My take on the Mavericks (1) VS. Warriors (8) issue.

[7even]

Alright. Everybody who wondered what I was thinking all the time without saying much should be interested in reading this. Everybody who wonders how a Mavs-fan feels right now should be reading this. For the people who really don't care, don't mind me. I just need to get this off my chest. I will state some obvious stuff, too... just need to get it off my chest really.

Anyways, where do I begin? How bout with a quote... and not a very recent one...


That's what I said and truthfully believed a few weeks ago:

^I think the Mavs will try to destory Golden State because they don't want to face them in the playoffs... cause Don Nelson, their coach, knows the Mavs pretty well and could work out some filthy tactics against them and shit, plus like you said they beat them twice this season, so they better knock them outta the playoff race... at least that's what I would try to do if I was in charge.

The scenario was this: Clippers and Warriors really close to each other. The Mavs had the #1 spot on fucking lock and already blew that 70-win-journey. So it was all fun and games to them. So Avery Johnson, their coach, decided to rest some players in certain games and so on - which wasn't a bad idea at all. The way he executed that idea was really, really bad though.
Why? Here's why:
The Mavs had late-season games against the Clippers and the Warriors. They own the Clippers, then go and rest everybody and their mother against the Warriors. Everybody. Not just 2 main players like in most other late-season games, no, they decided to play their D-League roster there.

Had they done that against the Clippers while playing their full roster against the Warriors, there's a very good chance they would have had no problems in the 1st round of the playoffs. Because they would have played the Clippers. Much less of a threat, nothing to take away from the Clippers, but let's say it as it is.

Now, as I never had any doubt that Avery Johnson (AJ) was very aware of that matter, I thought he might not perceive the GSW as a threat and that he just wanted to please his mentor, Don Nelson (DN). Afterall, he wouldn't be where he was if it wasn't for him. I even started to think that maybe the Mavs lost kind of on purpose against the GSW during all the reg season games so their former coach can achieve his goal and make the playoffs. So I didn't worry. I thought AJ knew what he was doing. I was wrong.
Now, one could argue that maybe AJ indeed thought the GSW weren't no damn threat to the Mavs, but got caught off-guard. Well, actually, no - cause if that was the case, how come his scared ass is changing the Starting 5 for the 1st game? Why is he starting Diop? That instantly showed that he is kind of afraid of the GSW and tries to adjust, accepts to play the game at their pace.
Wait a minute. How crazy is that to begin with? How can a team that cruised to 67 wins be willing to adjust (and display that decision openly, too) in the 1st round of the playoffs? Even IF you're going to do that, please, start Dampier and quietly get him off the court if it's not working. Don't send a "please don't hurt me, I obey"-message to the 8th-seeded opponent. The fact that you're the 1st seed and that you have 67 wins and that you made it to the Finals last year and that you got the soon-to-be-MVP alone should be enough to demoralize the opponent if done right. You have to be arrogant. You have to be aggressive. The GSW should have been put into a "well, we are just happy to be here after such a long time without playoffs"-psyche. Not into a "we can do this, we can do this, we believe"-psyche. AJ fucked up, seriously. He fucked up.


Even after this horrible series (from a Mavs point of view) I am still absolutely sure of the matter that the Mavs can beat (or at least seriously compete with) teams that the Warriors can't beat. Had the Mavericks won this series in 7, they still had a legitimate shot at the title in my book, and in many other books I believe. The Warriors... no disrespect, but there are no hopes for them winning the championship this year. Now, how come they beat the Mavs clean cut, then?

Well, the biggest factor is definitely Don Nelson. He gave the order to draft Dirk. He knew that kid. He saw him play in Europe as a teenager. He promised his family he would treat him like a son. He taught him basketball for years. He knows exactly how Dirk plays. Needless to say he knows exactly how to stop Dirk. Of course, many people who really know basketball have their ideas of how to stop Dirk. But Nelson has got those ideas on another level. He knows how Dirk runs the court, how he thinks, what gets him frustrated, what takes his confidence away. Everything. He knows everything. And not just about Dirk, but also about AJ. He was his mentor. He knows how to play him, even how to manipulate him. He knows several other Mavs players, too.

Then there are those match-up problems. The GSW are small, but the Mavs can't use that as they 1.) lack a coach with balls and 2.) lack a center with great offensive post game. Jackson is a great defender when it comes to containing Dirk. Tall and athletic enough to not be easily shot over, yet fast enough to poke the ball as soon as Dirk starts to dribble. He's also a fucking asshole which always makes a good defender. Baron Davis is a lot stronger physically compared to Harris or Terry, he can abuse them.

Then there's also the fact that the GSW as we see them today are by no means a 42 win team. There was this trade that made them a much better team and it took time to gel. They were killing everything off coming into the playoffs.

Let's get to a more concrete look at the games. 2 blow-outs. Nothing to say about this really, Mavs got fucking owned. The 2 games the Mavs won were both games they could have lost easily. In Game 2 Jackson and Davis got ejected. Had that not happened, lord knows.. it would have been a sweep possibly. In Game 5, they were down 9 and got a magical minute by Dirk and a lot of calls in their favor when the game was on the line.
But how can this happen? For starters the Mavs played very immature basketball. They should have known better. AJ should have known better. They always played right into the cards of the GSW, running all fast and setting for 3s. WTF? They tried to beat the GSW at their game instead of forcing the GSW to play a slower, half-court kind of game. And what was up with the defense on the 3 point line? That shit was just crazy at times. The GSW shot lights out without no dominant man in the post and the Mavs still weren't able to fucking guard the 3 point line. They were usually just fucking jumping from 6 feet range at the shooters in a "Yeah, I know I'm too late and that I hardly contest his shot, I also know that he made 5 straight 3pointers already, but hey, whatever."-manner.

Let's take a look at the players and what impression I got of them during this series:

Diop: Had a good series, can't complain. Some good defensive stops, and in Game 5 he had a productive offensive game, too. Has really improved his conditioning.
Dampier: Couldn't do shit because AJ fucked up.
Stackhouse: Inconsistant as usual. Had his share of great moments, and his share of bad decisions. Pretty much exactly what I expect from him.
Harris: Good series. Only thing I don't understand is why he didn't drive to the basket more often. Much more often... it would have taken more energy off of Baron Davis, too. Foul trouble was an issue in some games.
Terry: Disappointing. Shooting nothing to write home about, defense average at best, terrible play-making ability in this series.
Bucker: Not much playing-time, I think? Barely noticed his ass on the court.
George: Could have contributed a bit more offensively.
Croshere: Well, he tried. He's just not a good player. Can't blame him. The 3 3pointers in Game 5 were already more than I expected.
Ager: Shouldn't have got any playing-time. But he was pretty good when he was on the field. For what you can expect, that is.
Howard: Very good series. Great all-around effort. Only problem I have is, could have provoked more FTs and also could have made a higher % of those he got.

Overall they should have defended the 3pt line better. All of them. Except for the Centers of course.


Nowitzki:
Damn. I don't know where to start, honestly. He has been a huge disappointment on so many levels. It's not that he didn't come up nearly as big as he should have... I understand him struggling. It's unfortuate but it's understandable. What I do NOT understand nor tolerate is how he dealt with all this mentally. Him being the official MVP, he should know better. When things go not as you hope, the team looks at him for inspiration and motivation. All he gave to the team was resignation, he had a complete break-down as a basketball player and maybe even person. He dwelled in self-doubt and wasn't even thinking about at least pretending to be confident. Or to "believe". It's unthinkable really. He decided to become a role-player when the team needed him the most. I understand his jumpers wouldn't fall. But why not try to get to the hoop more often? Get FTs? ANYTHING. Anything but looking completely lost out there. Anything but being a walking embarrassment to everyone who voted for him as the MVP publically or privately. Anything but basically GIVING UP PUBLICALLY AGAINST AN 8TH SEED IN THE FIRST ROUND OF THE PLAYOFFS WHEN YOU'RE THE SOON-TO-BE-MVP ON A 67-TEAM WHO'S MISSION WAS TO GET THE CHAMPIONSHIP THE LEAGUE OWES THEM. Seriously, what was he thinking? If you have problems, Dirk, that's not cool. But please don't forget that you got teammates, a whole organization and millions of fans counting on you.





Well. That was it. Personally, I still don't really understand what happened. More importantly, I don't know what I should want the Mavs to do in the future. I mean, despite them having been a great team, they don't have much trade value. They can hardly make the team better by trading players.

Also, I really don't know what to do during the next regular season. I mean, think about it. Even if they do awesome, it probably won't make me feel anything lol... I mean, you win 67 games and Dirk gets voted for MVP, then this  happens? It doesn't make sense. They can win 80 games and get 5 reg season awards, after all they might still embarrass themselves in the playoffs.

Dirk getting the MVP trophy soon will be one of the most akward moments I will have seen in a long while. On the one hand I'm feeling really sorry for him (isn't it fucking ironic, feeling literally sorry for someone cause he gets the MVP award?...), on the other hand I think he deserves it. The shame, not the award. Why? Not because he sucked as a player during this series. Because he sucked as a person and as a leader.

[wcsoldier]

Well , good thoughts.. I think the lack of a decent down low presence on the offensive end has been a problem for the Mavs and this has been exposed in this series.. You can't slow it down if you haven't this kind of tool.. I watched all games of the series and I have been very dissapointed with Dallas Defense .. very poor transition D and wide open shots were allowed.. plus it's hard to win when 2 of your 3 best players have been very weak.. about the future of this team, I still think this team lack the killer instinct to win it all.. they should look for a killer vet who can lead this team mentally wise, a Sam Cassel type of player.. plus a decent inside player coz Dallas offensive game has been very predictable in this series

[d-nice]

I never got a sense of urgency from Dallas anytime during the series. At first I thought it was arrogance that they knew they would come back but after Game 2 I saw no passion hardly from that team again until Game 5 but even then it was more of the Warriors mistakes. I was like they were saying damn this series is over but GS is making mistakes so we can get back in it. Instead of pressing the issue themselves like I seen them do against Phoenix last year.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

I agree...Before this series, I could semi-understand Dirk getting the MVP over Kobe, but now .


But to tell you the truth, I think many of the errors should be blamed on Avery. I mean, resting all your starters against Golden State and beating the Clippers? Many people knew they fucked up when they did that. And to top it off, they go into the playoffs against a team that matches up good with them with all of their starters rested and rusty...Avery shoulda remembered how the season started 0-4 for ya'll. You should be in a groove as a team before playoffs, or whenever you're ready to really win...Either way, Dallas simply wasn't meant to be a playoff team. That's how I see it. The only REAL threats in the league are San Antonio and MAYBE Chicago and Detroit...PeACe

[jeromechickenbone]

And Avery fucked w/ his starting lineup in Game 1.  You know he was shook from the gettyup.