Father’s Day Revenge

This past father’s day, after not playing golf for the last year, I somehow beat my dad over the second set of 9 holes. I don’t think he was very happy. The wrath of my dad can be very powerful, as you will soon see.

You see, in addition to the fact that I had picked the Dallas Mavericks to win it all, and I had written an incredibly pro-Maverick Finals preview http://thedawggs.blogspot.com/2006/06/2nd-annual-nba-finals-preview.html , I had absolutely no respect for the Miami Heat. Back in my NBA preview in October I said “I’m not a fan of the additions.” http://thedawggs.blogspot.com/2005/10/2005-nba-preview-its-fannnntastic.html . Back in August, MJ even chimed in and said “Will Shaq and Wade be able to co-exist with Walker and Williams? I honestly don't think so.” Though MJ did concede that “I think the Heat will regret this one, even if their roster is now the envy of fantasy basketball fans everywhere.” Anyways, right after Miami had made all of their free agent acquisitions, I laughed because I thought it was ludicrous to pick up an old Gary Payton, a free-shooting Antoine Walker, a turnover-prone Jason Williams, and James Posey.

After all of the signings took place, my dad told me that he thought that the Miami Heat could “win it all.” I laughed and laughed. Antoine Walker??? I didn’t forget this conversation as the NBA finals began, though my dad actually told me that he “could not believe the Heat were down 2-0 in the Finals.” He asked me my thoughts, and in my naivete, I said “believe it? I always told you the Heat stink! The NBA Finals is about the rise of DeSagna Diop!”

Needless to say, beating my dad on part of the golf course made him very angry, and I fully believe that he alone inspired Wade and the Heat to win the championship. I apologize to all of the Dallas fans out there, because I feel as if it was partially my fault that the Dallas Mavericks absolutely choked. If only I had let him beat me in golf!

Anyways, I do have to field a complaint about coach Avery Johnson. I don’t know what the hell he was thinking in Game 6. Basically, I think it got to the point where he realized there was no way to stop Wade, so he just put the team into a zone for the whole second half (I didn’t see the first half, so I can’t comment on that). The problem was, Riley then told the Heat to just crash the boards whenever a shot went up, and this resulted in NUMEROUS layup put-backs! Avery, you’ve got to at least mix up the man and the zone defenses so you don’t get shredded on the glass! Granted, such a formula may have resulted in more Wade points, but I think it still would have been better than the frequent rebounds and layups which certainly have a 95% chance of falling, whereas when Wade is hot, the shots have only a 70% chance of falling.

Finally, I can at least make one knock on Gary Payton. During the 4TH QUARTER, GP was arguing with the refs the whole way up the court. He then turned to the ref to argue some more, and right as he turned, one of his teammates passed the ball in his direction! It resulted in a turnover, and an easy 2 points for the Mavericks! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the memory I will always have of the 2006 NBA Finals (and of Wade dominating the competition and making the leap to superstardom).