Not one. Not two. Not three. Not four. Not five. Not six. Not seven.
Not yet.
For all the sound and fury that accompanied the Miami Heat since LeBron’s fateful ESPN special, they still ended the 2010-2011 season almost empty-handed. They did win the East right?
But self-styled King James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh didn’t take pay cuts and come together to win the East. They came together to dominate the whole world of basketball. They were the three biggest free agents in the summer of ’10, but this three-headed beast just couldn’t get it done on the biggest stage.
It was another ’10 free agent who did get it done. With less fanfare. Hardly any sound. Certainly not a lot of fury (wasn’t he mentioned in every sentence that included the word “soft?”).
Heck, he and his Jurassic teammates weren’t even supposed to get past the Portlant Trailblazers. Hardly anyone except for the die-hards picked them over LA. And then the Thunder were supposed to run rings around them. And they were seen as a mere formality to the crowing of Miami’s Big 3.
But Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks tore up the whole script. And how!
They won 2 games at home and, more importantly and more surprisingly, beat Miami twice on their home floor.
Pardon the pun, but Dallas took their talents to South Beach and took over South Beach. Took over the whole friggin’ world.
We don’t need a recap of the championship-clinching game. It’s enough to know Dallas won.
Now some of the previous generation’s idols have rings at the expense of the present generation’s stalwarts.
Jason Kidd. Jason Terry. Peja Stojakovic. Shawn Marion. Tyson Chandler. Brian Cardinal (ahihihihi).
Mark Cuban can finally have a parade in Dallas.
Rick Carlisle has won as a player and coach.
However, I have to (finally) give props to the Heat. I hate them, but they are an outstanding, intimidating, imposing team on the floor. Nobody has Miami’s talent. Nobody holds a candle to their athleticism. Nobody can match them muscle-for-muscle. The thing that proved to be the difference was perhaps mental toughness, poise, experience -- all those things you can’t buy or trade for. All those things that you can only get through adversity. This is Miami’s adversity, which means they’ll be an even scarier team next season.
And perhaps their biggest lesson? Cut down on the noise. Cut down on the fanfare. Cut down on deflecting criticism. Stay together. Play together. Lose together. And, as the Mavs have shown, they’ll eventually win together.
And, please, stop counting titles you’ve never earned but think you deserve.
Eventually, Miami will have its time.
But this time, today, this moment right now, belongs to Dallas.
That team whose noisiest guy is its owner. That team that has gone through so many postseason frustrations.
No sound.
No fury.
And now they have everything.
