Even more important than your hatred for the city of New York is your hatred for the city of Dallas, Texas.  A sports fan from Philadelphia is trained to despise the city of Dallas harder than any other city in America, but the 2011 NBA Finals has caused me to go against everything I have been taught from birth.

In the 2011 NBA Finals, my cheers are reserved for some fine German hops in the form of Dirk Nowitzki. (Credit: Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)

I find myself cheering for the Dallas Mavericks harder and louder than I have ever cheered for any team from the city of Dallas in my entire life – which isn’t too hard to do considering I’ve been booing teams from that same town for the bulk of my fandom (except the Stars because I secretly had a man crush on Mike Modano in my young hockey watching career).

When the NBA Finals are displayed on my beautiful, high-def television, I’m sitting at the edge of my seat hoping beyond hope and wishing beyond wishes that every shot from Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry, little J.J. Barea and every Mavericks player in between goes in.  I hope that LeBron and Wade go a combined 3-45 from the field.  I hope that Chris Bosh gets embarrassed trying to post up Tyson Chandler – something that wouldn’t happen because Bosh, a power forward, seems to have forgotten his post game since moving to Miami.

After game one, I started to feel a little down even though I’ve never cheered for the Mavericks before, but I absolutely lost it when Dirk Nowitzki drained a pretty three pointer and followed with game two winning lay-up after driving right by Chris Bosh from a high isolation set.

My friends and family back home in Philadelphia probably view this column as sacrilege or an act of Philadelphia sports treason. Still there’s reason to cheer for Dallas if you don’t live in the greater Miami metropolitan area. The Dallas Mavericks collectively represent George A. Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh playing the parts of Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and Chief Gall.  The Mavs are the last stand of true NBA basketball, and the basketball purist in me wants Dallas to win so badly just to protect the sanctity of the sport.

The best thing in any sports league is parity – the idea that any team can win a championship at any given time.  When the Heat brought James and Bosh to Miami to team with Wade, it, to me, started the beginning of the end of my NBA watching.  Even if Kobe Bryant had Pau Gasol, there was the chance that the Boston Celtics with their big three or the Orlando Magic with Howard, Turkoglu & co. could win a championship.

Call me a “Heat Hater”, a “LeBron Loather” or a “Bosh Basher” if you like, but I stand by my opinion that what came about in South Beach is absolutely bad for the NBA.  The Miami Big Three are three of the best players in the game today, and they’re young, which means they could theoretically win every NBA Championship until their contracts run out at the end of the 2014 season (unless they all accept their player options for the next two years).

The Philadelphia sports fan in me would pretend not to know me, but the NBA purist in me smiles proudly when I say: Go Dallas.

If you don’t win, I won’t be watching the NBA until 2016.

“NCAA sanctions against USC.”

Needless to say I was a little ecstatic to read this being a UCLA alum.  I also couldn’t help but realize that my mission as ‘Jack Bauer of All Sports’ may finally be making a serious impact on the sports world despite the limited readership of my column.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt once spoke of December 7, 1944 as a “day that will live on in infamy”.  As fellow columnist “The Phoenix” would say: “Book It!”.  June 9, 2010: the day the JBOAS began to matter.

As the title of a 2004 movie would suggest ... You sukkas got Served!

Loyal followers might remember my merciless assault on the NCAA a little over nine months ago where I claimed the NCAA was too cowardly to appropriately punish USC’s football program.  USC is a major cash cow for the NCAA who had just won a national championship with Reggie Bush in 2004 — the same year that’s the focal point of the investigation.  Official NCAA reports on USC’s punishment came out today bringing all the details to light, and the NCAA appears to have dropped the hammer on South Central.  Punishment could include invalidating the entire 2004 season.

Even though the NCAA finally did something right for a change (shameless shot at the BCS Bowl System), the NCAA is still a grossly flawed and selfish governing body.  I do give credit, however, for finally standing up to big brother Trojan.  Even though the NCAA will lose more money than BP by sanctioning USC, officials know it’s the right thing to do.  At long last, much needed integrity and credibility has arrived — albeit from pressure from small timers like myself.  While it may be unlikely the NCAA actually read my column last August, mavericks who aren’t afraid to speak up and make tough public accusations against large sports establishments have led to USC finally getting the punishment they’ve deserved for many years.

Kudos, NCAA.  Now, how’s about a playoff system?

Okay.  What other sports leagues can I piss off?

June 9, 2010 will also be a day of infamy for the good ol’ JBOAS because remarks about the officiating in Game 3 have come about.  (Took long enough).  In the aftermath of Game 2, I rickrolled the NBA for its poor officiating in Game 2 which was substantially one-sided.  I went as far to suggest that NBA Commissioner David Stern may have influenced the outcome to create more drama — much to the lightening of my wallet, potentially.  As a Lakers fan, I have no problem acknowledging that the officiating in Game three was so blatantly targeted towards the Celtics.  Many Celtics players and coaches (specifically Doc Rivers) had harsh remarks about the officiating of Game three and its one-sidedness.

*ITEM OF NOTE — The officiating crew in Game 3 was different from the Game 2 crew.  Insinuating that the new refs were trying to make everything right because of the Game 2 referees is just plain wrong.  There’s only one logical explanation: the officials were instructed to do so to either right an injustice or create more drama by starting the chain reaction of the Lakers winning all three games in Boston*

Mr. Stern, I don’t buy for a second consecutive game referees your league assigned for the Finals — supposedly the best in the league — are as bad at their jobs as what happened in Games 2 and 3.  In each game, one team benefitted from their work.  There you have it.  That’s right.  I said it.

I, the Jack Bauer of All Sports, believe the National Basketball Association fixed Games 2 and 3 of the NBA Finals.  Hold on a second.  Make check payable to: David Stern.  Amount: $50,000.

A strong accusation to say the lease, but I believe Doc Rivers feels that way about Game 3 based on his comments.  For obvious reasons, he can never say that publicly.  When I speak my mind as a fan (without the influence of alcohol) writing for Taking Back Sports, I do with full conviction.  My column regarding Game 2 was no exception.  After watching the officiating in Game 3 and how it influenced a Lakers win, any modicum of doubt I may have had about some of my thoughts was erased.  I hope readers understand my position — I was blowing off steam after Game 2 — even if they disagree.  After seeing the painfully refrained reactions of Celtics players and coaches after Game 3, I feel my Game 2 thoughts are validated.

June 9, 2010: The day the JBOAS began to matter.  I may not be the real Jack Bauer protecting a nation from terrorist activity or government cover-ups, but I am raising awareness of a sportsnation about sports corruption and cover-ups.

I can only hope David Stern doesn’t hire a private security force to snuff me.

52 combined NBA Finals appearances.

Needless to say, there’s a lot of history even without mentioning the historic individual rivalries like Magic vs. Bird and Kareem vs. ‘The Chief’.  All the history and rivalries come back to the main stage on Thursday night when the Celtics and Lakers tip off to begin their 12th NBA Finals head-to-head meeting.

Bird vs. Magic has become Pierce vs. Kobe in the latest chapter of the Lakers vs. Celtics rivalry, but will 2010 be a case of 'Same Story/Different Chapter'? (SOURCE: Sports Illustrated)

These days in the NBA, the more things change, the more they stay the same.  Magic vs. Bird has now become Kobe vs. Paul Pierce, and the big man battle between Kevin Garnett and Pau Gasol is equally legendary.  The Lakers, however, want to change what has happened nine times already in this Finals matchup … a Celtics championship.

A wise man once said, “It ain’t easy being green.” That phrase should be amended to say “It ain’t easy BEATING green.”  Ask the Miami Heat who were beaten in five games, the Cleveland Cavaliers — still in shock — in six games and the Orlando Magic who got eliminated in six games as well.  No one expected the Celtics to go this far (I admit, I had ‘em getting roasted by Miami).  Now that they’re here, I can’t bring myself to believe the Lakers can do what not even the best team in the NBA could do.

Why?

Well, let’s just start with a phrase that has been beaten to submission more times than the Washington Generals:

“Defense wins championships.”

I really (REALLY) hate to use that cliche, but it keeps ringing true.  Since the Celtics have the second best defense in playoffs (allowing 91 PPG and 42% FG), I have to wonder if 2008 will repeat itself.  Has anyone noticed what the Celtics have been doing to certain players who are supposed to be the second fiddles?  Miami’s Michael Beasley (10.2 PPG after 14.8 PPG regular season).  Okay, that’s not saying much, but allow me to bring up Antawn Jamison, who was supposedly the last piece of the puzzle: 15.8 PPG in the regular season, 11.8 vs. Boston in the semi-finals.  Last but not least, Vince Carter AND Rashard Lewis: 16.6 and 14.1 PPG in the regular season, 13.6 and 8.2 in the conference finals.  Kobe will get his 29 PPG, and Gasol may get his 18-20 PPG, but will Artest, Fisher and Odom get their 10-12 PPG?

Speaking of defense, the big question ringing in my ear is: “Who guards Kobe? Who’s gonna stop Kobe? How will the Celtics contain Kobe?”  Variations of that question are beginning to annoy me so I’ll simply answer with the name Ray Allen.  He did it in 2008 — some games better than others — and if he can’t do it, then Paul Pierce has and can do it.  Granted, Kobe is having a great playoff run (29.4 PPG), but that’s against the Thunder, Jazz and Suns … all relatively soft defenses.

Forget about who's guarding Kobe. The bigger enigma is who guards this man? (SOURCE: NBA.com)

Lakers supporters need to ask themselves a more important defense question: who guards Rajon Rondo?  You know, the guy who’s averaging 16.7 PPG and 10 APG this playoffs.  Derek Fisher?!?  Folks, if Goran Dragic can do this to Fisher, what’s Rondo gonna do?  The over/under on times Fisher’s knees spontaneously combust is 4 1/2 in case you were wondering.  This could be the series where the Lakers regret not having Trevor Ariza because you could theoretically stick him on Rondo and use Ariza’s quickness — an asset used to guard Nuggets point guard Chauncey Billups in the ’08 Western Conference Finals.

Okay.  For the sake of argument, let’s say Phil Jackson just says, “Screw this. Kobe, you guard Rondo.”  That means that Ron Artest will likely guard Paul Pierce leaving Derek Fisher to guard … GASP! … Ray Allen!  No problem.  Ray Ray’s only making 42% of his three pointers in the playoffs.  Lakers fans have no reasons to start soiling themselves at all.  (My quota for sarcastic comments has been filled.)

Lest we forget these are also the same fans who are telling me that the Lakers are more physical with the additions of Ron Artest and Andrew Bynum.  Are we’re talking about the same team whose players have to be bribed to take offensive fouls?  If it takes a cool, crisp Ulysses S. Grant for your players to take a charge, the level of physicality of your team may just get called into question.  Face it.  The Lakers just aren’t a physical team.  They’re a finesse team.  Both the team and their fans have to accept it.  By the way … since Bynum’s knee is filling with more unwanted fluid than the Gulf of Mexico, I don’t think he’s going to be too much of a help against Kevin Garnett, Kendrick Perkins, Rasheed Wallace or any other big man Boston throws in the paint.

No matter your reasons for picking Los Angeles, or in my case emphatically choosing Boston, there’s no secret this Finals will be greatly contested.  Both games in the regular season were exciting games that were won by one point.  In each of those games, the road team won bringing me to another point on my belief of another Boston sports parade (You greedy sons of *&!%$).  The Celtics won two games in Cleveland where the Cavs were an NBA best 35-6 and won two games in Orlando.  The Lakers were the best home court team in the Western Conference, but Boston has proven they can win on the road.  If Boston wins game one or two, it’s not farfetched to think this series could be over in five or six games.

When it comes to NBA history, no two franchises epitomize the league better than the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers.  Both franchises brought me a lot of entertainment in the 80s and 90s, and it’s good to see both teams back in the spotlight after brief sabbaticals.  As great of a win it would be for the Lakers to get payback for 2008 and get that third win in 12 tries against the Celtics, Lakers fans are gonna be seeing more green acres of confetti littered near the TD Waterhouse Garden.

Celtics in 6.

Before the all-star break, that’s just the potatoes and a lot of “let’s figure this thing out” going on.

After the all star break, that’s where amazing happens. The trade deadline, the NBA playoffs, the seeding to the NBA playoffs. Even the NBA Draft Lottery can be compelling. How many times have you heard the phrase, “Devon Harris and John Wall? The possibilities are endless.”

Okay … Maybe only I’ve said that.

Now, other writers say what they want: Lakers this, Cavaliers that, Orlando the other thing. It’s not as clear cut as some sports writers think. Look at the standings in the West for example — particularly the lock-jam at the #5 spot. It’s a “Gladiator” situation with Oklahoma City playing the role of Russell Crowe, San Antonio as Joaquin Phoenix and the Suns playing the role as the poor guy attached to Ralf Moeller’s arm in the first Gladiator event that African province. Oklahoma City (or the “Zombie Sonics” as one sports columnist calls them) intrigues me the most in this group. They can potentially be as low as sixth seed or as high as third. They took a six game winning streak into the All Star break and have more momentum than San Antonio or Phoenix going into the second half. They don’t need to make a drastic trade that ruins so many other playoff hopefuls, and what more do you need when you have Kevin Durant?

By the way, a memo to fans of the NBA: Kevin Durant has arrived. Please pick up your programs at the gate, sit back and enjoy the show. Is anyone else playing better than Durant? Show me someone else doing something like average 25+ points in 25 straight games — 26 as of February 16th. Please. Otherwise, it’s Durant’s world right now. Kobe who? Seriously. Durant is far more entertaining, and he is a legitimate threat to the scoring title. As it stands right now, LeBron James is at 29.8. Durant is one-tenth of a point behind (29.7 for people with weak arithmetic). Why will Durant overtake LBJ? Simple. Durant is a scorer. LeBron is a “do everything”-er? Not only does LeBron score, he passes, rebounds and assists, too. That’s great if you’re trying to achieve TEAM goals, but not so much when you’re going for individual achievements. Durant? He just scores. And scores. And then scores some more. Start getting used to this on a yearly basis because he’s only 22.

Other things to get used to? How about old players on new teams? Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood? Welcome to Dallas where you’re actually allowed to carry weapons. (Too soon?) Some of the more notable names being thrown around include Amar’e Stoudemire (pencil him in Cleveland’s lineup) and Tyrus Thomas. One deal involving Thomas sends him to Minnesota which makes no sense to me since they already have Kevin Love and Al Jefferson at power forward. Here’s another name that was thrown around a couple weeks ago: Monta Ellis. Word from the pot of gold in Boston had the Celtics trading Ray Allen’s expiring contract plus some cash and some youngsters for Ellis. That would be a GREAT move for Boston because it makes them a bigger threat in the East. There wouldn’t be another tandem as athletic as an Ellis and point guard Rajon Rondo combo, and not one team could keep up: not Cleveland, not Orlando, not no one. If Cleveland can’t get Stoudemire and Boston gets Ellis, I’d watch that second round Cleveland/Boston series a little closely because there’ll be a “Boston in 7″ feel to it.

Something else you may want to watch in the East on is the Dwight Howard vs. Shaquille O’Neal feud that’s brewing. After the last Cleveland/Orlando game, Shaq commented on Dwight Howard’s superpowers with his “Superman, my ass” comment. Is the 38-year-old Shaq in Howard’s head? Maybe, but Howard should to let his performance do the talking. In two games against Shaq, Howard is averaging 15 points and 9 rebounds compared to Shaq’s 10 and 5. Round three will happen this weekend in Orlando, so we’ll see just how much Shaq really is in Howard’s head. No matter what happens between these two in the regular season, playoff time is completely different. Come March and April, who’s going to have more of the advantage: the older veteran with the psychological edge or the youngster with the physical edge and the fresher legs? Howard only averaged 22 and 11 in the Eastern Finals last year against Zydrunas Ilgauskas. There’s nothing to lead me to believe he can’t be as effective against a guy who’s just as old, only a lot more pudgy.

(P.S. All of this is irrelevant anyway because if Vince Carter doesn’t get his ‘ass together, Orlando’s not going far. Seriously, why did Orlando give up on Hedo Turkoglu? Why give away a guy who averaged 16 points, 5 assists and 5 boards a game, can run the point and be clutch down the stretch? The Magic were a threat last year because with the Nelson-Lee-Turkoglu-Lewis-Howard lineup, Howard could make his moves down low or kick it out to one of FOUR jump shooters. Can the Magic really win with a guy like Vince Carter who is better at creating his own shot, but not the better distributor Turkoglu was?)

I’m so fired up about talking about the Eastern Conference now that I’m just going to continue with the big question in the East: Can anyone beat Cleveland? Barring a Stoudemire trade … yes. If Stoudemire goes to Cleveland, put the Larry O’Brien trophy in a box and just ship it to 1 Center Court, Cleveland, Ohio, 44115. There are two teams in particular that can give Cleveland a run:

Orlando: Obviously because of Howard. I don’t think Shaq is in Howard’s head as much as he THINKS he is, and I don’t think Cleveland can beat Orlando with the 1 vs. 5 LeBron James offense they used last year.

Boston: Listen to what I say. If the Celtics pull the trigger and get Monta Ellis, Boston will beat Cleveland in a second round matchup. The Cavs wouldn’t be able to match up against a Rondo/Ellis backcourt (as aforementioned) with Pierce, KG and Kendrick Perkins down low. Ellis to Boston makes the green machine relevant again. Instead of going down in six, the Celtics could win in seven.

I can hear the murmurs coming from the A-town. Actually, it’s more the sound of a short man yelling “What!?!” at me. With all do respect to Josh Howard and Joe Johnson whom I respect very much, I don’t think the Hawks have the firepower. You’ll be competitive, and you may just win a game or two. In the end, getting to the NBA Finals is next to impossible. I wouldn’t be shocked, but I’m not exactly putting my life savings on it, either.

I am, however, putting my life savings on the Denver Nuggets in the West. Yes, Los Angeles is a short two hour drive north from where I lay my head, and the wrath of Laker Nation could fall on me at any second, but I stand by my statement. Why? The same bug plagues the Lakers like a Windows computer virus: the inability to defend certain elite point guards (i.e. Chris Paul, Deron Williams or Chauncey Billups). This year, opposing point guards score 20.7 points per game which is worse than last year (16.4). That stat doesn’t say too much, but combine that with Billups’s 22 ppg average against the Lakers as well as J.R. Smith’s 23.5, and uh, it could be disappointing in April. Yes. LA got away with it last year, but there’s one large difference: Ron Artest is not the dominant defender he once was. He’s not guarding Chauncey Billups. He’s not guarding J.R. Smith. He’s not guarding Carmelo Anthony. Sure, he can try as hard as he likes, but he’ll lose more times in those match-ups than he’ll win. Why the Lakers let Ariza walk to get Artest will confuse me until the end of time.

Almost 1,400 words later, here’s the question: 2010 NBA Finals. Who’s playing?

Representing the East will be LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Getting there won’t be easy. They’ll probably need 14 games to get through Boston and Orlando, but in the end, LeBron won’t let this team lose. With the summer of LeBron looming, LBJ might feel he needs to win it now because he’s clearly playing it.

Representing the West: George Karl’s rich, creamy Nuggets. Without Ariza, the Lakers are less athletic than they were last year, and the Nuggets have the guards (Billups-Smith-Lawson) to run the Lakers out of the playoffs. (REMINDER: The Nuggets snapped the Lakers eight-game home winning streak without Carmelo before the All-Star break, so what happens on February 28th when Denver goes to Los Angeles again with when they have all their players strip mining the purple and gold.)

The dream matchup of the 2003 NBA Draft will happen seven years later. Until then, enjoy the last 30 games of the season because there’ll be plenty to pay attention to — unless you’re a Nets fan.