The old King.
The Dallas Mavericks have won the NBA Finals.
They should thank LeBron James.
This should in no way take away from what Dirk and co have accomplished. They are the world champs because they outplayed every team in the world. They shot, defended and rebounded their way to a completely legitimate title. Still, whether you love him or loathe him, the outcome of this season was yet another decision from LeBron.
I predicted that the Heat would win the title as soon as they got James. I was far from alone, but I also watch more basketball than anyone you know. I saw what Wade did to Dallas in 2006. I saw what James did to Detroit in 2007. Combining these forces very easily should have led to rings all around on South Beach. If you are someone who also routinely watches basketball, you know what James is capable of day in and day out. And you know that he was either too injured to play– which his 46 minutes a game for the playoffs soundly disproves– or he flat out quit on the Miami Heat.
I can’t explain it. Why would he do it? I couldn’t tell you. This is the same force of nature who weeks earlier had single handedly dropped Danny Ainge’s jaw while he wiped the Celtics out of the playoffs via heroic play that has become routine for him. Next, he slammed the door on the Bulls; a team many thought he was incapable of overcoming due to Tom Thibodeau’s smothering defense that had overwhelmed James in seasons past. Not only did he prevail in those two series, but he stopped them from scoring and still provided gaudy numbers in two series that peaked at 90 point games. He held the league MVP, Derek Rose, to six percent shooting while guarding him. Six.
In doing this LeBron exorcised all of the demons that had haunted him in Cleveland while playing with starters the likes of Sasha Pavlovich, Drew Gooden, Donyell Marshall and Anthony Parker. He beat Thibodeau’s defense, demoralized the MVP, and proved that he and Wade could co-exist on the same court.
Now the Heat was the overwhelming favorite to win the Finals among NBA experts. They had Haslem, who does as well as anyone in the NBA at defending Dirk Nowitzki. They had Wade, who had eaten Dallas alive in 2006. And they also had their new weapon: a two time MVP and two time scoring champion who plays team ball and lock down defense.
Unfortunately for Miami, he did not play in this series. Imagine someone asking you for a million dollar wager before the finals. They say that James will take only 20 free throws in six games, and you immediately take the bet. LeBron twice led the NBA in free throw attempts per game, so that’s an easy win for you. Then this stranger bets you that LeBron will take only 15 field goal attempts a game, and that Jason Terry shoots just fine against LeBron’s defense. You would laugh! In would be hard not to go out and buy the new car now, because LeBron James could break Jason Terry in half and eat him for brunch (the daintiest meal of the day) without even whetting his appetite. But LeBron did not play in this series.
I doubt we’ll ever know why, but he didn’t come to play. He didn’t block shots. He didn’t jump on plays; not even on his own shots. He deferred to Mario Chalmers and Juwan Howard (why Howard was ever in the game in the first place is another discussion.) He repeatedly came down with the ball before passing and was unable to stay in front of his man on defense.
To me this was somewhat of a nightmare scenario. Not because Dallas won; I’m happy for a lot of those vets who finally got their ring. No, it was a nightmare because LeBron doesn’t get to be himself in Miami. It’s my own issue as a selfish fan who honestly misses the 82 game highlight reel that was LeBron James in Cleveland the last five seasons. I understand why he left, of course. Cavs owner Dan Gilbert turned out to be a world class douche bag, and the “talent” around James turned out to not only be bad, but historically terrible.
James would have been best suited if he had just gone to New York. He would have been teamed up with Amare Stoudemire; the NBA’s best pick and roll big man who also runs the floor. The Knicks would still have all of the talent that they sent to Denver to acquire Carmelo Anthony (Mozgov, Wilson Chandler, Gallinari, Felton and a handful of draft picks) as well as cap room for the future. They would have the experience of Mike D’Antoni, instead of the defensively able but offensively bed-wetting mind of Eric Spoelstra. It would have been a show every night, instead of LeBron passing to Mario Chalmers for a bad shot in game six of the finals.
Still, if you’re Miami you probably shouldn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. Only Dallas went farther this season, and Miami was significantly better than everyone in the Eastern Conference. If Mike Miller had thumbs, maybe he could shoot (he shot 48% from three for the season last year when he was healthy.) And if Pat Riley steps in and institutes and actual offense they probably would have won this season and LeBron’s no show might have been an afterthought to him winning his first title.
But the fact remains that he did not try to win, and without any answers, all we’re left with is what could have been. And a parade in Dallas.
Questions? Disagree? Send any different thoughts to your mom, because your wrong.
