Beach Eve

Okay - so that may sound weird to everyone - but it's the annual pre-family vacation holiday for my family and everyone's all excited....so just had to share.

2-2 - I didn't get home until midway through the third when it was an 18-point game last night, but I watched the rest of the game. Maybe the Mavs will had been beaten out of them by that time or something? I missed the dominating performance to get the Heat to that point but I caught the resolve they showed to keep it that way - and to claw back to a 24-point win after Dallas had closed it to 10. THAT was the Miami Heat I saw play against Detroit - the same team that had been absent for 2 games in Dallas.

2-3-2 - Can anyone explain to me the point of this? Suppose Miami, which has all the momentum right now, wins a third one at home....they go back to Dallas with even MORE momentum and only have to take one of two for the title against a totally deflated team. I don't get this.

32 - Sure he's not the same Diesel I've been watching for 14 years....and maybe he's protecting his legacy....and he can't completely take over and dominate like the Shaq of old, but he still commands double teams and is still darn good. He's getting doubled and tripled frequently before he even touches the ball - still puts up respectable numbers (just not "Shaq numbers") but is running the offense from the post. The sequence last night where he got doubled and was holding the ball extended from the defenders swatting away Devin Harris like a gnat (to borrow from Hubie Brown), passed out to a shooter (I forget who) who missed a shot...that Shaq rebounded with authority, quickly drawing another double and sent the no-look to Posey (who unfortunately missed it. But he's doing it all...under constant pressure (credit Avery Johnson)....I have no problem with Shaq's contribution in this series. And way to hit the free throws, big guy!

20 - I think the last time I saw someone play this many significant minutes while needing to have retired two years earlier was Robert Parrish. Gary, I've loved watching you play for years. Some call you dirty, you've got a big mouth, but I think you're a competitor and one of the better PG's in the history of the game (I think ESPN2 recently ranked him #10 all time)....but, man...hang 'em up, buddy. Other than the jumper he hit at the end of game 3, Payton has been a complete non-factor in this series - and, in fact, a liability at times. Defensively (always GP's calling card) he can't hang with the faster Mav backcourt. Offensively - he's not as good as Eboy (and that's really kinda sad) - committing two turnovers and a foul in the middle of Dallas's pseudo-run in the 3rd. The offensive foul where he knocked Jet on his butt - that's stuff that the old guys in RecSpecs at the Y don't usually get away with and was probably the most blatant display of "I can't play at this level anymore" I've seen in a long time. I hope Miami wins so that GP can go out on top - but more importantly so that he has no motivation to come back for another year.

3 - He's good.

Employee Number 8 - Was that Toinne I saw playing a little defense last night? Where did this come from?

Brief shout-out to Big Ben - That might have been the first sincere apology I may have ever heard from a professional athlete and/or celebrity. I hope it wasn't just lip service. I love this kid - he's a class act.