2011 NBA Finals: The Dallas Mavericks Are Champions

The Dallas Mavericks exercised the demons that had been hanging around since 2006. They did something most of the basketball world didn't think they could do.



Photo courtesy: Associated Press



They got past the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in sweeping fashion and they took down the upstart Oklahoma City Thunder to get one more shot at a team who had shocked them in the finals just five years ago.

When you're facing a team which boasts the likes of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh, there aren't a lot of people who will pick against them. Especially not in the NBA Finals.

But leave it to Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry, DeShawn Stevenson, Jason Kidd, and others to come into this series with the biggest chip on their shoulder. No one outside of their own fans expected them to hang around. There were even some who expected a Miami Heat sweep.

The two teams would split the first four games, the margin of victory never getting more than eight points. But when Dallas pulled out a nine point win in game five at home in Dallas, there was a feeling around the metroplex that the momentum the Mavericks had would be too much for the Miami Heat to overcome.

It didn't matter the series was shifting back to South Beach and the American Airlines Center. It didn't matter LeBron James and Dwayne Wade were returning to their home court and their home fans to try and win back-to-back games to, once again, steal the series from the Mavericks.

 

The way this Dallas team was playing, the doubters were even beginning to change their minds.


Photo courtesy: Getty Images



Game six was unlike any game of the series so far. Dirk came out ice cold, hitting one of his first 12 shot attempts and sitting most of the first quarter with two quick fouls.

But even though their star couldn't hit the broad side of the barn, another Mavs star stepped up and made sure that on this night his team was not going to lose.

Coming off the bench, Terry would score a game high 27 points, hitting 11 of his 16 shot attempts including 3-of-7 from three point range. He couldn't have played a better game when his team needed him the most. Not only did he hit the game clinching three in game five at home, but he was lights out in game six and at times seemed like he wasn't going to miss all night long.

When the final buzzer sounded and the Mavericks were able to celebrate, Nowitzki disappeared into the locker room to steal a moment for himself. A player who had given it everything he had and had put this team on his back with some of the most gutsy performances in NBA Finals history, needed to regain his composure and let out the emotions that were a long time coming.

This was a team effort from start to finish. Dirk hit some big shots for the Mavericks but without big shots from Terry, Stevenson, and others, there would be no celebration for this team and for this town.

Even the morning after, the metroplex is still buzzing about the events of Sunday night. Is this real? Did this team really win an NBA Championship?


Photo courtesy: Getty Images



When the team returns home and lands at Dallas Love Field sometime around 11am on Monday morning, they will be carrying a brand new shiny trophy down the jetway.

At that moment, Maverick fans will know just how real this ride was.

Their baseball team, the Texas Rangers, came oh so close in 2010. This time they will be able to celebrate the first major championship since the Dallas Cowboys won their last Super Bowl back in 1995.

But for some, this title is the sweetest of them all.

The Dallas Mavericks are the 2011 NBA Champions for the first time in franchise history. This is a title that will never be taken from this group of guys. This is a title these players and this town can be proud of.

This one was earned.

Dirk Nowitzki Isn't Enough From Keeping the Dallas Mavericks From a Complete Collapse

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The Dallas Mavericks, over at least the last decade, have been one of the best teams in the Western Conference. Not only that but they have one of the best players in that same conference perhaps even the entire NBA.

But that hasn't been enough in the past and it's not going to be enough this time around either. This doesn't just hang on Dirk Nowitzki's shoulders, losing Caron Butler will be the biggest blow to this team's chances of getting through the first round of the playoffs. Let alone get back to the NBA Finals.

Throughout the Dallas/Ft Worth metroplex, Nowitzki is seen as the golden child, the face of the franchise, the Michael Young of the Dallas Mavericks.

Be that as it may, but he's not the guy that's going to get them over the hump. He's been given that chance and he hasn't been able to get it done. You can say he didn't have the right players around him but that statement isn't exactly true when Dirk didn't get this team to the NBA Finals all by himself.

In 2011, Dirk has solid players around him. Guys that can make this entire team run without their star. The only problem is the team isn't running with Dirk on the sidelines with a knee injury. While Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, DeShawn Stevenson, Shawn Marion and Tyson Chandler try to hold this team together, they showed they're not good enough after being beaten easily by the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night.

Dallas is a town that has been waiting for a championship for the past 16 years, the last time the Dallas Cowboys brought a Super Bowl home. Since then the Cowboys have one playoff win and both the Texas Rangers and Dallas Mavericks both have appearances in the big game but neither have been able to get it done.

After an abysmal season from the Cowboys in 2010 the fans here expected big things from the Mavericks and after a 22-5 start it looked like they were going to get their wish.

Since that time the Mavericks have won just four of their last 11 games including four straight losses and no end in sight.

Though we can talk about Dirk coming back and putting this team on his back, if he tries to do it himself you may as well call this season over and get ready for the 2011-2012 season. Dirk can't do it by himself and he's not the kind of player that should be expected to.

We can talk about the Kobe Bryant's, the LeBron James', the Ray Allen's, and so on but for my money Dirk Nowitzki doesn't belong in that category.

I'm not saying he's not a great player because he can do what a lot of players his height can't do. Not only can he hit the outside jumper but he can grab the rebounds underneath and get physical in the box when the team needs it.

However, when he's left one on one he's not going to beat many defenders off the dribble.

Mark Cuban needs to look at this team's future and realize he doesn't have the players or the team together that's going to be able to hang an NBA Championship banner at the American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas.

Maybe it's time for him to think about rebuilding this team and doing so without Dirk Nowitzki. The Mavericks haven't accomplished their ultimate goal with him, who's to say they can't deal him for the right players to bring that ultimate goal home?

Sure it's not a popular decision and one that Maverick fans will hate, but what do they want more? Do they want the face of their franchise for as long as he's willing to stick around even without a championship or dealing him now and finally getting that illusive NBA title?

To me, that's not a difficult decision to make.