I hope that crazy milk man is right-- that pearce shows up for game three. but i just heard jackie mcmullen on espn radio. she says paul is legimately banged up. that boston doesn't have their faithful assassin right now. what do y'all think?
I'm looking at this grizzly team. Top to bottom they overmatch the clippers (except for Chris Paul-- who's leadership far surpasses his prodigious talent). The question is will the Grizzlies rise to the challenge of being clearly the superior team. Last year Dallas dropped game four to Portland in a similar fourth quarter collapse. They had more veterans on their team. And Portland, just one year ago, wasn't way overmatched in talent by Dallas. Well, we'll see. Would love to hear what others have to say? Maybe you think the Clippers overmatch Memphis? Let me hear. I need to make an informed decision for the next game.
memphis 26-7 at home. memphis top to bottom can handle clips. conley-paul (advantage paul), tony allen (advantage tony allen) foye or mo will, gasol (advantage) versus deandre jordan (are you kidding me?), blake (advantage) vs zebo (x-factor), and rudy gay (advantage) versus butler. 3-2 memphis! bench MAYO-SPEIGHTS-ARENAS versus kenyon martin, mo williams, nic really young, reggie eavens i say OJ Mayo gives memphis the slight edge with the bench, but that's debatable. it really boils down to how amazing chris paul is, and he's a little nicked up. memphis was a beast in last year's playoffs. EXPERIENCE. home teams won during the regular season. no reason to believe it won't be any different in this series. memphis in 7.
If you want to see a post game for a non-big, look no further than Kobe! Labron's footwork does not show any up and under, only the same fade away he's always taken. Miami plays with much more confidence than early last year. But their endgame is the same. No playbook-- just labron or wade one-on-one. It appears they're still vulnerable. Thoughts welcome!
Dallas versus Miami. Is Miami really 4.5 points better.
Last year Dallas beat Miami six out of eight times straight up. Dallas played Miami four times at home and went 3-1 straight up. The lone loss at home was by two points.
Offseason moves. Dallas lost Chandler who significantly prevented Miami penetration. And Dallas lost Barea-- a scorer who could create offense on his own. Caron Butler’s was a regular season loss. In an odd way, they replace Chandler’s quality (though not his defense) with Lamar Odom. They replace Barea with a wheelchair bound Vince Carter. Simply, Carter is washed up. But Mark Cuban’s a genius billionaire. Maybe he knows something. I doubt it. Butler was essentially replaced last year by a rejuvenated Shawn Marion-- a player Dallas figured out how to use. He plays best with a playmaking point guard, Nash and Kidd.
What about Miami?
They didn’t really lose anything; and their greatest gain besides Shane Battier is a healthy Udanis Haslem. Miami still is weak at point guard. Chalmers backup, rookie Cleveland State’s Norris Coles, could be a huge difference maker if he lives up to potential (how he played in the preseason).
So really this game boils down to what differnce does the loss of Chandler and Barea make with Miami’s increased inside pressence with Haslem. Plus, REVENGE FACTOR. The whole world is all over Miami. And the motivation could be real. But is Dallas really deserving of the huge 4.5 point home dog? That’s a line that’s moved four points.