1. How do you explain the dark horse Mavericks' surge to the NBA title?
I'll go with Jason Kidd's explanation (after all, he was there). When Caron Butler and Dirk went down, the Mavericks realized they had to get mentally tougher. That resolve got them through dire situations throughout the playoffs. They never felt out of it. Reminds me of an upgraded version of the 2001 76ers. Plus, Rick Carlisle made winning coaching moves, like the early zone in Game 6.Rick Carlisle pulled all the right strings, Dirk Nowitzki was the best he has ever been, Jason Terry was en fuego. And worth noting: The Mavs were killer in the first part of the season. Then Dirk got banged up, and they fell in the standings a bit. But when healthy, they always rolled.Because timing is everything. They weren't the best regular-season team, but at the right time everything came together for them, and their offense went up another level.
There was no deeper team this season than Dallas, with a quality player at every spot, 1 to 9 -- they were even able to cope with the loss of Caron Butler and then Brendan Haywood.
It took them years to get there but Mark Cuban's asset collection finally found a perfect rhythm. It was a flexible, dependable and experienced team at every position. That, plus Dirk Nowitzki had one of the best postseasons of the last 25 years, and you need greatness from stars to win.Dirk has never played better. No Mavs team has ever played defense like this. Almost every single player on the roster, all the way down to Corey Brewer, made a game-turning contribution at some stage. And they won at least one game in each of the last three rounds that they "shouldn't" have won: Game 1 in L.A. against the Lakers, Game 4 in OKC and Game 2 in Miami.
2. Can you explain how the Heat lost a Finals they were expected to win?
The playoffs reveal the essence of men and teams, and all the flaws we witnessed with this Heat team during the low parts of the regular season returned with a vengeance in this series. We saw a team with an inexperienced head coach, a team that had trouble closing games, and by Game 6, a team that once again didn't keep Chris Bosh involved in the offense. Meanwhile, they lost their greatest trait: a lockdown defense. LeBron James was a shadow of himself. And you know how the Mavericks benched Peja Stojakovic entirely due to matchup problems? The Heat had already done that to half the roster, and could have done the same thing with Joel Anthony, Mike Miller (in Game 6) and Mike Bibby. Too many players gave very little.They weren't able to score on Dallas as easily as they should have, for which there are three causes: (1) LeBron's passivity, (2) LeBron's lack of trust in his post game and (3) Miami's riding Mike Bibby for five games. The Heat won the Celtics and Bulls series in five games, but that was deceptive. Closing out so many games brilliantly covered up some holes. Against Dallas they ran into a bit of a slump, yes, but they also were dealing with a team that closed games better. That eliminated Miami's margin for error.
3. How will LeBron's first post-Decision postseason be remembered?
This is the year LeBron James separated himself from the all-time greats … and not in a good way. We'll remember this for the regression in June rather than the apparent breakthrough versus Boston in May. This is the third consecutive year he's lost a playoff series in which he had home-court advantage. The greats don't do that.This is the best team he has ever played on, and making it to Game 6 of the Finals more than justifies switching teams. But this whole season has been a referendum on his character, and because he still lacks a ring and was near-paralyzed as the pressure ratcheted up, it will be seen as a disaster, and proof of the theory that he is flawed.
4. What is Dirk Nowitzki's place in NBA history?
We'll start with calling Dirk the greatest European player in NBA history. That might sound overly specific, but we should acknowledge the unique challenges of flourishing without a great basketball culture in his region, then doing so well in a foreign land. Can't put him in the Jordan-Magic-Bird category, though … not when the playoff disappointments far exceed this stellar run.
5. What memories will you take from the 2011 NBA Finals?
I'd rank this No. 3 among the 14 NBA finals I've covered (1. 1993; 2. 1997.) I'll remember the back-and-forth in all the games, the uncertainty that surrounded the series, and the fact I've never seen the balance of power shift so dramatically, when it looked like the Mavs couldn't win after the first three games, then seemed as if they couldn't lose over the last three. And, of course, I'll remember LeBron. To him it must feel like waiting for the next Olympiad to get his shot at redemption.
I just watched Dirk Nowitzki -- off-camera, just a guy -- carry the Larry O'Brien Trophy across the court. The few fans still lingering saw him and hollered. He hoisted it high, and gave the most incredibly profound grin. Pure satisfaction. Not that he will, but if he were to retire tomorrow, I believe he'd do so entirely fulfilled.
In the end, i would like to you the question that
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