Dwyane Wade is GOD. Simple as that really. On a night when his shot was waaaaay off he drops over 40 simply by getting to the foul line. Oh, by the way, his shot was NOT off in the 4th and in OT. I have never seen a player elevate his game so consistently when things are on the line since Michael Jordan. I knew we were going to win that game. We had Dwyane Wade.

I can honestly say that if I had to choose any player in the NBA I would choose Wade. What a fucking guy. I was about to run onto the court and kiss him. The Mavs gave us their best shot, and Wade repelled it. What a performance.

Congrats to Nando! (my sentiments as well with Wade).

Well done Miami!

Bummer for me...I was too tired to watch the whole game (went to bed before the end of regulation). Set my DVR ...but forgot to extend the time... woke up to fast forward to the last few minutes over breakfast and didn't have it.

Now I'll be torn...to watch World Cup (recorded afterwork) or watch the last NBA game(s)! I'll probably flip between the two a bit...definitely watch the final NBA minutes.

Go Heat.

Thanks Josh, I always knew your affinity for Cules hadn't fully clouded your judgement. Shame on that DVR thing, you are getting on a bit so I understand your troubles staying awake

Tonight is game 6 and it'll be interesting to see if we'll see the Mavs still crying. Dirk has been severely limited by Haslem and Posey, and the frustration is starting to get to him (anyone see him push that stationary bike? That was the girliest push ever). Avery Johnson made a fool of himself with that reporter and Mark Cuban....

The Heat have them on the ropes. I think that they need to capitalize now, I would be very nervous in a game 7.

What did Avery do??

Yeah, I know..problem is I get up between 5:30 & 6:00....and, as you observed astutely, I'm getting on in my years. However, you can usually capture the whole essence of a game in the final 5 minutes if it is a close game. Of course it isn't quite the same.....but that's the best part.

A reporter asked him what his impression was of the final play and Avery made a total ass of himself. He kept saying well what was YOUR impression, which made the reporter very uncomfortable. It was drawn out, and basically just ridiculous. You have to hear it.

Yeah I must admit these finals games are pretty late. For us in the east they start at 9:30! They end around midnight or beyond.

Ah. Yeah...you have to cool your adrenaline...sounds like Avery's was still simmering. I listened to Bruce Arena's post game comments on ussoccer.com....and I was really impressed. He complained about the officiating of the Italian game...but he was pretty mellow about it and, all in all, pretty classy in my opinion. Even if you get raped...whining about it in the media just makes worse. A few brief words of protest and them move to the next question.

BTW Nando....congrats. Spain are looking like world beaters. I'm jealous. I wish Brazil's midfield was playing half as well as the Spanish midfield.

The Miami HEAT ARE THE 2006 NBA CHAMPIONS.

Wade gets his first Ring. Shaq gets his fourth. Dallas are left with nothing.

Dwyane Wade just won the NBA Championship...literally, since he did it almost single-handedly. OK, that's exaggerating a bit but this kid's amazing. Everytime Miami couldn't come up with anything on offence, Wade was there.

Looks like Shaq made good on his promise to bring a championship to Miami.

Congrats to the Heat fans (Nando, that would be you).

Dwyane Wade is the man. He going to go down with the greats, no doubt about it.

But Dallas are chokers in the worst way, how does Dirk only get Two points in the entire 4 qtr?
Jason Terry can also kiss goodbye a huge deal in Free Agency, after his performance.

Congrats to Shaq as well, he and Mourning stabilized the ship. Spoke to my uncle after the game, he loves every player now, heck, even Walker can do no wrong in his eyes!

Congratulations to Miami Heat you people deserved. When Dallas lost the 5th game in maimi by one point I thought that might be the turning point because I Dallas should have won that. Dwayne Wade was awesome for Miami and will done again Miami. Feel bad for ya energy41!! there always a next season

HEAT beat BULLS cleveland beat DC Indiana over Nets Detroit over whoever they go play

HEAT over Indiana Detroit over Cleveland

HEAT over Detroit (they will be hungrier side)

King over Spurs Dallas and LA clippers already advance according to the website and Lakers over Suns

Dallas over Spurs (same reason Detroit shall lose) Clipper over LA

Dallas over Clipper

Miami over Dallas







I just wanted to bring up my post from earlier in the thread.......looks similar to what unfolded in the last few month.........so just rememer when it comes to these things......."I dont make predictions---I make prophecies"

I would just like to add...that the Heat deserve this for being the most entertaining team.

That is why Shaq is a legend, he knows what he can change at any franchise. Even he didn't get involved too much into the offence they still won the championship, top stuff I have to admit.
Dallas had it all in their hands, but after seeing them lose all 3 away games they were apparently not ready/able to take advantage of their huge chance to head back to Dallas being 3-2 up.
Guys like Shaq, Payton and Mourning are so experienced, even the regular season wasn't bright they still stayed focused. And overall, they were seriously among the best 2 teams in the east anyway.
The whole season before the conference finals was just a preparation for the series with Detroit + the west winners.

Dallas apparently weren't clutch enough, maybe because of their lack of experience or whatever.
The season for Dallas was a big success though, best season in franchise history. Who would have expected them to make it to the finals? Not too many people if you ask me.
The team is still young, I hope that Cuban won't trade the half roster or do too many moves. Things look decent for the future, hopefully every single player will work his arse off over the summer as Dirk does every offseason.
I'm disappointed, but it's not the end of the world. I would be really gutted if they would have lead 3-0 and would have wasted a 20 point, fourth quarter lead in any game afterwards .

Now back to Miami, I'm really glad for Wade&Payton that they got their first ring each.
It's not too bad really to see Shaq have one more ring than Kobe now. If any other west team than Dallas would have made it to the finals I would have had my fingers crossed for Miami/Detroit anyway.
Unfortunately things didn't went like I would have wished, but huge fair play to Miami&Nando, you guys deserve it. Beating Dallas in 6 games after being 2-0 down is top notch, they did a great job slowing down the load of Mavs scorer.

So, congrats to them .



Terry apparently cost Dallas a lot last night with his 7 of 25 effort. It sucks that Dirk didn't got the ball often enough then, but well, I just hope that they will learn from that and come back improved next season.

Dallas probably needed that kind of shocker, they should do everything they can next year to go back to the finals and get their act together for a whole series then.


Well mate, I believe that Miami were more up for it, they hit the big shots and won the close games.
They had bit more quality and luck overall so they deserved it.

I feel with Dirk who hopefully will win a ring with Dallas soon. I also feel with all the NBA fans in Germany who had their hopes up to get a way better NBA footage when Dallas would win the title as this could have attracted many people and get them excited.
But now, we'll have to live on with our 2 games a week on pay tv NBA footage even Germany have one of the best five players out in the NBA.

Anyway, things will go on. Huge respect&congrats again to Miami&Nando .

Cheers for that energy!

I went to the celebrations last night and they were great. The streets were totally collapsed with everyone honking their horns and jumping around.

This series was all about Dwyane Wade. He hit the big buckets consistently and put his team on his back. Posey and Payton also mad huge shots late in games. Payton had the game winner in game 3, as well as that ridiculous shot high off the glass in game 5. Posey seemed to save his shot for the 4th quarter, making big threes in the clutch.

I also can't stress how great the team played defense. All year they have been ridiculed for their lack of defense but they threw the gauntlet down against Detroit and Dallas. Dirk averaged I think something like 22 points per game when he was averaging close to 30 throughout the playoffs. Udonis and Posey just stepped it up phenomenally.

I think that Avery Johnson must take some of the blame. He simply had no answer for Wade. After getting Mbenga back from suspension, he had 18 fouls to give to Shaq. That's a huge number in the NBA. He could have taken the focus off Shaq, use the zone defense to double Wade off the dribble, and foul Shaq whenever he received the ball. Whenever he went to the zone, he was able to limit Wade. But it seemed like he wasn't comfortable commiting to it. Whenever they went back to man to man, Wade just blew by his defender (no one on Dallas can guard him on the perimeter) and forced a foul or made the shot.

How big was Zo in this game!? Five blocks! Some of them were just spectacular. You gotta feel good for him, after all he's been through. GP too. He's one of the best point guards in the history of this game (a 20+ scorer AND a defensive force) and he had come so close.

Then guys like Jason Williams and Antoine Walker, who have been blasted throughout their career for their attitude and their lack of commitment. They both took on their limited roles to perfection (that wiggle from Walker was class). Walker used to be a big time scorer, now he was just a role player. That is not an easy transition and it showed at times throughout the season. Riley got it together just in time, a testament to his greatness as a coach.

I think it's telling that Shaq called him the best coach he's ever played for, considering he's played for Phil Jackson and his 9 rings.

And a quick word for Shaq. This became Wade's team (I think it was when Shaq was out for 18 games in the beginning of the season, and Wade stepped up his game) but it wouldn't have been possible without the big guy. Despite his limited numbers in the playoffs, I really don’t think we'd be in this position with the Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant team. There's just no way. Shaq's influence transcends the points, or the rebounds. His presence in this city has just been immense.

I only watched the final 7 minutes or so. I have to say, Wade was immense. What I was most impressed was with was how many rebounds he got! It seems like he was ALWAYS there for the rebound (defensive & offensive). Very impressive.

Full congrats to the Heat. Early in the year, I predicted the Heat would take it all. Happy to be right!

I will say...I continue to feel that the referees of the league keep peeing in the punch bowl. It is a real shame when they make RIDICULOUS calls that favor the media darlings, especially at critical times. Case in point: Nowitski's 5th foul (the one that put Wade to the bonus free throws late in the game) was an absolute JOKE! He BARELY touched Wade, he didn't impede him, nothing. If that had been someone like Troy Hudson dribbling, I guarantee, no call. Everyone knows that the big names get the calls, but it has to be at least close. This allowed the Heat to go up 4 pts with, I think about a minute or so left? Huge call.

The officiating, over all, is one of the things that has stifled my love for the NBA over the years. Traveling, calls for the big names, etc. Really bugs me and I think it erodes the quality of the league because players can get away with more sh*t.

Anyay, sorry for the little rant. I really don't want to take away from the Heat. They were fully deserving of the title and I'm very happy for them. Congratulations Miami!

Yeah the refs make soft calls, but its the same for Kobe, LeBron, Dirk, Manu (I can't stop falling) Ginobilli etc.

My uncle drove up from Fort Lauderdale to Miami to celebrate

Shaq is still a force in the league. With him in the line up, coaches are still scared to double team Wade, as Shaq is down low. Wade has the freedom of the perimeter to do what he likes. I can't remember someone completely shutting Wade down during the season.

I hate to admit it, but as a Seattle Supersonic fan (long story) I'm really please for GP. He and Kemp were good enough to win a ring, it just happened that some guy called Jordan was too good for them.

Payton and Mourning really deserve this, it is a fitting way to end their distingused career.

shit I wanted Dallas to win.
but Congratulations to Gary Payton and Alonzo Mourning for getting what they searched for so vigurously..

Draft coming up. One of the most open drafts in recent time. The #1 could go to any of 3-5 players. The order of 1-7 is NOT settled at all. Teams are looking to trade up and down.

Bargnani, Thomas, Alridge, Roy, Morrison and Gay all could go #1 through to #7.

Toronto have the first pick, but could very well trade it. The man they are looking at for #1 could well be around at #5!!!

Admittedly, this year's draft is a little weak. come next year, we'll get many superstars..... ..... ... .. .

yea right u didnt see that 300 hundred pound mass in the paint???!?! lol

i am a detro fan for liife in all sports yes even the lions..

and i agree about that comment made about the draft it could go either way....

did the pistons trade therre first round pick?

I have to thank Isiash Thomas for screwing up my Knicks again by selecting Renaldo Balkman.

wow what a night for the trail blazers? there odds of winning the championship next year is 300-1 lol. and the pistons are 5-1 o yeah!!

whats this crap about ben wallace signing w/ the bulls for 4 years? sux for the pistons to lose a 4 time defensive player of the year

well its true!

Chicago are instantly contenders in Conf Finals. they were missing that big center. Meanwhile, the Pistons lost their best player and anchor to their offense. Bulls > Pistons, right now.

In other news Chicago is also chasing Garnett from the T-Wolves.

i don't agree with big ben being the pistons best player. Sure he s a defensive force and a rebounding machine but each time they played it was 4-on-5 on the offensive side. Dude can't make a lay-up if his life depended on it. He will get paid 15 mill a year in the next 4 years and he is already 32!!! They should've just kept the younger Tyson Chandler for 2/3 the price and invested the money elsewhere

yes ben wallace started us off with defensive. he ranged around 5-8 points per game sure he got 12 rebounds a game but he wasnt the best.

every one has there place. notice how teams with players like lebron, kobe are just singled aroubnd him. was detroit all about ben NO.

sure its a loss but nothing o big for kg to fill. that would be a nice reuion with his old coach.

i totally disagree about bulls being contenters there the same team but with 15 reb. and 8 points.
sure he has his games.

they have to go through the team ben betrayed.
and also the world champs the heat

sorry im not mad i just love my pistons

pff, ben wallace isnt that good, wouldn't you much rather have a good defensive player like AK who averages 15 pts and number 1 in blocks...

Ben Wallace is the worst free-thrower i've ever seen.

The bulls if they get Garnett obviously will be challengers for the title

the bulls are good this year they have alot of talent but all that talent and unexprience will take them to the conferecne semifinals this year

is there anyway to download nba game soff the net? is it rare to find american sports for download

they got heaps of games torrents on www.mininova.org

now let's talk about the 06-07 season eh?

Yeah, who's gonna win the title this season?
Miami, Phoenix, San Antonio and Dallas might be the main contenders IMO.

In fact, I hope Dallas will do it.
They look like the team with the most depth really.

starting 5:
Terry, Harris, Howard, Nowitzki, Diop

bench players:
Dampier, Stackhouse, Ager, Johnson, Croshere, George, Mbenga, Buckner

This looks good to me.

LeBron will get the MVP...bank on it

I think Dampier is the first center of Dallas.Is there any guy think Houston will win the titile?
starting 5:
Alston,McGrady,Battier,Howard,Yao
bench players:
Hayes,Head,Mutombo,Padgett,Sura,Wells,Lucas,Spanoulis,Novak
Hope they can do better in this season!

if you've been following news around the Pacers organization, you'll know why I find this picture friekin hillarious:

bulls 108-66 Heat

Lakers 114- Suns 106.

without Kobe.
damn we looked good out there.

fuck stephen jackson


that guy is overrated

I think that Houston will only have a good shot on the title when they stay healthy.
Since Yao and T-Mac stuggled to do so they might have difficulties.
The bench doesn't look too strong either IMO. Head and Wells can give you energy and points but the rest is either not ready for the job yet, past their best days (Mutombo, Sura) or in general not that good to be very vital source off the bench IMO.

The advantage is that when the teams stays fit they'll finally be able to push the tempo better which should result into easy fastbreak points in the end.

Alston, Battier, T-Mac, Head and Wells should deliver that sort of quickness.
If Yao gets injured the rockets might have problems in the zone.

All in all, I think they will do better than last season, probably reach the playoffs.
But I can't see them beating the likes of Phoenix or Dallas in a conference final.


And without Kwame. 2 starters out, but the Lakers still beat the Suns.
Good work by the team apparently.

Same goes to the Bulls, a win by 42 points away to the defending champions who just got their rings yesterday is a season opener in style.

I sort of a expected a Championship hangover, especially after so many of those players waited so long to win one, but that was just bad...

Lacers - Suns 114-106 without Cobe but Lamar Odom made 34 points and had a wonderful game


in the second game, Bulls burried champions Miami 108-66.

BIG BEN does his job!

1)You know what ? I loved how Odom turned it on throughout the match and how the young/new guys around him kept up . I know Kobe has the talent, but I gotta believe that if the Lakers are going to have success, Kobe has to figure out when to shoot and when to include his supporting cast.

2) LOL @ Miami. They get their rings before the match and get pounded by Chicago with style. Gotta love it.
Now this is completely a hate free post, but I think they depend entirely too much on Wade. Shaq cant hold up his dominance with consistancy and the players around Wade arent good enough! Wade is a hell of a player, and its scary that he's not even in his prime yet.

I'm somewhat new to this thread, but I love basketball..so who is everyone supporting or hating. name top 3 teams .

(in order of support )
1) Rockets
2) Spurs
3) Bulls

(in order of hate)
1) Heat
2) Knicks
3) Mavericks<- previously occupied by Heat

like
1) Dallas - by a very long shot at number 1 for me
2) Detroit - you gotta fight, for your right, to play defense
3) Philadelphia
There's a few more I've a soft spot for.

dislike
1) San Antonio
2) Sacramento
3) Minnesota

Like:1.Rockets
2.Nets
Hate: Mavericks

I like New Jersey Nets. Lakers and Pistons are both teams that I hate.

Like:
1. Lakers
2. Kobe
3. Bryant

Dislike:
1. Heat
2. Queens
3. Pistons

Likes:

1. Unselfish teams that have Shaq and Pat Riley, Miami Heat

Still want the Lakers to do well.


Dislikes:

1. Dallas

root for

Magic
Cavaliers


hate:

cripple zo mourning

Rockets 97:107 Jazz
So surprise,Jazz is not a very strong team..

Teams Players

Like: Like:
1. Mavs 1. Nowitzki
2. Utah 2. Kirilenko
3. Pheonix 3. Amare Stoudemire

Hate: Hate:
1. Miami 1. Wade
2. Spurs 2. Duncan
3. Houston 3. T-who?

I can see not liking the Heat, but what's unlikeable about Dwyane Wade? One of the most down to earth superstars I've seen in any sport.