The top feel-good-moment of the decade just happened – Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd and the rest of the Dallas Mavericks just won their first ever NBA Championship title.
This feat strengthens the claim of Coach Rick Carlisle that Dirk Nowitzki is among the top 10 NBA Greats of all time, Nowitzki being the second best Power Forward of all time, just next to Tim Duncan and overtaking Karl Malone and Charles Barkley.
Jason Kidd, on the brink of retiring and after his 17 years of journey and two defeats in the NBA Finals, finally owns a ring. Who said there was no more gas left in his tank?
Jason Terry gets to keep his Larry O’Brien trophy tattoo on his right muscle, thanks to his brilliant performance in Games 5 and 6, just when the team needs him most. At the age of 33, there is no stopping The Jet from taking off.
Shawn Marion who was a journey man after being traded by the Phoenix Suns and prior to being a Maverick, got his groove back, offensively and defensively, helping Dallas win it all. He did a great job defending LeBron and Wade.
Tyson Chandler, who made this once soft Mavericks team into a tough, defensive team, deserves the honor of being the second Most Valuable Player of the team. Where would the team be defensively without his presence?
Juan Jose Barea, the wonder kid from Puerto Rico, can now be considered a hero in his native country. The team went 3-0 after assuming the starting position. His penetration, 3pt shooting and passing were priceless. Now I understand why Andrew Bynum hit him hard on his rib cage part.
Coach Rick Carlisle, who was the real architect of the 2004 World Champions Detroit Pistons team, gets now the credit that is long overdue – he is one of the best coaches in the history of the NBA. This victory just proves that off the charts.
And to the rest of the Dallas Mavericks team. 2011 was really their time. It was written all over the deserts in Texas, this year was Dallas Mavericks’ year. And hell yeah they deserve it.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Champions of the World this 2011 are the Dallas Mavericks.
And now, let’s go to this year’s runner-ups – the Miami Heat.
What went wrong? Nothing went wrong. In fact, they even exceeded the expectations. Many of us did not expect them to reach the NBA Finals. But they did anyway. Let’s just put it like this – The Dallas Mavericks team was just better than the Miami Heat team. A team is better than the Big Three any time of the day. I just cannot understand why LeBron James, who was phenomenal in the first three rounds, checked out or shrinked (call it whatever you want) in the NBA Finals. Why did he not assert his self like what all time greats usually do? If I have to blame someone, I would have to blame LeBron. We all know he is the best player in the league right now, but what he just showed us in the Finals made me think twice about it. Anyway, I’m still thinking if the “greatest player” comment of Pippen had to do something with LeBron’s disappointing performance in the Finals.
The bottom line is, I’m happy Dirk and Kidd finally won a ring.
P.S. After almost two decades of watching NBA, I finally predicted a series completely accurate. My Mia-Dal-Mia-Dal-Dal-Dal prediction was right on target.
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