NBA Playoffs

[Shamrock]

Go Spurs Go !!!

[LTfan4life]

Go Nuggets go! We lose.....

[thehotdelancey]

Go Clippers? er oh yeah...never been much of a contender. never mind. well the lakers....well, oh never mind. Im gonna go cry now.

[MDK Titan]

Go Kings!!! Oh wait we got eliminated. Shucks!

[IgorUnchained]

Ive been a Bulls and Trailblazers fan for years. The Blazers are horrible and I dont recognize anyone on the team. The Bulls are much better this year, but I dont want to jump on a bandwagon I havent been on since the last time Scottie Pippen played.

Then my favorite player in the NBA became a PHX Sun. Steve Nash is the best player in the NBA and one of the coolest athletes in all of sports. I like the rest of the Suns and have liked them as a team for a long time (early Kevin Johnson). I like the way they play and I like the makeup of the starting 5....Im pulling for the Suns all the way.

Im a Suns fan until the Trailblazers figure out who they are again.

[IgorUnchained]

Just an update to announce that it looks like Steve Nash is going to win the Season MVP!

I think he deserves it and Shaq can shut up if he doesnt like it!

[Shamrock]

That's okay.

Spurs are going to win the Championship.

[LTfan4life]

It will be either Suns or Spurs in the West, and either the Pistons or Heat for the East. I really hope Indiana wins against the Celtics. then we get to see a Pistons Pacers game and/or brawl again! I bet Stern wants this because ratings will skyrocket! Imagine those two teams on the same court, but with more to play for. It will be great.

[makarusty]

Haha Go Bulls!! oh well they got knocked out but good season anyway... now how does Nash get MVP?? Seriously! They guy is a liability on the defensive end, and that's where it should end. Sure Phoenix has had an awesome season, but that can't all be credited to Nash, the whole team has stepped up its play.. And since he's left Dallas they've become a more complete team. Shaq left the Lakers and we all now where they are.. Anyhow Iverson gets my vote.. Cheers til next time =)

[TD4LT]

pacers-pistons will go down as one of the best ever
miller has been one of my favorites since he was a UCLA
with J.O back it could happen
indiana 4 detroit 3

[IgorUnchained]

Steve Nash MVP!

I am surprised to see the Nash haters in the house. If the rules were like hockey or football Nash would average about 25 points a game from his assists alone!

The Suns were a young and talented team before Nash got there, after Nash's arrival the Suns wentfrom worst first in their conference (like the Bolts) and the Suns became the kind of team that could go this deep into the playoffs when Nash arrived. I think he was the most deserving of the award, but was still surprised to see the NBA vote him the MVP.....he isnt the most high profile guy out there.

Allen Iverson is totally underrated and he should have been the league MVP from the day he came into the league, but this year was for Nash!

I hope he takes down the Mavs next in the Playoffs!

[makarusty]

Well he got it, props to Nash.. I wasn't hating on the guy Igor, I had him up there in my top 3.. I just felt a more complete player should get the award.. but hey what's done is done and good on him... now on to the finals.. Is it just me or is there no way Detroit won't repeat this year??

[IgorUnchained]

I dont think that the Pistons have it in them to repeat. They have played like a tired team alot lately and that wont work against the Heat if they make it that far.

I think the Suns and Heat will be in the finals, and the Suns will come close to winning the series by out running and out scoring....but they have no answer for Shaq.

I really like the Pistons (something I havent said in my many years of being a Bulls fan!). I think they have the talent to repeat, but I dont think they are playing up to where they were last year.

[IgorUnchained]

The Suns and Maverics are on TNT right now....Suns are winning so far.

Here is a story on Nash the MVP:


PHOENIX (AP) -- Steve Nash edged Shaquille O'Neal by 34 points to win the NBA's most valuable player award, the fourth-closest margin since the media began determining the winner in 1980-81.

The decision was first reported Friday, but the official announcement Sunday detailed the balloting by a panel of 127 sports writers and broadcasters in the United States and Canada.

Nash, who led Phoenix to an NBA-best 62 victories in his first season with the Suns, received 1,066 points. O'Neal, who left the Los Angeles Lakers for Miami and helped the Heat to the best record in the Eastern Conference, received 1,032.

Players received 10 points for a first-place vote, seven for second, five for third, three for fourth and one for fifth.

Nash received 65 first-place votes to O'Neal's 58. The NBA assist leader at 11.5 a game, Nash is the sixth guard to win the award, joining Bob Cousy, Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson.

Nash's close friend Dirk Nowitski of Dallas was a distant third in the balloting with 349 points, followed by Tim Duncan (328) of San Antonio and Allen Iverson (240) of Philadelphia.

Nash is the first player to lead the league in assists and be named MVP since Johnson in 1987.

[LTfan4life]

I really liked Amare Stoudamire. I thought he would be a top 5 guy in the race for MVP. He WAS the Sun's offense. Every time I watched Sportscenter, I saw him draining 35+ points on teams. I don't know how the rest of his game is, but he is a very very good scorer.

[IgorUnchained]

I really liked Amare Stoudamire. I thought he would be a top 5 guy in the race for MVP. He WAS the Sun's offense. Every time I watched Sportscenter, I saw him draining 35+ points on teams. I don't know how the rest of his game is, but he is a very very good scorer.

Stoudamire is the man...the Mavs have no answer for him on offense and he just blocked a shoton defense. He has really benefited from Nash coming to the Suns. Stoudamire has really good hands and when you have him and Marion and Richardson running the floor with Nash leading the break.....you might as well just foul someone!


"It’s more like a team award," Amaré Stoudemire said. "But Steve is the motor.

"He has the ball in his hands 80 percent of the time. He gets everybody involved and makes his teammates better."

[TD4LT]

nash had 4 of the most productive players on his team (mostly because of him)
amare wont win MVP til he gets some assists
cumon todays game gainst the mavs
A. Stoudemire
13-21, 40 Pts
16 Rebs, 0 Assists
he need to become a better passer
basically he gets the ball and shoots or goes to the basket
hes one of my fav players but needs to become a more multidimensional o player
but hey its working like this now
maybe next year

[Shamrock]

S P U R S ! ! !

[IgorUnchained]

http://img288.echo.cx/img288/1544/reggie2uz.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)

Thank You Reggie! :Beer:

What a clutch player and what a huge talent.....they dont make em like that anymore. Another Marino type player who stayed in the same uniform but never got a ring. Class and Loyalty beat a ring any day.



I missed the Spurs and Sonics game, but followed along a bit at work. Everytime I looked at the TV the Sonics were ahead.....but I just knew it wouldnt last.

Now the Mavs and Suns get to slug it out. You know Im pulling for the Suns!

[Shamrock]

http://espn-i.starwave.com/media/apphoto/PNA11905222236.jpeg

[Shamrock]

http://espn-i.starwave.com/media/apphoto/PNA12405222307.jpeg

Game One:

Spurs 121 - Suns 114

[Shamrock]

Caption this .......

http://espn-i.starwave.com/media/apphoto/PNA11305222147.jpeg

[bubbachuck383]

i hope the spurs go down in flames.

[TD4LT]

Caption this .......

http://espn-i.starwave.com/media/apphoto/PNA11305222147.jpeg
you....suck

[LTfan4life]

Caption this .......

http://espn-i.starwave.com/media/apphoto/PNA11305222147.jpeg


Let's take this outside!

[Shamrock]

Keep it up Spurs haters ...... :D

Here's one from the San Antonio Express News (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA052305.3S.BKNspurs.notebook.29eaadaa6.html) for 'ya.

Quote:

Back on March 9, when the Spurs played the Suns at America West Arena without injured Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver rankled the Spurs a bit when he flapped his arms, wing-like, and mouthed "chicken" from his courtside seat opposite the Spurs' bench.

A few days later, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich took his own tongue-in-cheek shot at Sarver when he said he was happy to have discovered the answer to one of life's mysteries.

"In life, a lot of questions don't get answered for us," Popovich said. "I still don't know where Jimmy Hoffa is buried. I don't know who 'Deep Throat' was in Watergate. But now I know who was under the San Diego Chicken outfit all of those years."

So before tipoff for Sunday's Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals between the Spurs and Suns, Popovich looked across the court to where Sarver usually sits and saw, instead, someone dressed as the San Diego Chicken.

Sarver showed up a few minutes later, wearing a Shawn Marion jersey. He was nearly as effective against the Spurs as Marion, too. Marion scored only three points on 1-for-6 shooting.

[bubbachuck383]

im not exactly a suns fan. but i absolutely hate the spurs...especially tim duncan aka "the biggest girl in then NBA" plus he never seems to do anything wrong or talk trash, he's a sissy.

plus i just heard he likes to cuddle with his trainer...

[IgorUnchained]

I dont hate the Spurs, but I dont "like" them either. I like how they play "international" ball, and I love their guard play. The Suns are like the USA Olympic team and the Spurs are like their opponents. The Suns arent going to just be able to outscore the Spurs without playing defense.....that barely worked with the Mavs.

I am rooting for the Suns and "not rooting" for the Spurs for the rest of the year, but I do have respect for the Spurs team (just not much for their players!)

I noticed the San Diego Chicken was in attendance....I wonder how that happened?

[LTfan4life]

Kobe's the biggest girl in the NBA. Remember the time when he was out for 2 months with a sprained ankle? Poor baby. Some people go to work with a cast on their leg, and he cant run up and down the court for 40 minutes?

[bubbachuck383]

Kobe's the biggest girl in the NBA. Remember the time when he was out for 2 months with a sprained ankle? Poor baby. Some people go to work with a cast on their leg, and he cant run up and down the court for 40 minutes?

yeah i do do remember that...... i guess its a tie for the biggest girl.

[IgorUnchained]

yeah i do do remember that...... i guess its a tie for the biggest girl.



I think Grant Hill is deserving of that award....he has had the same injuries keeping him out of games for around 8 years.

[bubbachuck383]

yeah i guess you could probley name a ton of ppl in the nba that are girls. everyone need to be more like my main man AI.

[IgorUnchained]

yeah i guess you could probley name a ton of ppl in the nba that are girls. everyone need to be more like my main man AI.

I honestly think AI is the most underrated player in the NBA. Definately the unofficial MVP of the league for most years he has been in the NBA.

Looks like the Suns are down 0-2 in the playoffs to the Spurs....It aint over til its over.....but it is looking pretty over! :Beer:



Back to AI for a minute though.....maybe you can tell me why he wears that large sleeve over his right arm. It doesnt seem like it would be all that beneficial to a players shot.....Does anyone know?

[bubbachuck383]

I honestly think AI is the most underrated player in the NBA. Definately the unofficial MVP of the league for most years he has been in the NBA.

Looks like the Suns are down 0-2 in the playoffs to the Spurs....It aint over til its over.....but it is looking pretty over! :Beer:



Back to AI for a minute though.....maybe you can tell me why he wears that large sleeve over his right arm. It doesnt seem like it would be all that beneficial to a players shot.....Does anyone know?


he used to wear that sleeve cuz there was a heating pad or sumthin in there for his elbow injury he had a few years ago. i dont kno if he still has that problem anymore so he might just wear it now just to wear it.

[IgorUnchained]

he used to wear that sleeve cuz there was a heating pad or sumthin in there for his elbow injury he had a few years ago. i dont kno if he still has that problem anymore so he might just wear it now just to wear it.



That is kind of what I heard, that it is used to keep his elbow warm and keep his elbow from getting tight. I also heard that he had some tattoos that cant be shown on TV (or while representing the 76ers on the court). I dont know which story is true, but I havent been able to find a picture of AI's right arm tattoos to confirm or deny any of it.

[LTfan4life]

The sleeve is because of AI's tatoos. AI has tatoos of a black panther, which was an activist group in the 60s. He also has a skull on his right arm, which the NBA finds inappropriate. He also has a tat on his bottom forearm that is deemed innapropriate.

http://www.internationalbasketball.com/tattoosalleniversoncovers1.jpg

[bubbachuck383]

The sleeve is because of AI's tatoos. AI has tatoos of a black panther, which was an activist group in the 60s. He also has a skull on his right arm, which the NBA finds inappropriate. He also has a tat on his bottom forearm that is deemed innapropriate.

http://www.internationalbasketball.com/tattoosalleniversoncovers1.jpg

wow thats interesting i didnt kno they had problems with his tats. but im positive that when he first wore it, it was because of his injury.

[IgorUnchained]

Thanks for clearing that up LTfan and Bubbachuck. That truly solves an age-old mystery in my life.

Now all I need is a miracle in the Suns/Spurs series and I will be set! :Beer:

[LTfan4life]

Now all I need is a miracle in the Suns/Spurs series and I will be set! :Beer:

Suns all the way!!! The Suns remind me of the Colts. Nash=Peyton, Amare=Marvin. Suns are all O just like the Colts with no D in sight.

[TD4LT]

i think AI might be the nfls randy moss... hes probably the best at his position...has unlimited potential...but will never be considered the goat because he acts like an a hole most the time he wants to win more than anyone but maynever get past the finals

[bubbachuck383]

i think AI might be the nfls randy moss... hes probably the best at his position...has unlimited potential...but will never be considered the goat because he acts like an a hole most the time he wants to win more than anyone but maynever get past the finals

WHAT? you gotta be kidding me man! Iverson is nothing compared to Moss. when the last time u saw AI walk off the court and quit? or spit water on a ref, run over a woman.... the list goes on and on with randy, with Iverson you might be able to name a few things but that was way back in the day and he has change.

[TD4LT]

iverson did throw out his wife half naked and break the window of her car and got caught with a gun and started crying when he lost a playoff game and ... maybe he doesnt quit on the plays but thats kindof hard when your a pointgaurd in the nba and "you talkin bout practice man, practice!" ring a bell...he works as hard as anyone to be the best and who says moss doesnt due that either im saying he has the abbilities but is to reactionary with his coaches and teamates just like moss and just like moss he will never win a ring

[LTfan4life]

AI is one of the most determined and hard working athletes period. He doesn't look like the prototype leader, but he IS the 76ers. If he wasn't there, they'd be one of the worst teams in the league. Granted, he isn't the best at his position, but he is a guy that you can count on come gametime. He's my favorite NBA player, and he's one of the few players I actually care to watch and respect nowadays. He has taken the heat for the 76ers failure the last few years. Hopefully, Andre Iguadala and C-Webb help him win that ring that he so deserves.

[TD4LT]

talk about overated c-web sucks he goes from team to team losing ever since the time out he didnt have his career has been downhill

[LTfan4life]

talk about overated c-web sucks he goes from team to team losing ever since the time out he didnt have his career has been downhill


I agree...C-Webb was stolen from Sac-town, but he isn't exactly good anymore.

[bubbachuck383]

iverson did throw out his wife half naked and break the window of her car and got caught with a gun and started crying when he lost a playoff game and ... maybe he doesnt quit on the plays but thats kindof hard when your a pointgaurd in the nba and "you talkin bout practice man, practice!" ring a bell...he works as hard as anyone to be the best and who says moss doesnt due that either im saying he has the abbilities but is to reactionary with his coaches and teamates just like moss and just like moss he will never win a ring

haha she got what she deserved! i dont recall him ever crying...i dont see him doing that but i'll give u the benefit of the doubt. and who needs practice when ur the best player in the league? i do recall that one and i think it was right after they got beat out of the playoffs and he missed a practice. atleast he isnt a distraction to the team. but imo he isnt as bad ass randy moss.

[bubbachuck383]

AI is one of the most determined and hard working athletes period. He doesn't look like the prototype leader, but he IS the 76ers. If he wasn't there, they'd be one of the worst teams in the league. Granted, he isn't the best at his position, but he is a guy that you can count on come gametime. He's my favorite NBA player, and he's one of the few players I actually care to watch and respect nowadays. He has taken the heat for the 76ers failure the last few years. Hopefully, Andre Iguadala and C-Webb help him win that ring that he so deserves.

igoudala is deffinately goin to be a big time star in his up and coming future. they'll do alot better next year, they have alot of young guys that are justing starting to blossom and hopefully C-Webb will be back to himself instead of stinkin it up all over the place.

[TD4LT]

igodaula(<---totaly rong) is definatley a great player he and stadoumire remind me of each other and are similar in some aspects(crazy hops)

[IgorUnchained]

haha she got what she deserved! i dont recall him ever crying...i dont see him doing that but i'll give u the benefit of the doubt. and who needs practice when ur the best player in the league? i do recall that one and i think it was right after they got beat out of the playoffs and he missed a practice. atleast he isnt a distraction to the team. but imo he isnt as bad ass randy moss.


First I just want to say that I agreed with LTfan's post #43.


I saw him cry after the playoff game.....it was during a press conference and it was truly raw human emotion. As was said earlier, Allen Iverson IS the 76ers... but he cant carry that team all the way. He isnt Jordan and Jordan had alot better backup!

I think it is easy to discount AI for many different things, and yes he had some off the court trouble and has tested positive for Marijuana before....etc.

He has also had thousands of dollars stolen from his clothes on multiple occasions by the old owner's brother...and when it was eventually caught on tape AI didnt press charges because he didnt want to drag the owners name through the "media mud". I thought that was classy.

Allen Iverson almost didnt make the US Olympic team until it was fairly obvious that many players were going to take a pass on it. Many people in the media gave reason after reason as to why he didnt have the character or the look to represent America at the games.
The guy was the best player on that Olympic team and was a class act the whole time....restraining other players and being the level headed captain role.

I think it is obscene that anyone could talk down on AI given his record and his loyalty to his team and his organization. The guy is 6 foot nothing and is picking himself off the floor every other play....while playing harder and longer than anyone else on his team. What more can you ask for? Take his cornrows out and cover his tattoos? Sounds petty as hell to me!

LT doesnt really have to practice in many different situations and will only see limited snaps in preseason. Allen Iverson was injured and still playing, but didnt want to participate in practices. He had a new coach at the time who was trying to set an example to the team by coming down on AI for missing practice. LT missing a practice helps him more than it hurts him at times and historically the team has NEEDED him healthy--- the same could be said of AI and the 76ers. I dont fault for AI taking exception to the punishment and I really dont blame him for voicing his opposition to it to the media and the public.

I have never heard a good reason as to why AI is a bad guy that didnt sound as stupid as " Brett Favre was a cancer to the Packers because he was addicted to painkillers".

[Shamrock]

http://www.photofile.com/Photos/Albums/NBA_Team_Logos_Album/images/Spurs_Logo_JPG.jpg

[makarusty]

Well there it is.. the Spurs are the West Champs and it isn't no surprise.. they are the better team and at the end of the day defence wins chapionships.. but not MVP awards huh

[LTfan4life]

GO HEAT!!!!(now that the suns and nuggets are all out)

[TD4LT]

yah everyteam i cheered for has lost
o well gotta go dwayne wade go heat!!

[IgorUnchained]

Not even my "Rally Avatar" could help the Suns out. It was a good run while it lasted and at least they didnt get swept. The Spurs are playing some great ball right now and getting alot of good production from their guards. Manu Ginobili (sp?) is playing like a man possessed and had the prettiest finger roll I have seen in about 10 years 2 games ago.

I guess I am left to cheer for whichever team comes out of the East now....I like the Pistons as a team better than the Heat.....but I really like D Wade and A Mourning, and I want to see Shaq win a Championship the same year that Kobe doesnt make the playoffs....

I will just wait for one of those teams to lose and cheer for the other one! :Beer:

[Shamrock]

Detroit Free Press story: (http://www.freep.com/sports/pistons/pjournal9e_20050609.htm)


PLAYOFF JOURNAL: Hostility? Not in San Antonio

Reporter survives in Big Ben jersey
June 9, 2005







BY NICHOLAS J. COTSONIKA
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST


SAN ANTONIO -- "DEE-troit?" the man said in his Texas drawl as soon as he spotted me. "You're a brave one!"

Oh, boy. I didn't know if brave was the right word.


Here I was in downtown San Antonio, on the eve of the NBA Finals between the Pistons and Spurs, walking around in a Ben Wallace jersey.


It was blue. It said "DETROIT" across the chest. As far as I was concerned, it might as well have said "IDIOT." I wouldn't have stuck out more in the 92-degree heat if I were wearing a fur coat.


My boss suggested I go undercover Wednesday to see how Pistons fans would be received deep in the heart of Spurs country, and because a boss' ideas are always good ideas, I agreed.


"Sure!" I said. "Sounds like fun!"


"Great," I thought. "Hope I can expense medical bills."


The only advice I figured I would end up giving Pistons fans was this: Remember the Alamo. It has a history of holding off hostiles (at least for a while), and the people surrounding it probably aren't Spurs fans, anyway. They're tourists.


So when I went out of my hotel and down the steps to the River Walk, and the first person I encountered was Tommy Disbro, and the first thing he said was "DEE-troit? You're a brave one!" I gulped.


"Here we go," I thought.


But then Disbro smiled -- and actually said he was "tickled to death" the Pistons beat Shaquille O'Neal's Miami Heat to make it to the Finals.


"I didn't want to put up with Shaq's bull," he said.


Disbro, 57, of San Antonio, captains one of the tour boats that cruise up and down the San Antonio River. All of the boats were flying black flags that said, "GO SPURS GO." I said from a Detroit perspective, they looked like pirate flags.


"Yeah," he said. "Texas pirates."


Hmmm.


I went to Rivercenter, a mall nearby, and stopped at Sports Mania, a store selling all sorts of sports stuff. I saw a Michigan pillow and Michigan State umbrella. I saw a miniature Red Wings mug and a Lions flask.


"Got any Afro wigs?" I asked.


"Afro?"


The manager, Bob Cantu, 64, of Schertz, Texas, seemed startled, confused. Then he looked at my jersey.


"Oh," he said. "You want to look like the rascal!"


But then he laughed. No, he said, he didn't have any Afro wigs -- but he had some other Pistons stuff and had even been selling some of it lately.


Hmmm.


I strolled down the street and got harassed by Gilbert Gonzalez, 20, of San Antonio. He told me I wasn't welcome in his wine store, Blum Street Cellars. But he was joking. I went in -- and he said he was actually glad the Pistons won the 2004 title because they beat the hated Los Angeles Lakers.


"I was really going for you all last year," he said. "I was really happy you all won. Not this year, though."


Hmmm.


Everybody was just so darn friendly. As Roy Hernandez, 41, of LaPorte, Texas, said at the Alamo, Spurs fans love their team, but they won't give you trouble. All the teasing was just that, teasing. Lighthearted fun.


Fightin' words? Only a few.


When a companion pointed at me on the street, Daryl Flaggs, 43, of San Antonio, said, "We don't see him." When I stopped him and explained what I was doing, I mentioned the name Ben Wallace. He smiled and said, "Who?"


"I don't like your team at all," he said.


"Why not?"


"Well, bunch of dirty players on it."


"Dirty? Who's dirty?"


"You've got Ben Wallace. Is that what you call him? Ben Wallace? Who's that other brother who's always getting kicked out because of technical fouls?"


"Rasheed Wallace?"


"I guess that's his name."


We talked for a little bit, and he said Spurs fans didn't have hatred for Detroit, just "San Antonio pride." I asked what else I needed to know about San Antonio.


"Well," he said. "We're not going to tear up the city when we win."


Uh-oh. Here we go after all.

~~~~~~~~

BTW: When the Spurs won in '99 and '03, the city partied like mad. Few if any arrests. No burned buildings, cars etc......

[Shamrock]

Wilbon article: (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/08/AR2005060802575.html)

Spurs vs. Pistons: The Perfect Matchup

By Michael Wilbon

Thursday, June 9, 2005; Page E01

If this isn't the NBA Finals you want, too bad. It's the one you should want. It's the perfect series for the folks who don't want their basketball littered with divas, the perfect series for people who believe the game has devolved into something entirely selfish and showy, the perfect series for folks who foolishly believe the pros aren't committed to playing defense, the perfect series for the conspiracy theorists who believe the NBA would go to any lengths to make sure the Finals include at least one team loaded with megastars to ensure big TV ratings.

Spurs vs. Pistons, which begins tonight in San Antonio, is a championship confrontation that will defy virtually every stereotype commonly held about the NBA. For those clinging to the belief that foreign-born players are at best complementary pieces, there is the Spurs' starting back court of France's Tony Parker and Argentina's Olympic gold medal-winning Manu Ginobili. For those who think every game is about isolation basketball, there will be more passing and movement without the ball than any college team could dream of executing. For those who think NBA coaches are mostly guys who go along to get along, there is San Antonio's Gregg Popovich, who graduated from the Air Force Academy, majored in Soviet studies, speaks Russian and toured Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union with the U.S. Armed Forces team in the early 1970s. You don't just say "Go play" when you've spent eight years at a Division III school (Pomona-Pitzer), for one stint living in a dorm with your wife and two kids.

On the other side, Detroit's Larry Brown has been in unspeakable discomfort with the difficulties that followed his hip surgery in November.

Wherever he winds up next season and in whatever capacity, Brown probably should be resting comfortably on a beach somewhere instead of trying to rally a team psychologically set back after the Nov. 19 brawl which, remember, involved Pacers players but no Pistons. Instead, the 64-year-old Brown, who also has to be tired from coaching the U.S. Olympic team all summer, is chasing a second title as if his career on the sideline might end this month, which it could.

With Brown is a star-challenged team of castoffs again riding through the league with the biggest chip-on-your-shoulder attitude you've ever seen. Richard Hamilton, Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace and Chauncey Billups -- four of the Pistons starters -- play every game as if they were traded yesterday, and the result is a basketball symphony of passing, screening, cutting, shooting, rebounding and defending, set to a soundtrack of whining to the officials over every call.

Anybody who loves basketball, or at the very least understands it, should be drooling to watch these teams play each other for a possible seven games over two weeks. Those who claim to love old-school basketball in its purity and don't want to watch Spurs-Pistons are hypocrites and frauds of the first degree. And those who are still asking "Where's LeBron? Where's Kobe? Where's Kevin Garnett? Where's the sizzle?" are probably too star-obsessed for the league to worry about capturing in the first place.

And, yes, that's a pretty big number. The NBA is largely to blame.

Over the years, the league has done a phenomenal job marketing superstars, from Wilt and Russell to Kareem and Oscar to Wes and E to Magic and Bird to Doc and Jordan to Shaq and Kobe. Just as hockey sells violence, baseball sells its rich history and the NFL sells the uniform (so well that replacement players can play in them and people barely notice), the NBA sells star power. So naturally, people not slavishly devoted to pro basketball tune in to the league's showcase event to see those stars. And when there aren't any, the casual fans who don't know screen from roll are going to be hard to hold.

So the NBA has its work cut out as much as the Pistons and Spurs do in this series.

Tim Duncan could be a star but would rather do a rain dance in his underwear than be involved in the whole star thing. Even the defending champion Pistons are hard to get ahold of outside of basketball circles. Who among them has a national presence? Well, nobody.

The reason Rasheed Wallace works better in Detroit than in Portland is that he doesn't want to be the big scorer and recoils from the notion of being The Man. He wants to concentrate sometimes on passing, sometimes on defense. He's a scruffy irritant, but by most accounts a wonderful teammate. The biggest star on the Pistons is Larry Brown and he got more attention for this recent flirtation with the Cleveland Cavaliers than for anything else he's done this season.

Those of us who are tired of the marketing and TV ratings issues, however, will have what ought to be a wonderful series to dive into.

(Okay, I'll admit to diving in a little late, Game 3 in Detroit to be exact. I've not missed a Game 1 of the Finals since 1988, but the notion of seeing Vijay, Ernie, Phil, Annika and Mike Tyson go local in the same weekend is too irresistible to leave town. If you like stars, you'll love Tyson even if you don't know who's getting in the ring to fight him. Yesterday, three days before a fight he's been drooling over for six weeks, Kornheiser took one look at the Tyson opponent, Kevin McBride, and said, "Uh, you mean the guy Tyson's fighting is white? Oh-oh. This changes everything!")

But beyond the gratuitous shots of Eva Longoria watching Parker (my TiVo is set), it's going to be about matchups and pace, defending screen-and-roll, and claiming control of games.

Duncan is the best player in the series and Ginobili is probably the second-best. If San Antonio's Bruce Bowen guards Detroit's Rip Hamilton, it almost certainly means the lightning-quick but very slight Parker will have to guard the much bigger and stronger Billups, which leaves Ginobili to square off with Tayshaun Prince at least at one end. The matchups between Duncan and one Wallace, Nazr Mohammed and the other Wallace will make for great thought and better action.

That Detroit doesn't have much of a bench may hurt the Pistons against San Antonio, which has a deadly shooter in Brent Barry, a stunningly underrated all-around backup guard in Beno Udrih, former starter Rasho Nesterovic and Mr. June, Robert Horry, who could be looking at a sixth championship ring.

The people who just can't stand the lack of star power in this series should go off to watch midseason baseball or reality TV, while folks who crave basketball at its best should enjoy the first meeting of champions in the Finals since 1987, and one of the rare matchups in recent years of the game's two best teams. Six games sounds about right.

Spurs in six.

[Shamrock]

USA Today article: (http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/lopresti/2005-06-08-lopresti-nba-champs_x.htm)

Tough to get past the door at NBA's champions club
Before the NBA Finals begin their long, slow march past Father's Day, let's review the champions from the past 25 years.
Please don't go. This won't take as long as you think.

Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, Houston, San Antonio, Los Angeles Lakers.

That's it. Seven franchises, 25 years. The NBA might spread from sea to shining sea, and Seattle coffee to Miami stone crab. The land of a thousand tattoos. But there must be a pretty good bouncer at the door to the champions' club, because not many people get in.

And because the Pistons and Spurs are in the NBA Finals, we can already update the number. Make that seven franchises in 26 years.

The question is why.

Why, since the past 25 World Series have produced champions from 18 franchises. Even though George Steinbrenner has tried to buy up all the trophies.

Why, since there have been eight different winners in the past 11 Super Bowls. Even though the New England Patriots seem to never lose.

Why just the Magnificent Seven, when all you need in this sport are five guys in short pants?

Part of it has been the family tree of NBA stars, spreading like a big oak over the past quarter-century.

The Lakers' Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy beget Boston's Larry Bird and Kevin McHale. They beget Detroit's Isiah Thomas and Bill Laimbeer and Joe Dumars. Who beget Chicago's Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan, who played baseball long enough to beget Houston's Hakeem Olajuwon. Then came San Antonio's Tim Duncan and David Robinson, followed by the Lakers' Shaq-and-Kobe Show.

"I think the answer lies in the size of the team," NBA Commissioner David Stern said over the phone, "where the great players have a more profound impact. A pitcher pitches only every fourth or fifth day. A .300 hitter needs a lot of help. But with two great players in basketball, you're talking about 40% of your team. Look at the people piloting those teams.

"If you start healthy and you start young …"

Then the titles just keep on coming. And they have.

"That's why there have been only seven," Magic Johnson was saying Monday night when brought the question. "They're the teams that had the superstars you could build around."

Fair enough. But what of the current Pistons, who are not so much a marquee of a few big names, but a company picture?

The matter was taken to Dumars, now president and architect of the Pistons.

"It's really hard to build a basketball team in the NBA," he began. "I think that number is a testament to how tough it is. Not a lot of organizations have been able to do it.

"Name all the baseball (champions). Name all the football. There's a ton of them. That shows you how much tougher it is in this business. Basketball is so connected. One guy is connected to the other. I think it's different in baseball. The leftfielder and the rightfielder, they don't have to work together."

Next question. Seven teams … 26 championships. Good or bad for the game?

"Neither," said Dumars. "It's just the way it is in the NBA."

"Hugely irrelevant," said Stern. "Because in a funny kind of way, it's the journey. The Celtics and Lakers split all those championships (the Bird-Magic wars of the 1980s). If one team had won them all, that wouldn't have made the competition any less intense."

Stern will soon hand the trophy to a Piston or a Spur, to take home and place next to the others. Meanwhile, all the wannabes watch another ring-less year go by. The NBA has a long waiting list.

***

Mike Lopresti writes for Gannett News Service

[Shamrock]

One down, three to go !!!

http://www.nba.com/media/spurs/ginobili_360_050609.jpg

[TD4LT]

yah everyteam i cheered for has lost
o well gotta go dwayne wade go heat!!
lol the heat lost too
goo spurs baby
manu is crazy good
o ya shamrock :D :D :D big thanks for those articles great one on the 7 teams in the past 26 years that was interesting i didnt even realize that
i have a feeling the streak of the 7 will last till 27 years then the heat with wade or suns with amare will be added to the list

[Shamrock]

...thanks for those articles great one on the 7 teams in the past 26 years that was interesting i didnt even realize that
I was thinking about that after Detroit clinched the East, and wondering if someone would write that article.

Philly is the lone team on that list with only one title in that time frame. Really, they should have had a couple more in the late 70's. Dr. J and Darrell Dawkins were fun to watch. I think Barkley got drafted by the 76ers the year (maybe two) after they won it all.

[Shamrock]

Current responses:

Who will be named the 2005 NBA Finals MVP?

Manu Ginobili, Spurs 61%

Tim Duncan, Spurs 30%

Chauncey Billups, Pistons 3%

Richard Hamilton, Pistons 3%

Other 3%

http://www.nba.com/finals2005/global_fan_opinion.html

[TD4LT]

I was thinking about that after Detroit clinched the East, and wondering if someone would write that article.

Philly is the lone team on that list with only one title in that time frame. Really, they should have had a couple more in the late 70's. Dr. J and Darrell Dawkins were fun to watch. I think Barkley got drafted by the 76ers the year (maybe two) after they won it all.
yeah i think barkley was drafted in Julius's last season i dont think they will be getting 2 though iverson wont get past detroit the heat hell even the pacers next year

[Shamrock]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y221/traviswscott/obiwan.jpg

[Shamrock]

Spurs guard Manu Ginobili became only the third player to claim an Olympic gold medal and an NBA championship in the same season.

"It's just unbelievable," said Ginobili, who won gold with Argentina. "It's not easy to win any of them, and I was able to be part of those two teams in one year."

Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan were the only previous players to accomplish Ginobili's feat when they won the Olympic gold with the U.S. "Dream Team" in 1992 and claimed the NBA title with Chicago after the 1992-93 season. Pippen later repeated the feat in 1996 and the 1996-97 NBA season.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A lot of critics have wanted to redefine Tim Duncan this month, so here goes: No superstar since Bill Russell has won a title, watched all 11 teammates leave, then win another title with a new set of teammates. (Duncan is the only Spur left from their 1999 NBA Title team. Also, only four Spurs remain from the 2003 NBA Title team - Duncan, Ginobili, Tony Parker and Bruce Bowen.)

Dynasty in the making? Duncan, Ginobili and Parker are all under 30 years old, and all under contract through 2010.

http://img103.echo.cx/img103/7408/tdmvp2950506239ou.jpg

[IgorUnchained]

Ok Shamrock....bring on the crow.

I have been offline for a while, but I coulnt forget to stop in and take my lumps over the Spurs win.

The Suns and Pistons both failed me this year......Im just hoping the Trailblazers make the playoffs next season and that football season starts soon! :Beer:

[Shamrock]

Igor -

I'll warm up the cattle prod .... :D

It was a fun playoffs. Detroit gave a heck of an effort and the Pistons played like the Champions they were.