Upset of War

The Dallas Mavericks' regular season record was tied for 6th... in the history of the NBA! The Golden State Warriors were 8th... in the Western Conference this year!

The Warriors had had some success against the might Mavs in recent years, but almost no one thought it would translate to playoff success. They were too small. I'm a champion of the underdog, but even I only thought they'd steal a couple of games.

I thought it was cute that the Warriors took Game 1 on the road. The Mavs expectedly tied the series after two. Then the Warriors surprisingly held at home and went up 3-1. But plenty of weaker teams up 3-1 have gone on to lose a series. The Mavs won again at home in Game 5 and worse yet, Dirk Nowitzki finished the game strong.

At home in Game 6, disaster nearly struck. Baron Davis, the heart and soul of the Warriors- the man carrying his team on his shoulders- strained his hamstring. He tried to come back, but couldn't muster much more than a limp. So, instead of taking the ball around the defenders and to the hoop, Davis shot threes and they went in. Game 6 wasn't close. The Warriors had pulled off the improbable. They had beat one of the best teams in recent memory... four times.

Baron Davis did not pull off a feat as great as Willis Reed or Michael Jordan fighting off the flu. Those were in the NBA Finals; this was the first round. But Baron Davis' effort will go down in NBA lore. The Warriors' run is not more impressive than that of the 1999 Knicks, who are the only 8 seed to win at least two series (they won three). But the Warriors did just pull off the greatest upset in NBA history. These moments are a reminder of the good that sports can produce. An undersized, undermanned, and under-talented team was unafraid of the bigger, badder, and better team and stunned the world. Never count out the underdog or you might be next.