The Official 2006 NBA Playoffs Thread

[Headache in a Suitcase]

And the Mavs get another undeserved win

please...

you don't win the number of games and titles that the spurs have won over the past decade without also getting their fair share of breaks, bad calls gone their way and "lucky" clutch plays. you're sounding like a colts fan.

Well, it seems that, after all the whining, dividends are paying off.

like no one's ever done that before... coughcoughcoughphiljacksonpatrileyjeffvangundycoughcoughcough... only now it's being done more by an owner than a coach part of the game

P.S. And the Cavs tied the Pistons 2-2.

the pistons seem to lack the mental toughness that larry brown gave them. there's no way they should let cleveland be in this series... after lebron they have no one, esp. with larry hughes not playing.

Thank God for the World Cup.

i'd rather stab my eyeballs with a blunt object.

 

[U2@NYC]

Please...

Bad calls are part of the game when they don't decide the final score.

Thank God for the World Cup. I'll make sure to wake you up after that 5-hour scoreless baseball game.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

actually scoreless baseball games usually go quicker, because less batters come to the plate. but thanks anyway.

and now you're really sounding like a colts fan... blaming the refs for the final outcome.

 

[speedracer]

actually scoreless baseball games usually go quicker, because less batters come to the plate. but thanks anyway.

and now you're really sounding like a colts fan... blaming the refs for the final outcome.

Uh, technically speaking, wouldn't a scoreless (as opposed to a 1-0) baseball game go on forever? At least a scoreless soccer match would go to penalty kicks (not that that's a good thing).

Anyway, back to basketball. Yes, the Pistons looked awful offensively the last two games, but this was after they looked like an offensive machine the first two. Still a little early for Pistons fans to panic.

Richard Hamilton's scored 30 of the Pistons' 72 points, so it's hard to find fault with him. But on that last possession, he could have pulled up for the 10-footer or taken the ball strong to the hoop and probably drawn a foul. Instead, he went up about halfway, drew a little bit of contact, didn't get a call, and missed. Ballgame.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Uh, technically speaking, wouldn't a scoreless (as opposed to a 1-0) baseball game go on forever? At least a scoreless soccer match would go to penalty kicks (not that that's a good thing).

touche'

Anyway, back to basketball. Yes, the Pistons looked awful offensively the last two games, but this was after they looked like an offensive machine the first two. Still a little early for Pistons fans to panic.

Richard Hamilton's scored 30 of the Pistons' 72 points, so it's hard to find fault with him. But on that last possession, he could have pulled up for the 10-footer or taken the ball strong to the hoop and probably drawn a foul. Instead, he went up about halfway, drew a little bit of contact, didn't get a call, and missed. Ballgame.

it was a good no call on the hamilton play... yea, he drew contact, and in the first quarter it may have been a foul... but with the game on the line ya need to draw more contact than that.

i wanna know what happened to 'sheed... he makes a gaurantee of victory and then doesn't even show it... he wasn't even on the court at the end of the game, when some fugazi chauncy billups was on the court instead.

 

[phanan]

Please...

Bad calls are part of the game when they don't decide the final score.

Are you U2Kitten's long lost brother?

 

[speedracer]

i wanna know what happened to 'sheed... he makes a gaurantee of victory and then doesn't even show it... he wasn't even on the court at the end of the game, when some fugazi chauncy billups was on the court instead.

Rashweed sprained his ankle. I think he'll be fine for Game 5, but karma bit him in the ass this time after sparing him the previous four times he guaranteed a win.

 

[randhail]

The whole guaranteeing a win thing is a bit overrated in my book. Why go ahead and make that proclamation for a game 4? If you're down 3-0, then I can maybe understand it, but not to go up 3-1. Seriously, who does that?

Mark Messier's guarantee in '94 against the Devils was a great one because his team was down 3-2, he was team captain and what not but save it for special occasions like that.

If you've used 3 guarantee's, chances are pretty good that your lucks going to be running out. Just my two cents.

 

[Hewson]

I guarantee that every time Rasheed looks in the mirror and sees that spot of splooge in his hair he says "damn I got to get that thing dyed or something".

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

and i, too, can gaurantee that after 'sheed does what hewson says, he somkes a bong and completely forgets.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

heeeey i see it's time for the drew bledsoe cup again

 

[LMP]

so the Heat are onto the next round.

Maybe the Pistons will wake up when that series rolls around, because there's no way they'll lose to the Cavs...right?

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

you wouldn't think... but then again, you wouldn't think the series would be tied right now... and you didn't think the pistons would have beaten the lakers for the title a 2 years ago... so who knows...

but i'd fully expect the pistons to advance to the conference finals... where they'll have to face a very dangerous miami team, who was built for the playoffs, and has a far superior head coach.

 

[speedracer]

Argh.

The Pistons need to stop sucking down the stretch. They had two big missed free throws and some lousy offensive possessions down the stretch. But what was really bad was a horrible blown defensive assignment on the Cavs' last bucket -- Drew Gooden cut down the *middle of the lane*, nobody picked him up, Lebron somehow missed him, but Gooden just sat on the low block for 2 seconds while nobody picked him up. Eventually Lebron passed him the ball for a layup.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

wow... that's all i have to say. wow.

the pistons are supposed to be such a great team, yet they now find themselves down 3-2 to a one man team who's been plaing without theire #2 scoring option throughout the playoffs... pathetic can not begin to describe the effort put forth by the detroit pistons. i still have to believe that they will win the series... but shit... that belief is getting very thin..

 

[U2@NYC]

The Spurs finally get a break last night.

Tim Duncan continues to play like a champion and, for a change, he gets some, limited, support from Manu and Parker.

And, finally, and most importantly, the Mavs stop getting freebies from the officials. Wimpy Nowitzki does not get the calls he neves should have gotten (but that he got in the two previous games) and the game ends up having a logical result. Spurs win.

And WTF is going on with Detroit? How can they be sucking so much all of a sudden? I think Stern paid the Pistons a few bucks to make this series more interesting... otherwise, this does not make any sense.

 

[Hewson]

Perhaps the Pissed-ons aren't as good as advertised.
Perhaps they miss Larry Brown and the ability(and desire) to defend instead of the Flipside offensive attack, which fails when they go into their patented droughts (which they have done all through their recent run but have until now overcome with strong defense).
Perhaps Rasheed Wallace should have kept his mouth shut.
Perhaps LeBron is good enough to almost single handedly beat the Pissed-ons.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Perhaps they miss Larry Brown and the ability(and desire) to defend instead of the Flipside offensive attack, which fails when they go into their patented droughts (which they have done all through their recent run but have until now overcome with strong defense).

this is the key, IMO... they just don't have the same intensity on the defensive end. i mean shit, flip has htem playing a zone... a zone, with that team... rediculous. they won a championship and got back to the finals based on their superior defense, obviously not on their offense, which even in their championship run was mediocre at best, often times looking absolutely horrific.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

from The Onion.com

SAN ANTONIO—Manu Ginobili oversold his attempt to get Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki called for a charging foul in the third quarter of Game 5 Wednesday, according to teammates, opposing players, and frustrated emergency medical personnel who grudgingly carried off the Spurs shooting guard in a stretcher despite the fact that he was clearly still breathing. "We kept shaking his shoulder and telling him, 'Manu, wake up, we got the ball back,' but he just kept lying there for a good five minutes," said teammate Tony Parker, adding that Ginobili was unresponsive to loud shouts in his ear and showed no signs of movement except a slight smirk after Tim Duncan pried his right eyelid open. "I guess maybe he thought that if the ref saw that he was really still alive, he might reverse the call. It's too bad he had to miss the rest of the game when he was taken to the hospital." NBA analysts say are calling this incident the most extreme case of flopping since 1992, when Vlade Divac, who was hiding a razor in his wristband, surreptitiously sliced his supraorbital vein and bled to death after drawing minor contact with the Clippers' Danny Manning.

 

[Hewson]

And Jason Terry is suspended for game 6 for throwing a punch at Michael Finley that the refs never saw, and league officials could not find upon reviewing videotape.

Can we now stop with the BS that the refs are jobbing the Spurs, and perhaps spin the conspiracy theory around 180 degrees.

 

[randhail]

not basketball related, but if you want acting, this is top notch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26axJdDKYWw&search=arkansas baseball

 

[gherman]

That was pitifull

 

[gherman]

Reminds me of the Russian hockey player years ago. They were the best actors.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

well the cavs completely blew their only chance to win this series

how many opportunities does a team have to get before they actually take advantage of one of 'em... shit. terrible shot after terrible shot by the pistons, missed free throw after missed free throw, and cleveland couldn't pull down a defensive rebound.

and an absolutely terrible decision by lebron to penetrate on that last play... he had an open look for a three, too... but tried to drive-draw-dish and got screwed by a smart foul by ben wallace (not sure if it was on purpose... but if it was, it was a great play).

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

i can believe that dallas can win tonight without terry ... what's surprising is that they've been in complete control of the game the entire way. it's still close and all, but the spurs just seem out of it.

still a long way to go, of course

 

[namkcuR]

well the cavs completely blew their only chance to win this series

how many opportunities does a team have to get before they actually take advantage of one of 'em... shit. terrible shot after terrible shot by the pistons, missed free throw after missed free throw, and cleveland couldn't pull down a defensive rebound.

and an absolutely terrible decision by lebron to penetrate on that last play... he had an open look for a three, too... but tried to drive-draw-dish and got screwed by a smart foul by ben wallace (not sure if it was on purpose... but if it was, it was a great play).

Wait a minute...

You take every chance you can to point out how overrated and over-praised the Pistons are, how pathetic and disgusting they are....yet with the statement 'well the cavs completely blew their only chance to win this series', you sound like you think the Pistons are a powerhouse that can't be defeated at home.

Which one is it?

 

[namkcuR]

I am annoyed by certain teams being unable to close out series' on their own floor.

First the Cavs fail to take advantage of any of the 42653462 mistakes the Pistons made in Cleveland, then the Mavs choked in the last four minutes against the Spurs in Dallas.

This league is in great need of parity, and the Spurs and Pistons being eliminated would have provided some, but now there will be Game 7s in Detroit and San Antonio.

 

[speedracer]

and an absolutely terrible decision by lebron to penetrate on that last play... he had an open look for a three, too... but tried to drive-draw-dish and got screwed by a smart foul by ben wallace (not sure if it was on purpose... but if it was, it was a great play).

I am pretty sure it was intentional.

Ben Wallace also delivered a pretty hard foul on Lebron earlier in the game (he did get a piece of the ball as well). This should have happened long ago.

 

[thetitans2k]

Dallas really blew that game. That was an awful shot by Dirk at the end.

 

[U2@NYC]

And Jason Terry is suspended for game 6 for throwing a punch at Michael Finley that the refs never saw, and league officials could not find upon reviewing videotape.

It was actually pretty clear to me... and, yesterday, during the Broadcast, they repeated it and it was super obvious that he hit him... talk about an immature player hitting a former teammate. And a 1-game suspension seemed too generous to me. He deserved more than that.

You may argue as much as you want about Manu but, last night, he carried the Spurs on his own, especially when Duncan got in foul trouble. And even when Parker choked and sucked.

That is the main difference I see between Manu and Parker. Manu rises to the occasion in big games. Parker chokes.

I hope that game 6 last night shows a change in momentum in this series and that the Spurs can close out the Mavs on Monday. My sense is that, when Nowitzki is not playing at his best, the Mavs are just an ok team. They truly need the German to make a difference.