So, all of those folks you actually predicted the Dallas Mavericks would win the championship, stand up and take a bow. Most of us were fooled. Sometimes, when you spend a lot of time around the modern NBA - the ESPN specials, the preseason celebrations, the star power, the bells and whistles in the arenas - you can almost forget that teams wins championships. Here are a few things that resonate after Dallas' impressive finale Sunday evening:
• Dirk Nowitzki is not Larry Bird, so that chatter needs to stop. Bird was a triple-double threat every time he stepped on the court. But similar to Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and all the greats, Dirk improved his game every offseason. Bird, who is ambidextrous anyway, mastered the lefty runner. Magic improved the range on his jump shot. Jordan became a superb outside shooter. Scottie Pippen developed a jumper. Dirk no longer lingers on the perimeter, and attacks the basket with both his right and left hand. In fact, he used his left hand on most of late-game drives during these Finals. He is older, wiser, better, tougher.
• Hard to believe we're even saying this, but after eight years in the league, LeBron James still needs to develop his off-ball skills. As ABC/ESPN analyst Jon Barry cautioned before the series, LeBron's skills in many respect duplicate those of Dwyane Wade.
• Love this comment from Mavs veteran Jason Kidd: "That was our theory all season, make multiple passes. If you make more than two passes, guys are going to give up." Or, as Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said during his post-game, on-court interview, his players "trusted the pass." Admittedly, I'm a ball movement fanatic. I never, ever, ever, want to see the 1-4 offense again .... it's bad basketball, and bad for the league.
• Carlisle was simply superb. First of all, he wasn't afraid to coach his big personalities, which separates him from too many of his peers. He moved J.J. Barea into the starting lineup midway into the series. He sat his superstar, Nowitzki, for defensive purposes during last-game situations. He turned to Brian Cardinal when Peja Stojakovic was totally ineffective. How many coaches have the guts to make those moves? And he repeatedly disrupted the Heat with a zone defense -- a defense few NBA teams have a clue how to attack. As I have said for years, and will continue to say, the importance of coaching in this league cannot be overstated, particularly in the playoffs. Leadership. Adjustments. Tough lineup decisions. Tough in-game decisions. Carlisle, who was known as "Flip" because of his big feet during his playing career with the Boston Celtics, was a master of his circumstances.
• None other than Jerry West offered high praise for Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and Carlisle - whom he jokingly referred as "Jim Carrey, Jr." on Friday during Mark Jackson's introductory press conference in San Francisco. Couldn't agree more. Spoelstra had an impossible job given the LeBron theatrics, his lack of a low post presence, and the esteemed Pat Riley looking over his shoulder. And, interestingly, Carlisle was more flexible and more demanding than during his previous coaching tenures in Detroit and Indiana. Class acts, both of them.
• Finally, kudos to Dirk. This is a different guy than five years ago. He was not going to lose ......
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