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2005 NBA Finals Game # 7


Game # 7 Winnner?  

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Guest akanalog

i can't see the spurs losing two in a row at home.

detroit has too many players who can go cold at the wrong time.

Edited by akanalog
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I picked Detroit. Why? The last four games in this series have been either blowouts favoring the Pistons, or close games favoring the Pistons. The Pistons have the mental advantage right now. And let's face it, they match up better.

Parker vs. Billups - winner Billups

Manu vs. Tayshaun - the first two games it was all Manu, now it's Tayshaun

RIP vs. Bowen - advantage Rip... he's too fast

Mohammed vs. Big Ben - no contest... Big Ben

Duncan vs. Wallace - I would say Duncan, but he has no outside game unlike Wallace and his free throws have been atrocious

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I picked Detroit because I WANT them to win. Spoken like an ordinary 6-year-old, I know! (Unlike my friend's 6-year-old, who is quite the precocious bookie! His piggy bank is fat with the results of "adults" betting for their sentimental faves.)

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I voted for Pistons because I like them.

I also voted for them because they are the best team, and have more hunger to win it again.

They also have more tenacity and aggressiveness. Also Duncan is shying away from "taking over a game in order to win."

Edited by BruceW
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I expect a very very good game, but I voted Spurs. I think they're really the more talented team, and I expect they'll show it tonight, esp. with their being home. No disrespect to the Pistons, though. Always an admirer of Larry Brown coached teams--I just don't think they've quite got it this year.

I look forward to the game, and being a Sixers fan (save your expressions of sympathy) I am relatively neutral. As long as the game is good.

--eric

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good Bill Simmons article

(by the way, jim asked me a while back if Simmons was only complaining about bad calls that went in the Pistons' favor -- no, he's been bitching about the playoff officiating in general for the past two months)

"Note to self: Never underestimate the defending champs."

I wrote that line after the Pistons fended off Miami in Game 7. Did I follow my own advice? Of course not! After Robert Horry's heroics in Game 5, I thought the 2005 NBA Finals were finished. Unfortunately, so did the Spurs. They planned their championship parade for Thursday, then played Game 6 like they were waiting for the Pistons to self-destruct and go home. Never happened. Now we're headed for the fourth Game 7 in 25 years … which would be fantastic except like I said before, this has turned into one of those crummy Oscar seasons in which nobody made a movie good enough to win "Best Picture," only they have to hand out the award, anyway (much like Nash's winning the MVP).

Think about it. The Spurs just lost three of the past four games (completely inexcusable under any circumstances), were blown out four times this spring (once against Denver, once against Seattle, twice against Detroit) and failed to finish off a team just 48 hours removed from one of most crushing losses in the history of the league (and at home, no less). Would the '86 Celtics have lost Game 6 at home last night? What about the '92 Bulls? Or the '82 Lakers? Come on. Any team worth its salt takes care of business last night. If the Spurs prevail Thursday, they're still the flimsiest champ since the '94 Rockets. I take back every nice thing I ever said about them.

...

Meanwhile, the Pistons' resolve has been more than admirable – especially Tuesday night, when they prevailed on the road even though they weren't getting any calls – but they have lost a whopping nine playoff games this spring, which could tie the 1988 Lakers' record for "Most playoff games lost by a team that ended up winning a title" (and that '88 Lakers team was just as shaky). They're just one of those teams that can't seem to get it together unless they absolutely have to get it together. Again, a great team would have knocked them off already. But that's the thing about the Pistons – in a league without a single great team, these guys are so mentally tough that you have to blow them out of the building to finish them off. In the words of Teddy KGB (thick Russian accent), they keep hannnnging around and hannnnnnging around. And nobody has the firepower to get rid of them.

The question remains: Is this entertaining? Much like the Rockets and Knicks in the hideous 1994 Finals, the Spurs and Pistons seem to bring out the worst in one another (only without OJ's Bronco Chase to lighten the mood). Some basketball purists love the defensive energy on both sides, how this is turning into a battle of wills, who wants it more, all that crap. And that would be fine … if this was hockey or football. Unfortunately, it's basketball. In the NBA Finals, both teams are supposed to play more than seven guys, and it shouldn't be cause for celebration when someone makes two straight jumpers or plays above his head for an entire game. Only in Game 5 did both teams bring out the best in one another. It shouldn't be a bi-weekly occurrence.

...

• I wrote this quote down verbatim in my notebook, only I can't remember who said it now … it was either Michele Tafoya or Stu Scott. Anyway, was there a better sideline report than the one on Lindsey Hunter's sprained ankle before Game 6? It went like this …

"When I asked Lindsey if he was gonna play tonight, he looked at me and he said, 'I ain't no punk.' I say, 'Yo, Lindsey, dawg, can I quote you on that?' He said, 'Yeah you can quote me, I ain't no punk, I played on sprained ankles before.'"

Again, can't remember if it was Tafoya or Scott. Sorry about that. That reminds me, did you ever wonder how the sideline reporters hear what's happening in the huddles? Do they stick their heads in there? Do they keep walking back and forth behind the bench and whistling like they're pretending not to listen? Does one of the fringe players just tell them what happened? Do they have lip readers telling them what's going on? Do they just make up stuff? And why couldn't we hire comedians for this job? Imagine Jeffrey Ross coming out of a timeout? Before I tell you what happened in Detroit's timeout, I just want to say what an honor it is to be this close to so many talented basketball players … and Darko Milicic!)

• When Hamilton's Schnozarroo Mask broke with five minutes left, didn't you think that was an omen that the Pistons' luck had changed and they were about to collapse? Seeing his mask come off was like seeing Michael Myers' mask come off in "Halloween" right before Dr. Loomis shot him six times; I thought the Pistons were done. As always, I was wrong about them.

• Was there a better point made in the entire playoffs than Hubie Brown's admonishing Ben Wallace for overreacting to a foul call in the first quarter? As Hubie said, "The player must adjust to the referees in the first five minutes. How are they going to allow physical contact down on the box? How are they going to call it? Also, on the dribbler, will they allow you to bump and grind?"

And here's why I like that point so much: Every officiating crew calls the game differently, for better or worse … but 99 percent of the players never seem to understand this. Especially everyone on the Pistons.

...

• Was anyone else shocked that A) they avoided an NBA lockout, and B) all of the concessions made sense for both sides? Love the inflated salary cap that will absolutely result in the Dan Gadzurics of the world making $60 million this summer. Love the 19-year-old age limit, if only because it could lead to high schoolers' forging their own birth certificates (like the reverse of Latin American baseball players). Love the random drug testing, which should absolutely be simulcast on NBA TV whenever they do it. Best of all, I love the tweaking of the trade rules (going from "within 15 percent" to "within 25 percent"), which will make it much easier to make up fake trades.
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