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.