| A Series For The Ages Authored by Jeff Stotts - May 23, 2006 - 5:20 pm
For years the only thing linking the Spurs and Mavs was geography. While David Robinson and Tim Duncan were prepping for their first cruise down the Riverwalk, a young Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki were recovering from an abysmal first season in Dallas, as the Mavs finished a dreadful 19-31 season.
The Spurs continued their success as their interstate rivals evolved into a winning franchise and the seeds for a rivalry were planted in a 2nd round match up in the 2001 playoffs. Rookies to the playoffs, but coming off a dramatic comeback against the Jazz in their first round match up, the Mavs were easily swept aside by the formidable Spurs in five games.
Despite a blistering 14-0 run to start the 2003 season the Mavs could not hold onto the division lead and once again finished second behind the Spurs. The two teams would eventually meet in the 2003 Western Conference Finals. Yet with Dirk out of the lineup, the Spurs once again defeated the Mavs this time in Game 6 as Steve Kerr and Stephen Jackson scorched the Mavericks from behind the arc and overcome a thirteen-point fourth quarter deficit. The Spurs would claim their second title that year and a third would come two years later while the Mavs again went home early losing to the Suns in the second round.
This brings us to the present. After again finishing the season 2nd in the division behind who else but the Spurs, the Mavericks finally overcame San Antonio. The Mavs dethroned the champs with a pulse pounding Game 7 OT win in the Alamo City and officially making this the best rivalry currently in the NBA.
7 games. 2 overtimes. Five games decided by 5 points or less. Forget Lebron. Thanks to the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks, NBA fans were all witnesses to the best 2nd round series in recent memory and quite possibly the entire history of the NBA. The series had it all. From off court drama to on court brilliance it may be years before we see a series as entertaining as this. You need individual greatness? Tim Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki played liked MVP caliber players attempting to single-handedly will their respective teams to the next round. You need heroes turned enemies? How bout Michael Finley and Nick Van Exel, two key components of the 2003 Dallas Mavericks, joining the Spurs but don’t forget that the Mavericks were led by head coach Avery Johnson, the diminutive point guard of the 1999 World Champion Spurs. Too add more fuel to the fire you have Jason Terry’s low blow and resulting suspension, Mark Cuban’s antics, Eva Longoria, a variety of conspiracy theories, and more flopping than a political convention. The beauty is I haven’t even mentioned the amazing basketball played. Six of the seven games were two teams playing remarkable basketball. Coach Greg Popovich was correct in hinting that if these teams played 20 times each team would walk away with 10 victories, these two teams are too good for it not to play out like that. Fortunately for Mavericks fan the playoffs are the first to four and for the first time in awhile the pesky kid brother was victorious against his dominant bigger brother. Simply put this was sibling rivalry at its finest. |
