<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Melo_061 @ Jun 4 2006, 08:11 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Against who? Chicago? NJ? Detroit who were taken to 7 by the cavs?</div>Who's to say it'll be any different against Dallas?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (LightsOut @ Jun 5 2006, 12:05 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Who's to say it'll be any different aginst Dallas?</div>Because Dallas are much superior than all those teams Miami faced.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Miami in 5 or a sweep, Dallas gots no one that was in the finals so they dont know WTH will happen and how they will play on the other hand Miami will no how to play because they have a 3x Finals MVP and 3 rings Shaq and Miami also has Alonzo and they will know how to play and Dwyane Wade was bron for the NBA Finals so will just go and kill the Nazi that his own game. Miami in 5 or a SWEEP.</div> Van Horn has Finals experience just so you know, and including their head coach Avery Johnson. And your whole post is a bunch of drivel imo, and calling Dirk a Nazi. :no3: Don't you have some pop and lock gun battle you have to go to? Don't forget your fists of fury.Edited: Mavs in 7.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Rok @ Jun 4 2006, 09:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Too much talk coming from both sides, how about we wait till after game 1 for all this.</div>true, game 1 will be the indicator.sucks we have to wait till thursday...
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Mixx @ Jun 4 2006, 09:34 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Miami in 5 or a sweep, Dallas gots no one that was in the finals so they dont know WTH will happen and how they will play on the other hand Miami will no how to play because they have a 3x Finals MVP and 3 rings Shaq and Miami also has Alonzo and they will know how to play and Dwyane Wade was bron for the NBA Finals so will just go and kill the Nazi that his own game. Miami in 5 or a SWEEP.</div> :HAHAHA:
Dallas is going to show why the West is elite. I will root for the Heat though, but I don't mind the West winning again.
Well let's break it down, the x factors in this series are Shaq,wade, Dirk and avery. Now we all know shaq stuggles against people who size up well against him and he hasn't played well against Dampier. I don't see Shaq puttuing up extrodinary numbers. No-one will stop Dwayne wade but the officiating is going to be key. If wade doesn't get all the fouls he wants, he's efficiency and effectiveness will go down. Dirk is unguardable, that's clear. I'm not sure who will pick him up but i'm guessing it's Posey or haslem. Dirk has undergone a mentality change where he will do anything to win, i have never seen this urgency from him.Avery johnson has been one of the best coaches this season, he's taken the mavs from no defense to the best defensive team in the league. He's adjustments in the spurs series was something of greatness. Pat riley is also one of the best but can he get Shaq to go to vintage? I don't think so.So all in all, Mavs in 6. After watching the heat/pistons series, i think Detroit beat themeslves more than the heat won. The Mavs knocked off the reigning nba champs on the road and have shown the toughness and urgency of nba champs.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Melo_061 @ Jun 4 2006, 11:53 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Well let's break it down, the x factors in this series are Shaq,wade, Dirk and avery. Now we all know shaq stuggles against people who size up well against him and he hasn't played well against Dampier. I don't see Shaq puttuing up extrodinary numbers. No-one will stop Dwayne wade but the officiating is going to be key. If wade doesn't get all the fouls he wants, he's efficiency and effectiveness will go down. Dirk is unguardable, that's clear. I'm not sure who will pick him up but i'm guessing it's Posey or haslem. Dirk has undergone a mentality change where he will do anything to win, i have never seen this urgency from him.Avery johnson has been one of the best coaches this season, he's taken the mavs from no defense to the best defensive team in the league. He's adjustments in the spurs series was something of greatness. Pat riley is also one of the best but can he get Shaq to go to vintage? I don't think so.So all in all, Mavs in 6. After watching the heat/pistons series, i think Detroit beat themeslves more than the heat won. The Mavs knocked off the reigning nba champs on the road and have shown the toughness and urgency of nba champs.</div>X factors in the series are not Shaq and Wade, they have never let us down in the playoffs so I don't see why they should be Miami's x factor here. To me the real x factor is the supporting cast for the Heat along with Pat Riley. Everytime Antoine puts up 20 points we always win and if we can get Gary and Zo to contribute in as well it just helps even more.I can agree with you that Dirk and Avery are the x factors though, Dallas doesn't fair well when Dirk doesn't score 20+. Pat Riley is probably going to try to see how Posey/Anderson will do against Dirk aswell. Best defensive team in the league?Possibly to a great defensive but not the best in the league. Pat Riley has had more success in the finals then Avery, experience matters here considering neither of the teams have ever made the finals. I think Pat has the advantage as far as in coaching, hes been in this position previous times.Detroit beat themselves? In game 6 they beat themselves because none of there shots were falling but every other game you can say we beat them by playing well, right?I'm not trying to discredit the Mavs here but the Spurs aren't the same championshp team they were before. Sacramento gave them a few problems in the first round and Duncan has been troubled by injuries this season, hes not the same player he was last year and the years before that.All we can do now is wait until game 1 and see how our predictions turn out.
Well the X factors are Shaq and wade because it has been proven that Shaq has problems with guys who size up with him. Wade has never been in the nba finals and may disappear.And detroit beat themselves, they stopped the ball movement, took stupid shots and just didn't play Detroit basketball. It began in the cavs series and continued into the heat series.edit: Did you see Duncan againt dallas? he destroyed them.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Melo_061 @ Jun 5 2006, 12:50 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Well the X factors are Shaq and wade because it has been proven that Shaq has problems with guys who size up with him. Wade has never been in the nba finals and may disappear.And detroit beat themselves, they stopped the ball movement, took stupid shots and just didn't play Detroit basketball. It began in the cavs series and continued into the heat series.edit: Did you see Duncan againt dallas? he destroyed them.</div>Dallas was the better team that series and they proved it. I was just stating Duncan hasn't been the same player that he was in the past. Shaq never lets his team down in the finals and even as his age goes up he is still a dominant force in the post. Wade may have never made it to the finals before but look how well he did in the ECF in his first year. I'm pretty sure they won't let us down thats why I don't think they should be the x factor.Detroit had plenty of wide open looks, they just missed the shots. They could have taken the series against Miami as well but they absolutely choked.
I always want revenge on the team that beat my team - so even though I really don't care for Dallas, I want Dallas to woop Miami's ass - Shaq won't fulfill his gay promise. Dallas wins in however many it takes.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ReppinTheD @ Jun 4 2006, 10:34 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I always want revenge on the team that beat my team - so even though I really don't care for Dallas, I want Dallas to woop Miami's ass - Shaq won't fulfill his gay promise. Dallas wins in however many it takes.</div>If the team that outplayed you badly gets beaten down in the Finals it'll only make your team look even worse.
Dallas proved to be the better team by winning in 7 against the Spurs, and I believe they are the better team now, even if the Heat have more talent up top, in Wade and Shaq.And I don't know how someone can say Wade and Shaq have never let the Heat down, when this is the first time the Heat have made the Finals, and they lost out last year in the ECF's due to injuries and their play wasn't up to par.Mavs in 6.
^True, noone will make anyone change their mind, because these teams haven't played alot like the Mavs/Spurs and the Mavs/Suns have.I do believe the Mavs have beat 3 teams that are superior to the 3 the Heat beat to get the Finals, you can't really use that as a judge, all teams are different.I think everyone will agree that Dirk and Shaq are going to get theirs in this series(allthough I do think Diop/Damp will do a better job than the Heat fans are going to give them credit for), and I do believe Wade gets his points as well, BUT I do think he'll have a much tougher time agianst the Mavs and the multitude of players thrown at him, than he has all playoffs.See, everyone is assuming that Wade is guarded by Howard, and while he will be sometimes, it's not like they'll be on each other all the time.But a point people are missing is, who's going to stop Howard? The Spurs had Bowen, and the Suns had Marion, and while Bowen had succes, Marion didn't...and I dont' think swing player on the Heat is near as good defensively, as Marion or Bowen.Someone said the Heat are being underrated, and I believe it's the exact opposite...look the Nation is saying Heat 52% winning while the Mavs have 48%...the Mavs are the underrated team if you ask me.The Heat are good at home, and so are the Mavs, and both teams are good on the road.The biggest difference I see is that the Mavs winning in a game 7 in SA is better than any road win any team has had in the playoffs, and winning an elimination game in PHX is pretty tough as well.
This series will hinge on Shaq. Wade will drive and score, Dirk will get his share of shots and points, but I'm wondering about Shaq. He's not in his prime. Whatever you say, he's no longer a consistent dominator. Game 6 against the Pistons was the exception, not the rule. He's now played through three rounds, 17 games total, and he's going to play at least 4 more games, although it'll probably be more like 6. Nevertheless, he's been beaten on through 17 games, and he has to be tired. Even Shaq, tireless workhorse that he is, runs down sometime. If he can find some hidden reserve, and perform consistently, then I think the Heat can win the series.
