The Mavs Brought Their Talents to South Beach, And Won an NBA Championship!!

I'm not going to talk too much about the Dallas Mavericks winning the NBA Championships and try to depict how their fans must be feeling.  I'm going to leave that up to my #1 Dallas Mavericks' Fan, The Professor, as his words will paint a much better picture of the raw emotion he and the rest of the Dallas Mavericks' fans are probably feeling right now.  I'm anticipating a very eloquent and poetic blog from him.  I'll wait with anticipation to read it and should you guys.  Check it out along with his other fantastic post Here. 

Just some quick highlights about what we learned from this NBA Finals. 

1.  This was an awesome NBA Finals!!!  This is what the NBA exactly needed.  I think the NBA was getting a little complaisant and it needed something to energize its fan base.  Yeah last summer's free agency got a lot a hype and pub, but this NBA Finals really re-energized the NBA juices for a lot of people, including this blogger.  It reminded us that NBA basketball really is a great game and great sport to watch.  Every game of this NBA Finals was so captivating and exciting that I really think the NBA added to their fan base, converting a lot of casual NBA fans too real followers now.  Now if they can only settle the upcoming labor issues with the expiring CBA, they can really grow as a sport.

2.  Dirk is a baller!!!  Dirk Nowitzki really established himself amongst the NBA's elite with his performance in this NBA Finals.  Before this series, Dirk was always thought of as a very good player, but no one was ever ga-ga over him.  Everyone knew his game and knew what he was capable of, but that didn't include leading his team to the NBA Finals, much less actually winning it.  He was always thought of as a "1A" type player, meaning that for Dallas to go any further than they already have, they would need a superstar to be their #1 player, with Dirk as a "1A" type player.  Dirk silenced those critics and has started a new debate; where do we put him among the NBA's greatest.  Mark Jackson at the end of the game said that Dirk now belongs among the top 20 greatest players of all-time.  Can we argue with him after this NBA Finals???

3.  Chris Bosh must be the greatest BFF in the world!!!  Everyone knew that LeBron and D-Wade were close friends and during last summer's free agency period, it would be that friendship that would ultimately bring LeBron to Miami.  But Chris Bosh??  Really??  Bosh was a nice player in Toronto and would demand a high paying contract due to the market value.  No one really knew where Bosh would land, but when talks started to surface that he would go wherever LeBron and D-Wade landed and join them as a package deal, that made heads scratch.  That came out of deep left field.  We all knew that they were drafted in the same draft class and knew each other, but for him to be lumped in with LeBron and D-Wade to form the new Ross, Chandler, and Joey was beyond me.  There is a saying that if you are not the smartest guy in the room, surround yourself with the smartest people in the room so that they make you look like you are the smartest.  Somehow, Bosh was able to do this with LeBron and D-Wade.  Maybe a better example is the last line of the movie "The Usual Suspects" when Verbal Kent says, "The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist."  Well, not to say that Chris Bosh is the devil, but that may now be the second greatest trick ever pulled, after what Bosh was able to pull on LeBron, D-Wade, and the rest of the Miami Heat; convincing them that he was needed to win an NBA Championship.   

4.  Who is LeBron???  LeBron is not who we thought he was.  I did my previous blog post on this topic so I'm not going to continue to pile on the man, but he really changed a lot of peoples perception of him as a player with his performance in these Finals, especially with his play in the 4th quarter and crunch time.  If LeBron had any semblance of a 4th quarter in Games 2,4, and 5, then Miami would already be crowned the champions. But he didn't, and now the Heat are the first losers of the NBA.  Listen, LeBron is a freakish athlete.  He is the most gifted athlete in the game right now.  But when you bring upon yourself the attention that LeBron has, you are expected to produce like a superstar and the best player in the game in crunch time.  If it's personal or mental with him and something was getting to him to cause these lapses in the 4th quarter and crunch time, you need to bring me something more than that. The best player in the game can't use that as an excuse.  Mental shutdowns can't occur.  What do you do during winning time??  That's what differentiate a good player from a superstar.  A superstar wants to be on the foul line for the game winning free throws.  A superstar wants the ball in his hands for that last shot.  A good player, defers to the superstar.

5.  The littlest guys on the court always have the biggest hearts!!!  I'm going to let the play of Jason Terry and JJ Barea speak for themselves.  I'll only say that I have a new found respect for Jason "JET" Terry.  Who gets a tattoo of the Larry O'Brien trophy on their right bicep before the season started and then goes on to actually win it?  Heart!!!  JJ Barea, all 6'0" of him (measured probably while wearing stilettos) was always near the ball and or on the ground fighting for it.  Heart baby!!!

6.  GO BEARS!!!  J.Kidd finally got his ring!!!  Cal Bears unite!!!  Top 3 greatest PG of all-time.  Second all-time in assist, third all-time in steals, and the most impressive stats, third all-time in three-pointers made.  THIRD ALL-TIME IN THREE POINTERS MADE!!!  This coming from a guy who used to be called "ason Kidd" because he had no "J".  A triple-double threat on any given night.  Great player to watch.

7.  Mavs in 6, what a call!!!  Proof, Memorial Day (May 31st), Rick Mizuno present.  Dialog:
Rick:  What's your prediction for the NBA Finals??
Mr. Armchair:  Mavs in 6.
Rick:  Really, how so??
Mr. Armchair:  Well, the Mavs will win one in Miami, most likely Game 2 (bing), then they will go home to Dallas to win 2 of 3 there (bing), and then judging by how well they play on the road, and knowing that they can't let the series go to a Game 7, the Mavs will win Game 6 (BING!!!!) to win the championship.

To be fair, I wasn't too confident in that prediction and told him that I wouldn't put too much money on that.  But hey, why make predictions if you are not going to gloat about it when you get it right.

8.  Validation prevails!!!  Before these NBA Finals started I wrote a piece about how I would be rooting for the Dallas Mavericks because I believe that when you have no rooting interest in any of the teams involved, then you should root for the validation of the careers of veterans.  Now, Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, and Jason Terry's careers are now validated by them winning an NBA Championship. 

 
That is all I have for you.  Congratulations again to the Dallas Mavericks players and organization, my friend and fellow blogger The Professor (again check out his blog Here), and the rest of the Dallas Mavericks' fans out there who are celebrating their NBA Championship.  The Mavs brought their talents to South Beach, and won an NBA Championship.


Mr. Armchair Speaking