2006-07 NBA Season(Finals - A Four Game Sweep)

[Blackbird.]

Don't understand they... uh just couldn't just drive into the basket but I guess they refused to.

 

[JCE]

Now you know how I feel about that last game between the Warriors and Mavs...it's almost like they "forgot" how to drive to the basket.

 

[a6m5]

That is frustrating. I'm sure JCE know my philosophy on this by now. You take it to them, even if you get called for a couple of offensive fouls.

Search this topic, I believe I posted about Utah in it early. And I'm not blaming the Mavs loss only on the Warriors' lucky shooting, I still maintain Avery and the players didn't have the same focus the last month of the regular season and the 1st round of the playoffs.

No, I do believe you. And on the subject of the "focus", one could argue they "overfocused". If they just played their ball(easier said than done, most likely), they wouldn't have done any worse.

 

[JCE]

Or that they forgot about the first 3 rounds of the playoffs and focused on the Finals again...which I sort-of believe.

 

[a6m5]

Or that they forgot about the first 3 rounds of the playoffs and focused on the Finals again...which I sort-of believe.

Entirely possible.

 

[JCE]

Anyway Go Jazz! Jazz to win the Finals!

Offtopic: My first post about the Jazz on Jan 5th 2007: https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showpost.php?p=2532936&postcount=101

*edit*
Err that was about the 6 game road trip. I need to find the other post again.

*edit 2*
Here it is, although it looks like it was made during the All-Star Break. https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showpost.php?p=2584783&postcount=268

 

[Max Powers]

How about that bodycheck by Horry, last night? I like Big Shot Bob, but he should have known better. It's not like I was out on the floor, so I don't know if Nash wronged him somehow(Nash is a sneaky bastard, which I can respect! :tup: ). Either way, it was foolish. I guess the Canadians and the NHL fans don't mind the action though, eh?

Go Jazz!(I'm seeing if I can jinx them, too)

Edit:
I just read that Horry got suspended for two games, while Suns will lose Diaw and Stoudemire for a game a piece. Ouch! Spurs gotta take the Game 5 in this situation, they have to make Suns pay with that kind of frontcourt advantage.

I don't know if I agree with the suspensions though. Suns players knew that they were supposed to stay put on the bench in the case of fight, that's true, but the end result favors the instigator 100%. That just might've been the biggest "shot" Horry hit in the entire Playoffs!

Yeah, it's a shame that a bench player can make a dirty play and get one of the best centers in the league suspended for it. Again, I really don't care about the NBA too much, but this was just a plain dirty play by Horry and there is no way that Amare and Diaw should be suspended for this, especially when Tim Duncan got away with doing almost the exact same thing earlier in the series. If the Suns lose because of a stupid suspension like this, I will lose what little respect I still have for the NBA as a legitimate sports league. (Can't wait for college hoops to come back, though.)

 

[JCE]

Horry did what he did, which was a intentional foul, he did not however purposely want to put him on the scorer's table--you can thank Steve Nash for winning the academy award for best flop of the 2007 Playoffs. And the rule CLEARLY states that any--again--ANY player that leaves the bench area during an altercation gets an--are you ready--AUTOMATIC suspension. Human nature aside, common sense and self control would dictate them to understand this. Did you see a WORSE foul committed by Steven Jackson for the Warriors, the Utah players stayed right where they were standing--THEY had the self control that the Suns apparently lack. I may disagree with some of the officiating and tactics by some players--but it is the SUNS own FAULT if/when they lose this series because of the suspensions. Nash hesitated after the foul because at first his instinct was that it wasn't a big deal--intentional foul--but then his players reacted like children and then he decided to escalate it to probably get some more drama and intensity to the series.

And I'm surprised that the cheapest player in the NBA Raja Bell wasn't suspended for CLEARLY going after Horry--he needed a suspension as well.

 

[a6m5]

Bell went after Horry, eh? Then I'd agree, he should've been punished, even possibly a suspension.

And you are right about leaving the bench, rules are rules. Personally, I don't agree with the final result of these suspension, but you can't really argue it. We all know exactly why that stupid rule was put in place. Because we all become stupid in those situations and a hard foul somehow leads to a big brawl.

 

[McLaren]

Stoude. should NOT have been suspended. He was going to the table to check something like his coach asked him too.

He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Duncan, though, should have been. There's clear footage of him taking several steps onto the court during that altercation.

 

[a6m5]

Stoude. should NOT have been suspended. He was going to the table to check something like his coach asked him too.

He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Duncan, though, should have been. There's clear footage of him taking several steps onto the court during that altercation.

I've heard that, also. Though on Stoudemire, League's explanation(I think it was Stu Jackson) was that way he rushed toward the direction, it was not to check into the game. Pretty much calling Suns liars. I didn't see it, but I can see the Suns trying to get creative to keep one of their best players in the next game.

 

[JCE]

a6m5 hit the nail on the head. Whether or not he was already standing at the scorer's table is irrelevant, the fact is he charged in the general direction of the altercation and thus left the bench area.

 

[a6m5]

Suns almost pulled it off! I just can not believe how deep that team is. I glanced over the Suns lineup for tonight, and they still have one of the best lineups in the league, after missing couple of their best players. What the hell.

Talk about timely baskets though. Ginobili warmed up just in time, Duncan held it together on the defensive end.

Homecourt advantage has shifted back to the Spurs, but they have to put the Suns away in the next game. Spurs don't want to play the full-strength Suns in Game 7 at Phoenix.

 

[McLaren]

Well, Stoude and Boris will be back, so they might be able to take San Antonio's home court advantage away.

 

[a6m5]

Well, Stoude and Boris will be back, so they might be able to take San Antonio's home court advantage away.

You bet. Telling by the pattern in this series so far, there's a 50/50 chance that Phoenix will win the Game 6 in San Antonio. But of course, if we start playing odds, it's ultimately against Phoenix, because neither teams have lost back-to-back yet.

 

[Joey D]

About time Detroit pulled their act together and actually won. I have to give the Bulls credit for making a come back though.

 

[a6m5]

Ginobili's back! He used to be my favorite (active)player in the league, and he really came alive in this series. He's been the man in couple of the key 4th quarters.

I was looking up the season series results between the Jazz and the Spurs this season, and ended up running into this.

My favorite part of the article was this:

STYLE OF PLAY: San Antonio is like Utah's first round opponent, Houston, with its halfcourt offense and defensive-minded style — only the Spurs are better than the Rockets.

Phoenix is like Utah's second-round opponent, Golden State, with its run-and-gun style on offense and pressure defense that can force plenty of turnovers — only the Suns are better than the Warriors.

The Jazz needed only five games to beat the Warriors while they needed seven to down the Rockets. For that reason, it appears the run-and-gun style opponent is better for them.

Better for the Jazz based on style of play: Phoenix.

How the Jazz fared


vs. Spurs

Record against 2-2
At home 2-0
On road 0-2
Points scored 89.0
Points allowed 94.8
Margin of victory 4.5
Margin of defeat 16.0

While Utah did look good against Golden State, good point on bringing up the first round series against the Houston Rockets. 👍 Great article.
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What do you guys think about the Cleveland - Detroit series? The Cavs are the underdog obviously, but I was told that the Cavs did take the Pistons to Game 7 in last year's playoffs, so unlike the Bulls that just got horribly mismatched, that shouldn't be an issue for the Cavs, you'd think. Either way, this has been a very fun Playoffs for me so far. It's rare.

 

[NocturnalPS]

GO SPURS! its time for the final 4 in the NBA.

 

[Joey D]

I say the Pistons beat the Cavs in no less then 6 games. The Cavs are a good team, I have no doubt about that.

 

[McLaren]

Damn, the Spurs won. Well, now this is going to be a slightly boring Western Finals.

Maybe the East will be better with LeBron against Williams.

 

[a6m5]

Yay, Spurs! 👍👍👍 And how about them Cavs? Considering their roster, they've done a good job.

And Kobe Bryant........ Don't get me wrong, I love his game...... I'm just getting so sick of his B.S. though. I wanna be traded, not, trade me, nevermind. What is the malfunction with this guy?

 

[McLaren]

I'd really prefer Cleveland to go through, but of the remaining 3, I'm rooting for the Spurs.

 

[a6m5]

I'd really prefer Cleveland to go through, but of the remaining 3, I'm rooting for the Spurs.

Man, I'd LOVE to see the Cavs-Spurs Finals.

1) It would be really cool to see LeBron James against the Spurs.

2) Spurs might sweep them.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about the Pistons. Their roster is loaded, they are experienced, and last but not least, they rise to the challenge(i.e. usually lazy).

 

[Giancarlo]

Haha wow not another Spurs-Pistons Finals series...

 

[Joey D]

Wow that was lame, the Pistons played like crap.

 

[a6m5]

Wow that was lame, the Pistons played like crap.

I heard from people that the Piston's defense in Game 5 was horrid, with LeBron getting to the rims little too easily. One of my coworkers told me that it looked like the Pistons were playing zone defense.......... is that true?! I guess even if they weren't playing zone, if it looked like they were, that's exactly how the defense got picked apart by one player.

I'm shocked. I'm glad to see the Cavs advance, as I don't like the Pistons. But how in the hell did the veteran team like the Pistons let this happen? Joey, your team's off season should be interesting, eh? I hope they keep Chauncey, he's the man.

P.S. Thanks again ABC for not televising a CONFERENCE FINALS GAME. Idiots. They spend like trillion dollars to outbid NBC for the rights to broadcast NBA games, and they show exactly jack XXXX. I just saw the "NBA Finals on ABC(in HD!)" commercial and I wanted to swear at my TV. About effing time and thanks for nothing you....... I'll stop here. Can you tell that I'm having a bad day?

 

[McLaren]

Spurs in Game 5....LeBron will put on a show, no doubt, but I just see the Spurs going for another championship.

 

[a6m5]

He's probably going to have to score from the free throw line. I can totally see the Spurs defense clamping down on LeBron. He can shoot over Bowen, but isn't LeBron kind of a streaky jump shooter? Or would they put Ginobili on him?

I'm just dying to see how the Spurs defense play the Cavs. Pop's genius.

 

[Joey D]

Yes their defense was awful.

 

[NocturnalPS]

He's probably going to have to score from the free throw line. I can totally see the Spurs defense clamping down on LeBron. He can shoot over Bowen, but isn't LeBron kind of a streaky jump shooter? Or would they put Ginobili on him?

I'm just dying to see how the Spurs defense play the Cavs. Pop's genius.

They have been saying that responsibility will be on Bowen but he is going to have help from everyone else. Parker said "ill take a hit from LeBron if it gets me another ring" meaning he'll take a charge on a guy about twice his size.