...then combined with the fact that Chicago will soon be finishing off Miami, we would be witnessing a playoffs where BOTH finalists from the previous season lost in the first round!

:jaw:

...then combined with the fact that Chicago will soon be finishing off Miami, we would be witnessing a playoffs where BOTH finalists from the previous season lost in the first round!

:jaw:


Making it all a fluke, as we all thought it was. :stirthepot:

My NBA rigging theory is falling apart. I thought for sure Miami would get the necessary calls. What is happening? Is Stern on vacation?

My NBA rigging theory is falling apart. I thought for sure Miami would get the necessary calls. What is happening? Is Stern on vacation?


I don't think the calls could save Miami. Look at their free throw shooting. Shaq was 3 of 12, and Wade like 4 of 10 or something like that.

Miami did get the necessary calls, but Bavetta couldn't shoot the free throws for them.

Not unexpected for Miami, but the Dallas meltdown is a complete chokejob, and I'm loving it while it lasts.

(I don't care how unfavorable the matchups are: if you win sixty-seven games and your opponent is barely above .500, you shouldn't be completely embarrassed twice)

Wow.

I didn`t watch any of game three of this series and I am just finding out the Mav`s lost!! Oh my, this will go down as one of the biggest choke teams of all times if they lose this series.

Going up 2-0 last year in The Finals, only to lose to the Heat, then to lose to an eight seeded team the following year...........

I can see the scowl on Avery Johnson`s face as I type this. Mark Cuban probably has that Ivan Drago stare going on, and Nellie is loving life.

Wait a minute, I love Avery Johnson, but this will make him, no better than, shall we say...........Flip Saunders!!!!!!:sssh:

Wow.

I didn`t watch any of game three of this series and I am just finding out the Mav`s lost!! Oh my, this will go down as one of the biggest choke teams of all times if they lose this series.

Going up 2-0 last year in The Finals, only to lose to the Heat, then to lose to an eight seeded team the following year...........

I can see the scowl on Avery Johnson`s face as I type this. Mark Cuban probably has that Ivan Drago stare going on, and Nellie is loving life.

Wait a minute, I love Avery Johnson, but this will make him, no better than, shall we say...........Flip Saunders!!!!!!:sssh:

He made it to the NBA Finals, he's already better Flip Saunders.

He made it to the NBA Finals, he's already better Flip Saunders.

Making it to the Finals is indeed an accomplishment, however, being ousted two years in a row, in the fashion that they did/could would be a devasting blow to the Dallas orginization.

What would you remember about these last two sesaons about Avery Johnson? That his team made it to the Finals? Or, that they suffered two humiliating losses in the playoffs after a very successul regular season?

Making it to the Finals is indeed an accomplishment, however, being ousted two years in a row, in the fashion that they did/could would be a devasting blow to the Dallas orginization.

What would you remember about these last two sesaons about Avery Johnson? That his team made it to the Finals? Or, that they suffered two humiliating losses in the playoffs after a very successul regular season?

Well, I didn't consider the loss against Miami a humiliating one. They folded, but they still came very close to winning the big one after getting through a very tough Western Conference. I'll remember that Avery won Coach of the Year. I'll remember that he made the team serious contenders by getting them to play defense, which was one of the problems with Nelly's version of the Mavs. If Golden St competes well against the next round team (assuming that they beat the Mavs), one can make the arguement that the teams in the West were a lot closer than we may of thought. The Mavs have not been far and above the rest of the league this year although considered favorites. Some would say that Phoenix and San Antonio had just as strong of a shot. The Mavs aren't the overwhelming favorites say like the Pistons. ...and how many years of NBA head coaching experience does Avery have? I'd say Avery's legacy is still safe for now regardless of the outcome. Flip has had years and years of playoff failure. Really no comparison in my eyes.

Well, I didn't consider the loss against Miami a humiliating one. They folded, but they still came very close to winning the big one after getting through a very tough Western Conference. I'll remember that Avery won Coach of the Year. I'll remember that he made the team serious contenders by getting them to play defense, which was one of the problems with Nelly's version of the Mavs. If Golden St competes well against the next round team (assuming that they beat the Mavs), one can make the arguement that the teams in the West were a lot closer than we may of thought. The Mavs have not been far and above the rest of the league this year although considered favorites. Some would say that Phoenix and San Antonio had just as strong of a shot. The Mavs aren't the overwhelming favorites say like the Pistons. ...and how many years of NBA head coaching experience does Avery have? I'd say Avery's legacy is still safe for now regardless of the outcome. Flip has had years and years of playoff failure. Really no comparison in my eyes.

I agree and disagree.

The loss to Miami was a humiliating one. To be up 2-0 in the Finals to lose the next four is quite humiliating, IMO.

I think winning 67 games in the Western Conf is far and above the rest, their performance in last years Finals were perhaps, the reason they were not favored highly to win it all this year notwithstanding of their superior reg season record.

Of course Avery Johnson`s acccomplishments (Coach of the Year, motivation techniques) in his shor stint as an NBA coach should not be overlooked, but the failure to win it all will overshadow his successes.

Like I said I like Avery, and I am by no means a Flip Saunders fan, if Avery`s career keeps going like it is now in time, after gaining more experience if he doesn`t win it all, his tenure as an NBA coach will be not unlike our friend Flip.

Time will tell.........

Stern was at the game last night. He looks like he's lost some weight, and Jim Gray was all over him during an interview.

I think ahb said it best. The Heat got the help, they were just unable to capitalize on it.

Losing to G-State could be a big blow to Avery's career. For the first time, he can't blame the refs, and he doesn't seem to have any answers for his team. The credibility hit could be big in the locker room.

There were a few dicey calls here and there in the Miami-Chicago game, but considering that we were betting on Wade shooting 15-20 FTs and that he and Shaq actually combined for just about that many (22), I don't think the refs were bailing them out too much. Certainly nowhere near like what they got in last year's finals.

There were a few dicey calls here and there in the Miami-Chicago game, but considering that we were betting on Wade shooting 15-20 FTs and that he and Shaq actually combined for just about that many (22), I don't think the refs were bailing them out too much. Certainly nowhere near like what they got in last year's finals.

yea not as much as usual.. I have a feeling with the naysayers calling out the horrible officiating in last years finals( I litterally stopped watching the series when the Mavs up like 2-0 and with a double digit lead withstood a ridiculous barrage of officiating that single handidly beat the mavs and stopped em from going up 3 games... made me sick..the mavs were rolling too when the calls started..) I think that stern is concerned about the credibility of the league and told the refs to call the games MORE fair.. I mean look at dallas- GS they are letting BOTH teams play.. last year IMO that wouldnt of happened.

So both of last year's finalists did indeed go down in the first round. The only other time it had ever happened was 1957, when the defending champion Philadelphia Warriors lost a 3-game series to the Syracuse Nats, and the finalist Ft. Wayne Pistons lost their 3-game series to the Minneapolis Lakers.

A bit of synergy for us there, with the Warriors being on the winning end this time, and...us being a Pistons forum, I guess! The '57 forerunner of PF.com was probably getting as many posts as those punch cards and vacuum tubes could handle.

I'm a little disappointed that the Mavs are out 'cause I really wanted Detroit to battle Dallas in the Finals... but at the same time, I hate THE DIRK! I guess I'll settle for a Pistons-Spurs rematch!

There goes the playoff bracket...

I guess I'll settle for a Pistons-Spurs rematch!

GROAN. :yellowprison: The Spurs. Yuck.

GROAN. :yellowprison: The Spurs. Yuck.

Nah....The Suns. Yes.:nod:

At least the Suns are a nice soft gimmick team that we can easily beat.

Of course, the Spurs can beat them even more easily.

Ouch. And I had Dallas going all the way in the pf.com contest.