If You Can't Stand the Heat...

Could the NBA Finals have been more bizarre? The Dallas Mavericks snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. In doing so they lost any dignity they had.

Dallas led the series over Miami 2-0 and had a 13 point lead with six minutes left in game three. But that lead disappeared faster than a cat in a Chinese restaurant. They showed the heart of a kitten in game four when they were smoked by 24 points. The Miami fans chanted “Da-vid Hasel-hoff” whenever Dirk Nowitski shot free throws. That’s funny. Come on Dirk, you brought that on yourself.

The entire Maverick franchise had a meltdown in the fifth game. At least Dirk made a few shots down the stretch. He also showed that he could solve the Cowboys kicking woes when he punted the ball into the stands en route to his post-game tantrum.

Arguably, the refs did miss a backcourt call on Dwayne Wade. But few refer to Josh Howard missing two free throws that likely would have sealed the game. Even with Terrell Owens playing for the Cowboys now, Josh is the new “T.O.” in town. Seems he called a timeout at the wrong time. The always classy Avery Johnson even blamed the refs for acknowledging the timeout and not babysitting Howard.

But I think the reader of this blog will agree that the tone for all of this was set by owner Mark Cuban. He entered game five wearing a jersey in support of the suspended Jerry Stackhouse and was verbally engaged with fans and referees throughout. Afterwards, while Dirk was teaching us how to beat up an exercise bike, Cuban was busy dropping f-bombs and screaming at the league commissioner that the game is rigged.

Maybe he’s right. And David Hasselhoff thanks the NBA for resurrecting his career.