Eastern Conference: Who's going to the playoffs?

[Jclaw]

So..if I did my math right, unless we get the 2nd seed (which is in our control), we are done with the Bulls for the 2016/17 season! Unless it's in the next round . The bulls have 2 games to get to 41 wins but they lose out to both the hawks and bucks based on head to head.

[3inthekeon]

James Johnson deserves it. Last year he was out of shape for us. .

I posted a link where the Heat made him lose almost 40 lbs. to play for them. I imagine that some was offseason weight gain, but yeah, he more than likely was out of shape last year. And instead of getting in shape, he whined on twitter about being underutilized.

Also doesn't shed a positive light on the Raptors organization that the Heat have a standard of fitness excellence that we don't seem to have.

[Jclaw]

Raptors sleeper agent. https://t.co/E4y2qE34WO

— (((Eric Koreen))) (@ekoreen) April 9, 2017

[Bendit]

I posted a link where the Heat made him lose almost 40 lbs. to play for them. I imagine that some was offseason weight gain, but yeah, he more than likely was out of shape last year. And instead of getting in shape, he whined on twitter about being underutilized.

Also doesn't shed a positive light on the Raptors organization that the Heat have a standard of fitness excellence that we don't seem to have.

Thats not entirely fair imo....we don't know. Let's just say Riley is a hard ass and pretty much must have given JJ an ultimatum which along with him not taking advantage of all his chances he may well been out of the league or with another shitty team. Being scared can work wonders. In anycase I am glad things worked out well for him. Whatever happened to Winslow? Looks like JJ beat him out.

[Ebonhawke]

Thats not entirely fair imo....we don't know. Let's just say Riley is a hard ass and pretty much must have given JJ an ultimatum which along with him not taking advantage of all his chances he may well been out of the league or with another shitty team. Being scared can work wonders. In anycase I am glad things worked out well for him. Whatever happened to Winslow? Looks like JJ beat him out.

Matt and Jack were talking about the JJ signing last night. Apparently Riley did give JJ a decree about his fitness, else he'd have been released.

Winslow underwent shoulder surgery in early January.

[3inthekeon]

Thats not entirely fair imo....we don't know. Let's just say Riley is a hard ass and pretty much must have given JJ an ultimatum which along with him not taking advantage of all his chances he may well been out of the league or with another shitty team. Being scared can work wonders. In anycase I am glad things worked out well for him. Whatever happened to Winslow? Looks like JJ beat him out.

Before he lost nearly 40 pounds, reignited his playing career and put himself in position for a big pay day this coming July, James Johnson found himself shirtless, embarrassed and a bit confused standing in front of the camera lens of an iPad inside the Heat's training facility last summer.

“It was weird to me – really weird to me,” said Johnson, a former first round pick of Chicago back in 2009, who in his first seven years in the league with the Bulls, Raptors, Kings, Grizzlies and Hawks had never been asked by the team's strength and conditioning coaches to pose shirtless for a photo.

“I thought I was going to be the only [player to do it] because I came in something huge... But then I ran through their iPad. It was like a magazine, a list of their accomplishments with other players and I saw it with my own eyes. And from what I saw on that iPad, I wanted to change myself.”

As Johnson, 30, flipped through Bill and Eric Foran's iPad, he saw before and after photos of dozens and dozens of former Heat players, who all went through the Foran's intense workouts and transformed their bodies into finely tuned, fit, athletic machines to survive the demands of coach Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley before him.

Of all the photos that stood out, Johnson said, it was that of seven-time All-Star and former Heat guard Joe Johnson, 35, who joined the team in late February of last season and was part of the Heat’s run to within a victory of the Eastern Conference Finals, which made the biggest impression on him.

“That’s because he came in with the Miami Heat so late and was still able to change his body like that,” James Johnson said. “It has a lot to do with the player, but all the compliments and all the rewards should go to the Forans.”

As the Heat (30-34) head toward the back stretch of the season as winners of 19 of its last 23 games, one overriding sentiment from the players who joined the team in the past year is how they all feel as though they are in the best shape of their playing careers.

Dion Waiters, Wayne Ellington, Willie Reed and Johnson have all remarked how they’ve each trimmed their body fat levels considerably since joining the Heat.

“It's amazing,” Reed said in early February. “You see a transformation. Sometimes you can’t see it because you feel like you aren’t doing as much as you can, but when coaches show you film and you have people saying ‘Hey you’re getting better’ you start to understand it a little bit more. It’s just a testament to the Forans and coaching staff. It’s a testament to [personal trainers] Drew Hanlen and Stan Remy as well to help me become better offensively. The stronger I get, the more conditioned I get, I know I’ll be able to do what I’m doing now at a higher level.”

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/sp...#storylink=cpy

Does this shed a positive light on the Raptors? Seems the Heat are at a higher level than us in this regard at least.

[Puffer]

Great link. Alex has done a great job in terms of strength and conditioning over the years, but lately different posters have commented on JV's conditioning, there was Sully's weight, and a few other players. The Raptors seem to consistently get beaten in transition, giving up easy baskets. Haven't done any kind of analysis, just eyeball test, but that is my impression.

It would be great to include body fat testing into the team regimen. JJ is a big man, but 40 frickin' pounds would be over 15% of his bodyweight. I hope Raptors trainers are paying attention.

[saints91]

PJ is the smarter player and better defender. JJ was always good a couple dumb plays a game.

[Raptor Jesus]

We asked JJ to go up to play 4. He got injured and sat.

I respect that the heat have set out very specific measures for their players, but I think people are missing that JJ and all of our deep bench guys practice against our 1st string. They defend and learn against Casey's system. They are part of our organization. They deal with our media, they live in our city. JJ was a career headcase maybe, just maybe, our rebuilt franchise was a, if not the, stabilizing factor and a foundation for JJ to rebuild a career on.

We saw he worked with rookies and was active in the community on Open Gym. His father extolled the virtues and his families happiness that he was coming back here to work on his career. Great on him for doing it.

I don't think this is a knock on us.

[slaw]

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/sp...#storylink=cpy

Does this shed a positive light on the Raptors? Seems the Heat are at a higher level than us in this regard at least.

Please stop with this. One guy playing better in a much larger role, on a team expected to go nowhere and with probably his last shot to get another NBA deal is not a conclusive indicator of anything.

Look, lots of teams are better at stuff than the Raps. And the Raps are better at a lot of stuff than other teams. You aren't going to be #1 at everything. No one is. It doesn't reflect badly on the organization. In terms of training/medical staff, prior to this season, Raps were one of the best (if not the best) in terms of losing man-games to injuries over the last few seasons. I don't recall anyone on here talking about how that reflected positively on the training and medical staffs.

[3inthekeon]

We asked JJ to go up to play 4. He got injured and sat.

I respect that the heat have set out very specific measures for their players, but I think people are missing that JJ and all of our deep bench guys practice against our 1st string. They defend and learn against Casey's system. They are part of our organization. They deal with our media, they live in our city. JJ was a career headcase maybe, just maybe, our rebuilt franchise was a, if not the, stabilizing factor and a foundation for JJ to rebuild a career on.

We saw he worked with rookies and was active in the community on Open Gym. His father extolled the virtues and his families happiness that he was coming back here to work on his career. Great on him for doing it.

I don't think this is a knock on us.

Not disputing your statements, but they have nothing to do with my comment. I cited one specific point, i. e, the Heat's demand for conditioning, that we (and to be fair, other teams) don't have. What does that have to do with "deal with the media"?

[Raptor Jesus]

Not disputing your statements, but they have nothing to do with my comment. I cited one specific point, i. e, the Heat's demand for conditioning, that we (and to be fair, other teams) don't have. What does that have to do with "deal with the media"?

I don't think anything I put forward refutes your point. Just that a multitude of factors could have spurred or more like all contributed to his break out.

The heat and Riley have championship banners and rings. I'd bet they do a fair bit better than us.

[SkywalkerAC]

I don't think anything I put forward refutes your point. Just that a multitude of factors could have spurred or more like all contributed to his break out.

The heat and Riley have championship banners and rings. I'd bet they do a fair bit better than us.

Riley's training camps were revered and reviled for being the toughest in the NBA. Being less hardcore than Riley doesn't really say much, as that statement tends to hold true for every other team in the league.

[Demographic Shift]

Game Day... Sunday April 9....With just a few lengths to go the race is coming to the wire.

The Bulls, yes the inconsistent can't shoot straight Bulls coughed one up as predicted to the Nets and have set up a photo finish with the Heat, Pacers and perhaps the Hawks. There is a part of me that wants the Bulls to make it so they don't fire Garpax, Freddy and encourage Dwayne Wade not exercise his option and walk so they can remain as irrelevant next year as they are this year. However... if they do blow it and lose 3 of their last 5 to Cupcake central, which they are clearly capable of doing, the housecleaning can begin in earnest and the Bulls will retool around Butler without Rondo and Wade with a new coaching genius and a front office that is more competent than the one they have today. They will be a team to contend with again within a couple of years.

The Heat are playing for their lives and got a step closer beating the Whiz with a guts effort. They helped themselves while giving the Raps a chance to clinch against the Knicks who will likely sit one of or both of Carmelo and the Zinger. This is what you play all year for. Giving yourself a better position in the playoffs.

The Bucks and Hawks have pretty much punched their ticket but it will be interesting to see how the Hawks do down the stretch. Their schedule has the Lebrons at home, who want to, but haven't yet clinched, the Hornets who are done and the Pacers on the road. That game may be incredibly important for both teams for seeding or for the Pacers....just getting in.

The Heat are alive and well and tied with the Bulls. The Bulls hold the tiebreaker. The Bulls have two cupcakes at home in the Nets and Magic where the Heatc get the Lebrons who might have 1st in hand and the Whiz who will likely have nothing to play for. Its stacked against the Heat but you never know with the Bulls or the Pacers.

The Pacers won one of their roadies against the Magic and have the Hinkies up next followed by the Hawks at home. Its within the Pacers to go one and one. If they do that and the Heat win out.. the Pacers are out as the Heat have that tiebreaker.


As you can see the horses for the 6 -7-8-9 positions are bunched and they giving it their all down the stretch. Should be some great games.



Well the Raps go into Gotham and it appears the sore back flu has hit Zinger and Melo again. WIth a chance to win this and nail down the 3rd seed and have the choice to rest some players against the Lebrons the Dino's take this one.

The Lebrons @ Hawks. The Lebrons haven't clinched and the Celtics are a game back in the loss column. They need this one. After the Hawks B team embarrassed them at home you would think the Lebrons will play with some sense of purpose today in front of the 1278 disinterested fans in Phillips arena in Atlanta this afternoon. Lebrons win.

[mjt20mik]

Clinched 3rd baby