MONDAY’S MEANING OF…

The Miami Heat defeated the Indiana Pacers last night 114-96 to take a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference Finals. Game three is set for Tuesday night.

The Heat scored 70 points in the first on 62% shooting from the field.

LeBron James led the way with 22 points.  Here’s Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra after the game.

“What we talked about in the locker room was a team win.  We just tried to focus on the task of playing one possession at a time and trying to play those possessions well.  We had a lot of contributions tonight so it was a good step forward, but we know how competitive this series is.  We already have to start putting this behind us and start getting ready for the next challenge, the next battle.”

Notice Coach Spoelstra mentioned “we” a few times?

Here’s Pacers head coach Frankie Vogel:

“Sometimes when you are perfect with your coverages they still find ways to make baskets.  We didn’t have a great defensive night. It wasn’t horrible. You have to credit Miami for playing a great basketball game.”

Hoops135@hotmail.com

Twitter: @CoachFinamore

K.I.S.S.

“I mean, I made a layup. It’s not like I made something from half court. I made a layup. I’ve been doing that since I was 8 years old.” -LeBron James after he hit the game winning shot last night vs the Indiana Pacers

FRIDAY’S FUNDAMENTALS

So much talk about Derrick Rose the Chicago Bulls point guard and whether he should play or not?

WHO CARES?

I don’t mean that in a negative way, I mean it in a positive way.

I love Rose.  He plays the right way.

It’s Derrick’s decision. Plain and simple.

Don’t question his toughness, the guy is a warrior.  You really think he doesn’t want to play?

Unless you have had a serious knee injury, you have no idea what he went through/is going through.

Talk about the Bulls team which is tied with at the Heat at one game apiece. Discussion should be on who is playing well and who isn’t.

Like Tom Thibodeau says, “we have enough to win.”

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How refreshing is it to see so many players/teams in the playoffs playing the right way?

There’s a reason why these last eight teams are still standing. Each series is tied at one.  The coach in me wants to see every series go the distance.  I had a major void last night with no games on the schedule.

Today’s young players should take a peek and learn from these games.

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How about the Golden State Warriors? Are they fun to watch or what? Mark Jackson has done a great job.  Remember when he was hired a year ago and there were people out there criticizing the hire because Jackson had zero coaching experience? He may be right when he says that his starting backcourt of Klay Thomspn and Steph Curry are the best “shooting backcourts in the history of the game.”

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Sad to hear about Dick “Hoops” Weiss.  The outstanding writer was let go by the New York Daily News. He is one of my favorite writers of all-time.

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My All-Play The Right Way team in the playoffs:

Draymond Green, Kawhi Leonard, Joakim Noah, Steph Curry, LeBron James, Pablo Prigioni, Kevin Durant, and Paul George.

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Hoops135@hotmail.com

Twitter: @CoachFinamore

TOO MUCH TIME TO FOUL?

Yesterday late in regulation, the Celtics were up three points on the Heat; on defense and LeBron James had the ball.

Nine days ago the Celtics decided to foul against the Bulls in the same situation (Doc Rivers usually fouls in these situations – he has done it twice this year and it was successful both times).

But against the Bulls, some say Doc fouled with too much time left. (That’s been an ongoing debate in the Foul or Defend philosophy)

Here’s the video of LeBron using the high ball screen.

Notice the time when he gets the ball (:13) and the time he launches his shot (:8.9)

The good thing is Boston won the game in double overtime.

-CoachFinamore

Hoops135@hotmail.com

Twitter: @CoachFinamore

THE HOCKEY ASSIST

The Miami Herald on the Miami Heat sharing the puck, oops, I mean sharing the basketball and getting the hockey assist.

All the pundits who dislike LeBron James and shout that he should shoot the ball at the end of the game, this article is for you!

As a coach you want your players playing unselfish basketball. You want everyone sharing the ball, not hogging it. The defending champs are all about playing the right way.

“[James] could have had more [assists] if he was ego-driven, hunting for his own,’’ coach Erik Spoelstra said. “I think he had three to five hockey assists where he knew it would be a rotation where the next guy would be open. He’s looking at the play after the play after the play.’’

“We’re playing at a high level offensively and it’s because we have unselfish guys,’’ James said. “We don’t care who shoots, we don’t care who passes. We’re finding the open guy and everyone on the floor is making plays. That’s all that matters.’’

“We talked about hockey assists in high school,’’ James said. “I come from a very unselfish brand of basketball as I grew up. That’s how my little league coaches taught me up through high school. It’s just stuck with me.’’

“It was a big thing at Marquette to get a hockey assist,’’ Wade said. “Coach rewarded us for it more than regular assists. You would come in and say, ‘Ten hockey assists tonight,’ and there would be something on your locker. If you didn’t have any you would have a big doughnut on your locker.’’

HOOPS135@HOTMAIL.COM

TWITTER: @CoachFinamore