Kenny Smith said he thinks Green would have been the difference maker

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

in the heat series and put us over the top. I have no link I just heard it on NBA channel. Now imagine AB, Wilcox, and a healthy PP and RA. Now we can add JET

I know plenty here already came to that conclusion but with a former NBA pro saying that it shows we are not just viewing things through green and white glasses here on this blog. Even if Miami had Bosh the whole way if we had all our guys I still think we take them.

ok now carry on    

[chambers]

It's very likely that he would've been.
Just as we were unlucky with Green and Wilcox, or Ray and Pierce not being 100%, they had Wade on one leg, Mike Miller hobbling like a grandpa and Chris Bosh playing through pain for their entire playoff run.

Our goal now is to build a team that can:
*defend Bosh and Wade
*force Lebron to beat us on his own- whilst keeping him to under 30 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists every game in a 7 game series.
*defend the perimeter even better so that the Heat can't rely on a hot run of shooting like Chalmers and Battier did this year.
*Get a reliable bench unit that can gain and extend leads against the Heat whilst Kevin Garnett, Rondo or Pierce are off the floor.

We are very well on the way to achieving this and it's going to be an exciting season. We just have to pray that with their reduced minutes, Rondo, Pierce or KG don't get serious injuries.

[Surferdad]

Only if he was able to contribute to defending LeBron, otherwise he would not have been a difference maker any more than Wilcox or Bradley or even JO.

I agree that there were injuries on both sides that changed the equation.  The key is having a deep enough bench to "take the hit" and the C's didn't have that.  Miami didn't either but they got Bosh back.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Only if he was able to contribute to defending LeBron, otherwise he would not have been a difference maker any more than Wilcox or Bradley or even JO.

I agree that there were injuries on both sides that changed the equation.  The key is having a deep enough bench to "take the hit" and the C's didn't have that.  Miami didn't either but they got Bosh back.

I still have nightmares of Bass defending LeBron the whole 4th quarter of game 7...

What the heck was Doc thinking?

[theswitch]

Only if he was able to contribute to defending LeBron, otherwise he would not have been a difference maker any more than Wilcox or Bradley or even JO.

I agree that there were injuries on both sides that changed the equation.  The key is having a deep enough bench to "take the hit" and the C's didn't have that.  Miami didn't either but they got Bosh back.

He would have certainly contributed past defense, he's a pretty good offensive player too.

[vlad_cruz]

i agree. there was one match up we weren't able to exploit in the mia series.

it was the battier/bass matchup. if we had green in there instead of bass, jeff would've eaten battier in the post.

not to mention the multiple matchup problems he would've created if he played the 4 and the ability to at least guard lebron and saved pp from some fouls.

[Surferdad]

Only if he was able to contribute to defending LeBron, otherwise he would not have been a difference maker any more than Wilcox or Bradley or even JO.

I agree that there were injuries on both sides that changed the equation.  The key is having a deep enough bench to "take the hit" and the C's didn't have that.  Miami didn't either but they got Bosh back.

I still have nightmares of Bass defending LeBron the whole 4th quarter of game 7...

What the heck was Doc thinking?

He had no choice.  When faced with a superstar you have to row different looks at the guy and just hope you slow him down a little bit.  To Bass' credit he did a good job of staying in front of him and forcing him to be a jump-shooter. Could Green have done the same?  I am not sure there is strong evidence of that.

[theswitch]

Only if he was able to contribute to defending LeBron, otherwise he would not have been a difference maker any more than Wilcox or Bradley or even JO.

I agree that there were injuries on both sides that changed the equation.  The key is having a deep enough bench to "take the hit" and the C's didn't have that.  Miami didn't either but they got Bosh back.

I still have nightmares of Bass defending LeBron the whole 4th quarter of game 7...

What the heck was Doc thinking?

He had no choice.  When faced with a superstar you have to row different looks at the guy and just hope you slow him down a little bit.  To Bass' credit he did a good job of staying in front of him and forcing him to be a jump-shooter. Could Green have done the same?  I am not sure there is strong evidence of that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_mGic0nwr0

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

It's very likely that he would've been.
Just as we were unlucky with Green and Wilcox, or Ray and Pierce not being 100%, they had Wade on one leg, Mike Miller hobbling like a grandpa and Chris Bosh playing through pain for their entire playoff run.

Our goal now is to build a team that can:
*defend Bosh and Wade
*force Lebron to beat us on his own- whilst keeping him to under 30 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists every game in a 7 game series.
*defend the perimeter even better so that the Heat can't rely on a hot run of shooting like Chalmers and Battier did this year.
*Get a reliable bench unit that can gain and extend leads against the Heat whilst Kevin Garnett, Rondo or Pierce are off the floor.

We are very well on the way to achieving this and it's going to be an exciting season. We just have to pray that with their reduced minutes, Rondo, Pierce or KG don't get serious injuries.

agreed

[BudweiserCeltic]

Only if he was able to contribute to defending LeBron, otherwise he would not have been a difference maker any more than Wilcox or Bradley or even JO.

I agree that there were injuries on both sides that changed the equation.  The key is having a deep enough bench to "take the hit" and the C's didn't have that.  Miami didn't either but they got Bosh back.

I still have nightmares of Bass defending LeBron the whole 4th quarter of game 7...

What the heck was Doc thinking?

He had no choice.  When faced with a superstar you have to row different looks at the guy and just hope you slow him down a little bit.  To Bass' credit he did a good job of staying in front of him and forcing him to be a jump-shooter. Could Green have done the same?  I am not sure there is strong evidence of that.

Are you sure that's what happened? All I saw was LeBron having layup after layup. Add to that how you're using a big man on the perimeter, which means little rim protection, and the match up problems that arise from playing others out of position.

I'm fine with trying different things, but when it was quite obvious that Bass couldn't guard LeBron, it was time to go away from it.

[Surferdad]

Only if he was able to contribute to defending LeBron, otherwise he would not have been a difference maker any more than Wilcox or Bradley or even JO.

I agree that there were injuries on both sides that changed the equation.  The key is having a deep enough bench to "take the hit" and the C's didn't have that.  Miami didn't either but they got Bosh back.

I still have nightmares of Bass defending LeBron the whole 4th quarter of game 7...

What the heck was Doc thinking?

He had no choice.  When faced with a superstar you have to row different looks at the guy and just hope you slow him down a little bit.  To Bass' credit he did a good job of staying in front of him and forcing him to be a jump-shooter. Could Green have done the same?  I am not sure there is strong evidence of that.

Are you sure that's what happened? All I saw was LeBron having layup after layup. Add to that how you're using a big man on the perimeter, which means little rim protection, and the match up problems that arise from playing others out of position.

I'm fine with trying different things, but when it was quite obvious that Bass couldn't guard LeBron, it was time to go away from it.

Yes of course, and I'm not saying Bass was a Bron-stopper, just that he showed some ability in that role.  In any case, the issue is whether Green is going to be better.  I would hope so as Pierce (who does as good a job as anyone I the NBA) needs help covering him.

[bopna]

Only if he was able to contribute to defending LeBron, otherwise he would not have been a difference maker any more than Wilcox or Bradley or even JO.

I agree that there were injuries on both sides that changed the equation.  The key is having a deep enough bench to "take the hit" and the C's didn't have that.  Miami didn't either but they got Bosh back.

I still have nightmares of Bass defending LeBron the whole 4th quarter of game 7...

What the heck was Doc thinking?

He had no choice.  When faced with a superstar you have to row different looks at the guy and just hope you slow him down a little bit.  To Bass' credit he did a good job of staying in front of him and forcing him to be a jump-shooter. Could Green have done the same?  I am not sure there is strong evidence of that.

Are you sure that's what happened? All I saw was LeBron having layup after layup. Add to that how you're using a big man on the perimeter, which means little rim protection, and the match up problems that arise from playing others out of position.

I'm fine with trying different things, but when it was quite obvious that Bass couldn't guard LeBron, it was time to go away from it.

Yes of course, and I'm not saying Bass was a Bron-stopper, just that he showed some ability in that role.  In any case, the issue is whether Green is going to be better.  I would hope so as Pierce (who does as good a job as anyone I the NBA) needs help covering him.

Green could have better coverage against Bron, he has better lateral movement and quicker than Bass not to mention as tall as Lebron so yes, Green can defend Bron, limit him to a degree and with PP also, Bron will have trouble going off for 40.

[pearljammer10]

if he could have defended lebron then sure he would have been the difference. That would have allowed Pierce to save some energy and try to perform better on the offense end. Also we could have saved garnett legs a bit more by playing bass at center which really isnt a great idea but he does need rest.

I still dont know though, Garnett was our savior and we needed him in the game 48 mimnutes if we wanted to win that series. Even with green, having garnett on the bench still would have hurt us big time.

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

if he could have defended lebron then sure he would have been the difference. That would have allowed Pierce to save some energy and try to perform better on the offense end. Also we could have saved garnett legs a bit more by playing bass at center which really isnt a great idea but he does need rest.

I still dont know though, Garnett was our savior and we needed him in the game 48 mimnutes if we wanted to win that series. Even with green, having garnett on the bench still would have hurt us big time.

which is why a big man MUST step up this year to help KG stay fresh. We cannot have him playing those minutes in the regular season nor the playoffs if we want him at full intensity on both ends of the court when he is in.

[snively]

Only if he was able to contribute to defending LeBron, otherwise he would not have been a difference maker any more than Wilcox or Bradley or even JO.

I agree that there were injuries on both sides that changed the equation.  The key is having a deep enough bench to "take the hit" and the C's didn't have that.  Miami didn't either but they got Bosh back.

I still have nightmares of Bass defending LeBron the whole 4th quarter of game 7...

What the heck was Doc thinking?

He had no choice.  When faced with a superstar you have to row different looks at the guy and just hope you slow him down a little bit.  To Bass' credit he did a good job of staying in front of him and forcing him to be a jump-shooter. Could Green have done the same?  I am not sure there is strong evidence of that.

Are you sure that's what happened? All I saw was LeBron having layup after layup. Add to that how you're using a big man on the perimeter, which means little rim protection, and the match up problems that arise from playing others out of position.

I'm fine with trying different things, but when it was quite obvious that Bass couldn't guard LeBron, it was time to go away from it.

Bass had some success against LBJ earlier and Doc was trying to preserve Pierce, but yes, Doc was way too slow in going away from it once LeBron started taking advantage.