The Cinderella Story continues...

Congrats to the Golden State Warriors for becoming the 3rd #8 seed in NBA history to knock out the #1 seed! Game 6 at Oakland, CA, the Warriors finished off the Dallas Mavericks at home 111-86, winning the series 4-2, as the they continue their feel-good playoff story after a 15-year absence from the playoffs...

Give credit to head coach Don Nelson, who turned this bunch of young underachievers into a team that fight relentlessly and play with confidence. He has really inserted self-belief into this young up-and-coming team. He knew he would be able to beat the Dallas Mavericks. He knew this team too well, as the Mavs were built by him. And he definitely had the motivation to win this round, to show everyone that the Mavs are NOT better off without him, especially with all the talk that the Mavs are better defensively when coached by his protege Avery Johnson instead of himself. And how fitting was that when it was exactly the Warriors' defense against the soon-to-be MVP Dirk Nowitzki that got the Mavericks beaten? Nellie ought to feel good now, beating his former team and leading the Warriors to the 2nd round of playoffs, something the Warriors haven't done since the 1970s.

Kudos to Stephen Jackson too, who joined the Warriors via a mid-season trade from Indiana Pacers, along with teammate Al Harrington. Stephen Jackson was branded a "cancer" for the team when he was in Indiana, and the Pacers actually were willing to give up a talented Al Harrington along with him just to complete the trade, so that they can finally be rid of him. Granted, Stephen does have behavioral issues, but he has been a loyal teammate and has always been passionate and given his all on the basketball court. Now he has added to the Warrior team some veteran leadership, a passion and a will to win, and most importantly, some championship experience (he won a championship with San Antonio Spurs in 2003 as a starter). Last night, his 33-point, 7 3-pointer performance showed how valuable he can be in a playoff run.

Other young players like 2002 and 2003 Slam Dunk Champion Jason Richardson, the newly-crowned Most Improved Player Monta Ellis, young Latvian center Andris Biedrins, the versatile and multi-talented Al Harrington, and French defensive specialist Mickael Pietrus are all contributing factors for the Warriors in their late run this season.

Of course, the key to the Warriors' success has to be the MVP of this series -- Baron Davis. After being slowed down by a series of injuries and losing his motivation during the past few seasons, the old Baron Davis has finally come back. He was simply unstoppable against the Mavs, driving to the basket, shooting from the outside, distributing the ball, doing everything right for the team. Last night, he was slowed down by a strained right hamstring, but played on and finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists. Throughout the series, he simply out-performed the supposedly MVP for this season, Dallas' star Dirk Nowitzki. Now we'll see if he can continue to lead his team to further success.

I love cinderella story, and hope to see them continue to be giant-killers and achieve more in the playoffs.

Next round they will be playing the winners between the up-and-coming Utah Jazz and Yao Ming + T-Mac's Houston Rockets