My Reaction to the Mavericks Winning it All

Ok ok I've taken a lot of shit for not saying anything about the NBA finals.  I predicted that the Heat would win in 6 games and obviously that didn't happen.  I'm not sure how a team with 2 and a half superstars lost to a team filled with old white guys.  Now yes I realize that two of them are sure-fire hall of famers, however they are both an ankle sprain away from retirement.  Now that the finals are over, I guess it's time to make some observations.

First and foremost, everyone probably thinks I should retract my Lebron is better than Jordan statements.  This I simply cannot do.  Lebron is still only 26 years old, and Jordan was 28 when he won his first ring.  With that said, I'm not sure what the hell happened to Lebron in the finals.  Honestly.  Me and Scottie Pippen had given him so much praise, only for it to explode in our faces.  Lebron decided that he no longer wanted to partake in the offense, and instead just stood around watching his teammates.  Why this happened, I honestly have no fucking clue....so don't even ask.

With this said though, I think there are a lot of people that need to take the blame for this collapse as well.  Because if Miami managed to hold that double digit lead in the 4th quarter in Game 2, chances are they would have been up 3 games to none.  Yes, maybe if they were down 2 games to none Dallas would have fought harder in Game 3, and won that.  But the point is Game 2 was the pivotal one in the series because it shifted the momentum, and it was also that pivotal game that Dallas needed to win in South Beach.

I think a huge reason why Dallas won was because they had Jim Carrey aka Rick Carlisle on the sidelines.  I mean this guy made some unbelievable calls during the series.  He decided to completely eliminate Peja's playing time after Peja decided to stop hitting three pointers.  Instead of playing the great shooter, he gave significant minutes to Jason Kidd's father (or so it seemed) also known as Brian Cardinal.  This guy, known only as the Custodian, played out of his mind and even hit a couple huge three pointers for the Mavericks.  Also, he hustled more than anyone else on the floor, often trying to draw charges by running after players and then falling backwards.  Also, Brian used his limited minutes to his advantage by ensuring that in his brief stint on the floor, he would do his best to commit at least 3 hard fouls that could potentially knock out some Heat players.

But that's not all Jim Carrey did.  He realized that Lebron did not have a postup game and sent Jason Kidd and the garden gnome to cover him at times.  Now this seems like a ridiculous idea.  Lebron should have demolished Kidd, but he does not have a post game.  And that is why the combination of Kidd and Marion managed to somehow shut down one of the best players of the postseason.  They gave him as many open shots as he wanted, and simply took away his ability to drive into the lane.  And if he did drive the lane, he was either greeted by the tall goofy white guy who would always try to either take a charge, or the same goofy white guy who would swing his elbows wildly hoping for the knockout.  I still cannot believe that Rick Carlisle managed a way to take Lebron out of the game.  He deserves as much credit for Lebron choking as Lebron himself.

And on the other side of things, Eric Spoelstra was as confused as ever.  I really wish they would show what the hell he did on the sidelines during timeouts.  Just look at this to see how different things were in 2006 and how they were a few days ago:

If you look at the video, at around the 1:00 mark, Spoelstra is in his natural role.  He is standing around confused with a clipboard, hoping that Pat Riley does not yell at him.  Pat Riley meanwhile is going crazy, yelling at everyone and scaring the shit out of everyone including Shaq and Wade.  That is what this Heat team needed.  They needed a tough coach that would take a stand against his big three.  For example, if Lebron suddenly decided he didn't want to play offense, he should have been benched or yelled at.  Instead of dare insulting his superstar, Spoelstra just stood around quietly praying that things would somehow work out.  

Now a lot of people came out immediately after the loss and said it wasn't Eric's fault for the loss, and that he shouldn't be fired.  Bullshit! The Miami Heat need Pat Riley to step down and take his natural job of coaching.  This idiot Spoelstra should be allowed to do what he does best, examine videos and stand around with clipboards.  After all, does anyone here think Riley would have allowed Lebron to do this:

If that was Pat Riley, then you better believe that Lebron would have missed a couple of weeks of basketball.  Then, he'd come back and hold a press conference, tearfully apologizing for accidentally bumping into Riley.  He would have a black eye and a couple of bruises, and when questioned by the media, he'd get frightened and run away into the locker room.  That is the kind of impression I get when I see Pat Riley.  He looks like a freaking mob boss out there.  Hell, I bet if Riley was coach even Deshawn Stevenson would be afraid to fuck around with the Heat players.

But that is what the Heat desperately need.  They have so many egos on that team that it will take a hall of fame coach to manage them.  And then Lebron needs a coach that will actually stand up to him, that will bench him if he begins to play like an idiot.  He has never had one of those, instead his coaches always seemed to ask him what the right move was.  Pat Riley is the perfect piece to that puzzle.

Now I am not making excuses for the Heat.  They were not ready this year for a championship, although they did get further than most people expected.  If they did not collapse in Game 2, perhaps they'd be celebrating today.  But nonetheless, it wasn't meant to be.  I'm not sure what else to say about the series, because there were so many stories.  But all that matters is that Dallas played with more heart, and more determination to win.  That's all that it really came down to.

Oh, and for all the people that were talking about how Wade was carrying the team and being the superstar, get the fuck out of here.  Dwyane Wade is a pussy, don't even get me started.  He was nonexistent throughout the entire playoffs, literally relying on Bosh and Lebron to carry him.  And all of a sudden, he begins to score points in the finals and he's the undisputed leader of that team?  Dwyane Wade will never accomplish as much individually as Lebron James, all you haters can get your heads out of your asses.

That will be all.  As you can tell, I'm still pissed off.....

-Divine 6/16/2011