Do Heat fans really expect Jason Williams and Antoine Walker to win you a championship? That is not a bet I would take. Look at the Laker's championships with Shaq and Kobe, and take away Big Shot Bob, who had won 2 championships with Houston...and they wouldn't have gotten all the rings they got. Michael had role players step up in Chicago and hit the big shots. Though there is no doubt that in general you need superstars to win a championship, it has been shown time and time again that without role players stepping up...it ain't gonna happen. When the Lakers were swept by Detroit in the final days of Shaq and Kobe, the role players were no longer there who won them the previous three. Wade is Flash for sure, but he is also a turnover machine, Miami has to protect the ball and feed the Daddy. Why the hell Antoine Walker is bombing threes when he can pass to Shaq is beyond me. I'm sticking with Dallas....
Is senility setting in Z? Detroit's sweep of L.A. was in 1989 and it was Jabbar's final season. BTW: How many blacks since Alcinder have graduated from UCLA?
I agree with much of this. It made absolutely no sense that Antoine Walker took almost twice as many shots more than Shaq in Game 1. However, Miami has shown that they are resilient in the playoffs thus far, and only one game has passed. If they can limit their turnovers, feed Shaq the ball, have other players get to the foul line besides Shaq and Wade, and the supporting players hit some shots, they can win this series. That's a lot of "ifs," though, and the Heat also have to contend with Dirk, who in these playoffs has bounced back from subpar games with stellar ones. If Miami loses Game 2, they're toast IMO.
Dirk was not a factor in game one because Shaq elbowed him in the head and probably gave him a concussion. He also sent a message to Stackhouse:" I own the paint." In my opinion the mav's were lucky to win game one. How many times will Wade miss all those foul shots? Heat were dreadful from three land also. That said, the Mav's defense clearly had the Heat on their heels late in the game. While it's odd to use the words "defense" and "Mavs" in the same sentence, this will be the key going forward. For the Heat, they also have to be concenred that they basically took Dirk out of the game, yet still lost. Bottom line, look for heat to steal game two. If they don't, series over.
Pistons beat Lakers to win NBA title Detroit Pistons take NBA title -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Detroit Pistons, who rely on teamwork over glitz and glamor, made history on Tuesday night as they crushed the heavily-favored Los Angeles Lakers 100-87 at home to claim their first NBA championship since 1990. The Detroit victory earned their Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown the first NBA title in his 21-year career while denying his LA counterpart Phil Jackson a record 10th championship ring. Showing attacking flair to go along with their trademark gritty defense, the descendants of the Bad Boys completed a stunning upset and ended one of the great dynasties in league history with the Game Five victory, sweeping the three middle games of the best-of-seven series, something never before accomplished since the NBA introduced the two-three-two finals format in 1985. Ben Wallace notched 18 points and 22 rebounds to help Detroit become the first Eastern Conference team to win the title since the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls in 1998, while five Pistons have points in double figures with 14 points from finals MVP Chauncey Billups, 21 from Richard Hamilton, 17 from Tayshaun Prince and 11 from Rasheed Wallace. Kobe Bryant scored 24 points to lead the Lakers, and O'Neal added 20 points and eight rebounds for a team that was built to win a championship with the addition of Karl Malone and Gary Payton this season. Derek Fisher and Slava Medvedenko were the only other Lakers in double figures, each scoring 10 points. Malone was replaced in the starting lineup by Medvedenko, who helped the Lakers to an early 14-7 lead behind 7-for-11 shooting. But after weathering the short-lived challenge, the Pistons stamped their authority on the contest in the second quarter to surge ahead 55-45. The Lakers would never again get closer than nine points and at one stage trailed by as much as 28, while the Pistons stepped on the accelerator to power to an 82-59 third-quarter lead. Source: Xinhua
Game 2 Miami is toast. Shaq: Horrible, only had 5 shots, 1 of 7 from the foul line. Wade: 6 of 19 from the field, can't penetrate Dallas' D like he did to the Nets and Pistons. Supporting cast: Walker actually shot 50%, everyone else sucked, except Zo, who was in for garbage time and doesn't intimidate like he used to. Payton: Horrible, but what's new? J Will: 3 of 10, can't guard Harris or Terry. Haslem: decent D, no offense, his man Dirk gets 26 points & 16 rebounds. Posey: Horrible. Miami now has to win 4 out of 5 against a team that has beaten them 12 times out of the last 14. You would think the Heat should at least be able to win once in Miami, but, given what they've shown so far, this could even be a sweep for the Mavs. The Heat will have to retool again next year if they're going to win a championship, and you have to wonder how much Shaq's abilities are going to drop off. Lo siento, Cubano, pero tu equipo ya no puede ganar este ano. Mejor suerte en 2007.
Two teams have come back from down 2-0 in a finals. The 1969 Celtics, and the Portland Trailblazers in 1977.