the USA-Spain gold medal game a year ago - one team has a noticeable talent advantage, but the inferior team is able to combat that by continually hammering away at the favorites achilles heel. In the gold medal game, it was the Gasol brothers (more prominantly, Pau) carving U.S.A.'s interior defense like a Thanksgiving turkey, while in the Indiana-Miami series, Roy Hibbert's opperating with the ease of Ater Majok shooting over a chair, and David West's raw strength has discouraged Chris Bosh from mixing it up inside. Miami's identity (their unique ability to play small, present hellish floor spacing difficulties to the opposition, and yet lose nothing at the other end) has been thoroughly squashed by an Indiana team refusing to relinquish their own. Indiana also possesses the most well-orchestrated defense in the league, one of the brightest young basketball minds in the game, and a blossoming star in Paul George. Truthfully, I'm not at all surprised at the dogfight this series has been. While LeBron's numbers in this series have been largely on par with what he normally submits, Roy Hibbert, a game-changing defensive talent, has managed to accomplish what no other player in the league to my knowledge has been able to do, which is negate LeBron's ability to finish at the rim. I think this, in addition to the athleticism and length Indiana offers at other positions, has sapped some of LeBron's dynamic defensive ability and allowed easier looks for Paul George. It's not easy to play 45 minutes at an elite level at both ends of the court, which is what LeBron's been asked to do in this series. The "LeBron can guard every position on the floor" narrative has been rendered a mis-conception in this series - LeBron can guard some centers, he can't guard centers like Roy Hibbert.
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I'm not going through every roster to see where the Pacers backcourt ranks exactly but I feel comfortable saying it's one of the worst. Hill and Stephenson are pretty good defensively but I think it's more of the system. Offensively they stink, Hill simply is not a point guard and Stephenson has talent but is incredibly erratic and doesn't take care of the ball at all. Every time they bring the ball up I get nervous they will turn it over, often they turn it over without any pressure and struggle to feed the post. I knew Miami would win the game in the first quarter when they were quickly doubling the post every time Hibbert and West got the ball, it shows Spoelstra's ineptitude that it took him until game 7 to employ double teams in the post as a consistent strategy. This is the generation of point guards in the NBA and the Pacers had a backup shooting guard running point in the Eastern Conference finals with Lance friggin Stephenson as his sidekick and DJ Augustine as his backup. If Spoelstra knew how to coach and Miami was fully engaged they wouldn't have had much trouble with this Pacers team.
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Pat Riley will never allow LeBron to leave. I do think he will be forced to trade Wade, but the time has come. Barkley, as usual, was so right about Wade. His body is failing him. When healthy he is a top 5 player, but when is he ever healthy anymore? Bosh has been playing out of position for two years, but I think he can bounce back.
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George Hill was thoroughly exposed last night. Can you win a championship with him at point guard? Sure, if the rest of your team is great, but Indiana isn't there yet. Let's see if they get better and can run with him or if they need to get a better player at that position. And Stephenson is up and down to say the least.
8893
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Hats off to Miami. They did what they were supposed to do. Their defensive intensity set Indiana on its heels and the Pacers never regained composure, while Miami's confidence--and offense--just grew. You had to figure LeBron was going to get some help at some point, and for at least one more game Wade's body allowed him to give all he needed.
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I would disagree a bit on their backcourt. Stephenson is extremely unpredictable and should not be a starter anywhere; but, if he can find some consistency(which this type of playoff experience will help with), George Hill is a legit PG with a bright future. The Pacers overall have a real problem with turnovers and, unfortunately, in key games, they seem to lose their way at the foul line as well. A lethal combination that keeps opponents in games until they(opponent) find a way to win. Danny Granger will be back next year. I don't know if Granger and George would be used together. You can't keep George on the bench; but can he make the transition to off guard? There is talk of trading Granger for quality depth which they sorely need. Granger is in the last year of his contract. And there are people who think Stephenson also has a bright future with the Pacers. I'm not one of them.
GO HUSKIES!!!
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Why are people wondering why this went to game 7? You have the crusty old guys like Miller, Battier, and Allen. Wade is broken. Bosh is a pansy. Birdman does acid before the game and just jumps around. Without LeBron, Miami loses in 5.
Feel bad for Bosh, though. Comes in averaging 24/11 and by time he gets outs he will probably be a 14/7 player.
Feel bad for Bosh, though. Comes in averaging 24/11 and by time he gets outs he will probably be a 14/7 player.
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Pretty much, Hill can't get into the lane and can't consistently feed the post, its amazing that the Spurs at one time was shopping Tony Parker and considering turning the keys over to Hill, the Spurs would be dead if that happened. If Granger is healthy they should see if they can flip him for a PG or hope they come up with something in the draft because they need an upgrade at PG badly. I'll give Lance a pass for now since he's young and there is something to work with there but Hill is what he is at this point.
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Without the Pacific Ocean, the Earth would be a lot less wet.
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I remember watching Hill when he played for the Spurs and thought he was a good athlete, I don't know what I was watching, now he seems a step slow and can't beat his man off the dribble and the few times he was on a break and tried to go up for a finish at the rim he had no lift. Did he have any injury problems? Pacers badly need a point guard.
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I don't get the Hill hate. Is he an elite PG? No, but he's more than serviceable and was far from the Pacers biggest problem in that series. If you don't think he's good, just look at how Indiana self-combusted when he was out of the game with foul trouble and DJ Augustine was pressed into service. Hill posted a +6 in this series, Stephenson a +12. For comparison sake, Paul George was a -2, David West a -14. Obviously these numbers can be deceiving, but it illustrates the fact that George Hill and Lance Stephenson were more than qualified to be the fourth and fifth players on a championship-caliber team. It was the sixth, seventh, and eigth guys that killed Indiana.
There is a reason San Antonio, arguably the smartest organization in sports from a player development standpoint, struggled to part ways with him. He's not a good defender because of the system, he's a good defender because he has freakish length, adequate foot speed, and a good basketball IQ. You don't become the best defense in the NBA by having a guy at the PG position who is not a good defender. Basketball is played at both ends of the floor, and Indiana's backcourt, granted limited offensively, is well above average defensively. Indiana's problem in this series was their bench - I'm fairly certain their starters posted a positive point differential in the series, but when you bring in guys like Sam Young, Tyler Hansbrough, and D.J. Augustine to hold down the fort against LeBron and Co. you are asking for trouble.
There is a reason San Antonio, arguably the smartest organization in sports from a player development standpoint, struggled to part ways with him. He's not a good defender because of the system, he's a good defender because he has freakish length, adequate foot speed, and a good basketball IQ. You don't become the best defense in the NBA by having a guy at the PG position who is not a good defender. Basketball is played at both ends of the floor, and Indiana's backcourt, granted limited offensively, is well above average defensively. Indiana's problem in this series was their bench - I'm fairly certain their starters posted a positive point differential in the series, but when you bring in guys like Sam Young, Tyler Hansbrough, and D.J. Augustine to hold down the fort against LeBron and Co. you are asking for trouble.
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If you think Hill and Stephenson are more than qualified to be the starting backcourt for a championship caliber team, I don't know what to tell you other then I completely disagree. They were horrible last night, game 5 they basically went scoreless the entire game until a couple of meaningless points by Stephenson in garbage time. Again I stand by what I said, they are one of the weakest backcourts in the league.
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I was being sarcastic. You really think that Floyd Mayweather posts fake betting slips online? And in thinking that you actually think that they take the time to make these fake slips in the first place? Like "Hey, Money Team, what do you guys want to do tonight? duck six models on a pile of cash while eating lobster?" "Nah, let's play with photoshop and see if we can make pieces of paper to fool anonymous people into thinking we bet a lot of money on sports."
It might be easier on you to just not be the expert on one thing, for once. Don't worry, you can still be the expert on everything else.
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No one around the league - absolutely no one - considers Spoelstra inept. (He was second in the Coach of the Year voting this season and he's incredibly well regarded by basketball people.) These "I sit on my couch and I'm a better coach than half the guys in the NBA" posts are really lame. You know what Spoelstra could have done to make the series less competitive? Poisoned Hibbert and West. It's about matchups. The Pacers play tough, tough D and pound you inside.
As far as Hill goes, he's a great fit in Indy. Great size defensively for a point guard and a very good defensive player. Can hit threes all over the floor which is what you want when you're posting bigs all night. Great at feeding the post which is where Indy's offense comes from. He's not a dynamic "kill you off the bounce" guy but Indiana's not that kind of team. They play solid, smash mouth basketball. He fits.
whaler11
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Ok chief. Maybe tomorrow you can lecture me about the legitimacy of Bigfoot photos. Since yesterday's 'story' has proven to be complete nonsense - I'm sure every other instance is 100% legitimate. I mean who doesn't win every bet they place right?
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The Pacers pushed the defending champs to the brink and could have won the series if they had made one stop w/ 2 seconds left in game one. So yeah, I'm not sure what's so crazy about my statement.
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After watching the playoffs I don't understand how you could come away with saying hill is one of the worst point guards in the league. Stephenson was guarding lebron and wade for a major chunk of the seven games, if anything he was a break out player a la jimmy butler.
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lol @ George Hill being great at feeding the post, Hibbert could have consistently put up the numbers he had against Miami and his best games against the NYK in the regular season if Hill was great at regularly feeding him down there. the Hill support is really bizarre on here, it's pretty much acknowledged that him and Stephenson were the weak links. Hill isn't a bad player at all, he's ok, but with the way the Pacers are constructed for them to really challenge for winning a title they need an upgrade there and SG. Who knows, maybe Granger fully recovers and they move George back to SG and bring Lance off the bench to strengthen their bench, or have Granger come off the bench as instant offense to improve that area. They definitely need help in those spots tho, I'm not sure how anyone could watch the games where they struggled and not notice that was their weak spot.
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I'm not sure how anybody could have watched those games and concluded their bench was not the biggest weak spot. The numbers bare this out. Add a Jarret Jack type player to Indiana and they win that series.
Do they need an upgrade at the one or two? Maybe, maybe not. There are a lot of factors that will determine whether they can get back to the conference finals and win, but the facts are Indiana's starters pretty conclusively outplayed the Heat in that series. If George and Hibbert continue to develop at their current trajectory and West or a player of that caliber is signed, I'm just not seeing why a couple of young, talented guards in Hill and Stepehsnon can't win a title.
Do they need an upgrade at the one or two? Maybe, maybe not. There are a lot of factors that will determine whether they can get back to the conference finals and win, but the facts are Indiana's starters pretty conclusively outplayed the Heat in that series. If George and Hibbert continue to develop at their current trajectory and West or a player of that caliber is signed, I'm just not seeing why a couple of young, talented guards in Hill and Stepehsnon can't win a title.
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Yep the George Hill love here is strange, don't think there are too many teams that would want him running point for them. He's just not a point guard, I watch him and don't see how people could think he played well or even ok, I thought he was exposed for what he is. The Pacers made a mistake giving him a big contract, he doesn't really have anything you look for in a point guard. He can't break his man down, struggles feeding the post and is turnover prone, guy is a backup shooting guard in my opinion.
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