http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/v/nba/teams/1/80x60/dal.gif VS http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/v/nba/teams/1/80x60/mia.gif


Game 1 - Dallas 90, Miami 80
Game 2 - Dallas 99, Miami 85
Game 3 - Miami 98, Dallas 96
Game 4 - Miami 98, Dallas 74
Game 5 - Miami 101, Dallas 100 (OT)
Game 6 - Miami 95, Dallas 92


2006 NBA Finals predictions thread - Cast your vote! (http://wtfdetroit.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6056)

Nearly 24 hours have gone by and not a single post in the official NBA Finals series thread.

Either we're all still in shock, or this is sour grapes.

I think it's both for me.

I think the thought of the possibility of The Heat winning anything is enough to make me want to kill small children and puppies. Now I don't know if I would call that sour grapes.....OK, it's sour grapes.

HOLY FUCKING CHRIST DO I HATE THAT TEAM. Maybe they'll all catch whatever Wade has....although I have no idea if pussyface-itis is an airborne virus or something that they can only catch by licking his balls like all of the announcers and refs do.

bit·ter ( P ) Pronunciation Key (btr)
adj. bit·ter·er, bit·ter·est
1.) Having or being a taste that is sharp, acrid, and unpleasant.
2.)Causing a sharply unpleasant, painful, or stinging sensation; harsh: enveloped in bitter cold; a bitter wind.
3.)Difficult or distasteful to accept, admit, or bear: the bitter truth; bitter sorrow.
4.)Proceeding from or exhibiting strong animosity: a bitter struggle; bitter foes.
5.)Resulting from or expressive of severe grief, anguish, or disappointment: cried bitter tears.
6.)Marked by resentment or cynicism: “He was already a bitter elderly man with a gray face” (John Dos Passos).

I'm gonna say it's definition #6.

Go mavs. Fuck a wade

game 1 tonight.

i won't see it because i'll be playing volleyball tonight. i think the Mavs run away with this one.

i hope the Mavs sweep these turds :>
Dirk for Finals MVP ! :D

I hope Dirk shits on the Heat. I want to see Howard outplay Wade.

=DrqOVoiOTYU

ok, that was pretty funny. i was waiting for Cuban to show up in the middle, at the end.

LMAO!!

Nice video.

In the great words of Bill Walton


NIIIIIIIIIIICE!

only rooting against heat cuz i hate mourning.

cuban is a deutsh too.

i'll be watching though.

Miami's O owning another team. 70% shooting in the first quarter. Wade; Unstoppable yet again.

Come Dirk, wake the F--- up.

WTF is wrong with Walker?

Hes making all his shots and the long ass 3 to end the quarter...

Its either all of Miamis shots are in or in and outs while Dallas is sucking their cock.

the only thing keeping this team alive is Jason Terry...anyone know why he does the thing with his arms that wants to make him look like an ariplane...?

It is now obvious that Dallas cant do shit against Wade...the only thing thats stopping Wade to score is them foouling...

shaq's a wonderful 0-7 from the ft line so far

FT shooting biting Miami in the ass again. 6-17 FT

FT shooting biting Miami in the ass again. 6-17 FT
Thats the double edged sword that is Snaq. And being the second worst FT shooting team in the league.

btw, not 1 Heat player outside of Wade and Shrek took a FT.

btw, not 1 Heat player outside of Wade and Shrek took a FT.

interesting stat nonetheless.

I really wouldnt mind having a player like Jason Terry on this team. He is kind of like Chauncey in a way, a point guard who steps it up and hits the 3 in the rising momentum.

the only thing keeping this team alive is Jason Terry...anyone know why he does the thing with his arms that wants to make him look like an ariplane...?

His nickname is "The Jet", apologies to Kenny Smith

J ason
E ugene
T erry

I wonder how Shaq feels about Fatoine taking 19 shots last night?



Well, I'm digvsivdhodvhijvp;docspdocjsdojcsjdcpjsdcp hmf.

Well, I'm digvsivdhodvhijvp;docspdocjsdojcsjdcpjsdcp hmf.

I concur.

http://www.nba.com/media/finals2006/child_player8_400.jpg


VS.


http://www.nba.com/media/finals2006/child_player3_400.jpg

Game 2 tonight.


With many players from the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks appearing in their first NBA finals, Game 1 featured some sloppy play from both teams. Now, each club hopes the jitters are behind them as the series resumes in Dallas after a two-day break.

On Thursday, Dirk Nowitzki had just 16 points for the Mavs while Heat stars Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal combined for 45 points. Dallas, though, won 90-80 behind Jason Terry's 32 points to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

Wade had 28 points, six rebounds and six assists, but went 6-for-10 from the free-throw line and committed five of Miami's 15 turnovers. O'Neal, meanwhile, hit just one of his nine attempts from the line while finishing with 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

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"I know that if I want my team to win a championship, I have to step up to the line and hit them," O'Neal said. "And I will. I was just thinking about it a little too much. We still had a lot of opportunities to win the game, and on Sunday, look for me to shoot a little bit better."

Terry probably can't shoot much better than he did in Game 1. The seventh-year guard went 13-for-18 from the field, including 4-for-7 from 3-point range, and hit both free-throw attempts to lead the Mavs.

Terry said playing in the finals didn't affect him at all.

"It's just another game," he said. "The rims are still 10 feet (high)."

Nowitzki, who shot 4-for-14 Thursday, felt differently.

"I thought we were a little frozen up," he said. "It's a big stage. Nobody has really been here before besides (coach) Avery (Johnson). ... We weren't making shots. We weren't making good plays, not swinging the ball."

Johnson, the NBA coach of the year, won a title while playing with San Antonio in 1999.

"I think they've gotten it out of their system now," Johnson said. "We had some jitters ... and they know we didn't play a perfect game. We obviously have a lot of room for improvement. We didn't meet our goals offensively and defensively."

Johnson's counterpart, Heat coach Pat Riley, said his team should be anxious to get back on the court after its performance in Game 1.

"They should be disgusted," Riley said Friday. "Disgusted and frustrated."

Wade admitted to being tired in the opener after battling flu-like symptoms and a sinus infection for a week leading up to this series, but said that was no excuse for the way the Heat played.

"Defensively was not there mentally or physically for this ballclub," Wade said. "We come out, and -- if I know this team -- we will respond to the challenge, come out and be better defensively and give ourselves a chance to win in Game 2."

O'Neal, meanwhile, will probably get the ball more in Game 2 after taking just 11 shots Thursday.

"The burden is always going to be on me and I've accepted that ever since 1992," O'Neal said. "Whenever we don't play well, I take a lot of it on my shoulders, anyway. The key is not to have two games like that in a row. So I'll be hard on myself these next two days. And then hopefully on Sunday, I could play a little bit better."

Nowitzki will also be looking to play better after being held under 20 points in Game 1 for just the second time this postseason.

"They made me put ball on floor and got ball out of my hands," Nowitzki said. "But we played well defensively and Jason made shots and carried us all game. ... We got the first one out of the way. Now we can make some adjustments, look at some film."

The series shifts to Miami for Game 3 on Tuesday.

HOW THEY GOT HERE: Heat - 2nd seed, Eastern Conference; beat Chicago Bulls 4-2, first round; beat New Jersey Nets 4-1, semifinals; beat Detroit Pistons 4-2, finals. Mavericks - 4th seed, Western Conference; beat Memphis Grizzlies 4-0, first round; beat San Antonio Spurs 4-3, semifinals; beat Phoenix Suns 4-2, finals.

PROBABLE STARTERS: Heat - F Antoine Walker, F Udonis Haslem, C O'Neal, G Jason Williams, G Wade. Mavericks - F Josh Howard, F Nowitzki, C DeSagana Diop, G Devin Harris, G Terry.

PLAYOFF TEAM LEADERS: Heat - Wade, 26.3 ppg and 6.4 apg; O'Neal, 9.5 rpg. Mavericks - Nowitzki, 27.7 ppg and 11.8 rpg; Terry, 3.7 apg.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/preview?gid=2006061106

The Mavs just destroyed Shaq and the Heat tonight... wow! I saw Dumpier not be dumpy... geezus.

And Shaq had 5 pts.

I'm not a huge Dallas fan or Cuban fan but for some reason I'd love a sweep. Just piss on Riley's cheerios please!

Shaq acting his age.... who would've thunk.

I was watching an old LSU game against Ole Miss on something called Retrovision, from 1992. He fucking dominated late in the game. The Rebels couldn't stop him.

I bet Snaq breaks out his old LSU game tapes these days, wondering whatever happened to that man, the self-described "most dominant player in the game"?

Then, in a fit of depression, he waddles to the neighborhood Sizzler and cleans them out.

Mystery solved.

[smilie=blaha.gif]

maybe doubleteaming Shaq isn't that bad of a idea at all...only Toine really made some 3's in the first two games, no other Heat did...and Shaq is totally useless when he's doubeld...the Mavs even did make it tough on Wade's layups...man i'd wish we had a coach like Avery and Stack off the bench :>

maybe doubleteaming Shaq isn't that bad of a idea at all...only Toine really made some 3's in the first two games, no other Heat did...and Shaq is totally useless when he's doubeld...the Mavs even did make it tough on Wade's layups...man i'd wish we had a coach like Avery and Stack off the bench :>

I will never WISH for Stack under any circumstance, unless I wanted my team to blow a big game.

Dallas needs one of the three in Miami and this is OVAH.

I hate the 2-3-2, even though it really helped us in 2004.

Dallas needs one of the three in Miami and this is OVAH.

I hate the 2-3-2, even though it really helped us in 2004.

I agree, I think it's a joke. It just comes out of no where, since it's not in any other series. It give the home team a huge advantage, especially only one home team has won the middle 3 games.

You'd think with all the time off that they've built into this schedule that they could stick with the 2-2-1-1-1 format.

After Game 4 in Miami, they would have two days before Game 5 in Dallas.

Even if they were going Boston to LA or Boston to Seattle, it would only be what, 6 hours?

watching this series is uber depressing.

neither of these finals teams are playing too good. if the pistons had it this year, we'd have jumped all over these teams.

miami is a fraud team, if there ever was one. you'd think we'd have exposed one of miami's 1000000 defensive holes by accident, but i guess even an 'offensive mastermind' like flip has an off series.

and i dont know why people care about the 2-3-2. who cares? its practical.

i doubt the underdog wins all three home games in a 2-2-1-1-1, either.

I think the inconsistency is what bothers me.

They play 3 rounds with 2.2.1.1.1 and then switch a huge variable for The Finals.

Either change the earlier rounds to 2.3.2 for consistency or go the other way.

watching this series is uber depressing.

neither of these finals teams are playing too good. if the pistons had it this year, we'd have jumped all over these teams.

miami is a fraud team, if there ever was one. you'd think we'd have exposed one of miami's 1000000 defensive holes by accident, but i guess even an 'offensive mastermind' like flip has an off series.

Maybe the Pistons were more of a fraud team than Miami and/or Dallas?

Shaq's record without Kobe in the Finals: 0-6

0-8 maybe?

Game 3 tonight.

Miami's chance to make the series respectable.


If they keep slowing down Shaquille O'Neal and the Miami Heat the way they did in the first two games of this series, the Dallas Mavericks will be returning home as NBA champions.

O'Neal and the Heat have many adjustments to make if they want to join the Mavericks back in Dallas, going into Game 3 of the NBA finals needing to quickly turn things around or see their season come within one game of ending very abruptly.

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"This series is far from over," Miami's Antoine Walker said. "We know that, and hopefully they know that. We're a veteran group of guys. A lot of us have worked our whole career to get to this point, and we ain't going to lay down now."

It almost looked like the Heat did Sunday. O'Neal set career playoff lows with five points, two field goals made and only five attempted before sitting out the final 15 minutes, watching the Mavericks roll to a 99-85 victory to take a 2-0 series lead.

Only Boston in 1969 and Portland in 1977 have rallied from an 0-2 deficit to win the finals. No NBA team has won a best-of-seven series after losing the first three games.

"We feel that this is an opportunity for us," Dallas' Jerry Stackhouse said. "We want to do all we can to prepare ourselves to be able to fulfill a dream of ours, and fulfill the dream of our city. We're one more step closer to that."

The next three games will be in Miami, assuming the Heat force a Game 5, but even that appears to be in question after the Mavs dominated the first two contests, particularly Game 2.

That game was never very close in the second half and the final score was not indicative of how easily Dallas won. Stackhouse scored 10 of his 19 points in a 79-second stretch, highlighted by a four-point play, during the Mavs' 27-6 run to close the first half, essentially finishing the Heat.

"We haven't really done anything," said Dirk Nowitzki, who had 26 points and 16 rebounds. "We won two games at home. We know they are a different animal at home. Shaq and Dwyane (Wade), they are going to get their troops ready to play."

O'Neal, fined $10,000 for not speaking to the media after Sunday's loss, had failed to score in double digits just twice in 189 previous playoff games. As they did in Game 1 when the superstar center took only 11 shots and was held to 17 points, the Mavericks consistently double-teamed O'Neal and sometimes tripled him when the ball reached his hands in the post.

Instead of finding ways to score through the pressure, the 34-year-old O'Neal constantly passed out of the double team, sometimes even a bit before the extra defender arrived. His teammates failed to provide enough help, including a combined 4-of-14 effort from point guards Jason Williams and Gary Payton.

"(O'Neal) can't be as dominant as he wants to be right now," said Wade, who had 23 points but went 6-for-19 from the field. "He's been in this situation more than anybody, so I'm sure we'll bounce back."

O'Neal also isn't helping himself with foul shooting. He went 1-for-7 at the free-throw line on Sunday after going 1-for-9 in Game 1.

While Miami is 27-for-51 (53 percent) at the foul line in this series, Dallas has gone 43-for-54 (80 percent) and Nowitzki has hit 16-of-17.

"Free throws are killing us," said Walker, possibly the only Miami player off to a good start in this series with a combined 37 points.

The Heat also are struggling defensively against Dallas' versatile perimeter players, including Stackhouse, Josh Howard and Jason Terry. Howard had a double-double in Game 1 despite struggling with his shot, but looked better in Game 2 with 15 points on 6-for-12 shooting.

When Howard and Nowitzki were off in Game 1, Terry led Dallas to a 90-80 victory as he scored 32 points. Terry came back with a solid Game 2, scoring 16 points and handing out nine assists.

Miami's defensive effort will be made that much tougher if Udonis Haslem isn't at full strength. Haslem, the best defender the Heat can throw at Nowitzki, injured his left shoulder in the third quarter of Game 2 and did not return.

Haslem, though, said he'll play in Game 3 as the Heat try to end a six-game losing streak to the Mavericks. Dallas has won 12 of the last 14 meetings overall, including five of six in Miami.

"They did what they had to do at home," Heat coach Pat Riley said. "We'll have to play the game a lot better than we played it here in Dallas. Whatever adjustments we make ... are going to have to work."

Game 4 is Thursday.

HOW THEY GOT HERE: Mavericks - 4th seed, Western Conference; beat Memphis Grizzlies 4-0, first round; beat San Antonio Spurs 4-3, semifinals; beat Phoenix Suns 4-2, finals. Heat - 2nd seed, Eastern Conference; beat Chicago Bulls 4-2, first round; beat New Jersey Nets 4-1, semifinals; beat Detroit Pistons 4-2, finals.

PROBABLE STARTERS: Mavericks - F Howard, F Nowitzki, C DeSagana Diop, G Adrian Griffin, G Terry. Heat - F Walker, F Haslem, C O'Neal, G Williams, G Wade.

PLAYOFF TEAM LEADERS: Mavericks - Nowitzki, 27.6 ppg and 12.0 rpg; Terry, 4.0 apg. Heat - Wade, 26.2 ppg and 6.2 apg; O'Neal, 9.3 rpg.

listening to the Heat's introductions...........man the PA sucks ass.

Mason > everyone else

man, i can't wait for next season.

God, you guys really hate other teams because that was a classic last night ad no one is discussing it.



GOD DAMN DIRK![smilie=grumble.gif]

last night was a pretty exciting game. i was rooting for the Mavs to hold on, but Wade was too much.

although, i do think the refs gave the Heat a little help. Wade had 5 fouls and should have been called for his 6th when he bumped Terry. Shrek got away with a pretty blatant push off on Dampier (he hit both FTs, iirc). Terry got called for what looked like a phantom foul (Mavs down 1) at the end which gave Wade FT's.

regardless, Dirk choked by missing a FT and he threw a contested lob pass to Howard (vs Wade), instead of hitting Stack in the corner. yeah, we all know about Stack's clutchness.....but he was more open than Howard who had to outjump Wade.

God, you guys really hate other teams because that was a classic last night ad no one is discussing it.



GOD DAMN DIRK![smilie=grumble.gif]
i've got to admit, it was hard to turn the TV on to watch the game.........but watching the Mavs share the ball and all the ball movement reminded me of the Pistons we knew all season long *sigh* they're a fun team to watch.

watching Miami get spanked for most of the game was pretty nice. even the run at the end by Miami was entertaining. seeing Flexo get called for two straight fouls (should have been three) put a smile on my face. there's definitely less stress watching the game when your team's not playing.

I was outside Ben Rothlesburger's house holding vigil like the rest of America.

That was the first game I watched, and I remembered why I didnt watch the first two:


Wade - 18 Free Throw attempts. Fuck that shit. Next highest was Dirk with 12.

I was outside Ben Rothlesburger's house holding vigil like the rest of America.

LMAO. I wasn't there, I was busy watching JJ Redick's stock drop.

That was the first game I watched, and I remembered why I didnt watch the first two:


Wade - 18 Free Throw attempts. Fuck that shit. Next highest was Dirk with 12.

Wade was straight N-A-S-T-Y. Great end to the game, now hopefully we'll have a hard fought series that will cap off what has been a damn good '06 playoffs.

Wade - 18 Free Throw attempts. Fuck that shit. Next highest was Dirk with 12.
Obviously, copious amounts of FT shooting is what "playoff basketball" is all about. <deep sigh> Is it just me, or have many of these games felt like just regular season games but in the playoffs, as far as the ref-ing goes? I had felt some of that in 2005, but a lot more of it in 2006.

i think i know what you mean mxy.

this series sucks. only reason heat won was the refs gave them every chance and dallas took their foot off the gas. but whatever, i hope it goes 7.

i would actually root for the heat if it wasnt for zo. like pat riley (especially for killing stan vangundy), like shaq, and the only reason i dont like wade is cuz of the refs (not his fault).

theres not much to like about the mavs. like stack, love harris (he's got break out written all over him. he needs out of that logjam).

it was a good game though.

Game 4 tonight.


PLAYOFF SERIES: NBA finals; Mavericks lead 2-1.

The Miami Heat have admitted to playing poorly for almost all of the NBA finals. It was their performance over the span of half a quarter, however, that has them right back in the series.

Miami looks to build off its furious comeback at the end of Game 3 and tie the NBA finals at two games apiece as it hosts the Dallas Mavericks.

The Heat were outplayed in the first two games of this series in Dallas, losing both contests by a combined 24 points, and found themselves on the verge of going down 3-0 when they trailed the Mavs 89-76 with just under seven minutes to go in the fourth quarter on Tuesday.

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But behind Dwayne Wade, the Heat mounted the second-largest fourth-quarter rally in NBA finals history, outscoring the Mavs 22-7 over the final 6:34 to come away with a 98-96 win.

"I said, 'I ain't going out like this,"' Wade told his teammates.

Wade tied a career playoff-high with 42 points, with 15 coming in the final quarter -- 12 during the game-ending spurt.

"As a team, we just came out and said this could be the season if they win this game," Wade said. "We came out, ran our offense to the crisp, locked down on defense and came back and won this game."

Wade was hurt with 10:41 left in the third quarter when Shaquille O'Neal fell backward into his left knee. Wade didn't practice Wednesday, but said he would play when the series resumes Thursday.

"Going to bed at night and waking up, it's very stiff and very sore," he said. "The only thing I can continue to do is what I'm ordered to do, and that's a lot of icing. I'm confident in my training staff that they will get me as close as I can be to 100 percent by tomorrow night. So you know, I'm hoping."

Dallas had chances late Tuesday, but Dirk Nowitzki blew an opportunity to tie the game when he missed one of two free throws with 3.4 seconds to go, and Wade knocked away his inbounds pass in the final second on an attempted alley-oop to Josh Howard.

Nowitzki, who finished with 30 points, was 25-of-27 from the line in the series, but could only make the first foul shot.

"We couldn't really get anything down the stretch on both ends of the floor," Nowitzki said. "We started to relax too early or celebrate. We didn't defend them like we did before and we couldn't get anything to drop.

"The only good thing is we're still up 2-1. ... Now we've got a series."

O'Neal had his best game of the finals for Miami with 16 points and 11 rebounds. He also hit two clutch free throws during the epic comeback to pull the Heat within 93-90, and went 4-for-6 from the line after going 2-for-16 in the first two games in Dallas.

"We had 2 1/2 horrible games and now we can use this momentum and pick it up and just try to win four," said O'Neal, who had a playoff career-low five points in Game 2. "We still made a lot of silly mistakes. But, you know, we never gave up. We just kept playing, showed a lot of heart, a lot of intensity.

"We needed this one. Bad."

Dallas' meltdown contributed to its first loss in 26 games this season when Howard scored 20 points, and the Mavs had also won their previous 11 contests when center Erick Dampier reached double figures. Howard had 21, but didn't score over the final 14:42, while Dampier had 12 points and nine rebounds off the bench.

"We didn't expect it to be easy, but we do feel we gave this game away," said Dallas' Jerry Stackhouse, who was held to four points on 1-of-9 shooting Tuesday. "We should've won this game, that's how we feel. We'll talk about being disappointed, but I don't think we'll be despondent.

"They've played their best ball. Maybe they feel they can play better, but we feel like we took a huge punch and only lost by two."

Miami forward Udonis Haslem had a big Game 3 despite playing with a bruised left shoulder suffered in the second contest of the series. Haslem had eight points and 11 rebounds, including eight offensive, and made two huge free throws after stealing the ball and getting fouled to put the Heat ahead 94-93 with 1:03 remaining.

Haslem said his shoulder feels sore when he raises up to shoot or follow through, but Miami's comeback helped ease the pain.

"We needed this one, and were fortunate enough to get it. Now, we'll just move on to the next game. We can't get too high on our horse after winning just one game."

Game 5 is Sunday in Miami.

HOW THEY GOT HERE: Mavericks - 4th seed, Western Conference; beat Memphis Grizzlies 4-0, first round; beat San Antonio Spurs 4-3, semifinals; beat Phoenix Suns 4-2, finals. Heat - 2nd seed, Eastern Conference; beat Chicago Bulls 4-2, first round; beat New Jersey Nets 4-1, semifinals; beat Detroit Pistons 4-2, finals.

PROBABLE STARTERS: Mavericks - F Howard, F Nowitzki, C DeSagana Diop, G Adrian Griffin, G Jason Terry. Heat - F Antoine Walker, F Haslem, C O'Neal, G Jason Williams, G Wade.

PLAYOFF TEAM LEADERS: Mavericks - Nowitzki, 27.8 ppg and 11.8 rpg; Terry, 4.1 apg. Heat - Wade, 27.0 ppg and 6.0 apg; O'Neal, 9.4 rpg.

yet another wade-is-hurt-or-sick-story. his marketing team must be working overtime....

theres not much to like about the mavs.


I don't know how you can say that. What's not to like about a 7 foot tall German that hits 90% of his free throws, 40+% from 3, can take guys off the dribble, gets 10 rebounds a game and can take the ball the length of the court, has absolutely no ego whatsoever, and plays for love of the game? You like the Shaq-circus, but not Cuban? What about Avery Johnson, who's as tough as they come, or Josh Howard, the western conferences version of Tayshaun Prince? The resurrection of Diop and Damp? Hell I even like KVH now that he's come out and said he only cares about winning now.

God I get tired of Miami...Shaq this, Wade that. You'd think Haslem's the only guy who's ever dove on the floor for a ball before. Give me a break. I'll rip out my own eyeballs before I ever root for Miami.

BEAT THE HEAT!

and the only reason i dont like wade is cuz of the refs (not his fault).

God forbid the refs for rewarding a player that actually attacks the basket once in awhile.

DWade w/ 24 in the first half.....miami leads 54-44.

and the only reason i dont like wade is cuz of the refs (not his fault).

God forbid the refs for rewarding a player that actually attacks the basket once in awhile.

and commits every sorta travel/charge on the way

The wade injuries could stop now. Fuck its getting fucking annoying.

" oh wade seems fine now" well no shit.


theres not much to like about the mavs. like stack, love harris (he's got break out written all over him. he needs out of that logjam).

I like Dirk I like Josh Howard i like the Jet. The only thing i hate about about the MAvs is Cuban.

The only thing i hate about about the MAvs is Cuban.

I'm guessing that you wouldn't hate Cuban if he owned your team.

I'm a Pittsburgh Pirates fan, and a few months ago, it was said that Cuban was interested in buying the team (he's from the area). If you are a fan of a periennial loser (like the Mavs were and the Pirates are) you couldn't dream up a better scenario than having a passionate billionaire, that is willing to do anything it takes to win, buy your team.

Do you think that Cuban would have balked at paying the luxury tax (which some believe cost the Pistons a chance at another finals appearance this year) if he owned the Pistons?

The Series really doesnt start untill a road team wins a game, so this shouldnt be a close series untill Dallas wins in Miami or vice versa, becuase if the home team keeps winning, we will know who wins the series.

Stackhouse suspended for Game 5 for a flagrant 2 against Shaq!?
Stern must really want this to go to 7 games...

i forget, what's the protocol for levels of flagarants vs. suspensions? is a flagarant 2 an automatic suspension?

The only thing i hate about about the MAvs is Cuban.

I'm guessing that you wouldn't hate Cuban if he owned your team.

I'm a Pittsburgh Pirates fan, and a few months ago, it was said that Cuban was interested in buying the team (he's from the area). If you are a fan of a periennial loser (like the Mavs were and the Pirates are) you couldn't dream up a better scenario than having a passionate billionaire, that is willing to do anything it takes to win, buy your team.

Do you think that Cuban would have balked at paying the luxury tax (which some believe cost the Pistons a chance at another finals appearance this year) if he owned the Pistons?

your right. i'd much rather have cuban own the pistons than bill.

and typically, i like people who arent so guarded about what they say, and actually speak their mind rather than just say the same tired cliches.

but he talks too much. he says some things that are just stupid (he said the same tired shit everyone else was about the pistons).

plus, hes a card carrying jock sniffer. hes probably a fag. whats up with an owner trying to be buddy buddy with his players? do they have a choice?

I love Cuban. He's a fan that owns a team. Thats it. He's not an "owner" hes just a fan. I love this guy.

oh yea, and the #2 reason for hating the heat have to be the fans. bunch of goldbricking, bandwagonners. where were all those white shirts 2 years ago when the heat had probably one of the most likeable teams in the league?

"we have too nice of weather to be indoors watching basketball". everyone has nice fucking weather in may and june, jackass. league should disband the heat.

#3 reason to hate the heat: no one knows how to talk about the heat. since its not heats, people get confused when discussing them in the plural, and you get awkward sentences like "the heat is a basketball team". it should be the heat ARE a basketball team. thats why you dont pick a word with no plural form to name your team. thats what happens when you let hics into this league: anarachy.

I don't think that's correct.. Whether the team name is singular or pluralized makes little difference to sentence structure. What matters is the number of things attached to the subject term. For instance, "Team USA" can be considered a singular (or rather, non-pluralized) team name, but you don't say "team USA are the best". You say team USA is the best. That is, its a singular term if you are talking of the team as a singular structure. One team. If what you are saying is that all the members of the Heat are a team, then your sentence looks like this; "Those Miami Heat are a team" or "the heat are a team". Most often sport reports are simply talking about the Heat in the singular as one unit, so "is" would be correct.

Fool the English Teacher? Nice gimmick.

Overtime.

Oh yeah 23 fts for wade?

amazing

even w/ the wade lovefest, i can't believe the refs called that last foul to put wade on the line to ice the game.

RIGGED haha

That was some bullshit right there. If I gave a shit about either of these teams, I would be pissed.

Obviously, copious amounts of FT shooting is what "playoff basketball" is all about. <deep sigh> Is it just me, or have many of these games felt like just regular season games but in the playoffs, as far as the ref-ing goes? I had felt some of that in 2005, but a lot more of it in 2006.
Welcome to the new NBA reffing... it's fuccccktastic!

LMFAO


What a joke. But the boss doesn't care. 13% ratings increase. Fuck if the game is a joke. People are watching.

David Stern does not want Mark Cuban to win a title. Period. This leauge is fucking balogna, I'm only gonna watch the NCAA from now on.

bullshit written all over this. people say wade did over and back on the inbound. not so clear about that.

for the last free throw, fuck the refs, clearly nothing affected the shot.

Cuban after the game. http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/VideoPlayer/videoPlayer.php?vidId=71403&catId=104

Replay of the inbound.
2qDdzU8Dxj4

Looks like O&B to me.

dwayne wade is officially the best player ever.

every time he has the ball, he will score a bucket and/or a foul will be called, guaranteed. theres no stopping that. of all the superstar treatment that the nba is known for, wade's is the most extreme, imo.

and its sad, cuz he would be such a fun player to watch, if he played by the same rules everyone else does. the reffing has been horrible, but also one sided, which makes it 1000x worse.

LMFAO@Cuban.


Best owner in the NBA. Best post game interview i've ever seen.


"Ask me a real fuckin question"

Press Release - Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki has been issued the standard fine of $5,000 for kicking a basketball into the stands, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Senior Vice President Basketball Operations.

The incident occurred at the conclusion of the Mavericks’ 101-100 loss to the Miami Heat in Game 5 of the 2006 NBA Finals at AmericanAirlines Arena

Howard w as a little pissed as well, as he should be. He said something like, get out of my face dawg, ge tout of my face to a reporter

Good. The media asks the stupidest fucking questions sometimes. I mean really, do they have to answer how good they felt after a loss like that? Holy shit.

His commentary about this on blogmaverick.com is awesome:


Last night in the locker room after we lost in overtime to the heat. I was asked by reporters to answer some questions. I told them i would if they asked good questions and didnt ask the same cliche’d questions they had asked after other games. It was interesting how quiet everyone got.

then someone asked “Is this your worst loss ever” . What the fuck kind of question is that ? Is this for a VH1 special ? “Worst Losses Ever ?” If it was, then maybe it was a decent question. Otherwise, how do you answer that question…

Let me think. Well we have never been to the finals before, and this is our most recent finals lost. The 3rd in a row. So that could make it the Mavs worst ever. There was a baseball game I played in where I hit the ball into the gap and some guy made a diving catch to end the game instead of me driving in the winning runs and winning the tournament. I cried in the dugout after that one. There have been some tough rugby losses. Am I supposed to get this reporter a thought out answer and catalog my past, or a catalog answer like “this was a tough one… yadda yadda, that sounds like every other answer ever given to this type of question after a lost game.

The reality is that it would be a waste of both of our time if i gave him the “this was a tough one” answer, and a waste of my time to really think about it. Particularly given there were 10 other reporters wanting to ask questions and we had a bus to catch

So I told the reporter to “Ask me a real fucking question”

Apparently some folks have taken exception to me cursing in my response. Well in this case, the reporter was using my time, we were in a locker room and I was trying to provide a response that had no value to me, but could only help him. If he doesnt think enough of either of our time to invest the brainpower and minutes it takes to come up with something different than has been asked a thousand times.

Fuck em.

Damn straight!

Holy shit that is awesome.

Cuban rules.

There is no justice in this world if the Mavs don't pull this off.

If I hear one Heatfan bitch about the officiating I'm going to borrow Pharaoh's flame thrower and I'm off to Florida.

They deserve every bit of what they are about to get.

(p.s. I wouldn't be surprised if Cuban got some sort of record breaking fine by Stern/NBA, I'm talking $500,000 or more.)

lol nice cuban...nice...

Cuban is the shit.

I'd get on my knees for this guy.

(p.s. I wouldn't be surprised if Cuban got some sort of record breaking fine by Stern/NBA, I'm talking $500,000 or more.)

Well, here it is $250K...

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2006/news/story?id=2491783



Cuban says he didn't yell at Stern after Game 5

ESPN.com news services

DALLAS -- Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has been fined $250,000 for several acts of misconduct following Game 5 of the NBA Finals, the league said Tuesday.

When time ran out in Game 5, Cuban ran onto the court to vent at official Joe DeRosa, then stared down and screamed toward Stern and a group of league officials, from the court, then the stands.

In his blog on Tuesday, the Dallas Mavericks owner responded to a column in the Miami Herald that described this post-Game 5 scene: "Cuban then turned to Stern and other NBA officials who were seated at the scorer's table and was overheard to shout venomously in the jubilant din, '[Bleep] you! [Bleep] you! Your league is rigged!' "

Cuban wrote that instead of yelling at Stern, he didn't say a word to the commissioner. Cuban also adamantly affirmed that he believes game outcomes are determined on the court, not in the league office.

"The games are not rigged," Cuban wrote. "That's a complete insult to the players on the court and the incredible amount of effort they put into preparing for and playing the games. All 82 regular-season and postseason games.

"The NBA couldn't rig the games if it wanted to. And it doesn't want to. It's that simple."

That sounds more like the owner Stern would like to hear. He said Tuesday that he believes Cuban's more vitriolic outbursts are "not healthy for either him or the game."

"I don't think he is crazy. I think he is smart. I think his recent loss of self control is not planned and not calculated, and I think if he could, he would like to have some of it back," Stern said in an interview on San Francisco radio station KNBR. "Because at bottom, I really do believe it distracts the players and that can't be good. It sets a bad tone.

"He is very smart, he has to take credit and should be given credit for putting together a great team and giving his fans the entertainment experience in that building which is terrific. But at times I think he loses control and that is not healthy for either him or the game."

Cuban was irate over what he considered a series of officiating breakdowns at the end of Dallas' 101-100 overtime loss to the Miami Heat on Sunday night. The loss left the Mavericks trailing the series 3-2 and facing elimination going into Game 6 in Dallas on Tuesday night.

Cuban, for his part, disputed that any of his postgame verbiage was directed at Stern.

"Apparently The Miami Herald is reporting I screamed at the NBA commissioner after the game the other night," Cuban wrote Tuesday. "Didn't happen. Didn't say a word to the man. Not a single word. And that was absolutely by intention."

"Apparently this 'reporter' [writer Greg Cote] has written he has several 'sources.' Well they must be the same sources the tabloids use to find two-headed babys and aliens, because it didn't happen."

Stern told ESPN Radio 760 in West Palm Beach, Fla., that he and Cuban did not talk after the game.

"Mark has a way of looking over in the direction of wherever I happen to be sitting if the occasion of calls or game action he doesn't particularly like," Stern said. "But that would not make him the first owner to do that. I did not speak to him at the end of the game."

Cuban wore a Jerry Stackhouse jersey Sunday in Miami in support of the forward, suspended for a hard foul in Game 4.

A half-hour after Game 5, Cuban was still boiling during a testy interview with reporters.

He wrote a blog entry Monday explaining why he used profanity during a response to a question about whether this was the worst loss he'd endured.

"The reality is that it would be a waste of both of our time if I gave him the 'This was a tough one' answer, and a waste of my time to really think about it, particularly given there were 10 other reporters wanting to ask questions and we had a bus to catch," Cuban wrote.

His mind-set is perhaps better explained in a posting left a few minutes before titled, "Right is its own defense."

Cuban wrote about applying that catchphrase -- which he picked up from an old T-shirt -- to a business venture he's pursuing. He added that the slogan applies to the way he runs the Mavericks.

"I'm going to do what I think is right. Period end of story," he wrote. "You may not like that I want the officiating in the NBA to get better. I think it's the right thing to do."

NBA executives often praise Cuban for his passion, work ethic and high standards, even toward officiating.

It's his approach they're not always fond of, which is why he's been fined more than $1.45 million since buying the team in January 2000. That includes a $450,000 tab this postseason.

Still, Stern told ESPN Radio 760 that he wouldn't have a problem handing the championship trophy to Cuban if the Mavericks win the title.

"I've been doing this for a long time and I have a very good relationship with the Dallas franchise," Stern said. "I was there when it was formed. I was just visiting with Donald Carter who is a shareholder and the initial owner and is still an owner. I visited with Ross Perot Jr. who is still an investor and sold the majority to Mark [Cuban] and I spend time with Mark as well. Franchises in their own way belong to cities, in any event, and I would be very happy to award a trophy to either the good city of Miami, or the good city of Dallas."

Asked Monday night in an interview on Dallas television station WFAA if he would consider selling the team if he didn't see some of the league changes he wants, Cuban snapped his fingers and said "In a heartbeat. Yeah, if they drive me that crazy, in a heartbeat."

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and not seeing any different results. If they don't want to make things better, then what am I here for?"

Cuban practically turned getting fined into an art form after going from an owner of season tickets to owning the Mavericks.

One comment about him not hiring the league's head of officiating to manage a Dairy Queen landed Cuban as a manager for a day; he also donned pinstripes and officiated a Harlem Globetrotters game.

As his team improved, there were fewer stunts. He remained a visible, vocal critic, though, enough for some to suggest that his team ends up not getting the benefit of the doubt from officials.

Mavs supporters have brought that up again in the wake of three players getting suspended this postseason, with Stackhouse the most recent.

Dallas had a chance to win without its top reserve, leading by 11 points early and by four late in the fourth quarter. Miami ended up winning on a pair of free throws by Dwyane Wade with 1.9 seconds left in overtime.

Cuban had several gripes about the play that sent Wade to the line, starting with Wade not being whistled for a collision that left Dallas' Jason Terry on the floor.

"I guess that's not a call," Cuban said. "I guess that's not a foul."

An assistant coach later showed Cuban that Wade appeared to commit a backcourt violation before the contact with Terry. It's hard to tell on replays because of the giant championship trophy logo at midcourt.

"My understanding from the rule book is, if you are going to catch the ball in the backcourt, you have to be in the backcourt to catch it," Cuban said.

But the NBA pointed out Monday that there was no violation on the play, citing a rule that allows a player to go into the backcourt to receive an inbound pass during the last two minutes of the fourth quarter or any overtime period.

Between Wade's free throws, Dallas was charged its final timeout. The Mavs insist they were only talking about calling it after Wade's second foul shot so they could set up a final play and move the ball to the frontcourt.

"Josh Howard goes to Joe DeRosa and not only once, but twice asks for a timeout," crew chief Joey Crawford told a pool reporter. "Forced to call it, simple as that."

Something else Mavericks followers are quick to note: Wade alone took 25 free throws, the same number as the entire Dallas team. The Heat took a total of 49 free throws.

"I don't know," Cuban said of the discrepancy. "I guess they got fouled more."

Game 6 tonight. Do or die for the Mavs.


The way the first two games of the NBA finals went, many thought the series might not even get back to Dallas. Dwyane Wade made sure it did.

Now it's time for Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks to respond, playing what they hope is just the first of two straight games in which they will try to deny Wade and the Heat their first NBA championship.

"We can smell it," Wade said. "Dallas plays well at home but we are a confident bunch so we'll see what happens."

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Following three straight wins in Miami as Wade averaged 40.3 points, the Heat head back to Dallas with a 3-2 series lead. Games 1 and 2 in Dallas saw the Mavericks hold Wade to an average of 26.5 points as they won both contests by double digits.

"He's the best right now, that's all you can say," Shaquille O'Neal said. "He's the best."

Wade took over Game 5 when it mattered most, scoring 17 of his 43 points in the fourth quarter and hitting the decisive free throws with 1.9 seconds left in overtime to give the Heat a 101-100 victory on Sunday.

Dallas couldn't advance the ball to halfcourt for its final shot because Josh Howard called a timeout after Wade's first free throw, though the Mavs claim they were calling for the timeout after the second foul shot. The Mavs, particularly owner Mark Cuban, also felt Wade committed a backcourt violation and pushed off Jason Terry on his drive to the basket that led to the winning free throws.

"This is going to leave a bitter taste in everyone's mouth," Howard said. "We're going to come out and play hard in Game 6 and Game 7."

Maybe the calls will start going the Mavs' way in Dallas, where the free throws were distributed more evenly through the first two games. Miami got more foul shots in each of the last three games, shooting a total of 41 more.

While Dallas was 21-of-25 on free throws in Game 5, the Heat went 32-for-49 as O'Neal had another awful night at the foul line with a 2-for-12 performance. Considering he was a combined 2-of-16 in Games 1 and 2, it's possible the Mavs could again employ the Hack-a-Shaq routine used in the fourth quarter Sunday.

Nowitzki got to the free-throw line a series-low five times in Game 5 and was limited to 20 points, though he did hit critical jumpers late in regulation and overtime. The 7-foot German was held to 16 points and shot 2-of-14 from the field in Game 4 as the Mavs were blown out 98-74.

Thanks partly to the tough defense of Udonis Haslem, Nowitzki has been held below his postseason scoring average, down to 26.9 points, in all but one game of this series.

"We know we can beat this team. We showed it in Game 1 and Game 2," Nowitzki said. "This (Game 5) is a tough one to swallow for a night."

Besides playing at home, Dallas has the benefit of getting top reserve Jerry Stackhouse back in action. Stackhouse, averaging 13.8 points in the playoffs, was suspended for Sunday's game for his hard foul on O'Neal in Game 4.

O'Neal, despite having a fairly unimpressive series while Wade has shined, is one win away from his fourth NBA title and making good on the promise he made when he first came to Miami that the team would have a victory parade down Biscayne Boulevard.

"I told the guys that the job is not done yet," O'Neal said. "We've still got to go to a hostile arena in Dallas and take care of business. And we look forward to doing it."

Mavericks coach Avery Johnson, meanwhile, will be making some adjustments, maybe none more important than finding a way to slow down Wade.

Howard had a solid Game 5 with 25 points and 10 rebounds, but has been unable to limit Wade's penetration. Having second-year guard Devin Harris cover Miami's budding superstar hasn't worked much better.

"We're going home, and I know our fans are going to be really crazy," Johnson said. "We play pretty good basketball at home. We've got home-court advantage. So we know we have to play well and win Game 6. There's no tomorrow, and I like that 'no tomorrow' feeling for our team."

Game 7, if necessary, will be Thursday.

HOW THEY GOT HERE: Heat - 2nd seed, Eastern Conference; beat Chicago Bulls 4-2, first round; beat New Jersey Nets 4-1, semifinals; beat Detroit Pistons 4-2, finals. Mavericks - 4th seed, Western Conference; beat Memphis Grizzlies 4-0, first round; beat San Antonio Spurs 4-3, semifinals; beat Phoenix Suns 4-2, finals.

PROBABLE STARTERS: Heat - F Antoine Walker, F Haslem, C O'Neal, G Jason Williams, G Wade. Mavericks - F Howard, F Nowitzki, C DeSagana Diop, G Harris, G Terry.

PLAYOFF TEAM LEADERS: Heat - Wade, 28.1 ppg and 5.8 apg; O'Neal, 9.7 rpg. Mavericks - Nowitzki, 26.9 ppg and 11.5 rpg; Terry, 3.7 apg.

I wonder how much Bill Davidson got fined when he swore at the 2004 Pistons parade.

regards to the over and back


Associated Press - After reviewing a tape of the controversial ending of game five of the NBA Finals, the NBA ruled out the suggestion that the inbounds pass to Dwyane Wade may have been a backcourt violation.

According to Rule 4, Section VI, which deals with frontcourt/backcourt.

Replays showed that Wade leaped near midcourt to catch the ball in the air, landing with possession in the backcourt.

If Dallas doesnt pull it out then I will consider this the biggest choke job in one series in nba playoff history, sure the refs screwed them, but they blew two leads, made crucial mistakes, and no body is stepping up.

Stack never misses that baseline 3 ball...wade got crossed up.lol

Oh, man this is a classic.

I think I may vommit.

dampier fucked up the mavs chance of winning. butterfingers

wade misses 2 free throws...MAVS LOSE!!!!

I feel worse this year than I did last.


Though I was exactly right on my prediction.

Right now, would be horrible to be a Mavs fan.

Horrible officiating led to losses throughout the series.

i don't know what to say. Nowitzki gets pushed and still wade gets the foul. This is worse than Jordan rules.

Good for Zo, that asshole.

GP was a bitch the last few years but I'm happy for the guy who deserved one in his earlier days.

I can only hope Shaq laughs at LA, can't wait to listen to LA sports talk tomorrow.

I haven't posted in a while and what I just witnessed on T.V. has inspired me to post. I FUCKING HATE THE NBA!

I fucking hate the Miami Heat, and Wade's free throw shooting ass, I hate the fact that Dirk is a fucking choaker, I hate how A. Mourning freaks the fuck out everytime he touches the fucking ball as if his 2 pointer is the greatest shot ever taken. I hate that great teams, like Detroit couldn't get it together, so they were at home watching this bullshit series, instead of playing in it. I hate that I give a shit about this stupid ass sport, I hate that basketball as we knew it will never be the same because the fucking Heat just got away with the biggest scam in the (enter Bill Walton) "history of the NBA!"

-sigh.

100% agree Elektra.

[smilie=thatsfoul.g:

Tom Petty, still a terrible choice for the NBA playoffs.

(and I own at least one TP album)

Stanly Cup Finals>NBA Finals.


LOL@People who didnt watch the cup.

Damn. Zo's been talking for like 5 minutes straight. I don't think they even asked him a question.

CHAMPION
http://www.upshizzle.com/gallery/albums/uploaded/walkerugh.gif

This the state of the NBA. “Refs Call Phantom Fouls , No One Can Stop It,”
http://www.politicaldogs.org/uploaded_images/Indiancrying-731542.jpg

lmfao

The NBA is now gearing itself towards people who dont watch basketball. Those people only watch shaq and wade. Shaq's enough of a star that even non-fans know him and wade was in GQ-ueer. Its a sad fact, but the NBA is looking to sellout anyways possible to increase profit margin. The irony in one miami fan i know bitching about the nba selling its awards name titles to sponsors is hilarious. He doesnt realize that they sell their NBA titles to sponsors too, and the sponsors want dwayne wade. Dirk does david hasselhoff cd collection commercials, Stackhouse does the "i'm a christian, but i'll kill you", and it gets duller after that. Seeing the disgust over this makes me happy i didnt watch this series.

Of course someone may ask"Well what about the true NBA fans?!". The answer has been made pretty clear "Fuck ya'll". The truth is we are considered to be too dedicated to stop watching regardless of the changes. And some of us actually even like some of the changes. Unfortunately they are turning the NBA into NBA Live 2004 with the foul meter turned up to max. And we can't do much about it. Like the players association, we have given Stern too much power and he's(or his chosen predecessors) never letting it go. thats my only rant. i already predicted this outcome and i figured it would be in the hands on stern(aka the refs).

I wonder what Stan Van gundy's feeling right now.

This just in...


The NBA reviewed Wade's charge on Dirk and decided to give Wade another two FT attempts. "Normally, only two FTs would be allowed in this situation, but we are talking about a fine young superstar in Dwyane Wade!", Stern ejaculated.

LMFAO

the thought of Fatoine, Flexo, and Payton shining their rings this morning is making me nauseous.

next season can't come soon enough.

Life sucks.

Big time

the thought of Fatoine, Flexo, and Payton shining their rings this morning is making me nauseous.

next season can't come soon enough.

I almost threw up when Zo rejected that shot and rolled around on the floor celebrating and flexing for 5 minutes afterwards. I'd rather see the Pacers win than this BS.

That was a celebration? I thought he was having a seizure

I can only hope Shaq laughs at LA, can't wait to listen to LA sports talk tomorrow.

This is the only positive you can take from this. Laker fans will cry even more.

And the few players on Miami I actually like...make that one player (Posey).

the only reason this is bareable is that i like shaq and riley's retribution stories. hell, when walker drew the charge or whatever and shimmied on his back was great too.

we all knew this was coming, both these teams would have been very unworthy champs. if only san ann beat dallas. i would have been fine with duncan getting another ring.