The end of every sports season is greeted with mixed emotions, at least by The Dean anyway. The culmination of all the games played and wagers placed, with one more series to analyze, and predict. As I was aimlessly figuring out what to do with all the time on my hands this weekend, a result of only early season baseball to view on the TV, I had that same feeling that happens at every Super Bowl, NCAA basketball championship, etc. But enough of that, let’s appreciate what we have, which is a great matchup of two teams that are clearly the two best in the league this year.

Here is Dean’s first prediction: every game in this series will come down to the final possession, will be hard fought, and will be filled with highlights that will make us all hoot and holler when they happen and whenever they are replayed.

I don’t know the last time a team, Miami Heat, has had so many people hating on them. The disdain for the Heat spans rivalry. This isn’t Celtic fans hating the Lakers, or Knick fans hating the Heat. This is everyone other than Heat fans hating the Heat. As you do your own analysis of this series, it is important to be sure you are separating those feelings from what matters. Let me lay down what Dean believes matters, and the conclusion I have drawn from them.

Experience Matters. I always like to look at any matchup and say, “who has been here before?” Experience matters, it matters a lot. Both teams have players that have been to the Finals (the Mavericks have more), but only the Heat have players that have won it all. Both teams also claim players that have been in and won championships at the college level. Does that translate specifically to the NBA Finals? No, but it sure doesn’t hurt. The biggest difference in experience with these two teams is with their head coaches. While neither Rick Carlisle nor Eric Spoelstra have ever coached in the Finals, Carlisle has won a championship as a player with the 1985-86 Boston Celtics, and has much more experience than Spoelstra. Will any of that matter as this series progresses? I think so. Spoelstra had a favorable coaching matchup against the Bulls, with Tom Thibodeau being in his first playoffs as a head coach. Many believe that Thibodeau didn’t do such a great job, don’t look for Carlisle to as poorly.

Who has done more to this point? While it is true that the Eastern Conference was much improved this year over past years, make no mistake that it was still an inferior conference to the West. The Mavericks disposed of a more impressive list of teams on their way to the Finals, and let’s not forget about a 4-0 sweep of the defending champion Lakers. Forget seedings, the Heat were the best team in the East. They lost quite a few games this year that were a direct result of not having played together before. By the time the playoffs rolled around most of those kinks had been worked out. With that in mind, that makes the Heat’s run in the playoffs less impressive than the Mavericks.

Deeper bench. I believe that the Mavericks present more matchup issues for the Heat, then the Heat present for the Mavs. Don’t get me wrong, there are matchup issues for the Mavs to confront, but not as many as the other way around. The guard combination of Jason Kidd and JJ Barea stands out to me as the one that will give the Heat a lot of trouble. How the Heat guard Dirk will be very interesting. By putting Bosh on Dirk (which is the expected route), Dirk can draw the Heat big man away from the basket giving the Mavs a considerable advantage on the offensive boards.

Caring for the Ball. The Mavs have better outside shooters, 38% from 3-pt compared to the Heat’s 32%. The Mavs are slightly better from the foul line 82% to 80%, with the Heat getting to the foul line a bit more per game. The Mavs take better care of the ball, with a 1.7 Assist to Turnover ratio compared to the Heat’s 1.1. The Maverick guards Kidd and Barea both have outstanding ratios of 3.3 and 3.7 respectively, while no one on the Heat is better than 2.0. The Mavs also steal the ball more though only slightly, 7.7 per game to the Heat’s 7.0.

Its Time. It just feels to me that it is time for the Dirk and Jason Kidd to win a title. LeBron will get his, I don’t doubt that, but I do doubt that he will get it this year.

Dean’s Prediction. Mavericks in 6.

Sheets on the seats and phoniness has Saint Dougie irked.

After looking around the panned television shots of the American Airlines Arena after the Heat went on their late overtime run last night to effectively matador the Bulls right out of the playoffs and after looking at these idiots in the crowd and seeing the tanned faces, the gold chains and the trophy wives repping phoniness personified? To quote my main man Colonel Frank Slade (a wonderful Al Pacino) in Scent of A Woman: “If I were the man I was five years ago, I’d take a FLAMETHROWER to this place!”

Meanwhile, a team that has not 1, not 2 but 3 of the top 6 from the USA’s gold medal winner in China in ’08, a team that was going to be the greatest of all time, win 70 games and 9 championships, a team that threw themselves a pre-season championship style pep rally, demolished the all-time record for chest bumps in a single sporting event last night. This chest bumping record was set after the big bad Heat beat a Bulls team at home with a 21 year old kid leading a group of players with nary an offensive threat in the mix. Charlie Sheen is jealous of all the chest bumps going on! Get yourself an 8 ball and some topless Goddesses and have at it, Chuck! Chest bumps all around! Winning indeed – winning South Beach style! Act like you humps are doing what you are SUPPOSED to be doing! Hell, you told us as much in the preseason! You didn’t beat the ’87 Lakers or ’98 Bulls. You beat the ’11 Bulls. At home. In Game 4. Chest bump worthy? Aww hell naw!

Oh, but the Bulls have the Coach of the Year in grizzled old Tom Thibodeau, right? Thibs? Can I call you Thibs? You might want to put down that 220 page defensive manual you swear by and pick up a copy of NBA Offense For Dummies, my man. I mean, after D Rose was repeatedly trapped on pick and rolls to the Bulls detriment time and again, you may have wanted to go to the complex John Wooden set that takes years to master – the flattened out 1-4! And if sticking with the high ball screen which yielded Rose an 8 for 27/7 turnover night was Coach of the Year’esque, Thibs really upped the ante down the stretch of the game by finally going to the 1-4. He went to it just in time to have the 6-2 Rose attempt to get quality shot attempts over the 6-8 and damn near as quick Lebron. So Rose fires up fade away biscuits multiple times to seal the Bulls fate. Coach of the Year indeed! Where’s Mike Brown when you need him? (My bad! He’s about to take the Laker job!)

So there you have it. The Heat are 1 measly win away from the Finals and they act like giddy little school girls. The rabid South Beach fans that don’t go to Dolphins, Marlins or Miami Hurricanes games are gleeful and celebrating their true fanhood and the Bulls coach of the year helps everyone out in the process. As for me? In Dirk I trust.