Still stuck in travel hell, but in rebuttal:
Nick and Rondo can pull out all the stats they want, and that's fine, and that's good research, but they don't tell the whole story. Like IP said, not many people, myself included, would have given the Mavs the edge in the Heat/Mavs series - and then Dirk willed this team to a title. In that same series, the Kings' best player took considerable heat for folding.
I can't get to databasebasketball or 82games, so I've got to appeal to your gut - in the playoffs, who takes this, a deep, offensively talented Dirk led team, or Lebron-led team defined by star power and a shorter bench?