NBA Eastern Conference Finals 2001: Philadelphia @ Milwaukee, Game Six (Pt. 1)



Ray Allen

With all the Miami Heat hype, people forget that there was a Big Three just ten years ago, because we are amnesiacs.

There have actually been several "Big Threes" in NBA history who aren't remembered by that name, except by old timers. The McHale-Parish-Bird era in Boston comes to mind as one of the all-time best trios.

More recently, before LeBron, Wade, and Bosh in Miami... and even before the Boston Celtics glued Allen, Garnett and Pierce together in the mid-Aughts... the Milwaukee Bucks did it.

 

They even used a piece that the C's would later grab: Ray Allen. With "Big Dog" Glenn Robinson and Sam Cassell, the trio was dubbed, yes, The Big Three.

The 2001 Bucks meet up with Allen Iverson's Philadelphia 76ers, in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Allen Iverson

Iverson carried Philly's B-minus/C-plus squad through the '00-01 season, scoring in clumps and dazzling fans in his fifth season. "The Answer" averaged 31 points a game over the regular season, adding 4.6 assists and 2.5 steals (along with about 3 turnovers). He raised his scoring by a point in these playoffs, and assists by almost two.

Game Six finds the Sixers leading the series 3-2, and rolling into Milwaukee after a comeback in Game Five.

So it is a typical match-up, familiar to long-time sports fans, between a high-scoring threat who swallows the basketball like a black hole... and a group of slightly-lesser talents who are still excellent...

LeBron James is Heating Up

The position of LeBron James's head, with both the halo and flames framing him, is no accident. Ever consider that his white headband has the same effect?

These images are from an ESPN3 story about LeBron's "Q" rating, or his likeability to the general public.

That team name, "Heat", always was a little too convenient. I mean, a flaming basketball. Yea. Let's play some 21 in Hell. Make-it-take-it.

"Heat" is only a little better than the name it beat out in a contest: The Miami Vice. Imagine those headlines:

Vice On A Winning Streak.

Vice Win it All.

"The Vice" would have eventually been reconsidered and changed. Maybe. At one time, people got vocally righteous about removing the old Washington, D.C. franchise name: The Bullets. And what did they change it to? THE WIZARDS! So we are okay with warlocks? Yes, we are. That's old news.

<sup>10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.

11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.

12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
(Deuteronomy 18:10-12, KJV)</sup>

There is a small movement to change the Wizards name, back to the Bullets. That may well be for the best. We now watch so many murders, and listen to such depraved music, that "Bullets" won't offend people anymore. Especially when the team plays in the White House's shadow.

Still Miles To Go

It's going to be hard for the typical LeBron-hater to keep that lump out of his throat. That's if the Miami Heat continue in the playoffs as they are.

Philadelphia put up as much fight as they could, but the Heat waxed them in the first round, four games to one. Fans and analysts tried to poke at LeBron and Dwyane Wade that week. It wasn't easy to criticize.

The NBA Playoffs are strange, as are all postseasons in all sports. Usually it's because of TV contracts. Games get spaced out by three, four, or even five days. Athletes lose something when their season-long routine is disrupted. In baseball it's very evident, because up until the playoffs, the players are working nearly every day. Even the viewer can see that the alignment is off, so obviously the athletes feel it.

Other than the surging Memphis Grizzlies, the Heat are the only team who seem unaffected by the schedule shifts. They have taken a 2-0 lead on the Celtics as the second round series goes back to Boston. All of them are in tune on the court and in the press room.

James and Wade stood together for a press conference before that Game 2 win, saying that being on the dais together saved time. But it was an unspoken message about their current solidarity. "Our job is to bring out the best in each other," Wade said.

That is bad news for those who hated this so-called super team from day one. The guard is changing.