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Dallas in 5.

Heat in 6.

It wasn't that close AND Dirk shot like shit. I like my Dallas in 5. I say Dallas takes both at home and splits in Miami, comes home and wins it.

Vonk, it must be a weird feeling having Dallas be the actual favourites for once in the history of the franchise and it's in the finals. I can't remember when anyone gave Dallas one iota of respect, and now everyone calling this one Dallas.

yup...

very weird

The whole thing is trippy really - especially for the fans that have stuck with them for as long as I have. Like, all of the sudden EVERYONE is a die-hard Maverick's fan and full of trivia... and everyone wants to quiz me... I have people asking me stuff like, "who's the tallest Mav?" to, "name all the players, including the draft picks who were involved in the Dampier trade." Which I got right, he tried to correct me, we look it up online... and then he gets owned. Another guy said Damp was taller than Dirk, I disagree... we look it up... I'm right... shrug... It's just, I KNOW which of my friends were mavs fans before Cuban bought the team... getting excited when Jason Kidd was drafted... thinking Rolando Blackman was a god... bleh... anyway...

It's not that I don't LIKE it, I'm all for the mavs mania that's going around right now. I think it's great. Stack said that his entire neighborhood is decorated with Stackhouse signs and Go Mavs decorations. People applaud Cuban just when he walks in a grocery store. I think that's awesome in this town... when it's CLEARLY a Dallas Cowboy city. Like, when T.O. was brought in, the Mavs were on a 21-1 tear... we were absolutely DESTROYING the league... just beat the fuck out of Miami, New Jersey, Phoenix... it was incredible... but the ONLY thing you heard on ESPN radio or the sports TV was Dallas Cowboy talk. They interviewed T.O.s new neighbor's GARDENER for fuck's sake.

So now... it's pretty cool...

Toronto news didn't even cover the Hoffa trade yesterday. They talked about everything up to and including the lacross league and I couldn't get a whisper about the trade. Trust me Vonk, I know how you feel.

I really have never been into basketball but i foundmyself watching the game last night and couldnt turn away, fucking phenomenal imo - great game - great to watch,

And honestly if more owners in sports were like Mark Cuban there would be such a better product out there.

Mark Cuban turned that whole team around because of all the $$ he has. They sucked under the old owner

It has nothing to do with the amount of money he has... Paul Allen owns the Trailblazers (currently the 1st or 2nd shittiest team in basketball, either them or the Knicks) and he's worth more than all the other individual owners of the NBA combined. Furthermore, Don Carter was a fine owner... he just got really lazy in his old age. He got an expansion team to the playoffs after only 3 years, which is a pretty amazing feat in the NBA (without a marquee player). The Mavs were a solid team throughout most of his tenure... it's when he sold it to Ross Perot Jr (who has more money than 80% of the NBA owners) that the team REALLY bombed. We were the doormat of the league. The butt of every basketball joke. We couldn't do anything right. Mark Cuban came in and totally turned it around... but it's not about money. He did SO many other things right and he needs to get credit for it. Don Nelson needs to get credit for it. Those two guys are the reason why this team is where it is today... 'not' Cuban's overabundance of money.

Cuban is the Steinbrenner of the NBA.

uh, no he isn't

Where the fuck are you people getting this shit from?

The reason why Nash is playing in Phoenix is BECAUSE Cuban didn't want to pay all that money for him. Steinbrenner just writes checks to build the "perfect" squad, without concerns for money. The Mavs have one of the higher payrolls in the league but we are currently paying HUGE contracts off... the last year in Kieth Van Horn's monster contract and Michael Finley's 'max' contract are $20m a year by themselves. Other than Dirk and Dampier, every one of our players is working for pennies... that's the SMART way to build a team. The inflated payroll of the Yankees only exists because of MLBs lame salary system. Steinbrenner would be lost in any other major. He has 'no' budget, just the largest franchise in sports.

yaaaaaaaaaaaawn

predictions for tonight?

I thought the mavs would win it, but not this kind of ass kicking

i think the mavs keep winning

No.

This is the one game Miami wins.

K... and I actually agree with that. I think Shaq is embarassed by the last game and will come out FREAKISHLY strong. Add in that it's the first home game for Miami and it looks like an uphill game, even for this superior Mavs team.

However... if the Mavs win game 3, what then? Sweep?

Yea, sweep if they win tonight. Otherwise they take the next two.

going with dallas will lose 3, get 4 and finish it off by 5.

First half gave me gas and the 4th quarter plugged my butt.

I guessed the Heat would take this game tonight, but they gave me false hope towards the end.

Dallas is going to win *in* Dallas, the Heat is going to take either of the next games and Dallas is going to take the other.

Dallas done got its ass whupped tonight.

-Arlos

This game was pure shit. Dallas was owned.
Someone should snipe Wade. He carries the whole entire team. We'd have sure wins then.

I loved that one call Nowitzki got when Shaq didn't even so much as breathe on him, yet Dirk completely flung himself to the ground.

If the refs stop babying him like they did last night, the series is going to go to the wire.

I'm most disappointed in the inconsistency of calls, especially the charges. They got Wade a few times when the defender was obviously moving. Called Shaq for a couples blocks on Dirk when he was obviously NOT moving. Then the DON'T call Shaq when he obliterates his way through 2 planted defenders.

Poor Shaq. He cant help but hit people. The man is huge. He busts up Stackhouse's nose just by putting up his huge treetrunk arms.

They just suspended Stackhouse for game 5 for tapping Shaq.

I'm starting to see a trend here.

That was a bit more than a tap, vonk. He clotheslined him across the face as he was going up for a basket.

I say that as someone who's not behind EITHER side.

-Arlos

Suspending him for a game for it is just stupid, especially a game in the finals. If they want to suspend him for a game, it should be at the beginning of next season. Far worse shit is done durring games that doesn't result in a suspention.

If the action wasn't bad enough to get him tossed from the game, how is it bad enough to suspend him?

I dunno, I can't think of a better way for the officials to send a message that stupid fouls like that are not tolerated. If nothing ha dbeen done, the series could've degenerated into complete thuggery.

-Arlos