SB Nation Arizona - NBA Playoff Schedule: Thunder Done, Bulls Facing Fishing Triphttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/46593/arizona-fave.png2011-05-26T07:13:18-07:00http://arizona.sbnation.com/rss/stream/19347632011-05-26T07:13:18-07:002011-05-26T07:13:18-07:00NBA Playoff Schedule: Miami Heat Chance To Eliminate Bulls, Join Mavs In Finals
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<p><span>LeBron James</span> and the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.hothothoops.com/">Miami Heat</a> face <span>Derrick Rose</span>'s <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.blogabull.com/">Chicago Bulls</a> in the first elimination game of their 2011 NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference Finals series. The Heat hold a commanding 3-1 lead over the Bulls and with a win Thursday could schedule a rematch with the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/">Dallas Mavericks</a> in the 2011 NBA Finals. The Mavs were able to take care of their business and eliminated the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.welcometoloudcity.com/">Oklahoma City Thunder</a> in their Game 5 to win the Western Conference Finals 4-1.</p>
<p>The Heat have a tougher task ahead with their playoff elimination game coming on the road where as the Mavs were able to play Game 5 at home. <span>Dwyane Wade</span> and LeBron James, while certainly motivated, don't seem to have the same burning hunger that drove veterans stars <span>Dirk Nowitzki</span>, <span>Shawn Marion</span> and <span>Jason Kidd</span> to put away <span>Kevin Durant</span>'s young Thunder team.</p>
<p>The task of staving off elimination got more difficult for the Bulls with news this week that their backup center, <span>Omer Asik</span>, will is out with a broken leg. It's going to take an absolutely brilliant performance from Derrick Rose to keep the Bulls from going home with just one win. The Heat, like the Mavs, proved that experience and having the better player will make the difference in a close playoff game. It's been LeBron James coming up huge time and again in late game situations that's put Miami ahead three games to one.</p>
<p><b>Game 5 of the Miami Heat vs Chicago Bulls tips off at 8:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 PT on TNT</b>. The game will be played at Chicago's American Airlines Arena. (<a href="http://www.nba.com/video/channels/playoffs/2011/05/25/0041000305_mia_chi_gm5_lookahead.nba" target="_blank">NBA.com video preview of Game 5</a>). Check here for a full <a href="http://arizona.sbnation.com/2011/5/25/2189609/2011-nba-finals-schedule-miami-heat-dallas-mavericks-abc-lebron-james-dirk-nowitzki" target="_blank">schedule of the 2011 NBA Finals.</a></p>
<p><a href="http://cdn1.sbnation.com/imported_assets/727060/gyi0064892820.jpg"><img alt="Gyi0064892820_medium" class="photo" src="http://cdn1.sbnation.com/imported_assets/727060/gyi0064892820_medium.jpg"></a></p>
<p><i>MIAMI, FL - MAY 24: (L-R) <span>Kyle Korver</span> #26, <span>Carlos Boozer</span> #5, Derrick Rose #1 and <span>Luol Deng</span> #9 of the Chicago Bulls look on against the Miami Heat in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Finals during the 2011 NBA Playoffs on May 24, 2011 at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. LeBron James. (Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images)</i></p>
https://arizona.sbnation.com/2011/5/26/2191320/2011-nba-playoff-schedule-thursday-miami-heat-eliminate-chicago-bulls-join-mavsSeth Pollack2011-05-25T06:44:00-07:002011-05-25T06:44:00-07:00NBA Playoff Schedule: Thunder Face Biggest Test Yet, Heat Stifle Bulls
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.welcometoloudcity.com/">Oklahoma City Thunder</a> are down 3-1 to the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/">Dallas Mavericks</a> after losing both home games in their 2011 NBA Playoffs Western Conference Finals series. The two teams are back in Dallas Wednesday for Game 5 that could, and most likely will, end the series and send the Mavericks back to the NBA Finals for a probable rematch with the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.hothothoops.com/">Miami Heat</a>.</p>
<p>The Miami Heat are also just one game away from the NBA Finals after they were able to come through in overtime to beat the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.blogabull.com/">Chicago Bulls</a> 101-93 in Game 4. The Heat lead the series 3-1. <span>LeBron James</span> and <span>Derrick Rose</span> duked it out in the final minutes and while Rose might be this year's MVP, there's no one who can doubt that James is still the better player. LeBron scored 13 points in the the fourth and overtime periods while Rose went just 1-8 and scored six points.</p>
<p>It was the bench play turned the tide in this close game. The Heat were able to get 33 minutes of solid defense and rebounding from <span>Udonis Haslem</span> and <span>Mike Miller</span> finally showed signs of life and scored nine points in the fourth quarter.</p>
<p>The Oklahoma City Thunder should be in this series but blew a 10-point lead in the final minutes of Game 4 at home. It was a sign of a young team who hasn't learned how to win in the playoffs and overcome a little adversity. In that case it was <span>James Harden</span> fouling out. Without Harden, <span>Russell Westbrook</span> and <span>Kevin Durant</span> couldn't score enough to fend off an unstoppable charge from <span>Dirk Nowitzki</span>.</p>
<p>OKC mostly likely won't survive the mental blow that comes with losing a playoff game in such fashion and the Mavericks are a veteran team that smells blood on the court. Expect the 2011 NBA Playoffs Western Conference series to end with a Mavericks victory. <b>Game 5 between the Mavericks and Thunder tips off at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT on ESPN</b>. (<a href="http://www.nba.com/video/channels/playoffs/2011/05/24/0041000315_okc_dal_gm5_lookahead.nba" target="_blank">NBA.com video preview of Game 5</a>.) </p>
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<p><i>OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - MAY 23: Kevin Durant #35 of the Oklahoma City Thunder addresses the media after the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Thunder 112-105 in overtime in Game Four of the Western Conference Finals during the 2011 NBA Playoffs at Oklahoma City Arena on May 23, 2011 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)</i></p>
https://arizona.sbnation.com/2011/5/25/2189363/nba-playoff-schedule-thunder-face-biggest-test-yet-heat-stifle-bullsSeth Pollack2011-05-24T06:37:37-07:002011-05-24T06:37:37-07:00NBA Playoff Schedule: Bulls Hope To Avoid Thunder-Sized Hole, Game 4 In Miami
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.welcometoloudcity.com/">Oklahoma City Thunder</a> proved once again that if you have a major team flaw the <span class="caps">NBA</span> Playoffs will expose it. They went down 3-1 to the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/">Dallas Mavericks</a> in embarrassing fashion. The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.blogabull.com/">Chicago Bulls</a> schedule calls for a heavy dose of <span>LeBron James</span> and the Heat defense on Tuesday with their Miami leading their 2011 <span class="caps">NBA</span> Playoffs Eastern Conference Finals Series.</p>
<p>Both the Bulls and the Thunder suffer from the same problem — neither team is able to generate good looks in the half court. The Bulls have even fewer offensive weapons than the Thunder but are a better defensive team. Oklahoma City is virtually helpless without <span>James Harden</span> on the floor once the defense focuses in on <span>Kevin Durant</span> and <span>Russell Westbrook</span>.</p>
<p>In both conference finals of 2011 <span class="caps">NBA</span> Playoffs the team with the best player on the court who’s been able to generate and hit shots. <span>Dirk Nowitzki</span> and LeBron James have proven to be the real stars and while both the Heat and Mavericks are flawed teams in their own right, they seem destined for a rematch in the <span class="caps">NBA</span> Finals.</p>
<p><b>Game 4 of the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.hothothoops.com/">Miami Heat</a> and Chicago Bulls tips off at 8:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. PT. </b></p>
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<p><i><span class="caps">MIAMI</span>, FL – <span class="caps">MAY</span> 22: LeBron James #6 of the Miami Heat looks on against the Chicago Bulls in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Finals during the 2011 <span class="caps">NBA</span> Playoffs on May 22, 2011 at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida.(Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)</i></p>
https://arizona.sbnation.com/2011/5/24/2187058/2011-nba-playoff-schedule-chicago-bulls-miami-heat-tuesdaySeth Pollack2011-05-23T08:09:17-07:002011-05-23T08:09:17-07:00NBA Playoff Schedule: Monday In OKC, Thunder Seek Playoff Life
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<p>The Monday schedule for the 2011 NBA Playoffs features the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/">Dallas Mavericks</a> holding a 2-1 lead over the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.welcometoloudcity.com/">Oklahoma City Thunder</a> playing Game 4 in OKC. All the talk is <span>Russell Westbrook</span> and his league-high turnover numbers and more importantly, his inability to get <span>Kevin Durant</span> the ball. This isn't news as much as it another example of the NBA Playoffs doing what they do -- expose players' and teams' flaws.</p>
<p>The Thunder can beat the Mavericks in Game 4 without Westbrook dishing the ball like <span>Steve Nash</span>, but as a team they are going to do a few things better. They absolutely can't go 1-17 from the three-point line as they did in Game 3. That's a given. They also need to relax and trust each other. Not uncommon for young teams, each player is trying to do too much on their own and the ball is not moving nearly enough. </p>
<p>The Thunder have several mismatches on the perimeter and especially need Kevin Durant to take advantage any time <span>Peja Stojakovic</span> is on the floor and <span>James Harden</span> can attack <span>Jason Terry</span> and create opportunities. OKC did a great job in turning a blow out game into a contest that at least lasted 48 minutes and forced the Mavericks into playing their starters until the final minute. Keeping pressure on the older team will pay off down the road, assuming the Thunder can win Game 4 and tie the series which guarantees at least two more games.</p>
<p>For the Mavericks to beat the Thunder on their floor for the second-straight game, they need to play aggressive perimeter ball denial defense on Kevin Durant. <span>Shawn Marion</span> had his best game of the series so far which carried Dallas to the win. They will need either Marion or one other perimeter player -- <span>DeShawn Stevenson</span> or Jason Terry -- to play great ball and compliment <span>Dirk Nowitzki</span>'s shooting prowess. Dirk had an off game on Saturday which won't likely happen again.</p>
<p><b>Game 4 between the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder tips off at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT on ESPN. Dallas leads the series 2-1.</b> (<a href="http://www.nba.com/video/channels/playoffs/2011/05/22/0041000314_dal_okc_GM4_lookahead.nba" target="_blank">NBA.com video preview of Game 4</a>). </p>
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<p><i>OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - MAY 21: James Harden #13 of the Oklahoma City Thunder dunks the ball in the fourth quarter while taking on the Dallas Mavericks in Game Three of the Western Conference Finals during the 2011 NBA Playoffs at Oklahoma City Arena on May 21, 2011 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)</i></p>
https://arizona.sbnation.com/2011/5/23/2185529/2011-nba-playoff-schedule-monday-okc-thunder-dallas-mavericksSeth Pollack2011-05-22T08:03:34-07:002011-05-22T08:03:34-07:00NBA Playoff Schedule: Miami Heat Take Talents To South Beach, Face Bulls Rose
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.hothothoops.com/">Miami Heat</a> hope to do on Sunday what the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.welcometoloudcity.com/">Oklahoma City Thunder</a> couldn't on Saturday. The 2011 NBA Playoffs schedule has been full of surprises, and the Thunder going 1-17 from three and still being within striking distance of the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/">Mavericks</a> in the final minutes ranks up there. If <span>Derrick Rose</span>'s Bulls can have a similar effect on <span>LeBron James</span> shooting abilities the result would probably be much worse.</p>
<p>All the talk after Chicago lost Game 2 at home was Derrick Rose poor shooting but his 7-23 game was only his third-worst of the 2011 NBA Playoffs and not much worse than his 10-27 and 11-27 games against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.peachtreehoops.com/">Hawks</a>. Facing a better Heat defense and LeBron's ability to score in the clutch in the postseason make it mandatory that the Bulls get more scoring from <span>Carlos Boozer</span>, <span>Luol Deng</span> or even the cold-shooting <span>Kyle Korver</span>.</p>
<p>Someone needs to step up and score for the Bulls because Rose can only carry that team so far and the offensive system isn't dynamic enough to create open shots. For the Heat the question is how much can they get from <span>Udonis Haslem</span> in his second big game back. If he continues playing at near the level he did in Game 2, this series is over.</p>
<p><b>Game 3 of the Miami Heat vs. <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.blogabull.com/">Chicago Bulls</a> tips off at 8:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. PT on TNT.</b></p>
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<p><i>CHICAGO, IL - MAY 18: Cheerleaders from the Chicago Bulls perform against the Miami Heat in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Finals during the 2011 NBA Playoffs on May 18, 2011 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)</i></p>
https://arizona.sbnation.com/2011/5/22/2184134/2011-nba-playoff-schedule-miami-heat-chicago-bulls-lebron-james-derrick-roseSeth Pollack2011-05-21T05:00:38-07:002011-05-21T05:00:38-07:00NBA Playoff Schedule: Loud City Hosts The Mavericks
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<p>The best series still left standing in the 2011 NBA Playoffs resumes Saturday in Oklahoma City when the Thunder host the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/">Dallas Mavericks</a> in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals. The schedule won't give the elderly Dallas team much rest from here on in so we'll have to see if <span>Dirk Nowitzki</span>, <span>Jason Kidd</span> and <span>Shawn Marion</span> can bring the energy they will need to keep up with young Thunder. <span>Kevin Durant</span> certainly isn't going get tired.</p>
<p>The question facing the the Thunder isn't about rest. The issue they have to deal with is <span>Russell Westbrook</span>'s inconsistent and immature play. OKC needs the Westbrook who put up a triple double in Game 7 against Memphis. They need him to take care of the ball and be aggressive but not so aggressive that he's taking shots away from his talented teammates. </p>
<p><b>Game 3 of <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.welcometoloudcity.com/">Oklahoma City Thunder</a> vs. Dallas Mavericks is Saturday at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT on ESPN.</b></p>
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<p><i>DALLAS, TX - MAY 19: Dirk Nowitzki #41 of the Dallas Mavericks talks to the media after loosing to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game Two of the Western Conference Finals in the 2011 NBA Playoffs on May 19, 2011 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Danny Bollinger/NBAE via Getty Images) </i> </p>
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https://arizona.sbnation.com/2011/5/21/2182321/2011-nba-playoff-schedule-okc-thunder-dallas-mavericksSeth Pollack2011-05-20T15:06:38-07:002011-05-20T15:06:38-07:00James Harden, Before The Beard
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<p>You would thinking watching the 21-year-old former Arizona State Sun Devil that <span>James Harden</span> came out of the womb with his natural basketball savvy and that awesome beard. We can't confirm the first, but we have video evidence that beard came later.</p>↵<p><a target="_blank" href="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/617451/James_Harden_Before_the_beard.JPG"><img src="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/617451/James_Harden_Before_the_beard_medium.JPG" class="photo" alt="James_harden_before_the_beard_medium"></a> <br id="1305928947302"></p>↵<p>This screen grab comes from a Fox Sports Arizona special on Harden produced a few years ago when the McDonald's All American was preparing to leave high school for his two-year stop in ASU.</p>↵<p>Now look at James, dominating the <a href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Dallas Mavericks</a> in the fourth quarter of the 2011 NBA Playoffs Western Conference Finals and <a href="http://arizona.sbnation.com/2011/5/20/2181437/james-harden-vs-russell-westbrook-oklahoma-city-thunder" target="_blank">outplaying Russell Westbrook</a>.</p>↵<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.foxsportsarizona.com/pages/video?PID=mwR35zaJTLCg279MAdwPzQ_km3ia7_1W#">Here's the full video from Fox Sports AZ.</a></p>
https://arizona.sbnation.com/2011/5/20/2182054/james-harden-before-the-beardSeth Pollack2011-05-20T10:00:57-07:002011-05-20T10:00:57-07:00James Harden Vs. Russell Westbrook, It's Not Even Close
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<p>We are biased, but that doesn't stop the facts from being what they are. The fact is <span>James Harden</span> has been a better all around basketball player in the 2011 NBA Playoffs then the highly touted (and in my opinion, overrated) <span>Russell Westbrook</span>.</p>
<p>If you've been watching the <a href="https://www.welcometoloudcity.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Thunder</a> at all, you've seen the offense stall countless times with the ball in Westbrook's hands as he drives into traffic and takes bad shots.</p>
<p>At the end of the third quarter of Thursday's Game 3 in Dallas, coach <span>Scott Brooks</span> had enough. After yet another turnover, Brooks benched Westbrook for the fourth quarter and instead of blowing a 16-point lead like they did against the <a href="https://www.grizzlybearblues.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Grizzlies</a>, the Thunder out-scored the <a href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Mavericks</a> 29-24 and won a huge road playoff game.</p>
<p>I love James Harden and had the pleasure of watching him play at Arizona State so clearly there's a bias. I've interviewed both players several times and it's obvious between the two who is more mature and shows more signs of being a great leader. All that aside, however, the numbers are also clearly in favor of Harden.</p>
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<li><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">Russell Westbrook leads all players in the 2011 NBA Playoffs with 62 turnovers. Number two on that list is <span>Derrick Rose</span> with 46. Westbrook has 16 more turnovers than the MVP despite playing similar minutes and the same amount of games. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">Harden on 44 possessions as the pick and roll ball handler in the playoffs has converted on 46.2 percent of his attempts. That ranks the 21-year-old shooting guard as "Very Good" according to Synergy Sports Tech data.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">Westbrook on 141 possessions at the pick and roll ball handler in the 2011 NBA Playoffs has shot 33.6 percent which is rated "Below Average".</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">Harden (.762 aFG%) has been better in transition than Westbrook (.574 aFG%) and far better in isolation (Harden, .955 aFG%. Westbrook, .355 aFG%). In fact, James Harden is 9-11 in isolation which makes him the top-ranked player in the 2011 NBA Playoffs in that category. </span></li>
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<p>It's decision making that really sets the two apart. Former coach and ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy has said time and again on the broadcast that Harden is the better passer with the better court vision and does a much better job setting up his teammates. Here's two examples:</p>
<p>This play started as a high pick and roll with Perkins setting a good screen on Barea. Westbrook first took the ball left into open space but cut back to the middle into congestion. At the point you can see in the screen shot below, he's boxed in on his left with <span>Jason Kidd</span> and <span>Shawn Marion</span> in front of him.</p>
<p>Instead of making an easy pass to a wide open James Harden or a harder pass to an open <span>Kevin Durant</span> at the far wing or a dump down to an open Ibaka in the paint, he pulls up for a contested shot that he missed. </p>
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<p>In this example James Harden ran a high pick and roll with Ibaka and drove the lane. The Dallas big came over to cut off his path to the rim but instead of tossing up a tough shot, Harden made a nice, but difficult, pass to Ibaka who got an open lay up.</p>
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<p>These two examples typify the differences between Westbrook and Harden. Westbrook, supposedly a point guard, is always looking to shoot the ball which allows defenses to focus on him even more. If he saw the floor and was able to make quicker decisions, he would not only get his teammates good looks, but it would open things up for himself more as well since defenders couldn't cheat off so much.</p>
<p>Harden, who doesn't have near the speed, explosiveness, or ability to shoot off the dribble as Westbrook, uses his body well and makes better decisions. He can finish in traffic and can certainly shoot the ball, but he is the far better passer of the two.</p>
<p>It was a brave move for Scott Brooks to sit his temperamental and immature point guard in the fourth quarter of a playoff game. It's up to Westbrook now to show what kind of man he is when he steps on the court in Game 3. Can he put that behind him and learn the lesson and grow as a player or will he sulk and take even more bad shots? </p>
<p>The OKC Thunder need Russell Westbrook to play well to advance to the NBA Finals. So far, he's only shown glimpses of being a top-notch point guard. We'll find out Saturday what he's made of.</p>
https://arizona.sbnation.com/2011/5/20/2181437/james-harden-vs-russell-westbrook-oklahoma-city-thunderSeth Pollack