At one minute past midnight, EST, the free trade party opens up. There are tons of rumors flying around. We don’t expect there to be a flurry of action right off, but there are definitely lots of deals in the works. Around the NBA world, many are talking about a possible deal that would send Allen Iverson out of Philadelphia. To where and for what, no one knows yet. A deal of that magnitude would send aftershocks around the 76er fan world.

The NBA draft went down today in New York. There were a couple minor surprises, but everything went somewhat as planned. For me, the most shocking selection was number 10 Seattle. Here are the top 15 picks from the 2006 NBA draft.

On Wednesday, the 2006 NBA draft is going down. Rumors are flying left and right before the big day. One player’s stock that’s rising is Adam Morrison. It sure doesn’t hurt to have your name thrown all over ESPN. Yesterday, they aired an interview with him and talked about him throughout the day. He’s expected, especially now, to go fairly high. Originally it was thought he would go in the top 10, now he might be in the top 3.

The Miami Heat have stunned the Dallas Mavericks and those watching the NBA Finals. For the Mavericks, the world is spinning out of control. They have went from a few minutes of taking a commanding 3-0 lead in the NBA Finals to being down 3-2 and facing elimination in a few shorts days. The Heat have played very well at home and with the game layout, if you can play well at home and are the underdog, you have a shot. Those three games at home in a row can kill the favorite.

Has anyone seen the Mavericks lately? I sure did not see them last night. I heard one analyst say the Mavericks were wearing “skirts” out there and I can’t disagree. The Mavericks were a total disgrace. This series is starting to remind me of the magical season for the Red Sox when they pulled off one of the greatest comebacks, against the Yankees no less, in sports history.

The Miami Heat are looking to tie the series in tonight’s game 4 of the NBA Finals. In game 3, they staged one of the greatest comebacks in NBA playoff history. The Dallas Mavericks let off the gas pedal in the fourth and the Heat came storming back. Around halfway through, the Heat had a big lead and most people probably turned off their televisions to watch something else.

Last night’s game 3 of the NBA Finals was very exciting. I must admit that a few minutes into the fourth quarter I dozed off. Miami was showing absolutely no ability to win. It looked like they were really laboring out there, while Dallas was effortlessly going up and down the court. That all changed in the second part of the quarter. Dallas started to miss shots and make mistakes, while the Heat entered the zone of perfection.

Tonight’s game 3 of the NBA Finals is pressure filled. The Heat finally come back home to try and get their first win on the board. If they lose tonight, this series is basically over. They don’t look like a team that can win four straight, which would include two games on the road at Dallas. Dallas on the other hand looks like a team following their destiny. They are up 2-0 in the series and have made the Heat, especially Shaq, look absolutely foolish.

Yesterday the Dallas Mavericks took game two of the NBA Finals 99-85. While game two featured a little more scoring, it was still fairly sloppy. It looks like the Dallas Mavericks have figured out the Miami Heat. In both games, the Heat went through periods of complete meltdowns. Shaq has not been a factor and Dwyane Wade isn’t providing a huge spark as was expected.

Game two of the NBA Finals is later tonight at 9:00 pm EST. The Dallas Mavericks find themselves in the envious position of being up 1-0 in the series and playing at home for game 2. Game one was a complete disaster for the Miami Heat and they must improve dramatically tonight or they will be down two games. The Mavericks need to keep moving along and step up their defense a little more. If not for the Heat meltdown, Miami would be up 1-0 in the series.

Game one of the NBA finals was, in my opinion, boring and full of poor play. How do you shoot 70% in a quarter and go into half time down by 2? How do you lose a 10-12 point lead to a team that is shooting poorly? If this series is going to be like game one, I say no thanks. The Mavericks won the poorly played event 90-80 (170 total points). I could not decide if I should keep watching or go read my dictionary. In fact, if it were not for the fact that I had to write about the game, the dictionary would have won.

Tonight is the night—finally. The NBA Finals between the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat in Dallas tips off at 9:00 pm EST. At last look, the Mavericks were a -5.5 point favorite and the under/over was 193. The series price is very respectable at -165 for the Mavericks and +145 for the Heat. If you hate spreads, there’s always the money line. Right now, the Mavericks are -240 on the money line and the Heat are +200. Those that believe in the Heat might like the two for 1 action instead of the points.

The NBA Finals are almost here. Tomorrow will start the series between the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat. One of these teams will be crowned NBA Champion for the first time in their franchise’s history. In fact, they will be just the 8th team to win an NBA title in the past 25 years. Both teams have players that should be able to run unchecked.

The NBA Draft is just around the corner. It will take place at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, June 28th. While this year’s draft lacks the excitement of a mega-star like LeBron James, there are some players in the draft that could become solid contributors at the NBA level. Where is your favorite team drafting? Today, we are going to look at the draft order. The pressure is on Toronto who drew the coveted number one selection in the upcoming NBA draft. While everyone wants that first selection, no one wants to select a dud. Here’s the order of selection.

This year’s NBA Finals features two NBA teams that are here for the first time in the history of their franchises. The Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks will go at it starting on June 8th. One thing is for sure, one of these teams will be a happy first-time winner. The comment by Shaq when he was brought to Miami continues to loom large. This is going to be perhaps the Heat’s best shot at bringing home an NBA championship.

There will be no game seven in Detroit this season. For the first time in franchise history the Miami Heat are going to the NBA finals. Yesterday’s game six was pretty lackluster for the Pistons who looked like they were still packing in Detroit. Heat star Wade was playing with the flu, but you would not know it. The hunger and desire of the Heat was evident as they were ferocious in every aspect of the game.

The Dallas Mavericks are looking to close out the Western Conference Finals tonight when they take on the Suns in Phoenix. Dallas leads the series 3-2. In game five, the Mavs were able to regain control of the game flow and they won by a landslide. Looking at the trends of this series, the Suns should come out on top and force a game seven.

Game five of the Western Conference Finals went to Dallas. The game ended up being a blow out, but it was closer than the score shows. The game did not get out of hand until the closing minutes of the forth quarter. In fact, Phoenix led by 7 at one point in the second half. Dallas pulled out the game, because they were able to regain control of the pace late in the second half.

Tonight the Phoenix Suns and the Dallas Mavericks meet in Dallas to break the series tie, which stands at two games apiece. In game four, the Phoenix Suns controlled the tempo of the game and the Dallas Mavericks simply looked stunned. It was not a high scoring affair per se, but it was definitely an increase in pace. Phoenix ended up blowing out Dallas by twenty, 106-86. The fact that Dallas only scored 86 is a little suspect, because Phoenix does not have a rock solid defense. The game was in Phoenix and the Mavs may have been a little off—or perhaps resting.

Last night the Detroit Pistons were facing elimination in game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals in Detroit. They definitely came to play and to prove that they were a championship caliber team. The Heat never appeared in the game really. It appeared as if they were not giving a full effort. While the Pistons won, they did not necessarily have stellar performances from all key players. It’s almost as if Miami came out hoping Detroit would be down and over play so they could steal one.