dallas had every opportunity to win this series and blew it... themselves.
just like san antonio blew it... just like the pistons blew it by sucking so much... just like the knicks blew it by, well, never mind.
game 3... 13 point lead in the 4th quarter.
that's your series.
dallas could not maintain the same intensity on defense from that point on as they did in the first two games. riley made some great adjustments to the heat's game plan which managed to open up dwyane wade more, and he took full advantage of it.
let us not forget the impact shaq's presence had on this series. is he shaq of old? no... but who was the guy who was getting double and triple teamed in each and every game? shaq. shaq's mere presence on the court kept dallas from double teaming dwyane wade, leaving him in single coverage, and he completely dominated.
my two favorite players in the league are shaq and dirk. but dirk, you completely shit the bed this series, my friend. he simply didn't show up. even in the two dallas wins it was really terry who propelled their offense. even last night, for three quarters we finally saw angry dirk... the dirk that's the best player in the league... and then crunch time comes along and he goes 0-4 from the field, has a huge turnover, and gets only 2 points in the entire 4th quarter. larry bird? i think not... but hey, he's still not 30... he's still got time to prove it.
oh... and as for dwyane wade the second coming of michael jordan? well... he certainly gets jordan's benefit of the doubt when it comes to foul calls... but michael jordan would never have missed those two free throws at the end of game 6. so no, dwyane... you're not michael jordan. you're simply dwyane wade... and there's really nothing wrong with that.
much like when the colts lose to the pats, there's a lot of whining about how the games were stolen. no... not really. yes, there were plenty of questionable calls. it's the nba... there's ALWAYS questionable calls. anyone wanna go check the tape on the hubert davis-scottie pippen foul? you won't find it, 'cause there was no foul. but one was called.
for anyone who's ever actually stepped on the court with a whistle around their neck, it is one of the hardest things to do in all of sports. it's like holding in football... every play is a hold, when do you call it, when do you not. basketball is a contact sport that pretends to not be... you could call a foul/violation every time down the court. i coach my players certain ways to play defense... slap up at the ball, use your outside hand to attempt a shot block, etc. etc. to avoid the perception of a foul... because refs, by default, are blind and stupid... if you slap down or across at a ball, even if you get all ball, it LOOKS like a foul... if you use your inside hand to attempt to block a shot, even if you get all ball, it LOOKS like your body made contact, and you're more than likely to get a foul call evne though you never touched the guy.
it's not perfect... and there were some horse shit calls in this series. but dallas still had every opportunity to put the series away all by themselves, and they didn't do it. they can only blame themselves.
people have thought the nba is rigged since the whole patrick ewing/frozen envelope rumor in the mid 80s. it's not rigged. refs just suck. but, alas, refs sucking is part of the game. and over the course of 82 games + playoffs, it usually evens out. you just have to hope that the evening out doesn't happen in the last minute of overtime in the nba finals.
great teams over-come the adversity. good to mediocre teams fold like a cheap suit.
the mavericks folded... and they folded before the refs even got a chance to fuck up. but they're young, while miami is old. dallas should be able to come back to the finals next season...
... as long as amare stoudamire stays injured
just like san antonio blew it... just like the pistons blew it by sucking so much... just like the knicks blew it by, well, never mind.
game 3... 13 point lead in the 4th quarter.
that's your series.
dallas could not maintain the same intensity on defense from that point on as they did in the first two games. riley made some great adjustments to the heat's game plan which managed to open up dwyane wade more, and he took full advantage of it.
let us not forget the impact shaq's presence had on this series. is he shaq of old? no... but who was the guy who was getting double and triple teamed in each and every game? shaq. shaq's mere presence on the court kept dallas from double teaming dwyane wade, leaving him in single coverage, and he completely dominated.
my two favorite players in the league are shaq and dirk. but dirk, you completely shit the bed this series, my friend. he simply didn't show up. even in the two dallas wins it was really terry who propelled their offense. even last night, for three quarters we finally saw angry dirk... the dirk that's the best player in the league... and then crunch time comes along and he goes 0-4 from the field, has a huge turnover, and gets only 2 points in the entire 4th quarter. larry bird? i think not... but hey, he's still not 30... he's still got time to prove it.
oh... and as for dwyane wade the second coming of michael jordan? well... he certainly gets jordan's benefit of the doubt when it comes to foul calls... but michael jordan would never have missed those two free throws at the end of game 6. so no, dwyane... you're not michael jordan. you're simply dwyane wade... and there's really nothing wrong with that.
much like when the colts lose to the pats, there's a lot of whining about how the games were stolen. no... not really. yes, there were plenty of questionable calls. it's the nba... there's ALWAYS questionable calls. anyone wanna go check the tape on the hubert davis-scottie pippen foul? you won't find it, 'cause there was no foul. but one was called.
for anyone who's ever actually stepped on the court with a whistle around their neck, it is one of the hardest things to do in all of sports. it's like holding in football... every play is a hold, when do you call it, when do you not. basketball is a contact sport that pretends to not be... you could call a foul/violation every time down the court. i coach my players certain ways to play defense... slap up at the ball, use your outside hand to attempt a shot block, etc. etc. to avoid the perception of a foul... because refs, by default, are blind and stupid... if you slap down or across at a ball, even if you get all ball, it LOOKS like a foul... if you use your inside hand to attempt to block a shot, even if you get all ball, it LOOKS like your body made contact, and you're more than likely to get a foul call evne though you never touched the guy.
it's not perfect... and there were some horse shit calls in this series. but dallas still had every opportunity to put the series away all by themselves, and they didn't do it. they can only blame themselves.people have thought the nba is rigged since the whole patrick ewing/frozen envelope rumor in the mid 80s. it's not rigged. refs just suck. but, alas, refs sucking is part of the game. and over the course of 82 games + playoffs, it usually evens out. you just have to hope that the evening out doesn't happen in the last minute of overtime in the nba finals.
great teams over-come the adversity. good to mediocre teams fold like a cheap suit.
the mavericks folded... and they folded before the refs even got a chance to fuck up. but they're young, while miami is old. dallas should be able to come back to the finals next season...
... as long as amare stoudamire stays injured
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