Phoenix Phinished

OK, I have a million quick hits here that I have been thinking about since I got back from a crazy weekend in Austin/New Braunfels. First...... Yes ladies, the Suns are done! Eat it, Phoenix. With Dallas winning the series, I am safe from the pledge I made before the series; that is, I don't have to cut my tattoo of a phoenix off my shoulder blade because Dallas won. Close call, but I'm not sure I would have followed through with that one anyway, although, I've done some crazy stuff while drunk.

Game 6 was a defining moment for the Mavs and Dirk. Not only did they come back from 18 points, but Dirk completed his coup d'état of the NBA; forming Germany's Fourth Reich, an empire that stretches from Memphis to Phoenix, with "New Berlin" centering somewhere around the AAC in Dallas. I am now a Nowitkness.

I think one of the important aspects of this series, and the SA series too, is that Dallas was able to pull a win out here and there that they had no business doing. And that’s the sign of a champion. Look at any major sport and you will see that champions find a way to win games that they probably should have lost. Just look at the Steelers. They should have lost to the Colts, but somehow, they found a way to win when it mattered. Consequently, former Mavs teams would have just rolled over and played for game 7. On the other hand, SMU, my alma matter, has the problem of snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory. But that’s another column for another time.

I think the Mavs new-found ability to win games comes directly from Avery. Even when the team was shooting cold, they were able to keep themselves in the game through defense. With 6 minutes left in the second quarter you could see that Nash and company were getting stopped by Dallas's D. They were not going to score one hundred points; that was clear. The gates were open for a Dallas comeback.

Now, I won't lie. We had just gotten back from the river, and checked into our hotel when I turned on the game. I sat on the bed only to find the Mavs having their lunch fed to them. I could only endure so much. I eventually turned the channel to a Braves games that was on TBS and began to pass out from a long day of beering and floating.

(Before I get too far along, I wanna mention a few things about the trip. There is nothing better than floating down a river with beer. I honestly don't know what’s better being able to pour beer all over yourself and others with no repercussions, or just the fact that you are floating along drinking and peeing everywhere while everyone around you is doing the same. That is life in its most perfect light.

I mentioned how we go to the dollar store in Austin and buy stuff to lose on the river. Well, I have good news! We didn’t lose anything! Chad wore blue sun glasses with an American flag bandana, while I wore pink sun glasses with a Mexican flag bandana. I don't know why. We also decided to have matching youth girl's flip flops. His were yellow with a purple poofy flower, while mine were purple with a yellow poofy flower. Needless to say, we looked delicious. And so with our opposite, yet matching, attire we patrolled the river, drinking beer as Captain America and Mexicano Capitano. For the life of me though, I don't know why the girls were embarrassed by us. Either way, good times all around.)

So, Chad is with Lauren and she is a little drunk and tired from the weekend, so we leave them at the hotel room and head out to enjoy the tasty foods and beverages in Austin. We sit down at a place where we can watch the game, and suddenly its only a six point game. Next thing you know they win. I don't think I yelled too much, but I think I let the other patrons know where I was from with every made shot. In fact, you know that guy at a bar who roots loudly and claps far too often for his favorite team, especially when he's in a city that doesn't particularly cater to the team he roots for? Yeah, that was me. Luckily, we were still in Texas and had a few locals (?) on our side.

The point is that I gave up because I still had the mentality that the Mavs would roll over like they used to do. This is no longer true and it’s because they play defense. Defense never goes cold. If you play solid D, you can outlast any assault of points. That's what happened Saturday night. They found a way to stop PHX even though they couldn’t' shoot. Once, they stopped them, PHX got frustrated and the Mavs shots started to fall. Magic! Which brings up my next issue....

I'm not sure what Avery said to Dirk and JET at halftime, but I'm sure it had something to do with not allowing themselves to get beaten by PHX after they beat San Antone. This scene would have been reminiscent of Herb Brooks speech to Team USA hockey after they beat the Soviet Union in Lake Placid, but still had to play Finland for the gold. He told them that after you beat Goliath, you cannot allow yourself to get beaten by a nobody. After all, someone was going to beat Goliath. Or, more contextually, it went like this:

After that "miracle game", they still had one more game to win before they could take home the gold. They had to beat Finland. Herb Brooks came into the locker room beforehand, and said, "If you lose this game, you will take it to your fucking grave." Then he turned and walked almost all the way out, before turning around and saying again, "To your fucking grave."

I doubt we'll ever know what exactly Avery said, but I kinda hope that it was like that only with them all clapping in the end; like in Hoosiers when Gene Hackman tells Hickory that if they go out there and give it their best they will all be winners in his book. I can just see Dirk looking around as Avery leaves. The locker room is silent. Jet starts clapping followed by Howard and Van Horn. The next thing you know Dirk is standing and clapping, and yells out in his thick German accent, "Come on, we gotta win this thing!" Then they all storm out on to the court. Damn, when I think about it, Phoenix never knew what was about to hit them after that. Ok, I admit it, my imagined scenarios are getting a bit ridiculous.

After the game Nash said that he was convinced that the Suns' style of play (no defense, just run and gun) could win a championship. Really? In 60 years of professional basketball it hasn't yet. In fact, that’s how you lost. A team with a better defense gave you the business. If all you can do is one thing great, then your opponent only has to focus on stopping one thing. End of story. After watching the Mavs, Kings, and now the Suns use this style of play I can see what’s wrong with it. Nash says they can win? Well look at the Mav's record in the playoffs: 12-4. Now look at the Suns: 10-10. Let me type that again: 10 and 10. That's only .500 ball!! That's not championship caliber. It only shows that wild-ass basketball can take you as far as breaking even then, you need luck.

Ok, my face is red and I’m out of breath from ranting.......

One other quick side note. Nash looked tired in game 6. I still stand by my edict that letting Nash go was the right move for the Mavs. That said, I still miss Steve Nash.

It’s tough to beat the Heat, even when you're from Dallas.
Before I go I also wanted to say that despite Vegas picking the Mavs to win, I see three ways this series could play out. 1). Mavs win in a blowout. 2). Heat win in a blow out. 3). Mavs win in 6 or 7. But I'm gonna throw all logic out the window and say Mavs in 5. Just a feeling.