Casualties of a Dice Game

I guess my predictions were off! Would the Mavs have stood a chance if they didn't bench Marquis Daniels for no good reason? freedarko debates Wade vs. Daniels on who owned game 6.

I think Daniels wasn't even playing out of his mind...

E&J Got My Mind Flippin

Game 6 is minutes from starting. Fuck shaq and all that, but there is a serious media retcon going on with this finals. While the buildup to the finals in television playoff coverage and the major sports websites alike* focused on how Shaq was to be stopped when he decided to show up. But after a couple of 45-17 games (33 FTs), suddenly the Heat are and always have been "Wade's Team"; dwade is the "next jordan," Shaq is laughed at for missing foul shots and is getting pulled out of the game in crucial minutes, presumably because he does more harm than good.



Shoot, Pass, Slam Requiem


Well, I call bullshit. The man has his flaws, and is at the end of his career, isn't quite the player you'll find on youtube highlights of his career (save for against my boy Bynum!) but I think the mavs are 1) still strategizing mainly against shaq, just like any other nba team in the finals would be and 2) because of this clouded strategizing over the fact that Shaq's dick blocks out the sun, weren't prepared for dwyane's carpe deism, and that's why they are 1) ably containing shaq, making him look like a "glorified role player" allowing all the pundits and blogs suggest he's "warshed up," and 2) getting destroyed by wade's slash-and-destroy mission. Wade's gonna come back to earth, and he'll do it soon. I maintain that the storyline still should be about the Mav's defensive job on Shaq.


Mythmaking as NBA history



Do I think Wade is incredible? Yes. Is he the next Jordan? No. The Heat still win and lose on Shaq's presence. He's just found the right role player to catch fire. I watched every game of the Chicago series and Wade is as streaky as they come; right now, he's on at the right time. The Mavs are STILL double- and even triple-teaming shaq on every possession. They have to. And it's this nagging sense in the back of every Maverick defender's head, "wait... is Shaq open?" that gives Wade tons of space to create. Which he's been great at.


When a fool try to play me, wet 'em up, then I'm Swayze

Because of Wade's recent hotstreak, it has become tiresome to read about these Finals. Everyone's so eager to annoint (or tear down) the next super-superstar/face of the NBA/GOAT because it makes for good copy, the commentators I read are allowing themselves to get swept up in reaction to perhaps the most hackeneyed storyline in basketball yet again. There are some good stories and reactions to these finals out there though. Like most of the blogosphere, Bill Simmons has found a home in his own mythology, but he is still a perceptive basketball watcher.

It's not a perfect column, but the best I've read on the finals so far. FreeDarko could have predicted his Finals-anxiety over the imminent death of the "team ball-right way" resurgence six months ago, in their sleep, on the off-mention that Wade would be playing. Simmon's recapitulation of the second most hackeneyed story in the NBA is not why I like this column. Basically, I think he's right about Marquis Daniels, and I think Avery Johnson knows it. The reason the Mavs are down in the series is because Wade's hit his stride at the right time, and Udonis Haslem (--I see you Evan; Udonis is incredibly underrated, and should be heralded as a less-crazy Ron Artest or a more-likeable Bruce Bowen, not to mention a perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate. After this series, consider him a lock for the award next year) is seriously frustrating Dirk whenever he gets near the top of the key. Dirk can't create, Wade's on fire, and that's why the Heat are up. But Wade is not the next Jordan and never will be playing alongside Shaq. And Shaq is still bullshit, and that's why I still like the Mavs in 7.


Now that I'm done writing this, the game started and the Mavs are up 26-12! One!

Shaq is bullshit

Back like Kirk Krack