sad lebron

The Miami cHeat: In the BAD comments, AnacondaHL said: "Tomorrow's post could just be an in-depth play-by-play of the last 5 minutes." We'll start with a basic play-by-play of Miami's offensive possessions over the final six minutes and 50 seconds:

6:50: Chris Bosh missed 18-footer
6:05: Bosh missed 18-footer
5:15: Bosh turnover
4:48: Dwyane Wade turnover
4:18: Mike Miller turnover
3:33: Miller missed three-pointer
2:59: Wade missed three-pointer
2:25: LeBron James missed 17-footer
2:25: Miller offensive rebound
2:17: Miller missed layup
2:16: Wade loose ball foul
1:53: Bosh 2-for-2 from the line
1:09: Haslem misses jumper
0:30: Wade 1-for-2 from the line (missed tying free throw)
0:09: Wade dunk
0:01: Miller airballed desperation three-pointer
To sum up: missed jumper, missed jumper, turnover, turnover, turnover, missed jumper, missed jumper, missed jumper, missed layup, two made free throws, missed jumper, one made free throw, dunk, missed jumper.

Remember: Miami's offense feature two of the top five players on the planet. And another All-Star to boot.

Also remember: LeBron James is either the Next Michael Jordan or destined to be even greater. Speaking of which...

LeBron James: Remember how Jason Terry's trash talk was supposed to "fuel the Heat's fire"? And how, when Terry questioned whether LeBron could consistently shut him down in the fourth quarter over seven games, Bosh said:

"You have to let sleeping dogs lie sometimes. It's motivation. For us, it is an opportunity to not let up. Guys are talking and it fuels you.

"If he wants LeBron to turn it up then that's great motivation for LeBron," Bosh said. "Guys remember that when we're out on the floor. LeBron is going to remember that late in the game when it is close and Terry is going to try to get going. LeBron is going to guard him and we'll see who comes out on top."
Well then.

From ESPN Stats and Information:

One of the big storylines heading into Game 4 was the comments made by Jason Terry and how LeBron James would guard him in the fourth quarter. Terry backed up his talk and nearly outscored the Heat's Big Three by himself down the stretch. Terry had eight points in the final quarter and didn't turn the ball over while Wade, James and Bosh combined for nine points and five turnovers.

LeBron had eight points and it was the first time in his 90 career playoff games that he was held to single-digit points. His teams are now 0-7 when he scores 15 points or fewer in a postseason game. James attempted just one shot in the fourth quarter and failed to score despite playing all 12 minutes. This is just the second time he's failed to score in the final period of any playoff game.

Dirk's dominating performance and LeBron's disappearing act in the fourth quarter this game continues a trend from the entire series. Nowitzki has now outscored James 44-9 in the final period while making as many field goals as James has attempted while making six times as many free throws.
LeBron's final line: 46 minutes, 3-for-11, 8 points, 9 rebouns, 7 assists, 2 steals, 4 turnovers, 4 fouls, -6. And, of course, that big old goose egg in the fourth quarter.

Said Bosh: "He struggled. Point blank, period."

Continued LeBron: "I've got to do a better job of being more assertive offensively. I'm confident in my ability. It's just about going out there and knocking them down."

Added cHeat coach Erik Spoelstra: "We'll have to look at the film. Obviously we would like to get him involved. He's a very important piece to what we do. So we'll work to help make it easier for him next game."

Wait, what? Miami's coaching staff needs to look at the film to get LeBron James more involved in the team's offense?

Anyway, back to...

The Miami cHeat: I highlighted the final 6:50, but check out Miami's fourth quarter totals: 14 points on 5-for-15 shooting (33 percente) with 6 turnovers. LeBron went scoreless. Bosh went 8-for-12 in the first half but only 1-for-7 over the final 24 minutes, and he clanked consecutive jump shots down the stretch. Wade missed a freebie that would have tied the game with half a minute to go.

Then, after Terry knocked down two free throws with 6.7 seconds left to put Dallas up 86-83, Spoelstra called a 20-second timeout to get possession in the frontcourt. Miller inbounded to D-Wade, but Wade (who was curling around a screen) took his eyes off the ball and it bobbled off his hands. Pookie barely managed to recover the ball and fling it to Miller for what may have been the crappiest and most hopeless last second shot attempt I've ever seen in a Finals game: A 30-footer over Tyson Chandler while falling out of bounds.


Said Wade: "I saw an opening. Mike threw the ball and I was trying to get to the opening, probably before I caught it. That's how I lost it. Obviously I would love to have that play back. We would love to have a lot of plays back."

Another fourth quarter collapse. And this is a trend, folks.

Jeff Fogle of Hoopdata writes:

Let's take a look at the final six minutes from each of the four games played so far. That will give us a 24-minute "half" of basketball we can use for a crunch time comparison.

FINAL 6 MINUTE "SCORES" IN EACH GAME:
Game One: Miami 17, Dallas 15
Game Two: Dallas 20, Miami 5
Game Three: Dallas 12, Miami 7
Game Four: Dallas 11, Miami 7

Total: Dallas 58, Miami 36

How's that for a "halftime score?!" Let that register for a minute. Dallas is up 22 points IN CRUNCH TIME, putting points on the board consistently against a defense that now, suddenly, isn't looking so scary. And, Miami should be pretty humiliated that they just popped 5, 7, and 7 points in the final six minutes of the last three games. It took a huge first game just to get them to 36! Dallas is up 43-19 in the final six minutes of action during the last three games.
Some people are citing fatigue, which sounds reasonable considering the Nazgul keep logging 40+ minutes a game. But then how do you explain Dirk's 44 fourth quarter points over four games? Nowitzki's logging epic minutes, too, and he scored 10 points down the stretch last night despite a sinus infection and a reported fever of 101 degrees.

By the way, during these Finals, Dallas is now +30 when Dirk is on the floor and -35 when he's not. With all due respect to Henry Abbott and Rick Reilly, in my humble opinion, the MVP of the playoffs so far is seven feet tall and blond.


Dwyane Wade: Pookie was Miami's player of the game (32 points, 13-for-20, 6 rebounds) but he bricked three freebies -- including one that would have tied the game -- and blew the final play of the game to hell. As stephanie g pointed out: "LeBron looked like a big armless Rondo out there and Marion is arguably outplaying him for the series, or at least playing him to a draw. All the same, imagine if LeBron missed a critical freethrow and had butter fingers on the inbound pass like Wade did."

Three-point shooting: Clink. Clank. Clunk. Dallas went 4-for-19 from downtown and Miami was 2-for-14. The two starting lineups combined to go 0-for-13. Is fatigue setting in on both sides? Sure looks like it.

Peja Stojakovic: His NBA Finals minutes were stolen by...Brian Cardinal.

Wow.

Brendan Haywood: How poorly did he play in his three-minute stint? His only stat was one foul committed and the Mavs were outscored by 10 points while he was on the floor, prompting Tyson Chandler to jump up and ask Dallas coach Rick Carlisle to be subbed back in.

Said Chandler: "I told Coach, 'You have to get me back out there, I will play 48 (minutes) if I need to.'"

Speaking of Chandler...

Tyson Chandler: We call this an ego-ectomy:


LeBron James, flop machine: Didn't James Harden get crucified for shenanigans like this? Memo to LeBron: You're too good for theatrics like this.


Dirk Nowitzki, quote machine, Part 1: "Just battle it out. This is the finals. You have to go out there and compete and try your best for your team. So that's what I did."

Dirk Nowtizki, quote machine, Part 2: "There's no long term. I'll be alright on Thursday. ... Hopefully I'll get some sleep tonight, take some meds and be ready to go on Thursday."

Tyson Chandler, quote machine: "The average person, you know, has sick days and battling 100-something (fever), it's just tough to get out of bed. This guy is playing against the best athletes in the world."

Chris Bosh, quote machine: "There is not an illness report before the game or anything. I've never been out there and somebody pointed and said, 'He's got a fever!' "

Erik Spoelstra, quote machine: "This series is a jump ball. These guys live for these type of moments. It's about execution and disposition in the fourth quarter, being able to close out. We have a golden opportunity in the next game."

Jason Terry, quote machine: "The aggression was there for me personally. And I like that, that I was on the attack, which I said I would be. But as far as that relating into baskets, it didn't really happen for me."

Brian Cardinal, quote machine, Part 1: From TrueHoop: "It's The King vs. The Custodian! It's an unbelievable player against ... me."

Brian Cardinal, quote machine, Part 2: Also from TrueHoop: "[The Custodian is] a nickname from back in the day. Now I'm just happy if people call me Brian."

Chris' NBA Finals Lacktion Report: Brendan Haywood hobbled his way to a foul in 185 seconds, earning a +1 suck differential and a 1:0 Madsen-level Voskuhl. Fellow Texan Peja Stojakovic had only two seconds of playing time for a celebratory Super Mario!

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83 Comments:
Blogger Leland said...
Did anyone else notice the brief smile that Nowitzki flashed as he walked toward the bench after securing the rebound on Wade's missed free throw to tie the game?

Someone needs to screen shot that and upload it.

Dirk was probably thinking "revenge never tasted so sweet"

Anonymous Anonymous said...
"With all due respect to Henry Abbott"

No respect from me for Henry. He used to be one of my favorite bloggers but it really seems like he was designated the LeBron cheerleader position on ESPN before the season and now he seems just as fake as all the others to me.

Anonymous Vanilla Thunder said...
On the day after JJ Barea had the same amount of points (on 2 fewer shots) as the Chosen One I think this billboard is extra fitting.

http://deadspin.com/5809507/jj-bareas-sprite-ad-in-puerto-rico-takes-a-shot-at-el-ego-de-kobe

Deadspin commenters can try a little too hard sometimes, but the comment by dont-forget... is pitch perfect, "Hey Kobe, tell me how my ads taste."

Anonymous Stockton said...
That flopping is becoming sick... I mean, I respect the guys who absorve some contact and dive like they were hit by a mallet, but this is just too much...
Divac does not aprove it!!

Blogger Wormboy said...
Man, if the Mavs perimeter players just hit a mediocre percentage of 3 pointers, this series wouldn't even be close. Chalmers did it for the Heat in game 3 (4-6 from 3 for him was the difference maker), but the Mavs are really struggling. A lot of these are open shots, too, contrary to the excuse from JET after game 3. Gotta knock down some uncontested threes, fellas. Barea in particular looks lousy from outside. If they can pick it up even a little, the Miami is done. That's a big if, though. Each game looks like Miami wins three quarters, yet its split 2-2. Go figure. And can't the Mavs play that kind of D for longer than the final 6-7 minutes?


Oh, and I NEVER want to hear another peep from anybody about Bron being better than Jordan. NEVER. Bron should be at his physical peak now, yet he's being played even by Shawn Marion? FFS. That's disgraceful for a "future Hall-of-Famer," and a profound joke for a putative pantheon player. People forget that Jordan also had stinker games, but he never got outclassed by Pip for an entire series, much less an entire playoffs run. It's been said many times, but Bron ain't even the best guy on his own team.

Wade, on the other hand, clearly gets it. Yeah, he's had some brief rough spots, but dude is playing like a beast, with admirable intensity. And unlike Bosh, Wade is facing tough defense. Respect for Wade! {Except for the pathetic flops, of which I saw far fewer in game 4}

Question: can the series MVP go to a loser? Because thus far, even if they lose the series, Dirk is the best player on the court. A couple of stinker games might change that, and Wade is an extremely close second, but Dirk has utterly redeemed himself from 2006. Even if they lose, Dirk has shown himself to be tough and uber-clutch. And apologies to Dirk for the lack of umlaut on uber. :)


And let me toss out an hypothesis: is it possible that the Heat are getting psyched out by their intense media coverage? Wade seems to be the only guy locked in, and even he has changed his behavior (far less whining to the refs in game 4). I think these guys are reading their own press, a spectacularly dumb thing to do during a playoffs run. Or maybe this is just another way of restating the old adage: veterans play better in the crunch. The key Mavs have been there, and of Miami only Wade and Haslem qualify (Bron doesn't since he got his ass swept in the Finals). Haslem spends almost all of his energy on D, and I think he's doing it really well. But the dude ain't in Finals shape.

Anyway, this may be the Heat paying their dues.

And I assume that the winner of game 5 wins it all. I still see the odds slightly favoring the Heat. But if Dallas wins game 5, I feel good about them winning one of two in Miami. If the Heat win game 5, unlikely Dallas wins two in Miami.

Anonymous Vanilla Thunder said...
I also nominate "El Ego" as Kobe's new nickname.

Blogger Basketbawful said...
MJ's stat lines from his first title run:
40 min, 36 pts, 14-for-24, 12 ast, 8 reb, 3 stl
36 min, 33 pts, 15-for-18, 13 ast, 7 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk
52 min, 29 pts, 11-for-28, 9 ast, 9 reb, 4 stl, 2 blk
44 min, 28 pts, 11-for-20, 13 ast, 5 reb, 2 blk
48 min, 30 pts, 12-for-23, 10 ast, 4 reb, 5 stl, 2 blk

LeBron's in these Finals*
45 min, 24 pts, 9-for-16, 9 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl
39 min, 20 pts, 8-for-15, 8 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl, 1 blk
45 min, 17 pts, 6-for-14, 9 ast, 3 reb, 2 stl
45 min, 8 pts, 3-for-11, 9 reb, 7 ast, 2 stl

*Presumes Heat win the title.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Lebron did make a bunch of great passes throughout the game. I hate Lebron more than life itself, but I was impressed with that. He still deserves every bit of scrutiny.

Anonymous michal0501 said...
Given the recent comparisons between Lebron and Michael Jordan and Lebron's play in game 4 following Jason Terry's trash talking, I think it's a good time to point out this article that lists games where MJ absolutely crushes anyone who dared question his supremacy.

Blogger stephanie g said...
I honestly don't even know what to think anymore. Is LeBron the Wilt of SFs? Is it just that Wade and LeBron STILL haven't figured out how to play together? Even in Boston they basically took turns each half. Did Wade's meeting after game 2 make LeBron play this way? Is he throwing a temper tantrum and a bit of a Kobesque "You think I'm shooting too much? FINE." Not even an athletic decline can explain this since even Dirk's corpse shambled into the lane on multiple occasions once he realized his shot wasn't falling. He forced it. LeBron was chillaxin. Maybe Wade and LeBron's egos are finally colliding.

It's funny though. Bosh had a great first half but disappeared just as much as LeBron in the second half. I swear he has borderline stone hands. He only catches it cleanly on the perimeter and if it's a bounce pass. Any sort of force behind it, or if he's moving, and it bounces right off of him.

I almost feel bad for Wade. Dude was giving it his all.

Anonymous Matt said...
OH MY GOD LEBRON IS THE WORST BASKETBALL PLAYER EVAAAAAR. HE IS NEVER GONNA BE JORDAN. HE IS SO TRASH. HE KICKS BABIES.

But in all seriousness I believe that LeBron is deferring way too much to Dwayne Wade right now,m and I think after this game he will take notice. Miami isn't deep enough to have just one of them play good, and LeBron needs to be more agressive and not let Wade carry the load 2006 style. Whether or not LeBron decides to come out agressive and play at the level Pookie is playing is what will determine if the Heat win a title or not.

Anonymous Tree said...
If the Heat end up losing this series, we may have to add "Game 4" to LeBron's bawful accomplishments list alongside "Game 5".

Okay, LeBron apologists: what have you got to deflect the putrid odor that he emitted once again in the 4th quarter of a Finals game? His D was weak, so I guess that leaves ...?

It's hard to believe the "better team" is one missed shot away from 3 straight 4th quarter collapses; even without that missed shot, yikes. I stand by my comment from the last game: in the biggest moments, LeBron is exposed. He recently said last year that when he struggled in game 5, his team mates didn't rise to the occassion - they have this year, so now what?

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Last game, LeBron claimed he deferred to team mates that were hitting shots. Fair enough. This game those team mates were clunking everything - was this not a great opportunity for him to step up and be 'the man' as Wade has done? His response to watching his team struggle? Continue to defer and take only 1 shot. LeBron, you are Pippen 2.0 - that's not such a bad thing to be, accept your destiny. Start by removing 'King James' from your back - you're the king of nothing. I would suggest 'Prince James' is more appropriate. Again, no shame in being a prince.

Blogger AnacondaHL said...
Dallas was pretty awful those last minutes, but they did enough including inexplicably clutch free throws from Jet. But there were some crazy rebounds, throw ins, turnovers, etc. in that whole sequence, I don't even know what to say.

Blogger Dooj said...
@basketbawful... isn't this technically his 2nd title run?

Anonymous mbbjd said...
Good lord, Matt. It's true the media blows up Bron's failures (and, to be fair, his successes) to a ridiculous extent, but its disingenuous to act like the guy hasn't brought it on himself. The Chosen One tattoo? Calling himself the King? "We are all witnesses?" He signed off on every bit of that, to say nothing of The Decision. He brought this on himself.

As far as that team the Heat are playing in the Finals (oh yeah, who actually won last night's game)... Dirk. Motherfuckin. Nowitski. What a hoss.

Blogger Evan said...
"Pookie barely managed to recover the ball and fling it to Miller for what may have been the crappiest and most hopeless last second shot attempt I've ever seen in a Finals game: A 30-footer over Tyson Chandler while falling out of bounds"

Chapman would have made it :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPJaVwAQ8a8&

Anonymous kazam92 said...
I am now confused and terrified.

Blogger AnacondaHL said...
kazam92 - Yeah, me too. Did Bawful actually mean to write "with all due respect to Rick Reilly"? Is it 1996?

Blogger Japes said...
I'm a Bron supporter but there's just no excuse for the way he played last night. NONE. He's way too talented to get outplayed by DeShawn Stevenson...

Blogger Basketbawful said...
Yeah, me too. Did Bawful actually mean to write "with all due respect to Rick Reilly"? Is it 1996?

Admittedly, there might have been some, you know, mild sarcasm involved.

Anonymous kazam92 said...
I'm terrified because I honestly don't see LeBron bouncing back at this point. I could sort of live with the 8 points, but his defense as equally atrocious.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
in my humble opinion, the MVP of the playoffs so far is seven feet tall and blond

Sooo...the MVP of this series is Brigitte Nielsen?

Anonymous ChrisLTD said...
Deeeewaaaayne Wade is almost making me like him again. He played with incredible intensity and tenacity on offense and defense last night. He hit some incredibly tough shots, he blocked some centers and he was pulling down rebounds like a power forward. Awesome stuff.

Too bad he's the flop king. Those same acting shenanigans kept me from ever liking Reggie Miller...

Blogger Basketbawful said...
I'm terrified because I honestly don't see LeBron bouncing back at this point. I could sort of live with the 8 points, but his defense as equally atrocious.

Nah. He'll bounce back next game. Book it.

Blogger Doug H. said...
@Basketbawful: Like how he 'bounced back' after Game 5 last year with nine turnovers? I think Kazam has every right to be terrified since everyone this side of Skip Bayless is at a loss to explain what happened last night.

Anonymous WadenaTWFan said...
There's a good eplanation for LeBron's performance last night. He found out just before game-time that his mom had had a date with Delonte West the night before.

Anonymous Tree said...
I don't know, Bawful ... he never recovered from Game 5 last year. I'm sure he'll be much better next game, statistically ... but this guy has a history of inexplicable implosions.

I fully expected him to dominate the fourth last night after the criticism from game 2 & 3, but he disappeared once again - again, inexplicably since he attempted only a couple shots when it was clear his team needed him to step up. Instead, he deferred. I can't agree that it's a certainty he'll bounce back next game, based on his history.

Anonymous Basketball Court said...
they are just extending this out so that they can take it to 7 games...

Anonymous wtfkc said...
I hate Lebron James, and I hate Kobe Bryant. But one thing I can confidently say is that if Kobe got trapped like lebron did on that drive, he would have at least taken a crappy shot rather than flop. That flop is pathetic, and I have no respect for a player that pulls crap like that. That's not basketball.

Anonymous Mr. Too Nice Guy said...
It never fails to amaze me about how awful Rick Reilly is and how untimely so many of his articles turn out.

After LBJ's atrocious performance in Game 4, I can only imagine what kind of comments there would be on Reilly's most recent article about LeBron if ESPN actually allowed comments on his articles.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Got a question: have Lebron and Wade always been flopping like this? Was I just not aware of it, because they weren't under the magnifying glass like they are now? Or is that something that has started with them playing together?

Neither one was a flopper to me until this season, but this is some shameless shit they've been pulling off (especially in these playoffs).

Anonymous lechuckie said...
@stephanie g:

i was thinking about that too. maybe james was kinda upset that people gave wade too much credit for carrying the heat to a win in game 3. maybe he wanted to say "here wade, try to win the game by yourself this time."

Anonymous Aaron said...
Maybe this is EXACTLY what LeBron wanted. Even he admitted that he wanted the easy way when he joined Miami. He wants to win the ring without even breaking a sweat. We can't blame a young guy for wanting to get something without making it effort. Who doesn't want to be the guy who just walks into a bar and immediately gets all hot chicks' numbers then takes the two best ones home. This is AMERICA!

Anonymous Tree said...
@Anon - they've both been prolific 'flailers' ... run into the lane with no hope, flail their arms wildly and wait for a whistle (which comes 19 times out of 20). In fact, the flail is LeBron's go-to offensive move. But they have taken their flopping to a whole different level this year. To be fair, this is hardly exclusive to those guys. I agree with JVGs comment last night after LeBron's egregious 1q flop - the league needs to start fining these guys for this nonsense. The refs are bad enough as it is, allowing the players to make them look worse should not sit well with Stern.

Anonymous Pistoletti said...
Who fucked Lebron's mom this year?

Blogger Viscant said...
I'd bet my life savings Lebron plays better in Game 5. I'm not saying he'll have a great game because if you look at the stats of Lebron vs. Dallas this year (6 games now), they've done a pretty fine job on him.

But he'll certainly play better next game because he'll definitely hold the ball more and try harder. Booking Lebron for a 20 point+ game is a virtual sure thing.

Anonymous Drew said...
Here's a big problem for me - I'm totally agreeing with Skip Bayless. Lebron is arguably the best player in the league (ok, an argument which has seen its dynamic change in recent weeks) with next-to-no superstar intangibles.

The series should have been a sweep. Miami only needed to do a couple of things here and a couple of things there and it'd all be over already. That they haven't is interesting. Dallas could well go off next game and all of a sudden it's do or die for Miami (in that case, I suspect they die). Or Lebron comes back with the 40 point game I think half of us expected last night.

Anonymous Blizzard said...
Wade has always been a flopper. Don't you remember "fall down 7 times, get 8 whistles"?

Blogger Dooj said...
@anon

They've always been floppers. Wade usually takes it to the basket similar to a younger Ginobili before he flops, but LeBron has always acted like he got shot from a cannon after getting brushed...

I remember when he played against the Wizards in the playoffs one year and got brushed in the face... looked like he got KOed...

Blogger TransINSANO said...
Good times as the Heat teeter on the precipice of collapse while the Mavs start believing, and this only makes it sweeter; more Charles Barkley ripping the Heat and Miami:

http://deadspin.com/5810114/charles-barkley-miami-has-the-worst-fans

It's even better now because he doesn't have to pretend to be analytical about it. Just say it, Chuck, "They're assholes!"

Anonymous Koggz said...
I'm probably biased and at the core, it's not like I disagree with what he's saying; Lebron will have better nights, but seriously, the tone is reminiscent of a mother defending her cub. Gross.

"Henry Abbott, TrueHoop: This time of year I find there's nothing like two shots of espresso. In all seriousness, we all know that you work hard every day, and get great results some days. Just life. If he just keeps working, most nights he'll get dramatically better results."

These 5 on 5s are usually pretty cool though.

Anonymous Matt said...
http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/nba/news/story?id=6642006

Now some of you guys may agree with Barkley on this, but he's going a little overboard. All he does is play stupid and claim that he barely says anything negative about the Heat, but for the past nine months he's been ripping the Heat a new one. I don't know if he's just butt hurt about LeBron and Wade being more successful than he ever was as a player, but he can tone down the whole "keeping it real" act. He does nothing but rip the Heat and everything they do, even openly root against them when he's supposed to be an objective analyst, and then cries like a little baby himself when the Heat defend themselves in any sort of way.

And as far as ripping Heat fans go, they are pretty docile and quiet; but the Heat are not an integrated part of the city like the Lakers or the Celtics. The only people that can afford lower bowl seats are the loaded and celebrities. People like that have never been loud. The truth is there are a lot of things to do in Miami, and Heat games dont rank highly for some people. Now the REAL fans that actually do love the Heat cannot afford that. They are stuck in places like Hialeah and Carol City and have to root from the comfort of their one room apartment. If I could afford it, I would be in the lower bowl every game yelling at the top of my lungs. But I can't so sorry Chuck, the Jersey Shore cast just doesn't make that much noise courtside.

Anonymous Matt said...
http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/nba/news/story?id=6641556

And Stevenson is poking the lion once again. Taking it back to his Washington days

Blogger Will said...
Tree- I don't think fines are the way to go with the huge salaries too many players have. I think they should assess T's for flopping, because it is seriously unsportsmanlike. We'll see how LeBron et al. react when they get booted out of games for that shit.

Blogger frank said...
i had to google nazgul and im so glad that i did. that was really good

Blogger Dan B. said...
So Gilbert Arenas went on a blind date tonight... and live-tweeted about it. See for yourself.

Anonymous Wouter said...
@Matt: I'm pretty sure only the rich can afford lower bowl seats for Laker games as well, it's not just the Heat. I don't get how Barkley is ripping Miami fans though, has he actually watched a Laker playoff game during their last two title runs? At least the people sitting court side in Miami are interested in the game.

Also, on this series and how Dallas "deserves" to win. I'm not buying it. Look, I've been following the NBA for like 15 years already (I'm 27), I've seen a lot of great teams and a lot of teams that deserve to win titles and Dallas just isn't one of them. And I also disagree with the fact that Dallas has shut Miami down in the 4th. They haven't. I'll come back to my original post: Miami just turns on their crap mode in the 4th. For whatever reason, they seriously suck ending games in this series and while the Dallas defense probably has something to do with it, anyone can see it's Miami just fumbling play after play after play. If Dallas' defense was so good, they wouldn't be outplayed for 3 quarters every game. This is no homerism, it's just the way it is.

That being said, I hope to God Lebron is going to bounce back in game 5. If only it were to shut Stevenson and Terry up. Could you even imagine Lebron or Wade saying that sh? They'd probably be lynched. Literally.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
@Matt - re the Heat fans in the lower bowl. You're right and the fact that no real Miami basketball fans can afford lower bowl seats is completely David Stern's fault.

Blogger zyth said...
since the nba finals are drama enough on their own, i would like to give you something random.

Blake Griffin dunks over a tiger

Anonymous waylander said...
I've been thinking the same thing as Will. The NBA should start reviewing these types of plays after the game and give out technicals to blatant floppers. Not only would this fine them, it would count toward their technical limit for the year (leading to game suspensions if they do it too much).

The NBA already review the games because we’ve seen technicals rescinded many times this year, so it wouldn’t be much of an extra burden. It’s the only way I can see to police this crap.

Having said that, I also think there is a difference between exaggerating contact and flat out faking it.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Wouter, a team turning to "crap mode" in the 4th is a team that doesn't "deserve" a title, especially if it's as talented as the cHeat. Those guys can't stop pretending they're stone-cold killers, but obviously they're just not...
In basketball it's the final score that shows if you deserved the win or not, it's not soccer where one team can dominate and still lose.

Blogger TransINSANO said...
@Matt & Wouter: Yes, it's funny how Lakers tickets are just as expensive and there's plenty of other things to do in LA as well and yet the Lakers are still an integral part of the city and the fans don't need to be instructed how to "fan up" by the organization. I bet you guys won't even set any police cars on fire if the Heat win, pffffff! Talk about undeserving of a championship.

That being said, I hope to God Lebron is going to bounce back in game 5. If only it were to shut Stevenson and Terry up. Could you even imagine Lebron or Wade saying that sh? They'd probably be lynched. Literally.

Kind of like the sh you just said about Mavs, even though the Heat can't close them out, and Dallas clearly isn't scared of them anymore (you should be 3-1 or on parade, yet the series is still in doubt). Careful Heat fans, you're prematurely entering "the better team lost" territory; the last pathetic refuge of the defeated. Speaking of which, the way the Heat and their fans have behaved the past year is far more egregious, including this whining now that the "inferior" team, not worthy to compete with yours, won't bow down and show proper respect to your 8 point MJ. So if what DeShawn Stevenson says bugs you, you should now understand why everyone hates the Heat and their fans so much, even the gregarious Charles Barkley.

Anonymous Stockton said...
"The NBA already review the games because we’ve seen technicals rescinded many times this year, so it wouldn’t be much of an extra burden. It’s the only way I can see to police this crap."

It's like footb... soccer in the Premier League: if a guy dives and gets a penalty, or pretends to be hit and makes an opponent sent off, he can get suspended (if caught on camera).
Those brits take their fair-play pretty serious...

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Dan B - Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Also Wouter, according to coach Spölstra yesterday (I'm too lazy to look it up) both teams have "won" the same number of quarters in the finals.

Blogger Will said...
Wouter: what TransINSANO said. Plus, I don't recall Chuck bringing up the Laker fans so I don't know why you would. He was speaking about Heat fans in and of themselves. Also if the Heat are crapping the bed in 3 straight fourth quarters, there's no way you can say with a straight face that the Dallas D isn't getting to them.

Anonymous ingademic said...
@Wouter

Trying to not to be a Mavs homer, here, but they don't "deserve" to win? Are you forgetting this team swept the defending champions, put their foots on the throats of a very talented but young Thunder team and now have absorbed two haymakers from the Heat and refuse to back down?

You're starting to sound like condescending Spurs fans I know, who seem to forget they faced an 8th-seeded Knicks team in 1999, a Kidd-Jefferson-Kenyon Martin stalwart in 2003, and Lebron + assorted crap in 2007.

I'm pretty sure the Mavs have passed enough tests this postseason to be "deserving." Now they gotta get two more.

Anonymous The Other Chris said...
Agent Zero is *still* tweeting about his dating adventures.. amazing. Thank you, Dan B.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
@Stockton - how many times has this actually happened though? I saw the Champs League game, didn't look like anyone was bothered about being caught diving.

Blogger Dan B. said...
BadDave and The Other Chris -- Gilbert's dating exploits are pretty much exactly what I expected, even though I went in with zero expectations. If that makes sense.

Anonymous Aaron said...
ESPN's Stephen A. Smith is saying LeBron might be dealing with something personal that got him distracted.

Did his mom get arrested again? I actually feel for him if that's the case. I mean, even Bill Simmons said he did poorly last year against Boston because he found out his mom slept with West.

Blogger AnacondaHL said...
Here, if you need a strong example of believing Wade is atleast a decent human, I'll share a piece Wade wrote for the Chicago Tribune, detailing his fight to get custody of his kids.

Blogger AnacondaHL said...
Anonymous said... Spölstra


Haha, props, (as one who dabbles both in Deutsch and Español) I love this.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
In life there's no such thing as "deserves".
Either you win it or you lose it.

Although in today's society it seems the ones that complain the most get what they want. (If any canadian knows you have to complain and threaten to leave your phone company to get a good deal)

anyway, you win 4 games you deserve to win, you win less than 4 games too bad better luck next time

Blogger Wormboy said...
"won't bow down and show proper respect to your 8 point MJ"

8 point MJ. I LOLed.




And yes, the NBA definitely needs to do something with this ridiculous flopping. And for what its worth, Dweeane used to flop more but whine less. Remember in the 06 playoffs when he would literally throw his body into a crowd to get a foul

Anonymous Wouter said...
I was merely pointing out the fact that lower bowl ticket prices for Laker games are as high, or maybe even higher as for Heat games. Good God, I didn't know the obvious would create a fuss. And since when does a fan saying something about a team equal what a couple of players say? Man I thought I finally found a place where people enjoy and know basketball. I might as well start posting on the ESPN message board again.

Anyway, I don't care if there are 10 more of you that agree or disagree with me. I don't feel the Mavs would be a worthy champion, and that doesn't even have anything to do with me being a Heat fan. They could be playing the Bulls and I'd still feel the same way. BTW, didn't a lot of you say Miami don't deserve to be champs either? Last time I checked they beat a couple of very worthy opponents to get to this point as well. Hah, apparently it's all good as long as you're not saying anything pro Heat...

Blogger ringer37 said...
loved watching the heat give away the game in the 4t quarter, looked like they were just pissin down there leg. D Wade couldn't even hang onto that simple inbound pass in the last seconds! Hope the Mavs take it to them again tonight, go Mavs!

-zach @ the fat burning furnace blog

Blogger Will said...
Wouter said:" I might as well start posting on the ESPN message board again."
Why am I not surprised by this? Wouter, no one said you can't speak your mind, but if you bring up bad points, there will be consequences.

Anonymous Kono said...
I say let the refs assess technicals for egregious flopping. They already assess technicals for all sorts of subjective and ticky-tack things so might as well have some of that subjectiveness deter players from flopping.

Anonymous Koggz said...
@Wouter:

Just because a certain number of people on this blog have said the Heat don't deserve to be champions, don't let that view represent the whole. If I recall, even though Bawful himself has shown disdain for the Heat in his posts, he has admitted that the Heat are finally working the way they were envisioned to work (if you overlook their play as of late). No one's taking away from the Heat that they haven't beaten their fair share of good opponents either. Though I'm still rootin for the Mavs in this one. If they're gonna beat down my Lakers like they did, at least if the Mavs win it all we can say we lost to the champs.

Also, is anyone else anticipating heartbreak tonight? Even though a Lebron (or any of the Big 2.5 for that matter) meltdown would be great, I have a feeling if the Mavs do their usual 3 quarters shenanigans tonight, they're definitely going to pay for it. I don't envision constant fourth quarter comeback runs (even though history has proven otherwise). I mean, Herr Dirk can only plug along for so long right..... right??

Anonymous Tree said...
@Aaron - I saw that Screamin' A nonsense too ... are the apologists preparing an eventual defense? Many athletes have dealt with many personal problems, and they don't shrink in the moment. Look at Mike Miller and what he's going through with his daughter right now - it hasn't affected his play.

@Wouter: what "logic" (assuming there is any) are you basing that ridiculous statement on? You think Miami deserves to win the championship, but if Dallas beats a team that "deserves" to win it, they don't deserve to win it? That is beyond stupid. As has been said, whoever wins 4 games deserves to win it. You want to toss out your opinion, be prepared to back it up with ... well, something.

Blogger TransINSANO said...
They're a whiny bunch.

As for your bawful knowledge, Wouter, you might have want to watch this year's playoffs instead of talking about your years of experience, because the Mavericks and Heat have far and away been the best performing teams. It's actually NOT surprising the series is this close if you were purely going by the numbers and not perception.

Anyway, this year's excuse for LeBron sucking is Rashard Lewis banged his girlfriend. Pass it on.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Two years in a row the finals have turned the commenters on this site into uncivil scmucks. I don't like it. I hope not to be one of them.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Anyone hear this hilarious rumor that Rashard Lewis smashed Lebron's baby mamma?

Lol-patrol. Was that Delonte rumor ever corroborated?

Blogger Will said...
everyone- don't forget that the undeserving Mavs swept the 2-time defending champs.

Anonymous kazam92 said...
Anon - All I can say about Delonte is that the 3 Celtics that remained (Ray, Doc, & Delonte) all shook hands or hugged. Delonte and LeBron embraced

Anonymous kazam92 said...
Oh on another note. Dan Lebatard and Charles Barkley basically bet that the loser of the series will have to wear a Speedo while they record his radio show on the beach for 4 hours.

Anonymous DJ Leon Smith said...
Wow, a Heat fan saying another team doesn't "deserve" to be champions? Now I've seen everything.

Anonymous kazam92 said...
Well it wasn't me DJ Leon

Anonymous Koggz said...
+1 to kazam.

I get what you're trying to say Wouter, I haven't ignored the fact that you'd still feel the same way even if the Heat weren't in the Finals, but doesn't mean we agree with it. Yeah, you may argue they've been getting punked around for 3/4 of the game, but it does take championship qualities to stay standing to grind out the last quarter and stay alive. Winners win most of the minutes, but champions stay fighting for all 48 (times seven).

Blogger AnacondaHL said...
BadDave - Welcome to Playoffs Posting. This happens at every sports site.

Anonymous Save On Anything said...
If the Mavs can keep the score over 100 pts they have a chance. If it comes down to defensive games with 95 points or less they are probably in trouble.