2005 NBA Champion Spurs

In the end, there was no match for San Antonio. Say what you want about the thrills and the excitement of a Spurs domination, but the effect is indisputable. They are Champions of the NBA for the 2nd time in 3 years. They are the first organization to seize the international scene and cash it in for rings.

And prepare for much, much more from the young and talented Spurs. There is no sign of them changing for the worse anytime soon.

Duncan steps up in the 4th Quarter …

Duncan deserves credit for some of that. Criticized for not being aggressive enough the past four games, he opened Thursday by immediately driving to the rim.
Duncan struggled to find his rhythm, missing seven consecutive shots to start the second half. He finally plucked one of his errant attempts out of the air and followed with a short hook. Continuing to attack, he put all three of his defenders — Rasheed Wallace, Ben Wallace and Antonio McDyess — in foul trouble.

With the Pistons forced to go small, Duncan took advantage, scoring 12 points in the third quarter to lead the Spurs back from their nine-point deficit.

"I felt like the game was going bad for me," Duncan said. "But it was about just kind of pushing through it and just the perseverance. My teammates just continued to throw the ball to me. They were more confident in me than I was."

With the Spurs clinging to a four-point lead in the final quarter, Duncan buried a baseline 17-footer at the shot-clock buzzer. Ginobili followed with a 3-pointer, also at the end of the clock. The pass came from Duncan.

"We only go as far as Tim takes us," Horry said. "And today he took us to the top."

A Global Win …

Finley to be bought out? …

Two sources said Thursday that Finley, who has been with the Mavericks longer than any other current player, would be targeted if the Mavericks exercise this cost-cutting option.

The new one-time loophole allows a team to waive a player and be relieved of any luxury-tax responsibility attached to that player's contract. Finley is owed $51,796,875 over the next three seasons. Cuban would still have to pay that in salary.

But because the Mavericks' payroll is so high, Cuban also has to pay a dollar for every dollar that they are over the luxury tax. By jettisoning Finley, he could knock $15 million off his luxury tax next season. The Mavericks were well over the $61 million luxury-tax threshold last season. Essentially, the remainder of Finley's $51 million contract could cost Cuban $102 million if they remain over the luxury-tax threshold, which is probable if Finley is retained.

Could Cuban cut Finley loose? It would save $51 million dollars, but he is so loyal, that I don't think he has it in him.



Gay or Not Gay?

Lyle, from Napoleon Dynamite, was on the show yesterday, and mentioned he was about to appear in a movie called ChurchBall , and check out who is in it: Gary Coleman???

Dusty Dvoracek’s resume …

See Mike Tyson back in the day …

On the right side of the blog, I list message boards for each team. For some reason, I was linked to a Mavericks board that I never used nor cared for. I have changed it to Dallas-mavs.com which is the one I do use. You must register, but I think it is worth it. Enjoy.

I got a few emails along these lines yesterday:

Bob,

You hammered Bradley mercilessly today. I, too, am glad that he has left the NBA, but I do not wish to whip him over the lack of talent, and maybe heart, that he has displayed in his career. There are too many embarrassing Sportscenter moments that we, as Mavs fans, would like to forget.

I am just your generic business guy who is a huge fan of Dallas sports. I do not think, however, hammering a retiring, underachieving athlete is just in this case. Shawn was Shawn from day one. He never held a gun to anyone's head to play for the Mavs and sign that $41mm contract. Whip Cuban mercilessly if you are angered by the contract--it was Mark's doing. If anything, Bradley was consistent--consitently bad--and that was from day one. Was it his fault?? I am not sure.

You bring a direct approach to your job. In listening to you, I have come to the conclusion that you bring direct, well thought out, HSOs to your listeners.

I think you went overboard on this one in whipping a down, retired, Mav, in the name of creating buzz and reaction on the Ticket. Maybe I am wrong, but it sure sounded like your enjoyment of hammering Bradley was more important than his retirement.

I think we should all leave Bradley alone and let him become a productive member of the Dallas community as he distributes Cuban's money around town.

I tune into you to hear the sports facts, and your HSOs. I just think we could have tapped the brakes on the hammering of Bradley as he properly retires from the NBA.

Matt

My Response:
Matt-

I don't deny that I might have gone over-board, as this is clearly subjective (and for you to decide)-

But, it was 8 years of me begging the Mavs to change this problem- It was a long time coming, and as you realize, I concede easily he is a good man- But a horrible member of this basketball team that I openly cheer for-

Thanks for listening to BaD Radio!

Bob

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Vacation Starts At 3:00 today. I plan on some blogging while on vacation, but I cannot promise daily, prompt entries. My wife might kill me if I get too carried away, and we can’t have that. We will be back on July 5th for new episodes of BaD Radio, and at that point, you can expect daily entries in the blog, too. Have a happy summer.