I know the definition of clinching. Like I said, clinching a playoff berth (100%) doesn't always mean much. When the Celtics clinched a playoff spot several weeks ago, it meant absolutely nothing. When the Mavs reflect back on the regular season, they can look at today's unexpected road win as what put them over the top. On the other hand, the specific game when either the Nugs or Warriors clinch their spot will mean everything.
Nash looks old while Kidd looks like he hasn't lost a step playing in Dallas. It also appears that Avery came to Clutchfans, read my posts about him and realized that the team is better when Kidd is running the show instead of Avery doing it from the sidelines. Also, watching Dirk play is probably one of the most painful things in life. He is always a half step from tripping over his own feet but somehow throws up the ball before he crashes to floor and it goes in. I think this game was lost by Phoenix instead of won by Dallas but when your PF can't consistently score or attract a double team while being guarded by a PG then you deserve to lose. BTW, did Shaq blame this loss on Pat Riley yet?
The big game for the Mavs was the victory over the Warriors. That was the first win for them with Kidd over a winning team, and it clinched the Tie Break advantage over the Warriors. I thought Dallas was going to crater and fall out of the picture. That win pretty much salvaged their season, restored their confidence, and gave them a huge leg up in the Playoff race. Dallas has a Magic Number of 3 over the Warriors. That's pretty certain to happen with their remaining schedules: Mavericks: Sonics, Jazz, @Blazers, @Sonics, Hornets Warriors: Kings, Nuggets, Clippers, @Suns, Sonics It's pretty easy to come up with a combination of 3 Mav wins and 3 Warrior losses. The Thursday game between the Nuggets and Warriors is huge.
Wow I noticed the same things, I've never seen someone take so many off balanced shots while tripping over his own legs and the shots going in.
I am starting to think Amare is just another player who can put up nice stats but not the ones who help his team to win a championship. 31 pts is nice but he took 26 shots to get it...and the sub-par defense...and the missing FTs in the 4th Qtr in a game which really mattered.
