The NBA Thread

[gravy boat]

Greggulator--
You've been awfully quiet. What happens Sunday?

[Greggulator]

I've been away for work and now dealing with the worst computer virus of all-time! (That Windows Recovery 7 thing.)

Anyways, last night was the most satisfying non-Phillies related sports victory I've felt in years. It might be my favorite since my practically hometown Seton Hall Pirates made it to the championship game when I was a mere boy.

As far as what happens -- the whole series has become what looks like will end up defining LeBron's career. There have been SO many awesome stories during what's clearly been the best playoffs ever -- the Lakers/Spurs/Celts falling by the wayside, Memphis becoming a legitimate contender, OKC's amazing run and everything surrounding Westbrook and KD, Carmelo's huge game against the Celts and a bunch I know I'm forgetting. 

The two big ones have been The Great Nowitzki Resurgence and LeBron Running From the Spotlight.

I almost -- ALMOST -- feel bad watching him. Last night, right at the beginning of the game, I said to the guy I was sitting next to at the bar (in Salt Lake, which is a BASKETBALL TOWN!) that he had the same look in his face that John Starks had in the Winning Time documentary, in which he wanted absolutely nothing to do with that moment.

He spent about 95% of the game on offense making the initial pass during the offensive set and then standing back near half court and watching as the rest of the team actually ran an offense, or he'd get the ball in the post and wasn't even looking to split the double -- and that's when Wade was in the back enduring the worst injury in sports history. He just cowardly shrunk away from the moment, which explains The Decision -- it's not that he thought the Cavs weren't good enough for him to take a team to the top, but he doesn't WANT to be the guy to take a team to the top.

But what's scary -- even while running away from the throne, LeBron still managed to put up a triple double and had a bunch of good defensive stops (aside from Jason Terry jacking that absurd three right in his grill). He's just that supremely talented that, even when he's cowardly, he can still put up stats.

D-Wade is clearly the best player on that team. It's not even close. D-Wade has that True Superstar bug where, when all the lights are on (and not Conference Final lights, like LBJ) him, he plays his absolute best, which is some of the best basketball ever played.

It's pretty clear that D-Wade is the best player on the Heat. When the ultimate spotlight is on (and not Conference Finals spotlight), he plays the absolute best basketball he can possibly play, which is some of the best basketball EVER played. And Bosh has even showed up the past few games. But aside from a few moments from Chalmers and Haslem, that Heat team sucks.

If LBJ grows a pair the next two days, the Heat win. If he continues to run away, they lose. Dirk has put on an absolute clinic this whole playoffs and the Mavs are much deeper than the Heat. But his second best teammate (I don't even know who that would be) is nowhere near LBJ.

It's all on LeBron, which is the most fitting end to what's probably the most entertaining NBA season of all-time.

[dave from knoxville]

A Vanderbilt basketball player that I follow on Twitter re-tweeted the line "Don't ask Lebron for change for a dollar, he will only give you 3 quarters."

[buffcoat]

The making fun of Dirk thing, in hindsight, must seem foolish.  It should have seemed foolish in foresight.


I came away from it with a lower opinion of Dwyane Wade.  No change in my opinion of LeBron James (which is that he's callow more than anything else).

[Greggulator]

MAVS WIN!!!!

This is one of the most satisfying sports victories ever. It really does go to show that working hard and having guts can triumph over a spoiled brat looking to take the easy way out.

[Kim Kelly]

Boo.

[Chris L]

Boo.

You've captured the level of feeling in Miami tonight almost exactly.

[Tom Scharpling]

So great. Miami and all of its horrible sports fans can eat it tonight. You had your party last July so you don't get one this June, jerks.

Really glad to see Kidd get his ring after taking his lumps for the last 17 years.

And the Miami Heat couldn't have come off jerkier if Vince McMahon was scripting the Finals. The pointless goofing on Dirk for being sick - and he wasn't limping around making a spectacle of it the way the fucking Heat did WHEN THEY GOT OUT OF THE SECOND ROUND - made no sense. Has any team in the Finals allowed the media spotlight that they courted - I don't remember a gun being held to LeBron's head when he announced The Decision or their ridiculous July victory party - kept following them for some reason.

And to the Heat fans who are convinced this is nothing more than a speed bump in the path of the inevitable multiple championships, just remember the 1995 Orlando Magic, who were destined to win multiple championships. One Finals flameout plus injuries and backbiting added up to a whole lot of nothing.

Tom.

[Pregnant Pause]

Last night was so great.  I cannot imagine how insufferable the Heat would have been if they won, shoving it in everyone's faces. 

[Greggulator]

"The whole world was against us! We've been the underdog all season, blahblahblah" -- The Heat, collectively, in a revisionist history.

Some more thoughts:

1) It's kind of crazy that the Miami player I now respect the most is Chris Bosh. He bothered to show up the past few games and played with a lot of guts, which he didn't do at all during the regular season. He also didn't get involved in Coughgate AND subtly called out LeBron after his stinker. And he sat in that press conference by himself and took questions, unlike LBJ and Wade who sat next to each other in order to try and handle the press. I also like that he cried after the game -- this game and series MEANT something to him and he wasn't afraid to show it, unlike LeBron and Wade. I've come to think that he really did come to Miami to win titles -- he knew he was Option #3 and that he was lucky to make the playoffs in a really crummy Toronto team -- whereas LBJ wanted a shortcut and to promote parties on South Beach.

2) I also really respect Mark Cuban. I don't hate him as much as the rest of the world does. The guy had a regular background, went to a state school, invented something early on in the web's development, made a shitload of money and used it to buy a moribund franchise and turned it into one of the best in the NBA -- I can respect a truly self-made man who earned his money and used it to live out a dream. He was really obnoxious when he came into the league, but he actually had some positive impact by putting a spotlight on the refs and holding them to accountability. And he learned this year to not make the game about himself -- he shut up the whole playoffs. And then he brought out the original owner of the team to hold up the trophy first, and then didn't say much when he had a microphone in his face. He learned that humility is a good thing and that helped the Mavs karma.

3) LeBron somehow managed to come out of this even more of a dickhead with his whole "Those people have to go back to their lives and their problems" spiel.

I know that he won't ever read this. But, LeBron, I know I was not born with the freak genetic coding to be 6'9" and the ability to move with the grace of a gymnast. In fact, my genetic coding prevented me from even having the ability to get off the bench for my 8th grade team (albeit I should have gotten minutes of Joey LaRice, since I had a better outside shot). And it's really great that you can make hundreds of millions of dollars playing what you do.

But you know what? My life is perfectly fine. Sure, I have problems -- I have to somehow find a way to pay my mortgage every month while also considering how to afford a vacation and a new car and also start putting money into a 401K, all while working in journalism which is the absolute worst industry in our current economy in terms of stability.

But you know what, dickhead? I have been blessed with a lot of gifts that aren't valued as much in the American marketplace compared to yours, but I'm still lucky enough to be good at what I choose to do for a career and for a hobby. And if at the end of the day I can honestly say that I used my "talents" to my fullest, and that I can sometimes use them to help out other people, then I can go to sleep pretty comfortably.

I might not sleep on a bed of money like you do. But you have to go to sleep every night for the rest of the summer knowing Dirk Nowitzki schooled your ass.

[chuck from cedar rapids]

Great game! So happy to see the Mavs get the win. Dirk and Jason Kidd deserve these rings. I'm also glad Brian Cardinal won a ring and was finally able to get the critics off his back. There isn't much light I can shed on LeBron's play but this series showed his immaturity and lack of confidence. He doesn't have that killer instinct to take control of a game.

Chris Bosh looks like a dinosaur. The best tweet I say all night: ""clever girl" - jurassic park game warden as two chris boshes emerge from the foliage, weeping"

Greggulator: I'm listening to your podcast and all the Grantland hate. I must admit, my hatred isn't materializing like I had hoped. Bill Simmons is probably the worst writer on the crew (his most recent hockey column was awful) but a lot of it has proven to be interesting. Biggest surprise: Carles of HRO writing a column.

Here's a pretty great takedown of Bill Simmons: http://www.mrdestructo.com/2011/05/bill-simmons-and-grantland.html

[Greggulator]

I'm really torn on Grantland.

They just made an awesome hire with Rafe Bartholemue, who wrote the Pacific Rims book about basketball in the Philippines which is one of the best basketball books ever written -- it's hilarious and also a great insight into another culture. I do have some hope that they can get some good young writers on the site. This also should be a major part of it from Simmons, since he went from a virtual unknown to Internet Superstar overnight after he was discovered on an AOL website in 1999. There are SO many more people writing these days who are great and haven't broken through.

But the Simmons/Klosterman/Eggers triumverate (and I guess Gladwell, too) ruling caste of the website is pretty awful. It's a bunch of people who think they're the defining voice of the current zeitgeist who haven't realized that they're 10 years behind the curve.

Plus, that footnote thing is REALLY obnoxious. It's such a cheap ploy to stand out -- as opposed to the material standing out on its own merits.

[Gilly]

Really cool to see Kidd win a championship. Next year is going to be a big year for him as well as he's basically a lock to take over Stockton's assist crown as long as health isn't an issue. Plus, he should pass Jordan for 2nd all time in steals, but it would take a few years of good play to pass Stockton in that category. It will be really interesting to see how long Kidd and Nash stay in the league and which one of them finishes with the most. It's going to be a big motivator for both them to play a few more years. It's kind of amazing how similar their careers have been. Both will be hall of fame, flashy, pass first point guards that left their original teams only to come back.

[jbissell]

Really cool to see Kidd win a championship. Next year is going to be a big year for him as well as he's basically a lock to take over Stockton's assist crown as long as health isn't an issue. Plus, he should pass Jordan for 2nd all time in steals, but it would take a few years of good play to pass Stockton in that category. It will be really interesting to see how long Kidd and Nash stay in the league and which one of them finishes with the most. It's going to be a big motivator for both them to play a few more years. It's kind of amazing how similar their careers have been. Both will be hall of fame, flashy, pass first point guards that left their original teams only to come back.

In a perfect world, Kidd would retire, Nash would take his spot, and then win a ring with Dirk.

[senorcorazon]

Can the playoffs go on repeat for the rest of the summer? Such an amazing year.