Sunday, March 23, 2008

The Mavs Are Done!


The Dallas Mavericks are done! I'm not normally a doom and gloom type of person, but I don't see how they can finish this season with anything more than ping pong balls.

Dirk got hurt today in the game against the San Antonio Spurs and he's expected to miss at least 2 weeks. If the Mavericks were in the Eastern Conference they'd be fine, but they aren't, so they won't be fine. Missing two weeks out west is like missing 2 months in this particular season. They are barely holding on to the 7th seed as it is! Golden State and Denver are lurking and I don't think Dallas has enough left to stop them from jumping ahead of them.

Don't get me wrong, they still have very good talent in Jason Kidd, Josh Howard, Jerry Stackhouse and Jason Terry, but Avery Johnson's attention to detail (micromanagement) may not allow them to be successful.

We all know Jason Kidd is offensively challenged on most nights. If I were a player I'd probably sit down and watch him shoot while I was supposed to be guarding him. He'd have to REALLY prove to me that he's on fire before I exerted a lot of energy trying to take away his shot. Anyway, you don't trade for Jason Kidd with the expectation that he's going to give you 30 a night. You trade for him so that he can get the other players easy buckets. Avery doesn't seem to understand that. He kept Kidd on the bench for waaaay too long against the Spurs. I assume because he wanted offense on the floor. Maybe he doesn't know that Kidd is one of the best at creating offense for other players. If you aren't going to play him when you need to score, then when the hell are you going to play him? I really don't understand what Avery's game plan is with Kidd. Was he even on board with this Kidd deal in the first place? He certainly doesn't act like it. He sat him for the last 30 seconds in a game against the Spurs shortly after they traded for him, then with a little over 4 minutes left in the 3rd qtr today against the Spurs, he sat Kidd with a 5 point lead and by the time he brought him back in the beginning of the 4th they were down 7. (run on)

Whether Avery likes it or not, Kidd is an asset to have on the floor during critical moments of the game. If you weren't going to use him when it's winning time, then you may as well have kept Devin Harris who was cheaper and younger.

Unless Dirk miraculously heals within a couple of days, I think its a wrap for the Mavs. Oh well, there's always next year.

3 comments:

All-Mi-T [Thought Crime] Rawdawgbuffalo said...

yep they are. hey, off post i know, but im starting a new blog roll and wanted to know if i could add u, send email or leave in my shout box, and u just add me to yours, also i have a new book out, let me know what u think of the cover its posted on my blog here http://rawdawgb.blogspot.com/2008/03/shameless-self-promotion-pt-2.html

southpeezy said...

im hoping that this injury could spurn some butterfly effect in our favor...word on the street is Avery and Cuban have been having some spats since the Kidd trade...seeing as the Mavs have gone from Conference champs to first-round upset victims to playoff bracket cellar dwellers...im hoping that their potential missing of the playoffs leads Avery and Cuban haveing a big falling out...Avery quits or gets fired...and the home team scoops him up...

[pinches myself] sorry, i forgot, we the Hawks, we dont think ahead like that.

CoCo said...

Avery is a control freak Peezy! I don't know if that's what we need round here, but I'd take almost anyone over the current head coach