Thank you for that.  Thank you.

congrats to the heat fans.  it was another nail biter.   

Wow ... what a game.  I need to calm down.
 

And the one bit of joy that I would get out of a Dallas win in this series would be to watch David Stern have to present the Championship trophy to Cuban.  I'd almost pay to see that.

I expect Dallas to come out with a lot of energy tonight.  The home crowd will really get behind them.  Miami will have to weather the initial storm if they are to have a chance to win this thing.  It's going to be a tough game for them ... especially seeing that they tend not to show up when they aren't facing elimination.

Despite the "TO call" last night, it really shouldn't have even come to that.  The Mavs missed 3 of their last 4 foul shots (Dampier and Howard) and basically gave the game away.  Even Shaq was 2-2 in the final minute foul shots in game 3, and he's a disaster on the foul line.

Yeah ... there were plenty of occasions last night where plays were made (or not made) that affected the outcome of the game.  It's unfortunate that the officiating is taking center stage in this one, but that's the way it goes.  Miami got hosed pretty bad in one of the games in Dallas when Shaq and Wade were the only two players to shoot foul shots for the entire game.  They didn't get the calls because they were passive and settling for jumpers ... which is similar to the way Dallas played in Miami.  Dirk and Co. will get calls if they give the refs no choice but to make calls for them.  I expect Dallas to be much more aggressive in Game 6.

This series demonstrates the vast anti-German conspiracy that has been showcased by NBA officials over the past few years.  The officials concocted a plot against Dirk Nowitzki before the Finals even began, and became angry when they could not alter the results of games 1 and 2, and are now coming full throttle at the Mavs in the closing minutes of each game to ensure that the Heat win. 

Hahaha ... that's awesome.  The league must not be ready to be dominated by a German player.




Then again ... we do have a reigning two-time MVP who is white and Canadian.
 

Back to the fouls ... do I think that Wade was fouled on that last play?  Yes ... but I think that he got hit worse by Harris, who basically cut out one of his legs.  The foul should've been called, but probably not on Diggler.
Dallas has no one to blame but themselves for the foul-shooting disparity.  When you employ the hack-a-Shaq strategy, it can sometimes backfire.  Yes, you put Shaq and his putrid shooting percentage on the line, but you also put the Heat in the penalty.  When Wade knows that the other team is in the penalty, he attacks.  You really have no choice but to foul him.  If you lay off him, he hits jumpers in your face, like he did at the end of the third quarter/beginning of the fourth quarter.  And though it may be hard to believe, there were some ****** calls on both sides of the ball.  Haslem didn't really earn six personals last night, and the one that sent him out of the game was a phantom call.  I do hate when a game comes down to the officials, though.  It lessens the outcome, and partially negates the brilliant performances some of these players put on.
You'll see a different scenario in Game 6.  Cuban will whine enough from now until then, and it always seems that the refs favor the home team a bit.  Miami will have to play the game of their lives if they expect to get out of this series with a championship.

This series has been too good to not have at least one overtime game, right?
Even if Miami doesn't win this game, it's been a great one to watch.

Stackhouse was definitely NOT going for the ball.  He meant to foul Shaq hard and put him on the foul line.  And that's exactly what he did.  In no way did he deserve to be suspended.  This game is getting a bit too soft.  Hell, when the Bad Boys used to utilize the Jordan Rules against MJ, they'd foul him like that all of the time.