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NBA Finals Recap

I was wrong. If the Heat were going to win the series, I certainly expected it to be in game seven. Winning four games in a row was quite the accomplishment, and you have to look back at game three and realize just how much of an affect that had to have. Again, it was unfortunate how much the referees influenced the outcome of game six (Wade shot 21 free throws, the Mavs shot 23. Wade shot 97 free throws in the six game series), but it was still an entertaining series to watch.

I have to give the Heat some credit; they turn it up defensively down the stretches of games, and that really was the difference. Well, that and Lord Wade. The guy drives to the basket with reckless abandon unlike any player out there. Even if the Heat lost this series, he was my vote for series MVP. The fact Shaq looked so old, sluggish and a shell of his former self makes Wade look all the more like the best player on the planet. Come on, Antoine Walker, NBA champion? The thought of Jason Williams wearing the ring is equally absurd. Gary Payton makes the washed up Brett Favre look young. Bottom line, this really isn’t that great of a supporting cast Wade is working with. He deserves all the credit coming to him. Other than Jordan, I can’t think of a player who so single-handedly carried his team to a championship. Even Jordan’s teammates were probably better. Although I will say that Udonis Haslem and James Posey both played excellent defense on Nowitzki. Still, Flash was as close to a one-man team as it gets.

The problem for the NBA was that it worked. Team basketball is done for. The Heat became the first team to rally from an 0-2 deficit to win the finals since the NBA went to its 2-3-2 format. And I don’t like it. All those fouls really stilt the game’s action. In the end, I guess it shouldn’t be surprising, defense wins out nearly every time. There is hope for the high-scoring fans out there, however, as Dallas looks to be a contender for years to come. The Phoenix Suns look like one of next year’s favorites to me as well. But for now, congratulations to the Heat, uh Wade, for winning this year’s title.

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34 responses to “NBA Finals Recap”

  1. Tommy Avatar
    Tommy

    Wade is legit. Kid probably gets too many calls no doubt, but what a performance. You are exactly right about game three – good point. Turns out in hindsight it was quite the “stomach punch” game and the Mavs never recovered.

  2. John Avatar
    John

    Good to see Zo finally win one, he deserves it.

  3. Walt Avatar
    Walt

    Love your site…I agree, Suns could take it next year with a healthy Amare.

  4. maddendude Avatar
    maddendude

    I dont like the 2-3-2 format at all. The team that doesnt have home court advantage has a chance to gain momentum and run with it, with 3 straight home games. And if they even win one of the first two games, that puts them in a significant advantage over the other team. It would be better to be that away team. In my opinion, 2-2-1-1-1 is the best. Stats say otherwise, but it just doesnt FEEL right.

  5. RotoScoop Avatar
    RotoScoop

    2-2-1-1-1 is definitely better, almost any way you look at it. Especially when the rest of the playoffs are played that way. The fact they change the format the bigger the consequence makes absolutely no sense.

  6. Poincare Avatar
    Poincare

    There is one clear case of a player singlehandedly carrying his team to the world championship even moreso than Dwayne Wade. Hakeem Olajuwon won his first NBA title with a supporting cast of Kenny Smith, Vernon Maxwell, Robert Horry, and Otis Thorpe. Then he won his second title with the same group and a little help from an again Clyde Drexler. There is no way Wade’s supporting cast this year was weaker than Hakeem’s those years.

  7. Poincare Avatar
    Poincare

    I accidentally typed “again” in front of Clyde Drexler; I meant to type “aging”.

  8. RotoScoop Avatar
    RotoScoop

    Good call Poincare. The Dream went on a 2-year run that was pretty much right up there with any. I agree that cast was pretty bad. The thing is, I really wish Jordan’s Bulls ran into that Rockets team. Jordan never had to face a good center in the Finals, ever. Would have been a great matchup.

  9. randy Avatar
    randy

    what do you think of tracy mcgrady for a keeper league, is time to move him, iam thinking of offering mcgrady and smush parker for t.j. ford and dwight howard———–randy

  10. RotoScoop Avatar
    RotoScoop

    Especially considering it’s a keeper league, I say do it. While McGrady has the most upside and potential to go right back to being a top-10 fantasy player, his injury history cannot be ignored at this point. The back issue could return at anytime. Although admittedly the Yao/McGrady combo could prove to be quite the force next season.

    Dwight Howard is going to be a monster. After next season, I wouldn’t be surprised if he becomes a perennial top-15 pick. The guy isn’t even 21 years old yet, and he’s probably the best rebounder in basetball already. He’s only going to get better – much, much better at that. Plus, the T.J. Ford upgrade over Smush Parker is nice in itself. Ford’s young, and will be racking up dimes for years to come.

    So if your concerned enough about T-Mac’s durability, I say make the deal.

  11. RotoScoop Avatar
    RotoScoop

    I still say do it even w/ the TJ Ford trade to the Raptors.

  12. randy Avatar
    randy

    well the guy turned down the deal of me trading mcgrady away, any other players you would trade mcgrady away for in a keeper league that you see will spike up in the next year or two———thanks

  13. RotoScoop Avatar
    RotoScoop

    Man, Howard was my favorite candidate for that…Offer him up for Chris Paul, Yao Ming, or Chris Bosh…..those might be too obvious, but T-Mac should still carry some status. All of those are definitely worth offering though.

  14. randy Avatar
    randy

    what if i give up mcgrady for iverson in a keeper league———–thanks
    who should i be more afraid of

  15. randy Avatar
    randy

    for a keeper league should i trade gerald wallace and mcgrady for iverson and tj. ford or just mcgrady for iverson————-what do you think of these deals

  16. randy Avatar
    randy

    also, these are left for my draft pick, in order who do like for a keeper league, jj redrick, ronnie brewer, shawne williams, and jordan farmer, i think reddrick has best chance to play and even chance to win roy, but long term i wonder about brewer and farmer———–thanks

  17. RotoScoop Avatar
    RotoScoop

    Randy – What a tough call with T-Mac vs. AI. On one hand, McGrady is four years younger, and AI receives more wear and tear than anybody. With his small stature, he’s a candidate to break down any year now. Not sure what effect him switching teams might have. Joining Boston would make him have to share the ball more (Pierce) but I assume he’d still get his.

    On the other hand, T-Mac’s back still scares me. And when both are on, Iverson probably is a little more valuable. So I say do it, but make sure you only do the T-Mac for Iverson swap straight up. Do NOT give up G. Wallace. I know he’s been incredibly frustrating with injuries and Ford is a nice player, but Wallace has huge upside. Only Kirilenko rivals his steals/blocks ability.

    Go ahead and do the Iverson deal, but I suggest you def. hold onto Wallace in the process.

  18. RotoScoop Avatar
    RotoScoop

    Randy – I say Redick. His lack of defense won’t hurt your fantasy squad, and he by far has the best chance to contribute right away, while the others are definitely projects. Redick will at least be a big contributor in 3s, and it wouldn’t surprise if he ended up getting ample PT this year.

  19. randy Avatar
    randy

    who are your sleeper guesses this year, iam wondering about villaneau of milw, josh smith of atl,okfur of char,what do you think of these and what are yours———–thanks

  20. randy Avatar
    randy

    i dont know if sleeper is the right word, but players that might move

  21. RotoScoop Avatar
    RotoScoop

    Villanueva will be solid. I really, really like Josh Smith next year. I think he will be huge. Def. go after him. I think Okafor will present good value this year, b/c after basically what was a lost season last year, he will come much cheaper and still has the talent to produce.

    Some of mine – Gerald Wallace (but you already know that)…..Raymond Felton……Dwight Howard (will keep improving)…..some deeper sleepers include Delonte West and Bonzi Wells (if he re-ups with the Kings).

  22. randy Avatar
    randy

    iam thinking here and thats scary, but how about i trade mcgrady and smush parker for josh smith and lamar odom or josh and stojakovic or am i nuts ———–iam afraid of mcgrady also but yet he could be big, also mcgrady for iverson he turned down, so thats why iam still thinking

  23. RotoScoop Avatar
    RotoScoop

    Not crazy at all, in fact I suggest that you DO the trade.

    But I’m talking about the Josh Smith and Odom one, which I like better than the Peja deal. Check out both Smith’s and Odom’s post All-Star break numbers from last year. Odom for some reason gets a hard time, but he was a big reason why I won my league last year. I say do it.

  24. randy Avatar
    randy

    another thought while iam thinking , what do you think of al harrington, his he to much to trade for r. felton———have not got answer yet on mcgrady———-thanks

  25. RotoScoop Avatar
    RotoScoop

    I like Al Harrington, but not as much as Felton. It’s still uncertain where Harrington ends up next year, but he’s still improving his play and will def. be solid wherever he plays.

    Check out Felton’s numbers once he became a starter after the All-Star break. Pretty ridiculous. It’s clear it’s his team to run now, and B. Knight is taking a back seat. I say do it and get Felton.

  26. randy Avatar
    randy

    another player who could make a jump this year is eddie curry with a new coack, will isah thomas make him big, just another thought———-thanks

  27. RotoScoop Avatar
    RotoScoop

    While I agree Isiah Thomas will give him the most PT he has ever received, my feeling on Curry is that if he was going to live up to expectations, he would have done it by now. He is def. a serviceable center, as he puts up a decent points per game, and always has a great FG% in the process, but the guy is a HORRIBLE rebounder and not a very good shot blocker either. He’s a fine starting center for your team, but don’t expect a huge jump in numbers, the guy just isn’t all that great.

  28. RotoScoop Avatar
    RotoScoop

    Randy – It’s fine w/ me if you ask basketball questions under unrelated posts (i.e. baseball, news & notes, etc.) if you want.

    PS – let me know if you ever do get a deal done for T-Mac, I’m curious now.

  29. randy Avatar
    randy

    havent traded mcgrady yet, even deal of mcgrady and smush parker for odom and josh smith, he getting cold feet, i think i could trade mcgrady and smush parker for r. felton and antawan jamison, but jamison scares me, and then maybe trade a. harrington for josh smith————what ya think brain————-thanks

  30. RotoScoop Avatar
    RotoScoop

    I’d push the Odom and J. Smith one first as hard as you can. I like that one much better.

  31. randy Avatar
    randy

    hre is my keeper team in a 15 team league, chris bosh, j. przybilla, al harrington, ron artest, anderson varejao, gilbert arenas, gerald wallace, t. mcgrady, smush parker, s. jasikevicius, cj. miles and ronnie brewer, this will help you in what iam thinking———also do you know of any great fantasy leagues that are great run and fun————thanks

  32. randy Avatar
    randy

    if i want to push odom and j. smith, i think only way is to upgrade to mcgrady and harrington for them and that seems like to much

  33. RotoScoop Avatar
    RotoScoop

    Agreed McGrady and Harrington is too much….any other owners interested in T-Mac? I’ll let you know if any spots open up in the fantasy league I run.

  34. Eslam Avatar
    Eslam

    I don’t mean to put down this article but Kobe is 34 years old, way past his prime. How can a 24 year old nceowmer like Harden remotely be considered a nemesis/rival to Kobe when Kobe won his 5th championship when Harden was a rookie?To me a nemesis has bitterly battled a player for years and have started/progressed in their careers at similar pace.I thinks this article is trying to say that Harden is battling Kobe for this current year’s Best Shooting Guard honors. This is far different than a nemesis. And even on that note, it’s Kobe/Dwade 1 and 2, and Harden is now rightfully claiming 3, but is still a year or two away from wresting any further.p.s. If you think Harden is #2, then you’re being unconscionably swayed by the current moment. Kobe and Dwade are both multiple-time champions, Finals MVPs, established, legitimate franchise players even today. Harden is not even close.

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