06-18-2006, 09:50 PM
Although I'm a fan of the Heat (after being a Lakers fan for 25 years, suddenly the Heat had more Lakers than the Lakers did), I still find the suspension of Stackhouse to be ridiculous. I haven't seen many flagrant fouls this year, so I don't know how this compares in terms of precedent. But to me the bottom line is, his only intention was to stop a 330 pound man from putting the ball in the basket. He wasn't acting out of anger or frustration or trying to hurt anyone. He was just trying to stop a dunk. I think the term excessive is almost relative in this case. If he had hit Wade or Williams with the same force, it would seem like more of a cheap shot. I felt the officials made the right call on the court, giving Miami 2 shots and the ball but not ejecting Stackhouse. Fortunately for Dallas, they are so deep at guard that this should not really be a big deal.
Dallas had a golden opportunity in game 3 and blew it. Now they have gone from almost having the series clinched to being in an even series with all of the momentum on the other side.
I can't believe how much zone has been played by both teams in this series. By now, you would think they would have practiced zone offense so much in their walkthroughs that it wouldn't be an effective defense. Dallas was hiding Dirk in the center of the zone in the last game and Miami wasn't even able to get the ball into the post against him (not that it mattered since they had a huge lead).
Miami may be the best halfcourt basketball team in the league right now. Dallas has to force them into jumpshots so they can get the fast break going if they want to get back into the series.
Dallas had a golden opportunity in game 3 and blew it. Now they have gone from almost having the series clinched to being in an even series with all of the momentum on the other side.
I can't believe how much zone has been played by both teams in this series. By now, you would think they would have practiced zone offense so much in their walkthroughs that it wouldn't be an effective defense. Dallas was hiding Dirk in the center of the zone in the last game and Miami wasn't even able to get the ball into the post against him (not that it mattered since they had a huge lead).
Miami may be the best halfcourt basketball team in the league right now. Dallas has to force them into jumpshots so they can get the fast break going if they want to get back into the series.