- Pat Riley as quoted by Chris Sheridan on Finals MVP Dwyane Wade: "He just took it to another level," Riley said. "You all witnessed it. You all watched it. Players like that are very hard to come by, and to watch them grow right in front of you, you know, he's making his legacy in his third year. We're blessed to have him."
- Dirk Nowitzki as quoted by Marc Stein: "He really won them the championship," Nowitzki said of Wade. "From Game 3, when we were up [13], he just took over."
- Ira Winderman: "Until that moment when I stood in the middle of locker room, the sting of champagne in my eyes, the foam of beer in my (little remaining) hair, I never fully comprehended why these guys chase rings. Now I do. The raw emotion was as honest a moment as I have shared in the 18 years I have covered this team. I get it. And they got it. And… well… wow."
- Maverick Moneyball: "It begins again next year."
- J.A. Adande watched in Dirk Nowitzki's hometown in Germany. After reminding us about how the league used to hate the Heat (Juwan Howard's voided contract, tampering with the Knicks for Pat Riley, etc.) he makes this point: "I'd say the easiest person for anyone to feel happy for is Udonis Haslem, the unheralded forward who won it for is hometown team. Watching him go for 17 and 10, I thought of all the power forwards that the Lakers brought in over the past few years -J.R. Reid, Samaki Walker, the aging versions of A.C. Green, Horace Grant and Karl Malone - and not one of them had such a big-time game with so much on the line as Udonis Haslem did in Game 6. Not even Robert Horry, for all of his big shots, delivered an 18-point, 10-rebound performance like Haslem's."
- NBA Official Ronnie Nunn explains game five's controversial calls.
- Quiz: Who led the league in playoff scoring? Hint: it wasn't close. Keep reading.
- Selena Roberts has put her finger on the truth, I am certain of it. Remember the league hiring Matthew Dowd, former Bush advisor, to try to figure out how to appeal to the red states? The league's most appealing asset for Bush voters, bar none, is Mark Cuban. David Stern is ready to make him a star, if he can behave just a little in the spotlight: "Cuban is a niche marketing hope for a league that has lost suburban fans who feel alienated by players they find too urban, hip-hop and, well, too unlike them. Cuban is a demographic treasure: a white, 40-something male and a self-made billionaire who is acting out a middle-aged guy’s fantasy by sitting behind the bench of his own sports franchise."
- The Dallas mayor reacts from a remote train, which is different, I guess, from a remote control train.
- Does Gnarls Barkley owe Charles Barkley anything for their name?
- Does Tyrus Thomas have a promise? Probably not, says Jonathan Givony, who has done the legwork.
- Chad Ford sizes up four contenders to be "the next Dwyane Wade": Randy Foye, Brandon Roy, Shannon Brown, and Guillermo Diaz.
- Lance Uppercut points out that Derek Anderson "has the distinction of being the only player on Miami's active roster who didn't play a single second in the NBA Finals."
- Matt Bailey wants to talk to people who know the best ways to log NBA games. E-mail him.
- Quiz Answer: Gilbert Arenas. If his Wizards would have beaten the Cavaliers, I would have predicted every NBA series this year correctly.
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TRUEHOOP CONTRIBUTORS
Henry AbbottTrueHoop ESPN Archive |
J.A. AdandeTrueHoop ESPN Archive |
Kevin ArnovitzTrueHoop ESPN Archive |
Chris BroussardTrueHoop ESPN Archive |
Chad FordTrueHoop ESPN Archive |
John HollingerTrueHoop ESPN Archive |
Chris SheridanTrueHoop ESPN Archive |
Marc SteinTrueHoop ESPN Archive |
