I don't care who wins as long as it's Miami. it's going to be tough for them though. Shaq is going to be at half court doing circles trying to figure out which way to walk. Luckily they have Wade who will tear Dallas a new one.
my predictions this year have gone for naught. isnt it refreshing to see 2 different teams in the finals. Even if an old hand like the Daddy is in there. ummm Dallas in 6-7. Nowitzki MVP. Mavs should have just enough guard roation power to hold up Wade somewhat. And I predict just enough fouling big bodies 2 restrict Shaq. So there you have it Dallas Mavericks and Mark friggin' Cuban - NBA champions. Just one year after we should of swept the bastards in the first round. Oh the agony.
Dallas in 5, maybe 6, if Miami shoots lights out again. Man I dont want either team to win, I wanted Detroit. Oh yes, when the playoffs started my prediction of Dallas making it to the finals was right, but I thought they would be going against Detroit.
heat in 6 hopefully shaq can permanently damage diop's broken nose since he's not wearing a face guard and then have his way with the '2nd best center in the nba'
i actually picked miami to win, but dallas got the spurs to run a little more than they wanted to and the suns to stop running more than they wanted to. they seem to be pretty good at tempo. and miami won't be facing detroit's anemic offense, where miami could basically leave them as open as they wanted and not pay for it. first of all, wouldn't that have just a wee bit to do with the spurs being a much better team that phoenix? i would expect them to be tougher to beat. secondly, dallas scored 103.9 ppg against phoenix. against the spurs, they scored 103.9 ppg. as much as phoenix didn't want it that way, this series was played at basically the same pace as the spurs series. it certainly wasn't fun and gun and any funning and gunning was done by phoenix anyway. dallas likes halfcourt games with a little uptempo here and there. miami making it a halfcourt game isn't going to be a shock to their system or anything. does hooroo think ginobili is God or was that the general "you" b/c i don't know many who think ginobili is God. and while they haven't faced a perimeter talent like wade, duncan was tearing them up pretty good. i'm actually forced to root for the mavs for an unprecedented 4th series in a row. the grizzlies are just a bunch of b****es and seeing their winless streak continue was something to root for, rooting against the spurs needs no explanation, and w/ nash winning the mvp i grew to hate the suns (plus i would have looked bad bashing nash for mvp if he made the finals). now the heat have shaq, who i've hated forever, along w/ zo who spent his kidney sympathy as fast an anyone ever, along with payton who was on those b*stard sonics teams, along with toine who is just annoying and whiny. wade is about the only thing i can stand on that team but that ain't enough. dirk has made the kobe like transformation from someone i hate (for being a flopper and always whining for calls and for beating us last year) to someone i grow to like b/c their games are just so nice. i don't really have anything against the rest of the mavs players. it's just the thought of people from dallas getting to celebrate a title, dallas in general having something good happen to it, and mark cuban becoming completely intolerable (i can handle him in small doses right now, but probably not if he has a title). so it's a tough series, but i guess go mavs, at least they took down the suns and spurs for me.
i hate both teams, but i think dallas is the better team. who in the world is miami going to put on dirk? i think wade is one of the best players in the game, but at least some of the mavs should be able to somewhat guard him.
That is a huge key IMO. Against the Pistons, the Heat could get away with putting Haslem at the PF and Walker at the SF because Rasheed and Prince wasn't going to kill them offensively. But I don't see any way that those guys can hang with Dirk and Howard.
Miami in five, please. I wanted a Detroit-Phoenix Finals with the Pistons as eventual champs, but you know what? I'll settle for Dallas coming so close to their first title, only to get their confidence and pride completely crushed after being decimated by the Heat's hungry vets.. Cuban breaks down like a little b**** on TV and his team fails to fully recover from the blow, never making it past the first round for the next 20 years Although Dirk looks set to have a huge series and the Mavs probably take it in five instead.. well you can't always get what you want..
Ding, ding, ding, we have winners. Miami is the better half court team (both sides of the ball). Miami's key is being rested and healthy, and they have a week off. If Miami was injured or worn down that could have lead to Dallas's depth making a bigger impact, but unfortunately for Dallas neither is there. I don't see how anyone fathums how Dallas has the key match-up advantages when the worst match-ups are Wade (most consistently unstoppable player when healthy for 2 playoff years now) versus anyone and Shaq versus Dallas's weak centers (Dirk will score on anyone and is the 2nd best guy on the floor, but Halsem, Posey, Walker, Zo are better alternatives than what Dallas can throw at Shaq). Diop (vs Shaq) and Howard (vs Wade) are going to have to play way over their head for multiple games for Dallas to have a chance--I don't see either holding up their opponents defensively. Miami is a buzz saw right now when healthy. Dallas is a good team who looked shaky and could go in ruts versus the Spurs (remember SA had the last shot to win the series, Dallas easily loses that one) and a Suns team that was the weakest conference finalist in recent memory.
Dallas in 7. Mainly because, there will be a 3 year stretch of Texas domination of the NBA. San Antonio in 05. Dallas in 06. Houston in 07! How you like that.
Oh actually, I'm sorry. Please append the following to my previous post. Houston in 08. Houston in 09. Thanks!
Pat Riley will eat Avery johnson for lunch... 8 Finals appearances, 4 rings.. I gained respect for Riley this year... It was the right move to take over the reins, it is clear to me now what he has done to the Heat team... Avery just finished his first full season as coach, and yes, his players believe in him, but the Heat players are playoff veterans.. its a good storyline(my analysis from another bbs below) the Mavs- under Coach of the Year, Averys first FULL year as head coach, a team transformed by Cuban in 2000, got rid of Nash and got BETTER, led by Dirk who has been a monster... vs. the Heat- a rag tag group of wandering veterans- Walker, Willams, Payton, led by the core of Shaq and Wade, under the leadership of Pat Riley in his 9th trip to the Finals... the Mourning story, Payton and Shaq return to the Finals together, each on their third team to head to the Big Dance... the Heat have experience, the Mavs have Heart... Gotta go with the Heat in 7
Dallas has better athletes all over the floor. Wade is a great player, but Dallas has enough swingment (Howard, Stackhouse, Griffin, Daniels) to throw at him and wear him out. Shaq needs to consistently play good games and stay out of foul trouble in order for Miami to have a chance. Diop has pretty good length and can cause Shaq some problems. Shaq will still get the better of him, but he should cause more problems for Shaq than Ben Wallace. Detroit's big men were too small to guard Wallace. I hate the Mavs but I think they have to be considered the favorites.
Steve nash got whatever shot he wanted. . . . J Terry and D Harris will not control D.Wade Diaw was averaging 20+ a game - Look for Haslem to have a great series because Dallas seems to allow role players to come up a lil bit Haslem's Offensive rebound will be key [any way the Rocket could get him?] Shaq will closer to SHAQ than even the Piston's last game All this comes with the Caveat If the refs start hitting everyone with Off fouls left right and center. . . .Shaq is toast Rocket River
