Monday 3 June 2013

The 10-man rotation, starring Heat-Pacers Game 7

A look around the league and the Web that covers it. It's also important to note that the rotation order and starting nods aren't always listed in order of importance. That's for you, dear reader, to figure out.

C: Miami Herald. Dan Le Batard digs deep on the unique combination of titillation and terror transfixing fans of both sides (but, specifically, the favored Miami Heat) heading into Game 7: "You need the fear to have the fun, odd as that is to say. And the doubt has to grow before the appreciation can."

PF: SB Nation. Paul Flannery sets the stage for the final clash between the Pacers, "a team that is feeling itself," and the Heat, a team that has been "pushed [...] to the brink of self-examination."

SF: Grantland. Zach Lowe takes a look at some of the Xs-and-Os adjustments Miami and Indiana might look to make to try to catch their formidable opposition off-guard in Game 7.

SG: The Point Forward. Rob Mahoney digs into how the Heat offense sputtered in Game 6 and underscores how critical it is for LeBron James to get some scoring help if the Heat are to beat the fantastic Pacers defense and win Game 7.

PG: BBall Breakdown. Coach Nick also dissects Miami's poor Game 6 performance, though he won't lay sole blame for the Heat laying an egg on the punchless duo of Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh — not when coach Erik Spoelstra and LeBron James helped make the Pacers' job a lot easier than it should have been, too.

And, also, other things:

6th: Wall Street Journal. The case for Amar'e Stoudemire working on becoming a 3-point shooter. No, you're not drunk. That's really what Chris Herring's article is about.

7th: Memphis Flyer. Chris Herrington — hey, we just followed Chris Herring with Chris Herrington; that's weird — offers a measured breakdown of the ongoing kerfuffle between the Memphis Grizzlies and head coach Lionel Hollins, which got hectic over the weekend and might've gotten a bit more so when Hollins went on Memphis radio on Monday morning to air/iron some things out.

8th: The Two Man Game. With the Dallas Mavericks readying on a "two-season plan" to build a new, title-contending roster around Dirk Nowitzki while maintaining salary cap flexibility/roster quality for the inevitable life after Dirk, Kirk Henderson finds himself wondering about a pretty important question: "What if those goals are mutually exclusive?"

9th: Toronto Star. As he begins his reign over the Toronto Raptors' basketball operations, it sounds like Masai Ujiri's first order of business is cleaning house.

10th: CelticsTown. Tom Westerholm chats with Chris Hyppa, who trains Avery Bradley, about what the Boston Celtics guard is focusing on in his offseason workouts as he prepares for his third NBA season. (Lots of dribble pull-ups and shot creation, mostly.)

Got a link or tip for Ball Don't Lie? Give me a shout at devine (at) yahoo-inc.com, or follow me on Twitter.



No comments:

Post a Comment