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.