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[mkwest]

What do y'all think about Mike Brown joining that team across the hall? Supposedly Ettore Messina and Tim Grgurich could be joining him on the bench. They've also decided to not bring back their assistant GM, Ronnie Lester.

[Forte IV]

Bad signing. He's a horrible coach imo. Only got far because of LeBron.

[mkwest]

Bad signing. He's a horrible coach imo. Only got far because of LeBron.

I know a lot of their fans were pissed. I know a lot of other people had some gut-busting laughter as a result. I don't actually think that it's a horrible signing for them. It's totally different than what they had in Phil, but it all depends on who they add to the bench (i.e. an offensive minded coach) and if the players (i.e. Kobe) buy into what him and his staff are selling. Kobe isn't quite LeBron, but Mo, Jamison and Shaq sure as hell aren't Gasol, Bynum and Odom.

If his offense is as unimaginative with the Lakers as it was in Cleveland, then a lot of people are going to be upset. Thankfully, we have Blake and some young high-flyers. So people looking for excitement can always direct their attention here.

Adelman would have been their best option imo. I would love to see him take some time off and hopefully we can persuade him next season Shaw could have worked if they wanted to continue running the triangle, but he's not the most experienced. I was personally rooting for Dunleavy to get the job. No explanations needed.

[mkwest]

Dallas Mavericks are officially the western conferences champs!

[playaloc916]

At first I was laughing, but it might be a bit too early to tell. It's hard to tell whether all the Lebron Isos were Brown's plays, or if it was actually Lebron himself. It's like one of those things where there are multiple factors involved, so you can't pinpoint exactly what it was. And I think I saw the ESPN poll saying that 52% of voters thought Brown wasn't a good fit. So it's almost split down the middle.

Adelman would have been their best option imo. I would love to see him take some time off and hopefully we can persuade him next season Shaw could have worked if they wanted to continue running the triangle, but he's not the most experienced. I was personally rooting for Dunleavy to get the job. No explanations needed.

In a way, I didn't want Adelman to go to the Lakers. To me, he will always be an known as a great and underrated coach who could have won a title or two, but unfortunately was defeated by Jackson twice (once with the Bulls, once with the Lakers, both series with some questionable officiating). For him to take over the Lakers would seem so weird. If he has the chance, I'd rather him go to another contender and win a title that way.

And damn, I was crossing my fingers hoping they would sign Dunleavy. He was a great coach, and the Lakers would be the clear favorites to win the title next year.

[thanumba2clippersfan]

I was a little surprised when I heard the Lakers hired Mike Brown. I thought they would go with Shaw or Adelman. I think Brown was able to go as far as he went because he coached LeBron James, but I understand why they hired him.

I figured that the Mavs would go to the finals, not necessarily a Mavs fan. Looks like it will be Heat and Mavs. Not a big fan of either team, but it should be a good series.

[mkwest]

Another game with an amazing come from behind victory or epic fail of a collapse depending on the way that you look at it. I am so amped for the finals. Both the Heat and the Mavs are going to have their own match-up advantages and disadvantage. Similar conference finals for both teams in beating a couple of up-and-coming teams that just didn't know how to close.

A Dallas/Miami series is probably the match-up that I was most looking forward to when the playoffs began. There are so many story lines involved. Both teams have displayed some clutch performances and have been unwavering in the face of probable defeat. It should be a good series. I hope it goes at least 6 and that both teams bring it.

[mkwest]

At first I was laughing, but it might be a bit too early to tell. It's hard to tell whether all the Lebron Isos were Brown's plays, or if it was actually Lebron himself. It's like one of those things where there are multiple factors involved, so you can't pinpoint exactly what it was. And I think I saw the ESPN poll saying that 52% of voters thought Brown wasn't a good fit. So it's almost split down the middle.

I was just glad that it wasn't Adelman, so I had a good laugh myself. Brown is not your typical Laker coach. He's had his share of failures in the playoffs (after dominating the regular season) and it was embarrassing to watch an assistant drawing up plays in big games. It's really an unenviable possession to be in. He's looking to prove himself after having a year off. They've just been embarrassed in the playoffs, will be a year older and will have to learn a completely different playing style. Plus, there's a lockout situation that means that there could be time lost that would have been used to acquaint himself with the players.

Jim Buss looks to be running the show and is making some big changes within their organization. I heard that his pet project (Bynum) is the only untouchable player. Their fans' confidence is not the highest at the moment with him running the show and an unsexy coach walking the sidelines.

In a way, I didn't want Adelman to go to the Lakers. To me, he will always be an known as a great and underrated coach who could have won a title or two, but unfortunately was defeated by Jackson twice (once with the Bulls, once with the Lakers, both series with some questionable officiating). For him to take over the Lakers would seem so weird. If he has the chance, I'd rather him go to another contender and win a title that way.

And damn, I was crossing my fingers hoping they would sign Dunleavy. He was a great coach, and the Lakers would be the clear favorites to win the title next year.

It definitely would have been weird. It was hard not to like that Kings team and how they played the game. They were fun to watch and I hate how they were screwed. I don't know if he holds a grudge like Webber does, but I'm sure that he just wants to be in a winning situation. He did interview with them so it couldn't have been all bad.

[thanumba2clippersfan]

It's official a 2006 finals rematch of Heat and Mavs. This should be an entertaining series and I'll be disappointed if it goes less than 6 games.

[mkwest]

There's a rumor going around that Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic are close to signing a 2-year extension. This would mean that he would be under contract with the Magic until July 2015.

I think this is great news if it's true. However, I'm a little skeptical on the validity of the rumor, because I would think that he would be a bit more concerned about Orlando's direction after making the trades for Arenas and Turkoglu. Those aren't easily mobile contracts.

"I want to start my own path and I want people to follow my path and not just follow somebody else's path. I want to have my own path, and I want to start that here in Orlando. But I can't do it alone. Not only do I need the right teammates, but I need the city behind me. That's the only way it's going to get done. We can change this small city that we have — this small market that we have — and we can make it a big market."

Josh Robbins, Orlando Sentinel

Arenas is getting paid nearly 20M next season. Turk is approx. 29 over the next 3 seasons (if he's waived in the 3rd season). Duhon & Richardson are not paid much, but are on the books for about 3 more seasons. There are S&T options available with J-Rich if they don't re-sign him. Redick is basically an expiring. Nelson could have some value, although he's not exactly the playmaker that many teams may be looking for.

If Dwight does in fact sign an extension, then the spotlight of the 2012 free-agency is placed directly on Chris Paul and Deron Williams. Deron has already said that New Jersey/Brooklyn will need to add the right pieces for him to stay. He wants to compete and will need either another really significant piece to team up with or a couple good players in addition to what they have.

As it pertains to us, if we preserve enough cap for 2012, then we can be an attractive destination to one of the 2. The Knicks will definitely be in the mix as well.

[mkwest]

Game 1 of the finals is in the bag. Miami scores the win 92-84.

It was a close game for the most part with both team applying the pressure defensively. Both teams struggled offensively for the most part. Dallas' supporting cast didn't do much of anything. Dirk got his and Terry & Marion chipped in 28. Barea was 1 of 8 from the field for 2 points and Peja offered nothing from the perimeter. Dallas also gave up 10 extra offensive boards to Miami. That is not how you win games and especially in the finals.

Miami didn't fair much better from the field as a whole, but managed to be deadly from the perimeter. LeBron was lights out, Chalmers, Miller and Wade were also able to find some success from deep as well. 2 starters were scoreless. That's crazy.

Overall, this series is far from over and both teams have a lot of room for improvement. Dirk tore a tendon in his left ring finger that may hamper his play somewhat due to discomfort, but his shooting hand is still strong. I'm looking forward to seeing how both teams adjust as the series progresses.

[thanumba2clippersfan]

What I've noticed in these playoffs is that the Heat are finding ways to close out games. LeBron James is coming through in the clutch. It's scary because I never thought I would see that happen. I hope this isn't the start to the Heat dominating the league and winning a bunch of championships.

[playaloc916]

The game started off pretty close with both teams struggling offensively. But in the second half, Miami stepped it up defensively. Dallas wasn't getting good looks, while Miami seemed to get to the line pretty easily and hit some tough shots. Lebron and Wade were just great out there, and weren't to be denied.

I hope Dallas can make some adjustments and take game two, but going against a motivated Lebron will be tough. It's too bad that Butler is out for Dallas, because if he were healthy, it would be much more interesting. It's tough seeing a 34 year old Peja trying to guard Lebron.

[mkwest]

Kahn finally got it done for the Wolves. Rubio will play in Minnesota next season. Even though it does have an affect on our 2012 pick, I'm looking forward to finally seeing him play in the NBA. I thought that he would wait until 2012 to come over, so that he wouldn't be bound by the rookie scale. They'll be adding Rubio and probably Derrick Williams. They're going to have a load of young talent that they can groom or package for veteran talent.

I still think they need to upgrade their coach to get the most out of their players.

I hope Dallas can make some adjustments and take game two, but going against a motivated Lebron will be tough. It's too bad that Butler is out for Dallas, because if he were healthy, it would be much more interesting. It's tough seeing a 34 year old Peja trying to guard Lebron.

It sucks seeing players injured in the finals or having to sit them out due to injury. The Mavs were the best team in the league when Butler was healthy. It doesn't look like he's going to play this season, and I don't know how much he would be able to help if he did come back. He's a FA this summer, and Dallas is going to have to seriously think about bringing him back and seeing if they can return to finals next year (regardless of if they win or lose this year). They'll all be another year older, but I could totally see them back if they healthy.

[thanumba2clippersfan]

Rubio will finally be coming to the NBA. I was thinking that he may spend a few more seasons in Europe. I'm curious to see how good he will be.

[mkwest]

Incredible finish. The ball (an home court advantage) is Dallas' hands. It's always hard to win 3 in a row in the finals. The road team typically has to gear up to win at least 2 on the road. Dallas has 1 out of the way. It was looking one-sided with about 6 mins left in the game, but Dallas exploded and Miami imploded. I'm hoping that we have some more of these the rest of the way.

[madmaxmedia]

Incredible finish. The ball (an home court advantage) is Dallas' hands. It's always hard to win 3 in a row in the finals. The road team typically has to gear up to win at least 2 on the road. Dallas has 1 out of the way. It was looking one-sided with about 6 mins left in the game, but Dallas exploded and Miami imploded. I'm hoping that we have some more of these the rest of the way.

Yeah, after 41 minutes it looked like Dallas was going to exit the playoffs with a whimper not a bang.

Now everything is changed- it is definitely a series! I am rooting for the Mavs because Dirk seems like a great guy and I would like him to get a ring. We haven't yet seen a monster game from Dirk yet, I imagine he will have at least 1 in Dallas. I would guess Dallas will have a 3-2 leading going back to Miami.

[madmaxmedia]

I was just glad that it wasn't Adelman, so I had a good laugh myself. Brown is not your typical Laker coach. He's had his share of failures in the playoffs (after dominating the regular season) and it was embarrassing to watch an assistant drawing up plays in big games. It's really an unenviable possession to be in. He's looking to prove himself after having a year off. They've just been embarrassed in the playoffs, will be a year older and will have to learn a completely different playing style. Plus, there's a lockout situation that means that there could be time lost that would have been used to acquaint himself with the players.

Not having watched enough Cavs games I don't want to automatically assume that Brown has no clue. I have heard people in the game say he knows his X's and O's, based on that I would give him the benefit of the doubt.

What didn't give me great confidence though, was the way he seemed to tiptoe around Kobe's name in interviews, etc. I understand wanting to establish a good relationship with your HOF'er, but you're still the g'damned HEAD COACH. If he feels he's going to need Kobe's approval on everything he does, it's not going to go well. If you're going to fail, fail because you couldn't do the job, not because Kobe's ideas didn't work out. (I'm not implying that Kobe is trying to control anything, it's just my impressions of Brown's demeanor.)

[playaloc916]

That game was crazy. With about 5 minutes left and Dallas down by quite a bit, I thought they were done. I thought if they lost the first two games, Miami would win the finals for sure. I ended up changing the channel, but then changed it back a few minutes later expecting to see Miami celebrating.

Instead I see Dallas up by 3! Then Chalmers hits the open 3 to tie the game with 25 seconds left on the clock. Needless to say I was on the edge of my seat. The final play was pretty epic. Everyone's expecting Dirk's trademark one legged fadeaway jumper, but instead he does a nice little hesitation move, gets Bosh to commit, and glides in for a layup. Wow.

But even more crazy was how close Wade was to hitting that near halfcourt shot. I think it went off back iron. This is turning out to be a good Finals.

And I had a good laugh after seeing some of the pictures in the Finals thread on the GB:

[mkwest]

88-86 Miami over Dallas.

It was an intense game. I have to admit that I was bit surprised that Miami won with the officiating. Both teams benefited from the whistle at different points, it definitely favored the Mavs tonight as a whole. I don't know if Stern forgot about Cuban being the owner or not. At the end of the game, Dallas got the ball exactly to who they wanted to have it and the opportunity was there. That was a shot that you would feel confident with Dirk taking, but it just didn't drop tonight.

Miami regains home-court advantage, but Dallas still has the next 2 at home. Both teams are capable of winning anywhere. I think Dallas takes the next one with game 5 being a must-win for both. If Dallas wins the next 2, I think we'll see a full 7 game series. If the next 2 are split, then it might be Miami in 6. 2 more days and then the madness starts up again and I can't wait.