FRI Journal Entry 13

The 1997 NBA Finals was the concluding series of the 1997 NBA Playoffs that determined the champion of the 1996–97 NBA season. The Utah Jazz of the Western Conference took on the Chicago Bulls of the Eastern Conference for the title, with the Bulls holding home court advantage. The series was played under a best-of-seven format, with the first 2 games in Chicago, the next 3 games in Salt Lake City, and the last 2 games in Chicago. The Bulls ended up winning the series 4-2 against the unprepared Utah Jazz. The Jazz weren’t ready for Jordan’s outstanding performance that will be forever unforgettable. The Bulls on the other hand basically had nothing to worry about after gaining the lead in the series, because they had already got into the Jazz’s heads, making them regretting making the Finals after they got embarrassed.

WED Journal Entry 13

The 1998 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1998 playoffs of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the conclusion of the 1997–98 NBA season. The Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls played against the Western Conference champion Utah Jazz, with the Jazz holding home-court advantage with the first 2 games in Salt Lake City. In a repeat of the previous year’s Finals, the Bulls won the series 4 games to 2 for their third consecutive NBA title and their sixth in eight seasons. In the series, Michael Jordan won MVP (Most Valuable Player) of the finals. Over the years, he previously had six NBA championship appearances and also had been voted MVP of the league for six straight seasons. What I thought about the series was that the Jazz weren’t prepared for Jordan’s wrath. Especially when he’s on a streak, later on making history about what miracles he had performed or pulled off.

FRI Journal Entry 12

The 1999 NBA Finals was the championship round of the shortened 1998–99 NBA season or the 1999 season. The San Antonio Spurs of the Western Conference took on the New York Knicks of the Eastern Conference for the title, with the Spurs holding home court advantage. The series was played under a best-of-seven format, with the first team to collect four game victories winning the series. As of 2016, this is the last NBA Finals where neither team scored 100 or more points in any game during the series. What I thought about the series was that Gregg had his team organized and prepared to play against the New York Knicks. The New York mothafuckin Knicks had came into the series thinking that they had luck, since they were the eighth seed making the Finals from the east. The Spurs on the other hand were disciplined, even though they were first seeded, they were well coordinated.

FRI Journal Entry 11

The 2000 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1999–2000 National Basketball Association season. The Los Angeles Lakers of the Western Conference took on the Indiana Pacers of the Eastern Conference for the title. The series was played under a best-of-seven format, with the Lakers holding home court advantage. The Los Angeles Lakers ended up winning the finals 4 games to 2 against the Indiana Pacers. What I thought about the series was that Larry bird and his Pacers weren’t prepared for Phil Jackson along with his team, including some of the greatest, well known basketball players of all time like Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal and Derek Fisher. In the series, it was said that Shaquille O’Neal had won the MVP of the NBA Finals. But as of the games, the Pacers had little to know that, the Lakers were coming for them and there was no way of stopping it from happening.

WED Journal Entry 12

The 2001 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 2000–01 National Basketball Association season. The Los Angeles Lakers of the Western Conference took on the Philadelphia 76ers of the Eastern Conference for the title, with the Lakers holding home-court advantage in a best-of-seven format. The Los Angeles Lakers ended up winning the series with an outcome of 4 games to 1 against the Philadelphia 76ers. What I thought about the series was that Allen Iverson was too small to carry his team on his back to try and win the finals. The Sixers won the game 1 but afterwards, they could not stop the 3 point shooting from the Lakers which was a key factor in the series. The Sixers were badly outrebounded by the Lakers, so that was another way or reason why the Sixers didn’t come close to winning the finals. So the Lakers owned or punished the Sixers because of basically their matchups.

WED Journal Entry 11

The 2002 NBA Finals was the National Basketball Association championship series for the 2001 to 2002 season. The best-of-seven playoff was contested between the Los Angeles Lakers, champions of the Western Conference and two-time defending NBA champions, and the New Jersey Nets, champions of the Eastern Conference. The Lakers swept the Nets four games to none to win the championship. What I thought about the series was that, the Lakers showed more effort than the Nets. The Nets had a little fight in them, from the scores and the outcomes of each game, but it wasn’t good enough to make a statement, it wasn’t good enough to change the series around for them into a dominative outcome. Almost every game, the scores were close. Maybe, the Nets were just too over confident when they came into game 1 of the series of the Finals, since they were two-time defending NBA champions to the years prior. And after the outcome had been set for the first game, the Nets were most likely stunned and there probably could have been a chance where they had lost their confidence during the series of games.

WED Journal Entry 10

The 2003 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 2002–03 NBA season. The San Antonio Spurs of the Western Conference took on the New Jersey Nets of the Eastern Conference for the title, with the Spurs holding home court advantage. The series was played under a best-of-seven format. But as always only the smarter, and better talented, well prepared team wins it all, the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs had whooped on the Nets defeating them, 4 games to 2 in the historical games of the 2003 NBA Finals. What I thought about the whole series recap was that, the Nets only two wins of the series, were close enough to make the Spurs have a chance to beat them if there was a little more time spared on the clock, barely beating them by a small deficit. On the other hand, the Spurs outcomes of their wins was that, they were more than a 10 point deficit. This also had meant that the Spurs had came ready to play and that the Nets had showed up to the Finals unprepared.

FRI Journal Entry 10

The 2004 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 2003–04 National Basketball Association season. The Finals were between the Los Angeles Lakers of the Western Conference and the Detroit Pistons of the Eastern Conference, with the Lakers having the home court advantage. The Lakers of the Western Conference defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Pistons defeated the Indiana Pacers to advance to the Finals. As of the series of games, the Pistons had easily came out on top, defeating their opponent, the Los Angeles Lakers, 4 games to 1 in 5 games. My personal thoughts about both teams was that the Pistons had outmatched the Lakers even though, the Lakers had home court advantage. The Pistons did not care where or when they played, they had just showed up to play against their opponent, the Lakers in one of the biggest, greatest matchups at the time, in NBA Finals history.

WED Journal Entry 9

The 2005 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 2004–05 National Basketball Association season. The San Antonio Spurs of the Western Conference faced the Detroit Pistons of the Eastern Conference for the title, with the Spurs holding home court advantage and the Pistons as defending champions. The series was played under a best-of-seven format. The Spurs won the series four games to three in the first NBA Finals to go to a Game 7 since 1994. All in all, the Spurs had came prepared to play against the Pistons, ready for the last big moments of their season. The Pistons like any other team that had made it to the finals and came in second, the years prior, had most likely made errors or mistakes in which the other, experienced team had capitalized on, to take a step forward, going ahead of their opponent, making the move that determined who’s the better team.

FRI Journal Entry 9

The 2006 NBA Finals was the championship series of the 2005–06 National Basketball Association season. The Miami Heat won the title in six games over the Dallas Mavericks, becoming the third team, after the 1969 Celtics and the 1977 Trail Blazers, to win a championship after trailing 0–2 in the series against the Mavericks. Miami Heat shooting guard, Dwayne Wade had won the Most Valuable Player award, (MVP), of the series. My thoughts about the series was that the Heat had showed much effort to come back in the series and play to their fullest potential to beat the Mavericks. After the Mavericks had taken the lead 2-0 in the series, they kind of just laid back and didn’t play with much effort. So when teams go to that point, of which they become overconfident with their game, then the other team most likely will surprise them and make a move on their bad mistakes.