(deep breath) Here's what I think happened in the NBA Finals

(I'm not ready to talk about the Sonics.)

You may have noticed that I haven't written anything about the Finals yet. I picked Dallas to win the championship. I made a decent case for it and for 2.75 games I was kicking myself for picking the Mavs in 5 instead of calling for the brooms. Then the rest of the series happened.

Here's my theory: The reason that the Mavericks lost in the Finals has nothing to do with the players on the floor, coaching, or the Heat being a better team. It has more to do with the ether and aura of professional sports. The Mavs spent the first two and three quarters games in a trance that allowed them to simply play the basketball they were capable of playing. Dwyane Wade had a ridiculous fourth quarter in Game 3 and it snapped the Mavs out of the trance to the point where they took a look around and said, "Hey, we're in the Finals. We're in the Finals and we're the Mavericks! Uh oh...".

The exact same thing happened to the Seahawks in the Super Bowl. They absolutely dominated the first half of that game. They were the better team, but at some point the deciding factor became not ability but instead that they were the Seahawks.

Anywho, from then on the Mavs played the rest of the series with both hands around their collective neck. This allowed the Heat to get to the one place the Mavs couldn't afford to let them be: one game away. By that point too many hungry old dogs could smell it. The Heat were savvy enough to will one game and the Mavs didn't make them do it until Miami was one away. And I know the Heat are first time champs, but they were also an amalgam of champions/almost champs past. Only Wade made their title at all indigenous and because of that it's a little dubious.

There's a reason that the same teams keep winning championships and that is because they're used to doing it. They know what it takes and other teams don't. That's boring shit and pretty sad for those of us who live in cities without championship tradition, but it's the truth.

It's going to take something spectacular folks. That's for the Mavericks, the Seahawks, Colts, and everyone else in the "almost there" boat. It's one thing to be good enough to get there, and it's something completely different to actually see it through. At least the Seahawks and Mavericks can take heart that championship losses are major capital towards future success.

Two more thoughts: If Phoenix were in the Finals instead of the Mavs they would have called the mercy rule after two quarters Suns leading 268-31. These Miami Heat will be remembered as one more crappy champion before final glorious ascent of the beautiful NBA.