Tuesday night, the Dallas Mavericks travelled to Miami to play the Heat and begin a rematch of the 2006 NBA Finals – a championship series so boring that they weren't even covered in Ball In.

I found the series’ principals uninteresting - Teutonic Dirk Nowitzki, Wanna-Sellout Dwyane Wade, has-beens Keith Van Horn and Shandon Anderson – or menacing – egomaniacal Mark Cuban, egomaniacal Pat Riley, egomaniacal Shaq – or a combo of both – Crusading Christian Avery Johnson. Cuban, by being Cuban, and, surprisingly, Nowitzki, by kicking the ball into stands, added a bit of entertainment value. But overall, that finals boiled down to watching Wade travel until he got fouled – and that’s, well, boring.

This matchup promises to be more engrossing, and not just because just about anything would be more engrossing than last time.

Aside from LeBron James attempting to realize his goal, widely ridiculed for some reason, of achieving success playing on the best possible basketball team he can, Nowitzki has been having an all-time great post season. Neither has won an anointing NBA title, so this will be the year that one of them enters the pantheon.

Another long-suffering all star, Bay Area favorite son J. Kidd (who is 38!), could also finally win an NBA title with the Mavericks after 17 seasons and two prior trips to the finals. And yes, I have bought into the J.J. Barea hype. I saw him play against the Warriors at season’s end, and I’ve enjoyed discovering that he’s more than just a novelty act. Finally, there’s always a chance that Cuban will do something disruptive, which is what often passes as the height of entertainment these day.

As far as predictions, I really don’t know. Analysts (hey, I’m one of those … ) like to make a lot of how Dallas has all the “pieces,” or players with all of the esoteric individual skills that combine for a juggernaut. It’s almost as if by being challenged as all-around players makes them somehow more likely to win. James, and his also incredibly talented running mate, Wade, are seen as vulnerable because they don’t have any one skill at which they excel. It’s as if being fantastic basketball players is a liability for them. 

I’m afraid it’s going to end up being a liability for Dallas.