Coach Carlisle Collects 500th Win

Dallas Mavericks Coach Rick Carlisle hit the 500 win milestone against Portland on February, 6 2013. Confetti didn't fly, Carlisle didn't even acknowledge it, and Mavs fans like me consider it, for the most part, business as usual. However, I'm still going to brag on what "business as usual" means to a guy like Rick Carlisle.

Coach Carlisle has been nothing short of a great addition to the Dallas Mavericks organization. His career coaching record stands at 500-353. Perhaps what is most impressive, is the fact that he generated much of his success in his first six years with the Detroit Pistons (2001-03) and the Indiana Pacers (2003-07) before coming to Dallas in 2008, and being granted the opportunity to coach a true superstar player like Dirk Nowitzki.

As far as Carlisle's coaching philosophy is concerned he focuses 100% on defense, which has proved to be effective all throughout his ten year career. Through ten years as a head coach, his teams have only finished outside of the top twelve in overall defensive rankings one time. Additionally, in seven of his ten years, his teams ranked inside the top ten. Even further, three of those years, his teams finished inside the top five in the overall defensive ranking.

You get the picture don't you? It's all about defense. You've heard the phrase a million times, "offense wins games, defense wins championships." As a Mavs fan, and a Carlisle fan, one can only hope that his defensive mindset leads to one, two, three, or ten more championship rings.

Coach Carlisle with the 2011 Championship Core

Having surpassed the 500 win mark, Carlisle becomes only the 28th NBA coach to reach that milestone. At the ripe age of 53, and with three more years left on his current contract with the Mavericks, it is conceivable that Carlisle will continue to navigate his way toward the top of the coaching charts by the end of his career (which will likely extend beyond his current contract). Doing so will surely put his name in the inevitable discussions revolving around who the best NBA coaches and champions are, or have been, in the history of the game.

Just like Dirk, he's not done yet, but already he's done so much. Mavs fans from Dallas, TX to Wurzburg, Germany will continue to show outstanding support for these winners, and for good reason, too.

ESPY-ownage!

It had been just over a month since they won the NBA Championship, and since then, they have been basking in the championship glory at party after party. So, all they really came to do was enjoy themselves...at yet another awesome party...the ESPY's.

The ESPY award ceremony is among one of the most unique events in current sporting culture. Each year they pack a prime time venue, this year's was at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, with elite athletes from the major sports played in the U.S. and the fans vote as to which teams, performances, or players were the best.

The World Champion Dallas Mavericks showed up to the ESPY awards with smooth smiles and humble hearts. For a veteran squad like the Mavericks, the hard-earned Larry O'Brien trophy was undoubtedly enough for them. I don't even think they would have cared if they had to stay in those chairs with their legs crammed into the seat in front of them the whole night. They truly could have gone home from the ESPY's empty-handed without being disappointed.

However, the fans had different plans.
 
Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Shawn Marion, Tyson Chandler, Jose Juan Barea, Brian Cardinal, and of course, Mark Cuban, were all in attendance.

Since they did a lot of winning last night, I figured I could highlight their awards, and point out why the other nominees didn't stand a chance.

The Dallas Mavericks won the award for best team. They won this award over the following championship teams:

• Auburn Tigers - Alabama doesn't ever really win
• Boston Bruins - No one likes hockey
• Green Bay Packers - Surely 2nd place in the voting
• San Fransisco Giants - Baseball is boring
• Texas A&M Women Basketball - No one knew they had won...

When you really think about it, the Mavs had a handful of future hall of fame players on their roster, many of them hadn't been called "young" in years, and other teams didn't even want to take chances by signing the others.

The Mavericks defined the word resiliency in their victorious playoff run with stunning comeback after stunning comeback. This team just had too much heart, too much chemistry, and the strongest desire to win it all.

Apparently it isn't just me that thinks they earned this one.

On to the team MVP.

Dirk did his thing by taking home two individual awards. Here's a quick look at what he won, why he had he hands full, and who else was nominated. (By who else was nominated I mean...the people who lost)

Best male athlete: Dirk Nowtizki, Dallas Mavericks

• Aaron Rodgers - Quarterback of the World Champion Green Bay Packers.
• Rafael Nadal - Tennis stud-and-a-half.
• Jimmy Johnson - He drives a car...meaning he isn't actually an athlete. That was a no-brainer.

Best NBA player: Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks

• Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers - Swept in the 2nd round...I repeat...swept.
• Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder - Led NBA in scoring and backpack wearing.
• LeBron James, Miami Heat - Got spanked in the finals and humiliated in the fourth quarters.
• Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls - 2011 NBA MVP-also the only one who wasn't eliminated by Dirk.

I will admit...I was a little surprised on both of these. Not because I don't feel that Dirk deserved them, but because the national media never takes the time to recognize him as the elite NBA player he truly is. Dallas fans see Dirk daze and confuse his defensive opponents night in and night out with unpredictable moves and a silky smooth shooting stroke. The issue is that his consistent performances are often overshadowed by the media hype around the Heat, Bulls, or Lakers.

Watching him accept these was like seeing the Mavs pull off two more upsets in the playoffs.

Then you look at his stat line and discover that he earned it fair and square. This is what I'm talking about, his 2011 playoff averages:


27.7 points per game
8.1 rebounds per game
49% from the field
46% from three point land
94% from the free throw line


Dirk being Dirk, is Dirk doin' work. See picture to the left for another example of how Dirk was doin' work.

So Dirk did his thing, The Mavs won best team, is that it? Nope!

Rick Carlisle wasn't even there and he got in the mix by winning best coach/manager. Here are the less-fortunate nominees:

• Jim Calhoun, Connecticut Basketball - OK, I admit, he did a pretty fantastic job. Unranked to Champions is a great story every time.
• Gene Chizik, Auburn Tigers - Cool last name.
• Mike McCarthy, Green Bay Packers - Probably finished 2nd in the voting.
• Dom Starsia, Virginia Lacrosse - Still don't know who this person is...

OK now that's gotta be it...But wait! There's more!

Seth Meyers even took the time to give Brian Cardinal a shout-out as his favorite NBA player, commenting on his toughness and unique (un-athletic) look. Can the mavs have their cake and eat it too? By now, I think we all know the answer to that one.

 One last thing...

I hate to point this out. But, the ESPY's were in Los Angeles and the Mavs/members of the Mavs were nominated for four awards, and they won all four. Thus, completing another sweep in L.A. I have good reason to believe that without Brian "the custodian" Cardinal, none of this sweeping would be possible.

OK...NOW that's all...check please!