The 2006 NBA Playoffs...Yay or Nay
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by user Wtt02005
Fans all over the world may not agree with the winner, but here were the big stories that made 2006 one of the more enjoyable playoffs I have ever watched.
First round: As the seventh seed, the Los Angeles Lakers were expected to do anything but win. Kobe Bryant had a different mentality and led his team to a surprising 3-1 advantage following an impressive Game 4. A Game 4 that involved two critical turnovers from MVP Steve Nash (who led the league in turnovers if I'm correct) and two impressive last second shots, the second of which was over Raja Bell and Boris Diaw to give the Lakers the win. The facade would dissapear as the Lakers' consistent contributions from Kwame Brown, Smush Parker, and Luke Walton were nonexistent in the next three games, resulting in a Phoenix Suns blowout in Game 7 and a 3-4 Laker loss overall.
The Cleveland Cavaliers duked it out with the Washington Wizards...or perhaps Lebron James and Gilbert Arenas did. A series that went back and forth, the two teams and star players showed comparable skill, answering one another with big shots and forcing games to be decided by the last shot. The Cavaliers made three of these to ultimately win. In Game 3, James dribbled his way to the basket, may have traveled, but hit a tough banker over Michael Ruffin to give the Cavaliers a one point victory. In Game 5, Lebron James dribbled around two defenders along the baseline and found himself right under the basket and dropped it in. Finally, in Game 6, Damon Jones finally found the mark and sank a three pointer to give the Cavaliers a one point lead and the series.
Conference Semifinals: Could the impossible be done? That's what the Dallas Mavericks were thinking with their 3-1 advantage in the series against the San Antonio Spurs. Despite losing Game 1, the Mavericks retained their relentless offensive style, constantly pushing the ball up the court. This style easily negated all the San Antonio bigs like Rasho Nesterovic, Robert Horry, and Nazr Mohammed who could not contend with the speed of the Dallas guards. The Spurs of old then resurfaced (along with the "We Believe" slogan), and the series was tied. In pivotal Game 7, the Mavericks were up as much as twenty, but the Spurs roared back with Manu Ginobili giving them a three point lead in the waning seconds. Dirk Nowitzski then got fouled on a drive to the basket, sending the game into overtime where the Mavs finished the champs off.
Lebron James was doing it again. After going down 0-2 against the Detroit Pistons, it seemed all was lost for the Cavaliers playoff hopes. Think again. Using the energy of the home crowd, James and Varejao led their team to pull out convincing victories over the Pistons who seemed to be lulled asleep. They appeared to not care, but they had to take care of business in Game 5. However, James was not done as he contributed another triple double to shock the Piston crowd and gave the Cavaliers a 3-2 advantage in the series. Unfortunately for him, the Pistons found themselves in the last two games and eeked out two victories in the fourth quarter.
Conference Finals: The sense of star players began to arise in the conference finals of the playoffs as the winning teams were getting it done easily. The Suns were criticized for having no depth resulting in the Mavericks being the favorite to win, and the Pistons, who seemed to just not care about anything, were expected to just succumb to Boy Wonder Dwayne Wade if they were not going to play with any heart.
Though both teams put up a fight, Nowitzski's 50 point effort against the Suns in Game 5 and Wade's numerous "I can't believe it" shots and performances against the Pistons showed that they were not going to be denied on their way to the NBA Finals.
NBA Finals Despite past finals in which one could easily predict the winner, this NBA Finals was not so clear cut. The NBA poll had the Miami Heat winning the series, but many people I talked to believed that the Dallas was the better team. They clearly showed themselves to have the most depth, and after beating the Spurs, it had to be their year, right? The Heat, on the other hand, had definitive leaders and role players; they knew who was going to get the ball and that is how they were going to win. It was a clash between team play and star power. Reminds me of the Kings and Lakers in 2003. The Lakers won in seven games, but how would the Heat fare?
Despite going down 0-2 in the series convincingly, Wade would single-handedly battle back the Mavs in Game 3 to win. Game 4 was a Heat blowout, leading up to the most crucial game for both teams. The Mavs were the better team with a lead throughout the game, but Wade found his jumpshot, forcing the game to be close in the waning seconds. After Wade sent the game into overtime with a banker against Adrian Griffin and Dirk Nowitzski sank a fadeaway over Shaq, Wade dribbled to the basket despite double and triple teaming and got fouled with 1.9 seconds left. Nothing was made of it, but officials usually do not call a foul on the last play of the game. Wade would calmly hit the first free throw, and for some reason, the Mavericks called their last timeout. Wade then sank the second free throw, giving the Heat a one point lead and forcing the Mavericks to heave the ball from down court. It caught backboard and ultimately ended up in the stands because Dirk went BALListic.
Game 6 would start with Mark Cuban being assessed a $250,000 fine for calling the league rigged. It was evident that the Mavericks were mad, but it is what you do on the court. The Mavs were doing it on the court, building a 14 point lead early on, but the Heat battled back and were able to take a one point lead going into halftime. The Maverick would try to comeback but missed eleven consecutive shots. The most important was the wide open buzzer beater by Terry, his ninth three-pointer miss of the game.
As Shaq promised, the Heat have won their first championship, and whether or not they can repeat next year, they should just take the time to enjoy it and leave next season for next season.
Date
Wed 06/21/06, 9:27 am EST
