2011 NBA Finals: Mavs V. Heat, part deux

[NovU]

See? Dirk deserves to be in the discussion... Figures are there.

[shadowgrin]

I still want to know what you mean by "better player" in comparing Dirk to Bird.

[NovU]

Quite possibly. Better PER and WS even during the regular season. Perhaps, a lack of ring is bother people tho.

[shadowgrin]

Imma still go with Bird as the better all-around player.
Definitely more clutch than Dirk in both ends of the floor. *no actual data to back it up. Only from watching the games.

[Axel The Great]

You could also add that Bird was always a triple-double threat, which further proves him being the better all-around player.

[JoeJames]

The only thing that I'm criticizing from LeBron is his actitude. Yes he had a better overall game in game 5, but his attitude, his agresiveness, his mmm, hungry for victory I don't saw it (and I was worse because Wade "Heat's moral leader this Finals" was injured, so the team needed you to take the leadership and he quit?).

I know he is a great ofensive player, and this playoffs he added a more agresive defense (Boston and Chicago series)... so I (we) know he can do it (just remember without going to far, game 1 in the Finals, how he played), and because I (we) know he can do great/amazing things I think is a little frustrating (being or not a Heat fan) how he just disappear and become a soft player in the important moments.

In heat forums they are saying that that attitude is because he doesn't get the call... yes is possible, but that doesn't have to stop you in important moments, you need to keep trying one, two, three, or more times until you get the call (again agresiveness, attitude)

[shadowgrin]

You could also add that Bird was always a triple-double threat, which further proves him being the better all-around player.

I'm sure NovU, who's a LeBron fan, can deduce that just by looking at Bird's per game averages.

[Mavs4Life]

LeBron hasn't been aggresive for the last few. That really helps their team win. D-Wade's the true leader,but LeBron's gotta be there sometimes. Hope we clinch it next game. Maybe I won't go to AAC, I may want to be alone if we win.

[Axel]

As a Heat fan, it's hard to be confident right now. LeBron has been a no show this series, and we see how big he came up in G5 after calling it the biggest game of his career. I don't have faith in Coach Spo to make the necessary adjustments to prepare us for game 6, either. Carlisle has shit all over him this series. Hopefully DWade is able to put this team on his back once again.

[Martti.]

I'm gonna say we will see a game #7. Hopefully. LeBron really needs to up his scoring, now is not the time to make fun of Dirk's decease.

[The X]

Dirk does some things better than Bird

Like what X? Like what things?

It would be ignorant to think that Bird is better than Dirk at EVERY facet of the game. Dirk's got a better one foot fadeaway jumper, he's taller, longer, has better hair & has a better herky, jerky step.

[Houndy]

I'm gonna say we will see a game #7. Hopefully. LeBron really needs to up his scoring, now is not the time to make fun of Dirk's decease.

I don't. LeBron obviously can't shake off the trash talk, so it's getting to his head. He's gonna try doing too much, and it'll cost the Heat.

[Jeffx]

Imma still go with Bird as the better all-around player.
Definitely more clutch than Dirk in both ends of the floor. *no actual data to back it up. Only from watching the games.

Dirk may be a better shooter, but he is NOT the rebounder, passer, intense floor leader and clutch player Larry Legend was. And this is coming from a Bird/Celtic hater.

Jordan, Magic, Bird - none of these cats today will ever be on their level.

[Andrew]

[sobz] You are implying that I took over that role of so called "Lakers Fans" I guess, but mind you Andrew, I was like this even when my team was at the bottom of standing. U jus hatin on me.

Come on, do we really have to pull out the dreaded H-word here? I'm not saying you fit that description, but there is a contingent of Heat fans that do. Such fans are in every fanbase, it's unavoidable.

[shadowgrin]

"Dirk's got a better one foot fadeaway jumper" - hard to argue with that

"he's taller" - c'mon X, I know you know that physical attributes is not a distinct advantage or disadvantage in comparing players (though it is a facet of the game like you said)

"longer" -

"has better hair" - it's not real



NovU using the victim card in his discussion with Andrew.

[debiler]

He also can take a 20 pound cinnamon roll:

phpBB [video]

Can Bird do that? Doubt it.

[Murat]

Bird is way better. He has MORE RINGS than Dirk.

[NovU]

But Dirk is a nice guy. Can Larry sign an autograph on Lakers Jersey and hat?

phpBB [video]

[debiler]

I loved that episode of punk'd. He's gotta be the nicest guy in the NBA. Signing a LeBron jersey? Come on. Although, LeBron has Dirk's signature all over himself in the finals...

[JaoSming]

I'm at my parents house shooting a wedding today and my dad asked me if I had been watching the finals. I complained a bit about LeBron's and Wade's blatant flops in games 3 and 4 and explained how I hated that kind of shit and it made me lose a lot of respect for both of them. After explaining to him what a flop is, explaining the difference between flopping and taking a charge, and finally showing him video of the body check from hell and the Kidd taser to the ass of Wade, we looked up and watched the play Wade got hurt on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrnrXjJ8ZXY
Of course he got hurt flailing around like an idiot, proving my point.

This morning while we were talking, Sportscenter ran the fake cough video with Wade and LeBron and he turned to me and said "Wow, now that sissy play makes sense if that is the kind of people these guys are".

I didn't like LeBron because of the special, and I haven't cared for Wade much because of all the non-calls he's always gotten, but I at least respected them as professional basketball players. The flops were just terrible and I really hope next season the NBA has a fourth ref watching replays to hand out T's for this crap, wasn't the league going to hand down fines for flopping?
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3416579

The cough video? I dunno, it's lame and unprofessional. You can't fake a fever (easily) but it's almost as if they felt bad that their amazing play wasn't the story of game 4 and just wanted more attention on them. It's just lame and as I said a couple times already, I've lost all respect for Wade and LeBron after those flops and that video. It's a shame that they are the current faces of the NBA and I really hope that the flopping gets reduced next year.

[[Q]]

i hope the mavs win on sunday so i can finally get rid of this lame joel anthony signature

[hova-]

The last two games were really great. Game 4 had bad shooting but nice hustling by both teams and in the end I'd say it came down to luck as Wade didn't get a grip on the ball.

Game 5 was finally a game in which the Mavs managed to play their "own" game. Looked much like the Mavs vs Lakers series, hitting big threes and finally getting something out of Terry and Barea.

Now I hope they can finish it in game six, because a game seven situation is not really what you want as a fan. Game 4 was already so goddam exciting. Could barely watch Terry shooting his FTs in the end.

So far, these Finals are great, well they are especially for me as I have a team to root for, but from all ya comments I noticed that I'm not the only guy who thinks these Finals have been one of the best in recent years.

[Houndy]

Apparently D-Wade and LeBron did that coughing because "they knew that the media would blow it up". Not because they thought Dirk was faking.

That's the worst excuse I've heard. I hope Dirk shows them up and win it on Sunday. Dallas needs this, and the world needs to know that, as someone said before me, that a team doesn't have to be built of 3 great players, but can be built around 1 great player with many good players.

[Andrew]

The cough video? I dunno, it's lame and unprofessional. You can't fake a fever (easily) but it's almost as if they felt bad that their amazing play wasn't the story of game 4 and just wanted more attention on them. It's just lame and as I said a couple times already, I've lost all respect for Wade and LeBron after those flops and that video. It's a shame that they are the current faces of the NBA and I really hope that the flopping gets reduced next year.

Agreed. There's always going to be trash talking and the like but it was a bit childish to say the least and certainly hypocritical given their flopping and acting. Even if they were doing it to rib the media and prove how these things are blown out of proportion - which I don't really buy, that might have been part of it but Wade had commented immediately after Game 4 that he didn't think Dirk had a fever - it was silly and lame. And of course, they went out and lost another game so they failed to back it up, which I'd say is why they scrambled for such a weak excuse. I guess at the end of the day they have every right to do stuff like that, but at the same time we have the right to roll our eyes.

[NovU]

Everything Wade or Bron does, it becomes a hot issue these days.

"First of all, it wasn't fake coughing," Wade said. "I actually did cough. And with the cameras being right there, we made a joke out of it because we knew you guys were going to blow it up. You did exactly what we knew. We never said Dirk's name. I think he's not the only one in the world who can get sick or have a cough. We just had fun with the cameras being right in our face about the blowup of the incident, and it held to be true. You blew it up."

"I'm not feeding into that," James said. "If you guys want to feed into everything that not only myself or DWade or the Miami Heat do, I think that's a nonissue. There's bigger issues in this series than that."

And considering this being the Finals, there of course were verbal exchanges with Stevenson and Terry being the instigators. As for the flopping, if you are going to hate everyone that flops, there wouldn't be an end to it. It has been the part of the game for ages and not sure why anyone's starting pick on them right now. There was one play where Dirk flopped against Miller in this series as well. And as far as calls go, the Mavericks have been getting them.