Smith: Talkin' hoops around the playground

Back in my day, basketball was so popular that even the girls had an opinion on whether Larry Bird was better than Magic Johnson.

So, it came as little surprise on Tuesday that all the talk around the schoolyard was about the NBA Finals. Unlike the experts, the Miami Heat fans saw the series as anything but a coronation.

In fact, some of them were downright nervous about the prospect of corralling Dirk Nowitzki. They also summarily dismissed the notion that simply limiting Nowitzki would net the Heat the first of the several LeBron James-inferred NBA titles (not three, not four, not five ).

"So, let's say somebody stops Dirk — which won't happen, by the way," one young lady said. "What about Jason Terry, Jason Kidd, J.J. Barea or even Tyson Chandler?"

Impressive.

The youngster had seen enough basketball to recognize that Miami could struggle in the post with one of the more athletic big men in the game.

Somebody else chirped in about Nowitzki's defense or rather, lack thereof.

"Are you kidding?" she said. "You're making it sound like he stays down on the other end of the court when the other team has the ball. He's probably never going to be on all-defensive team, but he's seven feet tall.

"Just moving around in the paint at that size creates a problem."

Especially if you're clogging up potential driving lanes in an attempt to turn James and Dwyane Wade into jump-shooters.

No, the consensus after her two sound arguments was that whoever wins this NBA title will do so in six or seven games.

Perhaps some extra credit is in order.