NBA FINALS
Heat’s Wade at the head of his class
He gets title shot before James, Anthony
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Tim Reynolds
ASSOCIATED PRESS
<!--PHOTOS--><TABLE class=phototableright align=right border=0><!-- begin large ad code --><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE align=center><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle></IMG> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=credit width=200>JARED LAZARUS MIAMI HERALD </TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline width=200>Dwyane Wade has reached the NBA Finals in just his third season with the Miami Heat. </TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle>
</IMG> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
MIAMI — The comparisons leave Dwyane Wade sheepish.
He knows they’re almost inevitable, though. Wade hails from Chicago, grew up a Bulls fan. A Bulls jersey with the number 23 hangs in his arena. His acrobatic, high-flying moves are reminiscent of a certain six-time NBA champion. His body is sleek, muscular. And he has that uncanny knack of taking games over when his team needs it most.
Stop, Wade begs. He’s not the next Michael Jordan. To him, the notion is blasphemous.
"I don’t think he wants to be compared to anybody," Heat center Shaquille O’Neal said. "I think he wants to be the first Dwyane Wade. And he is the first Dwyane Wade. I’ve witnessed a youngster who’s earned his spot. He hasn’t been given anything."
No, Wade has earned it all. Millions. Fame. Endorsements. Respect. And — most important to him — a chance to play for the NBA championship in only his third year. His Miami Heat will face the Dallas Mavericks for the title, with Game 1 on Thursday in Texas.
On that last point, there is no Jordan comparison.
He needed seven seasons to reach this stage.
"There will never be another Jordan. There’s no question about that," Wade said. "The only thing I can try to do is go out and play the game the way I play it, and if people like the way I play, then that’s great. And if people don’t like the way I play, hopefully I can make them like the way I play.
"But there’ll never be another Jordan and people need to stop comparing guys to MJ."
Wade is the first member of the ballyhooed headliners from the 2003 draft class — LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony were among the four that went ahead of him — to reach the championship round. (No. 2 pick Darko Milicic won a ring with the Pistons, albeit as a barely used reserve.)
That was his playoff challenge from Heat coach Pat Riley: "Be the first."
"To be in this position and have the opportunity to go and fight for a title at the age of 24, I’m just blessed that I have the opportunity to do that," Wade said.
It’s a source of pride for Wade, who has taken his game to new heights every season in Miami — from 16.2 points on 47 percent shooting from the field as a rookie who reached the Eastern Conference semifinals, to 24.1 points and 48 percent shooting and a trip to the East finals the next year, to 27.2 points and 50 percent shooting this season.
Right now, the Heat can only hope Wade’s health gets better.
He missed practice yesterday, the team choosing to send him to a doctor instead for continued treatment of a flu-like virus he has been battling since Friday. He scored 14 points that night, helping Miami beat Detroit 95-78 and clinch the East title.
O’Neal likes to call the young, star guards he has played with — first Penny Hardaway, then Kobe Bryant, now Wade — his "pupils." He said Wade has the perfect blend of humility and confidence.
"The true definition of a superstar," O’Neal said.
And maybe that’s why Wade would rather people eventually use him as the benchmark for comparison when talking about greatness, instead of trying to anoint him the next Jordan. "That’d be ideal. That’d be picture perfect," Wade said. "That’s what I would like to hear, people saying ‘Yeah, he was this and that’ and have people in the back yard saying ‘When’s the next D. Wade going to come in?’ That’d be special."
NBA FINALS
Nowitzki stating case for greatness
Versatile 7-footer has been carrying Mavs in playoffs
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Jaime Aron
ASSOCIATED PRESS
<!--PHOTOS--><TABLE class=phototableright align=right border=0><!-- begin large ad code --><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE align=center><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle></IMG> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=credit width=200>CHRIS CARLSON ASSOCIATED PRESS </TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline width=200>Dirk Nowitzki is averaging 28.4 points and 11.9 rebounds in the postseason. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
DALLAS — As the Miami Heat tries to find ways to handle Dirk Nowitzki, they’ll no doubt look at his mistakes that cost the Mavericks playoff games against San Antonio and Phoenix. The Heat would be wise to heed what happened next.
The Mavericks didn’t lose another game in each series, and Nowitzki more than atoned for each flub.
Against the Spurs, Nowitzki missed a potential tying threepointer at the end of Game 6, then immediately chided himself for not driving for a layup and drawing a foul.
Given a similar chance in Game 7, Nowitzki did exactly what he said he would. He converted the three-point play to force overtime and help Dallas knock out the defending champions.
Against the Suns, Nowitzki shot 3 of 13 and scored only 11 points in a loss at Phoenix that tied the Western Conference finals at 2-2. He came back to score 50 points the next game, then sparked a late rally in the following game that sent the Mavericks into the Finals for the first time in the team’s 26-year history.
"He’s been good all season long and he’s turned into greatness" in the playoffs, teammate Jason Terry said. "Dirk is a legend in the making."
Nowitzki goes into Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night averaging 28.4 points and 11.9 rebounds this postseason. If there was an NBA MVP for the entire playoffs, he’d likely be the leader thus far.
Sure, Dwyane Wade has been terrific for Miami. But he has Shaquille O’Neal to help carry the load.
In Dallas, the playoffs boil down to this: As Dirk goes, so go the Mavericks. The numbers back it up.
In their five losses, Nowitzki has averaged 22.6 points and been the team’s top scorer only twice. In their 12 wins, he’s averaged 30.8 points and led the team 10 times.
"I’ve seen him thrive in the moment," Terry said. "He knows what’s at stake, that every opportunity gets us closer and closer to the championship. He has that vision in his head. You can see when he drives to the basket, there’s more intensity. It’s on his mind constantly."
Nowitzki has always been great in the playoffs, raising his regular-season averages every time. Well, except last season.
The German struggled with his shot, screamed at his teammates and the Mavs were a mess. They scrambled out of an 0-2 hole in the first round against the Rockets, then lost to the Suns in the second round, an ousting made more painful because his good pal and former teammate Steve Nash was leading Phoenix.
"I had a tough summer last year sitting on that one," Nowitzki said. "But I think it pushed all of us."
This season, Nowitzki’s eighth in the NBA, was his first without both Nash and Michael Finley, the team leaders who helped bring him along early in his career. It also was his first full season without coach Don Nelson.
Still, it turned out to be his best yet — a testament to his desire to keep improving.
"Dirk is the epitome of what hard work will do to make you a great shooter," assistant coach Del Harris said.
At the urging of new coach Avery Johnson, Nowitzki developed more of a low-post game and improved his defense. But he also kept his long-range shot sharp enough to win the three-point contest at the All-Star Game, a first for a 7-footer.
"I’ve always had big goals for Dirk," said Johnson, who was Nowitzki’s teammate on the 2003 club that reached the conference finals. "I think there’s another level for him to go to. We’ll keep trying to push him there."
Count Shaq among those awed by Nowitzki’s game.
"He may be one of the best players in the world," O’Neal said.
O’Neal considers Nowitzki the poster child of a worldwide evolution among big men. He sees fewer behemoths such as himself hunkered down under the basket and more guys such as Nowitzki nimble enough to be all-around threats.
"When they talk about great big men, it’ll be based on if guys can play like Dirk or not," O’Neal said. "He’s the future. I’m actually going to let my children watch his game when they get older."
Told about those comments, Nowitzki broke into a huge grin. He appeared to blush a bit, too, as if Michael Jordan had just asked for his autograph.
"That’s great," he said, then changed the subject to his admiration for O’Neal.
Terry expects Nowitzki to win more fans during the next two weeks.
"We know how good he is and some of the world knows, but now all of the world will know," said Terry, whose 5-year-old daughter wears Nowitzki’s No. 41 jersey to games instead of her dad’s No. 31. "Now you get in the same breath as the legends — the Birds, the Magics, the Isiahs, the Jordans, the Shaqs. All the great ones do it in the championship-type environment. Now Dirk gets a chance to do it."
NBA NOTEBOOK
Heat’s Wade recovering from sinus infection, will play
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
ASSOCIATED PRESS
<!--PHOTOS--><TABLE class=phototableright align=right border=0><!-- begin large ad code --><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE align=center><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle></IMG> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Battling a sinus infection, Miami guard Dwyane Wade did not work out with the Heat yesterday.
Wade attended practice "but didn’t do anything ultra-live," Heat coach Pat Riley said. Wade went to team meetings and planned to fly with the Heat to Dallas later yesterday.
Miami will practice in Dallas today in preparation for Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Mavericks on Thursday night.
"He’ll be OK," said Riley, adding that he expects Wade will have a full workout today.
Wade is averaging 26.2 points in the playoffs, seventh most in the NBA and second most among those who reached the Finals. Dirk Nowitzki of Dallas is averaging 28.4 points.
"He’ll be ready," Heat center Shaquille O’Neal said. "Just getting some rest, getting some fluids. … It happens. Just have to get his fluids and try to be ready. He’ll be ready."
Wade scored at least 20 points in every playoff game until Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals against Detroit, when he managed 14 on a day on which he visited a hospital to receive several intravenous fluid bags to fight dehydration. He got another IV in the arena at halftime, delaying his arrival for the second half by 2 1 /2 minutes.
"He had the illness, came home and was sick as a dog for Game 6," Riley said. "And he still hasn’t shaken the effects of it. But he’ll be ready for Thursday night. He won’t be in the same state that he was, coming out of the hospital, having IVs and all that stuff. He’ll be in a lot better condition."
The Heat got healthier on two fronts. Backup guard Gary Payton and reserve forward Wayne Simien were back at practice after missing the previous day. Payton missed Monday’s workout with a migraine.
Nets stick with Frank
The New Jersey Nets exercised the option on coach Lawrence Frank’s contract for the 2007-08 season.
Frank signed a four-year, $10 million contract extension at the beginning of the 2004-05 season.
He led the Nets to a 49-33 record and the Atlantic Division title for the second time in three years this season. The team also had a 14-game winning streak that tied a franchise record. Under Frank, who took over midway through the 2003-04 season when Byron Scott was fired, the Nets have a 116-88 regular season-record. They are 12-14 in the playoffs.
NBA FINALS
Mavs receive favored status
But stopping O’Neal is their biggest worry
Thursday, June 08, 2006
Jason Reid
LOS ANGELES TIMES
<!--PHOTOS--><TABLE class=phototableright align=right border=0><!-- begin large ad code --><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE align=center><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle></IMG> </TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle>
</IMG> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
DALLAS — They say everything is bigger in these parts, and it seems the Miami Heat face a Texas-sized challenge against the Dallas Mavericks tonight in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
The Heat overcame obstacles to win the Eastern Conference but now must contend with an opponent that is considered more versatile and has home-court advantage in the best-ofseven series.
Although it appears Miami isn’t the same bunch that Dallas routed by 13 and 36 points in two regular-season games, the Heat still might have too much to juggle in a series between first-time Finals participants.
But that’s not how the Heat views things, saying it expects to have a good time ’round here.
"We’ve been getting doubted all year. This isn’t anything new for us, so that just basically means there’s no pressure," Miami center Shaquille O’Neal said. "That’s the good thing about being the underdog … but it’s going to be a fun, fun series."
The Mavericks received top billing because of their long list of accomplishments: finishing with the NBA’s third-best record, eliminating the defending-champion San Antonio Spurs in the conference semifinals and defeating the high-scoring Phoenix Suns to reach the Finals.
Dallas is united behind defensiveminded coach Avery Johnson and All-Star forward Dirk Nowitzki, who emerged as a take-charge leader in the team’s stirring postseason run, and is enjoying its newfound status.
"This is the biggest stage there is," Nowitzki said. "Just walking around the court today and seeing the court surrounded by so many people, it’s obviously a fun situation to be in. … It’s probably the most exciting time of my life."
Containing O’Neal would help the Mavericks keep their good frame of mind.
At 34, O’Neal acknowledges that he isn’t the force he was while leading the Los Angeles Lakers to three consecutive NBA titles from 2000 to 2002.
The three-time Finals MVP, however, still played a key role in Miami’s six-game victory over the Detroit Pistons in the previous round, averaging 21.7 points and 10.5 rebounds while shooting 65.5 percent from the field.
"He was looking younger and younger every game that series," Dallas center DeSagana Diop said. "He looked real good. Hopefully, he’ll look older this series."
The Mavericks are expected to use multiple double-team schemes against O’Neal, who had career averages of 32.6 points and 13.8 rebounds and shot 60.1 percent from the field (the highest in NBA history) in his first five Finals appearances with the Lakers and Orlando Magic.
The Mavericks hope centers Diop, Erick Dampier and DJ Mbenga (suspended for the first four games of the series) can provide enough muscle to slow down O’Neal.
"Nobody in the whole world can play Shaq one-on-one" and be successful, Diop said. "We’re going to have to have doubleteams. We have to do whatever we’ve got to do to get the ball out of his hands."
Johnson might use a smaller lineup to increase the pace in an attempt to reduce O’Neal’s post-up opportunities. The Mavericks had success using the 7-foot Nowitzki at center against San Antonio, but "we’re not going to run (Shaq) off the floor," Mavericks assistant coach and scout Paul Mokeski said. "You know that’s not going to happen, so you’ve got to keep focused on what you have to do and just don’t get discouraged if he dunks on you."
Of course, the Heat isn’t a one-man All-Star show. It’s a two-man All-Star show, and guard Dwyane Wade’s ascent has continued in the playoffs.
In the Heat’s 17 games, the three-year veteran is averaging 26.2 points, 6.4 assists and 5.2 rebounds. Slowed because of a sinus infection and flu-like symptoms recently, Wade said he felt better yesterday and would be ready to play in the opener.
The tandem of O’Neal and Wade helped Miami get it together after a slow start this season, and coach Pat Riley is an old hand at this stuff, having led the Showtime Lakers to four titles in the 1980s and the New York Knicks to a Finals appearance in 1994. "Over time, you know what to do, what not to do, what not to fret about, what counts and what doesn’t count," Riley said. "You have to go with what it is that you have and what got you here, (and) hope that you do it at a real high level."
Mavs stop Shaq, Heat
Terry scores 32 to help Dallas take first game
Friday, June 09, 2006
Greg Beacham
ASSOCIATED PRESS
<!--PHOTOS--><TABLE class=phototableright align=right border=0><!-- begin large ad code --><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE align=center><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle></IMG> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline width=200>Dallas guard Jason Terry drives to the basket to score two of his 32 points against Miami. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
DALLAS — The stars struggled, and then they disappeared.
Dirk Nowitzki, Shaquille O’Neal, Dwyane Wade — three of the sport’s best — couldn’t take control in the fourth quarter of the NBA finals’ Game 1.
So the Dallas Mavericks climbed aboard their Jet. Jason Terry, with a soaring grace befitting his nickname, found the basket just enough to push his error-prone club past the erratic Miami Heat, 90-80 last night to win the series opener.
Even Terry was humbled by a missed fourth-quarter layup attempt that he nearly jammed between the backboard and the rim, but he recovered to match his playoff high with 32 points.
"Jason bailed us all out," said Dallas’ Jerry Stackhouse, whose wobbly jumper with 1:02 left clinched it.
Both franchises’ first appearance on the NBA’s biggest stage contained all the jitters and mistakes you might expect. Terry, the point guard who ostensibly replaced Steve Nash two years ago, was the Mavericks’ unlikely savior with 20 points in the first half and 12 in the fourth quarter.
"(I don’t have) anything to prove," Terry said. "I just feel that I’m a much better shooter than what I’ve shown in this season’s playoffs. With me, it’s all about hard work and perseverance. ... I tried to get the big fellow involved and spread it around, but I was there when they needed me."
Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Sunday night in Dallas, with Game 3 in Miami on Tuesday.
The clubs’ finals debut wasn’t pretty: The Mavericks went nearly seven minutes between fourthquarter field goals, and Dallas held the Heat to two free throws in the final 5:13. With a sellout crowd appreciating the result more than the method, Dallas escaped with a sloppy but satisfying victory — despite getting just 16 points from Nowitzki, their superstar.
"I thought we were a little frozen up," Nowitzki said. "It’s a big stage. Nobody has really been here before besides (coach) Avery (Johnson) and Darrell Armstrong. We weren’t making shots, not making good shots, not swinging the ball."
Wade scored 28 points for the Heat, but managed just three in the fourth quarter while feeling the effects of the sinus infection that’s bugged him for a week. O’Neal had 17 points and seven rebounds — and the three-time NBA champion went 1 of 9 at the freethrow line, leading Miami’s abysmal 7-of-19 performance.
"Throughout my career, I’ve known that for my team to win a championship, I have to step up at the line," O’Neal said. "I will. I was probably thinking about it too much."
Terry was the first Dallas player other than Nowitzki to lead the club in scoring since Game 4 of the second round against the Spurs, when Terry had 32. Though the fans love his energy and all-around game, he was inconsistent in three opening rounds.
After Terry hit consecutive three-pointers, the Mavs had a 10-point lead midway through the fourth quarter. But Terry inexplicably missed that open fast-break layup — and the Heat scored the next seven points while holding Dallas scoreless for 4 1 /2 minutes.
"I got a little too excited, was running a little too fast and got ahead of myself," Terry said bashfully.
The creeping unease in Dallas didn’t go away until Wade and Antoine Walker missed big fourth-quarter shots. Though most of the game was played at Miami’s favored tempo, the Heat struggled for consistent offense before going 5 of 20 from the field in the fourth quarter.
These are the first NBA finals since 1971 between two firsttimers, although there are champions on both benches. O’Neal and Miami coach Pat Riley have seven rings between them, and Johnson won it all as a player with the 1999 Spurs.
In search of their first championship banner for owner Mark Cuban, the Mavericks took the opener and the historic 73 percent success rate of the winner in Game 1.
"It isn’t whether or not a guy or two guys score. It’s a fight," Riley said. "This is what it’s about. (It’s) competitive, and it’s going to be ugly and sloppy at times."
Following the usual frenetic opening ceremonies, Miami jumped to an early 11-point lead with 70 percent shooting and 13 first-quarter points from Wade. Dallas calmly recovered, holding the Heat scoreless in the final 3:59 of the first half and taking the lead on Nowitzki’s second field goal, a leaning jumper at the halftime buzzer.
The Heat drew actual first blood when Stackhouse got a bloody cut on his nose from a collision with O’Neal in the second quarter. Stackhouse made one of his two free throws before heading to the locker room.
Free throws
O’Neal and Gary Payton of the Heat are the 10 th and 11 th players in league history to appear in the NBA finals with three teams. ... The NBA finals are being televised live in 205 countries, in a record 46 languages.
NBA FINALS
Nowitzki credits guru
German mentor turned raw talent into Mavericks’ shooting star
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Jaime Aron
ASSOCIATED PRESS
<!--PHOTOS--><TABLE class=phototableright align=right border=0><!-- begin large ad code --><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE align=center><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle></IMG> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=credit width=200>ERIC GAY ASSOCIATED PRESS </TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline width=200>Dirk Nowitzki was a tall, skinny teen with sloppy skills when he crossed paths with his mentor. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
DALLAS — When Dirk Nowitzki’s shot failed him during the playoffs, there was only one person he could turn to for help.
The man who built it.
As Frankenstein-ish as that might sound, there’s that sort of connection between basketball guru Holger Geschwindner and the monster of a player he created.
"I’ve said it all along, if I would not have met him when I was 16, 17, I wouldn’t be here at this stage," Nowitzki said from the platform of the NBA Finals. "He taught me everything, he taught me all of the moves but also how to handle myself on and off the court. He’s been like a second father to me. I learned pretty much everything from him."
They met by chance: Nowitzki was playing in his hometown of Wurzburg, Germany, in a game that overlapped the court time for Geschwindner, the captain of West Germany’s 1972 Olympic team, and his friends.
Geschwindner saw a tall, skinny teen with sloppy skills but an innate knowledge of the game. Although he’d never been a coach, Geschwindner was so intrigued by Nowitzki’s talent that he volunteered to work with him.
Soon, he realized he was dealing with a prodigy.
"After three, four practices, I said, ‘Dirk, we have to talk to your parents,’ " Geschwindner recalled.
Nowitzki already was dreaming of reaching the NBA; Geschwindner believed he could make it happen.
"We made a five-year plan," Geschwinder said. "After three years, we made so much progress already that the NBA teams called."
The Dallas Mavericks drafted Nowitzki right around his 20 th birthday. An awful team at the time, they could afford to endure his growing pains. And they were happy to let Geschwindner provide any help he could.
In an era where players in team sports travel with their own workout gurus, psychologists, masseuses and even manicurists, it’s pretty refreshing to see someone voluntarily get told what to do by a 60-year-old man who isn’t paid by his employer.
Then again, everything about their story is out of the ordinary.
Realizing how far behind his American peers Nowitzki was, Geschwindner decided his protege needed something to make him stand out against his competition. So instead of teaching his budding 7-footer a sky hook or other moves associated with big men, he dragged him out to the threepoint line and kept him there.
"We knew one thing: A 7-footer who can play a little defense and is skinny has no chance in the NBA," Geschwindner said. "So we had to demonstrate that he could do something they never had seen before — a 7-footer who could shoot three-pointers."
Perhaps the most surprising part of all this: Geschwindner never charged Nowitzki a Deutschmark."Of course not," he said. "I learned basketball from an American soldier and he was driving 15 miles back and forth to a boarding house to get me to practice. You have to give something back."
Geschwindner doesn’t train anyone else, though he offers advice to anyone who shows up at their open sessions.
The German government thought the Nowitzki-Geschwindner relationship sounded too good to be true, especially after Nowitzki signed a contract worth nearly $100 million and they weren’t getting any taxes on whatever Geschwindner might have received.
So last July, he was arrested on tax evasion charges. Police even searched Nowitzki’s parents’ house. Geschwindner was released five weeks later, with help from a lawyer Mavericks owner Mark Cuban had used when he bought the team. The attorney had since moved to Germany.
"Dirk was perfect," Geschwindner said. "He never had one second of doubt. He did all the moves that were necessary to help me get the problem out of the way."
Geschwinder has always been there for Nowitzki, too. He visits a few times each season and they spend blocks of time together every summer improving whatever is his biggest weakness.
