The 2010-2011 NBA season finally came to a close on Sunday night when the Dallas Mavericks captured their first NBA Championship in franchise history. It was a great moment for the Mavericks organization, and really for the entire sporting world. The Mavericks won the title on old-school principles of defense, unity, teamwork, and execution. The oldest team in the NBA also proved to be the best. When looking back at the Mavs run to the championship, they most assuredly earned it. They held off the pesky Portland Trailblazers in the first round, whom many analysts picked to upset the Mavs. At one point during that series, when Brandon Roy orchestrated a miraculous 4th quarter comeback, it seemed like the Mavs might go back to their old “first-round-exit-disappointing-ways.” Then the Mavs were rewarded with playing the reigning NBA Champions in the Los Angeles Lakers. I must admit I was dumbfounded to see the Mavs sweep the Lakers, in really a rather convincing fashion. Waiting for the Mavs in the Western Conference Finals were the upstart Oklahoma City Thunder, who had just fended off the red-hot Memphis Grizzlies, who were arguably playing some of the best basketball in the NBA. Not flinching, the Mavs wore down the young superstar duo of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook and had a date with destiny in the NBA finals with the Miami Heat.

When the Heat took Game 1, it looked as if what many had feared was coming true. The Heat were as good as advertised and were going to win the title. In Game 2, the Heat had Dallas on the ropes and looked like a superior team, and then Dirk being Dirk, mastered a comeback for the ages and seemingly stole Game 2 from the Heat and made the series much more interesting. And then Rick Carlisle came to play. I have scoured internet source after internet source, and no writers are giving this guy his due credit. Besides Dirk’s legacy building playoff performance, no one was more important to the Mavs’ title than Rick Carlisle. He absolutely befuddled Erik Spoelstra, LeBron James, and Dwyane Wade, and took them to the woodshed. By changing defensive looks, Miami’s offense was unable to gain any sort of rhythm for the remainder of the series. The Mavs personified characteristics in champions that we are familiar with, and they executed flawlessly. This series was more about what the Mavs did than what LeBron and Wade failed to do, although the media would have you believe otherwise. Congratulations are in order to the entire Mavericks organization on a job well done.

Looking Forward:

  1. The New York Knicks. **When the Knicks acquired Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups mid-season, it brought the storied program back to its feet. Along with Amar’e Stoudemire, I look for this Knicks trio to accomplish big things in the 2011-2012 season.

  2. The Boston Celtics**. Although the Celtics lost to the Heat in a disappointing series, Doc Rivers looks committed to bringing a championship back to Boston. There is something to be said about a group of hungry veterans that realize their window of opportunity is growing small. My early inclination is that the Celtics and Heat will duke it out to represent the Eastern Conference in the 2012 Finals.

  3. The Los Angeles Lakers**. With Phil Jackson’s retirement, the hiring of Mike Brown, and their seemingly unmotivated sweep by the Mavs, the Lakers have a lot of questions to answer in 2011-2012. The Lakers bench needs some serious attention, and they need to add a perimeter player to complement Kobe from the wing. If Bynum can stay healthy and Pau Gasol return to his 2010 postseason form, the Lakers will be one of the favorites to capture the championship under first year coach Mike Brown.

  4. The Memphis Grizzlies**. There was not a more compelling and interesting team to watch this postseason than the Grizzlies. After ousting the Spurs in the first round, they took the Thunder to a game 7 and just came up short. They rode the hot hand of Zac Randolph, who really emerged as one of the best post players in the league, along with Marc Gasol who came into his own. They did all of this while Rudy Gay, their best perimeter player and leading scorer, sat out the entire postseason with an injury. I look for the Grizzlies to surprise no one next season, and be among the Western Conference’s best.

  5. The Oklahoma City Thunder.** Kevin Durant hasn’t snuck up on anyone’s radar, but he keeps maturing and developing his game, and along with his sidekick Russell Westbrook, the Thunder have made lasting impressions on the NBA. The Thunder are among the NBA’s youngest teams, and have progressed one round further in the postseason each of the last two years. If James Harden develops into another consistent perimeter scorer, the Thunder will have a crack at achieving postseason accolades for years to come.

  6. The Chicago Bulls**. After losing in the Eastern Conference Finals, sporting the NBA’s best regular season record, and also having the league’s MVP in Derrick Rose, the Bulls have a lot to look forward to in 2011-2012. The Bulls won a great deal of games through Coach Tom Thibodeau’s defensive schemes and mindsets, although seemed to be lacking a complement to Derrick Rose on the perimeter against the Heat, their only major glaring flaw. Through free agency and the draft, I would expect the Bulls to address this issue and be amongst the Eastern Conference’s best again in 2011-2012.

  7. What will happen with Dwight Howard**? Howard has reiterated that he would like to remain in Orlando. So what will Magic ownership do? I would expect them to make a strong run at Chris Paul. Paul seems like the perfect complement to Howard, and would give opposing coaches nightmares thinking of ways to defend the pick’n’roll. The Magic have pieces to offer, and have shown they are not afraid to shake things up, as evidenced by their massive trade with the Phoenix Suns mid-season.

  8. How will the Heat respond?** After taking a humbling loss to the Mavs on the NBA’s biggest stage, the Heat have some soul searching to do. Erik Spoelstra needs to be held somewhat accountable for the Heat and their poor play down the stretch. He continually got outcoached by Rick Carlisle throughout the series, and in crunch time of Game 6 with his team’s back against the wall, all he could tell them was to have “mental stability.” I’m not Pat Riley or an NBA executive, but the Heat’s glaring weakness is clearly from a tactical standpoint. They never seemingly put themselves in the right position. Their half court offense was abysmal. They need to address their needs at an “X’s and O’s” level, and also add a knockdown shooter to their team because the likes of Eddie House and Mario Chalmers were not getting it done.