Larry Brown Sports

Frustration boiled over for Rick Carlisle on Wednesday night during a Mavericks loss to the Thunder. Having already received a technical earlier in the game, Carlisle became upset with a no-call on a steal play. When Russell Westbrook dunked the ball on the other end of the floor, it went bouncing toward Carlisle. The Mavs coach then booted it, and it went off the side of his foot and into the stands. The ball hit a young boy in the head, and as you can see Carlisle immediately regretted the decision. Fortunately, the boy’s father was a good sport about it.

“It was an interesting night,” Shawn Marion said according to the Dallas Morning News. “He could try out for FIFA. He was right, though. It was an interesting game. It was emotional at times and Rick felt like he needed to make his presence felt.

“It was kind of crazy how the possessions went. We attack the basket strong and didn’t get anything. They call ticky-tack down on the other end. Just a bad night all the way around. But we were still right there in position to win the game.”

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When a new player comes to town, it’s obviously important that he and his coach get along.  The relationship between a player and coach can determine whether or not a smooth transition is in order, but with someone like Lamar Odom there’s more to it.  Considering Odom is not only a celebrity in the sporting world but also a celebrity in Hollywood, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle needs to get along with his wife as well.  As we all know, Odom is married to a Kardashian.  That’s like being a part of a royal family, right?

“I will say this: Khloe’s my favorite Kardashian” Carlisle said according to the Dallas Morning News. “She’s the coolest. Carlisle was then asked if he’d go on the Kardashian’s show, to which he replied: “I’ve never been one to rule anything out. I would guess it would be a long shot to be asked.”

Rick keeps up with the Kardashians?  I never would have guessed that.  He obviously isn’t basing his opinion on looks, but that’s alright. At least he and Lamar can get off on the right foot.  If Odom feels like he isn’t thrilled with show business like he said before, maybe Carlisle can stand in for a few episodes.  You can tell he’s fishing around for an invite.

It’s over now, the journey that led the Mavericks through heartbreak and frustration and, finally, redemption. They won the title Sunday. They beat the Heat and bathed in champagne, 250 bottles worth apparently.

After 13 seasons, Dirk Nowitzki and Mark Cuban finally became champions. They made their mark. They partied with Lil Wayne.

Dallas was the unexpected contender. Few expected them to get out of the first round, much less win it all. They kept coming, though. Kept coming like a tidal wave, Hurricane Dirk crashing on the shores of Portland, Los Angeles, Oklahoma City and Miami. Hurricanes Terry and Barea crashing intermittently behind. Rick Carlisle orchestrating the whole thing like Poseidon, a crafty, Grinch-looking sea wizard.

The Mavs were resolute. They didn’t complain when they lost, didn’t brag when they won. They were a team of destiny. They defied setbacks and challenges, including Dirk’s illness and the injury to Brendan Haywood. Like Khal Drogo they aimed to mount the world, and they did. Few of them did it beside a woman as hot as Daenerys, though. And by few I mean J.J. Barea. Lucky jerk.

Ultimately, the Mavs stunned LeBron James and Dwyane Wade and won their first title in franchise history.

How did they pull it off?  Here were three keys to Dallas’ 2011 Finals victory:

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Until winning the NBA championship as head coach of the Dallas Mavericks, Rick Carlisle never received the respect he deserved. Carlisle has a .600 career winning percentage as a coach, and he led the Pistons to back-to-back 50-32 season in Detroit before being replaced by Larry Brown who led them to a title. Carlisle coached the Pacers for four seasons and took them to the Eastern Conference Finals before losing his job three seasons later. Now, after his ninth season as a head coach, he’s earning the respect he deserves.

While most of the credit goes to guys like Jason Terry and DeShawn Stevenson for making their shots, and of course Dirk playing so well throughout the series, Carlisle did what coaches are supposed to do: put his players in the best position to succeed. Carlisle did this in two ways.

After Dallas went down 2-1 in the NBA Finals, Rick Carlisle decided to change things up. He added J.J. Barea and Brian Cardinal to the starting lineup. Cardinal, who had only played one minute in the first three games of the series, played 29 over the next three. He was nothing spectacular but he did play tough defense and commit hard fouls. Inserting Barea into the starting lineup was the real difference-maker for Dallas.

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For the second NBA Finals game in a row, a reporter was shot down in the postgame press conference. While following Game 3 it was a jab at LeBron James that was denied, after Game 4 it was Jason Whitlock’s butt-kissing approach to Rick Carlisle that got the Dikembe Mutumbo treatment.

Whitlock, a columnist for FOXSports.com, didn’t even ask the Mavericks coach a question, which is the first problem. In essence, he had a story planned about how Rick Carlisle had done a masterful coaching job and he just wanted a quote from the coach to confirm it. Instead, he got a door shut in his face. Check out the video courtesy of Ball Don’t Lie:

Maybe that will teach Whitlock the most important point to keep in mind during interviews: Always ask a question! What kind of answer do you think you’re going to get when you grab the microphone and provide commentary rather than a question? Hopefully any aspiring journalist or broadcaster reading this will keep that lesson in mind … always ask a question.