Category: NBA Finals (Page 56 of 58)

With Shaq’s struggles in this year’s Finals, it’s nice to be able to look back at some of the best quotes from one of the league’s most quotable players. Shaq is completely comfortable in front of a microphone, and his outgoing personality and dry sense of humor makes for interesting interviews. ESPN’s Marc Stein collected Shaq’s top 10 Finals quotes. Here are a couple of my favorites:

1. The setting: After Game 2 of the 2002 Finals against New Jersey

The situation: Shaq is so thoroughly dominant — rumbling for 40 points, 12 boards and eight assists against the Nets’ overmatched front line — that he even made 12 of 14 free throws, leading to a 23-point rout in the Lakers’ eventual sweep. The unexpected success at the line prompts Shaq to uncork a string of barbs at then-Sacramento coach Rick Adelman, who had complained during the Western Conference finals about O’Neal stepping over the line.

The Shaq Smack: “That game was dedicated to Rick Adelman. I’m at home, in the bathroom, trying to take a dump, flipping through the channels and he’s complaining (on TV) about how I’m stepping over the line. I can’t even do a No. 2 in peace. I’m sitting there grunting at 12:30 at night. Can I go one day without somebody saying something negative about me?”

4. The setting: After Game 3 of the 2000 Finals against Indiana

The situation: O’Neal misses 10 free throws in a nine-point Lakers loss and is asked why he can’t “conquer” his free-throw demons.

The Shaq Smack: “I think everything happens for a reason. With my game being the way it is, if I did shoot 80 percent, I’d be a harder person to deal with. It just keeps me humble. Just imagine me in my game shooting the same percentage that Reggie Miller shoots. I wouldn’t even talk to you guys because I wouldn’t have to.”

Although I’m not a huge fan of Shaq’s game, I’ve always liked him off the court. He’s got a bigger-than-life personality which has been a boon for the NBA over the last 14 years.

Dallas 99, Miami 85 (Mavs lead series, 2-0)
Speed kills. Aside from Dwayne Wade, the Heat are slower than the Mavs at every position and it has cost Miami the first two games. Dallas did a marvelous job on Shaquille O’Neal, holding him to a playoff career low five points on 2-5 shooting, and foul trouble wasn’t the problem. A myriad of double-teams came every time Shaq caught the ball, and the Heat didn’t have an answer. Dwayne Wade was harrassed into 6-19 shooting, while Antoine Walker chipped in 20 points in garbage time. Dirk Nowitzki bounced back from a sketchy Game 1, scoring 26 points and grabbing 16 rebounds in less than 23 minutes of playing time. Jason Terry had 16 points and nine assists, cementing himself as one of the league’s best free agents this offseason. Honestly, this series looks like it’s already over. If Dallas can win one of the next three games in Miami, they’ll win the title.

ESPN’s John Hollinger put together a list of five adjustments [Insider subscription required] he thinks we’ll see in Game 2 of the NBA Finals.

More Miami moves to the basket. Here’s one of the untold stories from Game 1: All the attention on Miami’s inaccuracy at the free-throw line caused us to lose sight of how rarely the Heat got there at all. Miami took only 19 free throws, and only two players earned free-throw tries.

Antoine Walker didn’t go to the hoop strong in Game 1 and wasn’t rewarded with any free throw attempts. Jason Williams settled for his streaky jump shots. Look for both guys to attack the hole a little more.

More touches for Shaq. OK, this one isn’t rocket science. Based on their comments afterward, the Heat players knew one problem with their Game 1 approach without even looking at any film.

Shaq was effective on his shot attempts, going 8-11 from the field. The problem was when the double teams came quickly, he was forced to give it up. He tallied five assists, so he’s still passing the ball well.

Less Gary Payton in crunch time. One thing that Pat Riley is probably trying to get his head around today is the fact that he’s no longer playing the Pistons. Against this Dallas team, 80 points simply isn’t going to cut the mustard, so having a player like Payton play 18 minutes and take home a bagel is a major liability.

Payton looked really slow and ineffective in Game 1, though I don’t think that Jason Williams is a much better option in crunch time. Williams is a better shooter, but Payton makes better decisions with the ball.

More pick-and-pop plays for Dirk. Remember, Dallas has to adjust too. The Mavs know how lucky they were to win Game 1, or at least they ought to know. The biggest concern for Dallas is Nowitzki’s poor night against Udonis Haslem. This was supposed to be a huge mismatch, but Haslem did a great job of pushing Nowitzki away from the basket and using his 6-9 frame to contest the 7-footer’s jumpers. For the game, he shot an un-Dirk-like 4-for-14 and took a modest six free throws.

Dallas discovered that it is tough to use Nowitzki’s free throw line post game against a guy the size of Haslem. So look for the Mavs to move Nowitzki around more and the pick-and-roll (or pick-and-pop, depending on what Nowitzki does after the screen) would be an effective countermeasure to Haslem’s size.

More of Devin Harris. As expected, Dallas changed its starting lineup for this series by replacing Devin Harris with Adrian Griffin. Griffin did a good job, too, scoring eight points in 13 minutes, while Harris scored only one point in 18 minutes.

Dallas was worried about Harris’ lack of size when covering Wade, but he did a nice job on Wade in the fourth quarter. They should be more concerned about Wade’s speed when covered by Josh Howard or Adrian Griffin. Expect to see Harris covering Wade more often.

Game 2 is tonight at 9 PM ET on ABC.

Poor free throw shooting might be the Heat’s downfall in the Finals.

The team shot 70.0% during the regular season, while their opponents shot 73.9% – a manageable difference. So far in the playoffs, the Heat have shot 66.5% from the charity stripe, compared to their opponents’ 73.6%. Not a good sign, but Miami’s solid team play was good enough to get the team to the Finals.

In Game 1, the Heat shot 7-19 (36.8%) from the free throw line, with Dwayne Wade making 6-10, while Shaquille O’Neal went just 1-9. Meanwhile, the Mavs shot 20-26 (76.9%), and have shot 81.4% from the line in these playoffs. The Heat won’t win the series if this disparity continues.