And the legend grows...

Yes, Dwyane Wade is that good. He almost singlehandedly won the game for the Heat last night (he was the only one doing anything on offense for the Heat for most of the 4th quarter and overtime). He is even better than Steve Nash, some might say. But I have to stop discussing that issue. Not only is it a moot point at this juncture, but there is no purpose in gloating any more. So, a few thoughts on the NBA Finals:

-There need to be fewer fouls and fewer timeouts at the end of NBA games. They make the games far less enjoyable to watch. In the World Cup, the clock never stops, so the tension continuously builds in a close game. Meanwhile, instead of building tension in the NBA, too many timeouts bore people to death. Three per team per game, with only one per team allowed to be taken in the final two minutes, would be more than enough. In addition, the rule that a timeout advances the ball to half court seems highly unfair (they don't have that rule in college). Why should you be able to increase your chances of scoring quickly by such a high percentage so easily (and by doing something that detracts from the game)? Take it away. Make NBA teams try to recreate Tyus Edney or Christian Laettner plays. It's highly unfair to the defenses to allow the offenses to get to half court immediately. And on the subject of fouls, too many are called and they have too large an impact on the game. Basketball, like most sports, is very physical. Yet it seems like any time a player drives to the basket, and there is even the slightest contact, the defense gets called for a foul or the offensive player is shocked when he doesn't get the call. These fouls slow the game down and, like timeouts, make it less fun to watch. No one wants to watch 20 free throws in the last two minutes of a game. We want to see these players showing off their incredible athleticism and creative abilities at full speed. Unfortunately, simply calling fewer fouls would just lead to a rougher game, so perhaps the best idea would be to make fouls more penal? One shot and the ball? Or players fouling out after 5 instead of 6? Experiment with some different scenarios in the D-League and see what happens.

-The NBA Finals lost all the momentum gained by the conference finals and have been swallowed up by the World Cup hysteria. How could they wait 5 days between the two series? After the excitement of basketball every night, the NBA just abandoned its audience. Furthermore, it makes no sense that this series is being played in the 2-3-2 format. The Heat just took full advantage of this fact and now have a good chance to win the series because of it. Would they have won Game 5 in Dallas? Perhaps not...How can they use one format (2-2-1-1-1)for every other round and then change things for the Finals? It makes no sense.

-As for the basketball itself, Wade was incredible of course (although he has to cut down on turnovers and was lucky to get that last foul call), as was Jason Terry for the Mavericks. Josh Howard played a fantastic game as well for the Mavs and I will be very surprised if this series does not go to a seventh game. The Mavs are still a better team and apparently home court means a whole lot...