Playing In Championship Form

Heat and Mavs to Clash in NBA Finals

I believe sportscaster Keith Jackson said it best when he yelled “whoa nelly!”  There couldn’t be more fitting words to describe to these NBA conference finals and the playoffs in general.  In the East, the Miami Heat came into the conference finals looking to finally remove the proverbial “monkey” from their back and move past the Detroit Pistons.  Mission accomplished.  The boys from “Wade County” move on to the NBA finals for the first time in franchise history.  Out in the West, the now defensive minded Dallas Mavericks took on the small yet resilient Phoenix Suns.  Dallas, coming off an epic seven game war, took on the battle tested Suns and finally knocked them out.  Mark Cuban’s crew also moves on to the NBA finals for the first time.
Heat vs. Pistons: Part II

Many people would say that the Miami Heat were three minutes away from a trip to the NBA finals last season.  Damon Jones doesn’t lose the ball on the baseline, Dwyane Wade doesn’t hurt his rib attempting a jump shot, Shaquille O’Neal isn’t hampered by a deep thigh bruise and the Pistons run could end a season sooner.  It was the events in that game that led to the complete overhaul of the Miami Heat roster.  Bringing in the likes of Jason Williams (Memphis), James Posey (Memphis), Antoine Walker (Boston), Gary Payton (Boston), Derek Anderson (Houston), and Pat Riley “relieving” Stan Van Gundy of his coaching duties had Miami chomping at the bit to battle with the Pistons again.  With a new roster, a new coach, and a new chip on their shoulder, the Miami Heat came into the regular season looking to gain camaraderie and momentum going into the playoffs.  The Heat finished the regular season with a 52 – 30 record but left much to be desired of their play.  Miami was also bitten by the injury bug, having their original five starters miss a combined 79 games.  A decently steady regular season landed the Heat in the second seed and had them primed to face their hated rivals in the conference finals.

The Detroit Pistons, or the Dismantled Pistons as I now call them, came into the 2005-06 season looking to get back to the NBA finals after falling short and losing to the San Antonio Spurs.  Unlike their conference counterparts, the Pistons only made one significant change to their roster.  Former Minnesota head coach Phil “Flip” Saunders was brought in to replace the nomadic Larry Brown as the Pistons head guy.  Saunders, not known for his defensive mind or his ability to win in the playoffs, was a very peculiar choice to lead a team that had been to the Eastern conference finals for the past three seasons.  But Flip answered his critics by leading his Pistons team to a franchise high 64 wins and an overall number one seed in the playoffs.  Detroit ripped through the league and looked almost invincible going into the postseason.

The time had finally come.  The series that we had shoved down our throats throughout the entire NBA postseason was finally ready to tip off.  However, it was a long road to get here.  The Pistons came in having obliterated the Bucks in round one and squeaking by Cleveland in the second round.  Miami came into the conference finals well rested and very confident after bullying the Nets in round two and beating the Baby Bulls in the first round.  Game one in Detroit presented a very good game that lived up to the hype of this series.  Miami came in looking to take away home court from the Pistons.  Mission complete, the Heat came out ablaze defeating Detroit 91 – 86; being led by 39 combined points from Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O’Neal.  Though Miami’s stars shined bright, it was the newly acquired stars Posey, Walker, and Payton that left their mark on this game and eventually this series.  Down one game, the Pistons felt the pressure and came out in game two and beat the Heat 92 – 88 to tie up the series going back to Miami.  Though the Pistons managed to win game two, it wasn’t as fulfilling as it could have been.  Detroit let a nine point lead slip away in the final minute of the game before finally being rescued by the clock.  Game three in Miami was another opportunity for the Heat to further dismantle the Pistons.  Shaquille O’Neal looked reminiscent of himself back in his “Shaq-Fu” (an album which I own) days.  The Diesel rolled over the frontcourt of Pistons scoring 27 points and snagging 12 rebounds.  Game four was more Heat domination and Piston implosion.  D-Wade was the mechanic that took the Pistons apart with his unstoppable ability to slash to the basket, unnecessary need to always fall to the floor, and his newly discovered shooting stroke.  Wade, never known for his ability to shoot a jump shot…ever, shocked everyone with his deadly mid-range jump shot while shooting 61.7% for the series.  Who ever thought we would see “Dwyane Wade” and “deadly mid-range jump shot” in the same sentence together?

Being down 1 – 3 caused the tight knit brotherhood of the Detroit Pistons to come apart at the seams.  Rasheed Wallace could be seen ignoring head coach Flip Saunders; Ben Wallace was blasting Flip’s strategy for practice through the media, and Rip Hamilton is still waiting for someone to send him a Boost mobile “chirp” about how to stop Dwyane Wade.  A 91 – 78 win in game five gave the Pistons a false sense of hope as they got ready to face a more talented and revved up Miami Heat team in game six.  

Flu-like symptoms.  Once more, flu-like symptoms.  Heat guard Dwyane Wade “suffered” from flu-like symptoms on the morning before game six.  He was reported to have spent the night a hospital and was severely dehydrated.  How can a spokesperson for Gatorade suffer from dehydration? But I digress.  Now let me share a little information with you, I live in Miami, Florida.  I know a countless number of Miami Heat fans.  And I also am an avid listener to Miami sports talk radio.  I have never heard so many Heat fans prepare to jump off a cliff with the news of Dwyane Wade being sick and possibly not being 100% or not even playing at all.  False alarm.  Wade, looking to emulate Michael Jordan with a pre-game sickness, did indeed play in game six and played well enough to aid his team massacre the Pistons.  Miami was led by the supposedly aging but still dominant Shaquille O’Neal with 28 points and 16 rebounds.  Wade finished with 14 points and 10 assists only on 33 minutes of work while showing signs of fatigue and weakness.  But through it all, the win lifted the Heat past the Pistons and propelled the Miami Heat to NBA finals for the first time in franchise history.  

The Suns Finally Set

“Transition!  Transition defense!”  Those were the words that Dallas Maverick head coach Avery Johnson shrieked after being asked about what his team needed to improve in order to beat the Phoenix Suns.  This series was nothing less than entertaining on and off the court.  With Avery providing us with classic sound clips, Raja Bell trying to rekindle the toughness of Willis Reed, and oh yeah, the terrific games we were able to watch.  This series was built to be and was the polar opposite of its Eastern conference counterpart.  Unlike the slower paced Eastern conference finals match up, the Mavs – Suns series took on the look of a Chinese fire drill.  

The Suns came into the match up having battled through two grueling seven game series with the Clippers and Lakers.  The Suns, still Amare-less and relying solely on perimeter shooting, showed resilience and perseverance throughout the entire postseason making it all the way to the conference finals with only a six and half man rotation.  The run and gun style of offense that the Suns play was able to lead them to 56 wins this year and a number two seed in the Western conference.  Leading their dynamic offensive charge is two-time most valuable player Steve Nash.

Avery Johnson is the NBA’s version of NFL head coach Herm Edwards.  You know the, “You play to win the game!” guy.  He is by far the best post game interview in sports right now, but again I digress.  Avery has given this once defensively deficient team a mental toughness and defensive tenacity that led them to a 60 win season.  He transformed Dirk Nowitzki into a true NBA superstar, he’s molding Devin Harris and Jason Terry into traditional point guards, and he seems to be the only guy that can corral Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.  The Mavericks came into the Western conference finals having dethroned last year’s NBA champs, the San Antonio Spurs.  Up until this season, the Mavs seemed to always have to play second fiddle behind the consistent Spurs.  But in what was bar none the best series of these playoffs, the Dallas Mavericks defeated San Antonio in seven games to advance.    

This series did not have any major storylines or controversies like the war going in the Eastern conference.  These teams shared similar styles of play and both posed match up problems for each other.  Game one was played in Dallas, but Phoenix controlled the tempo and managed to steal a victory on a last second shot by Boris Diaw, winning the game 121 – 118.  Though the Suns won game one, they did lose starting forward and “bad boy” Raja Bell who went down with a calf injury.  The Mavericks worked on their…transition defense, and won games two and three.  Game four in Phoenix looked like a third consecutive win for Dallas, the Suns players and fans looking glum laden with the fear of going down 3 – 1 to a very good Dallas team, until a number 19 came limping onto the floor dressed and ready to play.  Not Willis Reed, Raja Bell.  Bell, not slated to return until at least game five, ran onto the court with a big smile on his face and totally energized the whole building.  Raja’s inspiring return lifted the Suns to a 106 – 86 game four victory, a game in which he scored nine points and reeked havoc on the defensive end of the floor.  Game five belonged to Dirk Nowitzki.  His 50 points and 12 rebounds led the Mavs to a 117 – 101 obliteration of the Suns.  The Dallas Mavericks’ depth and ability to make better adjustments was the demise of the Phoenix Suns.  The Mavs took game six in Phoenix beating the Suns 102 – 93 and advancing to the NBA finals for the first time in franchise history.

NBA Finals Prediction

Those of you who read my last article know that I decided not to pick a winner in these conference finals because the match ups were so close.  But I will now put my spotless record on the line by choosing the winner of the NBA championship.  

Dallas is a very deep and talented team.  They have the ability to play the fast paced game and they can slow the ball down and play a half court game.  Miami too has depth and they also will have two of three best players on the court.  However, Miami does not have anyone to contest the length and shooting touch of 7’0″ Dirk Nowitzki, the speed of Devin Harris and Jason Terry, or the versatility of Jerry Stackhouse and Josh Howard.  Shaq will dominate the post of course and Dwyane Wade will without a doubt make some incredible moves and plays but the depth, shooting ability and speed of the Mavericks will prevail.  

2006 NBA Champions: The Dallas Mavericks