[NBA] CHI 96 - MIA 91

Ongoing coverage inside!

2:17, 1st quarter: This is the first time I've noticed that the Heats have two first round draft picks of 1992: Shaq & Alonzo Mourning, who was at that time chosen by the Charlotte Hornets (for that great underrated team that he was part of with Mugsy Bogues and Larry Johnson).

1:16, 1st: Tyrus Thomas, rookie that the announcers are really talking up, in for the Bulls. 28-25, Heat.

At the end of the 1st, Duhon to Wallace for a nice assist to rein in the score to 28-27.

Back for the 2nd, and Antoine Walker is a three point throwing whore (11:15). Tighten up the damn D, I'd say.

10:20, 2nd: Ben Gordon (Bulls) says, "SHAKE & BAKE! THAT JUST HAPPENED!" But, at 9:44, can't hit a three pointer.

8:44, 2nd: Dwayne Wade's "5" may be hot, but how he accomplishes getting his fouls called on opposing players is beyond me.

(Those NBA commercials with the swing-singing cheerleaders make every single one of those bitches less attractive ... does that make me gay?

And those DirectTV commercials with the actors that break from the way the movie is suposed to go, to advertise HDTV ... cree-py!)

8:43, 2nd: Fuck Dwayne Wade.

6:37, 2nd: Dang, Deng is having a serious cold streak. 37-35, Heat.

5:52, 2nd: tied at 37. T/o by Miami. And my cats be fucking; go on, Rocky, get it get it!

(Seriously, how old is Pat Riley?)

4:37, 2nd: As effective as I'm sure it must be, is Shaq's main offensive weapon a two-handed dunk? Is that all the game he has? Ah, but it might be all he needs.

James Posey catches a T. And Chi-town hates that mufukka.

2:58, 2nd: Wallace, says get your shit outta here, and Bulls now lead 45-44; 1st three pointer Bulls have made all game.

Deng has teeth painted on his mouthpiece ... I think. If not, that's one yukmouth dude.

1:05, 2nd: Great D, 47-44 Chicago. Sefolosha seems to be gumming up Wade's game ... and the announcers catch onto my vibe.

.5, 2nd: Thomas to Sefolosha for the final basket; Chicago rookies stepping up.

Buzz, and it's 49-46 Chicago. And there's that "Right Now" commercial ... I can't believe ABC's happy with that, ugh.

Back on ...

11:01, 3rd: Hinrich hit with a T and hits 4 fouls. So Wallace better watch his ass.

10:48, 3rd: Apparently, Miami is gonna pussy their way through this next quarter, drawing fouls for their numbers. I hope that changes...

9:56, 3rd: Nocioni looks good to pick up the gap left by Hinrich (I keep wanting to write in Heidenreich).

8:15, 3rd: Shaq giving good assist now, which must indicate that Wallace is doing his job right.

Sefolosha playing solid D against Wade. He's got his number, Wade is having to hand off to his teammates, and a few turnovers have already been handed out. Interesting part, Wade can't answer with defense as good.

5:33, 3rd: Offensive foul, Dwayne Wade, his third. If Sefolosha ends up like John Starks (running hot & cold on defense), I'll be displeased. 63-55, Chicago.

(Which came first, "Burt Reynolds" by Jake Palumbo or the Dominos Pizza commercials?)

4:04, 3rd; Now it's the Bulls playing pussy ball, drawing tons of offensive fouls. Sefolosha looks a lot like one of my favorite currents, Tayshaun Prince, in his game. Looking real good.

1:16, 3rd: Damn fine defensive playing, Bulls up 70-59. I love, LOVE good defense, I can't express that enough. T/o, Heat.

Going into the 4th, Shaq's in some foul trouble, which is promising for the Bulls, but they've got three of their starters in foul trouble, incl. Hinrich.

10:54, 4th: Thomas (Bulls) kinda fizzling; might be playoff rookie jitters.

9:29, 4th: I swear, has Gary Payton played on every team in the NBA? He's the Michael Caine of the NBA.

T/o Heat, as Shaq now has 5 fouls.

8:09, 4th: Deng pulls up short on a 2pter that's a foot away from 3pt land; these foreigners on the Bulls need to adapt to US ball. Tons of 2pt shots could have easily been 3pt FGs.

Deng at the line: 78-70 Chicago.
"Posey sucks, Posey sucks!"

6:20, 4th: And Miami with a good scoring run there, forces a Chicago timeout, bringing Chicago's lead to 6.

(I'm surprised that the Gatorade commercial makes no mention of the NCAA basketball championship U-Florida won this year. And I don't watch college ball.)

6:02, 4th: Shit, Chicago can't make nothing fall. Damn damn damn.

5:10, 4th: Ooh, the announcers getting bitchy with each other over a foul made by Antoine Walker. 79-76 Chicago.

4:58, 4th: Wallace proves the old adage, "The best defensive players need a big ass." Boxing out on offense, and landing on for defense. T/o @ 4:24, as it's an 8 pt game again for Chicago.

3:19, 4th: O'neal's fouled out; Nocioni scored and gets the foul shot in. 87-79, Chicago.

1:51, 4th: Goddamn, Chicago, white hot with a great scoring run. 92-83, Chicago. They looked like they were going to squander all that game that they played between the middle of the 2nd through to the 3rd, but they're bringing it back.

(I took my group to see Deja Vu, which is coming out on DVD soon; good movie, I didn't know going into it that it was a sci-fi type of film, I was thinking straight detective fiction.)

1:41, 4th: 3 by Williams, Heat back to within 6. 1:22, Heat w/in 4, Sefolosha still doing a fine defensive job on Wade though. Told you, sweet game.

38 seconds, 1pt game. Fuuuck. 18.9, foul on Gordon, 92-91 Chicago. Again, fuuuck. Ben Gordon drops the foul shots, 94-91; t/o by Miami.

Here's my prediction: Chicago fouls, gets the ball, then runs out the time. Wade with 3 ... out of bounds, Chicago ball.

Foul at 9.8. Nocioni drops his 2pts, and Chicago takes it home.

Sonuva, that was some game! This ongoing coverage thing, a nice experiment, but man, this wasn't the game to try it on. Wow. Game 2 is Tues @ 8PM on TNT.