NBA CHAMPIONSHIP: Who wins and in how many games

[King Glorious]

Originally Posted by Calzone Lord

I probably got fooled by randomness with Fisher and Harden a little.

Yesterday, they had no spark coming off of the bench and they were a -4 and a -5

The Miami Heat only had three players come off the bench and play more than 3 minutes:

James Jones (20 minutes) +8
Udonis Haslem (11 minutes) +9
Norris Cole (8 minutes) +12


Everyone wants to talk about the stars -- but this game was decided by the bench players. James Jones, Haslem, and Norris Cole were better than Harden and Fisher. If that happens, it's almost impossible for OKC to win no matter what the starters do.

Norris Cole played 8 minutes, scored 8 points, grabbed 2 rebounds, and was +12. Had he played starter minutes (36 minutes) he was on pace to score 36 points, grab 9 rebounds, and Miami was on pace to outscore OKC by 54 points with him on the floor.

He's a rookie from the Horizon league who just played over his head. Harden and Fisher just need to play better a lot better than the chumps off of Miami's bench.

Had he played startes minutes against the OKC starters, he likely would have scored 10 points and had three rebounds and fouled out trying to guard Westbrook. That's if he didn't pass out from exhaustion at the 24 minute mark.

Your point is correct though. The stars are basically cancelling each other out. Miami is getting a bit more from their third star than OKC is but Westbrook more than offset that last night with his advantage over Wade. It's the role players. Battier was huge those first three games. Last night, Chalmers and Cole were the difference. What I don't understand is why Brooks continues to rely on his role players as much as he does? There is no reason why Durant and Westbrook can't be on the court 48 minutes a night. They have all summer to rest.