Let me say that I watched every second of the NBA Finals. It was an awesome series and of course the Dallas Mavericks won. Even though I want the Celtics to win it all next year and even if I don’t really like the Heat and Lebron is no Jordan (yet), I am predicting that the Heat will come back stronger next year and come out as Champions.
After saying all of that, watching the Finals reminded me of five things:
1. Never give up.
Every game in the series ended up being pretty close, which nobody thought was possible. Since the Heat had Lebron, Wade and Bosh everyone gave up on Dallas because they thought that one All-Star compared to a “stacked” team didn’t stand a chance. People gave up way too early on the Mavericks. I hate when that happens. Dallas coming back from down 15 in Game 2 just showed how much determination they really had. They reminded me that when everything in the world is against you, work harder. Don’t give up. Make things happen.
2. Don’t get a “big head”.
You remember when that happened, right? You were probably thinking at the time, “Who does this guy think he is?”
That video alone makes Lebron look like he has it all wrong. He set himself up for disaster by coming in acting like it was an individual sport. I think as the season went on, Dwyane Wade taught him that basketball is a team sport. This is the reason that I think Wade is the best shooting guard in the game right now, maybe even in the history of the game. Anyways, humility goes a long way. Thinking you are going to teach everyone a thing or two instead of coming in wanting to learn something from other people sets a tone for failure.
3. Coach others to become better.
As you know, instead of Lebron coaching others around him to become better, he left Cleveland and went to Miami. Going to a “stacked” team was the easy way out. Not only that, but that move to Miami broke trust, relationships throughout Cleveland and in my opinion hurt his legacy in the long run. That city pretty much despises him. His move to Miami and The NBA Finals reminded me once again that it’s better to make others around you better. This is good for the entire team and organization and they will most likely do the same to others. It just makes things better.
4. Get really good at the basics.
Yes, Miami was more flashy. They did crazy big dunks, their celebrations were bigger and the expressions on Bosh’s and Lebron’s faces made them look…passionate??? But, Dallas has Dirk and Kidd who made others better. Not really better at the flashy stuff, but great at the basics. A lot of people overlook the basics, but I think they are key to any great victory. A good example of this was coach, John Wooden. He taught his players to get really good at the basics. After that, everything else just falls into place.
5. Don’t listen to haters.
As much as I don’t like the Heat, those individual players are all still human. I don’t believe Lebron when he said in the postgame interviews that the criticism didn’t bother him at all. Maybe he has learned to handle criticism a little better than the rest of us since he gets a ton of it, but he still has feelings. Also, he just got to Miami, so people need to give them time to get things tighter. That’s the main reason why I think that next year will be their year. They just all need to get on the same page and work more as a team. Usually some patience is required to achieve your goals. The Finals definitely reminded me that we will always have obstacles to overcome. We do control our reactions to those obstacles, though. Tune haters out and put more positive things into your life.
We all probably took something away from that series. I mean, I didn’t like either team and I still watched every second. I’ve never done that before if I don’t have a favorite team in it. Maybe I just wanted to see the outcome…
Anyways, how did you like the series? Also, what’s something you’ve learned lately that could help us all out?
