****OFFICIAL**** NBA Finals Thread

[BrokenVisage]

I'm thinking Heat in 6, Florida gets yet another professional championship. :roll:

 

[vi edit]

I think Dallas matches up to Miami better than Miami does to Dallas.

If Dallas can pound it into the lane and get Shaq into early foul trouble, Dallas will dominate.

If they let the Diesel roll over them, it's going to be a long series.

 

[EKKC]

heat in 6. i love d-wade's play lately. and maybe they can finally get the Glove a ring he deserves!
i don't really like anyone in Mavs except Dirk, Devin Harris and the lil general

 

[TheAudit]

Shaq Attack

 

[BrokenVisage]

Originally posted by: TheAudit
Shaq Attack

WTF

 

[torpid]

Originally posted by: Bumrush99
Good job beating the Spurs, but besides them what has Dallas done in the playoffs that Miami has not?

Miami vs Chicago
Dallas vs Memphis

A wash. Chicago stepped it up later in the year and has a very young and very talented team. They will be a force to reckoned with next year. Memphis is an OK team but overall I wouldn't say either team is that great.

This ain't no wash. Memphis was the #5 team and chicago squeaked into #7 in the last few days. Dallas won 4-0 and looked unstopable, the heat had their hands full with a team that would have missed the playoffs with one more loss.

I have no idea who will win this series but I really doubt it will be the heat in 7. Game 7 would be in dallas, and I think the heat are a little weaker on the road.

 

[iamme]

my heart says dallas..........but i really think that the Heat have a good shot at winning it all this season.

i voted Heat in 6, since a game 7 in dallas would belong to the the Mavs, imo.

as far as who will stop Dirk......whoTF on the Mavs is going to stop Wade and Shaq? quite honestly, i thought the Pistons would be able to take advantage of an old, out of shape Shaq. but, Shaq's been looking VERY active lately, even in late games. credit to Riley who everyone said could prolong Snaq's career and keep him fresh for the playoffs. hell, snaq only played 59 regular season games this season. Snaq's play on the offensive and defensive end will be huge. he's gonna rip apart Diop, Dampier, Dirk, and anyone else they throw at him.

as for Wade, i think the only chance Miami has to contain him is to play Griffin who is supposedly a defensive specialist and throw a zone at Wade every once and a while to force turnovers.

coming from a Piston's fan, i was hoping to see Miami get stomped in the Finals. hearing the media blowjobs that the dynamic duo were getting was nauseating, but when i looked at the matchups and thought about it....i think the Heat have a good chance to win their first title.

 

[iamme]

wow, after voting, i'm surprised how many people voted for the Heat......i thought most people were crazy about the Mavs..

 

[torpid]

I think howard could guard wade sufficiently. No one can "really" guard him but they can slow him down a bit.

They don't really need to stop shaq if they can foul him effectively. Dallas has no ben wallace equivalent so a free throw battle is going to be won by the mavs.

ESPN showed a little red state / blue state graph based on their poll of who will win, where red was people who think miami will win and blue was people who think dallas will win. It was like 45 states thought miami and 3 states, texas, oklahoma, and michigan, picked dallas. And 2 were too close to call.

 

[vi edit]

Agreed. I think Howard's defense is undervalued by many people.

 

[JackSoph]

Originally posted by: cheezy321
dallas in 6.....eastern conference sucks anus

Posting twice about the same thing is retarded.... and it doesn't make people think that more people lean towards your thoughts.


Stop jumping on the "omg, east conf suxors so I will look smart if I pick the west!"


The Heat have the better team, the better coach and the better fans, IMHO.

 

[JackSoph]

Originally posted by: dnuggett

Originally posted by: preslove
Texas sucks. Go Heat!

You hate everything in Texas? Why pick the 2nd biggest state in the US to hate?

LOL

I guess you gotta have all that room for your inflated egos.

 

[wyvrn]

Not to disrespect Miami, but they beat a Detroit team that was in disarray. They did not play great defense (their own admission), and there is mounting tension in the lockerroom. OTOH, Dallas beat SA and PHO who were more formidable opponents than Detroit was in the playoffs.

 

[iamme]

Originally posted by: wyvrn
Not to disrespect Miami, but they beat a Detroit team that was in disarray. They did not play great defense (their own admission), and there is mounting tension in the lockerroom. OTOH, Dallas beat SA and PHO who were more formidable opponents than Detroit was in the playoffs.

doesn't really matter what road the teams took to get to the Finals. back in '04, the Lakers went through what many people thought of as the tougher road (beating the TWolves and Spurs), only to get stomped by the Pistons.

the series will be about matchups and adjustments.

 

[junkerman123]

Originally posted by: torpid
I think howard could guard wade sufficiently. No one can "really" guard him but they can slow him down a bit.

QFT....if you can limit Dwade to <30 and force him to turn it over, you do a good job. Howard did a tremendous job on Nash and Ginobili, he can slow Wade down. As for Shaq, he is a wild card: he CAN dominate Dampier and Diop, but I'm not sure he will...sometimes u dont know what Shaq will show up.

 

[Babbles]

Originally posted by: JackSoph

Originally posted by: dnuggett

Originally posted by: preslove
Texas sucks. Go Heat!

You hate everything in Texas? Why pick the 2nd biggest state in the US to hate?

LOL

I guess you gotta have all that room for your inflated egos.

WTF point are you trying to make you uninformed assclown. Hell anybody making general slanders against a whole state (unless it's New Jersey ) just proves how imbecilic they really are.
Do you want to be seen as an ignorant fool? A couple of you need to grow the hell up and rewire some neural connections.




Anyhow . . .
I say Mavs in six!

 

[torpid]

Originally posted by: wyvrn
Not to disrespect Miami, but they beat a Detroit team that was in disarray. They did not play great defense (their own admission), and there is mounting tension in the lockerroom. OTOH, Dallas beat SA and PHO who were more formidable opponents than Detroit was in the playoffs.

Mounting tension in the locker room? What are you basing that on? I can only assume you are referring to the incident against chicago where gary payton was out of line in his attitude towards wade.

Dallas did not beat their opponents soundly, that is where people are thinking miami will win. Miami trounced new jersey and in their wins looked decisively better against detroit. Almost every game against san antonio and phoenix was close for most if not all of the game. Personally I think that makes dallas more scary because they can win close games, but not everyone sees it that way.

 

[wyvrn]

Originally posted by: iamme

Originally posted by: wyvrn
Not to disrespect Miami, but they beat a Detroit team that was in disarray. They did not play great defense (their own admission), and there is mounting tension in the lockerroom. OTOH, Dallas beat SA and PHO who were more formidable opponents than Detroit was in the playoffs.

doesn't really matter what road the teams took to get to the Finals. back in '04, the Lakers went through what many people thought of as the tougher road (beating the TWolves and Spurs), only to get stomped by the Pistons.

the series will be about matchups and adjustments.

It has everything to do with who will win. Dallas has sky high confidence after outlasting SA, and beating a vaunted PHO offense which dispatched them the previous year. Also, Dallas has moved past the Finley and Nash losses and now has their own identity. This simply cannot be overestimated. Dallas can play with anyone and they know it, and absolutely will not quit even when down by double digits.

I know you want Miami to win because they dispatched your Pistons, and you couldn't bear the thought of 2 teams in the NBA being better than Detroit. You loved the Mavs chances up until Detroit was bounced, lol.

 

[wyvrn]

Originally posted by: torpid

Originally posted by: wyvrn
Not to disrespect Miami, but they beat a Detroit team that was in disarray. They did not play great defense (their own admission), and there is mounting tension in the lockerroom. OTOH, Dallas beat SA and PHO who were more formidable opponents than Detroit was in the playoffs.

Mounting tension in the locker room? What are you basing that on? I can only assume you are referring to the incident against chicago where gary payton was out of line in his attitude towards wade.

Dallas did not beat their opponents soundly, that is where people are thinking miami will win. Miami trounced new jersey and in their wins looked decisively better against detroit. Almost every game against san antonio and phoenix was close for most if not all of the game. Personally I think that makes dallas more scary because they can win close games, but not everyone sees it that way.

A couple of players spoke out openly that they did not emphasize defense (in practice) and they thought it was the major reason whey they lost (slap at the coaching staff). There were hints that Saunders was being targeted because he is an offensive guy. I bet you see several players move off of this team during the offseason.

SA is such a good team, nobody was going to beat them 'soundly' as you call it. In the end, Dallas won the series. Do you honestly think Miami would have a chance in hell against the Spurs? I don't.

Dallas won in PHO 4 games to 2, so I'm not sure what the problem is here. They came back from double digits down to win by double digits twice in the series. How is that not impressive? Is winning games by 16 and 10 not winning 'soundly'?

I know everyone is on Wade and Shaq's jock right now, but besides those 2 players, Miami doesn't have anything to challenge Dallas. If either player has an off night, I promise you Dallas will stomp the Heat. Unlike Detroit who lost game 6 even though Wade was sick and not playing that well. Dallas has more offensive options. In addition to Terry and Dirk (who offensively rival Shaq and Wade), Dallas has Stackhouse, Josh Howard (who if scores 20, the Mavs are undefeated), and Harris. Any of those can score 20 on a given night. Defensively, Miami does not have the perimeter players to match with Dallas' guns.

So what exactly is so damn impressive about Miami, other than Shaq and Wade?

If you're talking coaches, Riley has the edge but Avery learned from Pop and Nelson, and has outmaneuvered everyone he has coached against so far this year. So that is not as big of an advantage for the Heat as the press will make of it. Avery got his defense from Popovich, and his matchups from Nelson. He is a rising star coach, and this series will show that.

 

[iamme]

Originally posted by: wyvrn
I know you want Miami to win because they dispatched your Pistons, and you couldn't bear the thought of 2 teams in the NBA being better than Detroit. You loved the Mavs chances up until Detroit was bounced, lol.

whoa, whoa, whooooooooa.............

first off...i would like NOTHING better than to watch Miami trounced and embarassed out of the Finals. i've said that in this thread and other threads, several times. there's NO satisfaction in watching the team that beat my team go on to win it all. bitter? yep

It has everything to do with who will win. Dallas has sky high confidence after outlasting SA, and beating a vaunted PHO offense which dispatched them the previous year. Also, Dallas has moved past the Finley and Nash losses and now has their own identity. This simply cannot be overestimated. Dallas can play with anyone and they know it, and absolutely will not quit even when down by double digits.

secondly, saying that Dallas is better off because they have "sky high confidence" is ridiculous and homerific. so, the Heat aren't as confident coming into the Finals after beating Detroit? Snaq, six time Finals winner and multiple Finals MVP, doesn't have sky high confidence? DWade, first of the Lebron/Melo era to make it to the NBA Finals doesn't have sky high confidence?

going into the Miami vs Detroit series, i wasn't convinced that Snaq still had it and that Miami's role players could step up. i was pretty much wrong. Miami's clicking at the best time possible (and Detroit slumped at the worst time possible...i said this many times in my ECF thread). so yes, i've changed my mind.

all the stuff about "never giving up", "moving on past the Nash loss" and "having their own identity"....those are intangible nonsense.

 

[torpid]

Originally posted by: wyvrn
A couple of players spoke out openly that they did not emphasize defense (in practice) and they thought it was the major reason whey they lost (slap at the coaching staff). There were hints that Saunders was being targeted because he is an offensive guy. I bet you see several players move off of this team during the offseason.

Oh, you were talking about detroit. Sorry, I thought you meant miami's locker room.

SA is such a good team, nobody was going to beat them 'soundly' as you call it. In the end, Dallas won the series. Do you honestly think Miami would have a chance in hell against the Spurs? I don't.

I do think miami might mostly because san antonio's shooters weren't making shots like they had in past years and because they seemed nervous in game ending situations. San Antonio is my second favorite team but I was really disappointed with their performace throughout the playoffs. They looked subpar against sacramento at times too. I picked dallas to go to the finals pretty early on, but I had no idea miami was going to play so well.

Dallas won in PHO 4 games to 2, so I'm not sure what the problem is here. They came back from double digits down to win by double digits twice in the series. How is that not impressive? Is winning games by 16 and 10 not winning 'soundly'?

It's more that dallas was outplayed in large stretches. Some people prefer it when a team dominates from start to finish.

If you're talking coaches, Riley has the edge but Avery learned from Pop and Nelson, and has outmaneuvered everyone he has coached against so far this year. So that is not as big of an advantage for the Heat as the press will make of it.

I actually think avery is a better coach right now. I think riley has not been a great coach for some time, possibly not ever with the heat.

What's impressive about the heat is how they have improved with each series and the way their bench plays when shaq and wade are sitting out. Also, their two centers are really outstanding.

 

[Patt]

I foresee a Shaq-Alonzo pairing to decimate the front court of the Mavs ... but if the game gets too fast, that experiment will fold quickly.

 

[Bumrush99]

Originally posted by: wyvrn

Originally posted by: torpid

Originally posted by: wyvrn
Not to disrespect Miami, but they beat a Detroit team that was in disarray. They did not play great defense (their own admission), and there is mounting tension in the lockerroom. OTOH, Dallas beat SA and PHO who were more formidable opponents than Detroit was in the playoffs.

Mounting tension in the locker room? What are you basing that on? I can only assume you are referring to the incident against chicago where gary payton was out of line in his attitude towards wade.

Dallas did not beat their opponents soundly, that is where people are thinking miami will win. Miami trounced new jersey and in their wins looked decisively better against detroit. Almost every game against san antonio and phoenix was close for most if not all of the game. Personally I think that makes dallas more scary because they can win close games, but not everyone sees it that way.

SA is such a good team, nobody was going to beat them 'soundly' as you call it. In the end, Dallas won the series. Do you honestly think Miami would have a chance in hell against the Spurs? I don't.

What a HOMER.
Yeah Miami could have beaten San Antonio. Don't make it sound like Dallas is the best team in the history of mankind simply because they dethroned the world champs. San Antonio was playing hurt and Dallas was ONE stupid foul away from reverting to what they are used to- Playoff dissapointment. Now I'm not coming in here claiming the Heat are going to pounce on Dallas, but cmon, Dallas is not the only team in the NBA that can beat San Antonio. Heck the same pistons team that got smacked around like a b*tch by the Heat almost beat San Antonio last year.

 

[torpid]

Arghh.. don't remind me of that stupid foul against nowitzki.

 

[wyvrn]

Originally posted by: torpid

Originally posted by: wyvrn
A couple of players spoke out openly that they did not emphasize defense (in practice) and they thought it was the major reason whey they lost (slap at the coaching staff). There were hints that Saunders was being targeted because he is an offensive guy. I bet you see several players move off of this team during the offseason.

Oh, you were talking about detroit. Sorry, I thought you meant miami's locker room.

SA is such a good team, nobody was going to beat them 'soundly' as you call it. In the end, Dallas won the series. Do you honestly think Miami would have a chance in hell against the Spurs? I don't.

I do think miami might mostly because san antonio's shooters weren't making shots like they had in past years and because they seemed nervous in game ending situations. San Antonio is my second favorite team but I was really disappointed with their performace throughout the playoffs. They looked subpar against sacramento at times too. I picked dallas to go to the finals pretty early on, but I had no idea miami was going to play so well.

Dallas won in PHO 4 games to 2, so I'm not sure what the problem is here. They came back from double digits down to win by double digits twice in the series. How is that not impressive? Is winning games by 16 and 10 not winning 'soundly'?

It's more that dallas was outplayed in large stretches. Some people prefer it when a team dominates from start to finish.

If you're talking coaches, Riley has the edge but Avery learned from Pop and Nelson, and has outmaneuvered everyone he has coached against so far this year. So that is not as big of an advantage for the Heat as the press will make of it.

I actually think avery is a better coach right now. I think riley has not been a great coach for some time, possibly not ever with the heat.

What's impressive about the heat is how they have improved with each series and the way their bench plays when shaq and wade are sitting out. Also, their two centers are really outstanding.

Miami didn't dominate the Nets start to finish. They won twice by 10 points (the Mavs did this to PHO also), once by 22, and once by 1. The Nets also won once by 12. That's not domination, though it is slightly better than what the Mavs did to the Suns. And the Suns are clearly the better team.