DENVER — He seemed to storm into the room, an edge in his eye, a tone to his voice…
Never seen him quite this way. There’s a fire burning inside and he’s eager as a rabid dog to get at it.
First question was about the altitude:
If Nikoa Jokic dribbles the basketball like this against the "Heat" the joke will be on him. Our defenders will strip him of the ball every time.
Do you think Adam would be open to rebrand the Denver-Miami Finals for marketing purposes to Reefer vs Crack? No, right?
The Athletic’s experts’ picks:
The experts we spoke with for our previous articles in these playoffs have underestimated the eighth-seeded Heat. Leading into the second round, a scout, coach and executive all predicted the New York Knicks would eliminate Miami. Right before the Eastern Conference finals, all of the experts said the Boston Celtics would dispatch the Heat.
Scout’s pick: Nuggets in six
Coach’s pick: Nuggets in six
Executive’s pick: Nuggets in six
Unanimous pick: Nuggets
This Special Counsel, Jack Smith is making sure that when he indicts Trumpie it's an airtight case and Trumpie is DEAD.
“My red line has already been surpassed,” Ocasio-Cortez said last week. “I mean, where do we start? [No] clean debt ceiling. Work requirements. Cuts to programs. I would never – I would never – vote for that.”
👏🤣
I saw that photo last night or early this morning and I didn’t know what the heck was happening. That really is the series in one snapshot.
"Professional sports is just kind of a reflection sometimes of life, that things don't always go your way. The inevitable setbacks happen and it's how you deal with that...There's a lot of different ways that it can go. It can sap your spirit....
"These are lessons that
hopefully we can pass along to our children, that you can develop this
fortitude. And sometimes you have to suffer for the things that you
want. Game 6, the only thing that we can do is sometimes you have to
laugh at the things that make you cry."-Erik Spoelstra
Then there was the performance of Jaylen Brown.
In these big games, your stars have to carry you. You need them to show up. Jaylen had maybe his worst game of the series which is saying something considering how poor his series was to start. The Celtics cannot survive getting just 19 points on 8-23 shooting (1-9) and 8 TOs. That's right, you did not misread that number...
8 TOs.
If you're curious, the Heat had just 9 as a team.
8 TURNOVERS!!!!!!!!! Barstool, your "Celtics" are an entitled group of prisses, all bluebloods, top five pics, you got one guy who was nicknamed in college "THE PRESIDENT" who is so clueless that he said after G3, "We still believe that we're the better team." You got another guy, the Veep, who stole Dwayne Wade's 2006 line, "We're not going out like this." There's nothing original in your team's thinking, it's all entitlement and Hallmark card "inspiration." I know that you know that your "Celtics" are viewed as unlikable and unlovable by other players and teams. They're not respected, they're viewed with contempt as powder puffs. You're right, barstool, they are dead. Does Brad Stevens have the guts to bury this rotting corpse and move on? Or is he a priss, too? You're a fan, barstool, I'm a fan, we have that DNA together. I completely understand your disgust and you are right.
Let's call this what it was. It was a choke. You can't ask for more than Game 7 on your own floor, and now the Celts have experienced what MIA did last year. To get absolutely blown out? Pathetic.
I'm honestly still in shock this is the performance the Celts put up.
I honestly did not see this coming, but my savant Big Brother did. And full 100 here, I was not shocked. I am surprised that you were. The "Celtics" lay eggs like chickens on fertility drugs.
My sincere condolences as a fan, barstool. We've all been there. Hole your crap org accountable. The fish rots from the head up and those heads should ROLL. Sincere best wishes that they do the right thing by you, the fans.
###
Charles Barkley was having none of it. The Hall of Famer turned NBA on TNT analyst could not help but air out his frustrations on Boston after what he deemed as a “stupid” first-half performance. Chuck did not hold back:
“Watching these dumbass Celtics is making my head hurt,” Barkley said. “… It’s so bad to watch them play. There’s no ball movement, there’s no body movement. It’s just frustrating watching a team with this much talent play stupid.”
BOSTON -- Jimmy Butler called his shot.
A year to the day after Butler vowed to get the Miami Heat over the hump after a hard-fought Game 7 loss to the Celtics in the 2022 Eastern Conference finals, he made good on his promise.
Beans won that quarter, the only one they have won, by uno pointo. Still, a 10 point deficit is NOTHING for them. STILL, STILL, the "Heat" are going to win. Caleb is GAME HIGH with 23. Jimmy has 19 but on 8/20; Bam 6 on 2/8.
Obviously, an ugly, ugly half for Beans who shot 38.6% from the field including 19% (4/21) from 3. "The only way they can win is by making 3's"-Spo. My Big Brother said the "Celtics" had WIDE OPEN LOOKS, too. He thinks, and I agree, that they got iced by the open looks. But they lead in rebs. I expect Beans is not going to shoot 4/21 in the 2H. The first half of the 3Q is key. I expect Beans to come out and erase most if not all of our lead and then we will come back. IF the "Heat" come out and add to their lead significantly then I expect Beans to fold.
The "Heat" came out angry, determined, and fire-breathing. Boston reads wilted so far to me. They've turned the ball over 4 times and are shooting 26.1% and are 0-10 from range!!!!!!!!
This series has been Chinese water torture, just like last season's. It seems like it has lasted forever, just like last season's. Last season's G7 loss off a Jimmy miss in the last seconds "crushed", the word is a cogno's, 601 Biscayne. Erik Spoelstra couldn't do the "autopsy" on the series for like a month. This playoff series we "snuck up", the phrase is brown turd's, on Beans. That is their arrogance, their low IQ. But hey, Groundhog Day, different season, same G7, this time in Boston.
I can tell you one thing: Beans is not going to be unfocused in G7. They've had some of those games, they always have some of those games every playoff season, this series. T'ain't gonna happen agayne. They're going to come out with guns a blazin' like they did in G5. We don't have the same caliber guns. Boston can be tilted, they are a mentally and emotionally fragile team and the TD Garden crowd has the sound that rhymes with "clue" always on their lips, and if they are not giving full effort, if they "quit" as they did in G3 the green fannies will let them hear it. If JoeMaz reverts to JoeMaz, he will hear it. But I don't see the team quitting and JoeMaz has called three very good games. Miami was the most clutch team in the Association this regular season and dear God we almost pulled G6 out and banished those green monsters. But we didn't. As we didn't in the clutch in G7 last season. Erik Spoelstra made the correct roster move in inserting Caleb Martin for Kevin Love in G6 and Caleb had a tremendous game. But we still lost. It says here that Miami plays the clutch card to its detriment against this "Celtics" team. They're too clutch to outclutch. In the last two games, Miami either never led the whole game, G5, or led for a vanishingly short time, G6. It says here we can't play rope-a-dope and rely on clutch time. It says here we have to jump on Beans early and keep the pedal to the metal. Most importantly from where I sit, I would never have believed that Miami would have a one-point lead against this "Celtics" team when Jimmy and Bam shoot a combined 9/37. :o Look it up, Pilgrim, I ain't tellin' no false lies. But we were up one with 3" left and them shooting 9/37 and came within one-tenth of a second of winning. But we didn't. It says here that we will not win G7 with our two main guys shooting 9/37 and I don't think they will shoot that abysmally, but it's not going to be enough. Boston will win G7 and confine the "Heat" to historical ignominy as the only Association team ever, ever to lose a seven-game series after being up 3-0.
And that's the way it is, or the way I see it is. Good night.
I know what the polls say. Still, it is this Democrat's dream that Trumpie be the GOP nominee again, and Republicans are making my dream prohibitively likely. I am very surprised that Nikki Haley is an asterisk and now her Gamecock twin Tim Scott has entered the race? Oh yeah, he's got a chance. DeSantis is hopeless. Pence 🙄. Chris Christie isn't in yet--he would give Trumpie trouble! Imo, Haley and Christie are the only credible candidates and plausible presidents so of course the Grand Old Phascists are gong to run the loser of three presidential popular votes back again. You’re doing great guys but if you need help, just 📞, hear?
If these HT scores hold up,
Everton 0-0 Bournemouth
Leeks 0 Spurs 1
Lester 1 Hammerheads 0
Everton would survive and Leeks and Lester would report to the nearest Coca-Cola bottling plant.
This is the attitude my brother was seeing, and damn if he wasn’t correct and didn’t even know about this. This is Coach Spoelstra after the G6 loss:
“We wish we could tip this thing off right now, right NOW. We want to tip this thing off and play another 48 minutes, but we’ll wait 48 hours and do this thing in Boston.”
###
I have never had as excruciating a loss as this in my NBA fandom. When Jimmy hit those 3 fts and there was only one second left I felt lighter than air. I thought then that when the score went final I would sob. No exaggeration. A sob of thrilling impossibility. And then so suddenly the score on ESPN FLASHED 103-104 and a moment later Final and I nearly wept in grief. Sports can just rip the heart right out of you in a split second.
My Big Brother called twice, at 11:14 pm when we went ahead on Jimmy's fts and then at 11:17 when the game went final. I didn't have the ringer on and listened to his vms. I was in no mood to talk but I called him back. His words meant a lot to me. He said that the announcers were calling it a done deal, that Boston would complete the reverse sweep Monday night. "They're not going to, Ben! The "Heat" players went off the court with their heads high, not down! Jimmy looked straight ahead, not in a trance but with steely determination and anger."
My brother's observations meant a lot to me. He has spent his life playing and watching basketball and I have done neither and didn't even see this game. "I think they're going to win Monday night and I think they may blow the "Celtics" out. You heard it here first!"
I trust this man's basketball vision and IQ and I know he wasn't b.s.'ing me to make me feel good. That is really what he saw and what he believes. And so I believe. My brother's words were gold to me because of who they came from. They were evidence-based and knowledge-based.
I told my brother that his take was plausible. The "Heat" could tell themselves, completely with justification, "We played a SHITTY game, I (Jimmy speaking) couldn't shoot worth shit. Bam couldn't shoot. And STILL we had the game won with 3' left. They beat us on a Hail Mary and a goddamned tip. We will eat them alive Monday night."
So: We will beat Boston, and beat them convincingly Monday night. It's going to happen.
###
No words, my heart is in my throat. Sports will crush you.
103-104, GREEN WHITE TIP SHOT 1" LEFT.
103-102!!!!!!!!!! JOEMAZ FTO
JIMMY SHOOTING 3 FTS FOR WIN!
Foul call on Beans overturned.
100-102, Tito fouls somebody. JoeMaz FTO, TWO SECS LEFT
Duncan take foul, :16.9 left
JIMMY 99-101! AND FOUL BY TITO! 100-101!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
97-101, :53
Duncan missed a 3 that would have tied. "Celts" reb.
Jimmy 3 AND 1 97-100, 1:22!!!!!!!
88-98, 4:10, JoeMaz FTO.
88-97, 4:56 left.
green white 3!!!!! 86-95
Here comes Hatem when they need him. Last 4 points, 86-92.
SWISH 3! 86-90, 6' 4Q.
"Celts" on 8-0 run. 83-90.
Jimmy misses, brown turd reb.
Tito blocked Bam's DUNK. brown turd fouled, makes both 83-87, 6:54.
83-85, Kyle foul on brown turd who makes.
brown turd 83-84.
"Heat 11-3 4Q, 7:37.
HEAT LEADS 83-82! JIMMY OH MY EFFING GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hatem did not score that entire quarter! They didn't need him, they won the quarter 22-19. If they need him, "Oh, my turn now?" The "Heat" cannot win with Jimmy shooting 2/15; can't win with Bam shooting 3/14; cannot and will not win with them shooting a combined 5/29. What happened to Himmy? How did Bam turn into Ham? Jimmy doesn't have it in him to score 20 in this 4th.
How are we even within 2 with Jimmy and Bam 5/22?! Why has Hatem not scored? He has played.
Spo has only 2 TO’s left and the 3Q just started! I have NEVER seen him like this. He knows he has an extremely narrow window and if not now it’s over.
Hatem on track to drop a double nickel on us. 25 pts, 11/11 fts. In this game it's not true that Beans can only win if they hit treys. Spo did not think Hatem was capable of putting up 25 in one half against his team and having 11 of those come from the free throw line. He was 0/4 from 3 and we didn't even slow him down. We cannot stop the man. He could switch in the 2H and hit 3's like he did against Phila. We are denying him the long ball and it's not mattering. He's still killing us. The score is close and we're outshooting them from 3 but they're shooting 51.3% overall and we, 38.3%. Jimmy is invisible, 2/10 from the field for only 9 points. The game is close but the writing is on the wall. Our last lead was 11-9 at 6:50 1Q. Boston is laughing at us in the locker room right now. They’re beating us and they haven’t even given us their best shot. Our hope is that they come out unfocused and we have a fire-breathing 3rd and tilt them. That is plausible but I don't see them being tilted the whole 2H. Predict Boston win.
"Celts" won 1Q 34-29 and lead 2Q 12-10.
The most courageous, high-spirited, beautiful inside and out, smart, creative people. In the middle of Russia’s WAR on them the C-I-C released this HQ vid today hinting at a counteroffensive coming soon:
The lopsided vote in the lopsided Republican House was 121-23-2 (abstentions). Under the state Constitution Paxton is removed from office pending trial in the Senate.
The Premier League is set except for the bottom, Everton (33), Lester (31), Leeks (31). All three are at home Sunday: -v Bourne-cum-n-my-mouth, -v Hammerheads, -v Spurs. If Ev so much as draw, the two L's go down. If Ev lose, one of the L's must still win to survive. Lester has the goal diff ad. if both L's win.
“We believe that one — we are the better team in this series. We haven’t
played like it. And two — this is our destiny to be able to make it to
the next level. So history is at our doorstep, and we got to respond.”-Jaylen brown turd.
March:
"I was raised by grandma and grandpa. I didn't really see dad. I lived down at grandma and grandpas."
"Where were mum and dad?"
"I don't know."
May 25:
"Put yourself in a state of nature of the mind; your back is against the wall."
"I'll try. I haven't really had times like that though."
"I have. I was raised by my grandparents."
He went on to list the others.
May 27:
"I want to come back to what you said the other day. You've said it at least twice, that you were raised by grandma and grandpa. How long did that last?"
"Let's see...Uncle Jack was killed in 1945...Three years, four years."
"Where were mum and dad?"
"Mum would come by..."
"Where were they living?"
"I don't know, I assume with our paternal grandparents."
"Where was that?"
"You know where the clothing store was? Right across the street from there."
"That's not too far from where grandma and grandpa lived. Why didn't they come see you?"
"They didn't have a car..."
"They could have walked from there...Why didn't they live with you and grandma and grandpa?"
"I don't know. They were working I guess. Dad was working. Dad worked his ass off. Maybe mum was working as a hairdresser, I don't know."
"Did grandma and grandpa have a car?"
"I don't know. They did go to church."... [Our church was maybe 100 yards from where he assumes mum and dad were living.]
"Did you ever ask mum and dad later in life what that was all about?"
"No, that was just life."
"I'm different. I was raised by my grandparents."
Boston hadn’t looked like the team that went to the N.B.A. finals last season — or like a team that wanted to get there this year.
Very true. They had not looked like they wanted to win. The last two games they have.
-That first possession-
...Smart showcased his role as a defense-minded agent of chaos on the opening possession of Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Miami Heat.
Smart was defending Jimmy Butler away from the ball, near the top of the perimeter, when Bam Adebayo of the Heat drove to the basket. Smart reached at the ball, stripped it free and dove to collect it near the foul line before shoveling it ahead to Jayson Tatum for a fast-break layup and the game’s first points.
One play does not define anything, of course, especially in a postseason series. But that play — a clean steal before the Heat could even take a shot — seemed to hint at everything that was to come during the Celtics’ 110-97 victory, which extended their season.
...
“I wanted to get us going,” said Smart. “I wanted to come in and give my team some energy, especially going against a team like Miami. “We did the knocking around tonight.”
...
The Celtics...forced 16 turnovers in Game 5. They threw a full-court press at the Heat coming out of timeouts. They led by as many as 24 points. By the fourth quarter, Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra was pacing in front of the visiting bench with his hands on his hips, and Butler, who finished with just 14 points against a host of defenders, looked weary.
...
“We can and we will win this series. We’ll just have to close it out at home.”-Jimmy Butler.
Not so long ago, the Heat had all the momentum. In fact, early in the third quarter of Game 4 on Tuesday, they seemed to be closing in on a four-game series sweep. There was one possession in that game when three offensive rebounds led to a 3-pointer by Max Strus, pushing Miami’s lead to 9 points in front of a home crowd that was primed to celebrate a trip to the N.B.A. finals.
The Celtics could have crumbled like a sand castle into Biscayne Bay. But a funny thing happened: They promptly went on an 18-0 run. No longer was the Heat’s zone defense such a riddle. No longer were the Celtics’ 3-point shots rimming in and out. And no longer did the outcome of the series appear to be a foregone conclusion after the Celtics’ 116-99 victory...
...
Smart acknowledged that the Celtics may have been too lax in how they had approached their series with the eighth-seeded Heat.
“They snuck up on us and got us,” said Smart, who was asked to elaborate. “That’s the thing about sneaking up on somebody: They’re not supposed to know you’re coming. So that’s what happened. We didn’t know. We didn’t see it, and they got us. It wasn’t like we were trying to have that mind-set. It’s part of the game. It’s part of life...."
I really hate these "Celtics".
Umm...My first thought was Beans -5 and I often default to my first thought in making predictions. Then, evanescently, -6, then, recalling it was "Heat" -1 at tipoff to G5, "Heat" -3. I'm settling on Beans -3 for my official prediction.
Tatum finally solved Miami’s defense and looks so comfortable drawing doubles and finding shooters. The team is moving the ball with speed and decisiveness, and the defensive pressure has been just right without overextending themselves. The individual defense on Butler and Adebayo has been incredible, and Boston is nailing its spacing in transition off their countless deflections.
This is the peak of Celtics basketball, and they look like they can pull off the greatest comeback ever if they just sustain this focus. — [Jared] Weiss
“The first play on defense, where (Marcus) Smart dives on the floor, gettin’ up on transition, that was contagious,” Tatum said.
[That was the key. The Bam turnover to start the game set the tone.]
As if to illustrate their mettle — again, Tatum said it all began with Smart diving the floor — the Celtics outscored the Heat 17-7 on second-chance points.
…Boston’s swarming defense, its balanced offense, or a determination not to let this one slip away. Vincent’s absence doesn’t explain Smart diving onto the parquet just seconds into the game. Vincent’s absence doesn’t explain those back-to-back, nothing-but-net 3-pointers from the corner by Smart.
[All true from my reading of the game. Boston's defense was maniacal, forcing turnover after turnover; their offense was clicking such that the "Heat" would look up and that three was not from Hatem but from green white, not from the veep but from not so smart; they were everywhere and nowhere and all were making baskets. "Determination": WILL. The "Celtics" wanted G4 more than Miami did, I saw that with my own eyes. I strongly presume from this description and my own read that they wanted G5 more as well. It bothered me that the "Heat" were outwilled. They never took their foot off the pedal in the Beer and Nix series. It isn't who this team is to take a lap and throw a game away thinking they have three chances to close out. I worry about the ability to flip that switch on and off.]
But while there are a million basketball reasons why the Celtics have won two straight games, it’s time to turn, once again, to that now-famous “galvanizing” meeting that took place in Miami the night after the Celtics embarrassed themselves in Game 3.
Everything has changed since then. Whatever happens from here on out, it can be rightly said the Celtics got their dignity back as a result of that meeting.
Brown said as much with this comment: “Just being together in moments of adversity, staying on the same page and sticking with it, doubling down on things that we need to do better, holding each other accountable, has been the key. Once we got ourselves together we all looked each other in the eyes and said, ‘We not goin’ out like this.’
What’ll be needed, though, are books, documentaries, special sections and guest hits that are devoted solely to that meeting Monday night in Miami.
[Pencils have a need to find lore. I'm suspicious every time they do it. We need "books" and "documentaries" about that meeting. No.]
Bam Adebayo is buckling under Celtics pressure. Heat need to fix this, and other problems, by Game 6
[Agree. First “Heat” play, Bam turnover]
The Miami Heat find themselves in the uncomfortable position of needing to make serious adjustments to avoid unmitigated disaster in the Eastern Conference finals.
…the Boston Celtics weren’t all that competitive. They are now, after beating Miami 110-97 in Game 5, having fully committed to Derrick White...
...a smaller lineup that has made the Celtics much quicker with better spacing on offense and a much more disruptive defense.
[Vardon is right. This was a major, brilliant move by JoeMaz to go away from the Two Bigs of iii and The Coach to small. green white and minnies collapsed on Bam and harried him into a turnover on the game's first play. Erik did not counter.]
It’s the Heat’s turn to make changes, probably to the lineup and definitely to how they’re playing on offense. Thirty-two turnovers in the last two games isn’t going to cut it.
“They jammed us up several times in the paint with quick hands, strip-downs, things of that nature,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We have to shore that up. That’s two games in a row of that.”
[I don't know why it took Spo two games. He had a wildly effective counter to Beans' Two Bigs G1-3 but when Beans went small in G4 he started Kevin in both halves and again in G5.]
Ten of those turnovers have come from center Bam Adebayo, whom the Celtics have committed to bothering by collapsing on him in the lane. They use Marcus Smart or White to sink down from the perimeter and apply the extra pressure, and the Heat have been too slow to counter.
The counter to the Celtics’ defense can be any number of tactics, and probably more than one. Adebayo could go into his room quicker after he catches the ball, before a second defender can get to him. He can catch the ball at different places on the court, or even bring it up as an initiator – something he’s done off and on throughout his career. Or he can also pass it out to the perimeter, but that would depend in part on the movement of his teammates. If they’re stagnant and watching Adebayo struggle, he may not see them in time.
[Now that Vardon mentions that, the "Heat" O did have a stand-around look in the G4 that I watched. The emphasis was on spacing with Heaters standing on five points of a star, the middle--and beyond--wide open. It was a weird look.]
…
The Heat have been outscored by 44 points in the last two games with Butler on the court.
[Whoa! That is unreal!]
After a blistering start to this series for Butler, he also has seen more double teams and hasn’t been able to get to his spots on offense with the same command we are used to seeing from him in the playoffs.
[That is something the casters repeatedly urged on JoeMaz in G1-3]
…Miami didn’t need much from him in a blowout win in Game 3. But in that game is where the Celtics eventually got around to defending Butler with more help, and he hasn’t recovered. He took 21 shots in Game 4 and made just nine, and 10 shots in Game 5 is simply not enough.
[Those are meaningful stats that underpin the double-team point "And he hasn't recovered." Powerful observation. Jimmy won't take a bad shot so if it isn't there, as it won't be with doubles, he has to pass, like Bam when mini greens collapse on him, which both Heaters are capable of, and the effectiveness of that depends on offensive movement by the other four Heaters to illuminate the open man in the gap in the defense caused by the doubles--and on the open Heater's ability to make the basket. What I saw in G4 was stagnant offensive sets by Miami.]
…
Playing Lowry and Kevin Love together as starters proved problematic on defense – the Celtics sprinted out of the gate in the first quarter…
[Yes, it has. I blogged in real time during G4 that Spo quickly yanked Kevin after like 5 mins of play time.]
With the Celtics having committed to playing White with the starters and reducing Robert Williams III’s minutes, it may be time for Spoelstra to go away from Love all together and start Martin – with perhaps more minutes for Haywood if this has become a series for quicker wings.
[Again the altogether proper emphasis on JoeMaz' move away from Two Bigs to smalls and Erik Spoelstra's too slow counters that have now cost us two games. JOEMAZ SUPERSTAR!]
But if Vincent (sprained left ankle) can play in Game 6, it at least in theory would restore order to the method in which the Heat were operating when things were easier.
[Whale...Gabe played into the 4Q of the G4 rout.]
“We’ll see, we’ll see who is available, see if Gabe is available. I can’t answer that right now,” said Spoelstra, when asked if he needed to make a permanent lineup change. “But it’s always good when a guy (Haywood) comes in and plays some productive minutes and sees some good things happen. But we’ll see.”
[He doesn't sound confident Gabe will play in G6.]
The Celtics’ offense is flying high and bombing 3s at a rate much closer to the regular season, when they were the league’s second-most prolific team from deep.
[YES! And we elide over that crucial point and the key to Miami's identity, D-FENCE, at our peril. Why, how, have Beans gotten so many good, open looks on 3's in G's 4-5???]
…the Heat weren’t exactly making it tough on any of the Celtics’ better offensive players after enjoying great success there through three games.
[So, we weren't playing great defense on the perimeter, Boston just wasn't hitting. I take that to be Vardon's point. Weird because in G1 or G2, I forget, Spo was mic'd up and told the team "The only way they beat us is if they make 3's."]
Miami is still employing a zone at times to try and slow the game down and junk up Boston’s rhythm. The Celtics have obviously found ways around it in the last two games,
[A zone should HELP on the perimeter. That's the way you beat a good-shooting team: station three guys on the arc...Oh, but if you're not playing man, you're playing an area on the court and the snipers are necessarily going to be at some little distance away. With Beans' snipers any distance afforded is fatal when they are on target.]
but the Heat are using an occasional zone
[Repetition: "at times", "occasional". There is a whole lot between zone and man. There are a lot of variations: matchup zone, box-and-one, there are so many variations.]
because they don’t think they can win playing man for 48 minutes.
[An obvious reversion to the narrative of the talent disparity. I agree that atomizing a team to its individuals Boston has more talent. This isn't tennis singles, though. To this point it has been proven beyond all doubt in these playoffs that Miami has been a vastly superior team to all that they have played.]
“We stopped playing defense halfway because we didn’t make shots that we want to make,” Butler said. “But that’s easily correctable.”
With the series at 3-2, and Game 6 to be played in Miami, now is the time for the Heat to be making those corrections.
[That is the end of the article and Vardon ends it on precisely the right note. Spoelstra must make corrections.]
The Heat look unsure of themselves after looking so flawless and superior for the first three games.
[Agree]
…
Jaylen Brown said. “…I think once we got ourselves together, we all looked each other in the eyes and said hey, we’re not going out like this.”
[the veep stealing from D-Wade, 2006]
The past two games no longer matter.
[Team Amnesia. And Etik Spoelstra said the same thing.]
The conference's record $7+ billion media deal, which starts THIS FALL, was never actually finalized! It's almost inconceivable...
Recently, schools have found out:
They are going to have to pay back nearly $40 million to Fox because, according to sources, Warren delivered NBC the Big Ten football title game in 2026 without the full authority to do so. This all has unfolded under the complicated backdrop of the Big Ten conference not actually controlling the rights to the inventory of this latest deal -- the Big Ten Network does, which is majority owned by Fox. (More on that below.)
They are going to have to pay $25 million total for a deal to pay Fox back for lost 2020 football game inventory. This came after an arrangement between Fox and the conference that was unable to muster the lost revenue from the COVID-19 season.
There's tens of millions of dollars of value of the NBC primetime deal in flux, as Petitti has been racing to ensure it keeps as much of its original value as possible....
Multiple sources told ESPN there's been pushback from a number of schools, including Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State, to play those late-November night games under the new contract. That leaves Petitti to figure out how to uphold a deal for hundreds of millions of dollars for primetime games without cooperation from some of the league's marquee teams for part of the regular season's most important month.
... NBC wasn't aware until well after the initial contract was signed this summer that these big-brand schools had historic tolerances that were part of the prior television arrangements and would resist being available.
"NBC was surprised, and I was surprised," said Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel. "We had not discussed, and I had not discussed with anyone in the league to change the tolerances we had agreed upon years ago."
Within the industry, though, there was an expectation that, considering the scope of the deal, all schools would play in prime time.
"The fault here is with the administrators on campus," said another industry source. "How did the presidents, chancellors and athletic directors not know this? The universities all signed off on the deal."
...
"This is what he's walking into right now," another industry source said of Petitti. "Tony is trying to save it, and what Penn State and Ohio State are doing is actually trying to minimize the losses."
Warren did not return requests for comment.
A full understanding of the deal Warren helped negotiate with NBC, CBS and Fox begins with a bizarre twist -- the Big Ten didn't technically own the rights. (Hence the tension over Warren using the Big Ten title game without Fox's permission.)
In 2016, when the Big Ten announced its long-term television deal with Fox and ESPN, the announcement didn't include all the details. One of the things that didn't get disclosed at the time, nor as the new deal was being discussed in recent months, was that the Big Ten Network had acquired all of the league's programming rights back in 2016 through an undisclosed date. The length of that deal with the Big Ten Network from 2016 is carried at least through the current deal, which has been announced through the 2029-30 season.
This relationship was known by athletic directors, television executives at rival networks and officials in other leagues, even if it wasn't announced publicly. It flashed out into the public at various times, including Sports Business Journal reporting in April 2022.
What this also essentially meant was the latest round of Big Ten television deals were effectively sub-license arrangements, in which both the Big Ten Network and Fox essentially controlled the rights and worked with the Big Ten to sub-license them off. That meant a majority of the value of the deal had already been sold.
"It was a joint negotiation with the conference and FOX working together and doing deals with these other networks," said an industry source. "They both needed each other to do the deals."
That factor is key to understanding the issues Petitti faces. There are two new partners -- NBC and CBS -- attempting to work out their longform deals. There's a familiar partner, Fox, that's riding shotgun on this bumpy ride, including being upset Warren promised a title game Fox controlled without permission.
The league and Fox had also been in talks with Amazon about the deal that ultimately went to NBC, but according to sources, there was late pushback by key campus stakeholders that some of the biggest brands weren't ready for part of a marquee package to only be available on streaming. That set up the push to get as much money as possible from NBC.
And it leaves the league facing a decision on a potential bonus for Warren...
The league has brought in an outside search firm, Korn Ferry, to determine whether Warren's work with this television deal should bring him a bonus. ...
One certainty is that the Big Ten television deal, despite the size, has not satisfied many coaches around the league. ...
Ohio State football coach Ryan Day:.."There was a collective disappointment among coaches on how the night game issue was handled," Day said. "We were surprised when it emerged, and there was no consultation on the change with coaches as a group prior to the television contract being announced."
The "Celts" led by as many as 24 and the "Heat" by 0. The "Heat" never led. It was a comprehensive beating from start, which was chronicled here, to mid-4th Q when both teams emptied their benches.
Boston has adjusted and adapted and are blowing the "Heat" out; have blown them out two straight games. Boston has seized the series from a reeling Miami. Unless Erik Spoelstra can make unknown adjustments Boston will be the first team in the NBA to win a series after being down 3-0. It's a debacle for the "Heat."
"Celts" have cooled off. I say if we get it into single digits before HT we have a chance.
I'm having doubts...I watched the 3rd quarter of G3 yesterday and I could not see what either team did to turn the game. Besides Boston making more baskets, I mean. By the end of the 1Q both defenses had lost shape. I blogged the deficiencies I had seen in the "Heat's" offensive game plan but we had a six-point lead at half time. So how bad could it have been? I didn't see anything schematically different in the third quarter. Boston clearly wanted the game more. I had a concern, I think I blogged it...yes, I did, at half time that the "Celtics" were "right there". The third quarter would be key. At 9 minutes of the third, we still led by 9, so it wasn't JoeMaz' HT adjustment. It was weird watching that third quarter. I looked up and the "Heat" were in the lead and a few minutes later, Boston was in the lead--how did that happen? I don't know. I was watching with my own eyes and didn't know. Besides them wanting it more. We didn't play with 🔥. I thought afterwards, "So when they try, they're better than us?" And that's sort of where I am. If the "Celtics" really want G4, even if we match their wanting, will they beat us on talent? It is not knowing what happened yet seeing it myself, and seeing the intensity disparity that have created doubt in me about G4.
My Big Brother and I were discussing philosophy today, fight or flight, the state of nature. "Put yourself in a position where your back is against the wall, what would you do?" I hadn't really been in that position, I told him. I asked if he had, and if so, what he did.
Recalled to Life.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Lawmakers in several states are embracing legislation to let children work in more hazardous occupations, longer hours on school nights and in expanded roles including serving alcohol in bars and restaurants as young as 14.
The efforts to significantly roll back labor rules are largely led by Republican lawmakers to address worker shortages and in some cases run afoul of federal regulations.
...a coordinated push to scale back hard-won protections for minors.
Lawmakers proposed loosening child labor laws in at least 10 states over the past two years...Some bills became law, while others were withdrawn or vetoed.
Legislators in Wisconsin, Ohio and Iowa are actively considering relaxing child labor laws to address worker shortages. Employers have struggled to fill open positions after a spike in retirements, deaths and illnesses from COVID-19 [Republicans are anti-vax] , decreases in legal immigration [Republicans are anti-immigration] and other factors.
Wisconsin lawmakers back a proposal to allow 14-year-olds to serve alcohol in bars and restaurants.
The Ohio Legislature is on track to pass a bill allowing students ages 14 and 15 to work until 9 p.m. during the school year with their parents’ permission. That’s later than federal law allows, so a companion measure asks the U.S. Congress to amend its own laws.
Psst, Republicans: Have Congress repeal/amend underage sex laws!
Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, students that age can only work until 7 p.m. during the school year. Congress passed the law in 1938 to stop children from being exposed to dangerous conditions and abusive practices in mines, factories, farms and street trades.
Republican Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a law in March eliminating permits that required employers to verify a child’s age and their parent’s consent. Without work permit requirements, companies caught violating child labor laws can more easily claim ignorance. Other measures to loosen child labor laws have been passed into law in New Jersey, New Hampshire and Iowa.
Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a law last year allowing teens aged 16 and 17 to work unsupervised in child care centers. The state Legislature approved a bill this month to allow teens of that age to serve alcohol in restaurants. It would also expand the hours minors can work. ...allowing children as young as 14 to briefly work in freezers and meat coolers, and extending work hours in industrial laundries and assembly lines.
How about kids working as strippers in clubs? Maybe kids could serve booze in between shifts on stage?
Teen workers are more likely to accept low pay and less likely to unionize or push for better working conditions...
“There are employers that benefit from having kind of docile teen workers,” Reid Maki, director of the Child Labor Coalition said, adding that teens are easy targets for industries that rely on vulnerable populations such as immigrants and the formerly incarcerated to fill dangerous jobs.
National business lobbyists, chambers of commerce and well-funded conservative groups are backing the state bills to increase teen participation in the workforce, including Americans for Prosperity, a conservative political network and the National Federation of Independent Business, which typically aligns with Republicans.
The conservative Opportunity Solutions Project and its parent organization, Florida-based think tank Foundation for Government Accountability, helped lawmakers in Arkansas and Missouri draft bills to roll back child labor protections, The Washington Post reported. The groups, and allied lawmakers, often say their efforts are about expanding parental rights and giving teenagers more work experience.
“There’s no reason why anyone should have to get the government’s permission to get a job,” Republican Arkansas Rep. Rebecca Burkes, who sponsored the bill to eliminate child work permits, said on the House floor. “This is simply about eliminating the bureaucracy that is required and taking away the parent’s decision about whether their child can work.”
Absolutely! And if the parent decides that her 14-year old would benefit from giving her "more work experience" as a prostitute, that could lead to a lucrative career in the world's oldest profession!
Margaret Wurth, a children’s rights researcher with Human Rights Watch, a
member of the Child Labor Coalition, described bills like the one
passed in Arkansas as “attempts to undermine safe and important
workplace protections and to reduce workers’ power.”
