It's 2006 all over again

The ballots have been filled. After a month and a half, it's the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat in the final dance, The NBA Finals. 

Superstars have emerged in the biggest stage of them all. From Magic's hook shot, to Jordan's switcheroo in mid-air, to Bird's ridiculous jumpers, from Shaq to Kobe, Robinson to Timmy, Drexler & the Dream,  many stars have shined in this stage. This time, it's D.Wade, LeBron, and Dirk's turn again. 

After crushing the Bulls in 5 games with terrific D, and ridiculous offense from one of the games' greatest, the Miami Heat are poised to win it all this year. We saw what they did against the Bulls, they outclassed the league's best team with tenacious defense. LeBron James defied his critics by hitting late game 3-pointers and by shutting down the league's MVP Derrick Rose to a forgettable 1-15 FG in the 4th quarter of both games 4 and 5. We saw how Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem came out of the grave to provide the Heat a much needed help from the bench. We saw how Chris Bosh redeemed himself as the third wheel by putting in two 30 point games against the Bulls. Indeed, this Heat are the favorites to win it this year.

But Dallas has something to say about that.

Of course they remember, the crushing defeat they experienced after leading 2-0 in the series, only to be swept in the next 4. Ask Dirk and Jason Terry, I bet they still feel the pain of that disappointing lose. I bet they still remember in their dreams how Dwayne Wade dissected their defense and earn a trip to the charity, drive after drive. Ask Marc Cuban, I bet he still cringe and wonder what went wrong everytime he's reminded of it. All that will play in the series, unless they change the outcome this time. 

Who would've thought that they will be representing the West this year. The West was like synonymous to the Lakers. So what did Dallas do? They swept the Lakers. The Thunder were the dark horse in the west and still no one believed in Dallas. So what did Dallas do? With terrific defense and ball movement, and the exceptional play of their bona fide superstar, they ousted the Thunder in 5 games. Leading to this reunion, a reunion that tasted bitter but sweet for this Mavericks. A shot at revenge, a shot at proving that 3 ain't gonna get it done but 12, a shot of not letting it slip because this may be the last chance, and a shot at putting a stamp on hall-of-fame careers.

When the smoke is clear and the dust have been dusted, one thing is for sure, a new NBA champion will be crowned. 

Something To Prove

The Los Angeles Lakers broke the news today with the announcement of their new head coach, Mike Brown. The Lakers organization and Mike Brown agreed to an 18 million dollar four year contract that would put him as the 22nd head coach for the storied franchise. Brown outplayed former Rockets coach Rick Adelman, Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy, and the favorite heir to Jackson's former job, Brian Shaw. 

With the turmoil and the downfall of the Lakers in the post season, we can't help but think that the Buss' were addressing defense by signing Brown. Mike Brown was an assistant to Gregg Popovich with the Spurs that featured David Robinson and Tim Duncan. Together they won the NBA title in 2003. In his tenure there, Brown was their defensive coach. He was the anchor for David Robinson and Tim Duncan on the defensive end, which he also applied with Z and Varejao in Cleveland. So definitely he'll have his hands full with Gasol and Bynum to co-exist in defense for the Lakers. After his stint in San Antonio, he went to Indiana as an assistant with Rick Carlisle before he landed his first head coaching job in Cleveland.

His 5 year tenure in Cleveland was more than impressive, although sometimes unappreciated. Brown led his team to the NBA Finals. He also had two 60+ winning seasons, that featured an impressive 66-16 record in the 08-09 season. He won the NBA Coach of the Year that year, too.  The Cavs became top 5 defensively and offensively percentage wise. With LeBron James as his cornerstone, he turned this lost franchise to relevance. He brought out the best in his role players and players we never heard of was heard because of him. When the Cavaliers was down, he picked them up, molded them into his basketball prowess, discipline, principles, and even though he only got LeBron and no other clear option aside from him, the Cavs contended and improved every season. He became the Cavs' winning-est coach with an 272-138 (.663) record, fifth all time. 

But even with all the accomplishments, Brown and the Cavs never won the title. Even with the best record in the NBA, with LBJ winning back-to-back MVP's, the Cavs just failed in the post season. Somehow, the basketball Gods just never gave them luck in the post season, which unfortunately led to LeBron bringing his talents to Miami and Brown getting ousted by Cavs' Owner Dan Gilbert.

Now, Mike Brown gets a crack at it again. After spending a year in ESPN as an analyst, he's back again in the sidelines. With these Lakers, he'll get a superstar, a hall of famer hungry for redemption, in Kobe Bryant. He'll get three seven footers in Gasol, Odom, and Bynum. He has a natural defensive player in Artest, and a bench that needs to live up to their full potential. Whether there will be tweaking in the roster or not this offseason for the Lakers, Mike Brown has his hands full. He's got more talent to work with the Lakers than when he was in Cleveland. More importantly, he'll be able to address the Lakers biggest hole, Defense. We all saw how the Lakers were dissected by the Mavs in the playoffs. It'll be interesting to see how the Lakers adjust to Brown's system defensively and offensively next season. 

For Mike Brown, this is his second chance. A chance to redeem his career as a coach. Cleveland may or may not point the blame on him for their downfall. But one thing's clear for him, he bled and laid it all for Cleveland.

This time with a team hungry for redemption, Brown and the Lakers will take a shot and prove that they're still relevant in basketball.