NBA Finals Preview

An interesting NBA Finals begins tonight as we see if the Heat can fulfill it's promise to bring championships to South Beach, while a group of old vets lead Dallas into the Finals with likely their last legitimate run to an NBA title. What makes the Dallas run so compelling is that no one has won before, aside from Rick Carlisle's title with Boston as a player. They also have Dirk Nowitzki, looking to vanquish demons from his last Finals appearance, against the Heat, along with Jason Terry, the other holdover from the 2006 Mavs team. Jason Kidd looks to erase his two title losses with the Nets, Peja Stojakovic looks to right a wrong from the 2002 Western Conference Finals and Shawn Marion will do the same after losses to the Spurs in the mid-2000s.

As for Miami, Dwyane Wade looks for his second title, while LeBron James tries to start making Scottie Pippen right (which he never could) about being a greater player than Michael Jordan. You can't even attempt to argue that until LeBron wins a title. Not when you're dealing with Jordan, who's competitive fire is greater than almost every superstar in history (probably just Russell is in the group, with Kobe a level below). The story for the Heat won't be their other guys, but if Chris Bosh continues to play at the level he showed against the Bulls, if Wade can make up for a weak (for him) series on offense and if LeBron can maintain the ruthlessness he demonstrated since Game 4 against the Celtics.

The matchup itself will be fun, as we'll wonder if Dirk or LeBron will be held by anyone. My guess; no one holds LeBron, while Dallas will survive the games which Dirk is hitting his shots no matter who's guarding him. After those two, it will be seen if the Mavs can hit from the perimeter, negating the Heat's advantage in halfcourt defense.

Prediction: Mavs in 6

No Country For Old Men

Kevin Durant just hit a three. He got that three after Nick Collison got another effort offensive rebound which the Oklahoma City Thunder were doing great all night at doing. The Dallas Mavericks called a timeout, but with five minutes left, they were down 15 and we were headed to Dallas tied at 2.


The next possession, James Harden fouled Shawn Marion and that was the game for him. I don't think anyone knew that was also the game for the Thunder.


What took place was perhaps the defining games for the old men carrying the Mavs into this series and those old men (particularly Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Jason Terry and Marion) carried the Mavs back in this game and ultimately into victory. It started with Dirk on offense, who matched and exceeded his remarkable play from Game 1 with killer shot after killer shot and made the two big free throws at the end of regulation.


However, it wouldn't be fair to give Dirk all the credit for this win. Kidd and Marion played defense like they did 5 years ago. Now, let's be fair on one thing, OKC didn't play offense well at all. They had no clue what they were doing. This allowed Kidd and Marion wreck havoc with effort plays. Both men had the key plays in the game; Marion blocks Durant's winning attempt at the end of regulation (Two points; first, that was one of the worst possessions ever in a game winning situation. Secondly, heads up by Kidd to call timeout to set up a last shot for the Mavs, even if it didn't go in) and Kidd's killer three with 40 seconds left in overtime. That whole sequence encapsulated this game from Dallas as Kidd and Marion force a turnover by Durant, ball finds Dirk who makes move after move on Nick Collison and instead of shooting, kicks out to Kidd, who nails the three. I mentioned Terry, while not having a big night, kept doing little things, like making a jumper in the OT as the Mavs offense stagnated, hustling to a loose ball, which Russell Westbrook stupidly played out of bounds and wasted 4 seconds before calmly sinking two free throws to ice the game.


The series moves back to Dallas and the Mavs are a win away from returning to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2006, which they blew a game just like this and it began to end the series for them. This year's playoff run has essentially been a final run of sorts for a Mavs team that is getting older in a league that's getting younger and younger. The Thunder are the embodiment of the direction the league is heading, yet the Mavs continue to grind out wins. And with Dirk playing basketball with an edge we only saw once (the 2006 playoffs until Game 2 of the Finals), the commitment to defense and the deepest team left in the playoffs, there's a good chance they can grind out the five wins necessary to win a title, final piece in the careers of the vets of the Dallas Mavericks.