The Finals

[ForRealDD 0]

NO ONE has mentioned this....Devin Harris fouled him. It is very clear. They called it on Dirk because Harris already had 5 fouls. THIS IS A NORMAL NBA UNWRITTEN RULE. If two guys both are right near a player when he is fouled....you call it on the guy who DOES NOT have 5 fouls already.It was a clear foul on Harris...Dirk did not touch him. But they called it on Dirk so Harris wouldnt be disqualified. The bottom line is Wade was the most aggressive player on the court again and he was rewarded with trips to the line. He beat 4 MAVS on the last play and earned his free throws...AND UNLIKE JOSH HOWARD AND DIRK NOWTIZKI HE MADE THOSE FREE THROWS IN THE CLUTCH. FOCUS ON YOUR CHOKING MAVS FANS STOP WHINING ABOUT THE REFS.Oh and it was NOT a backcourt....I mean you guys are whining about ticky tack fouls and yet you wanted the game decided on a back court call??? Hypocrites....

Funny....watch the game again

[CaneBrain 95]

Funny....watch the game again

I really dont need to. It was apparent all night who was the more aggressive squad. Keep fouling Shaq 12-14 times a game and then act all surprised that the Heat got into the penalty quicker.You would think people from Texas would be a bit tougher and not whine so much. I guess it is a nice way to keep your minds off the fact that your team cant hit a clutch free throw to save its life in this series.

For what it's worth, I am a Lakers fan who hated to see Shaq go. I am rooting for him to win another title. However, all of my friends who were watching with me, none of which are rooting for Dallas, thought it was a horrible call at the end. That sort of call never gets made at the end of games. I just hate to see a great game get decided that way.

See that call does get made at the end of games sometimes.This is exactly how I felt when the Miami Hurricanes lost the Fiesta Bowl to Ohio State. How do you call pass interference there? You CANT decide the game on THAT! LET THEM PLAY!Fact is though sometimes refs call the game tight until the buzzer. I didnt like it then but I like it now. Thats how sports works it evens out in the end. If the Mavs dont shoot jumpers on 90% of their possessions maybe they will get a few FTs as well.

[princeof56k 0]

A lot of stuff happened last night. I'll try to get it all, but its a long post.The Backcourt ViolationThis one is difficult. When I first saw it I thought it was a violation and I expected a whistle, but after looking at the rule book, I think the refs made the CORRECT call. It all depends on the interpetation of the rules and exactly what determines if the player is in the front/backcourt. Here are the rules. Go to rule 4 section 6. part G - Frontcourt/backcourt status is not attained until a player with the ball has established a positive position in either half during (1) a jump ball, (2) a steal by a defensive player, or (3) a throw-in in the last two minutes of the fourth period and/or any overtime period. When Wade caught the ball, he was in mid-air as he crossed the half-court line. Basically he was in No Mans land. As I interpet the rule book, he didnt have either front/backcourt status until both of his feet landed in the backcourt. Since his status when he had the ball never changed from frontcourt to backcourt, there was no violation. I think people will quickly point to Rule 4 Section 6 part C - A ball being held by a player: (1) is in the frontcourt if neither the ball nor the player is touching the backcourt, (2) is in the backcourt if either the ball or player is touching the backcourt. The first part of C seems to indicate Wade is considered in the frontcourt since he was in mid-air. However part G specifically deals with the throw-in and seems to indicate the opposite. Front/backcourt status is not attained until a player has possession of the ball after the ball has been inbounded. I think Part G carries more weight and there was no violation. Am I wrong? Hopefully the league will explain this call.The Foul on WadeI didnt like the call. You dont call that unless the guy gets killed. I was shocked when the whistle blew. I actually think there was more contact on Wade's shot to tie it up in regulation and there was no call there. If the refs think there was enough contact on the perimeter before the shot, then they need to call the foul there. Traditionally, that call doesnt get made.The Free Throw DisparityMav fans are DEAD WRONG on this one. The reason for the Heats large free throw numbers were due to the Hack-a-Shaq strategy. By the fouling Shaq so often and early in all quarters, the Heat got to the Penalty faster than any team I've ever seen. That means that ANY Heat player was going to shoot free throws on any foul. So at the end of the game when Wade has the ball most of the time, he's going to the line even if he's fouled on the floor. That's why he got so many free throws. If you look at actuall fouls committed, the Mavs had 38 and the Heat had 26. This looks bad, but the players who fouled Shaq the most (Diop, Dampier, Mbenga, and even Harris) had 20 fouls combined! The Mavs created the free throw margin.The Refs Calls at the End Cost the MavsThis is wrong too. The Refs dis NOT make Howard miss 2 free throws in OT. He makes those and its a different ball game (probably a Mavs win). And what no one is talking about is that Dirk missed a free throw towards the end of regulation. The Mavs had opportunities to win this game and just didnt do it. It's a lot like game 3 when another missed free throw by Dirk cost them. You let teams keep hanging around and bad things happen. The Mavs have no one to blame but themselves. (btw, Avery is doing a good job by not bringing up the free throws and siding with Howard on the timeout. You cant let Howard get down on himself. He needs Howard for game 6.)The Refs Calls favor the HeatThis is BS, and partly releated to stuff I posted above. I think the games have been called fairly for both teams (by fair I mean not favoring one team over another. Overall quality is a different story). There is no favoritism that I can see. Of course the refs miss calls, but its happening on both sides. With the exception of game 4, the Mavs should've won every game regardless of the calls. And the Mavs have no reason to talk with a guy like Harris flopping all over the place. He's literally trying to fool the refs and draw bogus calls. Where's the outrage in that?The Heat are Roughing Up DirkThis is partially true. The Heat are playing good defense on Dirk, but Dirk's just having a bad series. I cant figure out why, but Dirk is just missing a lot of open shots. Shots he usually makes. How many open looks did he miss last night? And the missed free throws in game 3 and 5 are very uncharacteristic of him. For whatever reason, he just hasnt played well so far.1 Edit on the Backcourt Violation part.

[princeof56k 0]

Link please, I can't wait to read that.

Here's the link to Cuban's blog for those who dont know. The posts by Mark arent as good as I would expect, but the posts by people who are responding are great. Conspiracy theories abound. I know its a fan site, but damn.http://www.blogmaverick.com

[Jadaki 0]

The Free Throw DisparityMav fans are DEAD WRONG on this one. The reason for the Heats large free throw numbers were due to the Hack-a-Shaq strategy. By the fouling Shaq so often and early in all quarters, the Heat got to the Penalty faster than any team I've ever seen. That means that ANY Heat player was going to shoot free throws on any foul. So at the end of the game when Wade has the ball most of the time, he's going to the line even if he's fouled on the floor. That's why he got so many free throws. If you look at actuall fouls committed, the Mavs had 38 and the Heat had 26. This looks bad, but the players who fouled Shaq the most (Diop, Dampier, Mbenga, and even Harris) had 20 fouls combined! The Mavs created the free throw margin.

No doubt, I listened to Around the Horn and PTI today going on and on about this and not one person brought this up. If they keep intentionally fouling Shaq, they are going to be putting tons of Heat players on the FT line.I really got a kick of of them fouling him right when OT started and not realizing they had 4 fouls to give. I'd love to see Shaq come out and drain 20 FT's agaisnt them in a game and see the Mavs crap themselves... wont happen though.

[kers2 0]

I really got a kick of of them fouling him right when OT started and not realizing they had 4 fouls to give.

That was hilarious to me. And they did it multiple times. What was the point? lol

[CaneBrain 95]

No doubt, I listened to Around the Horn and PTI today going on and on about this and not one person brought this up. If they keep intentionally fouling Shaq, they are going to be putting tons of Heat players on the FT line.I really got a kick of of them fouling him right when OT started and not realizing they had 4 fouls to give. I'd love to see Shaq come out and drain 20 FT's agaisnt them in a game and see the Mavs crap themselves... wont happen though.

dont be so sure. Every few games he gets on a roll and puts up a 8-13 from the FT line. Just one of those kinds of games in Dallas would probably be enough to get the Heat a win.Just one MORE!!!!!! Oh and great job by Wilbon on PTI pointing out that Wade was definitely fouled it was just called on the wrong guy. No more whining!

[SilentSnow 1]

i dont feel like arguing with you all. your replies have been so one sided it would be a waste of time. let me add though that 70 percent of the espn readers(thousands polled) thought the refs favored the heat. that means that practically everyone not rooting for the heat thought it was rigged.bill simmons talks about this game, and i agree with pretty much everything he writes. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story...=simmons/060620

[keith crime 8]

My problem with the NBA isn't as much that this happened but that - anyone who watches the league even a bit knew we'd be having this discussion with almost certainty 5 games ago

[gobears 0]

i dont feel like arguing with you all. your replies have been so one sided it would be a waste of time. let me add though that 70 percent of the espn readers(thousands polled) thought the refs favored the heat. that means that practically everyone not rooting for the heat thought it was rigged.bill simmons talks about this game, and i agree with pretty much everything he writes. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story...=simmons/060620

Yeah, I'm with Simmons also - and if it was Salvatore (like Simmons said in the article) that made the foul call for Wade from half court, then he should never be allowed to referee an NBA game again.That's terrible.

[princeof56k 0]

Well the NBA came out and said there was NO backcourt violation. My interpatation of the rules was correct. Here's the linkhttp://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2006...tory?id=2492756I already talked about the free throw margin, but I went back and looked over the game play-by-play to see exactly how long the Heat were in the penalty. They were in the penalty for almost HALF of regulation! When that happens, the Heat are going to shoot a lot of free throws. Frankly, its tough to win when the other team is in the penalty that much. The hack-a-Shaq strategy worked just like the Mavs wanted.The Mavs didnt go to the free throw line because they spent all their time on the perimeter. And they should spend their time there. They were open all night long. Terry is a perfect example and he was their main gunner in game 5. Terry just doesnt go to the line very much (look at his season stats). He would rather shoot on the outside. With Nowitzki also going to the perimeter, the Mavs were destined to have low free throw numbers. The Heat meanwhile attacked the basket all night, but they have a greater inside game of course.

[princeof56k 0]

i dont feel like arguing with you all. your replies have been so one sided it would be a waste of time. let me add though that 70 percent of the espn readers(thousands polled) thought the refs favored the heat. that means that practically everyone not rooting for the heat thought it was rigged.bill simmons talks about this game, and i agree with pretty much everything he writes. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story...=simmons/060620

I read the Simmons article, and I agree with most of what he said. It would be better for the Mavs to win. Teams usually try to copy the strategy of the latest champion. Since the Mavs are still primarily an offensive club, copying the Mavs would be great for the league. And I also think that was a bad foul call at the end of regulation too.However, I disagree with the refs being one sided (for game 5 and the series). People who say so are likely being heavily infuenced by 3 things:1. the backcourt violation (which was NOT a violation)2. the free throw margin (which can easily be explained)3. the foul call in OTOnly the foul call in OT is a legit point, and one call doesnt make for favoritism.I agree that the officiating has been poor, but for both sides. There's bad calls and non-calls all over the place. Wierd touch fouls. Guys getting hit and no call. But it has been on both sides.If the refs were favoring Wade, they would've called a foul when he drove to the basket at the end of regulation (in which there was actually more contact than the foul call in OT. Go figure). They also would have put him on the line when he faked someone in the air and tried to pull a Reggie Miller (I cant remember if this was the end of regulation or OT). But in both cases the Refs made the right call which was not in Wade's favor.And if Howard had hit the 2 free throws we wouldnt be having this discussion. The Mavs would point to the free throw margin and proof that their hack-a-Shaq strategy worked.

[CaneBrain 95]

i dont feel like arguing with you all. your replies have been so one sided it would be a waste of time. let me add though that 70 percent of the espn readers(thousands polled) thought the refs favored the heat. that means that practically everyone not rooting for the heat thought it was rigged.bill simmons talks about this game, and i agree with pretty much everything he writes. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story...=simmons/060620

I agree with almost everything Simmons writes. But anyone who reads him regularly knows he bashes Miami at every opportunity and pushes his NBA rigged theories all the time. He really knows his stuff but he is a little conspiracy heavy. Mavs foul shaq a lot which causes them to be in the penalty a lot. They also shoot mostly jumpers so they dont get to the line much. Thats all it is.The mavs had their chances and they blew it on free throws and they blew it on guarding Wade. Everything else is just noise and whining.

[Jadaki 0]

First 1/2 of game 6 has been interesting and entertaining.Is it just me, or is Mourning outplaying Shaq?

[KowboyKoop 0]

I'm rooting for Dallas because I picked them when the playoffs started 45 months ago.....but there is a little piece of me that wants Shaq to get a ring and then tell Kobe to "suck it" in the post-game interview.

[kers2 0]

HEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAT!!!!

[KowboyKoop 0]

"Hey Kobe, I got two words for ya.."Suck it.

[Jadaki 0]

mavs in 6 easy

Opps...

Nov 2005 Dallas @ Miami D103-90Feb 2006 Miami @ Dallas D 112-76 To the Miami fans.......Good luck in Dallas...You will be warmly welcomed

I got two words for you, Game 6.

I'm picking the Heat in 6.

Good call

lets not overrate the Heat defense, the piston played like SHAT last series, missed open shots alllllll serieswe have no real answer for shaq, thats finethe heat have ZERO answer for dirk and howard, throw in terry and harris and the heat will have to pray we are off all seriesMavs in 6, MAYBE 5 if we play like we did against the spurrrrrrs

Ask the Mavs about how many of thier shots got rejected.

Mavs in 5-6. Mark it down, bet on it, if i Still gambled on sports I'd put 1k on the series.

Good thing you didn't bet on it, huh?I wont bother quoting the rest of you, but you know who you are...

[Stylin_Fish 0]

The loudest heat Celebrating was a 6 foot white boy named Jason Williams.

[kers2 0]

How bad did Zo want this game??? He played like a fucking animal. Finally admit it Mavs fans, you got outplayed

[Jadaki 0]

How bad did Zo want this game??? He played like a fucking animal. Finally admit it Mavs fans, you got outplayed

No Mavs fans here, they don't want to come in and say anything

[CaneBrain 95]

Cant wait to hear Mavs fans tell us how they got screwed this game. That is if we hear them at all.It would be fair to say that the majority of people and "experts" picked Miami to LOSE to NJ, Detroit and Dallas. Proved all the doubters wrong. Dwayne Wade was amazing again. SHot a high percentage....got to the line. It was clear that Miami wanted it more. Look at how good the so called supporting cast bums were....Toine- couldnt hit a 3 but did EVERYTHING else well. Posey---Good D, hit the biggest 3 of the game to put them up 6 with 3 mins to go. Zo----5 or 6 blocks. Nuff Said. Udonis----what a beast. 21 and 11? Udonis?!? On a very hurt shoulder? Wade was great, others were great but I as a Heat fan will always remember how amazing Udonis was in the biggest game in Heat history.Funny thing was, Shaq was pretty mediocre. He gave them a huge boost in the Detroit series....Finals was about Wade.Edit: I will admit when Terry got a clean look at the end I vomited in my mouth just a bit. But that was the story of the series wasnt it? Miami hit all the big shots....Mavs missed most of them.

[Jadaki 0]

as a Heat fan will always remember how amazing Udonis was in the biggest game in Heat history.

QFT, he was player of the game, even over Wade. That guy showed heart the whole time.

[kers2 0]

QFT, he was player of the game, even over Wade. That guy showed heart the whole time.

He finally started hitting some of those 15-17 ft jumpers he hit all year. He had been struggling with those. And the rebounds... absolute ballerHe and Zo were my MVP's of game 6

[Stylin_Fish 0]

I'm just happy Zo got one. Don't talk about bad reffing unless you mention how much Nash the reigning two time MVP was getting absolutely no calls this post-season. Not saying it's the main reason, if even a reason the suns lost, but where's the respect?