You couldn't ask for a better pair of games than last night's. The Celtics took a commanding 3-0 lead on the perennially underachieving Miami Heat thanks to an absolutely clutch buzzer beater by Paul Pierce, and the Spurs put the hurt on the Dallas Mavericks to take a 2-1 lead thanks to a gritty performance by Manu Ginobili.
Ok, you're asking me "James, why are you always hating on the Mavericks?" And the answer is, because I can. Maverick's owner Mark Cuban, pictured below right, was quoted at the start of the Spurs series as saying "We are who we are, and they are who they are." That doesn't exactly bode well for the Mavs, who's crowning achievements as a franchise include an epic NBA finals collapse to the aforementioned Miami Heat in 2006, followed the next year by the best regular season record in franchise history, and then a first round exit to the 8th seeded Golden State Warriors.
The Mavericks also have been characterized over the past decade by questionable front office moves. To start with, they let Steve Nash go back in 2004, breaking up the very effective Nash-Nowitzki duo. Of course, we all know what happened after that. Nash went on to have back to back MVP seasons and the Phoenix Suns became the most fun team to watch in the NBA until their own ill-fated trade for Shaquille "The Big Cactus" O'Neil. 2008 was also an eventful year for the Mavs as they fired 2005-2006 NBA Coach of the Year Avery Johnson to bring in Rick Carlisle, and traded promising up and comer Devin Harris to New Jersey for the geriatric Jason Kidd. The team made some promising moves this year, signing forward Shawn Marion in the offseason, and executing a blockbuster trade to bring in Caron Butler and Brandon Haywood, giving the Mavericks some toughness on paper at least.
Alas, in last night's loss, head coach Rick Carlisle decided to bench the centerpiece of said blockbuster trade, Butler, for the entire second half of the game, opting instead to play 4'11 guard J.J. Barea alongside Jason "Get Off My Lawn" Kidd. Why was this? Carlisle went on the record to say he did this because he wanted to keep the group that was "getting it done" on the floor, citing the run the Mavs made in the second half. Questionable.
Of course, last night was classic Spurs basketball. I've had respect for San Antonio ever since the Rockets had to go through them en route to their second championship in 1995. They've really been a model NBA franchise for the past decade, winning championships in '99, '03, '05, and '07. Last night was what we've come to expect. Tim Duncan was Tim Duncan, Tony Parker hit some huge shots in the 4th, and Manu Ginobili got his nose busted up by Dirk Nowitzki's elbow, missed 5 minutes of the game (which, as it turns out, was when the above mentioned Maverick's run occurred), and came right back to power the Spurs to victory. Classic.
So yes, the Mavs are who they are, and the Spurs are who they are. That being said, I'm picking the Spurs in 6.
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