In the biggest upset of this year’s NBA season, playoffs and dare we say NBA picks history, the Golden State Warriors knocked-off the defending Conference Champion and No.1 seed Dallas Mavericks 111-86, last night in Game 6 of the opening round of the NBA Playoffs. Dallas was our top-ranked team in our end-of-season NBA Power Rankings. Was this stunning beatdown by the Warriors a classic underdog’s tale or the the failure of the incumbent juggernaut to live up to expectations? And what to make of the face of the Dallas franchise and MVP frontrunner Dirk Nowitzki and his flaccid performance in last night’s game? Read on to hear our take!

Golden State’s win marks the first time in the history of the Association where a No. 8 seed has eliminated a No. 1 seed in a seven-game series. In the final game, Golden State’s Baron Davis displayed the true grit that only John Wayne could appreciate, leaving the game with a hamstring injury only to return to score 20 points to help his underdog team to victory. 

Davis’s teammate Stephen Jackson was the perfect compliment leading the team with 30 points including seven three-pointers in last night’s Game 6. Andris Biedrins was a man possessed blocking shots, dunking and rebounding to help the Warriors pull away down the stretch. 

There was also the saga of ousted Dallas coach Don Nelson, who was unceremoniously removed as the Mavs head coach after resurrecting the team from the ashes. Nelson “resigned” just 64 games into the 2004-05 campaign after much publicized friction with Mavs owner Mark Cuban. Nelson was then hired by the Warriors in the off season to help do what he did for the Mavs, this time for the Warriors. The second- winningest coach in NBA history took his show on the road and helped guide the Warriors to their monumental win over the Dallas franchise – a little roundball karma? In this series, Nellie let the Warriors do what they do best and helped execute it to T. The Warriors best asset in the series has been their ability to shoot first, ask questions later and run, run, run. Perhaps most importantly, Nelson’s desire to punch the Maverick’s organization in the mouth channeled directly to Davis,

Jackson and the rest of the squad as they played with attitude and a Texas-sized chip on their shoulder. 

But I can’t help but wonder if this is indeed the greatest upset in NBA history, or another colossal choke-job by the Mavericks. We first saw the wheels fall off the Mavericks last season as they choked away the NBA Championship falling to the Miami Heat. The hapless Mavs went up 2-0 only to drop the next four games to Dwyane Wade, Shaq and the boys.  Then there’s Dirk Nowitzki, or “NoWINski,” as some on the ESPN are calling him today. Nowitzki finished an anemic 2-13, for 8 points and 10 boards in Game 6 – not exactly the stellar performance from the cornerstone of your franchise and MVP front-runner. Ah yes the MVP award. The season long Steve Nash vs. Dirk Nowitzki debate.  In all likelihood, Nowitzki will win this season’s MVP award and if he does he will join Moses Malone as the only other player to win the award and get bounced from the opening round of the playoffs. 

Dallas is dusted and the blame goes beyond NoWINski and although Cuban has said that he will not blow-up the team you can expect changes in the lineup and staff. The Warriors, meanwhile, languish in their new golden state – of mind, as they await the winner of the Utah vs.

Houston series to take the next step towards the NBA Championship.  But for now, all that glitters is Warriors gold.