The 2011 NBA Finals features another interesting matchup and also interestingly enough this is the first Finals matchup in two decades that will not feature a Jordan, Olajuwon, Duncan, O'Neal or a Bryant, which would've made this a new blood match up if it wasn't a rematch from 2006, but that aside there are great stories abound.The Dallas Mavericks have been plagued for years as the team that couldn't win in the playoffs and when they made any progress, they were expected to choke like they did back in the Finals in 2006.
It's tough to say that a team which has won 50+ games in a season 11 straight times is a fluke or a fraud, but that became the perception of the Mavs. They were a team that were destined to be bridesmaids (nice current pop culture reference) and it would take an amazing twist of fate to prove otherwise.
It may be safe to say that the 2011 playoff run of Dallas has done that and made everyone re-evaluate this team and how good they are and how great a player Dirk Nowitzki is.
Nowitzki is averaging 28 points per game this postseason in 38 minutes of action for the Mavs and provides a match up nightmare for anyone that opposes Dallas.Dirk is a top ten player in basketball, but has been a also-ran in a league full of Bryants, Lebrons, Wades and Howards. Not many people volunteer Dirk's name when discussing the best in the game today.
It always felt as if everybody knew how good Dirk is, but no one spoke about it. Well, the words are flowing now, Michael Wilbon even shared some thoughts on how Nowitzki compares to Larry Bird, which is immense praise.
From the Miami Heat side of things, the talk will continue to be about the Big 3 and what they've accomplished fairly enough, but in the end it looks as if LeBron will be the one getting a majority of the credit and the pub if the Heat were to pull off winning a ring in their first season together.
The most important part of that is the response of Dwyane Wade, he doesn't care about the overblown reaction to James and he definitely wouldn't care if he wins another ring. There has been no fight for power in Miami this season, no conflict for the basketball (some from Bosh, but he doesn't matter in that regard).The NBA's two biggest superstars have been on the same page the entire season and that's the reason why Miami is at this point right now.
If James is able to get his first ring in his first year as a Heat, then a lot of the criticism of him and his "Decision" will cease to exist because he'd be well on his way to making his point of wanting to win multiple championships and we all know that the first one is always the hardest for teams capable of winning multiple.
Then you look at the story of a Jason Kidd and Shawn Marion and Jason Terry and their chase for championships, this series is dripping for great drama and I'm eagerly anticipating the tip off of this series and I'll be covering this series from tip-off to final buzzer and this preview is only the beginning.
Finals prediction coming later in the day!
Photos Courtesy of the NBA
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