Wrapping up the NBA Finals...

Greetings all... sorry for the late post... a bit under the weather this morning coupled with a lack of internet access earlier... but alas, here we are with a few points to consider...

1. Congrats to the Mavs... you already knew what the reaction in the media would be to a Heat Loss and a Mavs win... Miami dominating the coverage... so let's lead off with a big ups to the Mavs... it helps them as far as coverage to have the always entertaining Mark Cuban in the mix, but guys like Dirk, Terry, Chandler, Kidd, etc. deserve this win, and speaking as someone who continuously has crapped on the Mavs roster, I'll give them all the credit...
2. Dirk the MVP... the big German was masterful in the playoffs... despite starting 1-12 in Game 6, he finished with 10 points in the final 7 minutes, and in carrying his squad to the title, he cements his legacy as a top-5 power forward ever, and a probable top-30 player... seems crazy to me to even type it, but when you look at his body of work? Why wouldn't he be in the discussion with Barkley and Malone?... Probably the most consistently unguardable player in the league today, and that's a heckuva statement at his age...
3. The Jet... Jason Terry... wow... 19 in the first half in Game 6 to carry that offense through Dirk's struggles, and while I don't want to always quote Bill Simmons in this space, his words around Terry as an "irrational confidence guy" are absolutely spot-on... I think JET thinks he's an elite player, and while that's completely false, it certainly helps him to have confidence and swagger to be the type of player that he's been for them... and he's got a little crazy in him...
4. Tyson Chandler... probably the only thing that's been UNDER-covered (in this age of 24/7 media) has been the impact of Chandler... I thought he was the difference in this team from every other Dallas team in this era... he was flying around for 2 months, disrupting on the defensive end, finishing with a vengeance on offense, and I thought the late sequence where he seemed to get about 5 tipped offensive boards in a row was indicative of everything he's brought that team... can't be slept on...
5. J-Kidd and Rick Carlisle... Lastly for Dallas... Jason Kidd was sort of an afterthought in this series (and rightly so), but alas, he seemed to make big plays when they needed them whether it was the huge 3 in Game 5, or just generally making life difficult for Lebron (don't worry it's coming)... he's not the player he once was, but for him to get a ring (finally) is huge for his legacy you'd have to think... and while we're here... Rick Carlisle was great in these playoffs... I'm not a fan of the "because he wins, he's great", but Carlisle consistently impressed me with his in-game adjustments, and willingness to go with the flow of the game (i.e. burying Peja, playing Cardinal, starting Barea)...

On to Miami...

1. Coach Spo... Had to throw in the gratuitous reference to what Lebron and Wade call him... I feel like Spoelstra is going to get crapped on, but I'm not sure why...?.... It's not his fault that his stars didn't show up in Game 6 (and Lebron for the duration), and with that roster, I'm not sure what he could've done... the Eddie House move worked (even though I would've pulled him quicker), and when your other options are Bibby and the pu pu platter, he did all he could do...
2. Bosh... Chris Bosh... is an enigma.... that's the best word for me... he was ultra-efficient in this series signified by him shooting 7 of 9 in Game 6, but you never really feel like he's out there... I'll give him credit for battling more in the paint in this series, but he's not a guy they're ever going to run sets for (and why would they?) and when he makes open jumpers (like he did late in this series), he's deadly, but should that really be the key for a guy making the max?... I won't kill him... he's playing a supporting role... but the "big 3" label isn't playing out like a big 3 on the court...
3. Wade... I'm going to say this... but doesn't Wade's reputation have to take a small hit?... Wade's star shot into the air after the 2006 finals, and rightly so, when he carried an undermanned team to the title... I get that... and he was HUGE early in this series... but let's not forget... he missed a giant free throw in Game 4, fumbled away a potential game-winner in that same game, and shot 6 of 16 for a lackluster 17 points in the series clincher... now, clearly the reason for the lack of focus on Wade is the absolute CIRCUS around Lebron's play, but it's worth noting that the "clutch" guy in Wade didn't exactly show up big this time around... Just putting it out there... he was still the best player on his own team though... and okay... here we go...
4. Lebron... Here we are... what do you even say about this guy? I was one of the people banging the drum about how he's the best player alive even going into Game 6... riding with him because of what I've seen... he completely shut down Derrick Rose in the Chicago series, he carried them offensively in key moments against Boston... we all remember the 48-point game against Detroit, and LBJ single-handedly keeping them in that Orlando series back in 2009... but what does it all mean?... He was flat-out indefensibly terrible in this series... don't let the triple-double or the 21 points in Game 6 fool you... he disappeared... he wasn't assertive, he didn't seem like he wanted to be there, Jason Terry LIT HIM UP (an underrated sidebar), and this is officially a trend... As a society, we're definitely too quick to anoint or tear down these type of guys, but I do feel like we have the evidence now where no one can reasonably EXPECT (not hope) that he'll be taking over and carrying anyone to a title in clutch spots... can he do it? Absolutely... will he? I have no idea... but we can't bank on it... not anymore... I'll say this about Lebron... he's absolutely lived up to the hype in a way that the great majority of people wouldn't have... he's been unreasonably hyped since he was a junior in high school, and for him to actually ascend to the "best player alive" status is pretty remarkable when considering some of the other hype jobs we've seen... but it's time now... you're in your 8th year, you've lost the finals twice, and not-so-graciously bowed out the last 2 years... no more Jordan comparisons (they were patently absurd from the jump)... no more "hands down" arguments about who the best player alive is... show me...

And that's it... what an amazing NBA season... probably the highest-level of play in the league that I can remember (I'm only 24, but still)... and I'll say this... if this league locks out on the heels of the best season (and playoffs) in over a decade? They're insane... the NBA is fannnn-tastic... I love this game...