This game could be THE moment that Dallas turns into champions. Three years ago, Portland found out they had no balls...and have never recovered. That was game 7 of the Western Conference finals. They had MONTHS to stew on that loss to LA and it was the end of them. Last year, Sacramento found out they didn't have the courage to win. This year is where the real judgement will come to see if the scars were too deep. Dallas haven't won in LA for years...were up by 30...and have lost. Right now, they'd be shattered...just like Portland and Sacramento. The difference is, as big as this game was PSYCHOLOGICALLY, it doesn't end anyone's season...and there is plenty of time to recover. Dallas has two choices: 1. Feel sorry for themselves and accept that they won't be able to come through when it counts v LA. OR 2. Someone in that dressing room needs to stand up, Mario Ellie style, and say "hey...we have no balls. That was pathetic. We are SOFT" and light a fire under them that rages until June. It will be interesting to see what happens. My guess is they take option number one and fold. I hope they take option two.
Sacramento didn't have the courage to win, my a**. That is wrong, my friend, wrong. The Kings are my pick to win the NBA title this year(after what I saw versus us), like if the refs don't give LA 27 free throws in the 4th quarter last year, or horry's miracle 3, they would be looking at becoming back to back champs. The Kings outplayed LA last year, without Peja and they look even better this year. If you think game 7 was a fold you are nuts, and I am a general objective basketball fan. Dallas/Portland I can buy, this aspect of the Kings not having the balls to beat LA is bull****.
Does it matter who the hell on their team had the courage? They still are on that team. I watched the series last year, Sacramento never once folded, and quite frankly they did outplay the lakers. So I don't get this whole mentally scared deal with them? They are 15-5 right now. Without peja, bibby, turkoglu, pollard. And I watched them vs Houston a week ago, with the way Christie's game offensively, has improved, CWebb becoming almost automatic for 20/10 a night, the players knowing their roles, and the way they are playing so loose and carefree this yr, I would say their confidence is not shaken, if anything it is skyhigh. They are my NBA champions pick this year, bottom line.
I guess your forgetting the wide open jumpers they missed in game seven. Peja and co. went stone cold. I guess you are forgetting the look of fear in several players eyes? If missing wide open jumpers is your idea of being ready...then let's give one of our rings to John Starks and his Knicks team... It takes courage to make those, a lah Mario Ellie and Rob Horry. I am not knocking Scaramento, but they need to mature to win it all. They had it last year and blew it. Game 7, at home...and they lost.
This game means more to the Lakers than the Mavs. The Lakers have again established that theyre the team to beat to all of the peope that have written off. I dont see the Mav's crumbling its just a regular season game not a playoff series. They will be fine but I would love to see them crumble since that is the team I hate the most in all of pro sports. But it wont happen to many shooters for them to collapse. Anybody have any post game comments by Cuban???
Game 7 went into overtime last year, overtime, and the kings made numerous clutch shots to tie it up, whether it was Bibby or not. That is not folding, my friend.
This is true, but the Mavs have still not won in LA for the past 12 years. I guess they are just fine if their plan is to let somebody else knock the Lakers out of the playoffs.
Nellie's archnemesis, Shaq, wasn't the difference in this game. That's the saddest part to their being owned...
I still think the Kings will lose to the lakers if they do end up playing the Lakers. The weakness on that Kings team is the coach, not the players. He lost his temper under pressure. Amazingly, he was the same coach that coached the Portland team from 1990 to 1992. He could not beat the old Lakers team given all the talent on that Portland team. Let's face it, the Kings should win it all last time, and they have the talent, they blow it on the free throw line. I blame it on the coach, not the players. On the other hand, he is a great coach during the regular season. His system is very good, cut, pass, excellent stuffs. Unfortunately, for the psycho part of the game, he is not very good.
DV--Christie, Peja, Hedo--they did choke. They were about close to airballing shots normally they drain simply because of the late game 7 pressure. Webber, though I wouldn't say he choked, didn't exactly take charge in crucial situations either and got lucky the Kings retained a couple of key late game possessions in game 5 & 7 if I remember. That said I think Sac is best team to play the Lakers. However there are other teams (Dallas, maybe SA and some east teams, and perhaps even the Rockets could give them a run in a sh9rt series if the Rockets keep progressing) that might beat them too IMO. Sac is likely too, but still no lock, to return in the WCF.
Desert Scar - I agree with your assessment for the most part but a few things to remember. Peja was coming off an injury and had missed many games. He was not the same player he was throughout the season. Hedo was playing well in the playoffs but it was only his second year in the league with most of his time coming off the bench. Christie...well is Christie. He was their defensive specialist last year. I think that the reason that the Kings lost had more to do with Webber did not stepping up than these guys not making their shots.
I think that the Mavs have more to overcome than getting mentally tough. Last night they showed: 1) They have no interior game whatsoever. 2) They can't get easy shots when their outside shots aren't falling. This does not bode well for them in the playoffs.
"Look of fear in their eyes?" What are you talking about? And I guess you are forgetting that Peja is still feeling the effects of the ankle injury that he had at the time. You try hitting threes when you can't plant correctly.
The guy played. If he was as bad as you feel, he should have sat...and they wouldn't have allowed him to play such a big game if his ankle meant airballs instead of good shots. Look, the facts are that very few players in pro sports have the nerve to hit game winning shots / pull off game winning moves. 99% of players can't do it. That's what makes the finals so exciting...when it's all on the line and you see who the real champions are. An open three is the EXACT same shot whether it be v Golden State and you are up by 20, or v LA in the WCF and your down by 2. The shot itself is the exact same physically, action wise. Everything...except mentally. Some guys mentally freeze, their arms tighten...others love the pressure. Facts are, most of the Kings tightened up when it mattered most. Facts are, when up by 17, Portland froze. Facts are, Dallas tightened up yesterday also. Facts are, the Lakers always seem to win those games...same as the Bulls did. Trust me, I HATE LA to the point where I almost kicked in my TV after they won lasy year. However, the runs on the board so to speak. They keep on winning big games. It's up to the other teams to show they can also...
And getting back to the original point of the thread, which was Dallas and whether someone will stand up... Maybe it will be Van Exel. "We choked, just flat-out choked," said ex-Laker Van Exel, who led the Mavs with 25 points. "They played like the world champs, and we played scared."
Dallas is done. Sac lost that series last year by choking away Game 4. In fact it was a similar game to last night.
I won't deny that some players did start feeling the heat, but as a team taking a two-time champ to OT in game 7, unless you had a huge lead in the game-and I don't believe they did, is not a team fold. The fact that they practically outplayed LA last year without Stojakovic is impressive. And this year Gerald Wallace is becoming a force. They have so many weapons its scary.
