2006 NBA Finals

[bob_barron 0]

Here's an idea Dama-

 

Don't watch ESPN!

[UZI Suicide 0]

Dwyane Wade: 21-25 FTs

Dallas Mavericks: 21-25 FTs

 

And THIS, my friends, is why the NBA is a complete joke.

[Damaramu 0]

And it's true that Dirk missed a FT, but he came back and hit what should have been the game-winner before the "foul". Dampier is a bad foul shooter anyway. That's kind of like blaming the Heat's losses on Shaq's FTs.

 

Josh Howard messed that finish up with two missed free throws and a Chris Webber moment, but this Avery Johnson press conference is AWESOME. He's making that guy look like shit.

 

I turned it off. What's he saying?

[naiwf 0]

And it's true that Dirk missed a FT, but he came back and hit what should have been the game-winner before the "foul". Dampier is a bad foul shooter anyway. That's kind of like blaming the Heat's losses on Shaq's FTs.

 

Josh Howard messed that finish up with two missed free throws and a Chris Webber moment, but this Avery Johnson press conference is AWESOME. He's making that guy look like shit.

 

I turned it off. What's he saying?

 

Some dumbass asked him what he thought of the last play, so Avery responded by asking the reporter what he thought of it. The guy stumbled for a minute and then said something like "well they called it a foul". Avery then mocked him by saying "that's the political answer, but what did you THINK about the play". The guy stuttered again, and you could just tell he was embarassed as Avery was telling him to explain to all of the other reporters, especially those from Israel, Germany etc how that was a foul. The guy got so flustered he decided that he would ask another question. Avery just glared at him and said "go ahead", so the guy stuttered some more leading to a "don't stutter!". I forget what the second question was, but that's mainly because I was laughing so hard at the poor schmuck for asking such a stupid question knowing full well that Avery thought it was a BS call. It was basically the equivalent of a really shy guy being stripped to his underwear, tied up and tossed in front of a classroom full of his peers with everyone pointing and laughing as he peed on himself.

[Art Sandusky 0]

I hope this will be on youtube!

[alfdogg 0]

As an early teenager, my goal was to become a basketball analyst. Press conferences like that one reminded me why I'd never be able to do it. Great stuff from Avery.

[A Happy Medium 0]

Dwyane Wade gets as many or more calls than Michael Jordan did....and Jordan didn't wear thigh pads.

[A Happy Medium 0]

Also...Dwyane Wade...at 24 years of age, had 803 free throw attempts. That was this past regular season.

 

Michael Jordan only got above that total twice in his career. In 1986-87, and 1987-88, getting both 972 and 860 attempts in those years. Those were also the years where Jordan averaged 37.1 and 35.0 points per game. Amazingly, Jordan was near the same age as Wade was when he accomplished these feats. In his glory years of 1991-1998, Jordan only got above 700 once. Now, this can be attributed to Jordan mastering the turn around fade away, but at the same time, he went into traffic, and got knocked to the ground quite a bit. The other half of his fouls came when someone pushed on his elbow during a jump-shot...which is a legit foul call.

 

Let me just say that Wade seems to be favored even higher than Jordan. Especially for someone so young and on such a big stage.

[alfdogg 0]

 

So it was a foul, after all. Whether it should be one that could ultimately decide who wins the championship is the question now.

[Damaramu 0]

Well to be fair I think NBA officials let things go a little bit more in Jordan's era. Now they like to call fouls for everything. Especially for the star players.

[Fökai 0]

People were literally mugging each other in the early stages of Jordan's career. Jordan was sent to the line so much because he was the Bulls' only threat until Pippen and Grant came along. The rest of the team was such a joke that a rookie Charles Oakley was counted on as their second offensive threat. Charles Oakley. Michael handled the ball on EVERY play, whether he wanted to or not. Wade doesn't do that, and that's not a knock on him, but the respect they're giving to the stars now is just ridiculous.

[iggymcfly 0]

Watching the last play live, I thought it was a legitimate foul, watching the replay, I thought it wasn't, and now seeing the still photo, I see that it is. Good call there, no worries. Miami got a little help from the referees tonight, but nothing extreme. Obviously, the NBA wants this to go 7, and if the Heat got a couple extra calls tonight, the league will probably return the favor for Dallas in Game 6.

 

Really, I think this was a pretty even game that was ultimately decided by one stupid play which was the timeout call. Yeah, Dallas might have missed the shot anyway, but I would have a lot rather seen the game decided by a 20 footer from Dirk than by Josh Howard not knowing whether the Mavericks had one or two timeouts remaining.

 

On the balance though, I'm still not all that upset. Why? Because I still feel really strongly that the Mavs are going to take it in 7. The Mavs dominated both games in Dallas, and twice were one shot away from winning in Miami. They'll blow the Heat out in Game 6 riding the angry emotional tide of this game and the return of Stackhouse, and while Game 7's more likely to be a classic than a blowout, I think the Mavs' depth and talent will be too much for the Heat. Don't forget that Dirk's a much better player than he's shown in the series thus far, and he's waaaaaay overdue to throw down 50 points on Miami.

[Coffin Surfer 0]

I turned it off last night early in the forth or so and I actually liked both teams at the start of the series. I want to see star players make big plays during big games, not practice free throws on every single possesion. Not surprising to learn that it came down to Wade at the line during the closing seconds.

[The Robfather 0]

Wade was not established in the backcourt before receiving the ball there. He can't catch it in the front court, then go to the backcourt. The final play was completely bs for the Heat.

[bobobrazil1984 0]

Pussy basketball, the slightest D is suddenly a foul, exciting superstars treated like gods, games suddenly becoming ridiculously close (because of ref calls suddenly swinging wildly to the team coming back), this is what you guys wanted. It's the answer to all your complaints the last couple of years.

Get used to it folks, its the Lakers all over again. Between Dal missing seconds on the clock the other game, the botched TO call, the backcourt, and the "Wade drives for FTs no matter what happens" zone, it almost makes me feel sorry for Mark Cuban.

[The Fett 0]

Wade was not established in the backcourt before receiving the ball there. He can't catch it in the front court, then go to the backcourt. The final play was completely bs for the Heat.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tH1JFPGmSP4

 

The ref was right in front of the violation too.

[Coffin Surfer 0]

"Pussy basketball, the slightest D is suddenly a foul, exciting superstars treated like gods, games suddenly becoming ridiculously close (because of ref calls suddenly swinging wildly to the team coming back), ."

 

Amen to that.

 

 

Personally, I'm not even watching the next two games unless there's a huge decrease of free throws. Fuck who wins, I just want to see an actual basketball game instead of free throw practice. How many total did Miami get, when I stopped watching they were already over 40 for fuck's sake.

[Guest pinnacleofallthingsmanly]

The Mavericks might not win this series now because it seems like they're content with blaming all of their problems on the referees. Even that Timeout that Josh Howard took ended up getting blamed on the referees because I guess they weren't supposed to let a player make a mistake on his own. How can you say the referees are deciding games and it's wrong and then expect them to give tactical advice to your players when they do stupid things?

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Actually agree. I like the Mavericks but they seem to be getting set to blame losing the Finals on the refs. That's not an attitude you want to have heading home with only 1 more loss knocking you off in two opportunities.

[2GOLD 0]

I stopped watching after game 2 because of the refs in Dallas. I saw bits and pieces of the other games and it confirmed what I expected. The refs will really give the home teams an over the top benefit of the doubt while treating the visitors like they shouldn't be allowed to guard someone.

 

I saw it in the Dallas series and as a Mavs fan, it was pissing me off. I hate that hometown officiating bull that is going on in the NBA. It's making the games really slow and boring after a REALLY exciting first couple of rounds. Plus the two night delays between games also sucks.

 

The Finals compared to the other rounds are night and day. The officiating sucked in the other rounds as well, but not as bad as this. Least not that I remember. The final play last night was definately a foul but the traveling, double dribble and the other violations the officials just seem to now ignore has gotten annoying.

 

Whatever happened to calling it right down the middle?

[alfdogg 0]

From Dallas Morning News

 

"After every game, select players are brought to a media area to speak with reporters. After talking with media from Germany, Dirk Nowitzki was going to the media area but was told he had to wait until after Dwyane Wade and Gary Payton. "I'm not waiting for Gary Payton," Nowitzki said to a Mavericks public relations person. Nowitzki was then speaking with NBA public relations officials and was being asked to be patient."

I can see Dirk going Pedro in an interview with ESPN.

 

"Who is Gary Payton?"

[iggymcfly 0]

Actually agree. I like the Mavericks but they seem to be getting set to blame losing the Finals on the refs. That's not an attitude you want to have heading home with only 1 more loss knocking you off in two opportunities.

 

No way. When they get really pissed off is when they play their best basketball. When they were all pissed off about the Terry suspension, they came out in Game 7 against SA and played their best half of the season. Then, despite the referees putting Duncan on the line every time he touched the ball regardless of whether there was a defender within 10 feet of him, they made clutch plays down the stretch and held on to win the game. Here are my predictions for the rest of the series:

 

Game 6:

Dallas 112

Miami 87

 

Game 7:

Dallas 102

Miami 101

[Guest]

Now what will ESPN and EA do with their video game covers?

Kobe is supposed to be on the cover. Surprising that he hasn't been on the Live cover yet.

 

I don't discuss officiating, especially when a team is basing everything on the referees. Howard made his mistake and Wade was getting bodied up way before they called the foul. If anything, they should have called it before he made his drive. Dirk's shot over Shaq was great.

 

It still isn't a series, nobody has won on the road. I'm not changing my Miami in 6 prediction, but by all indications Dallas should win the next 2.

[Brett Favre 0]

If Dirk doesn't explode for 100 points in the next two games, then all is wrong in the world.

 

When one guy shoots more FTs than the entire opposing team, you know that shit wasn't officiated fairly.

[cabbageboy 0]

I actually think that the Mavs may well be done here. They lost a crushing game last night and it could go either way tomorrow. Will they show up to play and rout the Heat...or will they be out of gas and the Heat close it?

 

If this does go 7 though, I think the Mavs likely win it.

[Ripper 0]

Josh Howard asked his coach if he should call a time out, he didn't ask for one.

 

And still frames make things look alot worse than they were or alot better. Still frames of the Stackhouse foul on shaq look like a blocked shot. So devin Harris TOUCHED dwayne wade on the way to the basket. That same call could be made on every single basket of the game. There is no foul there, let alone a send him to the line with 1 second left foul. Plus the Backcourt, plus the timeout, Dallas has a right to be pissed.

 

I mean honestly, James Posey and Haslim stand infront of the cameras and say "Well dirk is tough. I am just trying to push him, bump him, get physical with him to throw him off his shot" and the guy isn't going to the line. Dwayne wade is the recipient of 6-7 iffy calls a game now.

 

And I STILL think the Mavs are going to win...Just in 7 now.

[Big Ol' Smitty 0]

So devin Harris TOUCHED dwayne wade on the way to the basket. That same call could be made on every single basket of the game.

 

Was the foul actually called ON Harris? I can't remember.

[Brett Favre 0]

I remember the foul being called on Dirk. So yeah, there really shouldn't have been a foul called.

[Just John 0]

The foul was on Dirk, which was exceptionally stupid. All Dirk did was turn around and look at Wade. I'd tear up the locker room too after that shit.

 

At least with the Harris still-frame, it looks like an iffy call, which is a hell of a lot better than pinning it on Dirk. That backcourt violation was inexcusable, though. How does a "professional" ref miss that?

[Ripper 0]

I think it should be noted that no one really cares about that he took 4 steps after catching the ball. If they had called it I would have said BS on that too, but seriously, dude...put the ball down.

 

Funny though, on one of Wades great moves last night he took 5 steps which now puts him on the most steps I have ever seen list. A lot of people were tied for the lead with 4 and I thought Amare Stoudimire had it one time, but alas, he only had taken 4 steps, but now Dwayne wade is on top of the list with getting away with 5 steps.