So I checked tweets mentioning Dirk after they won Game 4 of the NBA Finals. He gets so much love - win or lose! Is the NBA taking notes? Anyway, one that caught my attention and made me laugh was this:
GotEm_Coach: Kobe is so pissed that Dirk got to be sick in a Finals game.
Hahaha!
I have never been a Kobe fan. I just don't like the guy for no particular reason. He is good but I can't care for him or his game. So, yeah.
Anyway, when the amusement died down, I was suddenly thinking that "WOW, THIS IS DEFINITELY DIRK'S YEAR!" It was like a lightbulb turning on moment ^^
Why do I say that? Let me tell you how.
First, he establishes his Loyalty by renewing his contract with the Mavs. You can read the story here but I will quote the some lines:
With no guarantee the capped-out Mavericks can land the elite sidekick he seeks to keep Dallas relevant in the Western Conference, Nowitzki agreed Saturday night to give a hometown discount to the only team he's ever known, reaching terms with owner Mark Cuban on what sources close to the talks say is a four-year deal worth $80 million.
That's $16 million less than the $96 million maximum Nowitzki was eligible to receive and likely would have commanded had he been serious about shopping himself on the open market as an unrestricted free agent for the first time.
...All Cuban could promise Nowitzki is that the financial relief he's providing will make it easier for Dallas to keep trying to swing a landscape-changing trade.
Such assurances were enough thanks largely to Nowitzki's deep Dallas roots and the close bond he and Cuban have forged through more than a decade of extreme highs and lows.
So, Mavs battled and just like the previous 11 (or is it twelve?) seasons, they make it to the NBA playoffs, placing third in the West after the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers. Now what comes with the start of the off-season? The Predictions! Now thanks largely to them dropping their first round match-ups three of the last four times, including 2007 when they were #1 in the East and were swept by 8th seeded Golden State Warriors, many saw them losing to the Portland Trailblazers, including all these NBA experts.
I must admit I didn't have high expectations of the team. I just didn't want to get disappointed again. So when they lost games 3 & 4 after winning the first 2 at home, it was like, "Ah, the life of a Mavs fan, gotta get used to it."
But they pulled through in six games. They jumped through with their first hurdle, and my second "how": doubters and all, they actually make it past the 1st round.
My brother who is a Kobe and the Lakers fan wanted the Mavs to win because he felt that the Blazers would be a tougher match up to his team. So, yeah, he got his wish. The Lakers were heavily favored to make it to the Finals and possibly achieving their 2nd 3-peat. Kobe was supposed to equal what Jordan did, see? The Mavs weren't supposed to be in their way but no, not only do they beat them but the Mavs actually swept the defending champs. That would be "how" #3.
So the Lakers went to vacation after the 2nd round along with the Celtics and the Spurs (lost in the 1st vs. the young Grizzlies), and with stars like Derrick Rose, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant shining through, the talk became about passing the baton, the dawning of a new age. I really like it coz I'm a fan of both Derrick Rose and Kevin Durant and the league should look no further *cough*BlakeGriffin*cough* than these two for the future face of the NBA. They are amazing. I mean, yeah, we got the youngest MVP ever in DRose, right? ^^
Anyway, back to the Mavs, they would be the old one. I don't know their average age but Dirk is 32, Kidd is 38 (he officially became the oldest to play an NBA Finals game ^^), Terry is what, 33? So, yeah. People are even saying that between the Mavs and the Heat, Mavs deserve the title more coz this could be their only chance. My take on that is it doesn't matter. It's not who deserves it more, but who wants it more. Hmmm. Well, you know what, actually Dirk will have it because he is destined for it as what I am trying to prove here. hehe :p
Ok, back to my points. So the Mavs were up against the very young and athletic and DETERMINED team of Kevin Durant and his Oklahoma City Thunder. Durant, Westbrook, Harden, Maynor, Ibaka, and Cook are in the 22-24 age range. Their 6 key players! WOW! Meanwhile the twenty-somethings of the Mavs, except Barea, are the ones who don't get to play much. So, the Mavs team was pretty much 10 years or more older than the Thunder. Had the Thunder won (they had double digit leads), it would have been another case of Mavs being too old to run. But since the Mavs prevailed , it became the case of experience over immaturity ("how" #4).
It was in this Western Conference Finals wherein the question "Who's gonna guard Dirk?" became louder. It seemed a given that Pau Gasol was soft and couldn't guard him, even though Odom and Artest also tried. So, ok. The Thunder on the other hand did very well against the Memphis Grizzlies. I enjoyed that series very much, by the way. The Thunder contained Zach Randolph who was phenomenal against the Spurs. They also took care of Marc Gasol, so yeah, the Thunder defense is formidable. But Game 1 showed everyone that THIS GUY DIRK IS A PROBLEM - a popular tweet. ^^ Dirk, in game 1, scored 48 points in 12-15 FG and 24-24 FT shooting. NBA, where amazing happens! Suddenly, math geeks were into formulating new ways to calculate efficiency. So cool! ^^
So that's how the journey has been so far, and yet, his team isn't picked to win the Championships because they are up against the Big 3 and apparently, the Heat has the best defense in town. (Now that it's tied at 2-all I hope NBA fans see that Mavs have great defense too, and they have a great coach!)
In the end, it will be revealed that the Miami Heat is just part of the grand design in revealing Dirk Nowitzki's Greatness.
Let me recap:
1. He remained loyal to his team (In comparison to everyone jumping ships, not only LeBron James);
With him leading,
2. The Mavs get past the first round scare; prove doubters wrong.
3. The Mavs sweep the 2-time defending champion Lakers.
4. The Mavs show experience over the young and athletic, up and coming, Thunder team.
and to top it all: The Mavs beat the Miami Heat.
It just has to be the Miami Heat: to avenge the '06 Finals loss, to beat the league's touted Big 3, and to show everyone that loyalty and perseverance pay off. All that while playing against a worth adversary in Dwayne Wade (yes, props to him for his exceptional performance), playing injured and sick (yeah!!! see?), and staying humble all throughout.
The Dallas Mavericks are NBA Champions for the first time.
Dirk, Kidd, Terry, Marion, & Stojakovic, after so many playoff tries, finally gets a ring.
Dirk is the Finals MVP.
#DIRK #GREATNESS #thatisall
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