Posted this in the Pre-GT by mistake:
If MIA doesn't just smother us with superior talent (this series will be a good litmus test for how talented we truly are, collectively), *I can see some very tight games -- not unlike last year, vs the Cel'dicks.
*assuming JR doesn't shoot us out of a game, and Shumpert doesn't pull a Starks.
The question then is, will we rise to the challenge, unlike those harrowing defeats of last year? *I believe we can, and may. Unlike last year, we have a starting NBA center, who also happens to dominate other team's players as well as Peter North can dominate a girl's face -- which is to say, extraordinarily well.
*at this potential point, it is really a question of who mans up, and who mans up more, in the clutch, to close the games out: Melo? Lebron, or Wade?
Misc Factors:
3 Pt Shooting -- let's fool ourselves, we have been shooting the shit out of the rock from beyond the arc, and our spacing and thus ball movement and looks from the 3 have been terrific. This must continue.
Amare to The Bench -- no, he won't be benched, but will Woodson do what Torts did for the NY Rangers, when the Richards-Gaborik superstar tandem just wasn't gelling? Will there be a concerted effort to see Amare play with the 2nd unit? How far will Woodson stretch this possibility? If Amare is posterizing fools and collecting his 20 by way of what should be Amare's high .500 FG%, I believe it may go quite far.
Play from the Point: against MIA's tenacious D, we will need crisp passing and consistent floor leadership out of whomever is orchestrating our offense. For the obvious reasons, and to establish a rhythm and confidence in our men that will not allow MIA to swarm us with total abandon and smell blood.
The Mental Game -- Wade and Lebron can combust. This round of the playoffs, against us, is a situation where the possibility of them combusting, can become an actually distinct reality. They bitch at each other during games, it can get icy, it an **** up their flow, and it can turn either one of them into goats at the end of a game. On this note, I feel all the prior Misc Factors, if worked to our advantage, can create the situations that will lead to such a combustion.
Go :gony: and sick ****ing GT; I savored every word.