Sometimes all it takes is nothing for a player to enter the zone. Often times, it can just be misplaced comments from an opponent! A champion star in 2011 notably crushed everything after being teased by LeBron James. Beautiful mistake of the King …
Without any dispute, the title of champion in 2010-11 can be considered as Dirk Nowitzki’s greatest career accomplishment. While he draws with him a team of old men, the strong winger with 30,000 career points succeeds in taking the Mavericks to the NBA Finals, after having notably taken out the Lakers on a sweep. The final opponent? Miami, notably with the trio LeBron James-Dwyane Wade-Chris Bosh.
Obviously, everyone gives the Heat the winner, the Floridians being superior in terms of intrinsic talent, in particular. And yet, it is Dallas which dominates after an initial defeat, winning Games 2 and 3. The German Bomber will plant 34 points on the latter! It’s a whole city that begins to dream …
However, on the eve of the fourth game, it is the tragedy in Texas: Nowitzki is ill, and even severely … On the South Beach side, we take it with a lot (too much) of a smile. LeBron and Wade will even commit the irreparable, by making a cough in front of the cameras to make fun of the interior … As JJ Barea, member of the Mavs in 2011, tells it, it was a big mistake, the German having taken it very wrong !
Dirk is ultra-competitive. Along with Kobe, he is the most competitive player I have met during my career. During the 2011 Finals, when LeBron and Wade laughed at him with a cough, he was forced to look at the footage. He was like, “I’m not paying attention,” but inside it was bubbling.
As much to say to you that the revenge was scathing… Author of 21 points in Game 4, Wunderdirk will especially put his team on the rails of victory, with the shoot of the win at 14 seconds from the end. LeBron, meanwhile, will finish with only 8 points! The rest, everyone knows it, and no one in Dallas is likely to forget it.
Moral of the story ? Better never to provoke a legend, and especially not if it is diminished. In any case, not if her name is Dirk Nowitzki… James and D-Wade must still have nightmares about it!
