NBA Finals

Well its over! The Dallas Mavericks defeat the Miami Heat to win the 2011 NBA Championship.

First of all, congrats to Jason Terry, Shawn Marion, and Jason Kidd. Those guys definitely deserve this and have put in a lot of work in their many years of service, all of which had unique paths to this championship season.

But more importantly, how about Dirk NOWitski! What a cluth post season from him! I will be the first to admit that I've never been a Dirk fan. But everyone has to respect this guy for what he has done. In a league where it is said that you have to have atleast 2 superstars (or even 3) on a team to win a championship, he didn't jump ship and sign with other stars or for a powerhouse team to get an easier route to a ring. He got called out for choking in the 2006 playoffs against the heat after giving up a 2-0 game lead along with a huge third quarter lead in game 3 to lose the finals. But not even then, did he leave Mark Cuban and "Mav Nation" for an easier path. Dirk was already being labeled as the best European player...to never win a championship. But after his clutch performance in this year's postseason, he can know be known simply as the best eurpoean player in NBA history.

Then there are the losers. AKA the Miami Heat. I can't help but be estatic that the heat lost. That's what you get when you have a championship parade before practice even begins! Maybe this experience will give the heat the wake up call and motivation that they need to bounce back. Then again, this is the Miami Heat and who knows what will happen. But hey, atleast they still have "South Beach"!

How about LeBron? Everyone thinks that I'm the biggest LeBron hater there is. True, but facts are facts. LeBron is the one who put all the pressure on himself. He is the self proclaimed "king" and has done nothing but build and build on what the media, fans, and entire sports world expect of him. By having the championship parade, leaving Cleveland the way he did, among the things that this guy says, he has made it easy to not like him.

Several people claim that he didn't have help in Cleveland.
-yet he had Antawn Jamison and Shaq on his team. Both of whom are all star players and Shaq is easily a top 10 player of all time in my opinion.
-yet he made it to the NBA finals (before getting swept by San Antonio). So if he didn't have help on his team, how did he make it to the finals? And if he can get there alone, why couldn't he finish the job alone?
-the simple fact is: That is no excuse! Dirk just proved to the world that you can lose in the finals and not panic and jump ship. Instead, he hit the gym, weights, and film room to work on every aspect of his game.

The end result: 1. Another losing season and blemish for Lebron James and 2. The Dallas Mavericls first ever NBA title.