Since he purchased the team in 2000 Mark Cuban has been the face and voice of the Dallas Mavericks, even more so than his star forward Dirk Nowitzki. The young dot-com entrepreneur has been brash, outspoken, often controversial and a relentless self-promoter. Now, with the Mavs at the precipice of their first championship, their owner has gone silent.

Cuban represents a new breed of team owners; he’s the embodiment of every sports fan’s dream, the super-fan who became an owner. He ditched the owner’s box for a courtside seat and instead of wearing a suit he sports a skin-tight Mavs t-shirt. He used to join the team huddle at times and always celebrates on the court along with the players after a big win. When he purchased the Mavs Cuban instantly upgraded the facilities in Dallas, including adding a new state of the art locker room which was the envy of every players on every other team, and he solicits suggestions from fans about their viewing experience and the team.

The Pittsburgh native relishes the attention he’s received and was one of the first sports figures to utilize various mediums such as Twitter to promote his team, other business ventures, and of course, himself. He’s always available for interviews – often conducted while on his treadmill – and has grabbed headlines for his forays into other sports, including; attempts to buy a major league baseball team, participation in a WWE wrestling match, funding a study on the feasibility of a playoff system in college football, and working with Vince McMahon to form an MMA organization to compete with UFC. Let’s not forget his short-live stint on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars.”

The Mavs owner is also notorious for criticizing the officiating, drawing the ire of NBA Commissioner David Stern and receiving fines totaling close to $1.8 million. The last time the Mavs were in the finals, in 2006, against these same Miami Heat, Cuban was fined $250,000 for various comments he made about the officiating after the Mavs Game 5 loss. Earlier in that playoff run, he had to cough up $200,000 for running on the court and confronting an official during a game between the Spurs and Mavs.

So it was confounding when suddenly, without warning or explanation, the Mavs owner went silent after his team’s first round playoff series against the Portland Trailblazers in early May. He still tweets “Lets go Mavs” on game days and can be seen cheering on his team from behind the Mavs bench, but he doesn’t comment on the games or the officiating and has refused to grant any interviews over the past month and a half.

I thought surely, the impassioned owner would have something to say to his old nemesis Phil Jackson after the Mavs swept the two-time defending champions Lakers in the second round. But not a peep. I assumed he wouldn’t be able to hold back from verbally sparring with Dwyane Wade, as he had in the past, or pile on to the barrage of criticism being leveled at LeBron James. But still, not a word.

Members of the media have offered several theories to explain Cuban’s silence. Some say he concluded that the games are about the players and it’s best for his team if he remains silent. His outbursts win his players any favors; if anything, when he pisses off the officials the Mavs are less likely to get a call. Maybe he understands he understands that his outbursts aren’t necessary as a motivation tool for this veteran team and only serve as a distraction.

Another theory is that Cuban simply decided to respect his players’ wishes. Over the years, several Mavericks, including his good friend Nowitzki, have asked Cuban to control his behavior. Some writers have noted that Cuban has mellowed over the years, especially since his kids were born, though that wouldn’t explain the sudden change in behavior.

Another proposed explanation is that the Mavs owner is acting on superstition. The Mavs lost in the 2006 Finals to the Heat and have underachieved in the playoffs since. Perhaps if Cuban altered his behavior it would lead to different results. He also may have stopped speaking to the media for any number of reasons, then didn’t want to rock the boat when the Mavs kept winning.

Regardless of the reason, members of the media and bloggers like myself found Cuban’s silence perplexing and disappointing. The Mavs and Heat have plenty of star power, with at least four future Hall of Famers, and plenty of drama stemming from “The Decision” and LeBron’s recent struggles, but it lacks an engaging personality. James, Wade and Dirk don’t have the charisma of Jordan or effervescence of Magic. There’s not a quotable character like Rodman or Artest and neither coach has aired any grievances publicly.

There’s a vacuum for Cuban and his ego to fill, but he chose not to. The series has been better for it. The players have spoken with their play on the court, in what has been one of the most competitive NBA Finals in recent memory. Every game has been riveting, coming down to the final minute of play. There have been dramatic comebacks, players competing through illness and injury and last second shots by the game’s elite.

Sure, an inordinate amount of attention has been focused on LeBron’s struggles, but it’s grounded in his performance on the court. Any tantrums or snide remarks by Cuban would have detracted from the games and players themselves. Through his silence, Nowitzki finally received long overdo recognition as one of the greatest shooters in the history of the league. Role players like J.J. Barea and Udonis Haslem have been the topic of discussion for their contributions.

Some of the Mavs players have filled the vacuum with trash-talk. Jason Terry called out LeBron James after Game 3, stating that he didn’t think the Heat forward could shut him down for seven games. DeShawn Stevenson said what many of us were thinking after Miami’s Game 4 loss, that LeBron “checked out” in the fourth quarter. During Game 5 the cameras caught Shawn Marion barking in LeBron’s ear as LeBron posted him up.

The Mavs have found their swagger. They’re poised and confident, heading into Game 6 of a what has been an enthralling series. Nowitzki said in an interview on May 11th, “It should be about the players, never about the owner.” Cuban picked a great time to finally listen.

by Paul Knepper

Five years ago, the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat met in the NBA Finals. The Mavs won the first two games at home and were poised to put a strangle hold on the Heat in game 3, leading by 13 points with just six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Then the bottom fell out for Dallas.

Dwyane Wade led a furious comeback, scoring 12 points in the final six minutes and the Heat won 98-96. Dirk Nowitzki had an opportunity to tie the game at the free throw line with 3.4 seconds left and the Mavs down two, but he missed one of his shots.

Miami’s comeback completely changed the momentum of the series. The Mavs were a young team and crumbled after blowing the game. The Heat won the next three games and the championship. Wade was propelled to super stardom, while Nowiztki was labeled soft and mentally weak.

The agony of that collapse seemed to linger with the Mavs as they were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round in three of the next four seasons, despite tremendous success in the regular season, including a league best 67 wins in 2006-2007.

Dirk hungered for another shot at a title. He worked tirelessly to perfect his jump shot, shooting from different angles, different spots on the floor, on the move and even off-balance. More importantly, he turned his weaknesses into strengths. The German shed the soft label by taking his game to the high post and aggressively driving the ball strong to the basket, instead of settling behind the three-point line. Through sheer determination and the wisdom that comes with experience, he learned how to close out tight games.

Meanwhile, Dallas management assembled a veteran cast around him, players with extensive playoff experience who knew how to finish games. Point guard Jason Kidd is a future hall-of-famer who played in two NBA Finals with the Nets; Shawn Marion went deep into the playoffs on several occasions with the Suns and Tyson Chandler made a playoff run a few years ago with the New Orleans Hornets. All three brought necessary grit to a team lacking toughness.

Across the country, in Miami, Pat Riley pulled off a free agency coup in the summer of 2010 by signing LeBron James and Chris Bosh to join Wade in South Beach. The three stars developed chemistry as the season progressed and were in sync come playoff time. They didn’t lose a game on their home court as they plowed through the Pacers, Celtics and Bulls on their way to the NBA Finals.

The Mavs handled the Trailblazers in round one, then swept the two-time defending champion Lakers and finished off the Thunder to set up a rematch with the Heat.

The two teams are very different than they were five years ago. In fact, each team has just two players remaining from that series, Nowitzki and Jason Terry for the Mavs and Wade and Udonis Haslem for the Heat. There’s no rivalry between the teams, though for Dirk it must feel like destiny that his long-awaited opportunity for redemption comes against the very team that revealed his flaws and stained his reputation as a ballplayer.

Miami suffocated the Mavs in Game 1 with their relentless defense, holding the Western Conference champions to 37% from the field in a 92-84 victory. Dallas was outrebounded, couldn’t match the Heat’s athleticism on the perimeter and three of their most dependable players throughout the playoffs, J.J. Barea, Chandler and Terry, were non-factors. Worse yet, the Heat didn’t even play particularly well; they shot just 39% from the field and neither Wade nor James went off.

Fans and the media overreacted after one game, as they tend to do, and many predicted it would be a short series, that the Heat’s “big three” would steamroll the Mavs. So Game 2 had the feel of a must win for Dallas. Since the league went to the 2-3-2 format in 1985 only one team has come back to win the series after losing the first two games in the NBA Finals, the 2006 Heat. The Mavs also needed to deliver a blow in Miami, where the Heat hadn’t lost a game all post-season and quell concerns about a torn tendon on the middle finger of Nowitzki’s non-shooting hand.

The game tight was tight throughout the first half and was tied at 51 at halftime. Early in the fourth quarter, the Heat pulled away. They converted Mavs turnovers into highlight reel fast breaks, in what became a dunk contest between Wade and James. Wade, who was feeling it all night, capped  a 13-0 run with a three ball from the corner to give the Heat a 15 point lead with 7:33 left. He lingered for a moment in front of the Mavs bench after dropping what appeared to be the final dagger of the game and possibly the Mavs season.

But these aren’t the 2006 Mavs. They’ve been here before. Dallas trailed Oklahoma City by 15 in the fourth quarter of Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals and came storming back to win in overtime on the wings of a Bird-esque shooting performance by Nowitzki.

Despite being down by 15 last night, the Mavs continued to fight. They dug in defensively and Miami did them a favor  by reverting to the stagnant one-on-one play they struggled with early in the season. Dallas coach Rick Carlisle went with a small lineup for a couple of minutes, which seemed to jump-start the offense. Terry scored 8 points in the fourth quarter, including a sweet pull-up jumper from the wing. Marion hit a runner from the right side and Kidd knocked down an open three on a kickout from Dirk, though in the end it was Dirk who brought the game home.

Carlisle called for staggered screens on the left side of the floor to free up Dirk at the top of the key, where he could catch and shoot or drive to the hole, while being able to see where the double team was coming from. The German scored the Mavs last nine points. He tied the game with under a minute remaining, then nailed a three-pointer to put the Mavs up three with 27 seconds remaining.

Following a timeout, Mario Chalmers tied the game with a three of his own on a blown defensive assignment by the Mavs. On the ensuing possession, Dirk received the ball at the top of the key with Chris Bosh guarding him. He faked right, spun back left, hesitated, then took two long strides and laid it in with his injured left hand with 3.5 seconds left. Wade’s last second heave fell short and the Mavs won 95-93.

Dallas finished the game on a 22-5 run. It was one of the greatest comebacks in NBA Finals history and eerily reminiscent of Wade and the Heat’s spectacular triumph in Game 3 of the 2006 series. Only this time Dirk was the hero. The Heat revival was the turning point of the ’06 series. It crushed the Mavs. Last night, a tougher, more experienced Dirk returned the favor. How will Miami respond?

by Paul Knepper

My voice could be heard among the chorus of boos across this country when LeBron announced that he was “taking his talents to South Beach” last summer. Like many basketball fans, I felt he violated the code of the playground – that the best players split up and try to beat each other – and thought he did a disservice to the fans of Cleveland and the Cavalier organization by leaving with all the pomp and circumstance of “The Decision.”

There was one more reason I was disappointed in LeBron’s choice; the basketball junkie in me wanted to see this uniquely gifted athlete become the most spectacular player he could be. I believed that wouldn’t happen in Miami where he’d have to defer at times to Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. I thought never again would we see the LeBron who carried the Cavs on his back night after night and scored their last 25 points in a legendary performance against a great Pistons defense in Game 5 of the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals. In a sense, I was correct, LeBron isn’t that player anymore. He’s better.

From the moment he entered the league LBJ drew comparisons to Michael Jordan. It’s a burden that every supremely talented perimeter player must endure in the wake of his “Airness,” from Harold Miner to Kobe Bryant. Jordan was the greatest player of all-time, so fans, scouts and executives are always looking for the next him. Bryant’s success only reinforced the Jordan prototype. His game is similar to MJ’s; they played in the same system for the same coach.

LeBron’s decision to wear his idol’s #23 only hastened the comparisons. Due to a lack of talent in Cleveland, James was forced to play like MJ as well, carrying the scoring load and taking every big shot. The other aspects of his game were secondary to putting the ball in the hole. In fact, he was crucified by the media for passing the ball to an open teammate instead of taking the potential game-winning shot himself.

So it was fitting that LeBron left the #23 behind when he headed for South Beach., where he’s distinguished his game from MJ’s. Sure, he shares Jordan’s athleticism and elevation, but he has some of Magic Johnson’s game too, the way he jump starts the fast break and uses his height to see over the defense and deliver excellent passes. And like Magic, he doesn’t need to score 30 points to dominate a game.

He has a little Karl Malone in him as well, the way he explodes to the basket on the break like a freight train (Just ask Kyle Korver what it’s like to have him bearing down on you) and has the upper body strength to absorb contact and still make the shot; and a drop of Pippen, with his ability to control a game by locking down the opposition’s best perimeter scorer.

Playing with Wade and Bosh has allowed LeBron to thrive in all aspects of his game, not just scoring. He’s able to let the game come to him and play a style that he’s more comfortable with. The result has been a beautiful display of basketball.

Free to utilize his vast array of skills, James can tailor his game to whatever the Heat need on any given night. Sometimes that means scoring 40 points and taking over a game down the stretch as he did in the final minute of Game 5 last night against the Bulls; other times it’s being more of a facilitator, especially when Wade is rolling. In the Heat’s first round series against the 76ers it meant controlling the boards. During their second round defeat of the Celtics his primary responsibility was to smother Paul Pierce.

LeBron’s defense was the story in the Heat’s Eastern Conference Finals victory over the Bulls. The turning point of the series was when he shut down MVP Derrick Rose for the final five minutes of the fourth quarter of Game 4, forcing him to take difficult fadeaways in the Bulls last two possessions of regulation. It was reminiscent of Game 2 of the 1991 NBA Finals when Phil Jackson moved Pippen onto Magic and the Bulls won four straight after losing Game 1 to the Lakers. LeBron, like Pippen, changed the series by cutting off the head of the snake.

Another advantage to playing with Wade and to a lesser degree Bosh is they allow LeBron to rest on offense. Not being the focal point of every possession has kept him fresh and enabled him to close strong in the fourth quarter, as he did in games 4 and 5 against the Bulls. He wouldn’t have covered Rose in his Cleveland days because he needed to preserve his energy in order to score. Instead, it was Rose who didn’t have a second scorer to lean on and was forced to play almost the entire Game. Consequently, he wasn’t fresh down the stretch of Games 4 and 5 and came up short.

I thought LeBron would win in Miami, but his game would be restricted by the talent around him. It turns out he needed a wingman in order to fully blossom. Now he’s one step away from earning the coronation “King James.” Whether he wins a ring or not, it’s time to stop comparing him to the great players of yesteryear. He’s a prototype, the first player in the history of the game to possess such a magnificent blend of talent, size, strength and skill. Enjoy it.

by Paul Knepper

In case you haven’t heard, former Laker great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is irked that the Lakers haven’t built a statue of him in front of the Staples Center. “I don’t understand (it),” the leading scorer in NBA history told the Sporting News this week. “It’s either an oversight or they’re taking me for granted. I’m not going to try to read people’s minds, but it doesn’t make me happy. It’s definitely a slight. I feel slighted.”

I know, it sounds ridiculous. But there are very few people in the world who can complain that there hasn’t been a statue built of them and actually be taken seriously. Abdul-Jabbar is one of them. I don’t intend to enter into a discussion as to what makes one statue worthy, though since the Lakers have built them for former players, it’s puzzling that Kareem hasn’t been included. Not only is he deserving, but there may not be a more statuesque image in sports than #33 releasing his patented hook shot.

There are currently five statues in front of the Staples Center: Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Jerry West, longtime Laker announcer Chick Hearn, Wayne Gretzky and Oscar De La Hoya. Gretzky and De La Hoya played other sports and Hearn was an announcer. Abdul-Jabbar made it clear that he believes West and Magic deserve their statues. He believes he deserves one as well. Magic agrees with him. Kareem’s former teammate tweeted yesterday that he “deserves and has earned a statue, even before me.”

Abdul-Jabbar’s credentials are impeccable. He was the greatest college basketball player ever, leading UCLA to three national titles (at a time when freshmen weren’t eligible to play). He went on to win six NBA championships (five with the Lakers) and was named league MVP a record six times, as many as Magic and Larry Bird combined. The big man was selected to a remarkable 19 All-Star games and remains the all-time leading scorer in NBA history.

Abdul-Jabbar admitted that President of the Staples Center, Tim Leiweke, told him he would be next to receive a statue, though he’s not very optimistic. He tweeted on Wednesday, “Rumor has it that I will be getting a statue. A caveat for all my fans – don’t hold your breath. Lakers don’t care about me.”

Obviously, as the former Laker captain tweeted yesterday,”This is not just about a statue, its about being appreciated by the people that I worked so hard for. The statue was just the last straw.” Yesterday morning he elaborated on several incidents with the Lakers during a revealing interview on ESPN’s “Mike & Mike In the Morning.”

Kareem expressed bitterness that the team didn’t help him land a job when he first disclosed an interest in coaching in 1994. They eventually hired him as an assistant coach in 2005, though he was never one of Phil Jackson’s top guys and didn’t even sit in the front row of the bench with the other coaches and players. He’s angry that the team asked him to take a reduction in salary last year and was insulted when told to sit in a small cramped seat towards the back of the plane during the Lakers series against the Magic in the 2009 NBA Finals, though there were more spacious seats available up front.

In general, he feels like the franchise hasn’t compensated him the way they have other former stars. He stated on “Mike & Mike,” “When you look at what he [Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss] did for Earvin and what he’s done for me. Big disparity.” Magic was given part ownership of the team, an upper office position and was head coach for a short time, while it took Kareem years to get hired as a second tier assistant.

It’s difficult to argue with Kareem’s assessment that he’s underappreciated by the Lakers. In fact, he may be the most underappreciated athlete in American sports. He’s the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and his sky hook was the most indefensible shot the league has ever seen. Yet, he’s an afterthought in most discussions about the greatest basketball player of all-tome. No team’s willing to even consider him as a head coach and he’s not the subject of countless books and documentaries like his contemporaries Magic and Bird.

Unfortunately, Kareem brought this lack of respect and near banishment upon himself. He was distant and condescending toward teammates and coaches and his disdain for the media, the individuals who shaped his public persona, was legendary. Jordan understood the power of media. Magic’s statue is as much a testament to his smile as his game. Kareem, on the other hand, was known to read the paper while conducting post-game interviews.

Is it any wonder that team executives don’t view him as coaching material or that the media doesn’t reminisce about him the way they do with Magic and Jordan? Is it really surprising that Laker executives aren’t falling over themselves to build a statue of the likeness for a player who was almost universally disliked?

Kareem is very intelligent and introspective, so it was fascinating to hear him reflect on the perception people have of him during “Mike & Mike.” He’s self aware enough to recognize that “people think that I don’t like people.” He said he’s always been shy and reclusive, and in retrospect can see how that gave people the wrong impression. He also noted that his coach at UCLA, the legendary John Wooden, discouraged players from speaking to the press which led him to distrust the media and give them the cold shoulder. He admitted that if he could do his career over again he would handle things differently and now encourages his protege, Lakers center Andrew Bynum, to deal with the media in a more positive manner.

His demeanor during the interview with “Mike & Mike” reaffirmed Kareem’s description of himself. It was obvious from his body language and the way he fidgeted with his hands that he’s still painfully shy and uncomfortable doing interviews. I don’t think he smiled once during the nearly hour long interview, much of which revolved around a movie he produced called On the Shoulders of Giants, which he’s clearly passionate about.

Kareem may be justified in his belief that he’s underappreciated by the Lakers; the problem is how he chose to deal with it. He should have addressed his various grievances with the organization as they arose, instead of letting them build up until he exploded with anger over twitter. Calling out management publicly made him appear pompous, petty and somewhat cowardly. He also did himself a disservice by igniting this firestorm right before embarking on a media tour to promote his movie. He’s still a poor communicator and continues to rub people the wrong way.

Just about every basketball fan and member of the basketball media agrees that Kareem deserves a statue alongside Jerry West and Magic Johnson, and the Lakers will likely comply in the next few years. But what the big man still doesn’t understand, in spite of his self-reflection, is that the Lakers haven’t built a statue of him precisely because he’s the kind of man who would complain publicly that a statue hasn’t been built for him.