Courage Under Fire

Bill Simmons has an athlete scale for "irrational confidence." Such a player is Jason Terry, who pulls up two feet behind the 3PT line with Lebron in his face and then drains it. I have some friends like that, who are both too smart and too dumb to know what they shouldn't do. It's a quality I'm both derisive and jealous of. Watching Terry shoot that shot would have had me screaming "No!" because that was Dirk's shot. Terry believes he's the best even when evidence would say that he clearly isn't. But because he's irrationally confident, he can make these kinds of plays and be a hero.

I'd never be the hero because I'd pass the ball as soon as it touched my hands. (You know, like Lebron.) I guess that would be called "rationally insecure." Analysts say it all the time, but certain players/people really do shine under pressure, and you can tell who's unafraid of the spotlight and who shies away from it.

The NBA seems to reaffirm a few things year after year: the championship team invariably is the one that is deeper, plays tougher defense, cherishes teamwork and the extra pass, and simply tries harder. Having the best player(s) on the floor is nice, but that player has to be a closer and an assassin, otherwise it doesn't matter. I guess that's the nice thing about sports; there's a framework for success and usually the tenets hold up.

I keep thinking about how Dirk's entire reputation will be changed by these playoffs. From "soft" and "choker" to "champion." It's kind of great to watch someone's life change so publicly. Watching the playoffs, I've been trying to figure out how to apply the concept of an athlete's career to every day people. Like everyone comes out of college as rookies and then goes through their various up and downs. I'd like some stats for this project, and most of all I'd like some participants.

Anyway, while I'm more than delighted that the Mavericks won the championship, I can already feel my (temporary) Lebron hate fading even as the champagne is flowing in the Dallas locker room. Lebron is suffering under a barrage of post-game questions like: "What did you do wrong this series? What's your assessment of your ability to perform under pressure?
What in this final round were you personally not able to do? Do you feel like you choked? What do you have to say to the people who want to see you fail?"

I hope he wins some championships soon, because he's too good not to. Just not until the Celtics get theirs next year. Then Lebron can win as many as he wants to place him somewhere between Jordan and Kobe. The sports season is officially over, and football and basketball are headed for a lockout. I'm gonna miss having something exciting to watch every two days. Now I guess it's back to just staring at a blank screen.