NBA Finals

[Grizalltheway]

Start tonight. The Cavs supposedly had no chance against the Pistons, and it seems that most people feel the same about this series. The Cavs won both regular season meetings between the two, however. Discuss

[NDSUFREAK]

GO CAVS!

[Peems]

start tomorrow

[Grizalltheway]

start tomorrow

xoopsx xoopsx xbangx xbangx

I know what day it is, I promise.

[gmoney55]

LeBron is going to have be unbelievable for the Cavs to have a chance. I'd love it to happen, but I just don't see. Spurs in 5, maximum of 6.

[813Jag]

Maybe we'll see Bowen knock out Lebron or Hughes. xlolx

[gmoney55]

If he knocks out Hughes, would that be a bad thing for the Cavs??

[813Jag]

If he knocks out Hughes, would that be a bad thing for the Cavs??
No he's pretty much been a non-factor. Now Gibson.......xwhistlex

[jstate83]

Maybe we'll see Bowen knock out Lebron or Hughes. xlolx


Then he will be really introduced to physical play.
You know how it's done in the EAST.xlolx

Going with King James.
They "didn't have a chance" in every series they played except Washington and they still standing.

Side note to my boy KOBE and my LAKERS.xsmhx xlolx xsmhx
See how a TRUE SUPERSTAR takes what he has, put's it on his shoulders, and accomplish more than a 1 and done 1st round exit. xthumbsupx

[813Jag]

Then he will be really introduced to physical play.
You know how it's done in the EAST.xlolx

Going with King James.
They "didn't have a chance" in every series they played except Washington and they still standing.

Side note to my boy KOBE and my LAKERS.xsmhx xlolx xsmhx
See how a TRUE SUPERSTAR takes what he has, put's it on his shoulders, and accomplish more than a 1 and done 1st round exit. xthumbsupx

I think it'll be a good series. I don't think it'll be too dirty.

[HIU 93]

Cavs in 7.

[Ivytalk]

Cavs in 7.

YESSSS!!! xthumbsupx xthumbsupx

If the Cavs win, it might pump up the whole NBA.

[jstate83]

YESSSS!!! xthumbsupx xthumbsupx

If the Cavs win, it might pump up the whole NBA.


Shat the Cav's win, the biggest thing that will be pumped up is Phillip Knight and NIKE.

They laughed at him when he gave that "boy" a $90 million contract before he was even drafted out of highschool.

If the "MAN", King James get a title now, that contract will be torn up with a quickness and replaced with a contract that JORDAN didn't even see.xlolx
Nike will make sure King James stay's with them forever.

Besides..................Since the JORDAN LINE has moved into the casual 30 something gear, NIKE need a James line to recapture the "younger" market again.

Reguardless, this dude is bout to be really paid................LIKE HE NEED MORE MONEY. xlolx

[mcveyrl]

Reguardless, this dude is bout to be really paid................LIKE HE NEED MORE MONEY. xlolx

Hey, he's about to have another kid!! Kids are expensive!!!xlolx xlolx

[jstate83]

Hey, he's about to have another kid!! Kids are expensive!!!xlolx xlolx


At least he got them ALL under 1 roof, taking care of his family.
Both of them are 22 years old and been together since they hit highschool.
I see them married in a few years.xnodx

Besides...................He's not globe trotting, BUYING kids like some celeb's. xlolx

[SunCoastBlueHen]

They are still playing basketball? xconfusedx

Doesn't next season's pre-season start in like a month and a half?

[jstate83]

They are still playing basketball? xconfusedx

Doesn't next season's pre-season start in like a month and a half?

We all know you don't watch. xrolleyesx

[SU Jag]

We all know you don't watch. xrolleyesx


Its probably all of the behind the back passing, killa cross-overs, and great moves that throw him off. He probably likes that pass, pass, shoot style!xlolx

[mcveyrl]

At least he got them ALL under 1 roof, taking care of his family.
Both of them are 22 years old and been together since they hit highschool.
I see them married in a few years.xnodx

Besides...................He's not globe trotting, BUYING kids like some celeb's. xlolx

This is true. I don't keep up with the NBA much, but every interview I've seen with Lebron has impressed me. He seems to have his priorities in order and to be mature beyond his years (you just about have to be to have the kind of success he's had and not go nuts!!)

Some people have made a big deal about his interview where he said he would miss the birth of his child if it was during a game, but come on, it's the NBA Finals!! You got a lifetime to enjoy your kids...

Plus, you know he could buy some nice kids if he wanted to!xlolx xlolx

[SunCoastBlueHen]

Its probably all of the behind the back passing, killa cross-overs, and great moves that throw him off. He probably likes that pass, pass, shoot style!xlolx

Set shot only. The jumper's a bit flashy for me also. :p

You're right, though. Love the college game, just don't follow the pros.

[jstate83]

This is true. I don't keep up with the NBA much, but every interview I've seen with Lebron has impressed me. He seems to have his priorities in order and to be mature beyond his years (you just about have to be to have the kind of success he's had and not go nuts!!)

Some people have made a big deal about his interview where he said he would miss the birth of his child if it was during a game, but come on, it's the NBA Finals!! You got a lifetime to enjoy your kids...

Plus, you know he could buy some nice kids if he wanted to!xlolx xlolx

I saw that interview.
Look's like the people around him, ESPECIALLY HIS GIRL, have stuff in order also.
He said everything is worked out with them and her if he can't make it.

They all know he has a job to do.
It ain't like he will miss it because he's out clubbing with the boy's.
This guy has a way of carring himself that makes you forget he should be just graduating college.xthumbsupx

I'm glad he's mature enough to not let a bunch of whinning OUTSIDERS dictate his home life.
He start listening to the PC crowd and not take care of business, then they are doomed.
They know what's best for THEM and evidently his girl told him to "Stay at work, I got this". xlolx

[mcveyrl]

They know what's best for THEM and evidently his girl told him to "Stay at work, I got this". xlolx

Amen to all that!

Plus, if the Cavs are at home, he'll be able to hear her yell "Don't Touch Me!" from the arena. That's all I was good for when my son was born anyway!!xlolx xlolx

[jstate83]

Amen to all that!

Plus, if the Cavs are at home, he'll be able to hear her yell "Don't Touch Me!" from the arena. That's all I was good for when my son was born anyway!!xlolx xlolx


xlolx xlolx xlolx xlolx xlolx xlolx xlolx xlolx

[PantherRob82]

Hope the Cavs come out fighting.

[Go...gate]

Spurs in five.

[yoself09]

The spurs will destroy the cavs in this series
and we will all witness Duncan pwn James

Go Spurs!!!

[YoUDeeMan]

Ouch! LBJ better show up or this series is over in a hurry.

[Peems]

I stated it earlier and i will again. TIMMY!!!! will show Lebron who the real superstar is. People went gaga over one performance, yet two games in a row it's taken Lebron till the third quarter to get his first field goal. Plus I can't stand Mark Jackson's infatuation with Lebron, if Lebron makes a pass they will say it is perhaps the greatest pass in NBA history, they then start going on about how he's not scoring because he is dishing out assists, then when they looked at the stat sheet the realized he had...3. Too much hype...way too much hype.

[Peems]

i'm at work and watching the gamecast, i didn't even record this game because i knew it would be ugly. 25 pt lead at half. Lebron actually has some field goals this time. 4/11 from the field and 5/9 from the stripe. That's an impressive 13 pts with no assts and 2 rebs and 2 fouls for those counting at home. Even though i'm cheering for the spurs you still gotta question Mike Brown sticking with Hughes. Gibson has more minutes because of lebron foul trouble, but he needs to go with him more than the injured larry. GO SPURS!!!

[813Jag]

i'm at work and watching the gamecast, i didn't even record this game because i knew it would be ugly. 25 pt lead at half. Lebron actually has some field goals this time. 4/11 from the field and 5/9 from the stripe. That's an impressive 13 pts with no assts and 2 rebs and 2 fouls for those counting at home. Even though i'm cheering for the spurs you still gotta question Mike Brown sticking with Hughes. Gibson has more minutes because of lebron foul trouble, but he needs to go with him more than the injured larry. GO SPURS!!!
I hope the Cavs don't think they can turn it on like they did against Detroit. xnonono2x Larry Hughes hasn't done much to warrant him playing hurt, he's gotta hit shots or make some plays.

[Peems]

I hope the Cavs don't think they can turn it on like they did against Detroit. xnonono2x Larry Hughes hasn't done much to warrant him playing hurt, he's gotta hit shots or make some plays.

amen. Even though i constantly diss Lebron he and Gibson are the only reason they are here. Mike Brown has proven he is not a good coach and as Jeff Van Gundy said there are at least 4 teams in the Western Conference that are better than Cleveland, i guess we'll see tomorrow

[dbackjon]

NBA is still on? Is anyone watching?

[Cleets]

NBA is still on? Is anyone watching?

Wha..? huh... NBA..? Who won? *Yawn.....

[813Jag]

amen. Even though i constantly diss Lebron he and Gibson are the only reason they are here. Mike Brown has proven he is not a good coach and as Jeff Van Gundy said there are at least 4 teams in the Western Conference that are better than Cleveland, i guess we'll see tomorrow
This being the NBA Cleveland will win one of the next 2 games but the Spurs will win in 5. Mike Brown just stands there like this xeekx

[bluehenbillk]

I'll try to tread lightly here but you have to throw it out there somehow. I've noticed a trend in the past few years that interest in the NBA is both waning & shifting. You have LeBron in the Finals (supposed to be the next great star) against a team that has been there before (in the 7th biggest media market), yet ratings are real bad (not hockey bad, but) & I can't imagine them improving much with how decisive the 1st 2 games were.

But putting it out there, I think there are far fewer white people interested in the NBA nowadays, it's evident in the demographics of the players, the demographics of the fans watching in-arena & wearing team apparel & watching the games on TV. Am I right or wrong on this??

[dbackjon]

I'll try to tread lightly here but you have to throw it out there somehow. I've noticed a trend in the past few years that interest in the NBA is both waning & shifting. You have LeBron in the Finals (supposed to be the next great star) against a team that has been there before (in the 7th biggest media market), yet ratings are real bad (not hockey bad, but) & I can't imagine them improving much with how decisive the 1st 2 games were.

But putting it out there, I think there are far fewer white people interested in the NBA nowadays, it's evident in the demographics of the players, the demographics of the fans watching in-arena & wearing team apparel & watching the games on TV. Am I right or wrong on this??

I don't think that race is that big of an issue. I think the STYLE of play employed by San Antonio, etc is BORING, and a real turn off to most fans.

In addition, the whole Suns-Sp*rs fiasco has left a very bad taste in many peoples mouths.

[813Jag]

I'll try to tread lightly here but you have to throw it out there somehow. I've noticed a trend in the past few years that interest in the NBA is both waning & shifting. You have LeBron in the Finals (supposed to be the next great star) against a team that has been there before (in the 7th biggest media market), yet ratings are real bad (not hockey bad, but) & I can't imagine them improving much with how decisive the 1st 2 games were.

But putting it out there, I think there are far fewer white people interested in the NBA nowadays, it's evident in the demographics of the players, the demographics of the fans watching in-arena & wearing team apparel & watching the games on TV. Am I right or wrong on this??
Look at the fans at the games and tell me what you see. xwhistlex On the whole I agree with jon, San Antonio has never garnered high ratings.

[AZGrizFan]

I'll try to tread lightly here but you have to throw it out there somehow. I've noticed a trend in the past few years that interest in the NBA is both waning & shifting. You have LeBron in the Finals (supposed to be the next great star) against a team that has been there before (in the 7th biggest media market), yet ratings are real bad (not hockey bad, but) & I can't imagine them improving much with how decisive the 1st 2 games were.

But putting it out there, I think there are far fewer white people interested in the NBA nowadays, it's evident in the demographics of the players, the demographics of the fans watching in-arena & wearing team apparel & watching the games on TV. Am I right or wrong on this??

I can't speak for all white guys, but I think the NBA has taken remarkable steps to curb the "gangsta" image of the game in the past few years. There was about a 5-7 year period where I (a white male) couldn't stand to watch the game. Now, the AI's of the world are fading away and being replaced by nicer human beings like LeBron.

For me, it's purely about the style of play. I am not (and never have been) entertained by the style of play that is being witnessed in these finals....not to mention that when there's very little suspense---going in---about who is going to win, that makes audience participation lag as well. It's like knowing the end of a book before you read it....

[gmoney55]

For the NBA and NHL, and to a lesser extent MLB, it's all about the market. Cleveland is in the 17th largest market, SA is in the 37th. You get the Lakers, Knicks, Celtics, Sixers back in there, you could see a nice boost.

Sopranos killed the NBA on Sunday night too. I know I watched the finale and planned on catching the NBA from 10 PM on, but it was already a 20-point deficit and I went for some Zzzzzzs instead.

[Peems]

I read an interesting article about how they should redo the playoffs. read it here. i'll post it with the link too, because i believe you have to be an "insider" to read it.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2007/insider/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&id=2900512

SAN ANTONIO -- For those of you who don't think the NBA's playoff system needs tweaking, let Game 2 be your wake-up call. The NBA's playoff system needs tweaking.
Thanks to the incomprehensible mediocrity of the Eastern Conference, the NBA's marquee event is becoming a joke. The Spurs are so obviously better than the Cavaliers that, LeBron factor or not, this is sure to end up as a total ratings disaster for the league. Forget Tony Parker (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3527) versus Tony Soprano; how about Tony Parker versus Eva Longoria? One wonders whether ABC would have been better off airing a rerun of "Desperate Housewives" rather than Sunday night's one-sided affair.


Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images
King James' Cavs are proving that there's a huge gap in talent between the East and West.


So while the Cavs spent the aftermath of Game 2 talking about improving their effort and their execution, we all know there's only thing that could give them a real chance: switching opponents and playing somebody from the East.
Not that they'll admit it publicly.
"It's just an upgrade from series to series," LeBron James (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3704) said when I asked him about going from Detroit to San Antonio. "From the first round to the second round, conference finals, and then to the Finals, it's an upgrade. It doesn't matter who it is, the intensity level automatically picks up."
Well, that's half true. For the Cavs, it's definitely an upgrade. For the Spurs ... not so much. This is going to upset some Cavs fans, but Cleveland is the weakest team San Antonio has faced in this postseason.

Phoenix, obviously, was superior to Cleveland -- no sane person would dispute this. Additionally, I would submit that Utah and Denver were substantially better, too -- once you adjust for the increased difficulty of the Western Conference and the fact that both were peaking before they ran into the Spurs.
Take it from somebody who was there -- San Antonio's first-round series against Denver was way more intense and competitive than these past two exhibitions. I also would argue the Spurs were far more concerned about the outcome during that matchup than they are in this series, where overconfidence seems to be their biggest enemy.
That's just wrong, on so many levels. This is the freaking Finals, for crying out loud. You know -- Bird versus Magic, Air Jordan versus The Mailman, that type of thing. We should be seeing the cream versus the cream, not the Cavs getting creamed.
I'd like to think this is just a one-year problem, but it was the same deal in the early part of the decade, and the current malaise could go on much longer. With next year's two marquee rookies headed West, and the Eastern Conference mired in gross managerial incompetence, we're one LeBron injury from seeing somebody such as Toronto or Washington representing the East as a "finalist" next year. That should be fun ... for about four games or so.
A great many proposals have been floated for how to fix this problem. One is reseeding the playoffs after each round, but that idea comes up short in two ways. First, it's very problematic for scheduling and TV purposes, in part because a round couldn't begin and matchups couldn't be set until every series in the previous round was done. Second, it wouldn't solve the East-West problem we're addressing here.
Another common idea is to seed all the teams in a single bracket by winning percentage, from No. 1 to No. 16. This, too, has a drawback, though -- it makes the distinction between East and West, or division winner and runner-up, completely meaningless. We'd still like for some of those late-season in-conference battles to have more at stake; besides, the NBA is big on giving all those division winners a little flag to hang from the rafters.
There's a way around this, however, that still enables us to avoid watching an East-West rout in the Finals. (By the way, for those of you who wish to bring up recent East success: The West has won six of the past eight Finals and will make it seven of nine this year. Few of these series were close.)
I stumbled upon this idea the other day when I was talking to another writer and he joked, "They should play West versus East in the first round, not the last."
The more I think about it, this is no joke: They really should play West versus East earlier in the playoffs. It's a great way to reward the West powers while avoiding the train wreck Finals scenario created by the East's awfulness -- a scenario the league has found itself in in 1999, 2001 and 2002 and again this year.


Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
There's no way Tim Duncan would be feeling this comfy in the Finals under the proposed format.


Here's the nitty-gritty.
The regular season would play out just as it does now. Then the league would seed the teams 1 to 8 in each conference, just as it does now.
Then it changes -- the two conferences would cross-match in the playoffs, so every series is set up to be East versus West. Of course, in those cases when the lower-seeded West team is able to eliminate the higher-seeded East team, then we would have West versus West, which means this system would be working exactly as intended: We would have the stronger teams meeting in the later rounds, regardless of conference.
This year, for instance, No. 1 Detroit from the East would have faced No. 8 Golden State from the West, and No. 1 Dallas from the West would have faced No. 8 Orlando from the East.
Although we would have lost the scintillating Warriors-Mavs series, the big picture would have been enhanced greatly under this plan. You can quickly see how much better the next three rounds might have been.
Instead of the league's losing its MVP in the first round, Dallas would have had a virtual bye. And Detroit would have been the team facing the stern challenge of beating a torrid Golden State team that was perhaps the most atypical No. 8 seed the league has seen.
And the situation only improves from there, culminating in an NBA Finals with Phoenix facing Dallas or San Antonio.
BRACKET FOR MY PROPOSAL
"East" Half
(1E) Detroit vs. (8W) Golden State
(4W) Utah vs. (5E) Chicago
(2W) Phoenix vs. (7E) Washington
(3E) Toronto vs. (6W) Denver
"West" Half
(1W) Dallas vs. (8E) Orlando
(4E) Miami vs. (5W) Houston
(2E) Cleveland vs. (7W) L.A. Lakers
(3W) San Antonio vs. (6E) New Jersey
As you can see, Phoenix versus San Antonio -- "the real Finals" -- wouldn't be possible until the final round, rather than in Round 2. And in the second round, we'd get the current doozy between Cleveland and San Antonio, which is entirely appropriate.
Also, if Cleveland did make it to the league's final four, it at least would have had to beat a team with a winning record, which was not true this year. Don't you think the league would have preferred that to what actually happened?
Instead of a neutered East, each side of the bracket has some real teams in it. Utah versus Chicago as a first-round series would have been outstanding, as would the LeBron versus Kobe matchup when the Cavs played the Lakers. And the Nuggets, instead of getting ambushed by a first-round pairing against eventual champion San Antonio (just pretend it's next week already), would have had a much more friendly pairing against injury-wracked Toronto (a matchup that instead benefited a 41-win New Jersey team).
Are there snags here? Absolutely. For starters, every series would have to go to the dreaded 2-3-2 format because of the potential for crazy travel situations (Seattle versus Miami, anyone? How about Portland-Toronto?). Nobody really likes the 2-3-2 -- well, nobody except the road-weary media -- because underdogs have almost no chance of clinching the series at home, which is always way more entertaining than seeing them take it on the road.
Additionally, there's the elephant in the room: television. It's tough for the league to count on an early game and a late game to program doubleheaders around when theoretically there could be several West Coast teams hosting playoff games at the same time.
However, this is really a problem only in the second round. In Round 1, the NBA could set up its TV schedule exactly the way it does now (although it might have to guarantee home court to the top four seeds from each conference to make it work). And in the conference finals, there would be only one game a night anyway, so it shouldn't throw anything off-kilter by that point.
Round 2 would be the biggest potential problem. In theory, there is the potential for, say, Portland, Seattle, Golden State and Phoenix to be hosting playoff games in Round 2 at the same point in the schedule. That might necessitate some funky scheduling -- a 5 p.m. local start for the early game or, alternatively, an 11:30 p.m. start on the East Coast for the late game. But that's an unlikely traffic jam, and one that potentially can be scheduled around via weekend day games and creative use of off days.
Besides, let's keep the big picture in mind. The reward for the chance of a somewhat convoluted schedule in the second round is that we don't have to suffer through a Finals like this one or like the Lakers-Nets massacre in 2002, when the East sent a team to the big showcase that clearly had no business being there and devalued the whole event. Seems to me the benefits more than outweigh the costs, and right now there probably are a few folks at ABC who agree with me.
As I said, Game 2 was the wake-up call. Let's hope the league picks up the phone.

[bluehenbillk]

My condolensces to anyone that sat thru all 48 minutes of purely unwatchable basketball last night. I heard somebody said it set offensive basketball back to the stone ages. Well, almost, it was the fewest points scored by a winning team in the NBA Finals in over 50 years.

[LacesOut]

Once the Suns exited, so did my interest in the NBA playoffs.

Poor Cavs. LOL

[spelunker64]

Once the Suns exited, so did my interest in the NBA playoffs.

Poor Cavs. LOL


Take out Suns and insert Jordan for me...


Nice Avatar by the way! xthumbsupx

[patssle]

The only reason the Eastern Conference has won ANY finals in the past 15 years is because of Michael Jordan. If it wasn't for him, Malone/Stockton would have rings as would Charles Barkley. The only teams that probably would of had a chance was the Heat or Knicks in the 90s.

[dgreco]

another boring year for the NBA.

[tribe_pride]

The only reason the Eastern Conference has won ANY finals in the past 15 years is because of Michael Jordan. If it wasn't for him, Malone/Stockton would have rings as would Charles Barkley. The only teams that probably would of had a chance was the Heat or Knicks in the 90s.

Nobody will argue that the West is dominant now but did you forget about last year and 3 years ago?

[patssle]

Nobody will argue that the West is dominant now but did you forget about last year and 3 years ago?

xlolx xlolx NBA needs to update their encylopedia...I wasn't even looking at the years in recent history.

http://www.nba.com/history/awards_finalschampsmvp.html

[Peems]

Nobody will argue that the West is dominant now but did you forget about last year and 3 years ago?

the west is 6 out of 8 and soon to be 7 out of 9 in the most recent finals. if it weren't for the exploits of D Wade, it would be worse. Which brings me to my point that Wade is better than Lebron, its just that Wade wasn't as hyped coming in to the league.

[813Jag]

This guy is the man. xthumbsupx xlolx
http://www.hoopsvibe.com/IMG/anderson_varejao-arton21224-240x240.jpg

[tribe_pride]

the west is 6 out of 8 and soon to be 7 out of 9 in the most recent finals. if it weren't for the exploits of D Wade, it would be worse. Which brings me to my point that Wade is better than Lebron, its just that Wade wasn't as hyped coming in to the league.

Wade had Shaq. Lebron has who? Don't get me wrong. Wade is a great player and I agree that people were not high enough on him when he was drafted but Lebron is even better than people predicted and that is insane.

Would you rather have had

(last year)Haslem, Posey, Shaq and Jason Williams as starters with you with Payton, Mourning, Walker and Anderson coming off the bench or

(this year) Gooden, Z, Hughes and Snow as starters with you with Pavlovic, Varejao, Gibson and D. Jones off the bench.

It's not even close, the Heat team is a lot better.

[ucdtim17]

They should put the CWS on prime time this weekend on CBS - it could beat these finals I think

[gmoney55]

You can't compare that Heat team to this Cavs team. Payton, Jason Williams, Zo, Walker, Haslem and Posey all stepped up in the finals, in addition to Shaq. Who has played well this postseason for Cleveland, other than the couple of breakout games for Gibson.

[tribe_pride]

You can't compare that Heat team to this Cavs team. Payton, Jason Williams, Zo, Walker, Haslem and Posey all stepped up in the finals, in addition to Shaq. Who has played well this postseason for Cleveland, other than the couple of breakout games for Gibson.

Agreed big time that is why it is unfair to say Wade is better than Lebron based on the title. Lebron has to carry his team on his back. They are roughly as good as the Celtics without Lebron and he helped bring them to the Finals. That is impressive even if it is from the East.

[813Jag]

Agreed big time that is why it is unfair to say Wade is better than Lebron based on the title. Lebron has to carry his team on his back. They are roughly as good as the Celtics without Lebron and he helped bring them to the Finals. That is impressive even if it is from the East.
I think Lebron is a better player but they have different skills. So to compare is apples and oranges. But DWade was very important to Miami look how bad the Heat were without him and when was at less than 100% against the Bulls. I place the blame on the Cleveland front office. If the team is that mediocre without him, why not get him help? Are they that far over the cap they can't get him a second fiddle? That's the road Cleveland chose.

[Peems]

the heat were the exact same team this year, but couldn't get past the mighty bulls!!! the reason? D wade was not full health. I'm not saying that if you put Wade on the cavs that they would fair better, but wade stepped up last year against the mavs and made the difference. Shaq was good, but walker, payton and all those other guys were not even close to being helpful in the end. To declare Lebron the best player in basketball right now for the next 8-10 years is crazy. Kobe is better now and Wade is right there. Guys like Nowitizki, Nash and Duncan are different players but more important than Lebron. Also guys like Carmelo, and A.I. are just as good as scorers as Lebron and than there is the most dominant player in the NBA since Jordan...SHAQ!!!!

[dgreco]

Spurs win another championship, 3 in 5 Years and 4 in 9 years, Dynasty?

[gokats85]

Spurs win another championship, 3 in 5 Years and 4 in 9 years, Dynasty?

No. Not yet. That said, GO SPURS GO!!!!!

[ucdtim17]

If a tree falls in the forest . . .

[gokats85]

I think I hear crickets...

[Tod]

No. Not yet. That said, GO SPURS GO!!!!!

Growing up, I was never an NBA fan, my family wasn't, either (which is why I didn't follow it much).

But I was stationed in SA from '94 - '96 ('bout 2 1/2 years) and saw several Spurs games and became their weakest fan.

IOW, they ARE my NBA team, but...xrolleyesx xrolleyesx

Loved David Robinson! xthumbsupx xthumbsupx xthumbsupx

[bluehenbillk]

Thank you for letting the NBA Finals end!

[gmoney55]

I'm happy to see these Finals end. With the US Open this weekend, I'm not sure if anyone would have even realized there was a game on Sunday night.

I have trouble bringing the Spurs to dynasty level for a few reasons. They've never won back to back and they have faced three of the worst finals teams of all-time (Knicks, Nets, Cavs). Not their fault, but when you think of dyansties you have Jordan beating Magic, Barkley and the Jazz and the Lakers/Celtics games. They needed to win in 04 or 06 to be a dynasty at this point too. Should have won the series against the Lakers who were in disarray by 04 and the Mavs last year, but couldn't get it done. The best teams in the West now, Mavs and Suns, always come up short in the clutch. I'm not taking anything away, four in nine years is great, but just not enough for a dynasty IMO.

[GannonFan]

Dear God, thankfully that is over. I've played basketball all my life and watch it almost religiously, but watching that display over the past 4 days would turn anyone off to basketball. Sheesh, I'm shocked they were getting any ratings, even bad ones - it was almost unwatchable at times. At least a sweep was the equivalent of ripping off a band-aid - it really hurt when it happened, but thankfully it was quick. xnodx

[spelunker64]

So who won?

[dgreco]

So who won?

thats how I feel...

Either way SA Spurs are 4 for 4 in championships, that is a pretty good number.

[gokats85]

Growing up, I was never an NBA fan, my family wasn't, either (which is why I didn't follow it much).

But I was stationed in SA from '94 - '96 ('bout 2 1/2 years) and saw several Spurs games and became their weakest fan.

IOW, they ARE my NBA team, but...xrolleyesx xrolleyesx

Loved David Robinson! xthumbsupx xthumbsupx xthumbsupx


Most of my mom's family lives in SA, many of them had (and still have)season tickets, so I got to see the Spurs quite often. My first game I was at was when the ABA was still going and saw "Dr.J" when he played for the Nets match up against George "The Ice Man" Gervin. That town has always been "Spurs crazy", but when it's the only game in town, well...

[spelunker64]

thats how I feel...

Either way SA Spurs are 4 for 4 in championships, that is a pretty good number.


I'm guessing the Spurs, I just can't stand to watch the NBA anymore. I watched a documentary about building the Alcan highway instead. xthumbsupx

[patssle]

LeBroom'ed James

[chrisattsu]

http://a793.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/34/l_bee04016c86501b9a0dd684c1d974a68.gif

Go Spurs Go!

[813Jag]

Put this guy on a milk carton:
http://www.nba.com/media/cavaliers/gibson_camp_061013.jpg
Daniel Gibson

[dbackjon]

So the Sp*rs won the most tainted Championship ever? Will the Sp*rs give David Stern, Stu Jackson and the refs rings, because without them, they would not have made it out of the second round.

[foghorn]

I'm guessing the Spurs, I just can't stand to watch the NBA anymore. I watched a documentary about building the Alcan highway instead. xthumbsupx

So did I; sometimes you just can't beat the History Channel. NBA basketball stinks! xcoffeex

[gmoney55]

Would have loved to see the Dallas/SA series. The Mavs were probably the only team with a shot to knock SA out.

[dgreco]

I'm guessing the Spurs, I just can't stand to watch the NBA anymore. I watched a documentary about building the Alcan highway instead. xthumbsupx

i watched about half of that also... it was fairly interesting.

[813Jag]

So the Sp*rs won the most tainted Championship ever? Will the Sp*rs give David Stern, Stu Jackson and the refs rings, because without them, they would not have made it out of the second round.
I'm sure they will, didn't the NFL get rings from the Pats beause of the Tuck rule game? xreadx xwhistlex

[Peems]

So the Sp*rs won the most tainted Championship ever? Will the Sp*rs give David Stern, Stu Jackson and the refs rings, because without them, they would not have made it out of the second round.

really? i remember that they beat Phoenix in game 6 with a rested Amare and Diaw. I enjoyed watching these finals for one reason: watching lebron get his arse kicked. I really like the proposal by hollinger of ESPN to rework it to a 16 seed format, so that the inevitable trouncing of the east won't happen year in and year out and its not going to stop with Durant and Oden heading west.

[dbackjon]

really? i remember that they beat Phoenix in game 6 with a rested Amare and Diaw. I enjoyed watching these finals for one reason: watching lebron get his arse kicked. I really like the proposal by hollinger of ESPN to rework it to a 16 seed format, so that the inevitable trouncing of the east won't happen year in and year out and its not going to stop with Durant and Oden heading west.

WIthout Stern intervention, Phx wins Game 5, goes and wins game 7 at home.

Without Sternian intervention, cheap shot artist Bowen gets suspended for attempting to injure Stat, or attempting to injury MVSteve.

Sp*rs championship is tainted. FACT!

[McNeese75]

So the Sp*rs won the most tainted Championship ever? Will the Sp*rs give David Stern, Stu Jackson and the refs rings, because without them, they would not have made it out of the second round.

xbawlingx xbawlingx xbawlingx xbawlingx xcoffeex

[Peems]

i bet in two years no one outside of arizona will remember what happened in the phoenix/spurs series. One reason is because it wasn't the conference finals. I mean the suns still had to go against the jazz who were 3-1(i think) against em. It would have been different if it had been the conference finals because then it would have been phoenix feasting on the lowly cavs and lebroom. Also MVSteve is not as clever as MTP!!!

[th0m]

Elson the first ever Dutch player to win the NBA! (not that he contributed that much, but hey, we'll take it!)

[Peems]

Elson the first ever Dutch player to win the NBA! (not that he contributed that much, but hey, we'll take it!)

he contributed he was the two head monster at center, along with Oberto!!!

[spelunker64]

There are approximately 113 million television households in the United States, and the average rating for the NBA Championship Series showed that 6.9 million of them watched the series between Cleveland and San Antonio.

Remember the late-night Monday night opener on ESPN last year between Oakland and San Diego? Awful game. San Diego won, 27-0. It was pretty much over at the half, when the Chargers led 13-0 and the Raiders couldn't get out of their own way on offense. That game -- after a weekend that started with Thursday night football, went into Sunday afternoon football and Sunday night football, and had a Monday nighter before the second game on the West Coast -- started at 10:25 p.m. EST and ended at 1:14 a.m. Tuesday. And it was on cable TV, which gets a lower rating anyway because not every TV household in America is wired for cable.

The Raiders-Chargers debacle was seen by 7.9 million American TV households.

We all know football is king in this country, but if the best the NBA has to offer gets trounced by the worst the NFL has to offer ... well, the NBA is in more than a little trouble.

From Peter Kings MMQB
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/peter_king/06/17/qbs/2.html