NBA Finals Recap

I'd like to use this time to wrap up my feelings on the 2011 NBA Finals. First and foremost, a couple of weeks ago I predicted that the Miami Heat would be handed the NBA Championship, even before they finished off the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals. I would like to say now that I WAS WRONG and have never been happier about being wrong.

For the second time, the other being the 2006 Finals, the real winner here wasn't the Mavericks or Heat. The real winner of these Finals was American Airlines. The Dallas Mavericks (and Stars) play their home games at the American Airlines Center and the Miami Heat play their games at the American Airlines Arena.

One thing I was glad to see in the Finals this year was the removal of the large championship trophy behind the team logos at mid-court on both courts. The league instead opted to put the words "The Finals" on the court, on both sides of the center court line. This is what the league used to do, before putting the huge trophy on the court, and I'm glad that they went back to this. It looks much better and far less gaudy and over the top than the large trophy.

When I predicted the Miami Heat winning the championship, I predicted that the officials would have a huge impact in making this happen. To this day, I still believe that is what happened in 2006 when the Mavericks were defeated by the Heat in the NBA Finals. To this day, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban holds the same belief and has said he will continue to believe that until the end. I've heard him say that but cannot find a story to confirm that.

Overall, I though the officials performed quite well in the 2011 Finals. I thought they did favor the Heat a little bit, but nothing game changing, not this year. The main difference I saw was that the Heat had a little bit more wiggle room when it came to contesting a call. Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle was "T'd" up twice during the Finals and both looked like very quick T's, yet Erik Spoelstra was seen doing a great deal of yelling and was not "T'd" up once. Other than that though, I thought the officials did a relatively nice job of letting the players play and letting them decide the outcome of the game. That was my biggest fear going into these Finals.

One thing I expect to come out of these Finals, which carry over into next season are a few suspensions over than scuffle during game 6. During a fight in the NBA, players who leave the bench are automatically subject to a one game suspension. That rule goes out the window a little bit here because the scuffle occured after a timeout. During timeouts, players are allowed to be on the floor, which is why they were on the court to begin with. However I feel that any player not on the floor, at the time of the timeout, in the middle of that should be subject to suspension. Getting in the middle of that should be deemed "leaving the bench." That includes players for both the Heat and Mavs.

At the end of that video, you hear Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy say that if punishments are going to be handed down, they should be handed down for the start of next season, in order not to taint a game 7 (which it never came to). I couldn't disagree with that more. The timing of it would suck for both teams, but the rules are the rules. That rule has been on the books for a long time and everybody in the league knows the rule. If you break it, you should be subject to the consequences, no matter the timing. You cannot start making exceptions to the rules now if you want to continue to be taken seriously in the long run.

The more and more I see of the Miami Heat, the more and more I learn to hate them. I won't lie, I've hated Dwayne Wade since the 2006 Finals, however I will admit that there was a bias. I hated him because of all of the ticky tack, phantom calls that went his way on the way to the NBA Championship. It was because of that that the Heat were handed their first championship. However, I will admit that even though I always hated him, I always had a healthy respect for him as well. He's a great basketball player and up  until this year, he seemed to have his priorities in the right place. He seemed to be relatively down to earth and he also appeared to be a good teammate and good team player. I also had the same respect for LeBron James. That all changed this offseason.

When the "Big 3" came together, I noticed a big change in both Wade and James. It all started with LeBron's arrogant "Decision" special, when he decided to "take his talents to South Beach." With that, he proved that it really is all about him. Very early on in the season, I don't remember the situation, but I remember Dwayne Wade throwing "Coach Spo" under the bus, which was very uncharacteristic for the old Wade. This Heat team was extremely arrogant and classless and I think it cost them in the Finals.

During game 2, with the Heat up 15 points with around 7 minutes remaining in the game, James and Wade decided to do a little "victory" dance in front of the Mavericks bench. From that moment on, the Mavs went on a 22-5 run and "shocked" the Heat, evening the series at a game apiece. Like it or not, their arrogance woke up the Mavs, who were dead at the time of that shot. If they don't do that, I think the Mavs probably lose game 2 and probably the series. If everything else held true, the series would've been going back to Miami for game 6 with the Heat, not the Mavs, up 3-2. Had that been the case, Miami would probably have their second NBA Championship at the expense of the Mavs right about now. The first of which they would have actually earned, but again, that's a different story for a different day.

It was well documented that Dirk Nowitzki was sick and running a fever for game 4 of the Finals, which the Heat won. Following the shootaround prior to game 5, Dwayne Wade and LeBron James were caught mocking Dirk's illness. "I just thought it was a little childish, a little ignorant," Nowitzki said before Saturday's practice at AmericanAirlines Arena. "I've been in this league for 13 years. I've never faked an injury or illness." This is just another thing that we've come to expect from the new Miami Heat. I'm not sure how somebody in their right mind can make fun of another human being for being sick. It is something that can strike at any moment to the best of us and there is nothing we can really do about it. It's great to see that everything continues to be a big joke to James, Wade and the Heat.

For the second time in the NBA Finals, the pressure appeared to be too much for the "great" LeBron James. One CBS reporter referred to James as the "Incredible Shrinking Superstar," due to his late game disappearances. The only person he has to blame for that is himself. He put the pressure on himself when he proclaimed that this Heat team would win more than 7 NBA championships and that the season is championship or bust. This whole thing just proves that nothing is easy in this league and that there is no way to buy a cheap championship.

Like LeBron James or not, frankly he's an asshole. He proved that to me with his comments after the Heat were eliminated the other night. "All the people that was rooting on me to fail, at the end of the day they have to wake up tomorrow and have the same life that they had before they woke up today," James said. "They have the same personal problems they had today. I’m going to continue to live the way I want to live and continue to do the things that I want to do with me and my family and be happy with that. They can get a few days or a few months or whatever the case may be on being happy about not only myself, but the Miami Heat not accomplishing their goal. But they have to get back to the real world at some point.” We can hate him all we want and be happy that he lost but at the end of the day, he still has a better life than the rest of us. At this point, I expect nothing less from LeBron James. He's not man enough to stand in front of the press and talk about his own failures, he has to turn around and put it on somebody else. This time it just happened to be all of the non-Heat, basketball fans. I'll stand up right now and say that just because you are a better basketball player than me and have a lot more money than I'll ever have, that doesn't make you better than me. That doesn't make you better than any of us. You're still an arrogant, classless, and immature piece of shit that need to grow up and introduce yourself to the real world. You've had your dick sucked by your entourage for a long time and because of that, you haven't been a member of the real world for probably atleast 10 years. If anybody needs to come back to the real world, it's you LeBron.

I heard a lot of people trying to compare this Miami Heat team to the Celtics a few years ago when they added Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to compliment Paul Pierce. I actually pulled for that team. The difference between this Miami team and that Celtics team is that the Celtics are made up of a classy group of veterans. This Heat team is made up of a arrogant and cocky superstars that are in serious need of some maturity. The Celtics set out to win games. The Heat set out to win games and embarrass their opponents by doing little premature victory dances and showboat tactics. I cannot confirm this but I believe LeBron James to be the ring leader of the extra cockiness. That was a staple of his Cavalier teams in Cleveland.

The 2011 NBA season hasn't even been over for 48 hours yet, the Mavericks have yet to have their parade, and the champs are already getting overlooked for next season. The Miami Heat are currently favored to win the 2012 NBA Championship with 5/2 odds. They are followed by the Lakers (11/2), Bulls (6/1), Thunder (8/1), and Mavericks (10/1). I really find that hard to believe at this point. The Mavs have yet to have their championship parade and it's too early for anything to have happened this offseason, yet the Mavs are already behind four other teams in the odds for the championship next season? Where's the respect? Especially considering the Mavs ROLLED over both the Lakers and Thunder in the playoffs this season. I have to ask it again, where's the respect there?

To make a long story short, I'm stoked that the Mavericks were able to defeat the Miami Heat to win the NBA Championship. It's a million times sweeter just because it is the Miami Heat. Partly because it was this classless Miami Heat team and also because it was the Miami Heat that were handed the championship over the Mavs in 2006. It would have been sweet had it been against the Chicago Bulls, no doubt, but for me and millions of Mavs fans around the world, this was much more than just a series. This was a shot at revenge. The Mavericks got that revenge and it was the happiest I've been in a long time. About two hours after the conclusion of the 2011 NBA Finals, I already had my championship gear ordered. I cannot wait until it gets here because I cannot wait to wear it proud. If you aren't down with that, well you can "suck my Dirk."

Too Much Free Time - May Edition

If you recall, last month I introduced you to my little side project about this season's Florida Marlins. As excited as I was about the Marlins start to the 2011 season, I'm that disappointed now. They came back to earth a little bit, posting a 15-13 record for the month of May. However things are starting to get bad. Both Josh Johnson and Hanley Ramirez are on the disabled list and the Marlins are currently 0-6 to start the month of June.

Let's get to the stats...All of the stats, oeher than the uniform combinations at the bottom, are for the month of May only. When you get to the uniform combinations section, those are the results for the entire season up to this date.

Overall
Games Played: 28
Record: 15-13
Runs Scored: 111 (3.96/game)
Runs Allowed: 122 (4.36/game)

Black Hat
Games: 27
Record: 15-12
Runs Scored: 107 (3.96/game)
Runs Allowed: 107 (3.96/game)

Stars and Stripes Hat
Games: 1
Record: 0-1
Runs Scored: 4 (4.00/game)
Runs Allowed: 15 (15.00/game)


White Jersey
Games: 11
Record: 4-7
Runs Scored: 37 (3.36/game)
Runs Allowed: 42 (3.82/game)

Grey Jersey
Games: 5
Record: 3-2
Runs Scored: 17 (3.40/game)
Runs Allowed: 29 (5.80/game)

Black Jersey
Games: 12
Record: 8-4
Runs Scored: 57 (4.75/game)
Runs Allowed: 51 (4.25/game)

White Pants
Games: 11
Record: 4-7
Runs Scored: 37 (3.36/game)
Runs Allowed: 42 (3.82/game)

Grey Pants
Games: 17
Record: 11-6
Runs Scored: 74 (4.35/game)
Runs Allowed: 80 (4.71/game)

When Josh Johnson Starts
Games: 3
Record: 2-1
Runs Scored: 7 (2.33/game)
Runs Allowed: 8 (2.67/game)

When Ricky Nolasco Starts
Games: 6
Record: 2-4
Runs Scored: 24 (4.00/game)
Runs Allowed: 29 (4.83/game)

When Javier Vazquez Starts
Games: 5
Record: 2-3
Runs Scored: 23 (4.60/game)
Runs Allowed: 27 (5.40/game)

When Anibal Sanchez Starts
Games: 6
Record: 5-1
Runs Scored: 25 (4.17/game)
Runs Allowed: 12 (2.00/game)

When Chris Volstad Starts
Games: 6
Record: 3-3
Runs Scored: 26 (4.33/game)
Runs Allowed: 41 (6.83/game)

When Jay Buente* Starts
Games: 1
Record: 0-1
Runs Scored: 0 (0.00/game)
Runs Allowed: 4 (4.00/game)

*Major League Debut

When Brian Sanches Starts
Games: 1
Record: 1-0
Runs Scored: 6 (6.00/game)
Runs Allowed: 1 (1.00/game)

Home Games
Games: 11
Record: 4-7
Runs Scored: 37 (3.36/game)
Runs Allowed: 42 (3.82/game)

Away Games
Games: 17
Record: 11-6
Runs Scored: 74 (4.35/game)
Runs Allowed: 80 (4.71/game)

Black Hat-White Jersey-White Pants
Games: 30
Record: 14-16
Runs Scored: 119 (3.97/game)
Runs Allowed: 109 (3.63/game)

Black Hat-Black Jersey-White Pants
Games: 1
Record: 0-1
Runs Scored: 2 (2.00/game)
Runs Allowed: 7 (7.00/game)

Black Hat-Black Jersey-Grey Pants
Games: 21
Record: 13-8
Runs Scored: 95 (4.52/game)
Runs Allowed: 93 (4.43/game)

Black Hat-Grey Jersey-Grey Pants
Games: 6
Record: 4-2
Runs Scored: 19 (3.17/game)
Runs Allowed: 20 (3.33/game)

Stars and Stripes Hat-Grey Jersey-Grey Pants
Games: 1
Record: 0-1
Runs Scored: 4 (4.00/game)
Runs Allowed: 15 (15.00/game)

There you have it, the stats from the month of May. As you can see, the Marlins overall were outscored by their opponents this month, yet they still had a winning record for the month. They played most of their games pretty tight at home, and were still outscored by their opponents, yet came away with a losing record. The interesting part though were their results on the road for the month of May. They were again outscored by their opponents, yet they came away with a very good 11-6 record. The big game that cost the Marlins in that category was the 15-4 thumping at the hands of the Diamondbacks on May 30. Had that been a closer game, the Marlins may have outscored their opponents for the month on the road, instead they trailed by 6.

Hopefully once they get healthy, they will sure up their rotation and right the ship. Obviously missing a starter is bad, but in this case, that starter happens to be Josh Johnson. Just having him healthy again would be huge for the Marlins. They should also be able to put a few more runs on the board once Hanley Ramirez returns to the lineup. He is a superstar, when he wants to be, and has the best bat in that Marlins lineup. That is another huge blow for this team. I'm just hoping that the current team can right the ship a bit so things don't completely fall apart before the reinforcements arrive. Right now the Marlins are sinking fast and are in desperate need of some positive results.

I don't want to close on a negative mark however, I'm a glass half-full kind of guy. I want to tip my hat to Anibal Sanchez for his performance during the month of May. The Marlins were 5-1 in the six games he started and outscored their opponents by an average of 2.17 runs per game. That was the big bright spot for the month of May. Hopefully he can keep it going and be the savior for this team now that things aren't going so well.