Heat-Mavs 2011 NBA Finals

[Pyro Kinesis]

Can't say I really care that much. I've come to accept that the league is rigged, so my interest waned this season.

 

[JohnnyCockfight]

Hearing on the local Dallas news that Dirk tore a tendon on a finger in his left hand. Ironically, this occurred while cleanly stripping Bosh of the ball late in the 4th quarter - I thought this was the final turning point in the game. Bosh is rewarded with 2 free throws after getting cleanly blocked, and then Wade gets a block at the other end (in which he isn't whistled for a foul) and proceeds to hit a big 3.

 

[ScriptOhio]

Hearing on the local Dallas news that Dirk tore a tendon on a finger in his left hand. Ironically, this occurred while cleanly stripping Bosh of the ball late in the 4th quarter - I thought this was the final turning point in the game. Bosh is rewarded with 2 free throws after getting cleanly blocked, and then Wade gets a block at the other end (in which he isn't whistled for a foul) and proceeds to hit a big 3.

Dirk Nowitzki has torn finger tendon

MIAMI -- A torn tendon in superstar Dirk Nowitzki's left middle finger made the Dallas Mavericks' Game 1 loss to the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals on Tuesday night a little more painful.
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He downplayed concern about the injury, pointing out that it's on his non-shooting hand.

"I'll be all right for Thursday," Nowitzki said, referring to Game 2.

Overall, the Mavericks made 37.3 percent of their shots, worst of the postseason. So they're going to need Nowitzki to be as accurate as possible in Game 2 to keep the series from slipping away.

When informed of the injury, Miami's LeBron James shot down the notion it could negatively impact Nowitzki's offensive game.

"That left hand is just a guide hand for all shooters," James said. "We all know that. It won't affect him. He's still going to be great. He's still going to be Dirk."

Entire article: http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/nba/news/story?id=6613978&campaign=rss&source=ESPNHeadlines

 

[buckeyesin07]

This series is over. Dallas will be lucky to win one game, with the combination of (1) Dirk's finger, (2) the Heat (a band of all-stars who can out-talent every single team in the league by a long shot, including the Mavs) finally clicking on all cylinders, and (3) officiating so poor that it is difficult to conclude anything but that the NBA wants to give the series to the Heat.

Congrats Stern--you have transformed the NBA into a product that somehow has even less competitive balance than Major League Baseball, with a twist of professional wrestling and horrid officiating just to top it all of and make it all worse. What an absolute joke that league has become.

 

[buckeyesin07]

When informed of the injury, Miami's LeBron James shot down the notion it could negatively impact Nowitzki's offensive game.

"That left hand is just a guide hand for all shooters," James said. "We all know that. It won't affect him. He's still going to be great. He's still going to be Dirk."

LBJ apparently trying his best to dissuade anyone from saying that Dirk's injury will somehow tarnish the Heat's inevitable title. As if needing to join a band of all-stars in order to beat the aging Celtics didn't already tarnish the title.

 

[matttank]

This series is over. Dallas will be lucky to win one game, with the combination of (1) Dirk's finger, (2) the Heat (a band of all-stars who can out-talent every single team in the league by a long shot, including the Mavs) finally clicking on all cylinders, and (3) officiating so poor that it is difficult to conclude anything but that the NBA wants to give the series to the Heat.

Congrats Stern--you have transformed the NBA into a product that somehow has even less competitive balance than Major League Baseball, with a twist of professional wrestling and horrid officiating just to top it all of and make it all worse. What an absolute joke that league has become.

So from a game in which the Mavs shot 6 more FT's, LeBron and Wade took a combined 7 FT's (when both average over 8 a game in the playoffs), the Heat shot 3 less FT's than their playoff average and the foul total was nearly identical (22-21), all you can conclude is that the NBA wants to give the Heat the series? Do you realize how asinine that sounds? Are you really just basing that off the one bad call on Dirk? What about the bad call against Lebron when the rim rejected Jason Terry so hard that it caused him to fall? Not to mention that Wade couldn't buy a call in the 1st half. Overall, I thought the officiating was utterly forgetable and had no bearing on this game. The Heat making 11 3's and the stink-bomb laid by the Mavs bench is the reason the Heat won.

LBJ apparently trying his best to dissuade anyone from saying that Dirk's injury will somehow tarnish the Heat's inevitable title. As if needing to join a band of all-stars in order to beat the aging Celtics didn't already tarnish the title.

It will be tarnished in the same way the "bands of all-stars" from the 60's Celtics and the 80's Celtics, Sixers and Lakers are, which is to say, not at all. In fact, besides the '03 Spurs and maybe the 94-95 Rockets, I really can't remember a team that didn't have multiple established all-stars that won a title. Not quite on the Wade-LeBron level (except the 00-02 Lakers with Shaq and Kobe), but still multiple top 20 players. The league has always been unbalanced, it really is the nature of the game since so few guys play relative to other team sports. This is why there have been so many dynasties in the NBA. So quit acting like LeBron the the Heatles started this trend that you apparently had no problem with until now. They aren't even the original big 3.

And you do realize that the "aging" Celtics had a larger band of all-stars than the Heat this year, right?

 

[JohnnyCockfight]

The Heat making 11 3's and the stink-bomb laid by the Mavs bench is the reason the Heat won.

The Mavs also failed to box out. They got away with poor rebounding against the Thunder, but they will not get away with it against the Heat.

 

[billmac91]

So from a game in which the Mavs shot 6 more FT's, LeBron and Wade took a combined 7 FT's (when both average over 8 a game in the playoffs), the Heat shot 3 less FT's than their playoff average and the foul total was nearly identical (22-21), all you can conclude is that the NBA wants to give the Heat the series? Do you realize how asinine that sounds? Are you really just basing that off the one bad call on Dirk? What about the bad call against Lebron when the rim rejected Jason Terry so hard that it caused him to fall? Not to mention that Wade couldn't buy a call in the 1st half. Overall, I thought the officiating was utterly forgetable and had no bearing on this game. The Heat making 11 3's and the stink-bomb laid by the Mavs bench is the reason the Heat won.


It will be tarnished in the same way the "bands of all-stars" from the 60's Celtics and the 80's Celtics, Sixers and Lakers are, which is to say, not at all. In fact, besides the '03 Spurs, I really can't remember a team that didn't have multiple established all-stars that won a title. Not quite on the Wade-LeBron level (except the 00-02 Lakers with Shaq and Kobe), but still multiple top 20 players. And you do realize that the "aging" Celtics had a larger band of all-stars than the Heat this year, right?

Jason Terry was clearly fouled by Mario Chalmers. Watch the replay...Chalmers hits Terry's arm causing him to lose control of the ball. They got the wrong guy, but it was a foul.

I think fans get frustrated watching how the officiating unfolded. The 4th quarter was bad...plain and simple.

Dirk gets called for a terrible over-the-back when he was standing straight up. Tyson Chandler gets called for a moving screen when Haslem is the one who wrapped him up. Dirk cleanly strips Bosh, but Bosh is awarded free-throws.

Not to mention...how in the world is LeBron allowed to go from his knees to his feet without a travel called? That is one of the most basic rules in the game...you can't stand up if you're on the ground otherwise it's a travel...that turned into a 3 point play, BTW.

And this whole "bands of all-stars" thing really misses the larger point, IMO. LeBron was supposed to be "The King", "The Chosen One" but he left Cleveland to join Wade and Bosh. Wade said it himself in the interview last night, he'd never of gone to Cleveland even if they could have assembled the same squad in Cleveland. It shows a mental weakness in LeBron. He's just not a leader. Yes the Heat are th ebest team in the NBA, but they're also doing what they should be doing when you combine the best player in the world, another top 3 player, and arguably a top 10 player.

This doesn't justify "the decision" at all, IMO. How were they not going to win titles by rigging the league? If LeBron were a true champion he'd have recruited players to Cleveland and cemented his legacy as a champion with the Cavs. There is zero chance you'd have ever seen Bird, Magic, or Jordan leave their city to team up with another super-star, which should really just end the discussion.

 

[matttank]

The Mavs also failed to box out. They got away with poor rebounding against the Thunder, but they will not get away with it against the Heat.

Also true. That is the danger of the zone, it is very vulnerable on the boards.

Jason Terry was clearly fouled by Mario Chalmers. Watch the replay...Chalmers hits Terry's arm causing him to lose control of the ball. They got the wrong guy, but it was a foul.

I think fans get frustrated watching how the officiating unfolded. The 4th quarter was bad...plain and simple.

Dirk gets called for a terrible over-the-back when he was standing straight up. Tyson Chandler gets called for a moving screen when Haslem is the one who wrapped him up. Dirk cleanly strips Bosh, but Bosh is awarded free-throws.

Not to mention...how in the world is LeBron allowed to go from his knees to his feet without a travel called? That is one of the most basic rules in the game...you can't stand up if you're on the ground otherwise it's a travel...that turned into a 3 point play, BTW.

Didn't see Chalmers hit him, and I tried a quick search but can't find the replay but since they didn't call that at all, the call made was garbage.

The over the back was a little iffy but not complete bunk, I've seen that called many times in similar situations.

The Chandler screen was absolutely a moving screen, Chandler slid and stuck his hip out and checked Haslem as he went by which is why Haslem wrapped him up to keep his balance.

I've already said the Dirk strip was a bad call, definitely sounded like all-ball in real-time and was confirmed by the replay.

And yes they completely missed the travel, I think they thought he dribbled while on his knee or something because that was quite obvious.

But like I said, Wade had multiple drives in the first half that I thought he was fouled on that he wasn't getting the calls, and Dirk had similar drives that he was getting calls on. There were bad calls made, I'm not disputing that, but to only be able to conclude that the game was fixed by the officials is completely off base and only something the Heat haters and Mavs fans (who are still pissed about the 06 finals officiating) are doing.

 

[billmac91]

Also true. That is the danger of the zone, it is very vulnerable on the boards.



Didn't see Chalmers hit him, and I tried a quick search but can't find the replay but since they didn't call that at all, the call made was garbage.

The over the back was a little iffy but not complete bunk, I've seen that called many times in similar situations.

The Chandler screen was absolutely a moving screen, Chandler slid and stuck his hip out and checked Haslem as he went by which is why Haslem wrapped him up to keep his balance.

I've already said the Dirk strip was a bad call, definitely sounded like all-ball in real-time and was confirmed by the replay.

And yes they completely missed the travel, I think they thought he dribbled while on his knee or something because that was quite obvious.

But like I said, Wade had multiple drives in the first half that I thought he was fouled on that he wasn't getting the calls, and Dirk had similar drives that he was getting calls on. There were bad calls made, I'm not disputing that, but to only be able to conclude that the game was fixed by the officials is completely off base and only something the Heat haters and Mavs fans (who are still [censored]ed about the 06 finals officiating) are doing.

The game wasn't decided on 1 call so I'm not going to belabor this too much...but that call was hot garbage. Chandler re-enters the game with 3 fouls, and is trying to play smart ball. He sets a screen on Haslem to free Dirk, and Haslem absolutely hooks him and causes Chandler to move from his set position.

If you're strictly calling it a moving screen because Chandler was sliding and not set, you'd be correct. But the reason he is moving is because Haslem hooked his arm and forced him off his spot. That isn't an offensive foul. I'd hate to use Jeff Van Gundy as evidence because commentators get details wrong all of the time, but even he said it was a bad call.

In regards to Terry though...there's a reason he got blocked by the rim. It's because he lost control of the ball going up due to Chalmers slapping him on the forearm. The bottom line is he should have been awarded free-throws, and he was.

 

[OH10]

And this whole "bands of all-stars" thing really misses the larger point, IMO. LeBron was supposed to be "The King", "The Chosen One" but he left Cleveland to join Wade and Bosh. Wade said it himself in the interview last night, he'd never of gone to Cleveland even if they could have assembled the same squad in Cleveland. It shows a mental weakness in LeBron. He's just not a leader. Yes the Heat are th ebest team in the NBA, but they're also doing what they should be doing when you combine the best player in the world, another top 3 player, and arguably a top 10 player.

This doesn't justify "the decision" at all, IMO. How were they not going to win titles by rigging the league? If LeBron were a true champion he'd have recruited players to Cleveland and cemented his legacy as a champion with the Cavs. There is zero chance you'd have ever seen Bird, Magic, or Jordan leave their city to team up with another super-star, which should really just end the discussion.

Exactly. As I've said before, when the best player in the league (Lebron) leaves town to go play with the 3rd or 4th best player in the league (Wade), it says a lot about the mental makeup of the former.

Interesting that Wade admitted he wouldn't have left Miami under similar circumstances.

 

[matcar]

Exactly. As I've said before, when the best player in the league (Lebron) leaves town to go play with the 3rd or 4th best player in the league (Wade), it says a lot about the mental makeup of the former.

Interesting that Wade admitted he wouldn't have left Miami under similar circumstances.

Eh, I never had a problem with the player leaving. Shoot, I'd leave Cleveland for Miami too. My only problem was that there was no need for the drama of "The Decision". I think he made the right decision...he just didn't need to use The Decision to make that choice. That will forever be known as a cheap-shot and media play that backfired.

 

[y0yoyoin]

ive watched alot of NBA games this year from teams all over the league and i can say that the entire NBA playoffs has had the worst officiating i have ever seen...touch call fouls one minute, complete hacking with no call the next...there is no consistency and its gotten hard to watch most times...games that should last 2 1/2 hours end up lasting 4 because of so many trips to the foul line combined with 4 minutes of commercials...its insane...i know nothing will change because the league went from being physical in the 80's with some of the best matchups and games ever played to the current state which is dwayne wade going to the rim and screaming anytime he feels a breeze from someone and getting a foul call...half the time the refs dont even see a fould they just wait for the player to bitch...its fucking annoying

 

[OH10]

Eh, I never had a problem with the player leaving. Shoot, I'd leave Cleveland for Miami too. My only problem was that there was no need for the drama of "The Decision". I think he made the right decision...he just didn't need to use The Decision to make that choice. That will forever be known as a cheap-shot and media play that backfired.

And I didn't have a problem with The Decision. I think the angst towards that production is overblown and tired. The problem as I saw it was that leaving to play with, not against, probably your only peer in the game going forward, was cowardice.

The other problems I had were quitting in Game 5 vs. Boston and the fact that he failed to recruit any free agents to Cleveland during his 7 years - then having the nerve to blame his teammates several times on the way out and since.

 

[MObuckeye13]

Last night Jeff Van Gundy was horrible. He couldn't say a bad thing about LeBron and the Heat. Why doesn't he just admit his love for the heat?