Bless my palm with SILVER baby..<Summer break...>

[AlwaysWhat,NeverWhy]

Game 7 – Eastern Conference Finals : Boston Celtics vs. New York Knicks ( series tied at 3-3)

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G !!! .This is why basketball is the most exciting team sport on the face of this planet right now. The drama, the agony, the close game, the comeback, and the game winning 3 pointer at the buzzer, all in one game. This game… I am so excited right , now…. Where can I start… It was an even game all through the 3 first quarters, with Boston maintaining only a slight lead, 5 points max. At the beginning of the 4th, Lamar Odom was fouled out and the main inside threat for New York was gone. Boston then began to turn it up a notch and had a 19-8 run that gave them a 15 point lead with 6 minutes to go… All seemed lost at that time, but a few strong hearts in blue uniforms never stopped believing and fighting for the win. Allan Houston was playing on one leg after an early game injury, but was hitting his shots like a sniper. Jamal Magloire played monster defense against Walker and LaFrentz, limiting them to 0 points combined in the final 6 minutes. Davis and Thomas were rebounding, Fisher was organizing, and Crawford was picking pockets… but none of them is the man everybody in the country is talking about right now. With the score 98-96 for the Celtics with 10 seconds to go, the possession was for the Knicks. Time got squandered until they got up the floor, and the ball found itself at the hands of a 6’7” Nebraska native, who got up to shoot contested by Marcus banks…. And MADE IT AT THE BUZZER!!! 98-99, the Knicks are in the Finals and ERIC PIATKOWSKI is the new hero of New York City. What an amazing run these playoffs have been so far… now we can only go for the title, no matter who we find on our way, no matter if the Western Conference was having the East for breakfast this season… If we could pull this off, then we can go all the way… Go Knicks!!!

–


Result: The Knicks win a thriller 98-99, take the series 4-3 and unexpectedly advance to the NBA finals, where they will meet not the Wolves, but the Dallas Mavericks who pulled an upset and will be in the Finals for the first time in their history.



In the Western Conference Finals, Minnesota was touted as a sure winner and Finals advancee, but Dallas took game 2 at the Target Center and then proceeded to defend its gained advantage winning all 3 games at home, defeating the Wolves 4-2 and advancing to the finals amidst joy and jubilation by Mark Cuban and the fans…

[John WB]

Since John has visited the thread but not posted any predictions, and since the fans demand an update, I can do no other but to satisfy them. Here goes, Games 1 and 2:

It hasn't even been a day. Damn you!!

[AlwaysWhat,NeverWhy]

Hey, you visited all right, but did not post any predictions... not my fault

[John WB]

You didn't say anything about predictions when I was here.

And when you posted all these results, I was asleep.

[pHLo]

damn, what a finish ! a winning 3-pointer

and my prediction was right

[John WB]

Lucky shot.

GO KNICKS!!

[AlwaysWhat,NeverWhy]

You didn't say anything about predictions when I was here.

Well, when a round is over, you can start predicting straight away...you don't need me to tell you to...

And when you posted all these results, I was asleep.

That's what time zones can do to a person... We got Oceanians , Europeans and Americans in this thread... it's surprising we're even awake at the same time...

Tell you,what, I'll give you some points for the NY series, cause I know youy would have voted for the Knicks to win it.. If that's okay with the rest, ofcourse...

damn, what a finish ! a winning 3-pointer

Tell me about it... I was just about ready to pack my bags for home and then PIATKOWSKI ( applaud ) nailed that buzzer beater... Too bad time did not expire straight after the ball left his hand, or there would have been some nice animations and cutscenes about the teams arguing the shot's validity. I love those cutscenes, don't you?

Lucky shot.

Piatkowski is a career .400 three point shooter... so it was not so lucky... although the ball must have weighed a ton...

[-BHZMAFIA-]

I can't believe he made the 3. And I can't believe my predictions

[John WB]

You were a 3 way from the offseason.

[AlwaysWhat,NeverWhy]

Okay, here's how the predictions game is shaping up ( feel free to make the calculations yourself as well, in case I made an error )

This is a heated battle now, with everybody real close to one another:

1- Mafia 27pts

2- pHLo 27 pts (did not participate in Round 1)

3- John 25pts ( I granted him 5 points for "picking" NY as a winner, even if he did'n manage to vote, and 1 point for missing out on the MIN-DAL series)

4- The X 24 pts

5- Sit 23pts

6- Mark 21 pts (did not participate in Roind 1)



Ad you can see, everybody has a cahnce of winning that coveted NLSC baller spot in the 06 draft class... with the big rise being pHLo who despite having votes in only 2 of 3 rounds is now tied for the top with Mafia...


Point system for NBA Finals:

-6 points for picking winner

- 9 points for picking winner AND score

- 8 points for picking winner with 1 game off

- 10 points for picking winner AND a sweep score

- 1 points for missing out

- 3 points for predicting a 4-3 series the other way around


Let the games continue...

[AlwaysWhat,NeverWhy]

Here’s the New York Knicks’ stat sheet after 18 playoff matches:




And here’s the Dallas Mavericks’ stat sheet so far in the playoffs:

[Blue Nugget]

Wow wha an amazing win,that must've been a very cool feeling to make it at the buzzer. I love these kind of moments,especially if it's not the opposite team that's making the shot

[AlwaysWhat,NeverWhy]

Wow wha an amazing win,that must've been a very cool feeling to make it at the buzzer

Indeed. I contemplated jumping off my chair to celebrate for a moment, but then remembered my age and reconsidered...

[pHLo]

Ad you can see, everybody has a cahnce of winning that coveted NLSC baller spot in the 06 draft class... with the big rise being pHLo who despite having votes in only 2 of 3 rounds is now tied for the top with Mafia...

...and u can collect the most points in the 1st round coz there are the most games

my last prediction:

New York defeats Dallas 4-3

[John WB]

Wow wha an amazing win,that must've been a very cool feeling to make it at the buzzer

Indeed. I contemplated jumping off my chair to celebrate for a moment, but then remembered my age and reconsidered...

Hey, you can be a fan at all ages.

Nothing wrong with being excited..

Knicks in 6

[AlwaysWhat,NeverWhy]

Hey, you can be a fan at all ages.

Nothing wrong with being excited..

If I was at the arena and that happened, I would be jumping up and down like crazy... but this is a computer game and someone might get the wrong idea if he/she saw me jumping up and down in front of a screen all of a sudden...



Now guys, the sooner you bring in your votes, the sooner the updates will come... 2/6 so far... step it up...

[John WB]

Dude, not everyone is always at the board.

[AlwaysWhat,NeverWhy]

I know... I'm just packing my laptop around the office and the house, and I take a peek through the web at all times...

Since it's the NBA Finals, I'm not going to rush the recaps this time. I'll wait for everybody to vote and then post.

Hope it doesn't take too long...

[-BHZMAFIA-]

Hmm, this will be a very tough matchup because I know the Mavericks can go off alot in the game shooting wise. I'll have to say:

Mavericks over Knicks 4-3

[AlwaysWhat,NeverWhy]

Okay, 3 out of 6 have voted... Keep it coming fellas...

[Seraph]

i know i didnt vote yet , but anyway
Knicks in 4 Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeepppppppppppp

[Fresh8]

What a gamble...

Mavs in 5!

[AlwaysWhat,NeverWhy]

Now all we need is Mark...

[Mark.]

Knicks win 4-2

[AlwaysWhat,NeverWhy]

Good. Here comes:




THE NBA FINALS:


Game 1 – NBA Finals : Dallas Mavericks vs. New York Knicks ( Series at 0-0 )

In this first game of the Finals , Dallas absolutely demolished the Knicks and actually put its reserves on the court for most of the 4th quarter. Nowitzki was unstoppable, no matter what Lenny Wilkens threw at him, with Jason Terry’s speed on the fast break and Jarry Stackhouse’s driving baskets coming off the bench, so the Knicks did not realistically have much of a chance to take game 1, especially with the tired feet of Houston and Crawford. We had better shape up if we want to really be contending for the trophy.


–

Result: The Mavericks grab game 1 with a the convincing score line of 112-89 and lead the series 1-0.




Game 2 – NBA Finals : Dallas Mavericks vs. New York Knicks (Mavs lead series 1-0)

This game went close ¾ of the way, but in the 4th quarter, the combination of the Mavs being hot from the field, and the Knicks being ice cold from beyond 20’, resulted in the home team continuously increasing the lead and reaching to an easy victory in the end. Dirk Nowitzki scored 12 out of his 22 points in the last 10 minutes, while Erick Dampier did not leave New York’s big men a chance at rebounding the basketball, grabbing 19 boards in 32 minutes on the floor. Allan Houston once again was the heart and soul of the Knicks, but his 20 points were not enough for his team to break the Mavs’ home court advantage in game 2.

–


Result: Dallas defeats New York 101 – 84 and now is ahead 2-0, with the next three games being played at the Garden.