David Stern has been hailed by many as best commissioner in professional sports. Under his watch, the NBA has seen another surge in popularity with the rise of Michael Jordan, expansion to Canada and 30 franchises, the creation of the WNBA, and a globalization of the audience (especially in China with the success of Yao Ming). Marring his legacy, though, are several flubs including the brawls at The Palace and The Garden, Kobe Bryant's sexual assault case, and the infamous "microfiber" ball. Another serious problem Stern has faced is declining viewership of regular-season games. Seinfeld reruns on TBS get more ratings than the TNT broadcasts. Not even Sir Charles can save these games from Newman. Fingers are pointed all over the place, but really the real reason is just a decline in the quality of the game.

NBA basketball devolved into below-average teams with a flashy superstar, dominant and stacked teams that play so methodically that it's about as interesting as watching paint dry, or the New York Knicks. Recall that last year's NBA Final comprised of the former two types of teams facing off for the title. After winning the title last year the Miami Heat went the way of Super Bowl champions and had a disappointing following season that, at best, showed that they were merely a good, but aging, team that relied heavily on Dwayne Wade. Sorry to hear about that shoulder, Dwayne. The Dallas Mavericks, on the other hand, went on to become the dominant team in the league, winning 67 games including 12-, 13-, and 17-game winning streaks and having the frontrunner for the MVP award, Dirk Nowitzki. 

Fast-foward to April of this year and the postseason kicks in with my hometown team the Golden State Warriors squeaking into the playoffs as the 8th seed in the West by winning the last game of the season. Finally, after 13 years of futility the Warriors make it into the playoffs! How bad were the Warriors for those 13 years? Well, for starters they had a former star choke his coach in practice. Yeah. I remember when my cousin came here a few years ago from Taiwan, he wanted to know who our home team was since he was an avid basketball fan. You should have seen the look of horror on his face when I told him the ugly truth.

Facing the Dallas Mavericks, every sports writer out there immediately predicted the Warriors going out easily. Never mind the fact that the Mavericks were coming off a 4-game losing streak going into the playoffs, the Warriors had one of the best home records in the league and the were the only team to sweep the Mavericks this season. After all, how could a decidedly average team compare to the defending Western Conference Champions and the front-runner for the MVP award?

Oops. The Warriors dominate the Mavs in 6 games with an average of almost 15 points deciding each victory. Dirk Nowitzki was held to only 8 points in his final game of the season. The confetti comes down in Oakland's Oracle Arena while we can only imagine what Mark Cuban will write in his blog tomorrow.

The Mavs had a lot to prove. They needed to make something of those 67 wins. Dirk Nowitzki needed to show for that likely MVP title. And they still have that chip on their shoulder after blowing the Finals last year. They were playing for their dignity.

On the other side of the court, you had the Warriors playing with so much reckless abandon it was like watching a game of NBA Jam. With so many wild threes, behind-the-back passes, slam dunks, and alley-oops it was like watching Sportscenter's Top 10 Plays for an entire 48 minute game. I'm pretty sure I saw Baron Davis doing a cartwheel in mid-air. With people writing them off as pretenders, the Warriors had nothing to lose with these games. They put on a show not only for their wild fans, but the entire basketball community. The team, led by former Bruin Baron Davis, put all of their enthusiasm into the game and it fed the wild crowd at Oracle Arena and vice versa.

Once again Dirk Nowitzki came up short in the Big Game (is he the Peyton Manning of the NBA?!). The defining moment of the series came tonight when Baron Davis handed Dirk his MVP award by kicking off him and making a three-point jump shot. They couldn't handle the Warriors style of gameplay that Steve Kerr described as "pure chaos." They were more athletic, aggressive, and hungry and the Mavs couldn't handle it. You could see the look of defeat and frustration grip the Mavs in each loss in the series. It wasn't a question of whether Don Nelson out-coached his former assistant Avery Johnson or not; the Warriors simply outplayed the Mavs and had more heart.

Some credit is due for the crowd at Oracle Arena. There simply is no other home crowd like it. With attendees including Jessica Alba, Owen Wilson, and Snoop Dogg, they were the largest crowd gathered to watch a game of basketball in California history at 20,677. It won't matter much to their fans if they don't make it past the next round against the Houston Rockets or Utah Jazz. At this point, nothing will be a disappointment.

- Carman