Dirk Nowitzki has the blood of a pit-bull, LeBron blames the Almighty for his shrinkage, and I introduce myself.

Wow. Just, wow. I can't think of a better time to write this first post than after such a fantastic/riveting/masterful/enjoyable/superlative-filled-able and satisfying NBA Finals. I want to touch on several things regarding the Detroit Pistons organization--i.e. the new coaching search, new ownership, draft prospects, effect of looming lockout--but I'll get to that later this week. Right now I'd like to comment on this incredible NBA Finals that we all just noWITzkNESSED.

First and foremost, congratulations to Rick Carlisle. He's obviously proven himself a formidable coach, something we Pistons onlookers noticed during his Detroit days (100-64 record, won coach of the year in '02, led the 'Stones to '03 ECF). He managed an up and coming Pistons team well in his two seasons at the helm, then got fired, then led the Pacers to the '04 ECF (I know what you're thinking and I'm thinking it too) and was probably one of the biggest victims of the Malice at the Palace because he could have led that Pacers team to an NBA Finals berth in a watered-down league. Indiana hasn't fully recovered yet from the brawl and ditto for Jermaine O'Neal--except for the fact that he'll never recover from the brawl...yeah he still put up 20-9 in the next two seasons and made the All-Star game in '05(!), '06, and '07 but he was emotionally scarred for the rest of his career and never returned to his '04 form where he finished 3rd in MVP voting behind KG and Timmay (Did you know Peja finished 4th in voting that year? Jeez, you know the league has a lack of star power when Peja Stojakovic is considered a top 4 player in the NBA. Let's be thankful our beloved 'Stones team of '04 peaked when a) LeBron/DWade/Melo's class was too young, b) the Kobe/Shaq Lakers were feuding behind closed doors, c) the rest of the league consisted of superstars that weren't surrounded by solid role players, think Garnett's T-Wolves, Kidd's Nets, etc. and d) Derek Fisher made a 1/100000 shot against San Antonio in game 5 of the Western Semis. But in actuality, Detroit would've beat whoever they faced in the Finals that year because of their chemistry, charisma, heart, defensive superiority and overall momentum, and I'm not just saying that so that I won't get a fatwa placed on my head by my fellow Detroit fans). If not for the brawl, O'Neal, Artest, Cap'n Jack, and Company led by Carlisle would've probably had Detroit's number in the '05 playoffs. (No Youtube video of brawl cuz Stern and Co. act like it never happened. But really, it...never...happened *waves wristwatch in front of your face.) He's been Dallas' head coach ever since 08-09 and has led them to a 50-win season or better in his first 3 seasons. 
I already felt bad for the guy considering the stuff he's been through and to see him win one against the evil Miami triumvirate was especially special.

Also, Dirk. Can you say, redemption? In '06, Dallas had a 2-0 series lead on Miami and a 12 point lead in the 4th quarter of game 3. Then, Miami came back and won thanks to some questionable calls from the refs that gave Wade lots and lots of free throws, clutch shooting from Gary Payton, and a vital missed free throw from Dirk in the waning seconds that would've tied the game. Then the Mavs collapsed in games 4-6 under the weight of it all which led Wade and Shaq to hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy at AAC. Also let's not forget the complete collapse a year later this time to the benefit of Amish Baron Davis and the Warriors--if that's not a potential band name I don't know what is--after winning a league MVP and clinching the West's top seed. Thereafter, people questioned his toughness, his clutchness, and his all-around winning touch...ness. THEN, to cap it all off, everyone, including me, considered them first-round upset fodder to the Blazers, because to be honest, he hadn't shown us any signs that pit-bull blood coursed through his veins when all the chips were on the table (I'm using the whole 'dogs playing poker' picture for the basis of that last sentence). So basically, it was like Dirk Nowitzki vs The World.

This time around, however, Dirk circa 2011 had a grittier and more battle-tested crew than in years past. Tyson Chandler (instead of Erick Dampier) acquired in a trade with Charlotte over the off-season (and would've been traded to Oklahoma City if not for a failed physical) brought the much needed skill-set of rebounder/banger/emotional leader to the team. Mark Cuban even called him their "Kevin Garnett" last night--not like the '04 Garnett but more like the '08 & '10 Garnett. Then you had Jason Kidd (instead of Devin Harris), a veteran ball handler/decision maker, who had already gone through his fair share of disappointment losing in two NBA Finals ('02,'03). Shawn Marion brought another scorer/rebounder who could create his own offense (ugly as it may be) and be trusted to guard the opposing team's best player. Ditto for DeShawn Stevenson minus the rebounding thing and the create-your-own offense thing. He only makes open three-pointers. Then there's Jose Juan Berea. Listed at 6-0, but really he's like 5-9. He couldn't even get past AAC security at times during the season without telling them, "Hey, I like play for the team, yo." He played the role of energy bench guy (a lot like Jason Terry), but is quicker, can penetrate the paint without blinking, and can irritate the sh*t out of opposing offenses with his on-the-ball theatrics (Andre Miller and LeBron James can attest to that last statement). Throw in the frontcourt trifecta of Brendon Haywood, The Custodian, and Ian Mahinmi and you got yourselves the 2011 Dallas Mavericks--alongside Dirk himself and the Jet, sans Caron Butler.

Game 4 of the Portland series brought back memories of '06 and '07, where inept Mavs teams went to die and couldn't figure out how to win games. But somehow, someway, this squad fought in games 5 and 6 of that series and then put a beat-down on the Lakers, complete with Laker meltdown in game 4. Remember when everyone doubted them? Well now I didn't. They took care of OKC and cleared a path for a rematch from five years ago. My brother-in-law who's a huge Bulls fan told me after game 6 of the ECF that he wouldn't watch the Finals, then I proceeded to laugh and tell him he NEEDS to watch this series. I think he's happy he wised up. Otherwise he wouldn't have seen the Custodian shoot 66% from the 3-point line (my buddy Matt and I went absolute apesh*t after Cardinal hit both threes and if you didn't then you're not a true NBA fan), clean up the mess that was Mario Chalmers hunting down Stevenson like a fool in response to Stevenson stupidly shoving Udonis Haslem after a Dallas timeout in game 6, then take a momentous charge on Dwyane Wade later on in game 6 which led DWade to get a tech (there were two or three other charges he took earlier in the series that were called blocking fouls on him but should've gone the other way IMO). Let me just say this was the most excited I've ever been for a non-Piston team. Ever. I think Miami had a lot to do with that too.

Re: Edit: Breaking News: Disney just bought the rights to the 2011 Dallas Mavericks. Okay, just kidding. But sirsly, no author could've written this narrative any better unless Al-Qaida owned the Miami Heat and Dirk recovered from a broken neck after Eddie House clotheslined him in Game 3 or something ridirkulous like that.

The indelible images for me from this series in chronological order: 1) Dirk's game-winning lefty lay-up in game 2 (it would have been sweeter if he had given the middle finger to all of the Miami fans with his broken-tendoned one), 2) Jason Terry's three at the end of game 5 that sealed the win, 3) Bill Russell handing the Finals MVP trophy to Dirk then Dirk hoisting it, and 4) LeBron walking down the hallway to the Heat locker room at American Airlines Arena alone after the game 6 defeat, inspiring quotes draped above him calling upon character and charisma in the face of adversity or something like that, all the while nonchalantly fiddling with his wristbands when in reality his stomach has imploded and the immediacy of an NBA Championship that once seemed within his grasp a week ago, now is ungraspable.

He then proceeded to launch a big eff-you to not only the media, but everybody who is relishing his loss...which is like everybody.

"At the end of the day, all of the people that were rooting for me to fail, tomorrow they'll have to wake up and have the same life that [they had] before they woke up today. They got the same personal problems they had today and I'm going to continue to live the way I want to live and continue to do the things I want to do."

Now I'm not one to normally praise the analytical prowess of Magic Johnson (this doesn't really constitute as such, but whatever), but he put it best when he said on ESPN's post-game coverage last night that LeBron should('ve) say(said) that he takes responsibility for his team's loss and is going to put a ton of time into getting better over the summer. But, it doesn't seem like any of that type-substance will spew from LBJ's mouth in the coming months because he seems too narcissistic and self-entitled to not give a crap about things like self-image or what he looks like to an impressionable 12-year old. Plus the whole thing about everybody around him (World Wide Wes crew) telling him he's a demigod all the time probably doesn't help either (I used 'demigod' here because even LeBron should know he's at least partially mortal, esp. after that stinkbomb).

Then later, through the use of the Twittersphere, he blamed Miami not winning the '11 title on God:












Listen, Bron Bron's shrinkage in crunch time doesn't have to do with swimming ("I was in the pool! I was in the pool!) or God ("I was in the pool of holy water! I was in the pool of holy water?"). It's because he deferred to his teammates on just about every single drive to the basket/offensive touch in the fourth quarters of the last six games. LeBron is probably the most freakish athlete I've ever seen in my life, and he has the ability to absolutely take over a game. Do I have to bring up the '07 ECF for you to agree with me? Case and point. But the '11 LeBron did not look quite as intimidating than the '07 LeBron. When '07 ECF LBJ drives to the basket and jumps in the air, he usually throws down a monstrous dunk. When '11 Finals LBJ drives to the basket and jumps in the air, he frantically looks for any open teammate, then miraculously gets a pass off that narrowly gets stolen. I think Dwyane Wade has something to do with this sudden hesitancy. The two inherent alpha-dogs cannot co-exist on the court together wearing the same unis in crunch time. One has to defer to the other. That's been the story all season with this Heat team, and I think that it's high time to copy/paste here. And even though it looks like they're buddy-buddy sitting next to each other at every post-game press conference, something's just not right.

Anyway, now that I've given you my take on the Finals, I s'pose it's time I introduce myself. My name is Pete Brown, I'm a student at the University of Michigan, and I'm an avid NBA fan (wait, you didn't know already?). I've had thoughts and aspirations of starting one of these things for quite some time now, so here it is. I hope to entertain all y'all and also learn a lot from the people who do read it. That means if you feel so compelled, I'd love to hear what you have to say down there below in the comments section. I'm excited about the future of this thing. So, yeah. Enjoy. Like I said, I'll start putting up some stuff specifically about them 'Stones this week.