CAVS.SPACE

The Miami Heat withstood a late rally by the Oklahoma City Thunder to win Game 2 100-96. Here are some notes from Thursday night's game in preparation for Game 3 tonight. From Game 2: Areas for Improvement: Miami Heat Play stronger inside - use Joel Anthony or Ronny Turiaf more or make Chris Bosh and LeBron James play more in the paint on offense Chris Bosh started at center and had 16 points, 15 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 assist, and 1 steal. His +11 +/- was greatly needed this game, especially with Udonis Haslem struggling off the bench and posting a team-worst -10 +/-.  Consider swapping out Mike Miller for James Jones - Miller is the better overall player but still seems to be slumping, while Jones plays his 3-point specialist role well James Jones got 6 minutes of action; Mike Miller got 1 minute of action. Both posted negative +/-'s (-3; -1). Jones made one field goal while Miller made 2 free throws and had 1 rebound. The real story was Shane Battier, who shot ...

In a Finals matchup of more perimeter-oriented teams, the Oklahoma City Thunder asserted themselves more than the Miami Heat en route to a Game 1 victory. Here are some statistical observations from the game: Fastbreak Points: OKC 24, MIA 4 -- Regular Season: OKC 16.3 FBPPG, MIA 13.4 FBPPG; OKC 11.4 Opp FBPPG, MIA 11.4 Opp FBPPG  Points in the Paint: OKC 56, MIA 40 -- Regular Season: MIA 42.1 PiPPG, OKC 41.4 PiPPG  Free-throw Attempts: OKC 27, MIA 18 Only Heat player with a positive +/-: Joel Anthony +3 Rebounds: OKC 43, MIA 35 Blocks: OKC 3, MIA 1 -- Regular Season: OKC 8.17 BPG, MIA 5.38 BPG Other +/-: MIA: Chris Bosh -16, LeBron James -11, Udonis Haslem -10 Other +/-: OKC: Kevin Durant +15, Russell Westbrook +14, Thabo Sefolosha +14, Nick Collison +13 Areas for Improvement: Miami Heat Play stronger inside - use Joel Anthony or Ronny Turiaf more or make Chris Bosh and LeBron James play more in the paint on offense Consider swapping out Mike Miller for Jam...

With the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder competing for the Western Conference championship and the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics competing for the Eastern Conference championship, the other 26 teams in the NBA need to prepare for next season. Included with the offseason decisions is the ability to waive a player via the amnesty clause. Regarding the amnesty clause , these teams have used the clause thus far: Brooklyn (formerly New Jersey) Nets: Travis Outlaw Cleveland Cavaliers: Baron Davis Golden State Warriors: Charlie Bell New York Knicks: Chauncey Billups Orlando Magic: Gilbert Arenas Portland Trail Blazers: Brandon Roy *editor's note: omitted from original list - Indiana Pacers: James Posey For those readers wondering, Rip Hamilton was given a buyout rather than amnestied by the Detroit Pistons. Teams have 4 more years to utilize the amnesty clause . Here are some possible amnesty candidates --note: "future" means players will be amnest...

1. Oklahoma City Thunder (1) 2. Chicago Bulls (2) 3. San Antonio Spurs (3) 4. Indiana Pacers (4) 5. Philadelphia 76ers (5) 6. Memphis Grizzlies (6) 7. Atlanta Hawks (7) 8. Utah Jazz (8) 9. Miami Heat (9) 10. Denver Nuggets (10) 11. Phoenix Suns (11) 12. Dallas Mavericks (12) 13. Los Angeles Clippers (13) 14. Boston Celtics (16) 15. New York Knicks (17) 16. Houston Rockets (18) 17. Los Angeles Lakers (19) 18. Orlando Magic (15) 19. Minnesota Timberwolves (14) 20. Milwaukee Bucks (20) 21. Detroit Pistons (21) 22. Cleveland Cavaliers (22) 23. Washington Wizards (29) 24. Toronto Raptors (25) 25. New Orleans Hornets (28) 26. Portland Trail Blazers (24) 27. Golden State Warriors (23) 28. Sacramento Kings (26) 29. New Jersey Nets (27) 30. Charlotte Bobcats (30)

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In a lockout-shortened NBA season, it can be said that preseason predictions are likely easier to make than during a standard season with a full offseason and preseason. As teams have less time to make adjustments and changes to their rosters, strategies, tactics, and operations, they end up making fewer adjustments than during a full schedule. As analysts and fans, the main questions we have are about coaching stability , team chemistry, and internal development & improvement. In essence, have we been correct in our observations over the past few months & years and are we correct now? The above picture shows my personal preseason projections for the 30 NBA teams for 2011-2012. What I did was place the teams into 4 groups: top-tier championship contenders, the next best, teams challenging for a playoff spot but missing, and teams still rebuilding. My picks as NBA championship favorites were (in random order) the Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City T...

Here are the updated NBA Team Chemistry Rankings for the 2011-2012 season. Noted preseason contenders --Oklahoma City, Chicago, San Antonio, Memphis, Miami, Dallas, and Boston--all find themselves in the current playoff picture. Of these 7 teams, only the Grizzlies at 4-6 have played sub-.500 ball in their last 10 games. Overall, the Western Conference remains the stronger conference, with 13 of 15 teams at 20 or more wins this season; in comparison, the Eastern Conference has only 9 of 15 teams at 20 or more wins. Regarding team chemistry, there appears to be balance across the conferences, with 5 teams from each conference currently ranking in the top 10. It will be interesting to see how the final month of the season goes and where teams end up in the playoff seeding. Rank Team Notes Previous 1. Oklahoma City Thunder The Thunder continue to look like 'the team of the future'--i.e. the championship team of the next defining era of NBA basketball, a la Magic and B...