This Year Is Different by Bob Sturm
Author:Bob Sturm
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: SPORTS & RECREATION/Basketball
Publisher: Diversion Books
Published: 2011-12-01T00:00:00+00:00
PORTLAND Games 5-6 (April 25-28, 2011)
Gut-check time.
Anyone with even a modicum of interest in the NBA playoffs got set to tune in April 25 for Game 5 in Dallas, when the Mavericks would reveal whether they had the hearts of lions or of mice. They were home for a crucial game in a series that could still go either way. Those with a grasp of history knew this was a good spot to see if these were the âsame olâ Mavericks.â
The NBAâs playoff format allows for a dramatic crescendo that the NFL cannot match. NFL teams need only to win three or four games to be crowned champions. Each contest is a single-game battle they either win in three hours, or their season ends.
The NBA playoffs offer a deeper, more immersive experience. Each best-of-sevenseries takes nearly two weeks to complete. Between every game there are usually travel or practice days during which the questions, conjecture and outright panic attacks can escalate. Every game is a self-contained drama that can send the series lurching in a new, unexpected direction.
The Mavericks felt great after the first two games, confident they were the better team because they had outplayed the Blazers in âcrunch time,â the final 3-5 minutes when close games are won by the brave and bold.
Two losses in Portland, however, changed everything. Though the series was deadlocked, the nature of that gutting Game 4 loss had rocked the Mavericks and their oft-wounded, understandably skeptical fans to their core. It didnât matter that Dallas had outplayed its opponent for most of the two games in Oregon. Only the final scores count.
To some, suffering a complete blowout loss in Game 4 would have been preferable to finding a way to lead by 23 and still lose. It was a psychologically damaging slip by the Mavericks. And, if this team was cut from the same cloth as its predecessors, Dallas would cave under the pressure.
Nowitzki and Kidd spoke again in the training room on Monday, while getting taped up for the morning shoot-around. Nowitzkiâs faith had not wavered. His determination in the wake of Saturday nightâs debacle had only grown.
âI didnât feel a great vibe there in the locker room that morning,â Nowitzki recalled. âI said, âThey arenât going to beat us tonight â there is just no way.â
âUsually, I am a very negative, skeptical person. You know, Germans in general are very negative. And usually when we lose, then [I think] I am the worst player and we are the worst team. But, for some reason, I was confident that we were not going to lose Game 5 and they couldnât beat us in Dallas.â
Kidd loved this Dirk.
Nowitzki had his detractors, people who conceded he was a superstar, but one they thought didnât dig as deep as true champions did each spring. Some felt Nowitzki would be bullied and pushed out of the playoffs when it was time to play for keeps.
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