Sporting News

Dallas Mavericks clinch NBA Finals over Heat

If, on the morning of May 31, you placed $100 down on the Dallas Mavericks winning the NBA Finals, you'd be collecting a return of $1,800 from the Vegas bookmakers today.

The Mavericks were an 18-1 afterthought prior to the start of the NBA Finals, the red carpet over which the Miami Heat would step to accept their crown. The assumption was that a team comprised of mostly 30 year olds didn't have the flash or fury to overcome the superstar triumvirate assembled in Miami 10 months ago when LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined Dwyane Wade on South Beach.

But Sunday, as Wade and James flagged, the Mavericks clinched the first title in franchise history. The display was a dedication to teamwork, an example that the power of a collective body was more than the power of a single body. Below is a collection of pieces from around the country reflecting on Dallas' six-game victory.

Eddie Sefko, Dallas Morning News: The Mavericks clinched their first NBA title with victories over the Heat, Portland Trailblazers, Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder. In doing so, they were 4-0 with the chance to close out a series.

Brandon George, Dallas Morning News: Mark Cuban bought the Mavericks 11 years ago with the dream of bringing a championship to Dallas, until that point an historically unsuccessful franchise. Cuban built the Mavericks into a winner, one of the most consistent teams in the league. And, Sunday, finally delivered a championship. "There’s not a guy on our roster who hasn’t been doubted significantly for one reason or the other. And the fact that they were able to pull together, I mean, I’m just so [expletive] proud of them," Cuban told reporters.

John Hollinger, ESPN.com: Just as Cuban deserves credit for transforming the Mavericks into a winning franchise, coach Rick Carlisle deserves a hand for devising the formula to stop the Heat. Carlsisle, Hollinger writes, was pitch perfect in adjusting his team to beat the Heat.



The Mavs, as flawed as they looked on paper, had a unique way of optimizing the resources they had while camouflaging their weaknesses.


Zach Lowe, SI.com: The Heat had notable problems when the Mavericks switched to zone defense from man-to-man, and also late in games. Lowe sums up the trend:

A lot of teams, including the Heat, struggle to find an offensive identity — the sets that work, the proper way to distribute shots among players and the type of shots each player should (and shouldn’t) take. The Mavs do not have those kinds of struggles. They know exactly what they want to do on every possession, and they do it. They know what the right shots are and they work for those shots. They will break your defense, and when they do, they will find the right player to finish the job.

Rob Mahoney, NewYorkTimes.com: Mahoney puts his finger on one offensive deficiency that cost the Heat in the Finals -- their abandonment of the pick and roll.

Linda Robertson, Miami Herald: The Mavericks constantly prodded another weakness of the Heat -- lack of a point guard. Mike Bibby and Mario Chalmers (who fared better than Bibby) were considerably less steady that Jason Kidd and J.J. Barea for the Mavericks, Robertson writes.

Ian Thomsen, SI.com: The contrast between Dirk Nowitzki and LeBron James in this series was stark. Whereas Nowitzki came up huge at points, James seemed to shy from the spotlight in big moments. At the conclusion of Game 6, that contrast was once again evident, writes Thomsen.


Tim Cowlishaw, Dallas Morning News: The News columnist writes that despite shooting 9-for-27 from the field, Nowitzki had the best night of his basketball career. An NBA title, Cowlishaw feels, validates Nowitzki as one of the great players of his generation.

NBA.com: Video of an insightful postgame interview with Nowitzki. He says the loss in the 2006 Finals made him a better player and person.

Jean-Jacques Taylor, Dallas Morning News: At a preseason party with his teammates, Jason Terry had the Larry O'Brien trophy tattooed on the inside of his right bicep to demonstrate the seriousness of his goal this season. Sunday, he scored 27 points to help the Mavericks lift the real thing.

Greg Cote, Miami Herald: At the end of the day, and this Finals, the Heat failed. With the expectations the Heat mounted on themselves last offseason, a loss in the Finals could be described no other way, Cote writes.

Israel Gutierrez, Miami Herald: By the end of the Finals series, the Heat did not resemble the team they had come developed into over the course of the season. A big reason was that LeBron James did not resemble himself.

ESPN.com: Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert released a statement after the Mavericks beat Miami which included a shot at his former superstar, LeBron James.

Congrats to Mark C.& entire Mavs org. Mavs NEVER stopped & now entire franchise gets rings. Old Lesson for all: There are NO SHORTCUTS. NONE.