Final Word on Dallas, Playoff Analysis

As most of you now know, there will be no internship at SLAM this summer. Who knows if they would have followed through on that bet, but it sure would have been nice if Dirk Nowitzki could have at least made things interesting.

The MVP award, nice of an honor as it may be, is little consolation for what has to be considered a disappointing post-season run, or lack thereof. I've had two weeks to think about it, but thoughts of Baron Davis hitting leaning three-pointers and Stephen Jackson shooting like Reggie Miller keep popping into my head and will no doubt haunt me the entire summer when friends ask me, "So, how 'bout those Mavericks?"

Can you tell I'm still bitter? Good.

I'm convinced, however, that Dallas can still win a championship with virtually the same cast of characters. It'll be interesting to see how they handle the Jerry Stackhouse contract situation, simply because Maurice Ager is in no way, shape, or form ready to step in and take his minutes. The Mavs should think about possibly addressing this in the draft. They're not going to get a world-beater, but with three second round picks they can certainly find a big-two guard who can score and a four man who actually doesn't mind mixing it up inside. They should dump Austin Croshere because not only is he a little expensive at $7 million, but Nowitzki's back-up should be a contrast, not a Walmart knock-off.

I don't think this team should make too many drastic changes, contrary to popular belief. I've heard rumblings on TV and talk radio about Dirk not being a top tier NBA star and how he's not a player that a team should be built around. Let's kill that noise. He had a bad series. From time to time that happens. He's gotten further than T-Mac and KG in less time, and he's just entering his prime in my opinion. Four years from now I bet he'll have at least one ring, if not multiple.

All that said, Steve Nash really should have gotten the MVP.

Perfect segue. The Phoenix Suns evened things up tonight against the San Antonio Spurs in a series that has met every expectation of being the "real NBA Finals" (though Detroit or Cleveland will sure have something to say about that in June). Great game in what has been a very good series.

I'll admit that prior to this series starting I wasn't completely intrigued for two reasons: 1) My team's out so what's my motivation and 2) the Suns and Spurs didn't have that genuine dislike for each other that Dallas has for both of them. The latter has definitely changed.

First, there's Nash's messed up nose in Game 1. Then, Amare Stoudemire accuses Bruce Bowen of being dirtier than old Xtina Aguielera for kicking his achilles. Then Bowen, trying to change his ways, checks Nash's manhood in Game 3. And then, out of nowhere Robert Horry goes all Ty Domi (what a black guy can't know about some hockey?) on Nash, prompting Raja Bell to semi-retaliate and Stoudemire and Boris Diaw to leave the bench and possibly be suspended for Game 5 (dumb rule but the NBA is pretty strict about it).

Drama changes everything!

The pending potential suspensions could change everything, too, but if they don't happen then this series is literally up for grabs. Like a mouse making a value bet on the river, I can't call it. As a fan I guess I'm rooting more the Suns because I think Nash deserves a shot at the finals, that and San Antonio is boring as hell. The decision on those suspensions, however, could swing the pendulum back to the Spurs, who have to be reeling after leading most of the game and losing in the final minutes.

All of the other series are 3-1. I know Detroit is going to eventually beat Chicago (who just hasn't shown up), and I have a pretty good feeling about the Cavs beating the Nets, even though the series has been much closer than the margin indicates. The Golden State/Utah series interests me because, with the exception of Game 3 which the Warriors won, every single game has been close. It wouldn't surprise me at all to see G State win this series even down 3-1, but coming off the high of beating one of the best regular season teams of all-time I figured there'd be a letdown. The only thing I can guarantee about Game 5 of that series is another close game. If the Warriors can steal one on Utah's home court, the Jazz better watch out, because playing in Oakland can be a sickening experience with all those "We Believe" t-shirts. Just ask Dirk.

I can't wait until next April.

Internship Update

My class last night ended at 9:30, and the second it ended, I sprinted to my car, put the key in the ignition, and quickly switched to ESPN Radio 1300. The game wasn't live on the radio, but with updates every five minutes, I was good to go for my half hour to 45 minute drive. I heard that the Mavericks had jumped out quickly; first by eight, then by 13. I pulled up to into my driveway and they were up 21.

But, as soon as I turned on the TV...

Chaos.

The Warriors didn't chip away at the lead; they made a mockery of it. Seven point deficit at half-time with Stephen Jackson due to shoot a technical at the beginning of the second.

Wow, maybe I'm just bad luck to my own team.

And, of course, while Dallas managed to maintain a slight lead in the 3rd, I felt as comfortable as a recovering cocaine addict in Colombia (my teachers say I have a gift for similies). Sure enough, when Matt Barnes threw down a dunk on Devin Harris to take their first lead of the game with 9:32 left, I thought Dallas was done.

They teased me, like they always do, by taking four and five point leads, but the Warriors just wouldn't lay down. Then, the Mavericks went ice cold, while the Warriors remained white hot from the perimeter. When Baron Davis hit that lunging three despite great defense from DH, I slumped down on my couch. 112-103 with 3:23 left, all the great work they had done during the regular season would go to naught and ESPN would have a field day with the choke job/Cinderella story angle.

And suddenly the MVP shows up.

Where he had been for the past five games I have no idea, but I do know one thing: Dirk Nowitzki put that team on his back and carried them to the promised land. One three, a sick block, another three, and six free throws later, the Mavs survived.

In my seven years of being a Mavericks' fan (and I know I will get criticism for that remark but I direct all inquiries to Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006), that perhaps was the most impressive win I've seen from a Dallas team. I know they got to the finals and I know they've hade epic battles with the Suns and Spurs, but I've never seen them figuratively come back from the dead, ESPECIALLY Dirk. This is the "refuse to lose" attitude that I expected from Game 1, but, especially in this case, better late than never.

In terms of Game 6 (because you know I'm probably not going to write before then), I believe that the Mavs will even the series, and I'm not just saying that as a biased fan (although I would probably say the same thing). I've watched enough basketball (I'm a Terp fan, too) to know that a demoralizing loss (such as the one that Maryland suffered against Duke in 2001) can be psychologically damaging. Yeah, that Terp team did eventually make the Final Four, but if I recall correctly that team went on to lose something like five out of six. My point is that it takes awhile to recover from a loss like that, and the Warriors have less than 48 hours, or realistically less than 96. It took the Terps almost two weeks, and that was a pretty good team.

By the way, no word on whether SLAM has accepted my bet or not. But, that hasn't stopped me from posting on the site.

Thursday night can't come soon enough.