"It's fitting that the night the Dallas Mavericks finally got their much-coveted and long-awaited championship rings, 2011 NBA Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki sat out with a knee injury.

It's also appropriate that Minnesota Timberwolves guard J.J. Barea didn't play either in the Mavs' 105-90 loss Wednesday night.

Barea, a key member of the championship run, is the reason the Mavs waited until Wednesday to unveil the rings adorned with so much bling (14-karat white gold and 250 total diamonds) that you wonder why owner Mark Cuban even started that silly notion of doing something different than giving out rings."