Let's all play a quick game; imagine you're six minutes away from reaching your dream. It's taken unimaginable drive and desire and 27 years of work to get this far, and now it is in your grasp. It's what you've wanted most in life and now you’re so close you can taste, touch, hear, and smell it. One more thing; you have to imagine in German.
Five minutes to go; the dream starts to move a little further away, but you’re not worried because it's still right next to you and you've got the arms of a 7 foot tall German. Four minutes to go; you reach out to grab the dream but it jumps back suddenly. Now you’re confused and a little annoyed, but still sure the dream will be yours soon. Three minutes to go; the dream has turned its back and starts sprinting away. You chase after it, and for the first time start to wonder if you might not catch it. Two minutes to go; the dream is fading into the distance and now you are sprinting madly trying to catch it. You run as fast as you can but your arms are heavy, your legs are tired and the dream is still going strong. One minute to go; you’re panicking! Time stops and you get one last chance, one final try to lunge for your dream. You throw yourself at it and reach as far as you can-- Your hand closes-- and your finger tips touch nothing but air. The dream is gone.
Back to English. In Game 3 of the 2006 NBA finals, Dirk Nowitzki led the Dallas Mavericks to a double-digit lead over the Miami Heat with six minutes to go. Six minutes was all it took for the Heat to storm back and win, and in the tragedy of tragedies, Dirk missed a free throw with seconds left to tie the game. For the rest of the series the Mavs put up as much resistance as Paris Hilton on prom night, and three games later the Heat were crowned NBA champions. Being the team’s best player, Nowitzki took all the blame. Despite averaging 27 points and almost 12 rebounds a game, Dirk was labeled ‘soft’; somebody who didn't have what it takes to win a championship. The following season Dirk and the Mavericks claimed the best record in the NBA and Dirk was named the MVP, but a few days later, Dallas was destroyed by Golden State in the opening round of the playoffs. The word ‘soft’ was all but carved into Dirks Epitaph.
Nobody is exactly sure what ‘soft’ means in the NBA; does it mean you don't fight? Because other than Ron Artest, nobody fights nowadays. Does it mean you can't make clutch shots? Because Dirk has made as many clutch shots as anybody in the last five years. The one aspect of the ‘soft’ label that always holds true is that it’s impossible to get rid of. For the last five years, the Mavs have won over fifty games a season with Dirk as their unquestioned leader. They are consistently one of the best teams in the league, and Dirk is consistently one of the best clutch players in the league, and yet the ‘soft’ label remains.
This year though, Dirk gets a Ron Burgundy type shot at redemption. The Mavs are in the NBA finals and through-out the playoffs they have done everything people said they couldn't. People said they couldn't beat Portland; and in round one, after blowing a huge lead in game four, we were sure it would be the same old story and the Mavs would disappoint. In round two people were sure they couldn't beat LA. Dirk led his team to four straight wins and an absolute thrashing (truly one of the worst we’ve seen) of the Lakers. And in round three, Dirk took down the two-time NBA scoring champ and one of the hottest young teams in the league in the Oklahoma City Thunder. Now the Mavs have moved on into the NBA finals. Dirk has teamed up with other guys who couldn't quite get it done; Peja from the Kings, Kidd from the Nets, and Marion from the Suns, and this band of misfit toys will have their shot at a title. This time they will try to spell redemption M-A-V-S not S-O-F-T.
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