Phoenix Suns News, Suns Scores, Game Recaps & Commentary : nba finals

Steve Nash on David Letterman Covering the NBA Finals

chowell — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:54:00 GMT

Suns' 2-Time MVP Steve Nash has been a special correspondent on the David Letterman Show the past few games of the NBA Finals. The premise is simple - Nash tries to be goofy and/or entertainint - and he does a pretty good job at it. The interviews and...(read more)

Celtics Destroy Lakers in Game 6, Win NBA Championship

chowell — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 03:49:00 GMT

The Boston Celtics left no doubt who this year's NBA Champion is, after an overwhelmingly dominate performance against the L.A. Lakers on Tuesday night. Final score 131-92. Up by as many as 43 points in the game, the Celtics were really never in any danger...(read more)

Odds on Favorite from the Beginning, Spurs Sweep Cavs in NBA Finals

chowell — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 02:15:00 GMT

NBA fans and oddsmakers alike picked the Spurs to win their 4th NBA Championship once their matchup w/ the Cleveland Cavaliers was set. While they weren't picked to win in 4 games by sportsbooks and online wagering sites, there was probably no money to make by betting on the San Antonio Spurs, because they were so clearly favored.

The Spurs were unrelenting in pursuit of the championsip - they wishstood everything the Cavs could throw at them. The series was low-scoring and boring overall, but congrats to San Antonio for defying NBA betting pundits who annointed the Suns this year's champion before the playoffs really got going.

Lebron James was adequate during the Finals, but he committed several key (unforced) turnovers late in Game 4 that probably cost his team the game. There was also a point with less than a minute left, where Cavs coach Mike Brown made a huge mistake - letting the Spurs rattle off about 20 seconds on the game clock instead of fouling. While Cleveland was able to come back and make a close game of it, they must have gone to the locker room extremely disappointed and let down by the loss.

Tim Duncan had a horrible game offensively, but did enough on the boards and on defense to help the Spurs win the game. Finals MVP Tony Parker was spectacular again, while leading the Spurs to the title. Manu Ginobili also rebounded from a poor Game 3 with 20+ points and several key free throws down the stretch.

Miami Heat take NBA Championship amid controversy

chowell — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 18:39:00 GMT

Let's get this out of the way first: Congratulations to the Miami Heat for winning the franchise's first NBA title in history. Dwyane Wade was spectacular again, and walked away with his first title and the Finals MVP trophy (much deserved). It's clear that Shaq is no longer the dominant force in the league and Wade is establishing himself as one of the elite players in the game. He elevated his game to another level in the NBA Finals.

There were questionable calls at the end of the game, such as Wade's elbow to the face of Dirk Nowitzki, or the holding call on Jason Terry's final shot (Payton holding jersey). Arguing these incidents is futile, but I think it's pretty clear that the referees have been giving the Heat the benefit of the doubt on all calls since at least Game 4.

Now to the juicy stuff... Miami DID NOT deserve to win the championship in 6 games.

I have no problems with any of the games except Game 5, which the referees single-handedly handed to the Heat via the charity stripe. Game 3 was a blown opportunity for the Mavs; they had the Heat on the ropes and blew it. No argument there... In Game 6, the Mavs again failed to deliver when it counted and ended up w/out their first championship or a Game 7. This series should be 3-3 right now w/ a Game 7 on Thursday - instead, Miami wakes up this morning w/ a new trophy in their grasp.

Game 5, based on the number of foul shot attempts alone, is a horrid example of the referees making calls for one team over another. I watched the majority of the game and Dallas was no-less aggressive at attacking the basket as the Heat were. Dwyane Wade played great, but 25 free throws for him compared to just 25 for the entire Mavs squad? Give me a break. Dallas was employing the Hack-A-Shaq strategy, but that only led to O'Neal visiting the stripe 12 times. I recall only 5 specific instances where they grabbed Shaq on purpose before he even had the ball (that's 10 of 12 foul shots).

I don't know the stats well enough, but I'll bet a team shooting 65% from the free throw line hasn't beaten a team shooting 84% (over 15 free throws minimum). The refs simply put Wade on the line enough to keep the Heat in the game. The Mavs kept fouling Shaq, but he shot 2 for 12... how could they stay in the game w/ him missing all those FT's? Again, put Wade on the line enough times (he is their best FT shooter), stop the clock, and watch the Heat catchup.

Had the referees not put the Heat on the line (2-to-1) for the game, there's no way that Miami is even in the game and Dallas wins it. The series should be 3-3 w/ a Game 7 in Dallas.

I have no bias for either team - had Miami been playing anyone else (except Suns) I would've been rooting for them. Had they won w/out the questionable referee involvement, I would be happy for the Heat and wouldn't say a word.

Mark Cuban had some things to say after the loss... I think he played it safely because he is an NBA owner and could risk losing his team or other consequences if he crosses the line too far.

Just an honest sports fan's opinion... Go Suns in 2006-2007.

NBA Finals Preview... Mavs vs. Heat

chowell — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 18:46:00 GMT

It's been a few years since an NBA Finals matchup actually intrigued me enough to try and watch every game of the series... the Dallas Mavericks vs. the Miami Heat in this years final round of the playoffs is one of those.

Both teams are fast-paced, equipped with a full-bench of bodies, and like to play defense on occasion.

I look for the Mavs to enlist the hack-a-Shaq fouling method that they made famous back in the late 90's when Shaq was with the Lakers. The Mavs will have no answer for Dwyane Wade, as most teams don't so they'll have to contain Shaq and the other role players for the Heat.

I can't see the Heat matching up with Dirk Nowitzki at all, so he should have an MVP-type playoff series. Antoine Walker and Udonis Haslem will likely be matched up on him, but neither is tall enough or quick enough to stop Dirk from going off. Jason Terry is going to be a tough responsibility for Wade and Miami's backcourt, but they should be able to slow him down if they throw more than one body at him when he brings the ball up the court.

2004-2005 NBA Finals - San Antonio Wins 3rd Championship since 1999

chowell — Fri, 24 Jun 2005 18:08:00 GMT

This year's NBA Finals came down to which team played better defense down the stretch and who actually wanted the championship more. In this case, San Antonio escaped Game 7 with the victory and the trophy. Detroit did a great job taking the series to a Game 7, but the Spurs weren't going to lose 2 games in a row on their homecourt, where they'd dominated all year.

There is some debate about who should've been the series MVP... Personally, I think Manu Ginobili should've won it as he was the most important factor in them winning the series (aside from Game 5 savior Robert Horry). Duncan played very constistent throughout the series, but did not play at an MVP-caliber level. His free throw shooting is at least partially responsible for 2 of their losses to the Pistons.

NBA Lockout (resolved) Phew...
I'm really glad to see the NBA and the player's union come to an agreement for the collective bargaining agreement for the foreseeable future. The movement of players this summer should be interesting to watch and the NBA Draft should be exciting as well. Here's looking forward to 2005-2006!

My2Cents

San Antonio / Detroit NBA Finals, Game 2 recap

chowell — Mon, 13 Jun 2005 18:40:00 GMT

Wow, San Antonio almost scored 100 points in a game against Detroit... wouldn't this have been great if Detroit had actually reached 90 themselves? I've written about this horrible NBA Playoff series in a prior article (read more). I'm not the only one with this opinion though, checkout Mike Kahn's article on FoxSports.

I do have to give San Antonio credit, as they've been able to score at-will against a suddenly porous Pistons defense - the Spurs hit 11 3-pointers (45%) in Game 2. Detroit might be in better shape if they could hit a shot also; they followed up a 37% shooting drill on Thursday with a whopping 40% nightmare Sunday evening. Rasheed Wallace and Ben Wallace have yet to show up; Antonio McDyess has played better thus far, especially after his 15 pt, 7 rb performance Sunday.

Despite the schooling that the Spurs are putting on Detroit, this series still sucks. About the only bright spot is Manu Ginobili... sort of reminds me of Kobe Bryant in his 2nd & 3rd years in the league. Ginobili's creativity is currently unmatched in the NBA, which is great for basketball. His hussle in the 4th quarter of Game 2 helps to show why foreign players are so successful in today's NBA. Ginobili made several deflections and a key steal that led to a 3-pointer to seal the game (actually, it was sealed a lot earlier than that).

Here's hoping San Antonio closes this out in 4 games so we can start talking about the impending NBA lockout.

My2Cents

2005 NBA Finals... Yawn

chowell — Wed, 08 Jun 2005 01:59:00 GMT

The matchup for the 2005 NBA Finals is set and I couldn't be more disappointed. San Antonio versus Detroit - wow, what a barn-burner this series is going to be. I've been complaining about how ABC isn't airing the playoffs during the week (or weekends for that matter), but with these two teams playing, I've changed my opinion. Put the entire series on cable so the nation won't have to watch a horrible series. I can see it now.... 85-78, 82-80, etc.

Basketball purists are talking about how this is going to be a great series, but they couldn't be more wrong. See Chris Sheridan's article on Yahoo! Sports - Spurs-Pistons: A matchup to delight the purists, with a subplot or two on the side. Can you say garbage? Because that's what the series will be.

At this point, I'm looking forward to the NBA Draft and free agency more than I am the NBA Finals - if the collective bargaining agreement gets worked out that is.... Who knows, there might not be basketball next season.

I don't like Detroit or San Antonio, but I'd have to give the Spurs the edge in this series; 6 or 7 games.

My2Cents