By Paul Casey Gotham
With the formality of game five behind them, the Dallas Mavericks and Dirk Nowitzki move on to the N.B.A. finals. Formality because the Mavs extracted the aorta from the Oklahoma City Thunder in game four. Aorta because referring to the heart might be an exaggeration. But no doubt, the young Thunder lost more than the game when Dallas rebounded from 15 down with five minutes remaining in game four.
The Mavs’ victory lends some stability to the American professional sports landscape. The wily veterans dismissing the youthful and talented Thunder. It’s good to know that experience still has a place in sports. Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Tyson Chandler and company showed the brash, young stars how it is done.
Nowitzki, in particular, has received considerable attention. And why not? He had a pair of 40-plus point performances against the Thunder. The twelve-year veteran has shot almost 52 percent from the field and 93 percent from the line in these playoffs.
In this age of media scrutiny and hyperbole, it seems only natural that pundits would place Dirk side-by-side with the greats of the game. Dallas coach, Rick Carlisle, has fueled the talk by suggesting that Nowitzki is a ” top 10 player in NBA history.” Playing in the mid 80s for the Celtics and Knicks, Carlisle has had an up-close view of some great players. But it is one man’s view, and there is a growing number of amnesiacs buying into the claim.
Dirk is having a nice, an impressive playoff run. At 7′, he creates match-up problems when he steps out behind the arc. Yes, the one-foot fadeaway will be attempted in AAU tournaments this weekend. Maybe that’s why he has only averaged double-digit rebounds for a season just one time in his career.
He looks good with his back to the basket when the likes of Serge Ibaka are on him. People want to talk about Dirks’s ability to bring the ball up the floor. Yeah, as long as no one in the range of 6’2″ is within 50 feet.
Top 10 all-time? Dirk has not, yet, been on a team that won a title. The Mavs advanced to the finals and lost to the Miami Heat in 2006. It was a solid run, but top 10 material? Don’t forget the first round ouster in 2007. Dirk looked more like a Hanna-Barbera character than an NBA star as the Golden State Warriors hit everything inside half-court en route to the 4-2 elimination of the number one seed. “Zoinks!” That’s why you play defense.
The Mavs bowed out in the first round a year later. Same result happened in 2004. Counting this year, Dirk and the Mavs have 12 series wins in 12 years.
Again, Dirk is having a nice playoff run. Top 10 all-time?
Chicago Bee Gees
It will be all about staying alive (my one disco reference for the decade) when Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls take the court tonight trying to stave off elimination. Or is it the inevitable. The Miami Heat have proven, if nothing else, to be an efficient team in overtime.
Rose is learning the painful difference between the regular and post season. Success for 82 games does nothing more than to add to the weight of the bullseye hanging from one’s neck. Yes, the Heat are more talented (thank you Captain Obvious), especially with Udonis Haslem in the lineup.
The Bulls would not have been the first less-talented team to take a playoff series (see the above paragraph about the Warriors upsetting the Mavs). Where the denizens of the United Center go from here will be interesting. Rose might have to accept some growing pains. Dare I say, he might have to infuse a little Jason Kidd into his game. There is no questioning his talent, but the Bulls as a team struggle to play with any consistent rhythm on offense. Is that Rose’s fault? No. But he may have to adjust his role in the future. Either that or expect, Le Bron James to keep volunteering to put a glove on him in important situations.
Speaking of James, I have found myself looking forward to a Heat-Mavericks match-up (excuse me while I rinse the vomit from my mouth). I can’t help myself. The match-ups are too juicy. Yes, I am looking forward to the WWF (or is it WWE) impersonators advancing to the finals.
Who would cover Dirk? Would LeBron? Or would it be Chris Bosh until it mattered most? For that matter, can the Mavs long-range attack find success against the Heat? Come to think of it, how would the Mavs match-up? Can you have Chandler and Nowitzki on for long stretches?
This could be the ultimate truth or consequences. Who is for real?
All this and the Bulls are still alive…at least for now. At some point during these thoughts, I wanted to re-enact the bathroom scene from Liar Liar because I needed to make like Fletcher Reede (played by Jim Carrey) and “kick my a**.” Pulling for the Heat? I feel kind of dirty.
9-1-1
I am wondering how many other people wanted to make a pre-emptive emergency call yesterday when this headline appeared on none too few media sites: Lakers to hire Brown.
Larry Brown in Hollywood? Oh man, there is sure to be a crime committed before that tenure ends. Only then did I realize my mistake. The Brown referred to is not the coaching vagabond (or UPS for that matter), but Mike Brown. Okay, 9-1-1 is not needed. At least for now. Brown is known as a defensive-minded coach. Does that make Kobe the offensive coordinator?
Bulls really gagged it away last night, but oh well … I’m pretty sure the Heat were going to advance anyway. Just quite disappointed we won’t see a Game 6. Taking a step back, this has been a GREAT season for the Bulls … they are obviously a serious contender, but this Miami series exposed the gaps on the Bulls roster. True, Derrick Rose did not play very well for most of these Miami games. I’m confident he will learn from this … he’s so young and talented and has a great attitude. BUT, it was very telling last night during essentially the entire 4th quarter, three Bulls starters were planted squarely on the bench: Boozer, Noah and Bogans. This was probably the third or fourth time during these playoffs that this was the case. Title contenders should not and cannot have this be a consistent scenario. Points to serious offensive deficiencies that the Bulls are gonna have to fix if they’re to be champions in the long run.