haha very true! nah its either the mavs or detroit whose gonna win this. i gotta be honest the suns are doing well. i thought the clippers would have made it but nope. miami and detroit.... thats a toughie but detroit should win.... unless shaq plays like hes 28 again. then ouch for the pistons😖
one thing about that spurs mavs last game... mark cubans face when the mavs squandered that lead and then the spurs went 3 pts in front... he looked like he was gonna kill his team! lucky for them dirk pulled it off
Originally posted by wuTa
soon as the pistons won, shaq started the shit talking.....he claims its gonna be a different series than last year, because this year he is 100% and last year he wasn't...suuure fattie, can't wait to hear his excuse this year when detroit knocks his fatass ass out for 3 consecutive years, oh god let it be true...and the refs better be consitent and call offensive fouls when he starts throwing the elbows, this is the 1st year they are actually calling that shit....also, i hear people talkin about how antwaine walker is makeup the difference from last year.....i immediatly started laughing when i heard this
i dont know whether or not antoine walker has always been good for the heat this year but him and udonis haslem have definitely played a huge part in the heat advancing to the conference finals.
If the Pistons play like they are the underdogs then they will put the Heat away. But lately they have been far too cocky and keep thinking they can just turn it on anytime, that will not get it done.
Shaq always talks shit, for some reason he doesnt seem to realise he is on the decline. Sure he is still a force but Ben can guard him one on one and keep Shaq away from his sweet spots. Wade will have a tough time with Prince but i think the key to Detroit containing Wade is to keep putting different defenders on him so he keeps having to adjust his game. Billups will eat Williams alive on both ends of the floor, that isnt even a contest. I feel sorry for anyone that has to chase Rip around, they wont have much left for offense. Sheed should take Walker down low and dominate, but if Sheed insists on camping out by the 3pt line then that takes away one of Detroit's advantages. Another factor that might come into play is the amount of bigs that the Pistons have to guard Shaq, the Wallaces, Dyes and Cato are all big bodies that will wear the old fella down over the series.
Im picking the Mavs over the Suns in the West. No team has an answer for Dirk and against the Suns he can get alot closer to the basket and shot at will. Nash is most effective when he doesnt have to play defense (i know some of you dont think he does anyway) but he will either have Terry or Harris, both of which like to slash and get to the rim. That will wear Nash down and the Suns really need him at full throttle to make their offense tick. The Mavs are also very capable of running you off the floor with athletes like Terry, Harris, Howard, Daniels and to a lesser extent Stackhouse. They will have no worries getting into a shot out with the Suns but they have the advantage in that they can play defense to.
but the mavs do play d. you dont beat the spurs in a 7 game series without it!!!!
i personally think if antoine walker would stop shooting so many threes and started pentrating and posting up more... he'd be a far more effective weapon for the heat, but he always seems to be on the perimeter. james posey will probably be put on rip... who may do a decent job but its not gonna stop rip from scoring 15-20 a game. shaq has the edge over wallace... his bulk alone and height advantage should see him have huis way with ben... but barely.
billups will have a field day, no-one will stop him, and rasheed? maybe the heat will put zo on him? speaking of zo... he may be a factor in this. but detroit will win 4-2 methinks. mavs will win 4-1 maybe 4-2.
the final itself? mavs 4-2.... but a very close 4-2!
haha cheers.... its right though. the spurs are one of the best teams of the last 5 years. they're defence isnt as good as the pistons but i'd say its second best... and when you have duncun, ginobili and parker gunning for you that offence is hard work to play against... not to mention bowen, barry, fin and van exel shooting from the outside as well, and the clutch of horry. tough team to play. well done mavs and lets win that chip😄
Originally posted by koolruningz
If the Pistons play like they are the underdogs then they will put the Heat away. But lately they have been far too cocky and keep thinking they can just turn it on anytime, that will not get it done.
Shaq always talks shit, for some reason he doesnt seem to realise he is on the decline. Sure he is still a force but Ben can guard him one on one and keep Shaq away from his sweet spots. Wade will have a tough time with Prince but i think the key to Detroit containing Wade is to keep putting different defenders on him so he keeps having to adjust his game. Billups will eat Williams alive on both ends of the floor, that isnt even a contest. I feel sorry for anyone that has to chase Rip around, they wont have much left for offense. Sheed should take Walker down low and dominate, but if Sheed insists on camping out by the 3pt line then that takes away one of Detroit's advantages. Another factor that might come into play is the amount of bigs that the Pistons have to guard Shaq, the Wallaces, Dyes and Cato are all big bodies that will wear the old fella down over the series.
Funny, everything you said the Pistons would do, they didn't. Ben Wallace couldn't guard Shaq, Prince didn't slow down Wade at all,Wade slowed himself down with the fould. Billups didn't do much, neither Sheed.
Miami didn't impress me with that victory...Detroit was obviously still fatigued from the cleveland series and miami was extremely fresh and it showed, detroit was flatter than shaqs bald head in the 2nd half, they shot like 34% as a team from the field for the whole game(and it wasn't Miami's defense, Detroit were missing wide open shots), your not gonna beat anyone shooting like that, also Billups tore up the heat in the 1st half, Williams couldnt guard him at all, Wade did slow himself down in a sense with the fouls, but detroit made that happen by beating him to spots and getting him to committ offenseve fouls, and Billups was guarding Wade, not Prince, i'm sure that will change tho....i expected a game like this, I figured that the heat would be fresher and Detroit would run out of gas in game 1, in game 2, I expect to see more Detroit style basketball with a sense of urgency to tie the series
Originally posted by tanjot
i dont know whether or not antoine walker has always been good for the heat this year but him and udonis haslem have definitely played a huge part in the heat advancing to the conference finals.
I don't think they have played that big of a part at all, they played a part of a reason but not a "huge" part, Walker wasn't there last year and Miami was still in the Eastern Finals, Miami has two of the best players in the league, one on the decline, the other on the incline, but two of the best nontheless.....Wade and Shaq are the two reasons why Miami made it to the Eastern Finals this year, and last.......the defense collaspes on Wade and Shaq and Walker hits wide open 3's, thats no different than what Jones did last year for the Heat
Originally posted by wuTa
That was a tainted vicory imo...Detroit was obviously still fatigued from the cleveland series and miami was extremely fresh and it showed, detroit was flatter than shaqs bald head in the 2nd half, they shot like 34% as a team from the field(and it wasn't Miami's defense, Detroit were missing wide open shots), your not gonna beat anyone shooting like that, also Billups tore up the heat in the 1st half, Williams couldnt guard him at all, Wade did slow himself down in a sense with the fouls, but detroit made that happen by getting him to committ offenseve fouls, and Billups was guarding Wade, not Prince, i'm sure that will change tho....i expected a game like this, I figured that the heat would be fresher and Detroit would run out of gas in game 1, in game 2 I expect to see more Detroit style basketball with a sense of urgency to tie the series
Yes, this Pistons did shoot terribly, but Miami did a great job on the defensive boards to keep them from second chances. You remeber the Cavs game where the Pistons got 5 Off Rebounds in the last minute. If they don't, we might not be having this conversation right now. Billups didn't tear it up in the first half, though. He got a lot of foul shots. In the start of the 4th quarter he was 5-16, not exactly tearing it up. I'm not saying Williams can guard him, because he can't. Wade was unstoppable when he played, and don't expect him to get in foul trouble again. Shaq, I don't know. One day he'll be in foul trouble, the next day he'll on;y have 1 all game. Walker, Payton, and Williams actually did something too. They are the reason the Heat kept the lead when Shaq and Wade went out. I expected a huge run by the Pistons then, but it never happened.
I expect the Pistons to tie it also, but I expect the game to be very close too. Hopefully it will go the Heats way. GO HEAT!
yea, i remember game 5 of the cavs, that was a fresh detroit team, this team wasn't which is what allowed Miami to keep them off the boards, the only two who showed energy were B.Wallace and Hunter, and there not gonna game hurt you offensively, Detroit did make a couple runs, there was time were the heat only scored 2 pts in 7 minutes, but every time detroit made a run the fatigued set in more and more, Hamilton had no lift his jumpers, Rasheed was anything but active down low, and Billups stopped takin it to the hoop, Detroits shit shooting and lack of energy is what kept Miami going when Wade and Shaq were out, not Williams, Walker, or Payton.... i'll give Miami credit for beating Detroit, but not too much, this was more of a Detroit loss than a Miami win