Can't believe Dallas is about to blow the huge lead they had... Light up the Cuban... and go Detroit!

[Edited on May 22, 2006 at 10:40 PM. Reason : sdf]

5/22/2006 10:39:52 PM

After giving myself a pat on the back for getting all of my picks right, the Round 3 predictions are like this:

Pistons in five. Heat have nothing left in the tank. It doesn't matter if Wade is 150%, 100% or 50%. Deja vu for Detroit as it cruises to a third consecutive Finals.

Mavericks in six. The Suns are all offense and no defense. Ironically, Dallas was the same way in 2003 but have wised up. The #4 Mavs having home court advantage will also scorch Phoenix (no pun intended).

5/23/2006 2:00:05 AM

aha i bet rallydurham is pissed right now

5/23/2006 2:03:27 AM

How do the Heat have nothing left in the tank when they've been resting longer than anyone in the league after a 5 game series???

They should lose because Detroit is simply the better team. However, I'm thinking the Heat make a series out of this. Maybe taking it to 7 games.

The Mavs could take out Phoenix fast. Although I'm glad Suns are playing them instead of the Spurs...who seem to own Phoenix. The Suns will have to play out of their minds to beat Dallas. I will only say it's possible because I'm a Steve Nash homer.

5/23/2006 7:08:28 AM

I'm normally a big fan of defense in any sport, including basketball. But I'll be disappointed if the Mavs-Suns don't combine for 300 points in at least one of their games. Sadly, I may just be clinging to memories of Dallas teams gone by than realistically looking at this series.

Great playoffs, even if I have watched all but one of the games in Sportscenter highlight form.

5/23/2006 9:58:45 AM

CHALUPAS FOR EVERYBODY

5/23/2006 10:02:37 AM

the Heat have nothing left in the tank? even after a week of rest? dude...what the fuck are you talking about

and I really hope Dallas makes it to the finals...they would be the best match-up against detroit/miami and plus, they are just fun to watch

dirk is the man.

5/23/2006 10:07:31 AM

fuck it

i'm cheering for the mavs now

gotta love jason terry comin back from suspension and torching the champs

5/23/2006 10:24:10 AM

And is anyone else mystified at why the Spurs didn't go to Tim Duncan for the final play in regulation?? And they took out Tony Parker?? I understand what they were trying to do...put the shooters in there (Barry and Horry) so the Mavs defenders had to stay with their man and not collapse on Ginobli. But Parker is just as good a driver as Ginobli....and fucking post up Tim Duncan who gave you 40+ that night have him take the game winning shot or kick it out to a wide open shooter.

Just my opinion...but I thought that was fucking dumb.

5/23/2006 11:08:20 AM

I AM PULLING FOR THE HEAT TO WIN IT ALL.

PANTHRO FOR SPORTS TALK MOD

[Edited on May 23, 2006 at 11:23 AM. Reason : asfg]

5/23/2006 11:22:20 AM

nah not pissed i sold after game 6 took a very small profit... like $9 The clips choked that series away in games 1 and 5. Dunleavy is a bad coach and that's that. Didnt have a good feeling about game 7 at all. Especially after the NBA conspired to let Steve Nash rest on TWO occasions when they should have been playing basketball.


Im pissed about Detroit... coulda sold for $2,000 at one point and sold for $1250 when they were down 3-2... didnt want to blow my whole summer...


Glad to see Dallas win i think they'll beat Phoenix relatively easy.

Miami/Detroit is going 7 games, with Det taking it.

5/23/2006 11:51:32 AM

how many pistons shots have rimmed out this game?


Jason Williams is goin off so far

5/23/2006 8:22:51 PM

Ummmm....Go Heat.

5/23/2006 10:23:31 PM

Pistons in 6

5/23/2006 10:27:20 PM

GG Heat. This was a pretty good showing with Wade in foul trouble the whole game and Shaq with a little foul trouble in the first half. When Wade and Shaq were out in the 2nd quarter and they held that 3-point lead....that was HUGE.

This is going to be a good series.

5/23/2006 10:45:34 PM

http://gorillamask.net/averynutshot.shtml

5/24/2006 12:41:33 PM

lets go suns

5/24/2006 9:20:33 PM

i know this has probobly been answered somewhere in the thread but i dont feel like looking for it- why does dallas as a 4 seed have home court advantage over the suns as a 2 seed?

5/24/2006 10:11:52 PM

because dirk is less ugly than nash

5/24/2006 10:57:08 PM

Quote :

"i know this has probobly been answered somewhere in the thread but i dont feel like looking for it- why does dallas as a 4 seed have home court advantage over the suns as a 2 seed?"

David Stern reformatted the playoffs so that the team with the best record has home court advantage in each series.

basically re-seeding after each round.

The Clippers were a 6 and had home court advantage over the Nuggets who were a three.

its a fucked up system.

5/24/2006 11:24:00 PM

they'll redo it next year they have to, there was way too much complaining about the stupid seeding system.


okay wow i came home with like 4 minutes left and saw what i expected, a relatively easy win for Dallas... what a meltdown, glad i caught it.

i still like dallas to win this series though.


For all the credit avery johnson has gotten, you gotta criticize him heavily for putting Jerry Stackhouse on Boris Diaw with 4 seconds left. That's just stupid... plenty of bigger players on the bench.

5/24/2006 11:29:04 PM

I knew the suns would win. Noone can out score them. I was about to be pissed when they stopped shooting 3's midway through the 4th. I thought it was over for em', til our MVP proved why he is MVP for the umteenth time.

5/24/2006 11:35:01 PM

whatever dude, he's a joke as MVP.

Good player, MVP joke


and dallas will still win the series probably

5/24/2006 11:56:50 PM

Quote :

"whatever dude, he's a joke as MVP."

That's YOUR opinion. But it's only an opinion, nothing more. Fact is, he is MVP for the second year. Fact is he did win that game for us tonight. So I don't argue opinion. Come see me when you get facts pimp.

5/24/2006 11:59:53 PM

Quote :

"Good player"

Oh please. You can definitely argue about MVP....but he's more than a good player now.

5/25/2006 12:22:57 AM

Now, I honestly don't see an argument about MVP. The guy is doing everything and then some. And he's winning. All those other MVP candidates are gone fishing. Well dirk...

But I guess people are hatin' because he's not some egotistical, ball hogging, cry baby. Those are the type that normaly win MVP ya know.

5/25/2006 12:29:58 AM

I love Nash too...I'm just saying that Kobe, Brand, Dirk, etc. also had pretty damn good seasons too. You could make really good arguments for each of those guys. So it pretty much comes down to bias. I'm biased towards Nash, so I'll say that he deserved MVP.

Rally's bias would lead him to say that Mike Vick deserves MVP.....

5/25/2006 12:33:27 AM

hahah ahahah damn...Mike Vick...

5/25/2006 12:34:18 AM

Mike Vick should win the Cy Young.

5/25/2006 12:34:59 AM

espn front page headline:

Diaw? Wow!




how clever

5/25/2006 12:57:58 AM

Road teams won both game 1s.

Both series might go 7 games.

Should be good to watch.

5/25/2006 1:00:16 AM

fucking entertaining game last night

the amount of cherry-picking never ceases to amaze me

5/25/2006 11:20:47 AM

you dont know shit about basketball if you think Nash should be the MVP.

If you cant impact a game on both sides of the court then you are not the MVP.


Look, I'm a great scorer too... but i cant stop anyone else from scoring so i dont get picked #1 at the gym.


Lebron and Kobe are clearly better players and they make their teammates better and in Kobe's case he's a good defensive player.

Nash sucks on defense. I don't mean its not his strong suit, i mean he sucks. Thats not opinion, thats fact.

Do some reading and find a true basketball mind that thinks Nash should be MVP. The only people who agree with you are the typical hype artists.

Steve Nash is the #1 beneficiary of the NBA legalizing the moving screen. His entire game is people setting illegal picks and then him penetrating past the opposing teams center. Do you know why he gets away with it? Because Phoenix doesn't play a center so he has guys like Diaw/Marion that he can dump the ball to in scoring situations. I'd like to see Nazr Mohammed or Kwame Brown scoring everytime off those plays.

And I know you're going to say "who cares who he's passing to?" Well by not playing a center, Phoenix gets dominated inside and on the glass the entire game. The mismatch they create offensively, directly causes mismatches defensively.

He's in a system that creates numbers. It's like playing Quarterback at Texas Tech. No one really thought those guys should win the Heisman, right?

If you think Nash is the MVP, you are wrong. That's all there is to it.

Best point guard in the league? Absolutely. But is he better than Jason Kidd or John Stockton in their prime? Not even close... and they never won MVP's.

He's white. If he wasn't white, he'd be considered a flashy point guard who doesn't play defense. But why on earth should anyone vote for a deserving candidate like Lebron or Kobe when there's a white guy in the mix?!?!!?

[Edited on May 25, 2006 at 12:05 PM. Reason : a]

5/25/2006 11:59:13 AM

Quote :

"Lebron and Kobe are clearly better players and they make their teammates better and in Kobe's case he's a good defensive player"

you're not trying to tell me that Kobe makes his teammates better than Nash makes his teammates

Please tell me you're not implying that bullshit

5/25/2006 12:01:25 PM

Quote :

"you dont know shit about basketball if you think Nash should be the MVP."

I tend to agree with you, but why has he won two straight MVP awards?

My vote for MVP was LeBron.

5/25/2006 12:07:55 PM

And about the Texas Tech QB comment. If TT wouldn't lose 5-6 games a year, their QB would get lots of attention for Heisman. If TT went 10-2, wouldn't he get the spotlight? His numbers would be insane and on a Top 10 team.

5/25/2006 12:09:06 PM

MVP = Most Valuable Player.

This does not mean you are the BEST player, but simply that you are most important in your teams success.

on a level playing field, this would mean Lebron, but if you look at the fact the Suns played the entire season WITHOUT arguable thier best player in Amare Stoudamire, and clinch a #2 seed in this years playoffs (despite the seedings not meaning as much this year), it really is amazing!

how can you make this statement after watching him drop 30 points and 15 assists last night?

He cant be guarded one on one, definitely makes his teammates better, and runs the point on a high powered and highly effective offense.

His MVP award this year makes much more sense than his last year, in my opinion.

Lebron = MOP (Most Outstanding Player)
Nash = MVP (Most Valuable Player)

[Edited on May 25, 2006 at 12:15 PM. Reason : asdf]

5/25/2006 12:14:51 PM

THey went 9-3 last year and were in the top 10 at one point.

He was never a serious candidate.


I am challenging you guys to look beyond the surface level of sports.

You guys are so hung up on stats and hype that I don't think you truly grasp the concepts of sports.

Hockey and soccer fans know that the leading scorer isn't always the best player. Sometimes its the defensemen who makes the big stops, sometimes its the midfielder who controls the ball...

Basketball fans see points, assists, blocks and that's it.

Even some coaches don't understand these things. Herb never understood that playing Evtimov against athletic teams was a bad idea. He had to score 20 every game just to make up for what we lost defensively with him out there...


Steve Nash is exciting, he's a great point guard, he's white, he's got bad hair/acne scars, and he's a hard worker.

He's a lot of things, but he's not an MVP.

There's a reason he was traded to Dallas, and then not re-signed by Dallas... he has serious defensive deficiencies.... Can you imagine a team not matching an offer for Kobe, Lebron, Duncan, or Elton Brand right now? Didn't think so...

5/25/2006 12:18:50 PM

Quote :

"you dont know shit about basketball if you think Nash should be the MVP."

I guess all of the "experts" that vote on it don't know shit about basketball.

I forgot people on message boards decided the MVP.

5/25/2006 12:22:50 PM

Quote :

"5. Steve Nash Kudos to him for increasing his scoring and seamlessly integrating seven new teammates into Phoenix's offense; in many ways, he was better than last season. He's the only current player whose unselfishness seems to transfer (almost by osmosis) to everyone else on his team. On the flip side, he's even worse defensively than last season; just in the past two months, I watched Shaun Livingston, Delonte West and Kidd completely outplay him in separate games, capped off by Billups simply CREMATING him in Detroit two Sundays ago. Would an MVP ever get decimated like that by someone who plays the same position? Please. Put it this way: Nash was a cute choice last season, mainly because none of the other candidates stood out, and I could see why someone would have been swayed. (It was like ordering one of those fancy foreign beers at a bar, the ones in the heavy green bottles with the 13-letter name that you can't pronounce, only someone else is drinking it, so you say to yourself, "Ah, screw it, I'm tired of the beer I always drink, lemme try one of those.") But this year? I'm not saying he should be ignored, but if you actually end up picking him, either you're not watching enough basketball or you just want to see a white guy win back-to-back MVP's."

Quote :

" 2. LeBron James Twenty-five months. That's how long it took before one of the Cleveland coaches (and there have been three since LeBron joined the team) made the astounding realization, "Hey, instead of sticking LeBron in the corner or the wing and having entire possessions where he never touches the ball, maybe we should run the offense through him!" In the words of Colonel James, "Oh, you think so, Doctor?" Really? You want to stick him at the top of the key and run the offense through your best playmaker, as well as someone who's completely unstoppable whenever he decides to drive to the basket? You think that might work? Now he's putting up 33-8-7 every night, which makes me wonder what would have happened had he handled the ball that much from Day 1. And it's not a very good Cavs team -- nobody plays defense, nobody rebounds, Ilguaskas doesn't fit in at all (terrible signing), even the alleged "shooters" (Damon Jones, Donyell Marshall, etc.) rarely make open shots. Replace LeBron with Mike Miller, throw in the Hughes injury and this was probably a 27-win team. Instead, they'll win 50. The intriguing subplot: LeBron is figuring out how to take over down the stretch, personified by what happened on Saturday in New Jersey (17 in the final quarter). At least once a game, he does something so explosive, so athletic, so incredible, you can't even believe it happened. The last time I remember feeling this way about a professional athlete was Bo Jackson, who wasn't just great ... he stood out. I attended a spring training game once when Bo scored from third base on a 180-foot pop fly -- standing up. It was awesome to watch. Well, LeBron reminds me of Bo. On those plays when he says, "Screw it, I'm scoring" and heads toward the basket like a runaway freight train. He's like a young Barkley crossed with a young Shawn Kemp crossed with young Magic, but with a little Bo thrown in. Out of anyone in the league, he's the only player who can cripple the other team with one monster play. There's a perfect example that Hollinger wrote about on Sunday, but screw it, I'm retelling the story. On Saturday afternoon, I TiVo'ed the Nets-Cavs game because the Nets had won 14 straight and officially reached "record all our games" territory. LeBron completely took over the game in the fourth, capped off by one of the most startling plays I have ever seen: Trailing in the final two minutes, LeBron seized some open space in transition and pulled the Runaway Freight Train move, careening toward the basket as one Net reached in and hacked him, followed by another Net on the other side reaching in and fouling him, and then a third guy just to make sure he wouldn't score. LeBron was cradling the ball, taking two giant steps toward the basket and absorbing those karate chops. BOOM-BOOM-BOOM. Any normal human being would have either lost the ball or lost their balance and tumbled to the ground. Well, LeBron kept going -- almost like a tight end bouncing off three safeties in the open field. As the last guy walloped him, LeBron jumped in the air (where did he get the strength?!?!?), regained control of the ball, hung in the air, hung in the air for another split-second, gathered the ball (at this point, he was drifting under the right side of the rim), and finally unleashed a righty layup that banked in. The shot was so BLEEPING INCREDIBLE, the referee practically jumped in delight as he called the continuation foul. The Nets were done after that. He ripped their hearts out, MJ-style. Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable. I couldn't believe it. I still can't believe it. And he's 21. Even more unbelievable. So why isn't LeBron James the 2006 MVP? Two reasons. First, he hasn't committed himself on the defensive end yet. It's not even an effort thing, I think he's just been poorly coached. Bird and Magic couldn't guard anyone either, but they were always great help defenders, and Bird actually controlled games on that end like a free safety (just watch Game 6 of the 1986 Finals, you'll see what I mean). Defensively, LeBron is a complete non-factor. More importantly, the next guy has just been a little bit better ... "

Quote :

" 1. Kobe Bryant You don't know how much this kills me. Actually, you probably do. But Mamba passes all three MVP questions ... Question No. 1: When remembering this season 10 years from now, which player will pop into your head first? Answer: Kobe. The dude scored 62 in three quarters against Dallas, then 81 against Toronto a few weeks later. He's about to become the fifth player in NBA history to average 35 points a game (along with Wilt, MJ, Elgin and Rick Barry). He made up with Shaq. He made up with Phil. He made up with Nike. He appeared on the cover of Slam Magazine with a Mamba snake wrapped around him. He did everything but make the obligatory cameo on "Will and Grace." No player took more abuse from writers, broadcasters and radio hosts this season, but Kobe seemed to feed off that negative energy. It was almost Bondsian. And just when it kept seeming like he might wear down, he'd toss up another 50 just to keep you on your toes. Kobe was relentless. That's the best way to describe him this season. Question No. 2: In the proverbial giant pickup game with every NBA player waiting to play, who would be the first player picked this season? Answer: Kobe. He's the best all-around player in the league, the best scorer, the best competitor, and the one guy who terrifies everyone else. Plus, if you DIDN'T pick him, he would make it his mission to haunt you on the other team. Question No. 3: If you replaced every MVP candidate with a decent player at their position for the entire season, what would be the effect on their teams' records? Answer: If you replaced Kobe with a decent 2-guard (someone like Jamal Crawford) for the entire 2005-06 Lakers season, they would have won between 15 and 20 games. I can say that in complete confidence. Terrible team. When Smush Parker and Kwame Brown are your third- and fourth-best players, you shouldn't even be allowed to watch the playoffs on TV. Throw Kobe in the mix and they're headed for 45 wins. So he's been worth 25 victories for them. Minimum. In a weird way, Kobe ended up getting what he always wanted: The Lakers completely revolve around him. He gets to shoot 25-30 times per game. He gets to take every big shot at crunch-time. He gets all the credit. Nobody else on the team dares to challenge him. And even better, because he lucked out with the only possible coach who could make this cockamamie situation work, his supporting cast kills itself to make him look good. Basically, he's Elvis and everyone else is Joe Esposito. And it's working! That's the crazy thing. Now they're a sleeper in the West -- seriously, do you think Phoenix wants any part of them in Round 1? -- and have the only player in the league who can win a playoff series by himself. He's the Black Mamba, he's Kobe Bryant, he's the 2006 MVP, and since we finally have that settled, I will now light myself on fire."

Note: after Kobe pulled that stunt in the playoffs, he retracted and said he wished he had voted for Lebron instead....

I'm willing to listen to both Kobe & Lebron arguments, but Nash is out of the question.

If you can come with better info than that above, I'd love to see it.

5/25/2006 12:24:31 PM

^are Kobe and Lebron's teams still playing?

There is a question for you.

And don't say shit about Nash's support because he is missing Amare their best player.

5/25/2006 12:28:14 PM

Quote :

"Nash sucks on defense. I don't mean its not his strong suit, i mean he sucks. Thats not opinion, thats fact"

He does what he can for a person thats 6'3.

Quote :

"If you think Nash is the MVP, you are wrong. That's all there is to it"

ummmm, he IS the MVP...for the second straight year....Im RIGHT

Quote :

"Look, I'm a great scorer too... but i cant stop anyone else from scoring so i dont get picked #1 at the gym."

I love how you bring yourself into this, like we know who you are? Like carmichael gym talent (i assume thats who you're talking about) is note worthy and deserves to be brought up. I could see if you were talking about Rucker Park or King Dome...

Quote :

"He's in a system that creates numbers. It's like playing Quarterback at Texas Tech. No one really thought those guys should win the Heisman, right?"

So kobe isn't huh? Phil telling him to take 40-50 freakin shots a game. Kobe is in a system where he can do what ever he pleases, so that favors him that much more.

Fact is, those guys don't make their team better than Nash does. He is playin with 3 and 4 normaly bench men, and puttin them in double figures. An your only argument is this system crap?!?! Kobe and Lebron couldn't do that with their starters as much as he did with his benchers! Fact


THIS ENTIRE ARGUMENT ABOUT THE MVP IS POINTLESS!!! NASH WON(2X), QUIT CRYIN AN BITCHIN. SO OBVIOUSLY THE "HIGHER UPS" HAD TO MAKE AN AGREEMENT, I , AND OTHERS, OBVIOUSLY ARN'T THE ONLY ONES WHO AGREE ON THIS.

YOUR ARGUMENT IS FRIVOLOUS AND A WASTE OF TIME

[Edited on May 25, 2006 at 12:41 PM. Reason : .]

5/25/2006 12:30:52 PM

kobe and lebrons teams are no longer in the playoffs

guess whos team still is?

steve nash..the mvp

5/25/2006 12:43:34 PM

Quote :

"He's a lot of things, but he's not an MVP. "

Lol ...doh!

5/25/2006 1:01:27 PM

Look fellas, you know Im right but for some reason you enjoy arguing with me.

Im too old for this stuff, later.

5/25/2006 2:06:03 PM

Quote :

"I'm willing to listen to both Kobe & Lebron arguments, but Nash is out of the question. If you can come with better info than that above, I'd love to see it. "

[/argument over]

5/25/2006 2:09:22 PM

Rally, you've got nothing...face it. Is your pride THAT high?

5/25/2006 2:09:32 PM

seriously.

I love how rally thinks he is the endall of sports talk arguments, but yet alwasy seems to be on the losing end of the battle.

5/25/2006 2:15:55 PM

you have to hand it to him though

through either removing a rib

or intense workouts

he has managed to gain the ability to suck himself off

at least the effort is there.

5/25/2006 2:51:37 PM

DIRK should have go it.

5/25/2006 3:05:54 PM