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Choker wrote:GYK wrote:How so? It's the easiest way to determine who has a redemption ring.
Player lost to the Bucks in the Finals
Player later beats the Bucks in the Finals
I don't see a strain. You don't have to ask what the papers, insiders or forums were being said
It's the most obvious, but not the only form of redemption. There are other kinds.
Choker wrote:GYK wrote:I didn't bring up any of those things. Uh yea.
As for Dirk having the best redemption ring. The series was a dominant defensive series which isn't frequently talked about. Dirk had a GREAT playoff run but was not an all time great in the Finals. Relied on to be the scorer and focus. Terry being unstoppable and Marion checking Lebron were the keys to the Finals, not the season or the playoffs as a whole but the Finals.
Yes but the way they dominated the Heat neither was anyone else. Duncan was a go to scorer, rebounder and defender. Leonard the same although not so much go to. Splitter rim protection could had gotten DPOY of the Finals is such a thing.
The actual series doesn't have as much to do with it as the story behind it. With LeBron and Jordan, it was "they'll eventually win a ring because they're that good." With Dirk it was "he's probably going to choke again." Dirk was fixated in this outside looking in bubble for longer than any other superstar before winning their first ring. He was reaching the point where he's going to start declining soon. His window of opportunity was closing. He was going to forever be remembered for the finals loss and the worst first round series loss of all time. In 2011 he fought against every imaginable opponent possible. His demons that haunted in 2006 and 2007. History repeating itself with Roy's epic comeback. The critics said Dirk would follow trend yet again and lose, and no one would blame him for it, because it's expected of him. And then the Mavericks do the unthinkable and dominate that entire postseason. And despite that people were still predicting they would lose against the Heat.
This isn't about performance or dominance. Well to a degree it is, if Dirk was an end of the bench player I'd feel lukewarm about his redemption. But he wasn't, he was the central hub of a championship winning team.
HomoSapien wrote:Warspite, the greatest poster in the history of realgm.
GYK wrote:Hmm. Ok.
Warspite wrote:Im sorry but I just dont see how overcoming the "Haters" who you dont play against, dont listen to, dont have any contact with is harder than overcoming Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, MJ and injuries to your teammates and self.
Its much easier to defeat the naysayers than it is to beat the GOAT teams. Everyone I know was a Dirk fan during that FInals and was pulling for him.
Even if what you say is true then how can that be compared to the Bad Boys who were the most hated team in professional sports to the point they had to change and embrace it and become the Oakland Raiders of basketball. I dont recall LBJ saying he would quit the Heat if the refs didnt help him beat Dirk like MJ did with Detroit.
Isiahs adversity
1987: The bad inbounds pass and losing Dumars and Dantley to injury in the ECF
1988: His ankle injury with a 3-2 series lead in the FInals
1989: A very bad hamstring injury limiting his play
1990: Being down in a series vs MJ and the Bulls and coming back to win the series
1991: Broken wrist which cost him most of the season and never healed.
The Pistons very well could have 5 championships and still overcame to win 2 in a row which had only been done once in a generation.
IMHO beating those teams and overcoming on the court is much more impressive than proving some fan wrong who calls up a sports talk radio station.
