Basketball: 2005-06 NBA Playoffs

Really good playoffs this year, from start to finish. The good news, I agree, is Mourning gets a championship. The bad news (for me) is Riley gets another one and Jason Williams gets one. I just don't like Williams, and never have. But to make it interesting, you've gotta have a villain, or at least somebody to root against.

Naturally, I'm a Mark Cuban (Indiana University, class of '81) fan, too. Sorry to see them go out the way they did, but Wade had such a super series it's great to see him get some accolades. Early on in the series he made a comment about Shaq to the effect, "...you gotta keep the Big Man happy." Can you in your wildest imagination picture Kobe ever saying anything like that about any teammate?

The call in Game 5 was maybe correct by the minute detail of the rule book. As we all know, the refs NEVER call the game that precisely. If they did, we would see 50 traveling calls a game. Wade was barely brushed by someone's body as he drove to the hoop. The person was playong good defense and this brushing was what experts call "incidental contact". It was a ticky-tack foul that should never be called in a clutch situation when the game is on the line.

Actually, the worst call in the series was in Game 6. Wade drove to the hole and clearly popped Nowitzki in the face with his forearm. Nowitzki was called for the foul! I would really like to hear the ref justify that one.

While I didn't like the bad calls, I feel that Dallas simply choked. They had double digit leads in three of the Heat's four wins--and that after dominating Games 1 and 2. They simply did not follow through.

Well, I guess congratulations are in order for the Heat. I think Wade is the real deal, we all know Mourning is, and I'm ambivilent about Payton. Shaq on the other hand, I have never been a fan of. If I had his physical presence, I would have worked harder in my youth to be a better player, and would have more rings than that guy. I've always liked Riley, but question his treatment of what's his face at the beginning of last season.

So what are the odds that both Mourning and Payton retire in about, oh, 2 days?

Originally posted by yeahright
Really good playoffs this year, from start to finish. The good news, I agree, is Mourning gets a championship. The bad news (for me) is Riley gets another one and Jason Williams gets one. I just don't like Williams, and never have. But to make it interesting, you've gotta have a villain, or at least somebody to root against.

Naturally, I'm a Mark Cuban (Indiana University, class of '81) fan, too. Sorry to see them go out the way they did, but Wade had such a super series it's great to see him get some accolades. Early on in the series he made a comment about Shaq to the effect, "...you gotta keep the Big Man happy." Can you in your wildest imagination picture Kobe ever saying anything like that about any teammate?

Kobe has teammates?

Originally posted by BaseballHistoryNut
Kobe has teammates?

Yeah, he refers to them as "the guys that inbound the ball to me". But technically, they're teammates.

I read this morning that Kobe now likes to do crossword puzzles(!) and he's considering taking up golf.

It'll be interesting to see how he does in a sport where the point is to take as few shots as possible. Definitely not in his comfort zone.

I just ran accross a link to this site 82games.com on Mark Cuban's blog, BlogMaverick.

The article I have linked to is pretty neat, I want that guy's job! LOL Anyway, I think we allbelive that there was a definate Heat bias in this series, this dude quantifies it quite well.

I unfortunately was unable to watch the last two games of the series, and only saw the last minute of Overtime in Game 4. Congrats to the Heat. I'm happy to see the Zo and Gary finally got their rings. Zo deserved it. I'm also glad to see that Shaq's 4th ring helps support the, Kobe wouldn't have one without Shaq argument.

Also, a sincere thanks to BHN for your post. I post it really because I want to. I wouldn't care if not a single person read any of it. But I'm glad to see that people do read it, and do appreciate it. I'm also glad that it was good enough to persuade someone who had not watched a game all year to start watching in the playoffs. You now, I wouldn't mind taking up a career in sports writing, but I just don't see me being a Sports Journalist or anything.