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Post by DERRENMATTS on May 16, 2022 0:08:35 GMT -5
All valid, but let us not forget that we were the [HASH]1 rated offense and defense in the entire NBA the second half of the season. That's not a fluke. And now we've battle tested ourselves against MIL and learned to dogfight and persevere. MIA is better than MIL, but we're a alot better than MIL too. We should've ended this series in 5. Our last two wins shows us who we are. But we were rated that with Rob Will. My big hope is that essentially we have gotten better during these playoffs and other teams have stayed the same, or maybe even got a little worse if they lose K Lowry and if Duncan Robinson fell off the map. Point well taken. We need Rob back for sure, and we need him playing near the level we expect of him.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on May 16, 2022 14:18:47 GMT -5
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Post by DERRENMATTS on May 16, 2022 14:19:32 GMT -5
Rob has no restrictions. Need him to play like his regular season self.
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Post by jmost on May 16, 2022 14:32:42 GMT -5
It's hard for me to believe that he won't be rusty, but it'll be good to have him back. Meanwhile, Smart might miss Game 1 with a foot sprain?
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Post by DERRENMATTS on May 16, 2022 17:17:14 GMT -5
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Post by jmost on May 16, 2022 17:32:44 GMT -5
As usual, the NBA playoffs are a war of attrition.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on May 17, 2022 18:48:59 GMT -5
It's never about inidivual matchups, but I very much would like JT to outduel Jimmy Butler. I want to see Tatum shut him down when he has to guard Butler, and I want to see JT take it to the basket while Butler looks helplessly on as he gets dunked on.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on May 18, 2022 0:50:34 GMT -5
Ime kept iterating that we won 3 quarters of this game. The Q3 that we lost, we lost our composure, didn't match their physicality, started going away from doing the right things. But we came back and won Q4, 31-25.
I'm still feeling good about our chances. With Horford and Smart, and learning from our mistakes, we can more than scrap with the Heat.
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Post by jmost on May 18, 2022 8:41:42 GMT -5
We were down three times to the Bucks, 0-1, 1-2 and 2-3. I'm not worried about being down a game. I'm more concerned about how long Al will be out and Smart as well.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on May 18, 2022 11:33:29 GMT -5
We were down three times to the Bucks, 0-1, 1-2 and 2-3. I'm not worried about being down a game. I'm more concerned about how long Al will be out and Smart as well. Exactly. We proved we can not only keep upnwith the Heat, but also build big leads. We just lost our composure in Q3 and gone away from our gameplan. The guys and coaching staff will hone in on Q3 and make a meltdown like this doesn't happen again. I'm confident we'll bounce back big.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on May 18, 2022 14:31:47 GMT -5
I'm not liking Jimmy Butler more and more. Really want JT and JB to outshine him.
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Post by runrondo on May 20, 2022 10:53:15 GMT -5
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Post by jmost on May 20, 2022 11:19:17 GMT -5
The Heat are right there with us on this stat, until you look a little deeper and see that we're 4-0 against the Bucks and Heat after a loss, and the Heat are 2-1 against ATL and PHI.
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Post by jmost on May 20, 2022 13:43:58 GMT -5
I just pulled up the 2020 playoff series between us and the Heat, and the thing that jumped out at me was that Theis was our starting center in 2020 and played about 30 minutes a game, and now he's the 4th big man in our rotation behind Al, Rob and Grant. Bam thoroughly abused us in 2020 and it just isn't happening this year.
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Post by freshnthehouse on May 20, 2022 16:12:06 GMT -5
Yup I remember that as well. Theis is a great depth big guy, but he gets exposed against bigger centers that have some offensive game.
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