the refs have been as good as you can possibly expect refs to be in a big game. they've got 15 seconds to change that, but to this point neither team can blame them and that's how it should be. good job from them. now come on detroit, don't mess it up. and i wouldn't foul up 4 points. made free throw then a miss and a rebound and they could tie it. limit them to the max of 3 if you're up 4. now step up billups.
shaq actually hits a few shots and even makes a nice steal in the 4th but it won't be enough. thank God. now SA will at least have to work a little. maybe damon jones can wear those ridiculous sunglasses and act all cool at the press conference while explaining why he couldn't hit the crucial free throws.
Miami's backcourt (starters and reserves) needs to learn how to keep their composure and their head in the game and stop having mental lapses. Keyon Dooling trying to be Jordan for that small spurt at the end of the 3rd quarter. Damon Jones and even Wade took some suspect shots in crunch time. They could have set up the offense for something better than that.
You know what, if I was SA, I'd be cautious but I wouldn't be scared of Detroit. SA showed that they can D it up AND score more than 100 whereas Detroit struggles to get to even 90. But I'll have to hand it to the Pistons though: they held it together at the right time. I think it's a blessing in disguise that the Pistons got into the playoffs. Now bball junkies can stop referring to the 93-94 finals as the worst finals ever.
Besides the chance that he misses free throws? It's very hard to throw the ball into the post, especially with the kind of pressure Detroit's defenders put on the ball handlers. The Heat don't have a tall guy to dump it down to him over the defenders, making those passes aren't as easy as they look, that's why people who really know ball respect the Rockets system that won them championships back in the day, they perfected something that is so difficult for most teams.
I'm still picking the Pistons, picked them at the beginning. Good matchups with San Antonio on the perimeter. Detroit, once again, has too much active defense and offense in the paint. SA has Duncan inside and they get a little help from Nazr. Detroit has Ben Wallace, Rasheed, McDyess, and then they can come in with Campbell if need be. The Wallace boys give Duncan as hard a time as anybody. Billups is stronger than Tony. Neither Hamilton nor Ginobilli can stop the other. I look for Prince to switch off and help on Gino. But Billups is gonna eat Parker up. He'll take him down the left baseline and post him up and force the help, leaving somebody open for a little jumper or dunk. Duncan will get his but he will have to work for everything with Ben and Rasheed running at him. Rasho is a stiff. The only thing SA really has off the bench right now is Brent Barry with the 3 ball and he can't guard anybody. SA's bench can't defend...period. Detroit repeats.
Crazy prediction: Phil Jackson will be pursued by the Heat, mainly Shaq, but he won't go because he knows that he and Riley won't mesh.
Thank goodness. Bunch of bandwagoners anyways. Seriously, at least with the Rockets, there were always hardcores in the upperdeck and a few scattered down below. But man, pre-Shaq, Miami had like terrible fan support in that new beautiful stadium. There were empty seats everywhere. Then they get Dwayne Wade, the 2nd best player in the draft behind LeBron, and Shaq comes and attracts the most bandwagoning players around. Jeebus. First it was GP and Malone (thank goodness that blew up) and then this year freakin Shandon Anderson, Steve Smith, and Zo are all pinning for a championship and quitting their own teams just to ride Shaq's coattail. Those fans were really spoiled this year. They needed a little heartbreak. Hey, I like Shaq and Wade, but Miami and their fans were just getting too much on a silver platter. That loss was a necessary slap in the face to show them that they got to pay their dues in the NBA.
Miami was my second favorite team during the 8 year ZO era and I suffered heavy heartbreaks almost every year in the playoffs as they had one of the best records in the east for a 4-5 year period and were beaten by the Knicks in heartbreaking fashion (a couple of game 7 losses and one decisive game 5 loss). Man my heart used to hurt like someone had died. Those fans have been through heartbreak over the years and I thought the Heat would pull it out but key mistakes down the stretch killed them. It's alittle unfair to say they haven't endured any heartache. Ummm...I went to alot of Rockets games at the compaq center's last year (Yao's rookie season) and the crowd support here was pathetic then. I used to buy $10 seats and move down to sit in the 5th or 6th row of the lower bowl. To call out those fans is unfair b/c every city is full of bandwagon fans with the exception of maybe Portland and Sacremento who seem to support their teams regardless First off, Steve Smith was traded from Charlotte, he didn't quit...Shandon Anderson was a FA pickup I think...and ZO did quit on the Nets but I would have to if I were coming off a kidney transplant (why waste time on a team headed for the lotterty when you are risking your LIFE out there)...Without ZO the Heat wouldn't have swept the Nets and the Wizards. I KNOW Christian Latener and Doleac could NOT have filled in for Shaq during his foul troubles and injuries in the first two rounds. ZO had big games for them when he was called upon to start.
Yeah like all those celebs that magically appeared all of the sudden, glad the Heats carriage is in the shack for the summer.
