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Something happened to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 3 of the 2006 NBA Finals. A team that had been brilliantly dominant, particularly in the clutch, suddenly fell apart, losing the game and, eventually, the series. The edge was gone. The flame was out. Soon after, the head coach and a significant part of the team was gone, too, but for all of the changes the Mavericks still buckled when the going got tough. So last  night, when Jason Terry fouled Lamar Odom just before half time as the latter launched the traditional buzzer-beating prayer, sending Odom to the free throw line . . .and Dirk Nowitzki got teed up during that process . . .it seemed like typical Dallas Mavericks basketball.

The Lakers pushed a five-point lead to nine with all of their pre-break free throws, and the Mavs compounded those mistakes with three quick unforced turnovers to start the third quarter. The Lakers would soon be up 16, and it looked like business as usual for both teams. Kobe Bryant hit dagger shot after dagger shot, and the Mavs didn’t look prepared to do anything about it.

But then something happened. Dirk Nowitzki made a three-point play, Tyson Chandler and Shawn Marion scored around a Jason Kidd steal, Corey Brewer hit a three and the Mavericks were right back in the game. It was nip-and-tuck for most of the fourth quarter, and down the stretch Kobe Bryant and Nowitzki took turns making his plays. In the end, though, something unusual and unexpected occurred.

Kobe blinked first.

Jason Terry and Jason Kidd came up with big defensive plays as Kobe tried to make things happen for the Lakers, Kidd then drew a huge foul, and Nowitzki and Kidd took turns hitting free throws to complete what had seemed impossible just minutes before . . .an upset of the Lakers in LA.

"Character was a big factor in tonight’s game," Kidd said postgame. "We lost our composure there at the end of the second quarter, and then came out and turned the ball over three straight times and found ourselves down. But everybody’s mood was just to keep playing and try and cut into that lead, and see what happens."

What happened was a dramatic reversal of fortune for the Mavericks, who were, after all, expected to lose the game and the series. The question now is whether this was a fluke, brought about by the Lakers simply not playing their game, as Lakers head coach Phil Jackson suggested postgame, or was this a sign that the Mavericks have finally shaken the postseason monkey off their backs?

There are still a lot of games to be played, and no one’s going to suddenly pick Dallas to win the series just because they won Game 1, any more than people are prepared to say the Bulls and Thunder are out just because they each lost their first game at home. Still, it’s not so much that Dallas won, but the way in which they won. They started to beat themselves, but then corrected it, made some big plays, got some stops, and wound up winning the game.

This is not typical Dallas Mavericks basketball, not since the 2006 NBA Finals. The Mavericks have been busy earning the "soft" label and taking themselves out of playoff series. Last night, though, for a moment, we saw a glimpse of that championship heart that has taken Nowitzki and Kidd to the Finals before. Perhaps . . .just perhaps . . .this is the start of something special for the aging duo.

The Right Pick, After All?

Right up until the final seconds before the Indiana Pacers made their pick in the 2009 NBA Draft their pick was DeJuan Blair. Then, as the last few seconds ticked away and their decision had to be made, they allowed medical reports about Blair’s knees to scare them away, and they chose Tyler Hansbrough with the 13th overall pick instead. The Pacers weren’t alone, either, as so many teams were scared off by those medical reports concerning Blair that he dropped all the way to the San Antonio Spurs with the 37th overall pick.

Last year it looked like the Pacers had made a huge mistake; after all, Blair appeared in all 82 games for the Spurs, even starting 23 times, while Hansbrough missed all but 29 games as he battled various injuries. Had the Pacers over-analyzed their pick?

Maybe not.

{AUTHOR_BOX}Fast forward another year. Blair fell out of grace late in the season in San Antonio, though injuries have never been an issue. He improved a little across the board on the season, but not remarkably. Meanwhile, Hansbrough benefited from a mid-season coaching change that landed him in the starting lineup, where he would stay for the rest of the season and through the playoffs. He averaged 14.2 points and 6.3 rebounds as a starter and proved he deserves to be the team’s starting four going forward.

”The guy is a big-time competitor – big-time,” Pacers head coach Frank Vogel said during his team’s first round series against Chicago. ”I’m glad he’s on my team.”

Indeed, Vogel’s faith in Hansbrough was one of the reasons he earned the job as interim coach when Jim O’Brien was fired mid-season. Pacers management wanted to see more of Hansbrough, and Vogel was happy to oblige. For his part, Hansbrough’s hard work on and off the court kept him in the starting lineup, taking full advantage of his opportunity.

There’s no question that DeJuan Blair would have been a solid pick had the Pacers made him the 13th overall selection in 2009. There’s also no question that he was easily the steal of that same draft as the 37th overall pick. That said, it may just be that the concerns over Blair’s knees, justified or not, pushed the Pacers to make an even better, perhaps even lucky, pick with 13. The Pacers believe Hansbrough is one of their foundational pieces as they look to become a perennial playoff team once again . . .and all indications are that they’re absolutely right.

Rose To Be Named MVP

This is probably the worst-kept secret in the NBA this season, but later today the league is set to announce that Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose is the Most Valuable Player for the 2010-11 season. At 22 years old, Rose will be the youngest player to ever received the award.

The interesting note about this award is that Rose basically called the ball in training camp, saying MVP was a realistic goal for him this season. It was not a statement born of ego or bravado, as anyone who’s ever had a conversation with the remarkably humble Rose will attest. He was simply frank in saying that was something he could accomplish this season, and now he’s done just that.

Our friend K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune cites some impressive stats and some elite company Rose joined this season:

With averages of 25 points, 7.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds, Rose became the seventh player in NBA history to post averages of at least 25 points, 7.5 assists and four rebounds in a single season. He joined heavyweights Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James.

Rose also became the fifth player — and first point guard — to post 2,000 points, 600 assists and 300 rebounds in the same season, again joining elite company in Robertson, Jordan, James and John Havlicek.

Rose also joined Jordan as the only Bulls to finish in the top-10 in scoring and assists in the same season, which Jordan achieved in 1988-89.

More than anything else, Rose’s MVP bid may have been solidified by the way he carried the team during long stretches of games in which they were missing either Carlos Boozer or Joakim Noah, and, for a long stretch, both. The Bulls continued to win, eventually capturing the East’s top seed, all on the strength and determination of their fearless floor leader.

"The talent part is obvious," Coach Of The Year Tom Thibodeau said recently of Rose. "Everyone can see that. But unless you’re around him every day, you don’t see his drive and humility and the way he is with his teammates, the example he sets. He’s never satisfied. He always wants to do better, he always puts the team first, and he’ll always do what you ask him to do."

That’s the definition of an MVP . . .and that’s Derrick Rose.

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