Le End of Le Season

Reality to Earth . . . Miami Heat, I watched George Steinbrenner at work for well over 30 years. You are no Yankees.

Last night proof was handed down in a rather emphatic manner that sometimes buying a championship team isn't as easy as signing the paychecks. Since the "Lebron-In" which preceded NBA training camps, it had been a foregone conclusion in many eyes that the Miami Heat had done just that, working within the salary cap structure to build a team with three All-Stars up front and in the starting line-up.

The Dallas Mavericks have an All-Star, a former All-Star, a load of team players, a slightly crazy owner* (Oops, forgot . . . He's rich so he's 'eccentric') and a plan to weave all of the other elements which make up a winning team together into one capable unit.

Ask the Heat if they succeeded. Ask the Lakers if they succeeded. Just don't ask me; I'm not a particular fan of either team, but I found myself smiling because the guy with the sinus infection and high fever for a few games was holding up the championship trophy. To be fair, he had a rotten first half in yesterday's game, but there was that 'team' thing going on with Dallas, so he had plenty of time to get his act together before it was time to take his bows in this little drama.

The other team . . . Wasn't. I've seen my share of championship teams, and the Heat, for all their talent, isn't one of those; not yet, at least. Great teams not only have great groups of players; they know how to win the big games.

Dwayne Wade? He's got the ring to prove he can be part of a team which can get the job done. Chris Bosh? A lot to learn yet, but not a lot of time to learn it. Lebron James . . .?

Everyone's going to be piling on, so I won't add much to the debate, but I will say this. If he's to be the best of the best, he's got to be all-in when he hits the stage. The game we saw wasn't a match for the stage he played it on, and if he doesn't want to be "The Man" he isn't going to do that team a hell of a lot of good in the long run.

We all know who "The Man" is (Or "The Woman" depending on the team). It's the player with the talent to either back up his mouth or to do the talking for him, and he's a vital part of any championship team. He steps up. He takes his game to another level, no matter what that game is. He wants the rock in crunch time (See the pantheon from Bill Russell to Michael Jordan), the puck in a tie game with time running down (Howe, Richard, Gretzky and a particularly forceful Messier come to mind), the ball handed or passed to him with the Super Bowl on the line (I could name a few dozen and we'd be here all day), or the bases loaded in the ninth with two outs and his team down a run (And to be fair, George bought a lot of those, and raised a few from the minors up).

I didn't see that person on the Heat. If they want the trophy, someone has to find that person in him (If there's a season next year). You don't win a title by just showing up. You have to take it.

Dallas took it.

*Don't take offense, Mark. I've seen the Monday Night Raw wrestling footage. If you're a bit crazy, you at least have fun with it. ;)