I know the hatred for Dallas is in extremely high level on this board, including myself. But realistically, Dallas has a higher odds of sweeping Miami than Miami taking even one game from Dallas. Shaq is old. His "best" game is a "28/16" instead of "40/20". Dampier and Diop will give Shaq trouble. On Wade, Dallas got tons of guys (Howard/ Stackhouse/ Griffin/ Danniel) to throw at him defensively. Miami got no one who can remotely contain Dirk. If they put Wade on Howard, Wade will not have much energy left on offense, and he is the Miami's only offensive option. Dallas in 4 or 5. After the finals, the "West > Least" threads will be all over the board again.
but really only when dallas had to switch on the pick and roll and nash had a 7 footer guarding him. that's a function of phoenix having so many shooters that you have to switch or you'll get killed. while miami has some shooters, they aren't as good as the suns (unless they get hot, which would happen) so you can trap pick and rolls and such. also, nash had like 10 points in the middle of the 4th quarter yesterday. if he could really get any shot he wanted, he should have done it while his team was going scoreless for 6 minutes. instead howard was giving him problems. but they're pg's, not sg's. presumably they won't be guarding wade at all.
Rest is irrelevant. The first game is like Thursday, right? Dallas will have had more than enough time to rest off any fatigue they may have been feeling. I just have to strongly disagree with you here. Dirk is FAR and away the worst matchup. Dallas can not only guard Wade with Howard, Daniels, Stackhouse or Armstrong but they also can force Wade to play defense. He can't take a single play off because after being hounded by Howard on one end he'll either have to guard Howard or chase around Harris and Terry, or get pounded down in the post by Stackhouse. Not only that, but Wade is responsible for a huge chunk of that offense. He's constantly having to create for people. On the other hand, Dirk isn't really responsible for anything. His teammates make their own shots while he waits for his own opportunity. Neither Posey nor Haslem have a prayer in hell of guarding him and on the other end, Dirk doesn't have to worry about guarding them. He'll be fresh while I can see Wade wearing down. Wade is great, but I think people are seriously overrating him. I am completely aware of the fact that he is shooting 70% or whatever but he's not the alpha swingman in the class of the Jordans/Bryants or even a healthy McGrady that people are making him out to be. He's incredibly turnover prone and can be worn down due to his small size. You can put quick pests like Armstrong on him or hound him with Howard. Don't get me wrong, Wade will be phenomenal this series. He'll average 25+, but it's going to take much more than that to overcome Dallas' depth. Shaq is washed up. Duncan is far superior at this stage and the Mavs were able to overcome him. You don't even need to double team Shaq. Just let him go nuts, which will be like 25ppg as opposed to 40 in earlier years, and stay at home with the 3 point shooters. You make it sound like almost losing to the Spurs is a bad thing. Are we forgetting that this was the defending NBA champion, a team that was completely infallible. Dallas left those guys looking old and slow throughout the series. Detroit on the other hand has been struggling for some time now.
Hillarious. All this "Dallas has better athletes" and "Damp and Diop are gonna give Shaq trouble". The only trouble they are gonna give Shaq is his wrist is going to be hurting from clanking all those free throws he is going to be getting after they land on him. And Posey is going to give Howard all he wants defensively. Dirk will get his and Terry will get some too but they don't have a chance of stopping Shaq and Wade at the rim. This series is going to be a bloody war in the paint and in the paint.......Shaq wins.
Do you seriously think Dallas can defend Wade and "wear him down" better than Detroit? His quickness will give Howard, Stack & Daniels nightmares. It's impossible to guard him with a taller (or equal) player because of his quickness. Who is the equivalent of Lindsey Hunter on the Mavs? On a chalkboard, the Mavs have more depth, but during the Suns series, we see that sometimes Dallas' role players can stink it up and they have trouble finding the right combination. I still pick Miami to win, but I admit if both teams play up to their full capabilities the Mavs should win. But Dallas had too many lapses against the Suns. If they don't play better against Miami, they will not win the series. Rest is relevent because Dallas is deeper and the (way too) long rest between series negates some of that advantage. If you look at these playoffs (20/10), Shaq clearly is NOT washed up. He won't dominate every game but Diop, Dampier & Van Horne aren't nearly as good as Ben Wallace on defense. Shaq is glad Big Ben now resides in the rear view mirror. I think the Mavs success depends on Dirk dominating and putting together solid 48 minute games. The Mavs' team chemistry isn't clicking like the Heat's but maybe the time off will help them get back to square one. The Heat play much better defense than the Suns and will make the Mavs work harder to score.
Amen. Besides, I think Shaq knows this is perhaps his best chance for that fourth ring. Diop/Dampier et al are going to have nightmares about the Diesel long after this series is over. Heat win. ps: I hate this choosing the 'lesser of the two evils' thing.
Miami Heat in 6 (4-2) over Dallas. The Mavs have had a good run but they have nobody to stop Shaq, so Riley will get the diesel rolling early and ride him all the way to the Larry O'Brien trophy. The Heat are a more determined team it appears and Shaq daddy made it pretty clear that he wants another ring so look out OH and I almost forgot to mention D-Wade
Diop and Dampier can at least hold Shaq down. Dallas is better than Miami in bench and starters..... I like Mark Cuban, I wish he was the Rockets owner. Dallas will win. DD
He can say all he wants but the problem is that he is just a shadow of his past. His high point in the playoff so far this year is 28 points and 16 boards, and he did it only once. Hardly anything to be proud of as the MDP.
please, dwayne...please!!! i can't handle a dallas nba championship. i can't handle a dallas ANYTHING championship. i'm begging you. please win. thanks in advance for your assistance.
Shaq was playing great in ECF series, but I don't think he's outperformed Duncan in the playoffs. I repeat, Duncan is the best big man in this playoffs season, not Shaq. And Dallas beat SA on the road in a 7 games series. There are enough evidence to make me pick Dallas to beat Miami.
Well Dallas has one unguardable player, Miami has two. Dallas executes and shoots the ball better but Miami has improved in these areas in every series, while dallas has dipped abit from the Spurs series where they were hitting everything they threw up. It really depends on the referees, sadly. Walker will really need to step up and Haslem will have to try his best to make Dirk work, you can't really play physical with Dirk because he flops and cries like a b**** on contact so he'll likely get around 15 free throws per game. Head says Dallas, gut says Miami. Although the last thing i want people saying is that Shaq is the greatest center ever should he get this ring, thats what bothers me about this series, i dislike both teams.
Miami in 7. The Heat looked damn good against the Pistons, and Riley will run circles around Avery. As an aside, I really want to see Shaq win a title without Kobe. That should knock Kobe down a peg and make him stew all summer. Eat it, egomaniac!
interesting poll results thus far, heavily in favor of miami... i wonder how many are voting how they feel and hope as opposed to how they know it will turn out. dallas in 6... and i'm not happy about that.
OK,despite Shaq,Wade, a supporting cast of former all stars finally accepting their roles,Pat Riley,the ability to crank up their defense,a halfcourt game,and much more there seems to be some of you out there who are pretty keen on these Mavs.Lets find out how much. What I propose is this.....I'll take the Heat over the Mavs to win it all straight up.....The Mavs are favored,but I don't care.I'll match the first five on a $100 tipjar bet/apiece....takers?
C'mon,I've been around here since 99 and have gotten so much enjoyment/info out of Clutchcity/Clutchfans.Lets have some fun while at the same time supporting the online home for Rockets basketball and much more.
