Sweatin' Bullets

Sweatin’ Bullets is a recurring feature in which I provide general theories, observations and comments about the most recent game.

• The Heat came into a potential series clinching game with three players suited up that can be considered either a power forward or center: Ronny Turiaf, Juwan Howard and Joel Anthony.

• It absolutely seemed like Ronny Turiaf should have gotten a technical for bumping George in the first quarter.

• Jeff Van Gundy clearly has never had a small soft ball for an ankle…

• I usually tend to get tired of hearing people question Lebron’s heart. BUT if Lebron James had the mentality and heart of David West how man NBA Championships would he already have? I’ll set the over/under at seven.

• I believe that it is the job of Tyler Hansbrough and Louis Admunson to be hated by their opponents’ fans. I don’t think we have to poll South Beach to find out if they are succeeding. Unfortunately they just weren’t competent enough to get heavy minutes.

• The Tyler Hansbrough/Leandro Barbosa/Paul George/Dahntay Jones/Darren Collison lineup doesn’t seem to really fly in an elimination game .

• If I have had one consistent sentiment all season concerning the Pacers it’s FEED THE BIG MAN. Hibbet has flaws, but what he’s good at and what he opens up for his teammates is enough for him to be a center piece of the offense.

• Every time a Heat player not named Lebron James or Dwyane Wade shot the ball it felt like Christmas.

• “…Wanted to dunk it, but he was too far away!” I’ll take quotes about Joel Anthony’s offensive skills for 500.

• “I don’t know how they drive so fast without crashing.” Good point about NASCAR Jeff Van Gundy. I sometimes wonder how basketball players jump so high without tripping.

• In the 2006 NBA Finals a legend was created and Dwyane Wade reached another level. That Dwyane Wade showed up to Game 6.

• Double teaming Dwyane Wade is crucial. Mike Miller runners are ideal. And when Lebron James forgets to cut then he becomes a jump shooter out of Wade’s double team. When executed well it minimized the effectiveness of both Wade and James. (Pretty much just agreeing with JVG and the rest of the Twitter universe).

• Dwyane Wade hits the kind of daggers that make a team want to give up.

• How in the world did Wade score only five points in Game 3?

• All season Pacer fans have been criticized for their poor attendance. Two nights ago Larry Bird criticized the team for being S-O-F-T. Both criticisms were fair, but the crowd and the team came out for Game 6 and didn’t leave anything on the table. Despite the outcome, both responded in my mind.

• The Miami Heat had one more Lebron James and one more Dwyane Wade than the Pacers did and that is why they won. Those two men have a demeanor that may make them difficult to cheer for, but they are truly amazing basketball players.

• Is having George Hill and Darren Collison like having two quarters when you really need a dollar? I really like both of them as point guards, but does Indiana really get as much out of Darren Collison as they should. Is that going to be the most obvious roster change?

• Was that the last time we see Roy Hibbert in a Pacer uniform?

• A great season. A truly great season. I’ve been known to be able to think of a poetic sentiment or two when I really put my mind to it, but I’m just going to wrap this one up with a quote from the crowd at Bankers Life Fieldhouse: “Thank you, Pacers.”