Post-It Note #1

Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra needs to take a coaching page from the 2011 NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle. Tell your players from the Miami Heat team to toughen up. There's no crying over lost games, especially in the regular season. You can cry later, when you fail to win in the NBA Finals. You can mutter over lost opportunities then.

Why the Mavericks Deserve to Win the 2011 NBA Title

The Dallas Mavericks are your 2011 NBA champions. This is why they are the champs. They played defense. They know defense wins championships, not offense. They had Rick Carlisle. They had Dirk Nowitzki. They had a supporting cast of a group of players that were dedicated to winning basketball games. Most of all, they have a tough attitude towards winning and a very low appetite on losing ball games. The Dallas Mavericks are a quote unquote "tough" team. They don't give up on a basketball play. The Miami Heat did. Several basketball plays in a row, you would watch the Miami Heat destroy themselves playing together in the court together on defense and offense. The Mavericks decided that they want to toughen themselves up on every single offensive and defensive possession together one of their five players were there on the court. There is automatically no sense of the Miami Heat playing team basketball, it was simply 3-on-5. Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, and Lebron James scored the points for the offensive trip, Mario Chalmers, and Udonis Haslem did some of the heavy lifting, but it was ultimately up to Bosh, Wade, and James to carry the Miami Heat to their second NBA title if they were to win it. When Lebron James successfully defend Jason Terry in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, Terry said to his teammates, "Let's see if he can do it for seven games." That was a tough statement. The Mavericks were very tough in their decision to have Lebron James defend all of their perimeter shooters. They did not let their guard down. The Mavs were "tough" all over the entire NBA Finals. From Dirk Nowitzki to the twelfth player down on the bench, they were tough for six games. The Dallas Mavericks are an ultimate team to be reckoned with. You deal with Dirk Nowitzki's very accurate jump shot, you deal with Jason Terry's jump shot, you deal with J.J. Barea's penetration, and you also deal with veteran sharp shooter Peja Stojakovic's jump shot as well. I think the Mavs are a title contender for next season. I wanted the Miami Heat to win, emotionally. I wanted the Big Three of Miami to seize their first title, because of their parade last summer when Lebron James announced they were to win 7,8,9 NBA titles. I can tell you why the Heat lost. Lebron James didn't play up to the standards he was supposed to play. He did not defend the perimeter shooters in Game 3 for the rest of the series in Games 4, 5, and 6. The Big Three did not have help from the Miami bench to help them win ball games. It was simply "hero" ball. You don't win with "hero" ball. You win with teamwork and execution on offense. You will win ball games simply on defense. The Miami Heat did none of the above. The Mavericks won the NBA Finals, like Charles Barkley said, I think, I'm not sure it was him, "hand down man down."

My 'Hoop It Up' Column #2

Hope you are enjoying watching the NBA Finals. Lebron James really didn't play up to par in Games 4 and 5. I'm hoping he'll bring it in Miami for Game 6 and eventually, Game 7. If his offense doesn't show up again, I am hoping he'll relegate to his defensive responsibilities, especially on Jason Terry, J.J. Barea, and Jason Kidd. He has got to contribute to the NBA Finals, not just on the offensive end. He has struggled so far. If he can't score, he must contribute to the overall flow of the game, defensive boards, steals, blocks, guarding Dallas' perimeter guys. This is the Lebron James we know. The athlete he is, the wonderful skills he has to show on the basketball court, this is the talented Lebron James he must show up to play. Wade and Bosh have played their parts, and Miami can still win, without James' contribution to the game. But they won't go far without James with a victory as long as the Big Three will take them.

My 'Hoop It Up' opinion column #1

I just want to let you know that I am a big advocate of NBA
players who have reputations for winning multiple NBA titles, players
like Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Magic Johnson, Bob Cousy, Isiah
Thomas, Joe Dumars, James Worthy, Larry Bird, Bill Russell, Wilt
Chamberlain, and Hakeem Olajuwon. I forget another list of players who
have also won multiple NBA titles. Name me one I haven't mentioned.
They're on the same list I want to mention. I have respect for players
who have tried and failed to win NBA titles, BUT that is not the same
as winning the NBA championship. I happen to like and respect Jason
Kidd, Peja Stojakovic, Jason Terry, Dirk Nowitzki, and Shawn Marion.
But they will never EVER win an NBA title in the presence of great NBA
players like Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Tim Duncan, David
Robinson (more NBA greats I forgot to mention), and Kobe Bryant
(that's another name and NBA player who has won multiple NBA titles)
because they lack killer instincts and a truly, competitive spirit to
love and win in the game of basketball. That's why Dallas has a
lackadaisical approach to winning ball games, especially when they
fall behind late in ball games and come from behind to win most of the
time. It happens to all of us. Don't let failing to let go of big
leads often. You could lose most of them. Get out there and take
control of the game. If you like Dallas to win, go ahead. You'll join
Patrick Ewing. Ewing always wanted an NBA title, but he never got a
chance to win one, especially when the greatness of Michael Jordan was
around the NBA during the 90's. Just like Dallas, a bunch of
30s-something NBA veterans who want that elusive NBA title. They
failed from learning from experience because they didn't get that NBA
title when they were younger. They were happy to be there in the NBA
Finals or the west finals when they had the opportunity. Just like in
Game 3, Game 4 is about the greatness of Lebron James and Dwyane Wade.
Dallas may steal a game, but Dallas will never take away the greatness
of James and Wade. Like Jordan, Dumars, Thomas, and the futures of
Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, they seize the moment. They live
for the NBA title. Nowtzki? Terry? Kidd? They were glad to be there in
the NBA Finals, in the past. That's history. They were happy to be
present in the awe of greatness of the aura of NBA titans. They failed
to take advantage of the moment when they had the chance. I bet you
they regretted taking advantage of the opportunity when they had it to
win the NBA title. Opportunities are a chance of a lifetime. You never
know when you may not have it again. I know why you want Dallas to
win. Just like the Dallas Mavericks who learn from experience. They
wish they could take it all back when they were younger. They have had
regrets in their lifespan of an NBA player. They know they lost
opportunities. Go ahead. Root for the Mavs when you have the chance.
It's all about mere mortals becoming immortal and reaching immortality
of the NBA Finals. It's about the aura of greatness. It's about
players who stage their legacy on the biggest stage of them all. It's
about Lebron James. It's about Wade and his second title. It's about
Chris Bosh, (I know you're thinking 'snake' when I type his name) and
it's about Bosh being the third wheel and sacrificing his game for
James and Wade and the team. In the end, you can't resist the
opportunity you lost. That's what the Mavericks learned from
experience. They wished they had those chances back. They had regrets.
They're wiser and experienced. If I were Dallas or Nowitzki or Kidd or
Terry, I'd had regrets. Are you like Nowitzki? I think I made my
point. I rest my case.