Great game and group of cut-ups from Dallas

Now, that was a cracker, wasn’t it?

My mind’s a tad foggy – it is about 6 a.m. here so cut me some slack – but that’s got to be one of the best NBA Finals games I’ve ever seen in person.

I’m sure there have been other gems but for shooting, storylines, excitement and put drama, it’s tough to beat.

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LeBron?

Man, I wish I could figure it out. And I’m not alone. No one seems to have an answer.

Yeah, the triple double was good and he looked solid at times in the first three quarters but the fourth? He was oddly ineffective, again.

The thing with James is that good is not good enough and far below his capabilities. He’s got to be great because that’s the reason the team is structured the way and if he isn’t, the Heat cannot win.

And if that’s the way he reacts to what he called the biggest game of his life, I wonder how he’ll react Sunday, which really is the biggest game of his life.

Never before has James been a “favourite” in such a big NBA series. He dined out for seven years in Cleveland – getting the Cavs as far as a championship series – by being the supremely-talented guy carrying an underdog team to unprecedented heights. He was able to manipulate the hearts of fans all over the place into thinking he was doing wonderful things making lesser players better.

Now?

Now he’s the big bad wolf on the perceived better team and he’s not handling well at all.

Interesting.

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Remember when the big drama of the series was the torn tendon in the finger on Dirk’s left hand?

That was about six weeks ago, right?

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Let’s get this one out of the mail, shall we?

(And speaking of mail, I see a slow Friday night in front of the TV coming, so click here and send some greetings, would you?)

Q: I'm wondering if any other Finals had as many ex-Raptors as this one: Bosh, Marion, Stojakovic and Chandler (I'm counting him!)?

Dave A, Toronto

A: Peja’s in the series?

Well, counting Chandler’s a bit of a stretch but if you want to, go right ahead.

But as far as my mind goes, three is tops, anyway.

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Know what I like about the Mavs?

The bust on each other a lot.

Dirk’s willing to take slight jabs at Terry, everyone jokes about Jason Kidd’s age and they all get at JJ Barea for being, um, vertically challenged, as Kidd did in his post-game interview.

“He might be – what is he listed at, 5-10? Yeah, we’ll go with that.”

And Dirk on Terry.

“We all know Jet is a confident young man. He always has a lot to say to us in the locker room. He’s always talking. He’s just an energetic guy. He loves to talk and he loves to hear himself talk.”

Now, I’m going to stop short of calling the Mavs a bunch of idiots like my once-beloved Red Sox but they’re close.

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Hey, with Dave off to Miami and me on an Air Canada baby jet home, that makes that the last live NBA game I’m going to see for quite a while.

Nothing remarkable about that, just saying.

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List time, sort of.

I think it was Irregular Natalie Vancouver who brought this up the other night in the IGBT when the Talking Heads were anointing Wade as the third-best shooting guard of all time.

And, yes, I can quite well appreciate Wade’s abilities, they are extraordinary, but where’s he fit?

Not at three, that’s for sure.

Now, it is blatantly unfair to compare eras but what the heck, who said life was fair anyway?

Let’s do this: Here’s a personal Top Five, from No. 1 to No 5 and have at it:

Michael Jordan

In the words of the immortal Sam Mitchell:

Duh!

Seriously, if he’s not No 1 on this list, there should never, ever, ever be any more lists.

Kobe Bryant

All those titles, all those points, all that irascibility when it comes to holding teammates accountable? No. 2 by a mile over No. 3.

George Gervin

Sure, it shows my predilection for offence but the Ice Man was something special, wasn’t he? This might be too high but what the heck, it’s my list.

Jerry West

He’s the freaking logo! ‘Nuff said? I think so. And I know he lost eight of the nine finals he was in but still …

Dwyane Wade

Now, when the career’s over and it’s all said and done, maybe he moves up a notch or two but I doubt it. Great player right now, no question about it. All-time? He’s on the list perhaps only because he’s in the Finals this year and he’s on the mind.

Know how tough it was to leave off Dennis Johnson, Clyde Drexler, Pistol Pete Maravich, Earl Monroe and even Allen Iverson?

Really tough, that’s how tough it was.

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They do things differently down here.

You know how sometimes if you go to major sporting events, when you return to your car some enterprising nearby swinging hotspot has had someone put a flier under your windshield wiper and often it’s for an establishment where perhaps women disrobe for a living?

Well, in Big D they don’t do that.

What they do, as witnessed first hand during a halftime fresh air break, is have some of those hoofers who actually do the disrobing wander through the crowd handing out cards and posing for pictures.

Clothed. Of course.

And, no, I didn’t get a souvenir.

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For most of the first half, and for most of the series, truth be told, I though JJ Barea was a modern day Milt Palacio for his Adventures In Layups but after watching him turn into some Puerto Rican Reggie Miller, I’m sure the Mavs don’t care about his inability to finish as long as he’s making threes.

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Back to the entertainment world for a second, if you don’t mind.

I can dutifully report that Justin Bieber is about knee high to a grasshopper, having followed him into the arena from the loading dock a bit before tip off.

It wasn’t like sharing loading dock time with Kid Rock and Bob Seger, as some of us have at Finals games in Detroit and it certainly didn’t make me look twice but I guess at some level it was a little cool.

Nah. Wasn’t cool at all. Who cares.

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Okay, here’s the deal.

Mid-day flight back home and then an off-day story to either write or file so I’ll get to comments just as quickly as I can once I take off. No clue what the wireless is like at DFW so not sure how the morning will be.

Have a good day there.

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Comments

[Kevin]

"It wasn’t like sharing loading dock time with Kid Rock and Bob Seger, as some of us have at Finals games in Detroit and it certainly didn’t make me look twice but I guess at some level it was a little cool.

Nah. Wasn’t cool at all. Who cares."

That's my new favourite Doug quote.

[doug]

well I'll be, within this years NBA finals a real life, exciting NBA game actually broke out...what a surprise and what a thoroughly entertaining game to watch...made shots, clutch shots, the ball movement by the Mavs was wonderful to watch, you know the Mavs are having a good night when Terry is making the right pass, the right read...Terry is the key to the Mavs plain and simple how he goes the Mavs go as he is their second scorer,...plus kudos to Barea for stepping up although at times he really needs to recognize his limits and role...but a wonderful game to watch and what a NBA finals game should be all about....and mention should be made of the thorough and extreme imbalance in coaching, Carlisle is so thoroughly out-coaching Spoelstra it is embarrassing to watch, plus the Mavs actually run a system, and a offense that has a purpose...I wonder if the Pacers organization is watching this series and saying "what were we thinking"

[John]

Hey Doug, your comment last night about being 100% sure of a lock-out was the first time I can remember you coming out with an opinion that strong. Of the main issues that have been reported as the bargaining points, where are you guessing the saw off point is on the hard salary cap? I am guessing that with all the grunts at the Finals, there must be some sort of consensus or opinion that is shared as to where this thing ends up.

[David in Oakville]

Peja was a Raptor?

And, if you could, perhaps in the mail, I still don't understand the benefit to the Raptors of "buying out" a player in mid season so he can go to a playoff bound team on the Raptor's dime? I was furious when they did it for Zo and now Peja. Guy doesn't want to play for you and "fakes" some injury... why can't they refuse to pay him to force his hand so he plays or leaves with nothing? For situations like this, teams need the ability to outright release a player without financial consequences.... if he lands with another team, so be it, at least you aren't paying him.

[Matt M]

Hopefully the series will be over in a game. It will be nice to see Dirk with a championship. It's funny to see the story taken from this series flip to the nearly the opposite of what it was the last time these two teams met. Last time there was quite the story about the revelation that is DWade but I seem to recall most of the adopted storylines being about Dirk and the Mavs wilting under pressure. Now the Mavs are winning and the interweb is full of daily Lebron updates with an unfortunate lack of stories exploring what a good job the Mavs defense has done at shutting down one of the great players of this generation. This is my pet peeve about stars and the public's fascination with them. The story taken from this series should not be about Lebron. It should be about the Mavericks. The better team is winning this series.

[doug]

this is a excellent bang-on "report card" by this writer....he recognizes Carlisle's coaching and how big a mirage LeBron's triple double was...

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/brian_hendrickson/06/09/game5.grades/index.html?eref=sihp&sct=hp_t11_a6

[Casey]

Your article today says Lebron went scoreless in the 4th, I recall a layup towards the end of the 4th. Did my eyes deceive me?

Blogger's note: He did score, I forgot the entirely inconsequential late basket

[D-Mac Ottawa]

Morning Doug, and safe travels home to you.
Just to touch on yesterday's series 'debates', I don't think anyone's been arguing much about the excitement level. These are close games and the outcomes are in doubt pretty much to the buzzer. No question, that kind of anticipation is exciting, fun to watch, especially when it's a series for all the marbles.
Meanwhile, though, you also have the level of play to consider, and until the second half of last night's game, that's what people have been rightfully questioning. The number of turnovers, dumb fouls, missed free throws, blown coverages, traded clanked shots in critical situations – it just hasn't been NBA Finals worthy overall. You even heard both Jackson and JVG being way critical of both defences in the first half last night – and these are the two best defensive teams in the league – and those are two guys who've seen their share of NBA finals, very close up.
Now the second half last night had it all. I think we can all agree it was both highly entertaining and well played. And the outcome makes the whole show just that much more compelling. That's more like it. Three cheers!

[Thane]

The knock against Bron back in Cleavland was that he was wilting under pressure, and couldn't carry his team to the Finals.

Now with the Heat, he's not required to carry his team (lead, yes, but he's not doing it alone), but games four and five he seemed to disappear (that was the quietest triple-double I think I've ever seen).

If the Mavs end up winning the series (and especially if Bron disappears again for that game) do you think his reputation for closing out in crunch-time will be able to be repaired, or will it be a permanent stain?

Blogger's note: Permanent

[sam]

Didn't Lebron disappear in last year's playoffs against Boston?
Perhaps his talents don't play out well on the big stage.

[DerekS]

Morning Doug,
Very entertaining game last night, probably the most entertaining one of the series so far. I couldn't believe that high, arcing 3 that Dirk hit late in the 4th - amazing. ESPN was reporting last night that the Raps have added Mo Cheeks to the list of potential coaches - there was no mention in your column, have you heard anything about that? I certainly hope that isn't the case, as I'm not a fan of his at all, from what I recall of his days coaching Philly, I don't recall the team getting any "better" under his watch.

[John S]

If you consider Oscar Robertson a 2, then it would be an absolute travesty to leave him off any top 5 list. And I would think that he's a 2 as much as Jerry West was a 2.

And I think that Rick Barry and John Havlicek have to be in the conversation as well.

The top 4 has to be: Jordan, Robertson, Bryant, West.

Maybe one day Wade sneaks past West but he'd need at least a few more rings and a minimum of 5 years at his current level to come close. In my opinion talking heads are absolutely crazy if they rank Wade over Bryant or West.

At this stage in Wade's career, I'd say his closest comparison would be to David Thompson. A first ballot hall of famer, but not a top 3 shooting guard.

[dribbles]

You seemed to be a little less sure about the greatest SG of all time when you wrote this:

http://thestar.blogs.com/raptors/2010/06/goat-what-if-there-isnt-one.html

I remember that because it may have been the only argument I've ever read that Kobe may be as great as Michael was. Glad you've come around.

As for LeBron, not sure what you mean by "He was able to manipulate the hearts of fans all over the place into thinking he was doing wonderful things making lesser players better." Do you mean that some other people actually believe that? The guy is having his problems scoring and shying away from the moment in this series, no doubt, but if anyone thinks he doesn't make lesser players better I would ask that person to kindly consider the state of the Cleveland Cavaliers with LeBron and without him. How many SFs have been better passers/playmakers? I have issues with his ego but the guy is an incredible player who is sometimes unselfish to a fault.

[Jacques]

Doug, just read on CNNSI that there is a third coach in the running for the Raps. Maurice Cheeks. Your thoughts.

Blogger's note: None, really. But if he gets the gig and someone screws up the anthem, we know he'll help

[Rob.V]

Well, well, well!!!... everyone feeling good this morning?
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That was definitely not a defensive clinic last night however TOD is one game closer to making it a reality. Miami could very well win the next 2 at home however you've got to believe one of the 2 games will go down to the wire which means the Mav's have a shot.
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Re: LBJ... you were almost bang on with this one dude, the kid is under a "ton" of pressure. Blogger's note: Or maybe with all this pressure on him he'll go off for ... eight.
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My wife actually stayed up until 2am to watch a recording of the game with me last night and this was her observation: You could see it in Lebron's face, he doesnt look like the same happy go lucky kid. Even during his recent interview... he looked scared.
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I think that's pretty much bang on. His demeanour is that of a scared little boy rather than a man about to win his 1st NBA Championship. Somehow, someway that kid is got to find his Mojo in game 6.
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Don't get me wrong, this camp still needs Dallas to win the series...but what LBJ would have to endure in the aftermath would be absolutely horrible!!!
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I cannot think of any player in any sport (can you?) that fresh out of high school was expected to be "The Greatest Player Ever"... it's just not fair!!!.
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A triple double in any game is an outstanding performance.
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I've always felt that LBJ was suppose to be more of the Magic Johnson facilitator for the Heat and that Wade was going to have to be the slasher for them to win. Lebron had a good game last night... that loss should not be put on him.
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James is an "easy" target however the reality is that The Heat need a "post" presence. Dallas' bigs have been better. Joel Anthony was M.I.A and although Bosh has decent numbers the Heat don't have anyone they can post up. At the very least they need to be more physical with Chandler... need some "meat" on him.
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It will be interesting to see what Spo comes up with.

[Chris]

I don't remember if he's still there, but if Popeye Jones is still a Maverick assistant, that would make 4 or err 3 ex-Raptors, which ever count you are following.

Blogger's note: Popeye's in Jersey now

[Pipit]

Dallas is one hell of a resilient and poised team. It’s amazing to see a team mature with just the infusion of the right mix of players and a well respected coach where all players buy-in and accept their roles. It just shows that a smart and organized team can beat any highly super athletic team. This is really why they play the games, after all of the predictions in favor of Miami. There still a game or two remaining but your prediction Doug is again on the line. But if there’s a team that can beat any team twice, that would be the Heat. I want Dallas to win but I’m hoping the Heat will win Sunday to make way for a winner takes it all game 7. This series is one of the best I’ve seen so far and I want to see more.

[Lorie]

Hello Doug!
Well, wasn't that something? I asked for Glorious and Spectactular and I think - courtesy of that superb second half - I got what I asked for. (And some JJBarea paying homage to Reggie, too!)Can't wait for the next game! And, my goodness! The people you meet. From the sublime (Bob Seger) to the ridiculous (that kid from Stradford); and don't tell me The Young Hearthrob was indulging in fresh air??? Cheers! Safe travels and get some rest!!!
@GM
Well this is interesting: my current nighttime reading is "Consider The Lobster". So I've very recently reread "Authority and American Usage" and come down definitely on the "SNOOTS" side. Enjoyed typical DFW take on potential Descriptivist Dictionary by writing "This is so stupid it drools", which is pretty much how I feel about the Descriptivist's inclination to not pass judgement (sorry - sticking with the British English for now!) on the validity of any given word usage. Still miss his insight and wit.
Clarification: Doug's DFW is Dallas-Fort Worth; mine is David Foster Wallace. And again, the importance of linguistic clarity is demonstrated!

[D-Mac Ottawa]

Has anyone on this planet ever seen Mike Bibby NOT wearing a head band?

[Paul B]

was Justin B getting some "fresh air"?

Blogger's note: No, he was walking in

[elwyn jennings]

i'd like to echo the thoughts of david from oakville re buy outs? your thoughts on the matter would be appreciated, doug.

Blogger's note: As I've said as far back as Mourning, I don't have too serious an issue with them

[Gerry Tanner]

About the list of 5 best today, a long way back there was a pretty good
point guard by the name of Bob Cousey that most of you won't remember
of maybe not have heard of. His nickname was the Houdini of the the hardcourt, and he was. Might want to find a spot on there for him. MJ has to be number one, but I think 2 to 5 is a tossup of about 6 or 7 depending on
what you think is important. But there is no doubt MJ could do it all.

[Kelsey]

My swagger is gone. The Heat have dissapointed me, but its not over. I hate to watch Dirk play, but he is flippn amazing on offense. Dallas hit a bunch of 3's that just sank the Miami ship last night.

I think Miami needs not to worry about Lebron. He just needs to do what he can and rest more on Wade and Bosh bottom line. I think they need to work more pick and roll with Bosh to get him open for that mid range shot..
The problem with Lebron he doesnt have the confidence to consistanly take the mid range jump shot like a Kobe...

Lebron is lethal, but the only, only , only player that could be talked with the name of Jordan is Kobe. So everyone needs to stop comparing Lebron to Jordan.

[joeu]

@David in Oakville
For both players, Management willingly made the trades, knowing full well what the players' situation was.

[GM]

Maybe it's the defense the Mavs are playing, I don't know, but it looks to me like LeBron is thinking too much rather than reacting. In fact, the whole team is, and I think that's the problem with three alpha-males. Each one is thinking he doesn't want to piss off the other by being a ball hog. Whereas the Mavs defer to Dirk first, and Dirk is good enough and unselfish enough to move the ball to the open man. That being said, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if the Heat won. But I'm still hoping the Mavs can take it.