Thursday, June 16, 2011

Will the real king please stand up?

Today is National LeBron James Day. Everyone gets to leave work 12 minutes early! Why didn't LeBron James go to college? He didn't want to show up for finals. What is the difference between Lebron James and a dollar? A dollar gives you 4 quarters. Let the Lebron haters please stand up and take in what just transpired in this years NBA finals. Let the jokes rain on in!! This years NBA finals was amazing! Dirk Nowitzki turned himself into one of the top 20 players in NBA history while turning Lebron James from one of the best players in the 2011 NBA playoffs to a "choke artist". Someone who couldn't come through when his number was called. Seriously, if you watched this years NBA finals you could tell by the guys body language he just wasn't into it when the team needed him the most! He was clearly the "Scottie Pippen" in that situation. No disrespect towards Scottie but he was Jordan's sidekick. He kept passing the ball at times when he could of drove in and tried to make something happen. Dwyane Wade started screaming at him in the middle of game 3 pleading for his help. That he couldn't do it alone and told him he was the most talented player in the world!! Now can we stop with these comparisons with MJ and Lebron James?! He won't get there!! Not this way! Not by becoming the sidekick to Dwyane Wade. Michael Jordan would of never wanted to team up with Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, or Isiah Thomas. They were all friends and it would of been cool to play with each other just like the Dream Team, but in the end he wanted to beat them, he wanted to test how high the ceiling is on his game and therefore became the best player in NBA history. MJ had this killer instinct in him that wouldn't of allowed his team to let go of a 15 point lead halfway through the 4th quarter. He would of kept sticking that dagger in the opponents heart until they had nothing left. Look at the stats!! In the last 5 minutes when the score is within 5 Dirk scored 26 points, while the self proclaimed "King James" ZERO POINTS throughout the whole NBA finals! The only player close to that killer instinct status was Kobe Bryant and until Lebron start utilizing his potential and get that killer instinct, get a go to move that defenders can't guard (post up fade away that Kobe and Jordan mastered) the Miami Heat will not win a championship on its own, not with only Dwyane Wade.

Now, will people remember this as the finals where the Dallas Mavericks won and finally got redemption for the 2006 NBA playoffs or will people remember this as the series where the Miami Heat lost it? I can't believe this was even a discussion! This series was all about Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, and Dirk Nowitzki finally getting what they deserved, a NBA championship! For the past five years, Dirks been receiving the most punishment for the 2006 collapse. Up 2-0 in the finals against Dwyane Wade's Miami Heat and couldn't shut the door on them (very controversial series). Well guess what? He answered the critics who didn't believe that he had what it took to be a champion. He proved to fans and the media that he isn't "soft" and he wasn't clutch then the team actually needed him. He played through it all! Torn tendon on the left index finger, whatever! Fever up to around 101 degrees, done! Down double digits in the fourth quarter with everyone giving up, he was the one that carried them back into the game. Hes the one screaming at Jason Terry when he attempted to make a ugly shot.

I don't want to be that guy that says I told you so, but I told you so!! Who said Dallas in six?! (Please check the previous post) The Dallas Mavericks has never been better! They won this NBA championship without their second best scorer, Caron Butler, and pretty much played the whole NBA finals without their backup center Brandon Haywood. They were the underdogs throughout the whole NBA playoffs! Ran into the Portland Trailblazers people wrote them off. Then the two time NBA champs the LA Lakers people assumed they would choke under the pressure. Next the OKC Thunder team, the kids in the NBA playoffs, still the underdogs! Lastly the Miami Heat lead by Dwyane Wade with Lebron James and Chris Bosh. Underdogs throughout the whole series. With Dallas leading Miami by two (53-51) at halftime of Game 6, Vegas favored Miami by 4½ points in the second half. Even going into next season, the Miami Heat are still the favorites to win the championship. The Lakers, Bulls, Heat, and Thunder are considered the heavier favorites over the NBA champs! Now I'm not going to predict they will repeat as champs but with the addition of Caron Butler throughout a whole season who knows what they could do! Don't expect Dirk to let down next year. Don't think its just a fluke and that they will be content with one championship. I'm sure Mark Cuban won't let it happen earlier! They are still going to be contenders next year.

And Dirk Nowitzki... Simply amazing. You watch this guy play you would think some of the shots he makes is impossible. How do you guard someone like this? Off one foot fade away shoot, count it! This NBA championship means so much to his legacy. He'll be the first player to say that he doesn't care about his legacy, but in the end of the day you don't want to be on that "list". The list of NBA greats that couldn't win a championship, Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, Reggie Miller, John Stockton, Allen Iverson, and one of Dirks best buddies Steve Nash. The Dirk love fest will go on throughout the summer! Only 10 players in NBA history has been a 10 time NBA all star, league MVP and finals MVP, Bill Russell, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Kareem, Julius Erving, Oscar Robertson, Moses Malone, Wilt, Kobe Bryant and now the 11th player in NBA history to do it.. Dirk Nowitizki. Will he start to move in to one of the top 10 players in NBA history? Who knows but I could guarantee you one thing, Dirk will not stop, and whenever he decides to retire, go home to Germany while listen to David Hasselhoff, he will ride off in the sunset the greatest player to have ever played for the Dallas Mavericks, and the best European player the NBA has ever seen.