Thanks largely to the bench-warming skills of Wayne Simien, the Miami Heat won the title last night in Dallas.
Congrats to Scott for picking this one almost to the game.
I on the other hand seem to be radioactive this year. Every team I've picked and/or cheered for has gone down in flames--Kansas, Wichita St., UCLA, 'da Bulls, San Antonio, Detroit, and now Dallas. It's a good thing I'm not a betting man.
What happened to the Dallas team that nailed every big shot against the Spurs? They might have gotten screwed by the refs in Game 5 (see photo, left), but they simply choked away games 3, 4, and 6 with missed jump shots and free throws.
D-Wade wasn't too shabby, either. I would say he'll need to become a tougher defender before those Jordan comparisons are apt. Also, he's just too damn NICE to be the next Jordan.
I do have to acknowledge that it was a great playoffs despite the outcome. The only thing that marred it was the poor performance of the Mavs and Pistons in their respective Game 6's versus Miami. Those series both should have gone seven.
And not only did my favorite teams go down, it was my two LEAST favorite teams in college and pro basketball--Florida and Miami--who won it all this year. What have I got against the state of Florida? I think it all started with this.
I think dallas got screwed by the refs last night as well. of course they lost because they were ice cold from outside.
ReplyDeletebut there was another phantom call on dirk that put wade to the line with little time on the clock.
dallas would have been wise to bring their a-game and not gotten so distraced with calls and cubantics.
hats off to wade, riley, & simien.
First "Uruguayan douchebag" and now "Cubantics"--our blog continues to make valuable contributions to the lexicon.
ReplyDeletePainfully Bad Keegan Quote of the Day:
ReplyDelete"The hottest star in sports is so big some people actually spell his name correctly now. Believe it or not, Dwyane Wade has reached that level of superstardom. That’s D-W-Y-A-N-E."
"He’s a bigger star than Tim Duncan, whose name is spelled B-O-R-I-N-G. Bigger than Barry Bonds, whose name is spelled S-T-E-R-O-I-D-S, Bigger than Peyton Manning, who can’t spell S-U-P-E-R B-O-W-L."
Such original insights, Tom! Can you spell C-L-I-C-H-E?
I understand that the casual fan isn't excited by Duncan, but shouldn't the so-called "experts" who analyze the game be able to appreciate greatness? This isn't ice dancing, for chrissakes ...
The USA finally scored a goal! ... AND then gave up another one. Yeesh.
Two completely unsurprising stories just in: U.S.A. soccer has lost again; and--
ReplyDeleteLarry Brown has been fired as Knicks coach, to be replaced by Isiah Thomas. Yeah, that's sure to be an improvement.
A reader on the LJW site asked this morning whether Simien is the first KU player since JoJo White to win an NBA championship.
ReplyDeleteAnyone know? If it's true, that's going back thirty years.
Also, Fox Sports's Jeff Goodman has posted his new preseason rankings, revised for all the late NBA departures. Kansas is #2, just behind Florida, who unbelievably have all five starters back.
A&M is #19. Texas and OSU are listed among "the next 10" just out of the top 25.
Daniel Gibson, by the way, has hired an agent even though like his buddy P.J. Tucker he may not go until at least the second round. It seems these guys would rather risk going undrafted than continue playing for Rick Barnes.
Florida's really your least favorite state, Deron?
ReplyDeleteAt least those people tried to vote the right way.
C'mon, Wyoming gave us Cheyney.
Of course the U of F, however, is my least favorite team in all sports. F***ING SPURRIER!!!
It's actually sort of an accident that my two least favorite teams are Floridian. I'm not a huge fan of Riley or Donovan (protege of Pitino--that's a gallon of hair gel a day between the three of them).
ReplyDeleteI'll probably like the Heat in a few years when Shaq and 'Zo are out of the picture, if Wade and Simien become the face of the franchise.
But damn! that butterfly ballot STILL gets to me ...