1. What was the one shining moment of the 2011 NBA playoffs?
Maurice Brooks, ESPN.com: Dirk Nowitzki in the Finals. From Dirk hurting his finger, to fighting through his cold, to establishing himself as the best player in the postseason, to rushing off the court to reflect by himself immediately after winning Game 6 and the title -- what I'll remember most about the Finals is that the best European scorer ever to play in the league finally got his title.
Devin Kharpertian, Nets Are Scorching: I'll never forget how well Dallas came together as a team during this run. Dirk Nowitzki carried them when they needed him most, and then they carried him when he was struggling. The Mavs had an answer for everything thrown at them this postseason. It was one of the most complete team efforts the NBA has ever seen.What's the one storyline we'll remember about this postseason?
Maurice Brooks, ESPN.com: On three different occasions I woke up last week to a text-message joke making light of LeBron's inability to step up in the fourth quarter. Watching LeBron in the Finals was like watching a superhero trying to save the world without using his superpowers. The Heat needed Superman. Too often LeBron gave them Clark Kent.
Ryan DeGama, CelticsHub: The new kids (Chicago, Oklahoma City, Memphis, Miami) demanding their seats at the table. And the stern parent (Dallas) who told them dinner wouldn't be ready for at least another 12 months.
Marc Stein, ESPN.com: Dirk has never played better. No Mavs team has ever played defense like this. Almost every single player on the roster, all the way down to Corey Brewer, made a game-turning contribution at some stage. And they won at least one game in each of the last three rounds that they "shouldn't" have won: Game 1 in L.A. against the Lakers, Game 4 in OKC and Game 2 in Miami.
... Cuban, the Dallas billionaire who bought the team in 2000, had the championship trophy in a seat next to him on the plane and he apparently kept it close throughout the Sunday night celebration.
"This will sound weird," he wrote on Twitter. "I'm laying in bed. With the trophy next (to) me."
Cuban will keep the party going at least through Thursday morning, the date set for the team's victory parade through the streets of downtown Dallas ...
... Cuban, the Dallas billionaire who bought the team in 2000, had the championship trophy in a seat next to him on the plane and he apparently kept it close throughout the Sunday night celebration.
"This will sound weird," he wrote on Twitter. "I'm laying in bed. With the trophy next (to) me."
Cuban will keep the party going at least through Thursday morning, the date set for the team's victory parade through the streets of downtown Dallas ...
