Merry Mavericks

Wow.

As it's been well-documented, I picked the Dallas Mavericks to advance to the NBA Finals before the season. I was mocked and ridiculed from all angles, with the most common attack being "yeah they'll definitely get past the Lakers. Idiot".

Now I stuck to my guns through thick and thin, through the trials and tribulations of an 11th-consecutive 50-win season in the Big D. The loss of Caron Butler; the emergence of Tyson Chandler as a beast in the post; the addition of Peja Stojakovic; Jason Kidd continuing to defy age; blowing a 23-point lead to Portland in round 1; you name it, I stayed optimistic.

Enter this round 2 match-up with said Lakers. I had no choice but to stay loyal to my word, but deep down, did I really think Dallas could beat LA 4 times out of 7? I mean come on now I love Dirk but out of the top 5 players in this series, he's clearly the only one on the Mavericks' side.

So you can understand why I'm straight up flabbergasted and shocked at that drive-by shooting we just witnessed of the Phil Jackson/Kobe Bryant Lakers. For the first time in twenty-one post-season appearances, a team coached by the Zen Master was swept. Unreal.

The deciding game this afternoon brought me back to the warm feelings of Game 6 of the 2008 NBA Finals. Sure, it wasn't quite the 39-point blowout of yesteryear. But 36 isn't all that bad is it? Like I said earlier, of the top 5 players on paper in this series, I'll give the Lakers the 1, 3, 4, and 5 spots: Kobe, Pau, Khloe URI Alum Lamar Odom, and Bynum.  After that? I think Dallas takes the next 6 spots: Jason Terry, J-Kidd, Matrix, Tyson Chandler, Peja, and either Brendan Haywood or JJ Barea. This is far and away the deepest team of the Nowitzki era in Dallas. And that's saying something for a team that has won 50 games or more 11 seasons in a row.

Now....during this run in Dallas, they haven't even been able to pull off an Atlanta Braves or Indianapolis Colts. You know, dominate the regular season for over a decade but somehow win just one championship. The Mavericks haven't won any championships, and have only appeared in a Finals once (2006). They're on par with the San Diego Chargers. You could compare Dirk to LT, being the faces of the franchise with an MVP apiece, although that's a disservice to Dirk, who's never called out opponents for having no class or missed post-season games with a toe injury. And maybe we can compare Steve Nash leaving Dallas to Drew Brees leaving San Diego, but thanks to Robert Sarver being the cheapest owner alive this side of Donald Sterling, Nash has no ring to fall back on.

The window won't stay open in the Big D forever. Dirk is 32 years old, with 993 games on his odometer (well over 1,000 if you include playoffs). He's getting up there. A sense of urgency is ever-present for these Mavericks, and they've undoubtedly knocked off their toughest competition out West. It's getting to be now-or-never down there. I'm still 100% rooting for the Celtics here, don't get me wrong, but if Green 18 can't happen? C'mon now Dirk. Get her done.

Say what you will about Mark Cuban, but you can't question his passion or desire to win.