This has to be the best article I have ever read in my life. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=neel/070309 Mavs just can't win my love By Eric Neel Page 2 The Dallas Mavericks are a great team. Fifty-one out of their last 56, a point differential of 8-plus a night, a 16-game win streak -- even without rings on their fingers (yet), I'm calling them great. Straight out. The regular season they're putting together ranks with some of the best we've ever seen. Barring a crippling injury or a brush with a norovirus, they're going to belong at the table with the 1996 Bulls, the 1986 Celtics, the 1983 Sixers and the 1972 Lakers as architects of a truly dominant 82-game run. I just wish I cared. I wish they inspired me even a little. I have tremendous respect, but I wish I felt any kind of genuine enthusiasm for them at all. I wish I felt the love. I know this sounds petty (particularly if you're a Dallas diehard) but I can't shake the feeling. Or lack thereof. Those other elite clubs had strong identities, some juice, some compelling lightning something about them. Jordan made 72 a mission, a dare, and Rodman made every day an adventure in self-loathing rebounding genius. Bird defended the home turf like a frothing dog. Moses was Moses and Doc was Doc. The Lakers, with Wilt holding the block and West sniping from every kind of angle, over every kind of defender, looked supernatural. You didn't have to love them but you had to pay attention. In fact, you couldn't turn away. The Mavs vs. the Greats 2007 Mavericks Record: On pace for 70-12 Key players: Dirk Nowitzki (25.3 ppg, 9.6 rpg), Josh Howard (19.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg), Jason Terry (16.3 ppg, 5.4 apg), Jerry Stackhouse (11.1 ppg) Average points: 100.4 Points allowed: 92.2 Differential: +8.2 1996 Bulls Record: 72-10 Key players: Michael Jordan (30.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg), Scottie Pippen (19.4 ppg, 5.9 apg), Toni Kukoc (13.1 ppg), Dennis Rodman (14.9 rpg) Average points: 105.2 Points allowed: 92.9 Differential: +12.3 1986 Celtics Record: 67-15 Key players: Larry Bird (25.8 ppg, 9.8 rpg), Kevin McHale (21.3 ppg, 8.1 rpg), Robert Parish (16.1 ppg, 9.5 rpg), Dennis Johnson (15.6 ppg, 5.8 apg) Average points: 114.1 Points allowed: 104.7 Differential: +9.4 1983 76ers Record: 65-17 Key players: Moses Malone (24.5 ppg, 15.3 rpg), Julius Erving (21.4 ppg), Andrew Toney (19.7 ppg), Maurice Cheeks (12.5 ppg, 6.9 apg) Average points: 112.1 Points allowed: 104.4 Differential: +7.7 1972 Lakers Record: 69-13 Key players: Gail Goodrich (25.9 ppg), Jerry West (25.8 ppg, 9.7 apg), Jim McMillian (18.8 ppg), Wilt Chamberlain (14.8 ppg, 19.2 rpg), Happy Hairston (13.1 ppg, 13.1 rpg) Average points: 121.0 Points allowed: 108.7 Diffential: +12.3 The other day a friend said to me, "Hey, check out the Mavs," as if they were underdogs on a little hot streak, as if they were a penny on the sidewalk or a roadside attraction spotted through a car window, as if they weren't actually running roughshod over the league night in and night out. We should be trained on them, geeked, obsessed, awed, but we aren't. The Suns -- Steve's boys, the fuel-injected fun ball gang, a brotherhood forged in dedication to a philosophy, a dream -- are captivating. The Pistons -- a gangly, tough, scrap-heap collective straight out of "Kelly's Heroes," a bunch, even with a title in the bag, who are absolutely certain you don't believe in them -- inspire. The Mavs don't compete historically and they don't compete now. Mark Cuban's part of the problem. He's smart, funny and insightful. He speaks truth to power and sometimes goes on entertaining, ridiculous rants (see the Dwyane Wade smackdown a couple weeks back) for all the world to see. I love him. But there's no denying that he overshadows the team on the floor. He's the maverick Maverick, the face of the franchise. Entertaining as he is, he's no pathway to connecting with the team or the game they play. I don't root for him. I don't root for them because of him. He's ownership. I want to give a damn about labor. And even if I look past Cuban, all I see is Nowitzki. Which means all I see is accurate, somewhat wooden jump shots and hard-to-guard head-fake finishes. The guy is a superstar, probably the league MVP given what the team is doing. He gets banged on nightly and he wears the mantle of being The Man with seeming ease and determination. He's a fantastic player. I admire the hell out of him. But he's also, I'm sorry, boring to watch. No signature move. No defining moment (as of yet). No edge, no magic. Think of him next to the other top-tier players in the league right now. Play word association. Nash is Miraculous, Wade is Relentless, James is Terrifying, Arenas is Nutty and Garnett is Fierce. Nowitzki is, I don't know, Proficient? Ditto the rest of the club, a collection of almost perfectly calibrated role players. Josh Howard is a formidable talent, but his skill set, spread out across the pallet like it is, and the fact that he must defer to Dirk in key moments, makes him near invisible. After him it's Terry, Stackhouse, Buckner, Harris, Dampier, Diop, John and Doe. Nothing to hang your hat or your heart on. And it's not just personnel, it's approach, too. Once upon a time the Mavs were a fairly freestyling bunch, practitioners of a kind of lyrical ball movement. Now, under Avery Johnson's able direction and bulldog disposition, they're prone to win at a slower pace, with more isolations and jump shots. They have a method, but no style, nothing I can get behind, nothing that stands out. And this is just the way they want it, I'm sure. They no doubt love the relative anonymity. It's good for team unity, and more importantly it fits with the shape-shifting, come-at-you-from-all-angles way they like to play, sometimes speeding it up to tax a team like the Spurs, and sometimes dialing it back to flummox a team like the Suns. Dirk, Avery, Josh, they're more than comfortable with their relative blandness, I'm sure. Couldn't care less. Never give it a thought. It's about wins and losses for them. (Actually, it's pretty much just about wins.) What they're doing, who they are, their super-smooth blend of talents, their always-flexible approach to style and strategy, it all works for them. They win with it. They win nine nights out of 10 with it. They win enough games to be in the All-Time Great conversation with it. So what else do I want? Why aren't I satisfied? What's my problem? Why can't I get with the lunch-pail, measure-and-cut genius of this club? Why is it so hard for me to see, like my grandfather would have seen, that this team is so damned appealing precisely because there's nothing special, nothing flashy, about them? I'm just selfish is what it is. It ain't right, I know, but I want more than the wins. I want to feel about them the way I felt about the Bulls, the Celtics, the Sixers, and (though I was quite young then) the Lakers, the way I feel about the Suns and Pistons now. Passionate. Mesmerized. I want talk of great teams to be animated by the inimitable and intriguing character of their core groups and their superstars, not just compelled by the gaudy evidence of their records. We're talking about the Mavs, when we remember to talk about them at all, because they've won a big ol' boatload of basketball games. End of story. Yes, they're a great team, but greatness isn't everything. The Bulls, the Celtics, the Sixers, the Lakers, they had magic, too, they had something that vibrates even now, something that captures my imagination even in recollection. The Suns make me want to find a run. The Pistons make me think defense is some sort of higher calling. And maybe that's my strongest feeling for the Mavs. Maybe the way they make me appreciate those other teams all over again, and more intensely, is what excites me the most about them.
I think the Mavs' biggest problem is they don't have an identity. Dirk, as good a player as he is, doesn't have the legendary status of a Bird, Magic, Jordan, etc. When you look at Magic, you remember the insane passing skills, the way he could've been an all-star at every position if he wanted to. With Bird, you saw a big dorky looking dude that destroyed you and ripped your heart out at every chance - the consumate assassin. With Jordan you get.... well, Jordan. With Dr. J. you have the original "grand dunker" (apologies to all you David Thompson fans). With Wilt, you had, well, damn, WILT. Jerry West? The damn NBA logo is modeled after him and he's Mr. Clutch (apologies to all you Robert Horry fans). I think of how Dirk is viewed around the league, and it's more like "yeah, he's good" or "he's one of the 5-10 best players in the league" down to "he's a whiner" or "he's a flopper". He just doesn't get the love. What makes it worse is, in the past, he's been surrounded by a lot of very good NBA players that were 2nd rate "stars" on their former teams, and of course there's the Cuban hate factor and that he's tried to basically buy himself a ring year after year. Hell, I live in Dallas and I try not to follow them anymore after watching Cuban. When I moved here they were probably my 2nd favorite team. But Cuban's act got old ... fast. Nowadays they are my most hated team... yes even worse than the Jazz. My hatred for the Jazz exited with Stockton and Malone ringless.
Interesting article but I have to wonder how many Mavs games this guy has seen. Dirk is a pretty fun player to watch. No 7 footer has ever been able to do the things he has done. History will show that he helped revolutionize the game (7 footers hitting 3’s, taking the ball to the hole, etc). I wonder if Dirk was an American would the perception of him be different?
Funny. The way this guy describes the Mavs is how I always felt about the Spurs in the Duncan era. BORING!!! I think what bugs me about the Mavs(aside from Cuban's antics and Dirk's flopping) is that despite all their regular season dominance, I still don't think they're a safe bet to win the title. I don't fear them. And that doesn't mean they won't win it all this year. They're the clear favorites going into the postseason. Let's face it. If they don't collapse in the last 5 minutes of Game 3 in last year's Finals, they win that series in a sweep. But on the same token, if Manu doesn't commit a boneheaded foul on Dirk, the Mavs would've suffered one of the biggest playoff collapses(even bigger than their Finals choke) in NBA history. I guess what I'm saying is that for an absolutely dominant team, the Mavs seem awfully fragile.
The sports radio up here are having a S*&t fit over this article, funny to listen to them try and defend the Mavs and Cuban
I don't think other teams fear them. They should've killed Miami last year but lost 4 straight. That alone is enough reason to doubt them. There's no sure thing in the west.
Its basically saying the Mavs are NOT a big market team, and they DON'T have a marquee player on the level of even a Tim Duncan. He's right when he says the most famous Mav is Mark Cuban.
I would love nothing better than to have Dallas win 70+ games, and then knock their asses out in the second round.
they are a great team and have been for some time, but what irritates me the most about the mavs is their whining. they get more than their fair share of calls on both ends of the floor and then on top of that complain to the officials every single time they may get the short end of the stick. a lot of this has to do with cuban yes but also dirk and even avery. dirk not giving credit to the heat for winning when he (yes he) choked away opportunities late in the game at the ft line. avery taking his frustrations out on a media reporter during a post game conference. all of this things show a utter lack of class from the owner to coach to star player. even the 2000-03 lakers who got a great share of calls themselves never resorted to what cuban has when they didnt get a call because they knew they were getting the majority of them. i never liked the 90s bulls but i would admire the heck out of them (especially for beating the jazz twice) whenever they played. its the identity issue the one that has been instilled in dallas seems to be a 'complain,whiny,bratty' one that i just cant stand
Cuban and Nowitzki make me hate the Mavs. And when THEY'RE the face of the franchise, I just can't bring myself to like them at all.
It has nothing to do with the fact that his is a foreigner. Nash is not American and people still love him. For me, the whole thing with Dirk is that he just isn't the type of star that I would want on my team. The guy can run and shot, but I want my 7-footers to be relentless. Kind of how Yao is now. He needs to get on the low block and murder his opponents. With Dirk, you get a 7-footer to pump fakes 4-6 times and then takes a jumper. Thats not something I want to see. The fact that he flops so much and whines so much doesn't help either. He just isn't the player that you look at and think he will be remember as a top 10 player or so. And as far as the Mavs go as a team, Cuban is a problem and everyone except Josh Howard is a problem. Cuban whines too much and gets annoying. Terry is just plain annoying. Stackhouse, I never liked since his days in Detriot. Dampier is just funny. And like others said, the Mavs just don't seem untouchable. Take the Lakers for example during their championship runs. They could have played like **** and usually did during the regular season, but come playoff time, you knew they would be in the WCF for sure and more than likely in the Finals. With the Mavs, you could just feel that they aren't as dominant. I truly believe that if they run into a healthy Rockets or Spurs team, then we have a great chance of beating them.
I honestly do not think they will win it this year. I think the NBA champion will come from either San Antonio, Houston, or Detroit, teams that are defensive forces with a good to great low post presence. I'd even put Miami back in the mix before Dallas and Phoenix if DWade were healthy.
I liked the writer's description of the '86 Celtics team. In my opinion, that team would destroy the Mavs. Just dismantle them. How I wish I could see it. Guess I'll have to settle for seeing the Rockets beat them in the playoffs. I could live with that!
Ouch! My thoughts exactly. I'd love to watch their regular season record become meaningless in the playoffs and their championship hopes thrown out the window. It's a bonus if the Rockets are going to be the ones doing the humiliation of the Mavs. After that the Mavs would again be labeled as a team "built for the regular seaon".
Plus, the article forgot to mention that unlike other great players, Dirk's nickname is Whinenheimer Dirkendouche. He ain't gonna win much respect if he's named after a female sanitation device. Would MJ have been as great if his name was Michael "Giant Tampon" Jordan? I think not. Alas, Dirkendouche is confined to the bowels of basketball history because of his terrible nickname. And he's only got himself to blame.
I am in no way putting down the Mavericks record, because it is pretty amazing. But in looking at their schedule, I noticed that they have not had any consecutive road trips longer than 3, and they have a 6-game road trip coming up in a couple of weeks. There is no way they are going to go 18 and 2 to end up with a 70-win record. And here's the thing about the NBA this year- there are very few "great" teams. This has allowed the Mavs, Suns, and Spurs to roll up very impressive records. But when all these teams have to go against each other for several games in the playoffs, it could be a completely different story. I could definitely envision a scenario when any of these 5 teams win it all: Miami, Detroit, Suns, Spurs, and Mavs. The Rockets, my absolute favorite team, is a year and a new point guard away from this.
i don't get what you mean. the mavs, suns, and spurs are the great teams. how many more than 3 "great" teams can there be for them to play against? people are getting a little carried away when they're giving us and detroit a better chance to win than dallas. i mean come on. 51-5 over 56 games, the first team from any of the big 3 + hockey to have a run like that. i agree they don't seem invincible in the playoffs but only b/c the spurs are a team that can go on a 12 game winning streak and the suns have had their own 17 game winning streak this season. and miami only b/c wade can just go off if he needs to. detroit and houston can't hang with dallas (or the suns and spurs in the playoffs). it's not like the mavs weren't in the finals last year or something.
