I don’t remember a time in my life as a sports fan where I’ve wanted to see a team win more than I want the Dallas Mavericks to win tonight.
I don’t want to see them win due to my devotion to Cleveland sports or because I’m still bitter about “The Decision” (although this is true), nor is it in spite of the Heat’s Big Three cutting corners in order to attain a championship or eight (also grinds my gears, though). I’m not even temporarily jumping on the Dallas bandwagon because I want to see veterans such as Dirk, Jason Kidd, and Shawn Marion finally get what they deserve. The reason that I sit here typing this inaugural blog post with butterflies in my stomach, as if I’m suiting up tonight, is because I love the NBA.
Sure, the NBA Finals is a best-of-seven series. But if the Mavs can’t pick up a win tonight in Dallas and fall behind 3-1, chances are all the collared-shirts and bandwagon frauds on South Beach will have something to celebrate by week’s end. At the same time, most tenured NBA enthusiasts will have to wipe a tear from their cheek and potentially an entire decade out of the history books for Wade, James, Bosh, and company.
If Miami does in fact take this series, it would lead the rest of the Association to go into Panic Mode; or in other words, if a team would want to contend, they’d need to stack superstars like Pat Riley managed to. The days of quiet dynasties built upon chemistry and teamwork like the recent Spurs could be long gone to superstar-laden glamour cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. A franchise that appears to be on the up-and-up like the Philadelphia 76ers could be going all for not with the inability to land “that guy” because it’s unlikely that they’ll land the #1 overall pick anytime soon. And Philadelphia doesn’t boast anything outside of the Liberty Bell or Rocky Balboa that could lure in a Dwight Howard-type free agent to turn the corner.
If the Miami Heat win game 4 and eventually the NBA Finals, David Stern might as well start contracting teams. The hopeless teams – all 24 of them. But if the Dallas Mavericks can manage to take a few more dips in the fountain of youth, take game four and some momentum back from the bad guys, then the NBA could still have breath.
Some would persecute me for saying that the NBA needs the Heat to lose in order to survive because “ratings are higher than ever,” but I’m not talking about alley-oops and television audiences. I’m talking about the National Basketball Assosciation, you know, Where Amazing Happens.
To me, amazing doesn’t happen when the two best athletes on the planet team up to run through a decade, it happens when the Detroit Pistons make a trade for a hot-headed low-post defender that helps a team of selfless role players turn the corner and win an NBA championship. Giving the most economically-struggling city in the country something to cheer about.
Amazing happens when Michael Jordan spends seven seasons trying to get past Larry Bird and Isaiah Thomas, falling short time and time again. Until finally he beat them both and then didn’t lose again until his time saving Chicago sports was through.
Amazing happens when Dirk Nowitzki and his wingman, a 38-year-old point guard who redefined his game for this very moment, represent everything that is real about sports, everything that is true, and comes back to claim a title from the Monstars.
Shame on me for getting this involved. But it goes beyond Miami vs. Dallas. It is New School vs. Old School. It is the AAU Generation vs. The Humble Veterans (and Jason Terry).
Most of all, this series is between what makes the NBA entertaining and what makes it beautiful.
