NBA Playoffs

[Vyce 0]

I am in SHOCK.

 

The Wizards fucking advance. ADVANCE.

 

 

......It's NOT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN. This is Washington. Our sports teams are supposed to suck.

[Guest news_gimmick]

...

[Styles 0]

Well there is the input from a Washington fan that I was looking for.

HEH...well congrats to The Wizards. I just heard Eddie Jordan's' comments in the press conference, and what an arrogant asshole. " We just want the respect we deserve!" Every analyst picked them to win this series!! Take that garbage home,you won the series, be happy, and prepare for a MASSIVE reality check come next week.

What are you talking about? Arrogant? First of all most "experts" were pretty split at the beginning on who was going to win the series. I know ESPN was favoring the Bulls. After Game 2, even those who were picking the Wizards had given up on them. When EJ says "respect we deserve" he means as a team and as a franchise. The franchise has been a joke for the better part of a quarter of a century, and no one picked the Wizards to be a playoff team at the beginning of the year, let alone having 2 (realistically 3 if not for injury) all stars on their team. This is the first time many in the national media are recognizing the team (how often did we have nationally televised games this year? Get segments on Sportcenter, etc.?) and it feels good to not play under the scope anymore.

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[Styles 0]

No one's begging. They're earning it. We have nothing to lose. If we lose against the Heat, that was supposed to happen anyway and the team can feel happy knowing they came farther then anyone could have imagined. If they pull off the upset it would be insane...

[Styles 0]

No one's begging. They're earning it. We have nothing to lose. If we lose against the Heat, that was supposed to happen anyway and the team can feel happy knowing they came farther then anyone could have imagined. If they pull off the upset it would be insane...

further than anyone could have imagined???? It was very imaginable, hell Steve kerr picked the frickin Wizards...

Were you dropped on your head as a child? No one was picking the Wizards as a playoff team at the beginning of the season...

[Guest news_gimmick]

Telling the media "Give us the respect we deserve!!" won't win anyone their respect. Give it to the Heat and just let it come naturally. They won a close series, but I don't think beating a depleted Bulls team will gain them a whole lot of respect just yet. It takes years for a losing franchise to shake off the medias perception.

[Styles 0]

Yeah, I agree. Let's not dwell on this beyond it's worth...

[Guest news_gimmick]

No one's begging. They're earning it. We have nothing to lose. If we lose against the Heat, that was supposed to happen anyway and the team can feel happy knowing they came farther then anyone could have imagined. If they pull off the upset it would be insane...

further than anyone could have imagined???? It was very imaginable, hell Steve kerr picked the frickin Wizards...

Were you dropped on your head as a child? No one was picking the Wizards as a playoff team at the beginning of the season...

And like you said here, noone picked the Bulls or Washington as a playoff team, which is why the series didn't get much coverage until most of the other series ended. But between analysts, the Wizards were picked the most to win. They had their full team and they executed the way they had been playing all season long, the Bulls were relyin on guys who didn't play alot during the season like Griffin and Harrington.

[Guest news_gimmick]

Yeah, I agree. Let's not dwell on this beyond it's worth...

Yah its cool, I was just sayin, that comment won't do him any favors. But celebrate it tonight, go out and drink or something. I know I am right now.

[The Electrifyer 0]

YOU'RE CELEBRATING A BULLS LOSS?! WHERE IS MICAH IS TO YELL BLASPHEME?!?!

[Guest news_gimmick]

YOU'RE CELEBRATING A BULLS LOSS?! WHERE IS MICAH IS TO YELL BLASPHEME?!?!

Actually no, its to mourn the ending of a season

 

Different reason for drinking, I should've clarified. I'm spiking some Mountain Dew in shame.

[The Electrifyer 0]

Oh well... at least we Bulls fans can celebrate a playoff birth and the first apparent sign of a future in Chicago.

 

But I just want to say Gilbert Arenas is very clutch. Sucks all game, but comes in and kills it in the 4th. I think his block on Hinrich changed the game in Washinton's favour. Gilbert's so good, I want the Bulls to acquire him in the off-season!

[Styles 0]

Oh well... at least we Bulls fans can celebrate a playoff birth and the first apparent sign of a future in Chicago.

 

But I just want to say Gilbert Arenas is very clutch. Sucks all game, but comes in and kills it in the 4th. I think his block on Hinrich changed the game in Washinton's favour. Gilbert's so good, I want the Bulls to acquire him in the off-season!

He's locked up for the next 4 years

 

You can try to outbid us for Hughes though.

[Guest news_gimmick]

Eh...I can't say I'm a fan of his play. Sure he's clutch and can score like a madman, but his inconsistency pisses me off. Realistically though, the Bulls do need another scorer I believe, but I'm not sure just yet who they can or should get.

[Guest news_gimmick]

I would love to see Peja from Sacramento make his way to the Bulls....but he has another year left in Sac-town, and I don't think a deal right now could be worked to bring him here. But that sweet three point shooting would make me a happy, happy Mayer.

[The Electrifyer 0]

They should have had Gordon lighting it up, but I don't know what happened to him. Also, we were missing our leading scorer, Eddy Curry, so he can fill that void. Anyone know how long it takes to recover from an irregular heartbeat? Or is a better question, can you even recover from an irrregular heartbeat?!

[Guest news_gimmick]

They should have had Gordon lighting it up, but I don't know what happened to him. Also, we were missing our leading scorer, Eddy Curry, so he can fill that void. Anyone know how long it takes to recover from an irregular heartbeat? Or is a better question, can you even recover from an irrregular heartbeat?!

They did a good job taking Gordon out of the equation, he didn't get left alone much in the series after game 1. But as for Curry, I believe they kept him out until they knew 100% he was completely recovered. I guess when you are dealing with a persons heart you don't want to take any chances unless you are absolutely sure he's fine.

[The Electrifyer 0]

Gordon had a severe cold or something in games 3 and 4. Don't know if that affected him tonight though.

[Guest news_gimmick]

Yah, too bad Jordan set a high standard for playing in big games with colds or sickness lol. I think rookie jitters and the pressure of being the man could've played a part as well, and I totally understand if he was just slightly nervous.

[alfdogg 0]

Gordon should be able to suck it up if it's just a cold. Jordan had *food poisoning*, if I'm not mistaken. Big difference.

[Guest news_gimmick]

Yah, like I said there were high standards set. Although Jordan was one of a kind in those situations, Gordon is still a rookie with lots of pressure on him. I'm cutting him slack for now, he had a great season still.

[cabbageboy 0]

I'm just glad this Bulls/Wizards series is over. Neither team is any good really, just JTTS types destined to lose in 5 to the Heat. In fact the East has the potential to be god awful in the semis, what with the Heat/Wizards and maybe Pistons/Celtics. I know David Stern will cringe if the Pacers advance but it's the only thing that will have any intrigue in this round.

 

The west however is set with two solid series. Spurs/Sonics could well be a 6 game type series, and the Suns vs. either Mavs/Rockets should be the highlight of the next round.

[The Czech Republic 0]

Hey guys.

 

Yeah, bummer about the Bulls, but what can I say? Never ever would have guessed that the Bulls were going to get the 4 seed back in late November. Sure it sucks that they didn't win the series, but Curry is out, Deng is out, everyone else is considerably banged up, and man, they were never even supposed to get this far anyway.

 

This wasn't like Cubs-Marlins where everything was in place and just crumbled to the ground. This is a young, injury-depleted team, and Washington was a better team than Chicago right now. That said, Eddie Jordan is out of line to say he's fighting for the respect he deserves. A full-strength team against a team of rookies minus two major players...it's not as if nobody gave you a chance.

 

High hopes for next year, at least. I hope this run brought in enough revenue to make it worthwhile for Reinsdorf to maintain this squad for 05-06.

[Styles 0]

Here's an excellent article that sums it up (from before Game 6 but it still fits):

 

Friday, May 6, 2005

Wizards worshippers full of worry

By Tom Friend

ESPN The Magazine

 

It has been so long, the fat lady's probably on a low-carb diet.

 

The Washington (horrible nickname I refuse to mention) can win their first playoff series in 23 years tonight, but as you can imagine,we Bullets fans (all six of us) are terribly frightened of Jannero Pargo.

 

I realize Antawn Jamison went skipping through the United Center on Wednesday night, shouting, "It's over!" But forgive him, he knows nothing of our pain or our paranoia.

 

Gheorghe Muresan

The image of Gheorghe Muresan is a hard Bullet to bite.

Over? Give the Bulls 41 seconds, and they can obviously give you the world.

 

Over? Pargo had nine points and an assist in about half a minute Wednesday night, and if you project that over 48 minutes for Game 6, he'll go for 864 with 96 dimes tonight.

 

Over? It ain't over till the fat lady sings, or till Pargo gets a sore elbow.

 

For all you neophytes who don't know the storied history of the Washington Bullets, we're the franchise that won our lone title in 1978 (unless you count the title we won last year for Detroit) and has been wandering aimlessly ever since.

 

We've had players past their prime (Moses Malone, Bernard King, Mark Price, a certain MJ) and we've had players before their prime (Rasheed Wallace, Ben Wallace, Rip Hamilton -- essentially the core of the world champion Pistons), but never a team that played in prime time in May.

 

So if you think it's over now, just because Gilbert Arenas made an unconscious shot and the Bulls have lost 10 straight in D.C., forget it. We are the Bullets. We take fourth quarters off. Charles Barkley coaches us from a TV studio. We play the passing lanes, but we don't play defense. We shoot free throws like there's a moving target. We play nervous, even though we used to have "Never Nervous Pervis." What, me worry?

 

You've got to understand what we have been through, all six of us. In another place and time, we were a juggernaut.

 

You're talking Earl the Pearl. You're talking Black Jesus, in his prime. You ever see Archie Clark shake and bake? Or Wes Unseld throw an outlet? Or Phil Chenier rise up for a jumper? Or Kevin Porter high-step a fast break? Ever heard of a dog named Tiny?

 

Back in those days, we were the ones fleecing other teams in trades. We got the Big E, Elvin Hayes, from Houston for Jack Marin. If it weren't for those goody-two-shoes New York Knicks, we would've been in the Finals a bunch, but at least we were in the playoffs every year, and at the very least, you didn't want to play us, or run into an Unseld screen.

 

In '78, it all came together, because of a free agent named Bobby Dandridge. It's true, free agency actually used to go well for us. We played San Antonio in an early playoff series, and the Ice Man, George Gervin, was torching us, but our coach Dick Motta calmed everyone down by saying, "The opera ain't over till the fat lady sings."

 

And it stuck. When we were about to defeat Seattle for the title, as Bobby D. raced free for a final dunk in the waning seconds, our radio announcer, Frank Herzog, shouted, "Warm up the fat lady! Warm up the fat lady!"

 

Of course, she's been sitting on her big behind ever since.

 

You don't know why these things happen, but over the next 20-odd years, we essentially became Clippers East.

 

We had fat guys (John "Hot Plate" Williams and Mel "Dinner Bell" Turpin), and we had skinny guys (Manute Bol).

 

We had "My Giant" (7-foot-7 Gheorghe Muresan) and "My Midget" (5-3 Muggsy Bogues).

 

We had players who peaked at Duke (Mark Alarie and Christian Laettner) and players who should've gone to Duke (Kwame Brown).

 

We drafted Kenny Green over Karl Malone. We drafted Harvey Grant instead of Horace Grant.

 

And don't get me started on the trades. Big for small. Young for old. Rasheed for Rod Strickland. C-Webb for Mitch Richmond. Ben Wallace for Ike Austin. Rip for Jerry Stackhouse.

 

Every youngster we jettisoned, every single one of them, flourished. That's why I'm probably the only Bullets fan who wants to keep Kwame. When he's a Knick next year, he's liable to go off on the league. In fact, his best game of the season came three weeks ago at the Garden. Isiah was salivating, and I bet he's dying to do a sign-and-trade with us for Kurt Thomas. Kurt will give us the toughness we need, but Kwame is 7 feet tall and has been playing on a bad foot all year. Last year, he torched Webber and Jermaine O'Neal, just abused them. I'd keep him, but that's just because I've seen too much. I've seen all the ex-Bullets play.

 

And how about the trades we didn't make? We could've had Elton Brand for the rights to Kwame, on the day he was drafted, but Jordan wanted Jamal Crawford, too. That's what you hear all the time. That MJ didn't want to just fleece Jerry Krause, he wanted to humiliate him. What a damn shame. If Brand was a Bullet, we'd have a chance to come out of the East right now. But we are what we are -- the Bullets.

 

Or should I say: We were what we were.

 

Is it a new day? General manager Ernie Grunfeld seems to know what he's doing. He threw a wad of cash at a flake named Gilbert Arenas and came up big. He found a sucker in Mark Cuban to take Stackhouse and Laettner off his hands. He matched Milwaukee's gigantic offer sheet to Etan Thomas and signed the toughest rebounder he could locate, Michael Ruffin. He got lucky in the expansion draft, when Charlotte passed on Juan Dixon. Got lucky that Larry Hughes' annual broken bone came early, got lucky that Brendan Haywood's broken thumb in late March was healed by mid-April.

 

In the past, these injuries would be season-enders, like C-Webb blowing out a shoulder or Muresan coming back from a movie set in a walking boot. We used to have a curse, but now we just blow 10-point leads in the final 41 seconds of a playoff game, shrug it off and drain 15-footers with 0.1 on the clock.

 

People are calling Wednesday's Game 5 a "great win," but I call it absolute misery. That wasn't exhilaration when Arenas' shot went down, that was indigestion. That was me cursing, saying, "How the $@#% did we let that happen?" Jamison kept coughing up his free throws, and Pargo kept nailing 29-footers, and I kept thinking: I've seen this somewhere before. My Maryland Terrapins did the same thing against Duke in 2001 -- a 10-point lead gone in 60 seconds -- and these Bullets even had ex-Terps Dixon and Steve Blake sitting on their bench, reliving it.

 

Being a Bullets fan means watching the fourth quarter with your hands over your eyes. No lead is safe; no free throw is free; no series is "over with."

 

In fact, as I gear up to watch Game 6 Friday night, I've made several important decisions:

 

1) If Pargo enters the game earlier than the fourth, we're cooked.

 

2) I'm turning it off with 41 seconds left.

 

3) I'm turning it back on with 0.1 seconds left.

 

4) I will have a fat lady, or skinny lady, or lactose-intolerant lady, on speed dial. With the hope that she'll sing.

 

Tom Friend is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at [email protected].

[The Czech Republic 0]

Erm, Cuban's no sucker. The Mavericks improved.

[Shanghai Kid 0]

Great series, my boy Arenas brought it home with the dagger in game 5 and than the huge block in game 6, but Bulls were scaring me there for a second in the 4th.

 

Miami will probably win in 5, I think Washington will steal one.

[alfdogg 0]

I pray that the Pacers win tomorrow, I don't even care if the Pistons sweep us right out afterwards. I can't imagine how unbearable Boston fans would become if they retire Reggie Miller in addition to the Pats beating the Colts every year.

[The Czech Republic 0]

Agreed, alfdogg. We can't give Boston fans anything else to gloat about. A monster has been created up New England way.

 

So yeah. Go Pacers, I guess. Do it for the conference, or whatever. meh

[Guest Vitamin X]

Next time the Pats go to the Super Bowl, I hope they face an NFC North team... (They've won against teams from every other division except the Bears in `85 and the Pack in `96..)