fuck off Spurs.

[Drederick Tatum]

so is anyone else following the NBA playoffs?

this has been the best playoffs for years. in fact the NBA is awesome this year.

winner of the East wins the whole thing and I'll go a little bit out on a limb and say Miami to win it all.

[Gareth]

yeh three game 7s in the conference semi finals, four of the best five teams in the league still in contention, and wade, dirk, chauncey, marion, shaq and nash, so some of the leagues best are going deep into the playoffs
i think the mavs will take out the suns
eastern conference...i'm not so sure

[TurdBerglar]

imagine if the suns had admare and kurt thomas

[Drederick Tatum]

well thats one of the reasons that they're not going to win it. all of these teams will punish them on the inside and the defences are good enough to dictate the tempo of the games.

[milleson]

GO DALLAS!!

I feel bad for Michael Finley, though. Man helped bring the Mavs into contention, only to get smacked down by them in the second round.

Suns/Mavs should be a good series.

[jabumbo]

i think the only time i watch pro basketball is the playoffs...


definetly been some good games though

[ToucanSpam]

Suns whip Pistons in 7 for the Championship.

[DIGI]

Suns whip Pistons in 7 for the Championship.


And you can take that to the bank, people. His sports prognostics are always on point.


Phhhffffffffftttttt.


Dallas over Miami in 6.

[YoungRemy]

Fuck the Mavpricks...

Miami wins the title handily...

[jabumbo]

shaq will injure his thyroid and won't be able to play in the finals

[Yeti]

My Heat License plate is displayed proudly here in North Texas.

[TurdBerglar]

who ever thought the cavs would of pushed the pistons that far?


if it weren't for some young mistakes lebron made they would of won

[g-mile7]

Imagine if they had bit the bullet I brought Artest over :eek: but heat and Mavs....but it's the Mavs to lose now.

[p-branez]

detroit is going to lose. it's not a good start after they lost game 1 at home.

they barely held on against cleveland, and they only had one star. Now they're playing wade and shaq. their bench isn't nearly as deep and the starters are tired.

sheed but up like 8 points in game 1. those are ben wallace numbers, and he usually goes about 1-8 from the free throw line.

[Drederick Tatum]

wow, Suns beat Dallas in another great game. these rule changes have made the NBA pretty sweet nowadays. loads of scoring, no grinding games 67-65, foreign players are going wild.

[YoungRemy]

God I hope the Heat win...

I hate Mark Cuban and I am starting to appreciate Pat Riley

[Drederick Tatum]

the Heat are going to take this out, but not after a huge fight. who's going to guard Nowitzki? but then who's going to try and guard Wade?

[YoungRemy]

who is going to guard Shaq is what I'd like to know...

even though I am biased against Dallas, I do enjoy this storyline...

both teams in their first ever Finals...

two expansion teams from the 80's finally get to the promised land...

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

[Tompz]

Did you see that vince carter dunk over the french dude in the olympics? I'd never seen it before.

Fuckin unbelievable. Right over him. Geez..


http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Urst_pRuWg&search=carter%20france (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Urst_pRuWg&search=carter%20france)

[YoungRemy]

great clip, but it's six years old! and the US Olympic team was an embarrasment in 2004...

playoffs, man, playoffs!

[Drederick Tatum]

one of the first things I did when I got broadband internet was download that dunk.

Dampier will attempt to guard Shaq, but since the Defensive Player of the Year couldn't contain him, well....

I think they'll have to try Hack-A-Shaq. the numbers work out. something like 41% from the freethrow line compared with around 60% if they let him shoot. so Dampier, Diop, Nowitzki and whoever else is big on the Mavs will be giving up some fouls.

[GetYourWarOn]

so is anyone else following the NBA playoffs?

this has been the best playoffs for years. in fact the NBA is awesome this year.

winner of the East wins the whole thing and I'll go a little bit out on a limb and say Miami to win it all.


word. although it looks like the mavericks are gonna smoke the heat imo.

[GetYourWarOn]

one of the first things I did when I got broadband internet was download that dunk.

Dampier will attempt to guard Shaq, but since the Defensive Player of the Year couldn't contain him, well....

I think they'll have to try Hack-A-Shaq. the numbers work out. something like 41% from the freethrow line compared with around 60% if they let him shoot. so Dampier, Diop, Nowitzki and whoever else is big on the Mavs will be giving up some fouls.


"big" ben was giving up way too much size to handle shaq. so once oneal decided to go to work in the post, there was no way a 6'9'' 240 PF was gonna stop him. dampier/diop will still have their hands full, but i don't think the heat will be able to exploit that matchup the way they did against the pistons.

[marsdaddy]

although it looks like the mavericks are gonna smoke the heat imo.Based on what? Wade and Nowitzi cancel each other out -- players with unbelievable skills that can SCORE at will. Who do the Mavs have to cancel Shaq? If he REALLY WANTS 30, who will stop him?

[TurdBerglar]

the officials

[Drederick Tatum]

nah, Dampier is big enough so that Shaq's elbows are going to hit him in the throat instead of the face. play on.

[TurdBerglar]

remember when dampier said he was the second best center in the league?


hahahaha

[GetYourWarOn]

Based on what? Wade and Nowitzi cancel each other out -- players with unbelievable skills that can SCORE at will. Who do the Mavs have to cancel Shaq? If he REALLY WANTS 30, who will stop him?


you're right about wade...he'll get his points and the mavs will just have to deal with that. and while shaq has looked dominant in spurts, he's just not that "go to guy" anymore. check his numbers for the playoffs, they're identical to what he did during the reg season(20points/10boards/60% FG). very nice numbers, but hardly dominant.

for the mavs, theres obviously dirk, but i also like the matchup problems that jason terry presents. i don't see either payton or williams being able to stay with him. josh howard and stackhouse have also been productive, and both are legit scoring options. not to mention the mavs also play outstanding team defense.


***MAVS IN 6***

[Drederick Tatum]

remember when dampier said he was the second best center in the league?

well if salaries are anything to go by, he's up there. $9 million this year to set screens.

[GetYourWarOn]

well if salaries are anything to go by, he's up there. $9 million this year to set screens.


hahaha. he's probably a good spotter in the weight room,so there's that too.

[Drederick Tatum]

and while shaq has looked dominant in spurts, he's just not that "go to guy" anymore. check his numbers for the playoffs, they're identical to what he did during the reg season(20points/10boards/60% FG). very nice numbers, but hardly dominant.


while I would agree that for the first couple of rounds of the playoffs he was only dominating in spurts, he totally ruled it against the Pistons. 22pts/10.5rbnds(3.8offensive per game!)/2blks and 65% in 'only' 34 minutes per game. he's a go-to-guy for sure. how can he not be when he hits 60%? the main thing with Shaq is how interested and motivated he is. and from the look of the Detroit series he wants to win.

[SobaViolence]

My Heat License plate is displayed proudly here in North Texas.

North Texas? More like South Oklahoma.

[Drederick Tatum]

Keith Van Horn made nearly $16 million this year. won't someone think of the children?!...or Josh Howard who made less than $900, 000

[TurdBerglar]

what happened to van horn?


wasn't he a 20 and 8 guy when he was on the nets? and a three point threat? he's not even that old

[Justin]

Keith Van Horn made nearly $16 million this year. won't someone think of the children?!...or Josh Howard who made less than $900, 000

damn. The whole Florda Marlin baseball franchise only has a payroll of 19M. I wouldnt pay van horn that much money

[Yeti]

North Texas? More like South Oklahoma.

What about Eastern New Mexico?

[jabumbo]

shaq is going to crush his knees this series

[Gareth]

the heat's ''drive the lane-lob to shaq for dunk" offence rules, like erick dampier in a contract year.
i guess the heat will have to use fuckin james posey and big face antoine walker on dirk.
as for KVH, his career average is 16 and 7, and in the last 3 years his production has been way down, but he's only played about 100 games in those 3 seasons.

[marsdaddy]

Van Horn is Austin Croshere.

I still like the Heat in the series, but then again, I liked the Suns.

[Yeti]

the heat's ''drive the lane-lob to shaq for dunk" offence rules, like erick dampier in a contract year.

Can you elaborate? I am guessing that you are saying it is a bad offense since Dampier has no real value. I have been watching the Heat evolve over the last 3 years and believe there is more to their offense than lobs to Shaq.

[TurdBerglar]

especial when jason williams goes ten for elleven or whatever the fuck he did when they eliminated the pistons

[Drederick Tatum]

Shaq needs to start making some assists. he had a total of 2 in the last series. set up that triangle, wait for the double team and then kick it out. the Heat have got some decent shooters out there.

[Yeti]

Shaq is great at kicking it out to the shooters. I must be watching a different Heat team than some of you....or maybe I am too much of a fan.

[Yeti]

I do know that the Heat have had a very difficult time with the Mavericks since Shaq's arrival in Miami. I don't know if they have beaten them and at the most they have 1 win out of about 5 games versus the Mavs. Dallas scores 100 a game on a regular basis and the Heat really have to be hitting on all cylinders to break the century mark. I am sure they are planning on playing extremely tight D and dumping it in to Shaq. He will muscle to the basket or hit the open shooter. D Wade will get his points but Posey-Williams-Walker-Haslem-Payton all need to bring their A game or it will be a very difficult or quick series.

[Gareth]

Can you elaborate? I am guessing that you are saying it is a bad offense since Dampier has no real value. I have been watching the Heat evolve over the last 3 years and believe there is more to their offense than lobs to Shaq.

what i meant was...
when guys like wade and walker drive down the lane and lob the ball up for shaq, it's very effective cos the defence comes out to meet wade/walker which leaves shaq open for the flush.
erick dampier's game in 2003-04 [his contract year], was very effective as well.
he played for golden state and averaged 12/12 and shot .535.
his value rose considerably during that year which allowed him to pick up a fat contract and allowed him to revert to pre-contract year dampier.

Let’s do Erick Dampier. In his contract year at Golden State, he essentially doubles his rebounds and increases his scoring by 50 percent. Then, after he signs with Dallas, he goes back to the player he was before. What can we conclude from this? The obvious answer is that effort plays a much larger role in athletic performance than we care to admit. When he tries, Dampier is one of the top centers in the league. When he doesn’t try, he’s mediocre. So a big part of talent is effort. The second obvious answer is that performance (at least in centers) is incredibly variable. The same person can be a mediocre center one year and a top 10 center the next just based on how motivated he is. So is Dampier a top 10 player or a mediocre player? There is no way to answer that. It depends. He’s not inherently good or bad. He’s both.

[Gareth]

Van Horn is Austin Croshere.

kvh >>>> austin croshere

so anyway, i'm actually quite excited about this series.

[Drederick Tatum]

Shaq is great at kicking it out to the shooters. I must be watching a different Heat team than some of you....or maybe I am too much of a fan.

check it. (http://www.nba.com/statistics/player/Assists.jsp?league=00&season=42005&conf=east&position=1&splitType=443&splitScope=GAME&qualified=N&yearsExp=-1&splitDD=Conference%20Finals)

[Yeti]

He was too busy flushing it to get it back out. He has always been very good at getting the ball back out. I did not doubt the stat. I was just referencing what he has done all season. I can't wait because it will be a very fun series with 2 teams going for their 1st trophy.

[marsdaddy]

kvh >>>> austin croshereAre you talking wardrobe? They both warm the bench quite nicely.

so anyway, i'm actually quite excited about this series.How jealous I am that you haven't been choking on "playoff" basketball the past 2 months! Didn't the playoffs start in April?

[TurdBerglar]

who the fuck is the jackass that does the flag dance before the player intros for the heat?

[Yeti]

I have always wondered the same thing. He does it before every Heat home game and during timeouts. I also wonder about the choices for the national anthem. Remember when they pulled in the big guns for the national anthem?
I am actually old enough to remember Marvin Gaye's version and Whitney.
Is there a singer out there that could bring it home like Marvin?

[TurdBerglar]

yeah

who were these shmucks in the zoot suits?

[TurdBerglar]

shaq really needs to stop trying to draw charges

[Yeti]

D Wade is on fire early. I like it.

[TurdBerglar]

THAT LAST BLOCK BY MOURNING!!!

[TurdBerglar]

DAAAAAAVIIIIIIIIIIID HAAAAASOOOOOLHOOOOOOOOOF


hahahahaha!

[Yeti]

3rd quarter is going to be BIG. The Heat tend to dog it in the 3rd and it is where Dallas thrives. I want D Wade to hit 50 tonight so I hope he stays hot.

[TurdBerglar]

they always describe wade as a larger iverson. who is better wade or iverson?

iverson has much more heart, determination and skill. but is limited by his size. imagine if iverson was the size of wade and could go to rim just as well as wade. but wade seems to be a better team player. a much better team player.

[Yeti]

Stackhouse may just get Shaqdaddy angry.

I believe Wade is a better all around player than Iverson. He is only in his 3rd year and I have watched him play many regular season games. I would take him over Iverson because of attitude, defense, rebounding and his ability to cut to the basket. I am an Iverson fan and love to watch him play but Flash is my man.

[Yeti]

WHITE OUT