That is the correct expression. The Suns would have zero chance against either, neither the Pistons nor Heat would fall into the trap the Mavs sometimes do of playing the only style the Suns can win (uptempo). Miami and Det guards are way too savvy for that. The Mavs will have a chance versus the East, but will be slight to solid underdogs to the EC rep IMO. If Det has no answer for Wade and Shaq Dallas is going to have less of one, and if Det starts playing well enough to beat Mia they will squeeze a terrible shooting % from the Mavs and dictate style. Det has 3-4 terrific guys to play Dirk and Det can handle every other individual match-up whereas Billips and Hamilton make the Terry and Harris exploitable defensively.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/basketball/14690648.htm Heat reserve center Alonzo Mourning said the combination of Wade and O'Neal rank among the best in the history of the league. ''You've got to put them up there in the top five, seriously, in the history of the game,'' Mourning said. ``Obviously Shaq and Kobe [Bryant], they were incredible together. And then there's some others like Hakeem [Olajuwon], [Clyde] Drexler, those type of guys. But like I said, you look at their defensive presence as well as their offensive presence, it makes a huge impact on the game, and it changes the game tremendously.'' A ring first will help validate that one.......
What the hell happened to the Pistons?? Flip Saunders is just getting abused by Riley. It's like the Pistons don't even care either. Detroit showed some urgency in Game 4, but not near enough as I thought they would.
Riley is outcoaching Flip so bad in this series... its not even funny. Where are the supposed Flip supporters (and thus LB retractors) now? Where is the hate for the Riley/JVG type systems of structured "high-execution" offense, and great/sound defense? The more it looks like the NBA was trying to force the offensive high-explosions on us with the rule changes, it now is looking like the teams have figured out how to play sound defense... while adjusting to the ticky-tack stuff. If Dallas wants to beat Phoenix, they need to limit the scoring like they did on Sunday... and if Miami/Det wants to beat Dallas, they'll have to do the same.
I am definitely going for the Heat the rest of the way. Yao must beat Shaq for his first NBA championship!
Pistons just seem to have no passion whatsoever. This is just shocking, i'm shocked but the series is not over yet...we've had two teams come back from 3-1 down to tie so far in these playoffs, i wouldn't count them out yet. Think it's time for Rasheed to go?
Yes, Shaq's in a lot better shape this year, and yes, the Heat acquired Antoine Walker and Jason Williams, but it's hard not to conclude that the coaching changes on both teams are a huge factor here. Detroit wasn't quite good enough with Rick Carlisle, and now they aren't quite good enough with Flip Saunders. I'm less convinced that Pat Riley is as huge a difference in Miami, except in the sense that only Riley could coach the team that Riley assembled as GM. But Detroit really seems to have a leadership vacuum. I remember thinking what a terrible injustice it was when Rick Carlisle got fired. But boy was I wrong: clearly Larry Brown is the difference between an Eastern Conference finals exit and winning the whole shebang.
I don't know about that. But I'll tell you one thing. If I was Joe Dumars, I wouldn't be looking forward to giving Ben Wallace $10+ million a year. Unfortunately he's unrestricted, so it's either pay him or let him walk for nothing (well I guess they can do a sign and trade, but I'm not sure the market for Big Ben is as good as it used to be). Giving up on Darko doesn't look like such a great move anymore.
Wait a second. The Heat would have beaten the Pistons last year if Wade had not been hurt. Don't forget that. At the same time, it does seem this year's Heat is almost dominant over this year's Pistons. Whenever the Heat put their mind to it the Pistons cannot stay with them. Last year, the ECFs were an even match. Flip deserves some of the blame because the Pistons defense has clearly slipped. But their "improved" offense is breaking down also. They look totally out of kilter and their passing isn't nearly as crisp as it needs to be. Much as I hate to admit it, Riley deserves credit for turning the Heat around. For various reasons (including subpar play from Wade), the Heat stumbled into the postseason. Then the Bulls gave them more trouble than anyone anticipated. After getting game 1 vs. the Nets out of their system, the Heat have the look of a champion to me. Pat Riley (who I think has the biggest ego in NBA history) looks like he could grab championship #5 as a coach. I understand what you are saying but I remain a huge LB detractor. Winning that championship sent him over the edge. Most will probably disagree, but he deserves the blame for the Pistons losing to the Spurs in last year's Finals. They clearly had the better team but LB's circus act with the Cavs cost the Pistons just enough of their edge to fall short against the Spurs.
this proves that larry brown > flip suanders larry brown always finds motivation for his teams. they always seem to play with some passion. too bad larry opted for isiah and knicks.
Carlisle was hated by just about everyone in the Pistons organization, players included. There was a reason they fired him after two consecutive 50 win seasons and NOBODY on the team questioned the move. m_cable, I've been thinking about Big Ben's free agency a while. Any team that signs him to 5yrs/$60MM would be making a huge mistake. He has the misfortune of having his contract expire at exactly the wrong time in his career. I respect Joe Dumars quite a bit and I doubt he re-signs Big Ben at a ridiculous price. It's hard to believe he got 2nd team All-NBA ahead of Yao but Yao's injuries must be the main reason. I don't think it's time for Rasheed to go, yet. The Pistons will keep him around. At some point they will tire of his tempermental antics and disappearing act at key times. If his play declines next year while his mouth keeps running they might try to unload him after next season.
It's such a tricky thing. Rasheed fits that team like a glove, but his attitude is hurting his team right now. He really needs to pull his head out, because those five are capable of great things - they are such a well put together team. Bens production slips every season, but his rep means that nobody notices. Dumars had better act wisely. Things could get messy.
Right, but they fired Carlisle at the exact moment they did because Larry Brown was suddenly available, didn't they? Fuzzy memory, seems like Rudy's departure set that whole carousel in motion unless I'm totally misremembering. Of course the Pistons were right to fire Carlisle, I just didn't know it at the time.
If the Heat wins, I'd like to hear all the pundits say, "See? We knew all along that it takes 1 or 2 superstars on a team to win a championship!" "The Pistons were a fluke!" Not true. All it means is that most of the time, it helps to have 1 or 2 "take over the game" type of players. But sometimes, it doesn't. Matter of fact, that's how it goes with the NBA. The Suns start doing well, and everybody says, "That's the new NBA!" And then, a slow-it-down team will win the championship, and it will be "You see? Defense wins championships!!" I think that the Heat winning the championship gives hope to Rockets fans, while the Pistons, Suns or Mavs winning is not. Miami is the team that most closely resembles who we are or will be in the next 2-3 years; thus, rooting for Miami is the only way to go.
To me what Miami and the rest of these teams in the playoffs are showing is that the most important people in the "New NBA" are penetrators who can get into the lane at will because they aren't hand-checked. And can either finish at the rim, or make the inbetween shots. Because if Miami wins the title, it won't be because they have two superstars and role players. It's because they have Dwayne Wade and a bunch of guys who can keep the game close for him to take over off the dribble. Same thing for Phoenix where Nash penetrating sets everything else up, and Dallas where they've been put over the top time and again by Terry, Harris, Stackhouse and Howard creating havoc by getting into the lane for layups or mid-range shots. I'm not that optomistic about Tracy going back into that mold, considering the shape his back is in. So we're going to need to make some additions if we're going to take advantage like these other teams are. Mike James, anyone?
All this proves is that the NBA is built on talent, period. Who ever has the most talented wins 90 percent of the time. Last year's Miami would have won the east if it had not been for Wade's injury. Miami then goes out and gets 3 players that are more talented than the ones they replaced while the Pistons stood still. It no suprise that the heat are kicking Detroits butt. Lets look at the West. The Mavs have most talent and they are going to win. This is a team that went to the WCF two years ago and lost mostly because the Dirk was injured. They lost to a more talented Suns team last year. This year, they beat a very talented spurs team because Horry decided not to show up like he normally does. This is why I laughed at the beginning of the season when everyone was talking about how miami was going to have chemistry problems. The NBA is different from other team sports in that it relies mostly on god given talent. The most talented team almost always gets to the finals as long as they don't get injured.
Man, the press just loves Miami now. I do think they close this out in 6, but I'm still sticking with the Mavs to win it all. If they go up against Dallas, with a backcourt that's the anti-thesis of Chauncy-ball (smug and deliberate), the foul trouble they're going to get into is going to expose that bench. They've been fortunate to be going up against a Detroit team with the same weakness. Concerning the Wade ass-kissing that's caught storm, I'm not sold. I still feel he's a guy that can be neutralized. I'm intrigued to see how he would match up with Howard if they do meet in the finals, because I have a sneaking suspicion that I would be proved right. I'm sure as hell in the minority in that opinion though... Most importantly, I just don't think Dallas is going to forfeit homecourt advantage if they get to the finals....I think they'll have learned from giving it away against San Antonio and Phoenix. They may well not steal one on the road, and it could end up being a hell of a series, but I'm not betting on Haslem/Williams/Walker stepping up like they'd have to in a game 7. I'm assuming a lot though....watch it end up being a Phoenix-Detroit final.
You need some planning or you'll end up like the Knicks. I think Riley's done a good job keeping toine and Jwill in check. Haslem hasn't suffered too much from playing with Walker, which is a surprise. Having Shaq in the lockerroom probably makes things a lot easier for Riles. To be honest, I was thinking Portland when Riles started this season's madness....
