I want to write about how this is a great day for Dirk, The Jet, and J Kidd, but that’s not the story I see. What the Dallas Mavericks did was unthinkable. They were a group of rotating has-beens with one superstar and one super sixth man. They were a group who were lead by a tactician who understood his player’s talents, and his opponent’s weaknesses. MVP: Rick Carlisle.
Coach Carlisle showed the biggest cahunas of any coach I have ever seen. He sat Pagia, a player who he has been associated with since his days at Indiana (and he is welcome back any time…Thanks, Ron). He played an unorthodox zone defense routinely. He even switched point guards in the Finals. Could you imagine if the Yankees made the Series this year and in game 3 Joe Girardi asks Jeter to sit because this new major leaguer who was called up in August is hitting better against lefties than he is? That is the greatness of Carlisle. He not only was able to play the strongest line up at any given time, he did it with no backlash. He managed players as well as recognizing strategic advantages. Post-NBA, he has whatever business ventures waiting for him. And he will knock them out of the park. Side note: he played on the ’86 Celtics, he may have learned a thing or two from Bird, McHale, Parish, DJ, Ainge, Walton.
The full story cannot be told without mentioning “The Decision”, D Wade, Bosh, or Spolstra. Talk about a guy who puts pressure on himself. LBJ chose 23 in Cleveland, had “The Chosen One” to tattoo on his back, and then decided to “take his talents to South Beach” where he promised “not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six…” in terms of a dynasty. Not only did he put the pressure on himself, but brought that to his team mates-before even taking to the practice floor. D Wade and Bosh played as well as LBJ and Spolstra allowed, but it wasn’t enough.
In the end, it the deciding factor was coaching. Carlisle was able to maximize his players and coaches talents, and Splostra was able to look arrogant and surprised when his team didn’t win. I guess I would be surprised to, if I had 2 of the best 5 players in the league and 3 of the best 10 and still lost to a team of over-aged scrappers with one superstar. I would also guess my next move would be to learn how to polish Pat Riley’s rings in an attempt to stay on payroll.
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