Beyond the Boxscore
One-year wonder: No show Dirk Nowitzki & Mavs prove their fluke title was a jokeon banner day
LeBron James
If anyone needed confirmation that the Miami Heat lost the NBA Finals last June much more than the Dallas Mavericks won it . . . well, Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry and company could not have put out a more convincing Christmas argument.
The Mavs played one of the all-time embarrassing Christmas games, falling down by 35 points at home, before bowing meekly 105-94 to a Heat team that doesn't figure to ever fret about Dallas again. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade certainly will not be seeing the Mavericks in the Finals this summer. After raising their Mark-Cuban cool banner to the rafters, Nowitzki and friends no showed the game.
Paulie Walnuts would be so proud!
James probably saw better interior defense during his days at St. Vincent-St. Mary than the Tyson Chandler-less Mavericks provided on Sunday.
A fluke of a championship is still a championship, frozen in the record books and people's happy memories forever.
It doesn't hurt that James was smart enough to seek out Houston Rockets legend Hakeem Olajuwon for post moves training in H-Town during the NBA Lockout. LeBron did look more comfortable operating with his back to the basket in his 37-point, 10-rebound, six-assist opening statement. The stat that should really scare the rest of the NBA?
Nineteen free throws attempted. If James gets back to aggressively seeking contact, it could quickly be game over for the rest of the NBA title contenders.
But mostly this game was about what the Mavericks are not — a championship factor. This was a one-shot deal for Dallas and everyone from Cuban to coach Rick Carlisle seem to realize it. There's no shame in this. Dirk got his title, no one can take down that banner and the rings are coming soon.
A fluke of a championship is still a championship, frozen in the record books and people's happy memories forever.
Dallas went on a storybook run in last year's playoffs. The Mavericks should have been blown off the court in the NBA Finals, and were on their way to being obliterated before LeBron & Wade stepped off the gas too early in Game 2 and were too mentally weak to ever recover from it. Credit Nowitzki for seizing the opportunity.
Just don't expect him to ever come close to doing it again.
The 7-footer shooter barely seemed interested in this opener. He shot 6-for-15, grabbed one offensive rebound in 29 minutes. This is one content, happy 33-year-old. Why sweat now?
It's not like Nowitzki is going to be inspired by his new teammates. Vince Carter is on his way to eclipsing Tracy McGrady as the saddest shadow of a former almost superstar. One game into this rushed 66-game season and Carlisle is already showing disdain for Carter's effort, benching him after Wade treats him like an orange cone on defense.
Brendan Haywood — the new starting center, otherwise known as the old center who never made an impact — lasted even shorter than Carter. Ever-valuable forward Shawn Marion fractured a finger. Lamar Odom looked like (four points, four rebounds) he'd forgotten how to play in front of ABC cameras and only has E! camera highlights left in him.
On an NBA day when Carmelo Anthony took over New York, Derrick Rose produced a miracle and Kevin Durant made 30 points look oh-so routine, the defending champions couldn't even compete. Forget the fact that the Mavericks no longer have the talent to compete with the Heat, the most alarming thing is that they clearly don't have anything close to the heart left to do it either.
One game into this rushed 66-game season and Carlisle is already showing disdain for Carter's effort, benching him after Wade treats him like an orange cone on defense.
As opening statements go, there's horrible . . . and there's this.
At least, the Dallas fans remembered to show (no small feat for them) — and to boo NBA commissioner David Stern.
James and Wade didn't even bother to clown the Mavericks after this rout. Instead Wade took the high road, refusing to take the bait when asked if the Heat had made a statement in the postgame press conference.
"It's one game," Wade said. "We're 1-0 and they're 0-1. And I'm sure they're going to be a very good team, and so are we."
Some might call this a sign of increased maturity for the Heat. But maybe, it's just a glimpse of the Miami players' boredom with these Mavericks. They know these chump champs are not going to be in their way this season. Why spend extra energy on them? Save it for the real threats.
The history of professional sports is littered with one-year wonder teams. Dirk, Terry and Cuban are merrily stepping right into the line.
