The Official 2006 NBA Playoffs Thread

[namkcuR]

Throughout the 90's it sucked, especially when all your friends were rooting for MJ and the Bulls (as I'm sure you were, Ruck, but at least they're your actual local team).

Kudos on your loyalty. Bandwagoners suck

The Bulls are in Chicago...I live in Dayton, OH...that's not exactly local, is it?

But yeah, I've stuck with them for as long as I've known what the NBA was. It was easy during the 90s, but I was still had the red/black blood in my veins after everybody left in 98/99 and we suddenly were a lotto team. I was through throught dark - and I mean pitch black dark - days of the early 00s.

I mean, as a general rule, when your starting PG is Kahid El-Amin, you suck ass.

I stuck by the team even when Krause traded Elton Brand away for a cup of urine(also known as Tyson Chandler). That was the worst trade in franchise history and I still feel ill every time I see Brand putting up 30/10 on a consistant basis.

I stuck by the team even when Eddy 'I'm 7 feet tall but I can't grab a damn rebound to save my life' Curry failed, year after year, to realize his potential. Potential is a bad word in this league.

But we're finally back on track now, with Hinrich, Gordon, Nocioni, Deng, a ton of cap space, and the Knicks' draft pick. I really hope we improve our frontcourt this offseason(seeing as Chandler/Sweetney/Malik Allen isn't going to cut it ever), and I really hope we get out of the first round next year.

 

[impy13]

Kudos on your loyalty. Bandwagoners suck

Which is a big reason I got into it with U2NYC.

Alright, well they're not local then, I don't know why I figured they were. But you seem to be a good fan, not just one who hopped aboard for the MJ Dynasty. Obviously, with the Bulls lack of success in past seasons, you know how being a 90's Mavericks fan was to a degree (because I don't think the Bulls ever went 11-71 )

And the future certainly does look bright for the Bulls. I absolutely love watching Hinrich play, and with guys like Gordon and Deng they could become a force in the next few years if the right moves are made. It reminds me of the Mavericks turnaround, and I can see the Bulls organization returning to the spotlight as soon as next season.

But then again, playing in the piss poor Eastern Conference won't hurt them.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

seeing an nba finals game in texas with pat riley coaching and rolando blackman sitting on the bench, never to enter the game, gives me nightmares...

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

ok... unless kenny smith is playing, then there is no "jet" on no "runway"

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

dwyane wade needs to get the idea that he's the focal point of the heat offense out of his head... quick... or the heat are going to lose this series, probably badly.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

this has the makings of either a 4 game sweep or a 7 game thriller

looks like i got one of them right...

so i guess i have to go with miami in 6... with dirk being the X factor. he's finally shown that the's capable of putting a team on his back and carrying them to great things, and they'll need him to do that if dallas is to beat miami.

silly me... how could i forget that the eastern conference is awful.


dwyane wade... michael jordan-esque, let me tell ya

 

[thetitans2k]

Miami will bounce back. This is a 6 or 7 game series.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

after games 1 and 2 this looks like a 4 game series

esp. if dwyane wade keeps being forced to settle for outside jumpers

 

[Hewson]

I think the crux of Miami's problem is easily explained thusly:

2 for 5 FG
1 for 7 FT

Game 3 they have to pound the ball into the Love Shaq, and he has to take advantage.
Plus he has to get on the phone with Ben Wallace to see if he can improve to Ben's 22.4% free throw accuracy, cause 2 for 16 (12.5%) isn't cutting it.

 

[phanan]

Miami really looks pathetic thus far.

 

[The OOTS]

How can a professional basketball player go 2-16 from the FT line? And actually it is 2-18 if you count the lane violation do-overs.

2-18???

Most people can go better than 2-18 with their eyes closed.
That is just baffling.

There is no way this will be a sweep. Too much money to be made on an extended series. Look for ref calls going Miami's way to try and even this baby out, and Dallas will take a 'day off'.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

half a second.

that's it.

that's been the difference in this series. one simple half second.

avery johnson's defensive scheme is being executed to perfection. normaly when doubling down on the block, the player leaves as the post player is catching the ball. dallas has sped it up. they're anticipating the pass, to the point where the weak side diagonal defender, which more often than not ends up being 7 foot tall dirk nowitzki, is already cheating on the doubleteam beofre the ball even leaves the passers hands. by the time shaqs fingers touch the ball, before he's even brought it in, the double team is already upon him... he can't do anything with it at this point. he has two 7 footers hanging on him. even shaq in his prime would have trouble with this type of defense... but he never really had to face it in the past when zones were illegal. it would take too long for the double team to get there, and by the time it did, shaq would already be in his move, and baisicly would be unstoppable.

now shaq is doing the right thing... he's hitting his marks out of the double team, but guys aren't knocking down their open shots... on top of that the offense tends to stagnate when the ball enters the post. miami needs to get some basket cuts and some screen away action going to counter this zone action. i'm sure someone will be on pat riley's ear, if he doesn't already know it already. you would think that a coach of the esteem of pat riley would know how to beat zones, but ya never know... he's never really had to coach against a zone defense before (he retired the first time right as the zone was first being introduced to the nba) and hasn't played against the zone since his days at kentucky back in the mid 60's. so needless to say he might be a bit rusty. i dunno. just a thought.

 

[impy13]

Well, the watching party was great and the atmosphere was almost on par with an actual game.

The team's fourth quarter performance, however, was not.

Very disappointed imp13 tonight.

 

[Lila64]

I thought they were gonna pull it out in the end. Nowitzki missing that second free throw, and then him inbounding... Should he have thrown that pass higher? Should he have been under the basket to receive the pass? Oh well... Game4 - bring it on!

yes, I'm rooting for the west... Dallas...

On the sports radio channel here in L.A., they were making predictions about Tuesday nights game. All pretty much picked game 3 going to Miami, but winning by 6-10+ points. One guy predicted tie and going into OT. Vic the Brick thinks Miami will win all 3 of their games. They had a face off with him & the callers. 15 callers call in to vote for Vic (for Miami sweeping these 3 home games) or the caller in, taking the opposite side. Vic lost, 13-2. No way is Miami gonna take all 3. They'll be lucky to get one more at home. Just my opinion...

 

[impy13]

Well, now I have to root against the Mavs for one of these games for a selfish reason. If they win Thursday and then finish the Heat off on Sunday, I'll be sitting in a hotel room in Austin watching the clinching game since I've got orientation early Monday morning.

So I'm sort of hoping the Mavericks take one of the next two and come back home to their amazing fans (read: me) to clinch. Selfish, I know, but I really want to be in Dallas or at least home in north Texas if and when it goes down.

 

[Hewson]

The final 6 minutes of that game may well have altered the series.
Dallas looked like a team that tightened up down the stretch with the opportunity to effectively grab the title in their hands. Dwayne Wade showed that he is one of the premier players in the league, stepping up and knocking down a number of clutch shots.
Shaq hitting 2 key FT's and Dirk missing the tying free throw.

And frankly if I am Dallas and have the ball with 1.0 on the clock, down 2, I don't have Nowitzki inbound.
I don't ever remember Larry Bird inbounding in that type of situation. If there's a few seconds or more left and he can get a return pass, fine, but with one second left he has to be on the floor. He either gets the ball and takes the last shot, or he draws at least 2 defenders and potetntially gets someone else wide open for an easy shot. Really not sure hwta Avery was thinking there.

Miami has a pulse. I think they may come back and win the title. Dallas looked "ascared" to win last night.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

i think that was the one grasping victory by a team that doesn't have a chance.

miami played much better on offense, still had to press to pull the game out in the end, and if dirk didn't choke, may have lost anyway.

dallas choking down the stretch is something to keep an eye on, but until it happens again, i wouldn't be too worried about that.

just a side note...

a sampling of tv ratings here in the states (numbers are in the millions)
NBA Finals Game 1 - 11.1 viewers
WWE Monday Night Raw - 5.1 viewers
College Softball on ESPN - 1.1 viewers
NHL Stanley Cup Finals Game 1 - 0.6 viewers

the NHL... faaaaantastic.

 

[thetitans2k]

i think that was the one grasping victory by a team that doesn't have a chance.

miami played much better on offense, still had to press to pull the game out in the end, and if dirk didn't choke, may have lost anyway.

dallas choking down the stretch is something to keep an eye on, but until it happens again, i wouldn't be too worried about that.

just a side note...

a sampling of tv ratings here in the states (numbers are in the millions)
NBA Finals Game 1 - 11.1 viewers
WWE Monday Night Raw - 5.1 viewers
College Softball on ESPN - 1.1 viewers
NHL Stanley Cup Finals Game 1 - 0.6 viewers

the NHL... faaaaantastic.

I'm sure the rating are alot higher in on the CBC in Canada.


Dwayne Wade is amazing. He needs to put up big numbers for them to win. Miami is Wade's team.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

miami came out in the first quarter and pounded the ball to shaq, but made adjustments from game 1 and 2... i.e. off the ball movement , basket cuts , back door cuts , and reposts.

it made dallas readjust their defense, which in turn opened it up for dwyane wade later in the game.

it's all a game of chess and riley played it well.

that said, they still won by the slightest of margians.

 

[The OOTS]

Look for Stern to make another 4th quarter phone call to Dallas officials to tell them to make another 'believable lie down' in order to extend the series a few more games.

Dallas in 6.

 

[Hewson]

Look for Stern to make another 4th quarter phone call to Dallas officials to tell them to make another 'believable lie down' in order to extend the series a few more games.

Yeah, right, Mark Cuban of all people is gonna take a call from the league and have his team pull off a "believable lie down" for more TV coverage.

These conspiracy theories are getting old. First the Spurs fans whine about Dallas, now the Dallas fans whine. Is it something in the water in Tejas?


Dallas collapsed under late game pressure last night, Miami(especially Wade) stepped up under the pressure.

We'll see now if the Mavs' players have the championship mettle.
I say they get blown out tomorrow night.

 

[The OOTS]

D. Wade kinda cruises for 2.75 games in this series and he all of a sudden steps up and helps pull out a dramatic win with an injured leg??

Dallas blows a 13 point 4th quarter lead with 6 minutes to go. Perhaps they just got lazy and forgot what built them that lead.

I couldn't care less who wins because I'm not a fan of either team. It is just very strange to watch such collapses repeatedly in the NBA... as well as spotty officiating (though the Finals have been decently officiated).

BeLIEve.

 

[Hewson]

Believe works much better.

The last team that would be in cahoots with the NBA league office is MarK Cuban's Dallas Mavericks.

They got tight down the stretch. No championship experience, it does at times factor in in big games.

 

[impy13]

now the Dallas fans whine.

All of us in Texas know what happened last night, and none of us are whining.

The Mavs, plain and simple, sucked during the last six minutes. No conspiracy theories about it. If I'm going to whine about anything, it's my favorite team's lack of a killer instinct.

I think Avery will make the necessary adjustments, he's the master at it. That game had to leave a bad taste in the Mavs' mouths, and I expect to see a better, more "3rd-quarter-of-Game-3-esque" effort tomorrow night.

 

[The OOTS]

Think of the $$$'s Cuban stands to make (and the NBA too) if this series went back to Dallas in a full arena for Games 6 and 7.

I don't really think Stern made a phone call. That's ridiculous. But, they are very aware of how much money stands to be made in an extended series. It'll be very interested to see how Dallas plays the next game. After this game 4, it'll be a free for all.

 

[Hewson]

Believe me, Mark Cuban's bottom line will not change dramatically from an extra game or 2 in Big D, he is not an owner to make money, the man wants a championship, and would be quite pleased to be up 3-0 this morning.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

D. Wade kinda cruises for 2.75 games in this series and he all of a sudden steps up and helps pull out a dramatic win with an injured leg??

Dallas blows a 13 point 4th quarter lead with 6 minutes to go. Perhaps they just got lazy and forgot what built them that lead.

I couldn't care less who wins because I'm not a fan of either team. It is just very strange to watch such collapses repeatedly in the NBA... as well as spotty officiating (though the Finals have been decently officiated).

BeLIEve.

or, perhaps, if you were paying attention to the game... which i wasn't 'cause i was watching the mets/phillies game, but i did look in durring the commercials and between pitches...

anyhoo... if you noticed, miami made appropriate adjustments to their offense after the debocle that was games 1 and 2. in game 2 they just dumped it into shaq and let him go to work... which didn't work because the doubleteams were too quick. in game 3 miami made a concerted effort to move off the ball, stretching the defense and allowing guys to get open easier, making dallas pay for their doubleteams. it worked. it made avery johnson adjust... and come the 4th quarter, dallas wasn't as quick on the double teams of shaq... they were worried about the basket cuts that worked so well, and this opened up the defense just enough so that wade could penetrate... eh got hot, started hitting shots, as he is known to do... he is a very streaky shooter... and miami was able to hold on.



or david stern paid off mark cuban to have the series go 6 games. whatever makes more sense to you there, chief.


basketball, like many sports, is a game of adjustments. one or two small adjustments can make the difference between a loss and a win. seeing as both of these teams are extremely well coached, that one of them was able to make an adjustment should not come as shocking.

what would be worrysome to the heat is that they made the proper adjustments and were still holding on for their lifes down the stretch.

 

[The OOTS]

Fair enough.

However, Dallas re-adjusted their game plan after the adjustments you just mentioned to build a 13 point 4th quarter lead with 6 minutes to go. Any sort of Miami/Wade run should have triggered another 'adjustment' on Avery's part. Maybe the hack a Shaq mode?

Hell, Wade had 5 fouls for almost the enitre 4th period. Why wasn't an 'adjustment' made to make him pick up his 6th foul? Or should I dare say, would the refs have had the balls to call that 6th foul?

 

[thetitans2k]

Does Dwyane Wade wear padded underwear?

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Fair enough.

However, Dallas re-adjusted their game plan after the adjustments you just mentioned to build a 13 point 4th quarter lead with 6 minutes to go. Any sort of Miami/Wade run should have triggered another 'adjustment' on Avery's part. Maybe the hack a Shaq mode?

Hell, Wade had 5 fouls for almost the enitre 4th period. Why wasn't an 'adjustment' made to make him pick up his 6th foul? Or should I dare say, would the refs have had the balls to call that 6th foul?

here we go again

when you've played basketball long enough, especially when you're one of your team's better players, you learn how to play with 4, or in the NBA's case, 5 fouls. it's not like wade is the first player in nba history to pick up an early 5th foul and not foul out.

this is really not worth discussing anymore