Glad to be right eventually. At the start of the playoffs in my first NBA blog, I stated Dallas would beat Miami in 7 games. Well, it only took this veteran filled squad 6 to do the job. The doubt that surrounded this team all season long was astronomical. "Experts" were saying that if they didn't make a blockbuster trade at the deadline, they wouldn't be real contenders. I didn't understand that seeing as they had one of the league's top records at the time and were playing phenomenally when healthy. Even when Caron went down, they eventually picked things back up.
They were selected as the team most likely to lose to a lower seed in the first round in the entire playoffs. Who would guard Aldridge? They handily beat Portland in 6, which should've been 5 but a Brandon Roy miracle delayed the inevitable.
They had no shot against the 2-time defending champ Lakers. Who would guard Kobe, Gasol, and Bynum? Matt Barnes had the "blue print" to beat Dallas. LA couldn't win a single game and got embarrassed in the 4th and final game of the sweep, 122-86.
Even during the OKC-Memphis that went to 7 as the Mavs waited to find their next opponent, people were saying the winner of that series should be favored against Dallas. When OKC came out on top, the youth and athleticism was supposed to be too much for Dallas to handle. Who would guard Durant and Westbrook? Dallas took care of them in 5 hard fought games, their lone loss coming when OKC's bench couldn't miss in the 4th quarter that saw Durant as the only starter to play. After that game that OKC won and tied it at 1-1, I knew the series was over. If it took that unbelievable play from their bench to barely win, they had no shot. Dallas preceded to win the next 3 games.
Miami was the popular consensus pick in the finals. One "expert" even predicted a Heat Sweep. How could a team with two of the top 5 players in the world lose a series? They dominated the first three rounds, winning each 4-1 and beating the best team record wise in the NBA in Chicago. We all know the story from there. Miami won Game 1 thanks to incredible 3-point shooting from Lebron. I knew that historically he is a very poor downtown shooter and guess what happened. He shot just over 25% from 3 the rest of the series, not to mention his inability to close games. That role went to Dirk. He lead the charge in the series saving Game 2 comeback and even when his shots weren't falling like in Game 6, he wouldn't be denied in the 4th. He shot 5-8 for 10points in the last quarter of the series.
I must say I love how JET responded to his own trash talk. People thought it would wake the beast that is Lebron James. Nope. "Let's see if he can defend me like that for seven games." He couldn't even do it for 6, getting outscored by Terry by 19 after he made that statement in the final 3 games, not to mention he outscored Lebron during the entire series. Sure, Miami has 2 top 5 players, but Dallas had the BEST player in the world. Not to mention he had all the right pieces around him along with phenomenal chemistry. Barea, Terry, and Dirk could all take over a game offensively at any given moment. Even Kidd, Stevenson, and Marion could get hot and light you up. Peja didn't play much this series due to matchup issues, but I have to give him credit because he was an integral piece during the run to the finals. Couldn't have done it without him. The lineup with Peja, Dirk, Haywood, Barea, and Terry on the floor proved to be the best lineup for Dallas in terms of +/- all playoffs long.
Miami simply didn't have the team work to win this series. Dallas simply wanted it more and played with passion. All those questions about who would guard all these star players, Aldridge, Kobe, Gasol, Bynum, Westbrook, Durant, James, Wade, Bosh, is easy to answer. First, it starts with Marion, Stevenson, and Kidd playing phenomenal 1-on-1 defense. Then, don't forget this is one of the greatest TEAMS in recent memory. They had great TEAM defense as well. It is very difficult to contain all those names 1-on-1 for long periods of time, so when defenders slip up at time, there would be another one to cover for him. That's why they were so effective.
This is a win the world needed. They needed to really see that a team is going to beat start individuals. Dallas had the world on their side, and they didn't disappoint. You really do need to work together against the top teams to be successful, not pick on older Celtics, or young 76ers and Bulls (who didn't have much playoff experience despite their top record) based solely on talent. People really aren't even mentioning the fact that Dallas not only won the title, but were pretty dominant in doing so. They finished the playoffs with a 16-5 mark, with their largest loss coming in Miami during Game 1 but 8 points. Their 5 losses came by a combined 23points. Less than 5point difference per loss average. Unreal. Undoubtedly the best team in the NBA with the best player in the NBA.
