6 Lessons from the Basketball Gods in the NBA Finals

Michael Curry By Michael Curry
on June 13, 2011 at 11:15 AM

The basketball gods were busy over the last few weeks, handing down lessons to the world through the Dallas Mavericks as they pushed through the Miami Heat to win the first title in franchise history.  Here they are, for safekeeping.

dirk-trophy-vert-apjpg-84b284a78187a80a.jpgView full sizeDavid J. Phillip / Associated Press
1.  True champions grasp titles.

Too much analysis is spent on what the losing team failed to do.  The Dallas Mavericks flat-out beat the Miami Heat in the final two games of the series thanks to talent, poise, and execution of the gameplan.  The Mavericks didn't need the Heat to crumble to become champions.  They won the right way.

2  Even great talent needs a gameplan.

The Heat had the talent to win this series, they just couldn't get it all pulling in the same direction.  The Mavericks knew exactly what they wanted to do with each possession, which resulted in fantastic ball movement and brilliant execution.  Then on the defensive end, Dallas used their zone defense to force the Heat to shoot jump shots.  Everything had a purpose.

They Heat, well, they had an overwhelmed Erik Spoelstra.

3.  Coaching matters.

Rick Carlisle was the guy who put all those great Mavericks sets in place.  Carlisle was great throughout the series, pushing all the right buttons and giving his team the tools to win.

Meanwhile, Spoelstra had two of the most unique players in the league, yet the only thing they could coordinate effectively was a fake coughing fit between games.  His defense was good, but there were problems with rebounding responsibilities.  And most damningly, Spoelstra's best player went off the reservation in the NBA Finals, and he had no clue how to get him back.  Spoelstra may very well come back to Miami next season, but as long as he is the coach, the Heat will be at a disadvantage.

4.  Bet on the guy with nothing to lose.

Dirk Nowitzki is a great player, but also one who dealt with more than his fair share of problems over the last few seasons.  But during the Playoffs, Dirk seemed to let all that pressure go.  He just went out and played basketball.  While LeBron James was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, Dirk was free and easy.

And it wasn't just Dirk.  Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Shawn Marion, all of these guys are veterans who were staring down would could be their last chance at a ring.  They all came up big in the Finals.  It's not about playing under pressure, it's about letting go of that pressure.  The Mavericks' veterans were able to do that because they had nothing left to lose.  It's a great way to play.

5.  Fans matter.

The Mavericks fans were tremendous during the three games in Dallas, bolstering runs and making life hard on the Miami Heat.  They wanted to believe.  And despite all the disappointment they have felt over the last 10 seasons, they never got that heavy feeling of dread that pervaded the Cleveland crowds over the last two seasons, even after the Game 3 loss in Dallas.  Maybe it was because they didn't expect this run.  Maybe that allowed the fans to be as loose as the players.  But one cannot deny that the Dallas crowd was a huge factor in the series.

On the flip side, Miami fans are terrible.  They deserve what they got.

6.  Nothing is guaranteed.

Following the Mavericks' win last night, Cavs owner Dan Gilbert tweeted "Old Lesson for all: There are NO SHORTCUTS. NONE."  It's a fine sentiment, but it's not quite accurate.  The 2008 Celtics took shortcuts in building their championship team, and did so with much success.  Sometimes shortcuts work.

But even when the Celtics brought in Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to play with Paul Pierce, they were not guaranteed a championship just by entering the starting lineup together.  And as the Celtics have learned, winning one title in no way guarantees that you will win more, even if you bring back the same core players.  No matter what you do, no matter how you craft your roster, or how hard you work, or how much you want it, a championship is never certain until the clock runs out in the final game.

LeBron James thought he was guaranteeing not just one title, but a string of titles just by signing with the Miami Heat last Summer.  The basketball gods showed that it just doesn't work that way.

There are other lessons waiting to be learned as we dissect the series and move forward.  Some lessons are still waiting to be remembered - things like "a team like the Mavericks can't win back-to-back titles," and "talent wins out eventually."  We'll remember those soon enough.

But for now, there are a lot of good things to learn from the NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks.  They didn't win this title because they deserved it, they won because they earned it.  And that is basketball at its best.

Go Cavs.