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

[Klostrophobic]

No, I said they would get stuck with him because they'd get hosed in the draft like in the Duncan draft. And no, the Celts aren't loaded at forward; Horford would be an upgrade at PF at least defensively. The Celts really need a defensive presence on the block to complement Jefferson.

Lakers 11, Celtics 98.

/me does the Greg Oden shuffle.

 

[Giancarlo]

No, I said they would get stuck with him because they'd get hosed in the draft like in the Duncan draft.

Well it looks like Memphis will probably get him, because they have a really bad record. But who knows.

 

[Giancarlo]

Hey by the way how is Ryan Gomes doing on the Celtics? I have him in my Raptors association in NBA 2k7 and he's pretty good. Can post up and shoot pretty well.

 

[Klostrophobic]

He's pretty god damn good. Very good rebounder, good spot up shooter from the corner, very heady player. Poor defender, though. He's just one of those players who has a knack for getting to balls; he's always in the right place.

Boston and Memphis both have 12 wins and Memphis is only losing by four points to the Mavericks right now.

 

[McLaren]

He's pretty god damn good. Very good rebounder, good spot up shooter from the corner, very heady player. Poor defender, though. He's just one of those players who has a knack for getting to balls; he's always in the right place.

Boston and Memphis both have 12 wins and Memphis is only losing by four points to the Mavericks right now.

They played us hard tonight, but we came back with just barely a win.

 

[a6m5]

There was a center from Florida I believe that the Blazers wanted to draft last year. He had dreadlocks, was projected to go #1 last year, he declined to enter the draft. This year's lottery might be pretty deep.

 

[Klostrophobic]

Joakim Noah, the ugliest person in sports. And those aren't dreadlocks, that's just brillo pad. He's probably a top-5 pick. And yeah, this is a very deep draft. Oden and Durant are two MVP-type players, Brandon Wright, Joakim Noah, Julian Wright are all All-Stars in the making. The top 10 draft prospects are all PF or C, which is truly remarkable. Teams looking for guards are not going to find much, though.

 

[a6m5]

That's him. I'm kind of glad now that he didn't enter the '06 draft though. Very happy with the Blazers draft choices of LaMarcus Aldridge, Brandon Roy and Sergio Rodriguez. For once, I was pretty impressed with what they did on the draft day.

 

[mouser]

Wow, the Celtics are on a roll, aren't they? They have the worst record in the league after dropping 13 straight, and two of their best players, Paul Pierce and Tony Allen aren't active. I smell a championship. 👍

 

[Klostrophobic]

Dude. Yes. 2008 is going to be special.

 

[a6m5]

I went to another overtime Blazers game. Suns were missing their best player, Steve Nash, but they still won. 109-102(I think), but it was a lot closer than the score suggest. Travis Outlaw(Blazers SF) had the chance to win it in regulation, he blew the layup/dunk. We almost contributed an effort to JCE and McLaren.

I did win my bet against my coworker though. He bet on the Suns to beat the Blazers by minimum of 10 points. Ha! Best soda in the whole world, Baja Blast is mine!! Make it extra large, too!!!

 

[JCE]

Yea I was definately pulling for the Blaze.

Oh, and the first one to 40 wins...errr...wins. Mavs 40-9 We should of won by 40 but we kept getting lazy and the Grizz made some buckets and got kind of close a couple of times. But, in the end the MVP of the league Dirk has another real good night along with the rest of the team getting 14 steals and over 10 blocks.

 

[McLaren]

Tonight though is a Texas shootout against the Rockets, and it'll be tough without Dampier.

 

[JCE]

Damp played and we kicked the living CRAP out of the Rockets. 41-9 and 32+16 more games to go!

 

[McLaren]

Damp played and we kicked the living CRAP out of the Rockets. 41-9 and 32+16 more games to go!

Wait, we have 32 more games, or 16? Either, we've won our 50th game! Phoenix is on a role, so they will most likely by the 2nd team to do it this season.

You're wording just kind of confuses me, though.

But we beat Houston a lot easier than I thought.
Next is the 76ers on the 11th.

How many points did Dirk score in this one game btw?

 

[JCE]

Wait, we have 32 more games, or 16? Either, we've won our 50th game! Phoenix is on a role, so they will most likely by the 2nd team to do it this season.

You're wording just kind of confuses me, though.

But we beat Houston a lot easier than I thought.
Next is the 76ers on the 11th.

How many points did Dirk score in this one game btw?

Don't forget 16 game wins in the playoffs baybee! I don't know what Dirk had, NBA.com hasn't posted the boxscore yet.

 

[a6m5]

Looks like Dirk had 15 points on 7 for 14 shooting.

My Blazers has been playing in a lot of overtime games, we had another one tonight. They won this one against the Bobcats. 👍

 

[McLaren]

Don't forget 16 game wins in the playoffs baybee! I don't know what Dirk had, NBA.com hasn't posted the boxscore yet.

Holy hell, did you see that Atlanta beat Phoenix!?

That means we're going to be the only team to win their 50th game of the season. This HAS to be the Mavs year to win.

We can not achieve such a record and then just lose in the Playoffs.

 

[Giancarlo]

Yes! Kapono is in the 3-point shootout! That's awesome; it would have been a travesty if he wasn't named to the field.

 

[Klostrophobic]

17

Boston has been waiting for 17 since the mid-80s and it's finally here.

 

[McLaren]

Wade finally lets his feelings out.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/16656501.htm

Funny. Hey Wade, where's your leadership? It obviously isn't on the outside of you or you wouldn't be 24 and 26.

Good to see Dirk be the bigger man and not respond to immaturity.

Cuban though, stands up and humilates Wade with Shaq's quote on Miami being "embarrasing."
http://www.blogmaverick.com/ Owned.

 

[a6m5]

Boy, D-Wade is talking some serious smack. As much as I love the Spurs(don't count them out yet!), now I really don't mind seeing the Dallas/Miami NBA Finals.

Wade is right about one thing: Dirk should have lead his team through the David Stern-led Miami Heat. Game that turned things around, was that the 4th game of the series? That was some of the finest performances by the NBA officials(as in fixing the game), but the Mavs had to come back from that. Well, maybe not in that game, but in the series. No excuses. As I've said it before. Force the officials to make the calls by attacking the basket. Be very aggressive, maybe even little bit out of control.

No team in the East is good enough to win the Championship(or even challenge it), and I want the Western Conference Champ this year to prove that. Even if the NBA tries to turn the Finals into another circus.

 

[Giancarlo]

Wade finally lets his feelings out.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/16656501.htm

Funny. Hey Wade, where's your leadership? It obviously isn't on the outside of you or you wouldn't be 24 and 26.

Good to see Dirk be the bigger man and not respond to immaturity.

Cuban though, stands up and humilates Wade with Shaq's quote on Miami being "embarrasing."
http://www.blogmaverick.com/ Owned.

Put Dirk into the Dallas starting 5 with Maurice Ager, Greg Buckner, Didier Ilunga-Mbenga, and Pops Mensah-Bonsu, then have your towel boy coach the team. Let's see you get 60 wins.

I'm pretty sure Dwyane said that because he was asked about it, not because he just spoke out on his own.

Mark Cuban is so annoying, and very unprofessional. I don't care if he's just like a fan, because i'm a fan too. Big deal.

 

[a6m5]

Mark Cuban is so annoying, and very unprofessional. I don't care if he's just like a fan, because i'm a fan too. Big deal.

I think half the country agrees with you there. Probably almost everybody outside Dallas. I guess I do have to give him credit for pointing out the problems with the NBA officiating though. When most people in the business would just look the other way, he voices his concerns..... at least he used to, before Stern got on him.

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Another topic, but what do you guys thing about NBA utilizing the replays more?

I never watch football, but I was forced to, during Super Bowl. I couldn't help but to notice how replays kept things in check. Some of the replays, I had to see like three times to tell if the call made was right.

Referees in NBA are as blind as a bat at times. I think we need the replay feature.

 

[Giancarlo]

Another topic, but what do you guys thing about NBA utilizing the replays more?

I never watch football, but I was forced to, during Super Bowl. I couldn't help but to notice how replays kept things in check. Some of the replays, I had to see like three times to tell if the call made was right.

Referees in NBA are as blind as a bat at times. I think we need the replay feature.

I think it's easy for football since there are so many breaks in the action, but i don't think it would fit in well with basketball to do that for every play.

 

[a6m5]

I think it's easy for football since there are so many breaks in the action, but i don't think it would fit in well with basketball to do that for every play.

You couldn't do that every play, I agree. If it were up to me, maybe two replays per team. Also if it were up to me, each game would have at least 5, 6 officials. So many calls are missed in NBA games, it is ridiculous.

 

[McLaren]

Put Dirk into the Dallas starting 5 with Maurice Ager, Greg Buckner, Didier Ilunga-Mbenga, and Pops Mensah-Bonsu, then have your towel boy coach the team. Let's see you get 60 wins.

I'm pretty sure Dwyane said that because he was asked about it, not because he just spoke out on his own.

Mark Cuban is so annoying, and very unprofessional. I don't care if he's just like a fan, because i'm a fan too. Big deal.

Well, it would be pretty hard considering Mbenga is out for the rest of the season so I don't see how a 4 on 5 is very fair.

Doesn't matter. Had Wade said that last August, yes, he'd be absolutely correct. But the point stands is that he is a hypocrit. He can not criticize Dirk's leadership this late in 2007 season now that his team is 24 and 26 compared to Dirk's 41 and 9. I guarantee you anyone who barely watches the NBA will agree that such a comment causes people to think, "WTF? And you're doing any better right now?"

Seriously, he's just being immature at this point. People had a lot of respect for until that comment came out. People aren't going to care that he's talking about the past. They're going to care because he's criticizing a player whose team is the leader of the entire NBA right now to his own who ranks 8th in the East. People are just going think, WTF is wrong with this kid? It's even worse when that while he's talking about Dirk's leadership skills, Shaq is on the bench calling this an embarrassing season for himself. Yeah, his own players are even criticizing themselves.

I think it's caused most people to also agree that if Wade is the leader of his team, he's doing a poor job compared to Nowitzki, and if he isn't, he really has no right to criticize. It's like a lose-lose situation.

As for Cuban, I love the man because unlike most coaches and owners, he actually has the balls to tell Stern to shove it. He doesn't like the refs current position right now in the NBA, and he doesn't like incorrect press about (such as the so-called Cuban boat last year) himself, so he calls them out.

 

[Giancarlo]

Well, it would be pretty hard considering Mbenga is out for the rest of the season so I don't see how a 4 on 5 is very fair.

Doesn't matter. Had Wade said that last August, yes, he'd be absolutely correct. But the point stands is that he is a hypocrit. He can not criticize Dirk's leadership this late in 2007 season now that his team is 24 and 26 compared to Dirk's 41 and 9. I guarantee you anyone who barely watches the NBA will agree that such a comment causes people to think, "WTF? And you're doing any better right now?"

Seriously, he's just being immature at this point. People had a lot of respect for until that comment came out. People aren't going to care that he's talking about the past. They're going to care because he's criticizing a player whose team is the leader of the entire NBA right now to his own who ranks 8th in the East. People are just going think, WTF is wrong with this kid?

I think it's caused most people to also agree that if Wade is the leader of his team, he's doing a poor job compared to Nowitzki, and if he isn't, he really has no right to criticize. It's like a lose-lose situation.

I said put Dirk with those 4 guys and see what their record is.

Didn't you read my post? I'm saying that Miami had nobody being productive either because they were injured (Jason Williams, Shaq - 2 of our championship starters as well as Pat Riley), because they've just sucked (Walker), or because they've been forced to log way too many minutes (Payton, Zo) since the start of this season. Only Wade and Kapono who have done well.

You can't be a good leader when you have no help from those around you. And you can't be considered a good leader when, like Dirk, you go from averaging 28 ppg, 13 rebounds, 45% FG, and 50% 3FG --- to averaging 22ppg, 10 rebounds, 39 % FG, and 25% 3FG.

 

[a6m5]

Stats doesn't dictate what kind of leader you are. In get down & dirty games, you can make just 30% of the shots from the floor, lose the game and still be a great leader. In Dirk's case last year though, I think he and his team just faded away. Stopped charging the oponent. That's not a good leadership.

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I was watching the Spurs playing the Heat today. Man, it was close. I watched it through the 3rd quarter, until just when they showed the scores from the Portland/Washington game.

I had forgot all about it, maybe you guys have heard about it. Nate McMillan, our head coach, he was one of the assistant coaches for the U.S. national team in the Olympics? Gilbert Arenas of the Washington Wizards, he had held the Suns head coach, Mike D'Antoni and our Nate McMillan responsible for him not getting selected to join the team, when obviously, assistants coaches don't have much to do with the selection of the players, if any at all.

So Gilbert Arena's been talking smack about how he's going to drop 50 on the Blazers and the Suns. This trash talk wasn't done in a nasty way or anything, but it was still a slap in the face for us. We've been waiting for this game for weeks, but it wasn't on TV, plus, I forgot all about it.

I happily report that he had 9 points, which I think is about 20 points below his average. And they were playing at home! When they come to play in Portland, there will be boos everytime he touches the ball, but on the bright side for Arenas, he can't do any worse than 9 points, so he's already ahead.

Oh, and congrats Giancarlo on your team's win. I guess the Spurs got stomped on, as soon as I stopped watching the game. During the Blazers broadcast on the radio, they said Wade turned it on to beat the Spurs by 15?

 

[McLaren]

Holy crap! What a tough-ass game tonight was.

We were down the entire game, and just barely won in the last 5 minutes. Hopefully, George is ok to play again in 2-4 weeks as he has a sprained right knee tonight.

I got to give it to small-man on the Bucks. He was incredibly fast and very good at driving. From what the announcers said, we usually lose to the Bucks at their home making us almost the underdogs there.

But whoo, won by 5 points....