The Mavericks Time is Now(itzki)

By - Kris Fletcher

Despite the fact that the Heat pretty much no-showed with their season hanging in the balance in Game 6, overall this NBA Finals was still one of the best in recent memory. For the most part, the games were highly contested, plus factor in all the subplots (the Dirk finger injury, the Game 4 fever, the James and Wade mocking of Nowitzki and the D-Wade hip injury, just to name a few), and you truly had a series to remember.

Photo by: Getty Images

No one was happier to see Dallas win the title more than me. One reason being, Dirk has always been one of my favorite players, so seeing him finally getting his ring was great. Another reason is because I've spent the better half of the 3+ months this website has been in existence bashing LeBron and saying Miami had no chance to win the championship this year, so I'm glad the Mavericks helped make me look good.

Don't get me wrong, regardless of if I like someone or not (and in this particular instance, it's not), I'm still always the first person to give someone credit for being good at something. LeBron James is a great basketball player. One of the best in the league. I just don't care for him as a person.

I don't wanna get off topic here and turn this into yet another LeBron-bashing post, but bottom line, based on what I saw in this series, he wanted no part of actually LEADING Miami to a title. Great players don't just disappear every time the 4th quarter rolls around, and that's exactly what he did throughout the series. Here's the only stat from the Finals you need to know: In six 4th quarters, LeBron James scored a total of 18 points. In contrast, Dirk Nowitzki scored 62. SLIGHT difference huh?

Photo by: Robert Duyo

LeBron's teams are now a combined 2-8 in NBA Finals games, so everyone that I keep hearing say, "Well he's still gonna get his rings down the line," might wanna rethink that whole thought process. What is that statement even being based on? Because he's a great player? Plenty of great players never won a championship. Karl Malone, Charles Barkley and Reggie Miller are prime examples, and those guys never just folded and showed no heart whatsoever down the stretch when their teams needed them the most.

To sum up my take on James, I'll say this: The Michael Jordan comparisons need to officially stop forever. Michael NEVER had a Finals series even remotely as sorry as the one Lebron just had, period.

Now, on to the primary topic of this post, and that's the Dallas Mavericks and Dirk Nowitzki. No one gave Dallas much of a chance in this series, yet they still managed to find a way to win it. That's what great teams do. That's what great players do, and that's exactly what Dirk Nowitzki is. It's just a shame it took this long for everyone else to finally notice.

Photo from: jimrome.com

Nowitzki didn't just have a great Finals, he had a great postseason in general. Time and again he delivered when the Mavericks needed him most. Even on the rare nights he was off, he STILL stepped up in critical times to seemingly will Dallas to victory. That's the "it" factor. Some guys have "it," some guys don't. Dirk does. LeBron doesn't. If nothing else, this series proved that to be fact.

So chalk one up for the good guys. The right team, and right superstar for that matter, won this one.

Thank goodness.