I have as much animosity for Cuban as the next guy (even though he's done some cool things too), but... You have to acknowledge the great offense of the Mavericks. They seem to turn it on in the 3rd. First the Rox for 37, then Minny for 37 and 40 tonight against Denver. Denver is actually a decent defensive club and was outscored 40-16 tonight - sound familiar? Dallas, Indy, and NJ are three clubs which will toy with you for the first half and then rip your heart out in the second. I don't know why everyone dismisses the Mavs chances, they played pretty well against the league's best team last year (and I don't mean the Bavetta Boys) and they seem to be playing considerably better now. Their ability to swing the ball and make 3's at that efficiency may be unprecedented, plus their big three are not merely spot-up shooters. All three penetrate well and post you up too (except Nash). Good role players as well. The "gimmicky zone D" + Bradley may just be sufficient enough to allow them to outscore the playoff opponents.
Dallas won't do a thing in the playoffs, for the simple fact that they are a soft team. They are great to watch during the regular season and will most likely end up with the best record in the West. Dirk is a great 4 and would be that much better if he had a talented physical inside 5 to play with. Dallas does the right thing by beating all the teams they should beat, but when it actually counts, or at least for the regular, season they lose. They can't beat the Lakers, the Kings, the Spurs, the Blazers, or the Pacers. So I suggest you do all your Dallas supporting during the regular season because come playoff time they will be performing a disappearing act. The most I can predict for them is to get out of the 1st round but to get crushed in the second round of the playoffs when they face a worthy opponent.
lol. I am not a Mavs fan by any stretch, but their record speaks for itself. They could very well be exposed inside by playoff-caliber inside games, but remember all modern champions (Lakers, Rockets, Bulls, Pistons, Spurs*) had playoff setbacks the year before which motivated them to turn it up a notch the next year. Your confidence is probably based on Portland's great game against Dallas last week. Portland's trouble, like the Rockets, is that their excellence is not sustainable. Dallas has consistently brought it. As for "supporting" the Mavs, it's really a process of elimination with me once the Rockets are out. Lakers? Hate their smug attitude and referee favoritism. Portland? Bad apples. Phoenix? Marbury & co. are full of themselves and have repeatedly dissed us. Jazz? No explanation necessary. The other teams haven't really done anything to deserve alot of wrath from me.
I would not go as far as to say that the Blazers have had consistency problems because after all they've won 20 of their last 25 games. They went 5 and 2 w/o Wallace and they're now 2 and 0 with Wallace being back in the line up. As to whether or not they might have once defeated a worthy opponent is not what counts, when a game was built up as a possible playoff preview, they always ended up being defeated. Who could forget about the Lakers game, they were destroyed by the Kings, a short handed Blazers squad had success against them. I don't exactly remember when they lost to the Pacers, I believe it was early in this season. I will give them credit because despite their disheartening losses they've been able to bounce back and continue to defeat the weaker teams. They are also able to consistently defeat the Rockets but I attribute that to the inconsistency the Rockets are plagued with.
The Mavs are a very, very good team, but if the Kings are healthy come playoff time, I can't see anyone beating them. The Mavs offense, in general, is better than the Kings, but I think the Kings play better defense, and the Kings rely on the outside shot much less than the Mavericks. If the Mavs as a team go cold from the outside, they are almost totally screwed. The Kings are quite adept at moving the ball and getting layups and easy shots, so they can work through similar dry spells. That makes a world of difference in a 7 game series.
Yes, the Indiana game was the second game of a back-to-back and the Mavs were 14-0. Najera was injured in that game and hasn't played since. The Mavs really miss Najera as they did last year against Sacramento in the playoffs. Remember, Najera broke his thumb in the pre game warmups before game 1 against sacky. Najera is a playmaker pure and Simple. The only way the Mavs ever will get respect is by beating the good teams. They haven't really done it yet but haven't had the good teams at home yet. They beat Portland twice BTW. They lost to the Lakers in LA and beat them at home. They lost to the Spurs in San Antonio without Dirk. Time will tell with this team.
To address the Portland losses to the Mavs, those don't really count, because that was before the Blazers started to play well. Now that they've been playing well, they were able to defeat the Mavs w/o the services of Rasheed Wallace. I wouldn't consider Najera that big, he's a good player and all but he will not be the difference inbetween them winning or losing in the playoffs.
To address the Portland losses to the Mavs, those don't really count, because that was before the Blazers started to play well. Now that they've been playing well, they were able to defeat the Mavs w/o the services of Rasheed Wallace. Oh, I get it. The Blazers have to be playing well for it to count. Well, the Blazers beat the Mavs when the Mavs weren't playing well so its even.
Okay the Mavs lost after winning 14 straight to Indy, they then came back and destroyed them at home by 25+. Indy came in talking all sorts of trash and the Mavs handed it to them. Portland is a joke, so they won a game, the Mavs have crushed them twice. Oh, it doesn't matter because they weren't playing well. What a weak ass excuse. Portland Sucks!!! Every team that comes in talking trash to the Mavs always comes out with their asses whipped. If you don't believe me, ask Steve Francis. Houston will always be a big joke until they realize they have to run the offense through Yao. I don't see that happening anytime soon, unless they trade Francis.
I didn't forget. The comment was made that the Mavs can't beat the Blazers or Pacers. I was just pointing out that they have already beaten both of those teams this year. As for the wins against the Blazers not counting because the Blazers were not playing good ... Well in that casethe Mavs record in the '90s doesn't count either because they weren't playing good then so those losses don't count.
To any Mavs fans, Thanks for beating the Jazz last night (despite the ridiculous home-cooking as usual there, esp. the no call at the end - a 4-point turnaround that almost cost ya the game). We Rockets fans like that. Bonus props for making it a heartbreaking loss. I'm feeling magnaminous to you guys in light of the fact that when you beat us, it appears to have shaken some sense into our guys, so we'll end up with a better record now than we would have.
I'm just stating that you can't boast about their defeat of the Blazers, if the Blazers weren't playing well at all, you're just simply proving that you can beat a team that is having an off day. Now they're on a roll, so if they were to play a worthy opponent and lose, then it'd count. The Mavericks play well but you can't argue that they had an off game for every one of their losses that they should have won. I don't see how you could be a Dallas fan after what happened to them when they played LA and blew that huge lead. Dallas is fun to watch during the regular season, but I'll save you some trouble, Dallas isn't going to do a single thing in the playoffs. MFFL, Portland hasn't just won a game, try 20 out of their last 25. And lastly beating bad teams might get you into the playoffs, but at some point you'll actually have to beat a good team 3 or 5 times to advance.
Thanks for beating the Jazz last night (despite the ridiculous home-cooking as usual there, esp. the no call at the end - a 4-point turnaround that almost cost ya the game). We Rockets fans like that. Bonus props for making it a heartbreaking loss. Wasn't that great? I despise the Jazz like no other team. How many fouls did Malone "draw" with phony flops and charades last night? BTW, I always root for the Rocks when they play the Jazz.
Dallas is fun to watch during the regular season, but I'll save you some trouble, Dallas isn't going to do a single thing in the playoffs. This is just wishful thinking on your part. Lets see, the Mavs beat the favored Jazz in round one a couple of years ago and lost to the favored Spurs. Then last year they blew out the 'Wolves and lost to the favored Kings. Seems like the Mavs are beating who they are supposed to and losing to better teams. There is nothing to be ashamed of. How did the Blazers do the last couple of years? I know for a fact the Mavs will beat the Blazers in a playoff series. No doubt about it. The Blazers always have a strong run during the middle of the season and then fade at the end. I expect the same thing to happen this year. BTW, in case you haven't noticed, I hate the Blazers with a passion.
I dislike the Mavericks, the only reason the Blazers have been losing that last couple of seasons is because each time they've played the eventual champions, the Lakers. They actually made it to the WCF, when this current Mavs team does that, maybe then you'll have a case. How do you know for a fact that the Mavericks would beat the Blazers. I believe the Blazers would win in a playoff series but that's just my personal opinion. I wouldn't go as far as to call it a fact. The Mavs have a chance of getting out of the 1st round again this year if they play a lesser team. If the Lakers slip in as the 8th seed, then the Mavs would probably get swept. I'd like to think that Rockets would beat the Mavs in the playoffs, but the way they've been playing the Mavs this year, I don't think they would.
