Rarely do I agree with Shaq on anything, but I do agree that Don Nelson's hacking strategy is "clown basketball", namely the "Hack-a-Bruce" strategy he's using on Bruce Bowen. Besides being cheap and a mockery on the tradition of basketball, it shows that you have no faith in your team defense. On second thought, Bruce was 5 for 6 on the line tonight. Thanks for the free points, Nellie!!
The Suns Are Going Down!BEAT L.A.! No D, No Title! GO SPURS GO!
Congratulations to Gregg Popovich! 2002-2003 NBA Coach of the Year Congratulations to Tim Duncan! 2002-2003 NBA Most Valuable Player (2nd year in a row)
Then Duncan will go down with an injury continuing the pattern. Your 2003 NBA CHampions. The New Jersey Nets.
Sorry, David Robinson already fulfilled the one injury quota per team for the Spurs (along with Nowitzki and Jason Kidd's near-miss). See ya in the Finals...
(edited by Swordsman Yen on 25.5.03 2118) The Suns Are Going Down!BEAT L.A.! No D, No Title! GO SPURS GO!
Congratulations to Gregg Popovich! 2002-2003 NBA Coach of the Year Congratulations to Tim Duncan! 2002-2003 NBA Most Valuable Player (2nd year in a row)
Too bad Robinson may be suspended for game 6 because of the stupid "Patrick Ewing rule." Van Gundy was very upset when Robinson did that, as it brought back bad memories.
I still think the Spurs will win Game 6.
"Oh my God, Brian, there's a message in my Alphabits! It says, 'Oooooo!'" Peter Griffin "Peter, those are Cheerios." Brian
Originally posted by tomvejadaToo bad Robinson may be suspended for game 6 because of the stupid "Patrick Ewing rule." Van Gundy was very upset when Robinson did that, as it brought back bad memories.
I still think the Spurs will win Game 6.
I think the Spurs can still beat the Mavs without Robinson in Game 5, but that's beside the point...
From the NBA Rulebook: "During an altercation, all players not participating in the game must remain in the immediate vicinity of their bench. Violators will be suspended, without pay, for a minimum of one game and fined up to $35,000. "
Robinson WAS in the immediate vicinity of the bench when the coaching staff held him back. Van Gundy can argue the foot on the line all he wants, but Robinson was near the bench, nowhere near the altercation, and not on the court, as least not enough for the referees to think Robinson was going to get involved. Just about every player and coach would be suspended at one time or another if stepping on the baseline is enough. Van Gundy is trying to argue a technicality that isn't there.
Besides that, he's also getting on my nerves with his whining about his lost glory, between that and brooding about wanting to tear down the championship banner at the SBC Center.
The Suns Are Going Down!BEAT L.A.! No D, No Title! GO SPURS GO!
Congratulations to Gregg Popovich! 2002-2003 NBA Coach of the Year Congratulations to Tim Duncan! 2002-2003 NBA Most Valuable Player (2nd year in a row)
Yen, I haven't been able to watch the games closely enough to hear all the commentary... what has Van Gundy been saying, exactly? And did he give any reason for wanting to tear down the championship banner at the SBC Center other than the fact that his Knicks lost in those '99 Finals and it took place after a strike-shortened season?
Personally, I think the old argument that San Antonio's 1999 NBA Championship “comes with an asterisk” doesn't carry a damn bit of weight. San Antonio won 15 games in the postseason, just like every other champion since the current playoff format was adopted. If Van Gundy is bitching because his team lost in the 1999 Finals, need I remind him that his Knicks shouldn't have gotten there in the first place? The calls in the '99 Eastern Conference Finals between the Knicks and Pacers were some of the most asinine calls I've ever seen in my life, including (but not limited to) the phantom four-point play that Larry Johnson got the benefit of.
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It's official, Nowitzki's out for game 5 tonight. Also, out is Shawn Bradley.
(edited by tomvejada on 28.5.03 0359) "Oh my God, Brian, there's a message in my Alphabits! It says, 'Oooooo!'" Peter Griffin "Peter, those are Cheerios." Brian
Originally posted by ekedolphinYen, I haven't been able to watch the games closely enough to hear all the commentary... what has Van Gundy been saying, exactly? And did he give any reason for wanting to tear down the championship banner at the SBC Center other than the fact that his Knicks lost in those '99 Finals and it took place after a strike-shortened season?
Personally, I think the old argument that San Antonio's 1999 NBA Championship “comes with an asterisk” doesn't carry a damn bit of weight. San Antonio won 15 games in the postseason, just like every other champion since the current playoff format was adopted. If Van Gundy is bitching because his team lost in the 1999 Finals, need I remind him that his Knicks shouldn't have gotten there in the first place? The calls in the '99 Eastern Conference Finals between the Knicks and Pacers were some of the most asinine calls I've ever seen in my life, including (but not limited to) the phantom four-point play that Larry Johnson got the benefit of.
Well said, eke. I think Van Gundy's has been bitter about the Spurs for quite a while over losing to them in '99, and that's probably what fueled his ridiculous argument about Robinson's actions warranting a suspension. It was Barkley that tried to give Duncan a hard time about the title being won on a strike-shortened season, to which Duncan cleverly replied to the ringless Chuck, "If you had won it that year, you would count it, wouldn't you?"
The Suns Are Going Down!BEAT L.A.! No D, No Title! GO SPURS GO!
Congratulations to Gregg Popovich! 2002-2003 NBA Coach of the Year Congratulations to Tim Duncan! 2002-2003 NBA Most Valuable Player (2nd year in a row)
Spurs choked big-time last night. The Mavs or should I say Van Exel, Finley, and Nash played well in the second half.
Even though there'll be a Game 6 tomorrow, it sounded like Van Gundy wasn't going to be there. He was thanking Marv and the Czar at the end of the game.
"Oh my God, Brian, there's a message in my Alphabits! It says, 'Oooooo!'" Peter Griffin "Peter, those are Cheerios." Brian
If this is, indeed, the last we've seen of Jeff Van Gundy until he sits on an NBA bench next season, I hope for the Cavs' and Rockets' sake that they don't hire him. Oh, the guy's a good coach, and he made a world of difference for the Knicks, but as soon as the Knicks began to decline, Van Gundy was outta there like a bat out of hell. Someone with that level of committment shouldn't coach a young team, particularly not Cleveland, a team that, I daresay, has far longer odds of making the playoffs next year than Houston does. Despite LeBron James' presence, the Cavs won't become NBA Champions overnight, and they won't even be a .500 team overnight. How long before the losses pile up and Van Gundy loses patience?
If I was the general manager of the Cavaliers, I would hire Larry Brown, knowing that he has a proven history of helping young, promising teams take the next step. (He did so with the Clippers, Pacers and 76ers). I'd only expect to see him on my bench for about five or six years, but hopefully by that point the Cavs will be built up enough where they can make the transition to another coach without killing their chances.
Anyway, back to the subject of the Western Conference Finals... whassup with the Spurs blowing a big lead again? Did Hoopzter, God of Basketball, look at the game clock and say, “Oh, fourth quarter time,” and throw a cosmic light switch to transform the Spurs into my elementary-school team? Championship teams are supposed to thrive in the fourth quarter, not crumble. (And I grant that they certainly didn't crumble in Game 6 of the Lakers series, but that oft-repeated fourth-quarter “plus-minus” statistic is oft-repeated for a reason).
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Eke, keep something in mind; Van Gundy was an assistant coach for the Knicks too for a few years before he took over the head coach job. He wasn't a fly-by-night coach that came, got flustered, and left. And speaking as a FORMER Knick fanatic, I can tell you - it is DAMN frustrating to put up with that team. They would always give the impression of so much potential, and then they ALWAYS choked it up. I'm surprised Van Gundy lasted as long as he did. He took that team to the Finals - he threw his body (LITERALLY - remember the Miami Heat brawls?) in the way for that team. I would give him a little more credit than to just say "he ditched when times got bad". It remains to be seen, however, how he would build up a young team. The Knicks were in a very different position than a team like the Cavs, say.
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"The problem with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat" - figure it out.
I give the 99 title an * for the same reason I give the rockets two of em for winning the 94 and 95 titles. Jordan wasnt there to defend his title. You can say well he was there in 95 but in reality his abbreviated season was more of a warmup for the next year.
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The Spurs or the Rockets couldn't drag Jordan out there to play. If you want to put an * on titles, here's a few more:
1994 Rockets - No Jordan to face.
1995 Rockets - Jordan still warming up, didn't have to face him.
1996 Bulls - They faced the Sonics in the Finals. C'mon.
1997 Bulls - Time still left on the clock when Kerr's shot went in to put the Bulls up by 4. Celebration on the court should've been delay of game, giving the Jazz a free throw and a chance to tie with a three-point attempt. Game is simply ended without time running off the clock.
1998 Bulls - Jordan's famous go-ahead bucket in Game 6 was a pushoff on Bryon Russell.
1999 Spurs - Strike-shortened season.
2000 Lakers - Tim Duncan injured, didn't have to face Spurs.
2001 Lakers - Spurs didn't have Derek Anderson (2nd leading scorer) vs. the Lakers.
2002 Lakers - Shady officiating saves Lakers from potential Game 6 elimination vs. Sacramento.
2003 ?? - ??
By no means am I discrediting any of the titles won above by the teams and the arguments I make are debatable at best. The point I'm trying to make is you can put a * on any title if you try hard enough.
Onward to the game tonight: the Mavs are going to play like they have nothing to lose. The Spurs better damn well play like they DO have something to lose.
(edited by Swordsman Yen on 29.5.03 1150) The Suns Are Going Down!BEAT L.A.! No D, No Title! GO SPURS GO!
Congratulations to Gregg Popovich! 2002-2003 NBA Coach of the Year Congratulations to Tim Duncan! 2002-2003 NBA Most Valuable Player (2nd year in a row)
Originally posted by Swordsman Yen1996 Bulls - They faced the Sonics in the Finals. C'mon.
I know you're swept up in fanboyism, but the Sonics were a worthy opponent in 1996, and by all rights would have won a championship in the mi 90's had George Karl not been the abomination of a coach that he is. How has Milwaukee not fired him yet?
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Originally posted by Swordsman Yen1996 Bulls - They faced the Sonics in the Finals. C'mon.
I know you're swept up in fanboyism, but the Sonics were a worthy opponent in 1996, and by all rights would have won a championship in the mi 90's had George Karl not been the abomination of a coach that he is. How has Milwaukee not fired him yet?
I don't know much about George Karl, so forgive my ignorance, but didn't he nearly eliminate the Nets from the playoffs this year? And in the process, didn't his Bucks outscore the Nets on the fast break? That's pretty impressive. I'm sure he had at least SOMETHING to do with it.
Originally posted by ekedolphinIf this is, indeed, the last we've seen of Jeff Van Gundy until he sits on an NBA bench next season, I hope for the Cavs' and Rockets' sake that they don't hire him. Oh, the guy's a good coach, and he made a world of difference for the Knicks, but as soon as the Knicks began to decline, Van Gundy was outta there like a bat out of hell. Someone with that level of committment shouldn't coach a young team, particularly not Cleveland, a team that, I daresay, has far longer odds of making the playoffs next year than Houston does.
If I was the general manager of the Cavaliers, I would hire Larry Brown, knowing that he has a proven history of helping young, promising teams take the next step.
. . uh . . . . I hope you were being hypocritical for satirical purposes. Van Gundy bailed on ONE team. Brown bailed on quite a few.
Living in Laker town myself, everyone here has gotten used to the fact that the Lakers have never taken the regular season seriously, hence their horrific start.