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^He fell just a single point shy of double figures on 3-5 from the great beyond.  My guy is stepping up HUGE right now; I’m talkin’ 62.5 percent from three on the series.  What’s, say, LeBron James shooting, you ask?  41.6 percent.  Not only that, Stevenson is actually shooting better than LeBron is from the field as well.  DeShawn Stevenson for Finals MVP?  If the award was based on what it should be–three-point shooting efficiency and degree of SWAG–then it wouldn’t even seem so farfetched, would it?

Speaking of SWAG, LeBron, Dwyane, and the rest of the Heat were kind of stylin’ on the Mavs… and yes, the Mavs got mad.  It began early…

…and occurred often…

…and eventually resulted in a 15-point Heat advantage with about seven minutes to go in the fourth.  Said 15-point advantage was taken on this Dwyane Wade three-ball, corner pocket…

Had Miami won this game, and gone on to win the series, this would be one of those shots that you’d be seeing for the next 50 years.  The dude had his arms up before the ball went through the basket on some sort of prime Gilbert Arenas swag.  Said Jason Terry: “It really was disheartening to us … [I] looked specifically at Dirk and said, ‘There’s no way we’re going out like this.’”

I believe it was some time around this point that ABC’s camera panned the crowd and paused on Steve Nash.  I chose to include this seemingly unimportant detail for one reason, and one reason only.  See if you can figure out what that reason is by looking at the screenshot below.

For the beasts: her name is Brittany Richardson.  You’re welcome.

Where was I… oh yeah; Dallas was down 15 with under eight minutes to go, looking like they were about to fall into an 0-2 hole that would’ve had me declaring the Miami Heat the 2010/11 NBA Champions.  Meanwhile, as you likely observed in the video of D-Wade’s triple, the Heat (mostly LeBron and Wade) were celebrating as if my declaration had already come true.  This is pretty much what last night’s second half looked like up until, oh, about 3:54…

…that’s when Jason Kidd hit a three-pointer that took it from a seemingly-safe nine-point lead to a very-much-in-danger six-point lead.

Dallas then turned the defense up a notch, resulting in five missed jumpshots and a pair of turnovers.  The driving and dunking and fist pumping and chest bumping had come to a screeching hault, and Miami found themselves trailing by three after this cold-blooded J by none other than Dirk Nowitzki…

He was WIDE open.  Normally, I’d blame this on the defender.  I mean, you can’t let a guy like Dirk get that open… you just can’t.  However, I can’t really blame Chris Bosh here.  Why?  Because this was simply a perfectly executed play by the Dallas Mavericks.  Dirk and Chandler both acted as screeners for Jason Terry, causing Miami’s D to scramble a little bit.  Chandler then turned and screened for Nowitzki, who had created seperation from Bosh in the comotion.  Tyson created a human wall in front of Bosh that would’ve required him to foul in order to contest the shot.  The only thing worse than letting Dirk get wide open would’ve been to foul somebody.

So… Dallas up three with 26.7 seconds to go… they’ve won, right?  I mean, Miami has clunked like six or seven shots in a row, and their seemingly invincible momentum has been torn to shreds.  Had Jason Terry not had the mental meltdown of his life, this game probably would’ve been over.

So, JET, with a three-point lead, you stop chasing Mario Chalmers to stand behind Chris Bosh at the foul line?  Why?  I have no idea what he was thinking… it looks like he was focused on trying to keep Dwyane Wade, who had 36 points, from receiving the inbound pass, but even that is no reason to leave a shooter all alone.  It’s fitting that he got burned on this one.

After calling Terry a f@ckhead in the timeout (said Dirk on his discussion with Terry: “I’m sure there was a little cussing involved.”), Nowitzki decided to take matters into his own hands.  As he has all postseason long, he delivered.

I know what you’re thinking: Chris Bosh, how in the hell do you allow him to get to the rim so easily?  Before you go throwing the Dinosaur under the bus, though, hold on just a damn second.  Raise your hand if you were 100% sure Dirk Nowitki was about to shoot his signature fading jumper.  Ok, now stop hating Chris Bosh and be honest.  I’m rasing my hand, and I would think any reader who’s ever seen Dirk Nowitzki play basketball before is too.  Dirk was clearly trying to create space for his one-legged J–he backed Bosh down as he always backs a dude down to set up for the mind-boggling shot that seems to go in about 89.7 percent of the time–but Bosh didn’t allow it.  Dirk then took what the defense gave him, which in this case was a lane to the basket, and finished the play.  Normally, I’d be all over Chris Bosh for allowing the lane to the basket, but this is Dirk Nowitzki we’re talking about here.  He has proven time and time again that you can NOT allow him space to get that jumper off.  I’d rather have him driving to the hole than shooting one of those… you may as well count the two if it isn’t blocked (it never is).  I put this sh!t on Udonis Haslem more than I do Chris Bosh.  Haslem was waaaay too slow on the help, and allowed Tyson Chandler to bump him away from the basket as he tried to block the shot.  Anyway, forget the defense… this was more about Dirk being a great player than it was about a defensive failure.  Dirk was denied his number one option, so he took exactly what he was given.  Great players can make those kind of adjustments, even when they’re sitting on some not-so-stellar 9-21 shooting.

Fun fact: the Mavericks have now rallied from a deficit of 12 or more in each series of these playoffs.  From notorious choke artists to cold-blooded crunch-time killers, the Mavs have come a long way.

All the talk about game one from a Dallas perspective was regarding the monsterous rebounding defecit.  I spoke mainly on the fact that their bench was out-scored by Miami’s.  They took care of both of those issues on this night… so why were they still down 15 in the fourth?  Well, as you probably gathered from all of those highlights, they were turning the ball over a lot (Miami had FIFTEEN steals in this game).  Turning the ball over will kill you against the Miami Heat.  You absolutely cannot allow them to get out in transition.  In order to beat the Heat, you have to make them work for their points.  Dallas wasn’t getting that done early on (The ease of Miami’s scores can be summed up by this funny from Jeff Van Gundy: “Chris Bosh had a dream that he was guarded by Peja Stojakovic.”).  D-Wade had 21 points of his own in the first half alone, and even though Miami was actually trailing by the time the break came along, I knew they’d go up big if the game continued the way it was going.

Even though Dallas made an incredible comeback to win this game, I’m still concerned if I’m a Mavs fan.  The Heat have gotten better looks overall for two consecutive games now.  Dallas did step their D up at the end, but they needed a little luck as well.  Had Miami made just one of those… however many jumpers they clunked in the last four minutes?  They probably hold on.  I also thought Miami settled for some shots they didn’t even have to settle for.  They started playing the shotclock a bit down the stretch, which proved to be a fatal error.  Their biggest mistake was playing/acting as if this thing was in the bag… and I highly doubt they’ll make it again.  They’ve got to be at least a little embarrassed… I mean, the only thing worse than gettin’ styled on is stylin’ on someone and then FAILing at the last second.  That’s why you must use caution when stylin’ on a dude like Dirk Nowitzki.  He’ll make you pay.  Dirk only went for 24 in this game, but he was the best player on the floor in the second half of the fourth quarter.  Thus far, I’d have to say he’s the Finals MVP (sorry, DeShawn).  Props to Tyson Chandler and Shawn Marion for stepping up and combining for 33/15.  Those two were kinda the goats of game one, but they were huge for Dallas in game two.

NBA247365.COM educational moment: how to call for a lob, featuring Chris Bosh:

Move over Luke Ridnour (oh, and you too, Jonny Flynn)!  The Spanish wonderkid is on his way to the NBA!  Via Yahoo! Sports…

After two years of waiting, flamboyant Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio(notes) has agreed to join the Minnesota Timberwolves for the 2011-12 season, league sources told Yahoo! Sports on Wednesday night.

Rubio reached a deal on Tuesday, sources said.

Rubio, the fifth pick in the 2009 NBA draft, has been playing for Regal Barcelona of the Spanish ACB League for the past two seasons. It’s likely that the deal won’t be announced until Rubio, 20, finishes his season in the Euroleague playoffs later this month.

He’s expected to immediately contend for the Wolves’ starting point guard job, and team general manager David Kahn plans for the point guard to be a cornerstone of Minnesota’s future.

Once considered one of the world’s most spectacular young amateurs, Rubio’s meteoric rise has cooled considerably the past two seasons with Regal Barcelona, although scouts believe he’ll benefit from joining a more wide open NBA game. Nevertheless, Rubio has averaged 6.5 points and 3.2 assists in 20 regular-season Euroleague games. A foot injury slowed him this season.

Rubio nearly agreed to join the Wolves in 2009, but the burden of a $6 million buyout on his contract kept him in Europe for two more seasons.

Rubio turned pro as a 14-year-old in Spain, and became one of Europe’s most hyped young players ever.

For Rubio to be paid under the current rookie wage scale, he had a deadline of Tuesday to reach an agreement with Minnesota. This would guarantee Rubio a nearly $3.5 million rookie salary as the fifth pick, and prevent him from losing future earnings should the league and union eventually agree on a more restrictive rookie wage scale.

Dan Barreiro of KFAN radio in Minneapolis also reported the agreement.

Six points and three assists?  Heh… maybe Luke and Jonny will be all set.  I probably shouldn’t even comment as this is really outside of my field of expertise.  I haven’t followed Rubio’s progress in whatever the hell league he has been playing in, and I never knew a whole lot about him even around the time of the ’09 draft.  I’ve watched some of his highlights on Youtube…

…in which he displays great ball handling ability, passing skills, and court vision, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a clip of the dude pulling up and hitting a jumper off the dribble.  Now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a clip of the guy hitting any type of shot other than a long-range heave or a layup.  He also looks like he could get pushed around by a lot of NBA PGs, and for whatever reason, I’m just not convinced that all the sh!t in that video will work on the highest level.  I see a lot of flash, but the numbers don’t indicate a whole helluvalot of substance.  I hope it translates; there will never be another Jason Williams, but Rubio looks like he could kinda-sorta come close.

Well, folks… it appears that after 19 NBA seasons The Diesel has finally run out of fuel.  Via ESPN.COM…

ORLANDO, Fla. — Shaquille O’Neal, the man with four rings, 28,596 career points and scores of nicknames, has finally decided to call it quits, ending one of the most colorful careers in NBA history that will surely culminate with a Hall of Fame induction.

O’Neal, 39, officially announced his retirement Wednesday using the new social media tool Tout, a real-time video messaging service to announce to fans: “We did it. Nineteen years baby. I want to thank you very much, that’s why I’m telling you first, I’m about to retire. Love you, talk to you soon.”

This news took me by surprise, and saddens me a little bit.  Even though it would be generous to call him a shell of his former self, and he struggled to make it through the season, Shaq is one of those guys that it’s hard to imagine the NBA without.  He could still entertain on the court due to his sheer size and power (unmatched in the history of the game), and he’ll never be too old to entertain with his off-court antics.  Shaq is a genuinely funny guy.  He doesn’t have to force it or make it awkward…cough…DWIGHT HOWARD…cough…and I’ll genuinely miss his presence in the league, as I’m sure pretty much everyone else will.  He may not be able to run and jump like he used to, but he was still good for some pretty consistent low-post offense and his share of hilarious quotations.  We’ll miss you, Shaq! 

I wonder what the real Superman has up his sleeve for his post-basketball career?  You know he’s gonna be doing something on TV… the dude is almost as great an entertainer as he is a basketball player.  My suggestion: join the TNT crew on Inside the NBA.  Shaq and Charles Barkley?  That sh!t would be priceless.

My favorite Shaq moment?  It’s got to be…

Classic.  Enjoy the rest of your life, Shaq!  Fun fact: Kurt Thomas is now the NBA’s oldest player.  Fun Fact: Kurt Thomas’ wife does not look like Hoopz.  You’re a bastard, Shaq.

My main man DeShawn Stevenson lived up to the hype of my t-shirt with six big ones on 2-3 from downtown, but he didn’t get enough help from his teammates as the Mavs shot 37 percent and fell to LeBron (24/9/5) and the Heat 92-84.  Despite ‘Bron’s team-leading point total, I thought DeShawn did a pretty solid job on defense as well.  LBJ did much of his damage from the outside (4-5 from three, also hit some tough jumpers), and there isn’t a damn thing anyone can do about that–not even the great DeShawn Stevenson.

Before I say anything more about this game, you should take five minutes of your day and dedicate them to watching the following masterpiece…

Yes, I’m aware that it was only just over two minutes long, but I figured you’d want to see it twice.

Moving right along… my first note says “atmosphere not that great.”  I guess that’s no surprise seeing as I’m never impressed by Heat fans; they’re kind of like Laker fans… there to be seen, not heard.  Also, these t-shirt give aways need to stop.  Unless you have some epic slogan like the Warriors did back in ’07, just stop it.  It’s being overdone. 

The fact that this game began with 15 of 19 shots being missed probably contributed to the dull atmosphere.  Credit Chris Bosh for stepping up on the glass.  CB was all over the offensive boards early on, and collected five of them on the night.  He only scored 19 points on 18 shots, but I felt like he was a big reason why Miami had the momentum from the start.  Dallas is going to have to hit the glass much harder if they plan to win this series… which I actually don’t feel that they’re capable of doing anymore.  Why am I panicking after one road L if I’m a Mavs fan?  Well, for a few reasons I guess.  Firstly, I don’t think the Mavs have enough offense to beat this team.  The Heat showed that they can contain Dirk (yes, 27 points is containing Dirk right now) by sending double teams early and often, as well as a variety of more-than-solid defenders his way.  These early doubles are going to be very effective because Dallas starts four players who are essentially inept when it comes to scoring the ball.  Jason Kidd banged in a few threes in the first half, but you’ll live and die with that.  The same can be said about my dude DeShawn Stevenson, as well as Shawn Marion… if those dudes are gonna burn you, you just take the L.  Dallas does have a lot of firepower coming off the bench (which does not include Brendan Haywood), but the Heat showed that they can keep them contained as well.  Their suffocating defense resulted in the toughest go of things that Jason Terry and JJ Berea have seen this postseason.  They finished up a combined 4-18, which to me is what made the biggest difference in this game.  Dallas relies very heavily on their bench for offensive production.  Guys like Berea, Terry, and Stojakovic tend to take care of business.  The Heat, on the other hand, may not get a damn thing from their bench on any given night.  Miami’s reserves out-scored Dallas’ reserves 27-17 last night (big ups to Mario Chalmers, who led the attack with 12, and Udonis Haslem, who scored seven and played great defense.  Dallas will not win a game in this series in which their bench is out-scored–I would bet my autographed Stromile Swift jersey on that.

To put that all into one sentence, I guess this game just didn’t leave me feeling confident that Dallas is going to get enough quality looks to win this series.  Miami only shot 38.8 percent themselves… but they can get away with that.  Dallas isn’t winning any series where they’re shooting sub-40 percent on the regular… and I have a feeling that this won’t be their last night of that variety.  Although guys like Peja, Berea, and Terry did miss some open ones, Miami did a great job closing out on the shooters for the most part.  Dallas is a team that moves the ball extremely well, but Miami’s D is capable of keeping up with them. 

I think Dallas is going to need to run more.  Half-court looks are simply not going to be plentiful.  The way this Miami team defends is pretty effing incredible.  Said Rick Carlisle: ”They’re a very good defensive team. …Both teams shot (below) 40%. It gives you some idea of (how) difficult good, clean shots are going to come by in this series.”

…and I think a series where good, clean shots are so hard to come by favors the Heat; don’t you?  Said Shawn Marion: “You hold a team to 38 percent shooting and 92 points, for us, that’s usually a victory.”

In the first three rounds?  Yeah, that was a victory.  Miami is a different beast, though… they can beat anybody with 92 points.  I figure many of these games won’t reach triple-digits, and that’s why I think Dallas is in a little trouble.

 Also, Dirk Nowitzki’s got a torn tendon in his finger.  Fortunately, the finger is on his left hand… but still, I’m sure it’s not gonna help. 

While LeBron did most of the offensive work early on as Dwyane Wade was continuosly being stuffed…

…it was D-Wade who closed this one out.  Wade accounted for seven of Miami’s fourth-quarter points, and while a whole crew of other guys pitched in 20, Wade created a lot of their opportunities with his three assists… the flashiest of which came on the final exclaimation point…

The previous exclaimation point…

I suppose what I should’ve said in that opening paragraph was “…as the Mavs shot 37 percent and fell to LeBron (24/9/5) and the Heat 92-84!!“ 

I suppose game one was cool and all… it was close most of the way, and the finish included some entertaining plays… but it wasn’t the battle I had hoped for down the stretch.  I want to see LeBron and Dirk attempt to match each other bucket for bucket at least a few times before this thing wraps up.  That’s the finish I’m hoping for in game two, which will be played on Thursday night.

They’re both wearing different jerseys (and numbers) now, but I figure the memories must remain… meaning that that the feelings of mutual dislike and overconfidence should still be alive and well. 

The feud is over?  Bullsh!t.  I don’t believe that sh!t for a second… as soon as the official (anyone but Joey Crawford, please?) tosses that ball up tonight at about 9:15 Eastern, you know it’s on!

I’ll be repping my main man for this bout…

Apparently, my dad ordered me this shirt a little while back.  It came in the mail just in time for the Finals!  Thank you!  And yes, it’s ok to be jealous of my SWAG.  Want to match it?  Buy one of my shirts (yes, I’m still trying); it’s the only other article of clothing that can possibly allow you to reach this level of SWAG.

The Miami Heat have knocked off the Chicago Bulls in an 83-80 comeback triumph that required yet another display of incredible clutchness from one LeBron James.  Surprised?  You shouldn’t be… I tried to tell you all season long that the man has/can/will come through and close out tight games.  He had that stretch where he struggled with some potential game-winning opportunities in the middle of the regular season, and the “what have you done for me lately?” sports world proceeded to act like he’d never done anything but clunk a long-range J in the fourth quarter, and that’s all he’d do come playoff time.  So much for that, boneheads:

There you have the game-tying and go-ahead baskets from Miami’s 19-4 run that covered the final 3:50… a run during which LeBron led the Heat with nine points… a run during which LeBron made all three of his shot attempts.  For the game?  He led the Heat in scoring (28), rebounding (11), and assits (6).  He also had three steals and swatted two shots… in a close-out game on the road.  Oh sh!t, I didn’t even mention his defense.  LeBron guarded Rose in the fourth quarter and held him to two baskets (one of which came on the first possession of the period).  The King stuffed his potential game-tying three at the buzzer, and stole the ball from the MVP with 52 seconds to go.  Rose made one incredible bucket to make it a five-point game with under two minutes to go, but even on that play he was defended extremely well.  LeBron actually forced him to spin away from the basket and shoot a one-handed push shot.  It was an example of great defense, better offense; however, LeBron’s D got the better of Rose’s O overall.  Derrick did earn himself a chance to tie the game at the stripe with 26 seconds to play, but he clunked the second of two. 

Rough night for D-Rose (25 points, 9-29)… that four-point play by D-Wade was a crushing blow because it came right on the heels of that huge bucket from Rose which I described just a moment ago–the one that made the lead appear pretty safe at 79-72.  Had Wade just scored a three there it would still have been a two-possession game, so that was a massive swing.  Said Rose: “At the end, it’s all me. Turnovers, missed shots, fouls. The series is over.”

Damn… poor guy sounds dejected.

Chris Bosh’s only offensive contribution to the late run was a pair of freethrows that made it a three-point game with seconds to play, so you won’t be hearing much about him. He still deserves some props for his 20 points and 10 boards on 7-15, though.  Wade struggled early on, and LeBron had a quiet stretch at the same time… through which Bosh hit some buckets that kept the lead from growing to 15 or 20 points.  Bosh also deserves a ton of credit for the series he has had as a whole; he averaged 23 a game while shooting a solid 60 percent from the field.  Ironically, he actually out-played Dwyane Wade in this series.  I say “ironically” because of that sh!t that Carlos Boozer yapped about Miami having only two great players (insinuating that Bosh isn’t great).  Carlos was right when it comes to this series… Miami did have just two great players… but Bosh was one of them!  In case you were wondering, Carlos finished up with a 14 PPG average on 40 percent from the field after wrapping up the five-game defeat with a 1-6 stink bomb.  Carlos was actually out-played by Kurt Thomas last night, who I believe becomes the NBA’s oldest player if Shaq retires.  Kurt was on the floor in the fourth stickin’ mid-range jumpers and rippin’ the boards.  Gotta love the Big Sexy.  Chicago also got a surprising contribution from Ronnie Brewer… he scored 10 points on 4-5 (which included a late-fourth-quarter three-ball that I’d be writing about had Chicago pulled this off).  The Bulls didn’t get enough production out of their regulars, though… actually, I figure they got enough from the regulars to beat any of the league’s other teams.  Normally, Derrick Rose closes out a game like this.  It was LBJ’s defense that prevented him from doing so, and has prevented him from doing so all series long.  You could argue that LeBron’s defense on Rose was the main factor in Miami’s series victory.  You could also argue that his offense was the biggest factor.  What you can’t argue is that LeBron was the biggest factor.  He took care of business in this one… period.

So, we’re officially looking at a rematch of the 2006 Finals.  It will begin in Miami this Tuesday at 9 PM ET on ABC (how unfortunate… I wish the finals were on TNT).  It is each franchise’s second Finals appearance in their history, which is kind of interesting because the other one was also against each other.  I suppose that sort of makes this a rivalry, no?  I mean, it has to be somewhat rare that two teams meet in the finals twice in a five-year stretch, and the way Dallas went down last time… you know they haven’t forgotten about it.  Dirk is hungry as f@ck for some revenge, and LeBron is hungry as f@ck to silence his critics.  Two starving dudes with the talent of Nowitzki and LeBron?  Get your popcorn (or whatever else you like to eat while you watch TV) ready.

Who’s gonna win?  You want the official NBA247365.COM guaransheed?  Well here it is…

Heat in 7.  Why?  Because I said they’d win it all before the season even started, so I can’t go back on that now!  Plus, I’m not even sure if I have another reason… I think this thing is up for grabs, to be honest.  Dirk is playing well enough to carry his team to an NBA title, but so is LeBron.  I think we could be in for some late-game duels, because you know these games are going to be close.  It’s depth vs star power.  Dallas only has one guy on the level of Miami’s top three, but their role players are on a whole other level from Miami’s.  Mike Miller has stepped it up recently (had another nice game last night after his 12/9 in game four), but he hasn’t proven that he can be counted on for nightly production; neither have any of their other role players.  This should be a really interesting series, that’s for damn sure.  Does Dallas have enough firepower to overcome Miami’s lockdown defense?  Can Miami put enough points on the board to keep up with the potent offense of the Mavs?  I don’t predict the future, so you’ll have to wait and see.

Unfortunately, I was unable to find a photo of DeShawn Stevenson celebrating, or any other photo of DeShawn Stevenson. 

I’ve got to keep it real with my readers: I didn’t make it to the end of last night’s game.  Not because it bored me to death (I’ve enjoyed this series), and not because watching Kendrick Perkins makes me want to gouge my eyes out… but because I simply passed out at some point during the third quarter.  I’m normally good until at least 1 AM, but all of these 9-12 hour days I’ve been working at my real jobs are starting to catch up to me.  Lately, come about 10:30 PM, I’m struggling to keep my eyes open.  Last night, I couldn’t do it.

The good news?  It seems that I didn’t miss much.  Hell, I think I’ve pretty much seen the ending to last night’s contest twice already: Thunder up eight with eight minutes to go, Dirk Nowitzki leads his squad on a 21-9 run, Dallas wins 100-96?  Yeah, that sounds awfully familiar. 

Since I can’t really tell you exactly how this game went down, I’ll just give you the basics and then move on to some other things.  Dirk Nowitzki had a rather routine night with 26/9 on 8-15 (yes, that’s become a routine night for him).  Seven of those 26 came in the final eight minutes over the course of that 21-9 Dallas run that I mentioned.  He nailed the huge three that gave Dallas the lead with a minute to go (missed a three, Chandler got the board, and he was given a second look… two looks for Dirk?  Can’t let that happen), and then he hit the pair of freethrows that made it a two-possession game.  Just Dirk doin’ what Dirk does. 

^Apparently he does that, too.  ESPN has been shoving those videos of his practice sessions down our throats; showing us that Dirk actually practices these crazy, off-balance, one-legged jumpers that he knocks down on the regular (it was cool the first five or six times, but we get it, you can stop now).  Well, I didn’t see him rehearsing this shot in any of those clips!  So, if I’m the Thunder, I’m a little pissed off about this bucket.  Dirk is already good without the second “o” (good… get it?  He’s god!), he doesn’t need any extra fortune from the basketball gods. 

There was a surprise element to this Dallas rally: Shawn Marion.  The Matrix actually contributed more points to that 21-9 Dallas run than Dirk did.  Marion scored 11 points in the final eight minutes of this game, including consecutive layups that sparked that run.  Neither of them are in the highlights, and I was sleeping, so I don’t know exactly how it was happening… each of them were assisted by JJ Berea, so I’m assuming it was either his ability to penetrate or the pick and roll that created the two baskets.  Before I passed out Berea had already gotten himself off to a nice start.  He scored three buckets in the second quarter, and he finished up with 14/4/5 on 5-11.  No one has been able to stay in front of him in the last two rounds, and I don’t think the Heat have anyone who’s up to the task either. 

Anyway, congratulations to the Dallas Mavericks on getting back to the finals after what has been an extremely painful five seasons.  I’m happy for Dirk Nowitzki.  He’s a very hard worker and a guy who has taken a lot of unfair criticism over the course of his career.  Finally, he has earned himself the opportunity to put the 2006 collapse and the 2007 disappointment behind him.  I was most certainly a Maverick doubter coming into these playoffs, but goddamn, they’ve really forced me to look at them in a whole different light.  Not only has Dirk shown incredible poise, but the entire team has displayed never-before-seen composure.  These guys had to recover from the second-biggest comeback in NBA playoff history, then knock off the defending champs, and finally recover from three fourth-quarter defecits to beat a team which features Kevin Durant (he’s been known to do some damage in fourth quarters).  It wasn’t the easiest road ever travelled to the NBA finals, that’s for sure… but they certainly made it look easy.  A lot of the credit belongs to Nowitzki–he hit some absolutely incredible jumpshots down the stretch of these games.  The one over Pau Gasol from game one against LA?  The dude basically just put that on rewind throughout the entire Thunder series, and he did it against a great defender in Nick Collison.  So yeah, I’m really happy for Dirk Nowitzki.  Hopefully that’s good enough for him, because not everyone is…

As much as I want to post the Cam’ron video, I’m not gonna do it, because seriously… what the hell kind of question was that?  “What kind of feelings do you have seeing him succeed, even at your expense?”  I’d have taken that reporter’s mic and shoved it down his throat. 

I’ve got to go back to something I was saying earlier on in this post for just a moment: “Finally, [Dirk] has earned himself the opportunity to put the 2006 collapse and the 2007 disappointment behind him.”  I’d just like to point out the fact that the key word there was opportunity.  Another finals loss to the Heat doesn’t remove the weight of any of the past disappointments; in fact, it could only add to that weight depending on how the Mavs were to go about losing it.  All of these incredible shots Dirk has made, and epic games he’s had will be tossed aside if Dallas doesn’t win in the finals.  This is a “now-or-never” team full of veterans who’ve accomplished everything they’re ever going to accomplish aside from an NBA title.  Most of the top teams in the league are full of young players and should only get better with time, so if Dallas doesn’t do it this year, they may never get another shot.  Dirk understands this: “I was already thinking about the finals. This is nice for a day, but we set our goals in October to win it all. We haven’t done it yet.”

That’s right.  The Mavs haven’t done a damn thing that they haven’t done before.  What they haven’t done before is beat the Heat in the NBA finals… if they do that then they can celebrate.  I think they may very well do it.  As of this moment, Dirk Nowitzki is the best player in the NBA.  No one else is playing on the level he’s been on since the start of the Laker series.  I’d say the Mavs are the best team in the NBA as of this moment as well.  No squad has matched their level of play in this postseason… they’ve hit their stride at precisely the right time.  I’m not making a guaransheed, but I like their chances.

As for the Thunder… well, they’re the opposite of the Mavs: even though they lost this series, they’ve already accomplished something by advancing further than they’d ever been before.  They’re still a young team with plenty of time to grow.  Their window of opportunity is just opening up, whereas Dallas’ is closing.  They need to take this defeat and use it as motivation to build for the next run.  They could very easily have been up 3-2 right now had their defense, shot selection, and late-game performance been a little better.  The first two are things that can and will be worked on during the offseason, and the third one will just come with time.  Dallas has already been through all of this, and that’s why they’re headed to the finals.

Random observation: have you noticed all of the James Harden hype?  I seem to recall that Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson spent the majority of the first three quarters raving about him last night, and they aren’t the only ones giving him praise.  A lot of folks seem to think he’s going to be a star.  “Star.”  What exactly does that mean?  All-Star?  Best player on a good team?  20 PPG scorer off the bench?  I have no idea… but I was thinking that maybe I could clarify it with a comparison.  I can see James Harden becoming the next Manu Ginobili.  Now, Manu is obviously a far better player than James Harden at this point… the dude had his name in the MVP discussion at one point during this season, and I’m not even saying that Harden will ever reach that level… but I see similarities.  First of all, both players are underrated athletes.  Harden has been described as having “old-man game,” but he’s very strong, he moves well, and he jumps pretty well too.  Secondly, both guys provide an excellent all-around offensive punch.  Harden can shoot the three, drive the lane, and pass the ball.  I don’t think he handles the ball quite as well as Ginobili does at this point, but he’s young and I’m sure he’ll improve.  Both guys are also capable of playing some pretty good defense.  Those are the similarities I see in their games, but part of the reason that I chose to compare Harden to Manu is because of their situations.  Manu came in as a young player on an established team and had to wait his turn and slowly move into the major role that he plays now.  Since establishing himself, he’s started, come off the bench, scored, distributed… whatever he’s needed to do to help the team, he’s done it.  While Harden entered the league on a younger, less-established Thunder team, he’s already been to the Western Conference Finals here in his second season, and he played in the postseason as a rookie as well.  He had to wait his turn while Jeff Green was in the picture, and now without Green he’s been asked to step into a bigger role.  Next season I figure he’ll be starting; another step.  He delivered in his increased role off the bench in these playoffs, and I think he’s ready to deliver as a starter.  He’ll never be the Thunder’s best player as long as KD is around–just like Manu was always playing in Duncan’s shadow during San Antonio’s championship era–but I think he can be a key player on a contending team for many years to come (assuming he sticks around), which would make him a lot like Ginobili.  He won’t get the All-Star nods and put up the stats that he’d probably be capable of on a worse team… but he can be to the Thunder what Manu is to the Spurs, while also sharing with him some similarities as far as style of play.  Hopefully, for Harden’s sake, his hair won’t go the same route as Gino’s.  That beard wouldn’t work too well with a bald spot.