2011 NBA Finals - the best finals of the century
StoneAment
Posts: 393
The 2011 NBA finals are the best NBA finals this side of the year 2000. Some of you may not agree.
What about the Shaq/Kobe Laker three-peat?! As entertaining that team were, as great as they were, their competition was not. The east brought some great talents, Jason Kidd, Allen Iverson but their teams were 2nd rate. The real tests came in the western conference finals and LA had some pretty easy 4 or 5 game series. Same scenario in 2003 but with the Spurs overcoming an outmatched New Jersey.
What about the Pistons overcoming the mighty Lakers in 2004?! No one loves an underdog story more than me. I recall before that series the “experts” were saying LA would have another easy win in 5 games. The most optimistic of analysts said Detroit were underrated and might push LA to 6 or 7 games before finally succumbing. So much for experts eh. Detroit staged a marvellous display of team work and blue collar toughness that said a big F.U. to the Hollywood egos of the Lakers. As much as I enjoyed that series, it wasn’t close. Detroit shut down the Lakers and won in 5 games. Remember when LA only scored 68 points in game 3?! I celebrated the display of dominance of the defensive game (I HATE headless chicken run and gun basketball) but it wasn’t nailbiting tense.
What about Lakers/Celtics?! Surely I can’t complain about the NBA’s bitterest rivals being in 2 very good finals series. You’re right I can’t. I loved the 2008 finals. 2 great teams, well fought games, and the backstory of the ringless KG one of the absolute greats of his time and a man you’d have a hard time trying to hate. 2010 – 7 games series. Again no complaints. But outside of Boston/LA it was 2 great teams going at each other. Fun to watch and everyone picks a side but tbh the other team would be seen as equally deserving.
Now we come to 2011. On paper you might think it was nothing special. 6 games between a ringless team in a football town vs a team that didn’t exist 25 years ago. However these games were nail biters. 3 consecutive games won by 3 points or less. THAT’S NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE. Some of the aforementioned series had close games but not this close, and not every game. Remember LA’s 22 point victory in game 6 last year – no one figured Boston would come back from that and they were right! 6 minutes left of game 2 this year it looked like Miami would be up 2-0 but Dallas showed more fight then people thought they had in them (many picked them to go out in the first round) and came back to win it. At the start of each game picking a winner was just like flipping a coin. You couldn’t leave your seat at any point. It was totally fucking tense. Let’s not forget the backstory. The Miami heat are the most hated team in the NBA. The justified fallout of “the decision” have made a team of talented, exciting young stars into the most loathed team in the league. Led by an arrogant, disrespectful primadonna who calls himself “the king”. On the flip side Dallas was a collection of battle-sore veterans. Guys who had almost been there but had always just fallen short. There weren’t any disastrous press conferences, no declarations of winning 8 championships this was a team focused on one thing, winning the game they were playing. The years of anguish for guys like Dirk and Kidd translated into empathy from the audience. Those are 2 of the most deserving players in the league, a total contrast from Miami’s cocky stars who we would’ve all loved to see be put in their place. This was not just 2 great teams playing close basketball. This was good vs evil; the oldest of saga’s from which all legends originate. Hell this was good vs evil in the closest games imaginable. Even for fans outside of the cities involved this was a total emotionally captivating and exhilarating series. The NBA finals of 2011 were an instant classic. A phrased so often used but so rarely as true as it is here. A series of this calibre had only one fitting ending. Good prevailed over evil and THE DALLAS MAVERICKS ARE NBA CHAMPIONS OF 2011!!!!
Extra Notes
For me personally, the situation was amplified. As a Canadian I found Bosh’s comments regarding the Toronto insulting and found James behaviour towards Cleveland reminiscent of Vince Carters attitude in Toronto. (NB just remembered how James was all bragging about his talks with the Knicks last year whilst his team was no1 in the east – another douche move). I had fallen in love with the Mavs during the Nash years. How could you not, their owner was their biggest fan. This looked like a team that was run with passion not accounting. They had talents like Dirk and Terry. I’ve been a fan of Dallas for some time.
Not only that but this year they had Rick Carlisle calling the shots. I’ve been a big fan of Carlisle since about 2005. As a lifelong Reggie Miller fan I was rooting for the Pacers to go all the way in 2005, but for a team that had so much promise all hopes were gone after the Artest incident. However under Carlisle’s guidance and Reggie’s leadership that team went deeper into the playoffs then anyone would’ve imagine given the circumstances. He has been a coach who has managed to motivate his team and he’s a master tactician, I’m sure when his career is over he will be celebrated as one of the greatest coaches ever. I was exceptionally happy to see him finally coach a team to a championship
What about the Shaq/Kobe Laker three-peat?! As entertaining that team were, as great as they were, their competition was not. The east brought some great talents, Jason Kidd, Allen Iverson but their teams were 2nd rate. The real tests came in the western conference finals and LA had some pretty easy 4 or 5 game series. Same scenario in 2003 but with the Spurs overcoming an outmatched New Jersey.
What about the Pistons overcoming the mighty Lakers in 2004?! No one loves an underdog story more than me. I recall before that series the “experts” were saying LA would have another easy win in 5 games. The most optimistic of analysts said Detroit were underrated and might push LA to 6 or 7 games before finally succumbing. So much for experts eh. Detroit staged a marvellous display of team work and blue collar toughness that said a big F.U. to the Hollywood egos of the Lakers. As much as I enjoyed that series, it wasn’t close. Detroit shut down the Lakers and won in 5 games. Remember when LA only scored 68 points in game 3?! I celebrated the display of dominance of the defensive game (I HATE headless chicken run and gun basketball) but it wasn’t nailbiting tense.
What about Lakers/Celtics?! Surely I can’t complain about the NBA’s bitterest rivals being in 2 very good finals series. You’re right I can’t. I loved the 2008 finals. 2 great teams, well fought games, and the backstory of the ringless KG one of the absolute greats of his time and a man you’d have a hard time trying to hate. 2010 – 7 games series. Again no complaints. But outside of Boston/LA it was 2 great teams going at each other. Fun to watch and everyone picks a side but tbh the other team would be seen as equally deserving.
Now we come to 2011. On paper you might think it was nothing special. 6 games between a ringless team in a football town vs a team that didn’t exist 25 years ago. However these games were nail biters. 3 consecutive games won by 3 points or less. THAT’S NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE. Some of the aforementioned series had close games but not this close, and not every game. Remember LA’s 22 point victory in game 6 last year – no one figured Boston would come back from that and they were right! 6 minutes left of game 2 this year it looked like Miami would be up 2-0 but Dallas showed more fight then people thought they had in them (many picked them to go out in the first round) and came back to win it. At the start of each game picking a winner was just like flipping a coin. You couldn’t leave your seat at any point. It was totally fucking tense. Let’s not forget the backstory. The Miami heat are the most hated team in the NBA. The justified fallout of “the decision” have made a team of talented, exciting young stars into the most loathed team in the league. Led by an arrogant, disrespectful primadonna who calls himself “the king”. On the flip side Dallas was a collection of battle-sore veterans. Guys who had almost been there but had always just fallen short. There weren’t any disastrous press conferences, no declarations of winning 8 championships this was a team focused on one thing, winning the game they were playing. The years of anguish for guys like Dirk and Kidd translated into empathy from the audience. Those are 2 of the most deserving players in the league, a total contrast from Miami’s cocky stars who we would’ve all loved to see be put in their place. This was not just 2 great teams playing close basketball. This was good vs evil; the oldest of saga’s from which all legends originate. Hell this was good vs evil in the closest games imaginable. Even for fans outside of the cities involved this was a total emotionally captivating and exhilarating series. The NBA finals of 2011 were an instant classic. A phrased so often used but so rarely as true as it is here. A series of this calibre had only one fitting ending. Good prevailed over evil and THE DALLAS MAVERICKS ARE NBA CHAMPIONS OF 2011!!!!
Extra Notes
For me personally, the situation was amplified. As a Canadian I found Bosh’s comments regarding the Toronto insulting and found James behaviour towards Cleveland reminiscent of Vince Carters attitude in Toronto. (NB just remembered how James was all bragging about his talks with the Knicks last year whilst his team was no1 in the east – another douche move). I had fallen in love with the Mavs during the Nash years. How could you not, their owner was their biggest fan. This looked like a team that was run with passion not accounting. They had talents like Dirk and Terry. I’ve been a fan of Dallas for some time.
Not only that but this year they had Rick Carlisle calling the shots. I’ve been a big fan of Carlisle since about 2005. As a lifelong Reggie Miller fan I was rooting for the Pacers to go all the way in 2005, but for a team that had so much promise all hopes were gone after the Artest incident. However under Carlisle’s guidance and Reggie’s leadership that team went deeper into the playoffs then anyone would’ve imagine given the circumstances. He has been a coach who has managed to motivate his team and he’s a master tactician, I’m sure when his career is over he will be celebrated as one of the greatest coaches ever. I was exceptionally happy to see him finally coach a team to a championship
Mike McCready makes the energizer bunny look tired.
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Comments
the post victory celebration was on the tame side.
cause there is no 4th quarter (period)
yes probably be a bit more exciting and the crowds would surely be more intense but the game itself, it's just too much halfcourt at this point. i think the players have just gotten too big and too many guys just out there to foul. i don't really want to watch dwayne wade parade to the foul line.
BOS-9/28/04,9/29/04,6/28/08,6/30/08, 9/5/16, 9/7/16, 9/2/18
MTL-9/15/05, OTT-9/16/05
PHL-5/27/06,5/28/06,10/30/09,10/31/09
CHI-8/2/07,8/5/07,8/23/09,8/24/09
HTFD-6/27/08
ATX-10/4/09, 10/12/14
KC-5/3/2010,STL-5/4/2010
Bridge School-10/23/2010,10/24/2010
PJ20-9/3/2011,9/4/2011
OKC-11/16/13
SEA-12/6/13
TUL-10/8/14
most fun i've had watching the nba in a decade. the game's definitely gotten a lot better in recent years. too bad it faces a huge lockout..
I don't know man. For a while things had gotten quite lame in the NBA. Phenoix sun type run and gun ball was horrifically dull but for some reason prominent. Defenceless games where each team would make 120+ points. I'm happy good D is becoming a prominent feature in more teams. I will say fouls are called way to often, it's not so bad as the playoffs went on but during the regular season the refs call every slight touch. Really slows down and cuts up the game. I am also annoyed with the new technical foul rules.