Dallas Mavericks Defeat Miami Heat to Claim First Franchise Championship

It turns out adding two All-Stars to your talents (even if in South Beach) doesn't always end with getting a ring. LeBron James and the Miami Heat found this out Sunday night in Miami as they fell to the Dallas Mavericks 105-95 and were left shaking their heads. After claiming a 2-1 lead in the best of seven NBA Finals, the Heat dropped three consecutive games and allowed the Mavericks their first franchise championship.

Before I move on to the ramifications of the game; a little bit about the game. Surprisingly, Dirk Nowitzki struggled, especially in the first half. He shot 9-27 from the floor and finished with 21 points. However, he was aided by his teammates, specifically JJ Barea (15 points) and game-6-MVP Jason Terry (27 points). Nowitzki, however, was awarded the Finals Most Valuable Player.

For Miami, it was a balanced attack that just couldn't get it done in the end. Miami's "Big Three" -- LeBron James (21 points), Dwyane Wade (17 points), and Chris Bosh (19 points)'"were not so much unproductive as they were just a bit out of sync. And while the much touted, endlessly blogged signings of James and Bosh were major splashes, tonight was just one of many examples throughout the year that showed the Miami Heat are missing something, however small.

Any subsequent ranting that goes on by myself in the remainder of this article, or from others around the rest of the world post-finals comes with a giant asterisks that would read something like this: "Please remember that the Miami Heat were arrogant enough to predict the forming of a dynasty prior to the commencement of their first season together."

In short, the Miami Heat brought all this disgust, annoyance, and hostility on themselves. Let's do a reality check for a moment. While there are certainly teams that are in positions when anything less than a title would be a disappointment, reaching the Finals is hardly a failed experiment no matter which way you cut the pie. The highly touted "Big Three" were a relative success and they, potentially, could be the dynasty they claimed; eventually. As much as so many of us hope against, it might happen. The Heat championed the "Us-Against-the World" attitude all season, and honestly, that wasn't entirely far from the truth. However, it's different when you are put in that position versus when you put yourself there, which the Heat did. The former makes you appear noble and in a reverse effect, people start cheering for you. While the latter is stuff of reality TV and far too many Sports Center broadcasts. Even more alarming is that the attitude masquerades as "just being yourself" and "not caring what other people think," two great qualities that are entirely misrepresented in this scenario.

Truth be told, I could not be less concerned with what James, Wade, or any other professional athlete does off the court/field. And yes, it is the relentless media coverage of their every move and not allowing a single glance move across the camera without adding some ridiculous high school level drama script that blows these things sky high and makes them bigger issues than they are, but what is depressing about these Heat is that even when you strip away all the media fluff, you're still left with a less than noble picture filled with arrogance, chatter, and now, what History will remember most; no ring.

Sources

http://www.nba.com/playoffs/2011/finals/index.html?ls=st&g=6&t=bs

Personal experience