Dirk and the Mavs cruise to the Finals.
In the words of Samuel L. Jackson’s Pulp Fiction character Jules Winnfield, the German, Dirk Nowitzki, finally “shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness” and on to the NBA Finals after five long years in the Playoffs abyss.
Nowitzki hit the go-ahead three-pointer from the top of the key and iced two free throws to seal the 100-96 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder last night for the rights to the team’s second Western Conference crown in franchise history.
Thing is, Dirk’s been there, done that.
“We got one of those trophies already and it didn’t mean anything at the end,” said Nowitzki of the Western Conference trophy. “I think once you get to the Finals there is no second place finish.”
Dirk has demons to exorcise. All he can think about is letting the Miami Heat take four straight games on the way to the 2006 NBA title after his team was up 2-0 in the series. It was only compounded by the fact that the very next year, he took his team to the best record in the League and was bounced from the Playoffs in the first round by the eighth-seeded Golden State Warriors.
From there, the Mavs became regular-season stalwarts, but second-season afterthoughts. Now, in the immortal words of Diddy circa 1995, this is the remix. It would even be poetic justice if Miami closes out the Chicago Bulls to make it back to the NBA’s biggest stage themselves. Dirk would have the chance to slay the dragon that burned him. He’d finally get his do over against the very team that caused all of his nightmares. He could take the Larry O’Brien back from South Beach.
As otherworldly as Nowitzki has played this postseason, he’s worn a certain level of gravitas on his face, happy for each win but careful not to get caught up because he knows that he ain’t done “ish” yet. For the former MVP, the ultimate goal, the only goal, is the ring, the ‘chip, the redemption.
And that’s why, with all of its youth, and two superstars in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, OKC was not going to stand in the German’s way.
It was evident in his near perfect Game 1 performance. It was cemented in his legend making, Larry Bird comparison-inducing, come from behind wizardry in Game 4 and it was written in the Game 5 clincher.
“He’s been unbelievable throughout the whole Playoffs,” said Tyson Chandler. “I really feel like he’s a man on a mission.”
The Thunder, for their part, played exceptionally well, leading the whole way behind James Harden’s superb play off the pine. The Bearded One finished with 23 points and 6 dimes. Russell Westbrook finished with a game-high 31 points, but only shot 11-28 from the field. The Thunder will be back, they will figure it out, they will get there…one day. Just not today.
Nowitzki and Shawn Marion each tallied 26 points, but the most important stat was their point total in the fourth quarter: Matrix for 15 and Dirk for 9. It’s been said that Marion is not the pogo stick athlete he once was with the Phoenix Suns, but his defense and key plays down the stretch made him an integral cog in the Mavs machine in this series.
Now, as the Mavs await the winner of the Eastern Conference Finals, they’ll look to remove Dirk and Jason Kidd from the list of great players to never win a ring. And if Mark Cuban has anything to say about it—and you know damn well he does—it’s well within reach.
“All I can tell everybody is…” said Mark Cuban during the trophy presentation. “We ain’t done yet.” — Maurice Bobb / @ReeseReport
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Mavs are back and hoping to avenge the ’06 series loss.
’06, da reeeeemix.
From perceived X-factor to total non-factor for two teams in the same season.
he & ason really deserved a ring, maybe mr. crawford (the zebra) can do something this time…
Someone’s furious at the world, hide the cutlery.
“Dirk? dirk. Jason Kidd? Anybody?”
Laughed my butt off at that one.
Nowitzki was having nothing to do with any kind of celebration after this one. Luv.it.
wait…i mean. the bulls aren’t done yet!
Postseason collapses aside, the Mavs are a model of consistent winning. Time to win THE ultimate prize.
they walked off the court, right past the bulls bench, with time still left on the clock.
now THAT was a b*tch move.
Feel badly for Russell Westbrook, man. The Playoffs never, EVER fail to bring “it” out of a player.
Whatever that “it” is.
He got caught up in the moment. But, they all did. They will learn, though. Durant is a certified “assassin”. DESPITE the failings of some people around him.
@1982:
I’ve always wondered why Jason Kidd almost always begins his answers from reporters’ questions with, “The big thing is”…
Well, you’ve answered it for me.
That is what kings have to go through sometimes. lol
Did you see how he handled Doris Burke when she asked about him being quiet so far? And then saying that only the fans in the building believed in them?
First, they were favored by almost everybody against the Thunder. Now, they weren’t favored against the Lakers, and that was mainly due to the loss of Caron Butler. For him to play the “no respect” card when everybody had them as the second best team in the playoffs is just stupid.
Dude spends money, no doubt. But his whole attitude is a turnoff to me. He is uber rich and still seems whiny. If you’re a billionaire, why are you whining?
When people have to shovel sh1t for their bread, they tend to be a little more docile and affable. For those who got it without shoveling sh1t, they tend to have this sense of entitlement.
I don’t know about Cuban. But for a few others, you know what I’m saying.
To the LeBron point though, had he NOT stayed around to shake hands with the Hawks after the Cavs beat them, I don’t think him walking off the court against the Magic would’ve been as big of a story.
So the larger point in all of this is that if you can accept the praise when you beat someone, you have to also give it when you suffer defeat, like he did last year against the Celtics. I thought that was classy.
I’m not asking for docility. But dude is rude and whiny. At least in my opinion.
Why?
But, we all know that Cubes is cut from a different cloth. Donald Trump is the same way, in my opinion. Bill Gates, not so much.
And, co-sign Bryan Crawford @1:25p.m.
I’m a cool billionaire.
Except I’m a billionaire minus $999,999,998.55
lol
And I don’t hope for them to succeed.
So, while I have grown to appreciate Dirk a lot, and respect him even more, I will not root for him to win because if he wins, Cuban wins.
“It took Michael Jordan four years to get past the first round of the playoffs and five to get to the level Rose and Durant have achieved this year, the conference finals. Durant is in Year 4, Rose in Year 3.”
It’s good to put things in perspective, particularly since Mike lost in the ECF a few times too.
not a fan of either team though
I had to train a new hire here at my job, and it wasn’t exactly like I could tell her “and this is SLAM Online, where I REALLY spend most of my day at.”
LOL.
Anyways, Mavs did their thing last night.
Hope the Bulls can extend their series tonight.
And with Caron back next year this might be their 2 yr window. After that we can have a OKC Bulls dominated era as long as the Heat never ever wins a title again. Ball-carrying, feet-shuffeling traveling MF’s.
Advantage Miami there. Note to Dirk; finish in 6 please.
Go play with dolls and playdough if your little feelings get hurt over what someone says on the net.
But leave it to you to champion Westbrook’s cause since in your opinion no one on SLAMonline or in the media is going to say or even willing to say, “Hey Durant… You suck!”
When I was watching DWade down the stretch I was thinking “wow” Drose is still not on his level. I mean when a PG takes 27 shots, that’s more chucking that a woodchuck
JTaylor21 Posted: Jan.16 at 1:52 pm
When I was watching DWade down the stretch I was thinking “wow” Drose is still not on his level. I mean when a PG takes 27 shots, that’s more chucking that a woodchuck.”
Talk about contradicting yourself… Man, oh man. But like I said, that’s typical, and also predictable as I now wait for some variant of the ‘rose pedal’ joke.
When did I ever say that it’s was a good thing or that I supported a PG taking as many shots as Rose/Westbrook have taken so far in the playoffs? All I’m pleading for unbiased reporting and equal criticism.
And for the record, EVERYBODY is biased. There is no such thing as being unbiased. That’s fairytale ish.
But hey, if you want to make a difference in the writing world, instead of posting your views here, do what most people do, start a blog. I’ve said that to you before.
You obviously feel that you have a wealth of basketball knowledge that you want to share with the rest of the world, why waste it here? Makes no sense.
And the assertion that guys just dribble around and “jack” 3′s shouldn’t be applied across the board like that, IMO. I don’t think that applies in every case.
Maybe should try being objective for once instead of always being stubborn for the hell of it.
I’m out… Game 5 at the UC.
Peace, y’all.
Because he’s not just in it for the money and WANTS to win because he actually likes basketball?
He has a point about the Mavs being overlooked year in, year out. How many people thought the BLAZERS would take the Mavs out in the first round? How many people thought the Lakers would manhandle the Mavs? The only reason the Mavs were favored to beat OKC was because they swept the Lakers. Had they beat them in 7, OKC probably would have been the favorite.
Also, where is Marc Cuban’s sense of entitlement? I don’t see it. Face it, everybody involved in sports, be it a fan, a front office executive, a player, or a coach, whines. A lot. Every basketball fan whines. We all do it. Just because he’s an uber rich, billionaire basketball fan doesn’t mean he can’t whine every now and then. He’s not whining about how hard his life is… he’s whining about basketball. Because we all do it.
He’s a 22-year-old who just made it to the conference finals, he did the same thing for five games and NO ONE CORRECTED HIM— his coach didn’t say “Russ, stop chucking shots!” and Durant didn’t say “Hey, Russell, give me the f’ing ball and let me create from the double team!”
I don’t know what was said before and after the games, but I know NOTHING was said during the games. I know as a 22-year-old, I made mistakes. I had my bosses and teachers to yell and scream at me. The majority of blame should be put on Westbrook, but a lot needs to go on the management of the situation. I think Scott Brooks is a great coach but he tried to let the situation play out itself and that failed horribly.
And of course, Durant could have had a better last two games, but having two former all-NBA defenders hanging on you must be a pain.
The thing is, Westbrook CAN get assists when he wants to, but he’s so effective without the ball as well–and is by far their best cutter–that it’s almost a waste to have him handling the ball all the time.
Just playin, man.
So stop with the experience excuse because KD hasn’t shown anything in the playoffs to be labeled an elite player. Same with a couple of PGs that were selected to the first-second all-nba teams.
Let’s face it, Durant is VERY BIG for the SF spot. That should mean he’s slower, but he’s not, that is his advantage. He was being guarded by smaller, quicker defenders to prevent him from cutting, and in the last two games, it was clear Durant’s shot was off. That’s fine, it happens, whenever Durant got into one of his “sweet spots” they doubled him and Durant wasn’t hitting well from spots he doesn’t like (generally straight ot the basket).
I get your criticism, and I do think it comes from Durant being overhyped this summer, but he’s still 22 man. He has time to improve. I don’t think his ceiling is Bird-esque but I think it’s pretty high and I’m excited to see it. I’ll give Durant a pass here. His team wasn’t supposed to make the conference finals anyway.
I’m a bit harder on Westbrook because he didn’t play his game, he was playing a lot more like he was the first option on the team– something I’m also sure will be fixed in time. No need to raise the red flags, but yeah, Westbrook changed his game in the playoffs for the worse. Durant was just cold for half the games. There’s a difference.
I don’t mind arguing with peeps, it doesn’t really effect me. But seeing all that hate, and having people use me and Rico and Eboy’s name, and then get all the blame for it, well that upset me a bit. If you’re upset on a message board, ya gotta back off and get some real life air.
And people say this ish while at the same time getting upset at people’s refusal to take them seriously. This is why…
Oh yeah, experience and age do matter in basketball as well as in life, too. Just want to throw that one out there.
Top6-10- DWill/Rose/KD/KB/ZBo
Juaki, fair points but if smaller players are his kryptonite, that’s going to dog him for his entire career especially when his shot aren’t falling. A wise man once told me that a player’s shot comes and goes but rebounding, defense and playmaking skills are there to stay. KD can not create shots for others, he’s below average on the defensive end and he’s an average rebounder for someone his size. So when his shots isn’t falling (which will happen from time to time), he becomes an average player. That’s not a good thing for a guy that was supposed to transcend the game. LB’s shot wasn’t falling, he played D, dominated the boards and created looks for others. Same for Bron, MJ, and any other elite perimeter player. I just don’t see KD being able to dominate a game when his shots aren’t falling.
unf*ckwitable is on point, just slightly short of Unf★ckwitable™
Oh, and BC…wifey’s half in on moving back to Illinois…I say half cause she’s trying to push me into going to NIU…in freakin’ Dekalb!!!
I’ll hit you up bout it later tho…
And JTaylor’s top 5 players are Bron….Bron…Bron, Bron, Bron!
Cause he spits hot fiyah!
He’s humble and quiet in real life, like Derrick Rose, remember?
Sorry JT, couldn’t help myself!
BC, so you’re telling me that there isn’t a difference between a guy like Melo and a guy like Bron or a difference between ZBo and Dirk?
Bron/Dirk(elite players), ZBo/Melo (great players)
Also if we are docking ZBo for his supposed lack of D, (he played good D in the postseason but since there’s no stat to back up that claim, you probably won’t believe me), we might as well drop Dirk, KD, DRose and Kobe (who played zero D in the RS and Postseason) down a couple spots.
That’s why I said there’s only a few elite players in the L today because there are quite a few great players that only play one side of the court.
Let me break it down in layman’s terms for the regular folks; MJ- elite player, CDrexler- great player, Bird- elite player, DWilkins- great player, Magic- elite player, Stock- great player, CP- elite player, SNash- great player. See where I’m going with this. There’s a difference between an elite player (able to dominate a game in so many ways) and a great player (able to dominate in one or two ways). How bout you read the entire post before you resort to throwing around insults.
@JTaylor: Nah, smaller players who play JTaylor very close are his bane now, but he can get over that hump pretty easy. Why do you think that would haunt him his entire career? Spend a summer learning to take jump shots with someone riding you, it’ll get easier with time. As for his other skillsets, you are right, they are below average, but he gets better every year. No reason to believe they’ll stop improving.
@BC: <3
@Rico: Nice to see you too. Refresh me if I'm wrong, you're Engimatic, correct?
Although I would like to know why Stockton is great and Chris Paul is elite.
Didn’t mean to insult you, JT.
(okay, those last two comebacks by Miami were bloody frightening)
Let’s go, Mavs.
I think CP’s elite because he has shown the ability to carry a team while I just felt that Stockton never had that ability. Also CP’s the better all-around player.
That’s just my opinion though not the census.
But using two different adjectives two describe the two? That may be a bit much for me.
Plus, do you think Paul’s ever gonna be the same? Multiple leg surgeries shows Paul has slowed down. He’s playing like a cagey vet instead of an offensive monster… Something I thought he could combine one day. His mental toughness also seems to come and go. It’s depressing, and he’s still a top-5/10 caliber player, but I think the injuries have capped him, maybe significantly.
What’s yer thoughts on CP’s ceiling?
Maybe transcended is a better adjective.
My point was, the difference between MJ and Drexler is IMMENSE and Chris Paul vs Stockton is… minuscule, to say the least, haha. I think Stockton at his height was better, I can understand saying Chris Paul’s two transcending years were better, but one is elite and one is great? I think that’s a stretch a bit, that’s all. I get everything you’re saying.
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