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The face of a champion! |
At the
end of the match when it was all said and done, Dirk Nowitzki ran to the locker room with time still left and
cried.
Good
overcame evil.
Five
years ago... he choked... and critics bashed him. Years later, Dirk Nowitzki is
now a NBA Champion and because of
his leadership skills especially during crunch time, we can safely say that
Dirk is one of the best players to ever don a NBA jersey.
When the
Miami Heat reached the finals, all
eyes turned to Nowitzki and his Dallas
Mavericks. They are basically the last line of defense to stop what is an
impending Heat Dynasty. People hate Miami. I hate Miami. Lebron James left Cleveland
arrogantly and he needs to eat his humble pie or else his arrogance will grow
and grow until it’s mind-numbing.
With
James joining Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, they get three of the best
stars in the current generation who is not past their primes yet. All of a
sudden, superstars dismiss loyalty for money. In a swoop of a season, Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony are now in New York. Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer, dubbed as the 2.0 version of Stockton to Malone, are
now playing for Chicago and New Jersey respectively.
In the
coming preseason, Dwight Howard and Chris Paul are expected to check out
the other possibilities in other places.
With
the chaos surrounding the NBA superstars, fans wanted to find answers. Leading
to the finals, Miami drove past Philadelphia, blew past Boston, and toyed with
Chicago.
Enter
the Dallas Mavericks.
Dallas
is a perennial playoff contender that just fades away in the second round of
the playoffs. They were also an old squad filled with 30-somethings that have
all seen their stars fade. The Mavs also has Rick Carlisle – a Larry Bird
boy who was left high and dry when his coaching failed to produce a significant
achievement... and Mark Cuban – a noted
bigmouth who will annoy the shit out of people when given the chance.
At the
start of the playoffs, no one took the Mavs seriously. However, something occurred.
Dallas suddenly sweeps the defending champs the Los Angeles Lakers. All of a sudden, Dallas looms to be a threat to
win for the West. Oklahoma City and
Chicago were both unprepared for the stress and fatigue of the playoffs. With the
Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs out
of the picture, Dirk, Jason Kidd, Jason
Terry, Shawn Marion, Tyson Chandler, Brendan Haywood, Deshawn Stevenson, JJ
Barea, and Peja Stojakovic know that this is their chance to score a win!
And
they developed awesomely.
Just
like what I said at the start of the finals, Miami will win every time Lebron
James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh score a combined 60 points. In Game 6,
Lebron James made 9-of-15 and scored 21
points – his second highest output in the series. However, his rebounds (4) and assists (6) output
were down. Also, add the fact that he had six turnovers to his name.
For
James, 21 points is a sad scoring stat. But what’s sadder is that their leading
scorer Dwyane Wade struggled with 17 points – a 2011 finals low – 8 rebounds,
6 assists, 5 turnovers, and 6-of-16 from the field. Bosh, a player
ridiculed throughout the season, looked best among the three with 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 7-of-9 shooting.
In
all, the trio finished with 57 points.
Mario Chalmers and Udonis Haslem combined with 29
points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, and 9-of-21 shooting but it was
not enough to give the Heat the win. Eddie
House who played in place of Mike
Bibby, had a key role in the second quarter where they unearthed a 16-to-1 run to take the lead from the
Mavericks.
However
the lead was short-lived when Jason Terry entered to re-fuel their offense.
Also,
Miami’s run ended when Lebron James re-entered the court.
Dallas
was the hungrier team when Game 6 started. Miami looked sapped and Lebron
looked extremely fragile.
In the
battle of top dogs, Dirk Nowitzki edged Lebron James.
Giving
the Finals MVP award to Dirk is an
easy choice.
Nowitzki
struggled in the first half but instead of collapsing, his team picked up the
slack. Sure, Dirk had 1-of-12 in the
first half but his teammates wanted the ball in his hands. Instead of
derailing, Dirk is like a father who needs to feed his kids. He still finished
with 21 points and 9-of-27 shots
made but fact is, he was not alone. Jason Terry made his best impression as the
best sidekick ever and he did this with a game-high
27 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 11-of-16 shooting. The Jet
flew and rained down 3 heartbreaking triples and was responsible for killing
Miami’s second quarter run. Shawn Marion was a steady presence with 12 points and 8 rebounds while JJ Barea’s
emphatic Game 5 showing continued in Game 6 with 15 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, and 5 assists.
Jason
Kidd, a 17-year-veteran who is a sure Hall of Famer when he retires, had 9 points, 4 rebounds, and 8 assists.
Tyson Chandler also played important as well as Deshawn Stevenson, Brian Cardinal, and Ian Mahinmi.
Dirk
played with a fever. Wade and James bashed him. He let his actions do the
talking.
And in
the end, all is good in the world again.
CONGRATULATIONS, DALLAS!
Game
over!
* I got the pictures from Getty Images / Yahoo. THANK YOU!
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