Miami 95, Dallas 92 (Heat win series, 4-2)
I’ve played basketball for more than 20 years, and one thing is certain: there is nothing more frustrating (from an opponent’s perspective) than a ref giving calls to a good player who repeatedly throws himself into a defensive player. It’s almost like the officials have an incomplete checklist. Was there contact? Check. Is the offensive player a superstar? Check. Let’s send him to the line! Only the refs are forgetting the most important question: does the offensive player create the contact? The officials gave Game 5 to the Heat when, at the end of the game, they rewarded Dwayne Wade with two free throws on a phantom foul call on Dirk Nowitzki. Fast forward to the end of Game 6, 0:26 to play, Miami leading 91-90, Wade drives the ball, throws his arm out into a retreating Nowitzki, and Wade gets the call. Sure, the Mavs had a chance to tie at the buzzer, but that foul call put Dallas in a bad, bad position.
Hell, Dallas had a ton of chances to win the game. They couldn’t hit an open three to save their lives – they went 5-22 (23%) for the game. Jason Terry had the worst second half of his life, going 1-12 (8%) from the field in the final two periods. (I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: No team should pay Jason Terry more than $8 M a season.) The entire Dallas squad was throwing up bricks, shooting a dismal 37% from the field in the game. I’ve since turned the television off, but I’m assuming Wade won MVP, and deservedly. He scored 147 points over the final four games – that’s a 36.8 point average. But it helps when you get to the line 73 times in those same four games. Let me write that again: Dwayne Wade shot 73 free throws in the final four games. For their part, Dallas certainly didn’t do anything to win the series. Their fall from a 2-0 series lead and a 13-point lead with less than seven minutes to play in Game 3, to lose the series in six games, has to go down as one of the biggest meltdowns of all time. But Miami didn’t win this series either – the refs did. So let’s give them the rings.
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Posted in: NBA, NBA Finals
First the Super Bowl, and now the NBA Finals. I guess with the NBA we shouldn’t be surprised.
The last call on Dirk was a disgrace. It might be the worst call I’ve ever seen during crunch time.
This game is a joke. Yes, the playoffs were exciting, but they need to do something about the officiating.
That said, Pat Riley and the Heat deserve kudos. They had no business winning this series. They had more heart. Riley literally willed them to win. Amazing.
I was glad to see you wrote for both sides J, because both sides of the story are worth mentioning.
I agree about the Dwayne Wade contact crap and I REALLY agree with the Mavs blowing the series. How many people thought this series was really going 6? Not me after the first two games. Dallas had their chances in games 3, 5 and then 6 and just couldn’t close the door.
What happend to the team that got tough with the Spurs when those games came down to the wire? The Mavs toughened up against the Spurs and then fell victims to their own emotions in the Miami series.
As much as he gets calls, D-Wade played really well throughout the playoffs and although they might be the least deserving NBA Champs of all time, the Heat won, period…
Complaining about officiating in an NBA game is lame at best: when has an NBA game ever been officiated according to the rules of the game? There is a foul on nearly every play; there is a traveling violation on every other play; and what is up with a defensive 3 second violation? The NBA is for fans that don’t care about the rules of basketball.
Lynn – Great point. The NBA is barely a cut above professional wrestling. It’s not basketball. That’s one reason our guys can’t win international titles any more.
All the more reason not to call fouls that aren’t there, right?