This Year Is Different: How the Mavs Won It All--The Official Story

by Bob Sturm, Mark Cuban (Foreword by)

Overview

For 31 years, The Dallas Mavericks had seasons end in disappointment. Every year, they tried again to find the right combination, only to find another dead end. But in the 2010-11 season, the Mavericks finally found the right mix around their superstar, Dirk Nowitzki, and shocked the basketball world by winning their first NBA Championship.

Through extensive interviews and covering the Mavericks as a passionate journalist, Sturm illuminates what exactly brought the Mavericks together as a team. THIS YEAR IS DIFFERENT covers all the important details of the Dallas Mavericks' 2011 championship season, including:

• The transformation of the Dallas Mavericks franchise from perennial loser to NBA powerhouse.
• Dirk Nowitzki's career-long battle to cement his dynasty with an NBA championship, including a bitter loss in the 2006 Finals to Dwyane Wade's Miami Heat.
• Tracing the ups and downs of the 2011 campaign, as the Mavs soared to the top of the standings, only to suffer critical injuries mid-season and a string of losses which threatened their playoff hopes.
• A game-by-game recap of the Mavericks' 2011 playoff run, as they battled through the quarter-, semi-, and Western Conference Finals for a chance to compete for the NBA championship.
• The epic story of the 2011 NBA Finals, as Nowitzki and the Mavs took on Miami's "Big Three," in a rematch of Dallas' heartbreaking loss in the 2006 Finals, and how the Mavericks overcame all odds to win their first NBA Championship.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780983988557
Publisher:	Diversion Books
Publication date:	12/12/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	213
File size:	842 KB

About the Author

Bob Sturm, a native of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, and a graduate of Liberty University, has hosted his half of the Bob and Dan Show on Sportsradio 1310, The Ticket in Dallas, Texas, since 1999.  Bob has also worked in television sports and has written sports blogs and stories for the Dallas Morning News, D Magazine, and Fox Sports Southwest.  He and his wife, Sally, and three children, Madeline, Brett, and Justin, live in Lewisville, Texas.

Table of Contents

Foreword 1

Introduction 3

The Parade 9

The Trade For Tyson 17

The Tattoo 26

The Start Of The March 36

The Old Kidd 47

The Roll Through The Holidays 55

The Injuries 66

The Response 75

The Holger Routine 83

The "Soft" Label 93

The Jet Comes Unglued 103

Portland Games 1-2 113

Portland Games 3-4 121

Portland Games 5-6 128

Los Angeles Lakers Games 1-2 138

Los Angeles Lakers Games 3-4 149

Oklahoma City Game 1 159

Oklahoma City Games 2-3 168

Oklahoma City Games 4-5 177

MIAMI Game 1 189

MIAMI Game 2 197

MIAMI Game 3 203

MIAMI Game 4 211

MIAMI Game 5 220

MIAMI Game 6 231

Epilogue 243