Rooting for D in Big D

NBA

As we've progressed through the second season that is the NBA playoffs we have at last reached the Finals. The title bout pits the Dallas Mavericks against the Miami Heat.  While it's a rematch of the '06 Finals, these teams are light-years-different from five seasons ago when Miami was crowned champ. The team names are the same, but different personnel, new coaches and new attitudes make for a unique 2011 Finals.  This time around I'm rooting for a Dallas title.  How could I?  It hurts me to admit that I'm actually hoping for a championship to land in Texas. While it's a tough leap for a California kid, I just can't lie to y'all.  To clarify, this isn't a political dilemma where we choose the lesser of two evils.  I genuinely want underdog Dallas to win this year's title.  

I'll start where I always do and that's defense.  This season Dallas has reinvented itself as a defensive team.  If you play D, you're good in my book.  The Mavericks always had offensive firepower since the days of Don Nelson, but their "soft" M.O. has been attached at the hip for too many years.  Defense wins championships (duh!) so Dallas had to bone up.  Mark Cuban (an owner never shy to exercise his wallet for a championship run) pulled the trigger yet again and paid to get Tyson Chandler, a defensive enforcer.  (Don't forget that Caron Butler was added to the payroll too and Cuban would look more like a genius with a healthy Butler and thus a more dangerous Mavs.)  When it comes to basketball defense, it's all about protecting the hoop.  Chandler anchors the Dallas D by using his length and shot-blocking ability to protect the rim.  Keeping Brendan Haywood as a back-up center was another solid move by Cuban. Haywood, another defensive minded player (and would be starter on most teams), allows the Mavs to keep a key shot-blocking center on the court at all times.  Even an aging Jason Kidd can still play defense as shown by his late game thievery of Kevin Durant in the conference finals.  The offense was championship caliber, but now the Mavericks also own a defense that can carry them to a title.

I believe that the Mavericks' players deserve a ring more than the Heat's.  How could you not root for J-Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki.  Kidd, one of the best point guards of all-time and a hall of fame shoo-in, should own a title.  His excellent court-vision and leadership brought the New Jersey Nets to two Finals, but he's never tasted the championship champagne.  Now, in the last stages of his career, Kidd gets another shot at winning the big one by teaming up with another superstar who too has been left off of championship parades.  That man, Dirk Nowitzki, a former MVP and one of the most lethal scorers this generation, has led the Mavs to solid season after season, but hasn't punched his ticket to immortality.  Both Nowitzki and Kidd deserve to add a championship title to their illustrious careers.  I also like the Mavs' solid veteran supporting cast.  Jason Terry, Peja Stojakovic, and Shawn Marion have been contributors on good teams over the years and they too have earned the right to raise the Larry O'Brien trophy over the so-so Heat's role players.

As for that other team, my moral compass won't allow me to root for Lebron James the season following "The Decision."  I don't care how well he's played; he doesn't deserve ultimate success, just yet.  I wish the NCAA would step in and dish out a bowl-game suspension.  "Sorry, Lebron but you aren't eligible to play for a championship this year because you demonstrated such classlessness."  In my dreams... Guess I'll have to appeal to the basketball Gods, hoping that the Heat's train stops one station short of championship.

The clash of titans that I'm excited to see is the marquee match-up of Nowitzki vs. James.  With apologies to D-Wade, these two are the superstars in this year's Finals.  And like any championship series, the superstar performance will decide who is king.  Basketball is a game of match-ups and no one presents a bigger mismatch than Mr. Dirk Nowitzki.  He's an agile 7-footer with a devastating jumper.  He's basically the definition of "unguardable."  To back it up, Dirk is playing this postseason like a man possessed, establishing himself as the best performer so far.  Lebron's unmatched athleticism presents a good counter-argument to who will dominate this year's Finals.  I'm hoping that Marion will play his heart out on D and slow down Lebron just enough.  Wade or Chris Bosh could tip the scales for the Heat, but I'm standing pat on Dirk.  Behind the two D’s, Dirk and Defense, the Mavs should be parading this summer.