I've also been enthralled by the NBA Finals. It was looking pretty bleak for Miami in the first two games but things have turned around and I reeeeeally hope they can hang onto that rhythm and win two more! Straight! (I know, I know that's asking for a bit much, but it's playoff time! Time for the rules to be broken!).

I've been educating myself on the different types of defense and trying to pay close attention to the adjustments that are being made within each game and from series to series. I gotta tell you, it's fascinating. For the first time I'm seeing basketball as a battle the same way football is - as opposed to just a bunch of guys running up and down the court trying to toss a ball into a hoop. I never realized how much strategy actually goes into the game and it's given me a new respect for it.

Even though I do like Nowitzki and Avery Johnson (can't stand Howard or Terry, there's no reason, I just don't like 'em) I still can't bear the thought of the Mavericks winning the championship this year. It just doesn't feel right. Miami's got the stories. Shaq - aging superstar looking to prove that he's still got it in him. Riley - aging superstar coach who's suffered so many heartbreaking years and took a ton of criticism this one. Mourning - two words: kidney failure. Williams and Walker - discarded and thought of as loose canons that could not be controlled enough to get to this point. Payton who everyone thought was too old...with the season saver in Game 3. With all that, how can I root for the Mavs? The Mavs, who next to the Heat, look like a bunch of spoiled young kids who are so coddled by their Daddy Cuban. It's just not right.

Plus, I love D-wade. Without a doubt he is now my favorite player in the NBA, well at least a close-second to Shaq. Speaking of Shaq, how can anyone not give this man props for being a good guy? Only my fiance (and other bratty Lakers fans) who is still bitter about being left for Miami.

Edit: Watching them intro the Heat just now I remember I forgot about Udonis Haslem when i was writing this earlier...the hometown kid who wasn't drafted but worked his butt off and is now playing in the Finals for the team he cheered for as a kid.