Old School Pic of the Week 1.24

Dirk Nowitzki will be sitting out the Mav's games this week so that he can get back in to proper playing shape. Kudos to Dirk for swallowing his pride and putting in the necessary work, but if he thought Court of Appeals would just let his little vacation slide... he was mistaken.

Cool earring.

The Curse of Jordan

by Connor Witt

For the duration of my stint at the Catholic-affiliated Santa Clara University, the emphasis on faith has been undeniable. Whether I was flipping though the pages of St. Augustine's Confessions, studying up on the Spanish Inquisition, or up to some other shenanigans because we had school off for Good Friday, religion has been a constant. I really have no grounds to complain about my time at Santa Clara, but there is one aspect that has always been frustrating: for me, religion always seems to raise more questions than it answers! I can’t seem to get anything definitive.

As far as my education is concerned, raising more questions is good. Its supposed to build character, develop critical thinking skills, makes me more aware, etc. But sometimes in this life, I need something concrete. And that, of course, is where my beloved sport of basketball comes in.

In a world of such uncertainty, hoops provides answers.

Who led the league in scoring? Kevin Durant with 27.7 PPG. Was Tom Thibodeau a good hire for Chicago? Definitely, he preached defense to the Bulls, led them to 62 victories, and won Coach of the Year. What happened to the Spurs in the post-season? Ginobili wasn't at full strength due to his elbow injury, Zach Randolph went off, and they couldn't match Memphis' athleticism. It's all subjective stuff.

This years finals should have been no different. When the horn sounded to conclude Game 6, the scoreboard read, “Dallas: 105, Miami: 95.” The Mavericks had taken the series four games to two. The obvious choice, Dirk Nowitzki, was awarded the Finals MVP. There is no room for debate about those facts.

But in this rare instance, the facts didn’t cut it. Though the Mavs deserve all the praise they receive -- they were unquestionably the better team in the Finals -- the close of the series didn’t offer any real sense of closure for me. It, too, raised more questions than answers.

I had high hopes of posting an article as soon as I could after last Sunday’s Game 6 so I could pretend like I was actually a reputable writer while my impressions of the contest were still ripe. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I didn’t have a goddamn clue what I had just witnessed.

Over the past few days I’ve been trying to pick the brains of anyone with the slightest interest in basketball to get their take on what went down in the Finals. I heard plenty of LeBron-related insults (“How’s my Dirk taste, LeBron?” being among the most colorful) but nothing that got me any closer to understanding these Finals.

It wasn’t until the other evening when I was sitting outside grilling up some hearty sausages at my friend Richard’s house that his father sparked my imagination. We had been discussing how LeBron’s game more closely resembled Scottie Pippen’s than Michael Jordan’s. It was then that Richard’s pops, Don (quite the hooper in his day) theorized that LeBron was cursed after Pippen suggested during a radio interview that LeBron may very well be better than Jordan. And then something clicked in my mind and it all made sense.

After so much confusion over the one sport that always provides me with answers, I had to turn to the least likely of sources in order to comprehend LeBron’s implosion. That source: the divine. But in this case, the religion of old had manifested in a modern day saga featuring His Airness. Michael Jordan cursed LeBron James, and spurred his stumbles in the Finals!

Despite the endless the praise that Jordan has received over the years for his heroics as a player, apparently we’ve been selling his abilities short. Sure, he could sky for free-throw line slams, perform trickery, and defy the limits of the human tongue rain threes, but it seems Jordan’s omnipotence (23-point Scrabble word. Coincidence? I think not) was not limited to the basketball court. We knew Jordan could perform miracles already, but never before had we seen him exercise his holy will by putting a curse on another player. Come on though; is this really a surprise to anyone? We’ve been treating Jordan like a God for quite a while now.

(Forgive me for my current 3-article streak of outrageous basketball theories. But honestly, this hypothesis is probably no less valid of an explanation for LeBron’s poor play than the story swirling that LeBron’s girlfriend is cheating with Rashard Lewis.)

Let’s continue with this whole basketball/biblical relationship, shall we?

So Scottie Pippen is something like a modern day version of the New Testament’s Judas. The story goes that Judas was responsible for the betrayal of Jesus because he spoke false words about him, leading to his demise (sound familiar, LeBron?)

It would be easy for me to plug LeBron in here and call him the Jesus of this analogy, but it’s probably too bold of me to another article in which I proclaim a player to be the NBA’s messiah after doing so just a month ago with Basketball Jesus, Pt. 2.

But, who knows. Like Dirk, perhaps he could rebound from a surprising Finals loss and become Basketball Jesus, Pt. 3.


Court adjourned.

Old School Pic of the Week: 6/6

This week we have a 1991 photo of Dirk Nowitzki getting his Rafael Nadal on. Though his Mavericks came up two points short on Nowitzki's miss at the buzzer in Game 3 of the Finals, I am willing to bet that everyone in The Big D is thankful that Dirk turned in his tennis racket in for a pair of high top basketball shoes.

Mavs Turn Up the Heat in Miami

by Connor Witt


Dwyane Wade's emphatic three pointer in front of the Dallas bench to put Miami up 15 with 7:14 to play was supposed to be the nail in the Mavericks' coffin. As we watched the ball sink through the twine, my friend and fellow Court of Appeals writer Danny Franks yelled "That's game!" to make it official that the Mavs no longer had any glimmer of hope. All of us watching the game in Danny's living room had no reason to disagree; even the lone Mavericks die hard in attendance had written his team off.

The only problem: when Wade hit that corner three pointer, he and his cohort LeBron James decided the game was over as well. However, as Dwyane Wade triumphantly held his follow through, the Dallas players forced to look on at his pose had other plans. This veteran Mavericks team had not made it to the Finals by rolling over in the closing minutes of games (just ask the Thunder) and Game 2 proved to be no different.

After spending much of the game staring upwards as witnesses to the aerial assault of the rim provided by LeBron, Wade, and Bosh, Dallas ratcheted up their defensive intensity, forcing James and Wade into contested threes at the end of the shot clock. On offense, clutch shots from Jason Terry and Dirk Nowitzki put the Mavs ahead in the final minute, only to have Mario Chalmers tie the game with 24.5 seconds to play. Unless you've been under a rock for the past day, you know the rest of the story: Dirk drives past Chris Bosh and finishes with his supposedly incapacitated left hand.

(Sidenote: the coverage surrounding the middle finger of Dirk's non-shooting hand was so incredibly overblown. Comparisons of Dirk's shooting from Game 1 to Game 2 showed no visible differences, yet ABC continued to harp on the issue throughout the game. At no point during the game did the "injury" appear to impact his play, and I suppressed the urge to vomit when Doris Burke came out wearing a replica of Nowitzki's finger splint during one report.)

Though Thursday's performance was a devastating implosion for the Heat miraculous win for the Mavericks, there is still much basketball to be played in this series and no team has a clear advantage. The Mavs return to Dallas with the series tied and the next three games in their building, but they would be foolish to think that the Heat will fold just because of one bad loss. In fact, the result of Game 2 may very well benefit Miami more so than Dallas.

When Dwyane Wade's three pointer fell through the cylinder with seven minutes left and LeBron greeted Wade with a series of playful jabs as they headed into the timeout, it became apparent that Miami's two superstars believed they had the game and the series in hand. After the dominance the Heat displayed throughout the third period, I couldn't blame them either. This was why LeBron took his talents to South Beach in the first place, to know that even when he wasn't taking over games he had an sidekick capable of similar heroics. Miami began to think that their championship run would be one highlight after another as opposing players watched helplessly, left to marvel at the spectacle taking place. Seven minutes and fourteen seconds later when Wade's desperation three point attempt struck back iron and the final horn sounded, Miami felt much differently.

Over the last few minutes of the game Miami failed to find any offensive rhythm and their defense could not match the dominance we saw in Game 1. It was just the type of failure the Heat needed. Miami needed to be reminded that it will not be handed a ring just because every night it is most talented team in the gym. Miami needed to be reminded that it is mortal.

Looking forward, I expect that the final seven minutes of Game 2 will give a greater boost to the Heat's play than Mavs'. Sure, American Airlines Center (not to be confused with Miami's American Airlines Arena) will be rocking at the Sunday tipoff, given the momentum coming off Dallas win. But more important than the atmosphere at tip will be each team's mindset in the game's final minutes. Miami has faced hostility on the road all season, and they come into Game 3 with the added motivation to avenge their heartbreaking loss. Wade and LeBron both put on tremendous shows in Thursday's Game 2, but they quickly learned from Dallas' comeback that putting on a great show doesn't necessary lead to W's. Don't expect Miami to necessarily change their intensity for Sunday's game in Dallas, but watch for them to improve their focus, and turn up the heat (pun intended) down the stretch.

Court Adjourned.

Basketball Jesus Pt. 2?

by Connor Witt

Dirk Nowitzki’s 48 points in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals wasn’t just good. That would be selling it short. His performance was miraculous, prodigious, even superhuman. But is it possible that Nowitzki’s divine Game 1 was more than simply a great effort on his part? I’m no prophet, but I say yes.

The theory just makes too much sense. After surging out to a 2-0 lead in the 2006 Finals, Dwyane Wade and the refs propelled the Heat to victory. The 18.25 free throws Wade averaged over the last four games essentially crucified Dirk and the Mavs. Now, five years later, Dirk has risen back to prominence and looks poised to ascend to the pantheon of NBA Champions.

The only logical explanation: Dirk Nowitzki is Basketball Jesus. (This is the part when you scoff and ask “Is he serious?!?!”) Okay, I’m not completely serious with that claim. Any self-respecting basketball nerd knows it is sacrilege to dub someone other than Larry Bird with that nickname. But seriously, I think I’m onto something with this concept.

Dirk looking Jesus-esque
while representing Germany

Extended Theory:

The Basketball Gods are sitting around watching game film pretty recently wherever it is that they hang out. (I envision it being some sort of mountaintop à la the Greek Gods, except with a big flat screen.) One of them pulls out some tapes from ’06 and decides to toss in the finals footage. They are astounded by what they see, a Mavericks contender many years in the making getting thrashed by D. Wade and a newly acquired (and still functional) Shaq. I assume that after a bit of deliberation The Basketball Gods deem that Dirk got screwed out of a championship. So, they think, what is the best way for Dirk to get his salvation?

The Basketball Gods, in a stroke of pure genius, determine that they should reward Nowitzki while denying Kobe a sixth title and embarrassing the whole Lakers organization just for kicks. And to make up for the barrage of free throws that boosted Wade and the Heat to a championship, The Basketball Gods reward Dirk with 24 free throws en route to 48 points against OKC. If Dirk keeps up this dominant play, this theory may have to be declared scientific fact. But then we have another dilemma on our hands, finding an adequately holy title to hand Dirk since Basketball Jesus is taken.

My vote is for The Sacrifical Lamb.

Court adjourned.