A Taste Of Sweet Revenge

With his win Sunday in Miami, Nowitzki has

cemented his legacy as one of the best

all-time.

It's time to celebrate in South Beach, but not the party many anticipated. The Dallas Mavericks capped off their magical postseason run by defeating the Miami Heat in six games to capture their first NBA title in franchise history. In one of the greatest NBA Finals in recent memory they're so many story lines, but none bigger than Dallas exercising their 2006 NBA Finals demons and silencing their critics once and for all.

    Once labeled soft, Dirk Nowitzki has solidified his legacy as one of the greatest players in NBA history with one of the most remarkable postseason runs the game has ever seen. The seven-foot German finishes the postseason averaging 27.7 points per game with 8.1 rebounds, but his ability to get to the free throw line was a key component not just in the Finals, but throughout Dallas's postseason run to a title.

    He set an NBA record for free throws made in a single postseason game without a miss in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder after going 24 of 24 from the line.

    Nowitzki attempted 186 free throws in the Mavericks twenty-one games this postseason knocking down 175 for them at 94 percent. He becomes just the eleventh player in NBA history to have a least 10 All-Star selections, a regular season Most Valuable Player award and be named the NBA Finals MVP.

    Even though Nowitzki was only one of four players in NBA history heading into this years postseason to average 25 points per game and 10 rebounds in his postseason career, many believed he was not mentality tough enough to perform when it mattered most. You can put all those doubters to bed.

    In the last fifteen postseasons only two players had averaged 10 points or more in the fourth-quarter of the NBA Finals. Those two players include the recently retired Shaquille O'Neal, who is arguably the most dominating presence the NBA has ever seen, for the Los Angeles Lakers and the greatest player of all-time Michael Jordan for the Chicago Bulls.

    Now you may add a third player to that list with Nowitzki averaging 10.3 points in the fourth quarter of this years NBA Finals cementing his legacy as one of the clutchest players in postseason history. It was not easy for the longtime Mav, struggling from the field in the first half scoring only 3 points on 1 of 12 shooting.

    The second half would be his stage yet again scoring 10 of his 18 second half points in the final period ensuring himself his first NBA championship while fulfilling a childhood dream. Nowitzki had a total of 62 fourth-quarter points in the series, that's as many as Miami's LeBron James and Dwayne Wade scored combined.

    Thanks in large part to his hard work, dedication to the game and longtime German coach and mentor Holger Geschwindner, he has finally reached the mountain top with his resume now complete.

    Yes, there is no question that Nowitzki was the MVP of this Mavericks team, but this was in fact a team and without the help of his supporting cast, the calm of demeanor of his veteran point guard Jason Kidd and the brilliance of head coach Rick Carlisle this fairy tale ending would have never become reality.

The 2010-11 Dallas Mavericks are the optimity
of a team.

Jason Terry, who was the only other remaining member of that '06 Finals team, called out James prior to Game 4 and delievered. "JET" as they call him scored 19 first half points and was the main reason why Dallas held a 2-point lead at the break even with their superstar struggling.

    Point guard J. J. Barea became the spark that ignited this team when he torched the two-time defending champion Lakers in their second-round series. After shooting only 5 of 23 in the first three games against the Heat, Carlisle inserted Barea into the starting lineup and Dallas never looked back winning the next three games of the series.

    The oldest point guard to ever start a NBA Finals game, Kidd is a seventeen-year veteran, who had squandered both his opportunities to win a championship during his time in New Jersey. This time it would all be different.

    Kidd was the orchestrator to Dallas's late fourth-quarter comebacks. His sense of calmness, defense and ability to stay emotionless when the game had taken a turn for the worst enabled the Mavericks to comeback time after time. Now at 38, Kidd becomes the second oldest player only to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to play and win in the NBA Finals.

    The leadership and determination of forward Shawn Marion and Tyson Chandler add to the list of players that contributed to this Dallas win as a unit.

    As for Carlisle, his coaching was the X-factor in this series and if they could give the MVP to a non-player, he would have earned it. It continues to be the little things that win basketball games and that is exactly what Carlisle did. His attention to detail and call of the right number at the right time is something that can't be taught.

    Inserting Barea into the starting lineup, playing a zone defense most of the series, and not allowing James and Wade to play to their strengths by getting to the basket and draw fouls, but rather have them beat Dallas with jumpers were all key decisions made by the former Celtic, putting together one of the greatest coaching clinics we have seen in years.

    How can we forget the benching of sharp-shooter Peja Stojakovic in favor of the custodian Brian Cardinal, whose contributions to the series will not show up in the box score, but will be forever remembered by Mavericks fans across the nation.

    Carlisle is now 11-3 in potential closeout games of a series which is the best mark all-time.

James walks away yet again on the losing
end of a NBA Finals.

For the Heat, it is a bitter end to season that overall was a success. Just a year into three superstar players coming together they exceeded many people's expectations besides their own. After taking a 2-1 series lead, the Heat just fell out of sync and never found their rhythm again.

    They finish the postseason 9-2 at home, but they started the series 8-0. After winning Game 1 in their home building they lost what would be their final two games at the AmericanAirlines Arena on the year. Those included blowing a 15-point lead in the fourth-quarter in Game 2 and of course the closeout game of this series.

    They had never lost back-to-back games this postseason until they decided it was time to lose three in a row following their Game 3 win in Dallas. It didn't help that after James averaged 26.7 points per game in the regular season only averaged 17.8 in the Finals. That 8.9 point differential is the largest in NBA history.

    It was just not Miami's time as they were beaten clearly by a better team, but they will be back. Whether or not they win is a whole different issue.

    Miami showed signs of their immaturity in this series and that was never more apparent than when James and Wade were caught of camera prior to shoot around mocking Nowitzki and his illness in Game 4. The jokes on them with the Mavs superstar getting the last laugh.

    It was a team of destined as the "Comeback Kids" did not have a single champion on this squad, but now go home as champions together. Their sometimes outspoken owner Mark Cuban kept his mouth shut throughout and showed his class by relinquishing the Larry O' Brien Trophy to the Mavericks original founder and owner Donald Carter.

    America can finally breathe their sigh of relief after David slaved Goliath and this time Goliath was a three-headed monster.