Jason Terry Puts the Heat on Lebron

He got the tattoo of the NBA finals trophy on his right inside bicep before the series even started.

With his team facing a 2-1 deficit in the series, Jason Terry proclaimed that arguably the greatest player in the game today, Lebron James, could not stay with him.

He promised Dirk Nowitzki that he would give help in games 4 and 5.

And then he delivered.

Jason Terry has delivered on several of the greatest and most gutsy promises in NBA finals history. As his team sits on the precipice of an NBA championship, The Jet, as he is affectionately known, sits and smiles. He smiles not at what he has accomplished and not because he has helped one of the greatest power forwards of all time come so close to a title. Jason Terry smiles at how it has all gone down.

Getting a tattoo of the NBA trophy on his arm only to lose the series would be one of the more bold and damning guarantees in NBA history. If Lebron is able to shut down Terry in the final two games of the series, Terry will face criticism for months. If Terry flounders in the 4th quarter of game 6 or 7 while Dirk plays 1 on 5, Terry will be the goat in Dallas.

But Jason Terry would not have it any other way…

Dirk Nowitzki gets the attention of the opposition’s entire defense, but Jason Terry has taken much of the media focus off the future hall of famer. In essence, Terry has been the perfect wingman. He has stood by Dirk and accepted responsibility for losses. In wins, he has hit big shot after big shot in the 4th quarter, and he has given all the credit to his German counterpart.

By averaging 19 points and 4.5 assists over the last two games, Jason Terry has made one of the game’s best defenders in Lebron James, look like a amateur. Terry has stood toe to toe with James and has outperformed, out talked, and out shot the Akron, Ohio native.

Perhaps what has been most helpful for his teammates has been Terry’s confidence. When Dallas lost game 3, NBA analysts lept to every media outlet that they could find to proclaim Miami the champs. But Jason Terry, who had not scored in the first three games while James was guarding him, spoke out. He said that Lebron could not stick with him for seven games, and he guaranteed success against James in game 4.

Terry made an adjustment and began working more off the dribble to make James work to get around screens. Not only has Terry hit more jump shots, but he has worn down James on the defensive end, rendering James tentative and ineffective on the offensive end.

So as The Jet takes off the sweats to enter the game off the bench in game 6, Lebron better take notice. Terry stands just 6’2 compared to 6’8 for Lebron, but in these 2011 finals, no one has stood taller than Terry.

So as the Mavericks look to close out the series in game 6 or 7 and win their first NBA championship, Jason Terry will have the opportunity to cement his legacy as one of the greatest 6th men in the history of the game. He will also be remembered as delivering one of the most clutch performances in NBA finals history.

Having let his team down twice in the first three games of the series, Terry decided to take the pressure off of his teammates and put it on himself. My how he has delivered. Dirk needed him. Rick Carlisle needed him. The city of Dallas needed him, and Lebron’s critics across the globe needed him, and he has delivered admirably.

On the biggest stage that Mavericks basketball has ever been on, Terry has been his teams heart and soul. Sure in 2006, the stage was large. But that year, the Mavericks were not taking on the Big 3. Lebron was not on the floor, and Dirk’s legacy was not on the line. Jordan had Pippen, and now Dirk has Terry.

“A brothership,” is how Terry described he and Dirk’s relationship.

Let’s give the Jet his due. There has been no postseason flameout this year for the Mavericks because the Jet has helped Dirk put an entire city on his back.

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