Let's Talk Sweep

I know I'm waaay early in saying this but, the Mavs have got this thing in the bag if they want it. They're better. Just watching them you can see it. They are better players in a better system. I think if they keep their heads about them, this whole series could turn into a week-long parade.

Which brings me to the thing that Bob Sturm has been repeating over and over again the last few days: Miami = Finland. If the Mavs are the 1980 USA Hockey Team, then San Antonio is Russia and that means that Avery better ride his team hard these last few games just as Herb Brooks did the night his team won gold.

More than anything, I keep thinking not how good both of these teams are, but how they're both such a collection of spare parts. Rewind your basketball brain to the beginning of this season and tell me what you thought of the following players.

Udonis Haslem
Adrian Griffin
James Posey
Segana Diop
Jason Williams
Erick Dampier
Gary Payton
Jerry Stackhouse

Tell me you pegged those guys to be in the Finals. Sure, Dirk and Shaq are (although there's been plenty of debate about Dirk until he silenced the critics this season). But the rest of these gusy do NOT seem like NBA Finals material to me. Again, I think it's the coaches. Both of them.

A few other notes:

• I love watching Shaq shoot free throws. Did you know he tied his own playoff record in Game 1 for most free throws attempted in a game without a make? Wonderful.
• Remember when we traded for Jason Terry? Am I wrong or was that trade Terry for Antoine Walker. Man, I wish we had that one back. Pump up the volume, Twan! You're a shooter...keep believing!

Lift Off

I'm really surprised at how easy that was last night. I may have to retract my post about the Heat being better than us on paper. They're not. Not even when Dirk and Josh BOTH have an off night. I know the Heat can play better, but so can the Mavs. After Duncan and Nash, it may turn out that Shaq and Wade don't measure up.

Game notes:

• I'm so happy that Jet had a game like that. He's due. He's such a clutch player and seems to be a likable guy. Plus, he let Ben and Skin into his house.
• I'm so happy when Antoine Walker touches the ball. I know he may break out of his 10-year slump any day now and torch us for 50, but for now, we need to get him more touches. After all, he's a "volume-shooter", remember?
  
• I'd be happier if Dirk would get to the rim more. In the second half, he started doing that thing where he puts the ball on the ground for one dribble and then pulls up for a jumper - even if he had a lane to the basket. I know Shaq is lurking in there but let's take it to him, Dirk. You're a 7-footer and he needs some fouls.
• Where was the halftime entertainment? Don't the Finals warrant an appearance by U2 or some other big-time act?
• Back to Walker, has anyone else noticed that he takes tiny steps?
• Remember when we called him J-Dub and he was on a Nike commercial? How the mighty have fallen.
  
• I tried my darndest to get tickets yesterday. Next time, I'm going with these guys and getting in free:

Let's Get It On!

Scattershooting on the day of Dallas first NBA Finals game:

• Enough waiting, already! Let's get this pawty stawted!
• I have so many non-Finals things to blog about (funny pro cycling quotes, Washington D.C. trip, William Shatner the Rocketman) but for now, they'll have to wait.
• Do you know how hard it is to find Mavs gear in this town? All I want is a T-shirt!
• Even harder to get tickets. I've been hawking stubhub, ebay, etc. and the prices are incredible. Cheapest I've seen is $225 for nosebleed. And I've heard rumors of $70k for floor seats. Let's see...pay off the house or go to Game 1...hmmm.
• The Dallas Morning News had a funny Top 10 on their editorial page yesterday, "Top 10 Reasons Dallas Deserves the NBA Finals Trophy More Than Miami." Funniest line: "No one ever asks who shot Crockett and Tubbs." Second funniest: "If David Hasselhoff is for us, who can be against us?"
• This series is as much about the coaches as the players. If you measure the player talent only, I think Miami has us beat. But the Little General's system makes our team better than the sum of its parts. Let's just hope it doesn't come down to Avery drawing up a last-minute play.
  

"Gentlemen, I think you'll find those the same measurements as our court back home in Hickory."

Ramping Up

A few things to think about as the Finals draw near:

• Shaq is getting better. He's still the least talented hall-of-fame player ever, but he's improving.
• I don't think Avery will employ the hack-a-Shaq tactic. Doesn't seem like his style. But we WILL have to foul Shaq a lot becuase he WILL get the ball in the post and then we have no answer. We need big minutes out of Damp and Diop. And more than help defense on Shaq, we need solid peremeter defense on the guards so it's not easy for them to feed Shaq down low.
• Shaq and D Wade will present the biggest problems we've faced on defense so far. San Antonio might have caused big problems but they decided to go small. Miami won't. Mavs fans should really be afraid of those two combining for 100 points.
• We have a bad history of losing to Shaq.
• But the last time we met Miami we beat them by a million.
• This Mavs team doesn't score points in bunches. If they get a 20-point run, like they did in Game 6 vs. Phoenix, it's 28-8, not 20-0. They're much more methodic and plodding than Mavs teams of the past. So we need to have a lead or a small deficit going into the fourth quarter because we're not good at catching up quick.

Some other thoughts:

I like Avery's watch.

The big winner in this year's finals? American Airlines.

Halfway down the Mavs homepage under "Other News", you can download the "Diop Diop" video. Genius.

6.6.06

Today is not a good day if you suffer from

Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia

Finals, Finally

Where to begin? So much to say about reaching the NBA Finals. I have so many people to thank and so many memories...

First of all, if the Mavs don't win another game this season, I believe the season is a success. I wouldn't have said that if they hadn't beaten Phoenix because the bar was set at a conference championship. That's one game better than the franchise has ever done and I think that's what Dallas was expecting out of this team. I also think that they've come far enough this year that if they lose the Finals, contrary to my earlier post, they still would have a good chance to win it next year. But still, I think their best chance is right in front of them right now.

No offense to Brad Davis or Rolando Blackmon, but I'm so glad that the Mavs finally have a real reason to hang a banner in the AAC! Our first real banner!


I haven't been following the Mavs for all of their 26 years, but I've been a fan long enough that this year's success feels well-deserved. Let's take a moment to thank all of those Mavs who helped (or didn't help) along the way. Remember when we used to hang our hopes on the likes of Gary Trent and Eric Strickland? When Gary Trent was our bruiser inside? And we relied on Calvin Booth to his a last-second bunny to win playoff games? I was at the game at Reunion when A.C. Green broke the record for most consecutive games played. And I rolled my eyes with the rest of Dallas when Cuban signed Dennis Rodman. Christian Laettner, Robert Pack, Kurt Thomas, Raef LeFrenz all carried our hopes along the way and, often, dropped them like a Suns second-half lead.


Some of those former Mavs (most notably and sympathetically Michael Finley) have been on the losing end against their former team this year. This playoff run has knocked our Finley, Steve Nash, Nick Van Exel, and Raja Bell. And next up is the "volume shooter" Antoine Walker. I felt for Fin and Nash when we beat them. I'm going to love beating Walker. I was never his fan.

That's enough Mavs Musings for today. Tomorrow, we'll tackle the Shaq factor, American Airlines, and what Vegas has to say.

Peace, out.

Potty Talk

Big news from the Sanders home:
Bethany went PeePee in the Potty!
Bethany went PeePee in the Potty!
Bethany went PeePee in the Potty!
Bethany went PeePee in the Potty!

No Finals Yet

If you've read this blog much over the past few weeks you know that it's been very Mavs-intensive. So you would expect the first post after the Mavs win the West to be about basketball. But I met a family yesterday whose character trumps basketball.

Ellen (my sister-in-law) moved to an apartment in Irving a couple of months ago and is still getting settled. A doctor who she works with is moving to North Carolina and offered to give her some furniture. I went over to the doc's condo yesterday to help Ellen move the stuff. When we got there, I learned that this was not a case of a rich doctor giving away junky old stuff to get new stuff.

First of all, the furniture was very nice. Had they sold it, I'm sure they could have collected $500 or so. But instead, they said, they decided to "give it to someone who could use it."

And the doctor is also an Army emergency medic, paratrooper, and police SWAT medic. He regularly goes along on Irving SWAT jobs to attend to wounded officers or suspects. He, his pregnant wife, and two-year-old son are moving to Ft. Bragg because Uncle Sam has "requested" such. And next month, he will leave for a tour in Iraq.

He helped us load, haul, unload, and set up the furniture and when I thanked him profusely as he was leaving, he said, "It was the right thing to do." Something tells me that the good doctor does a lot of the things because "it's the right thing to do."

I'll probably never see that family again, but it's encouraging to have met them and know they're out there.

Be safe, doc.

Give Me 50!

Remember this line: 50 points, 12 rebounds, 5 three-pointers. In the second half: 33 points, 9-for-13 from the floor, 3-for-3 from 3-point range, 12-for-12 from the line, 8 rebounds. The big, goofy German did what Mavs fans have wanted him to do for three years - carry the team when it counted most.

I think NBA coaches and players overthing things sometimes.

• Whether to play Diop or "go small" to match Phoenix. Is this really a hard choice? This is basketball. It's good to be tall and athletic. Play Diop. He rocks.
• I know you don't expect Tim Thomas to beat you singlehandedly, but if he keeps hitting threes, put a man on him! We kept doubling Nash off the screen and leaving Thomas open. I think Avery was even yelling at Devin Harris to do it. Thomas wouldn't have been blowing many kisses if we hadn't been leaving him wide open looks. That leads me to a rant about defense...
• Seems like all NBA defenses now are too help-oriented. There will be one guy on the ball and everyone else is sagging off their men waiting for the dribbler to drive. What if NBA teams played defense the way you learned in high school? If your man is one pass away, get up on him and put a hand in the passing lane. If your man is two passes away, sag and help. The only reason that might not work is that guys like Nash would get around there defenders more often. But my answer to that is that maybe our defenders should learn to move their feet. I never see a defender slide over to cut off a dribble any more. And if he does, he's doing it with the intention of flopping and drawing the charge. We could stop quick guys like Nash a lot more if we slid over in front of them, or if they're getting past, cross over and start to run with them. That's especially true with Nash since he doesn't change directions very quickly. And if he does get by, his dish options would be fewer if all our guys were covering their own guys. How many times have you seen Nash drive and by the time he gets to the lane he's got four Mavs collapsing on him and his choice of four teammates to feed?

Ok, but enough of the negative talk. What a game that was last night! Dirk was amazing. Here are a few other highlights:

Three shot clock violations by the Suns in the first half. They probably haven't had three shot clock violations in the whole season!

Two Mavs turnovers in the second half.

I wonder what our record is when this act performs at halftime.
Josh Howard: 23 points including five dunks and a block.

Here's a pregame pic of me, Dirk, and Mark Wahlberg.

The best sign of the night made a very brief appearance in the post-game: "Someone push Barkley back into the ocean."

Second best sign: "Free D.J. Mbenga."

Did anyone else notice the way Steve Kerr pronounced Mbenga during Game 4? "Mmmmmm-benga!"

I've decided that there is not a single basketball broadcaster in the world that I like. Plus, do we really need TWO sideline reporters?

TNT's best work is done away from the court. Funny Ali G spots here.

Terrific behind-the-scenes analysis from Matt Mosley here.

What's the deal with Avery and Nash doing post-game press conference in golf shirts? I thought there was a dress code.

Politics

For the past three weeks or so, some friends and I have been cussing and discussing politics on Steve Hayes' blog. We're up to about 8,000 words now of what has turned out to be a very congenial, thoughtful, balanced discussion of topics as inflamatory as taxes and the war in Iraq.
You can read it here.

Streaks

Last night was about streaks.


The run of seven Rangers/Mavericks identical outcomes ended. Rangers beat Seattle 6-4 but by that time, the freefall in Pheonix had already started.

Before last night, Dirk had scored 20 points or more in 42 consecutive games. That streak is over.

And then there's this kind of streaker. (Note: You Tube will warn you about nudity. Don't worry. It's not sexual. And it's all male.)

A few other notes from last night:

Apparently, Avery's wife is as much as fighter as he is.

I was so stunned I just sat there after the game and watched post-game interviews. Our guys did us proud in those interviews.

• D'Antoni said words like "special" and "precious." Avery uses words like "rebound" and "defense." One of those two guys sounds like a basketball coach.
• Both Avery and Dirk used the "next question" answer last night but both had good reason to do it and only did it once.
• When an FSN Phoenix reporter gave Jerry Stackhouse a question that amounted to multiple choice regarding why the Mavs lost, Stackhouse said, "We're not going to make excuses when we lose. They were a better team tonight. They beat us. We're going to accept that and get ready for the next game."
  
• Josh Howard said they let this one "slip away" and let Game 1 "slip away." I think that's this team's mentality. They're not thinking that they're up against this big giant who they can't stop. They all believe they can climb this mountain and it's up to them to do it. They act like the outcome is in their hands, not hinged on whether the Suns shoot better than 50 percent or something.

My prediction? The Suns have stirred up a hornet's nest. Mavs win the next two.

Catching Up

I've become such a blog addict that being out of town for three days has really thrown me off. Here are a few thoughts to catch me up:

1. 95-88! Whoda thunk we could hold the Suns to 88 points! Heck, I figure if we hold them under 100, we have a good chance to win.

2. There's lots of talk about the Suns being tired. Sure, I agree that they've had a long playoff run and a lot of injury and their bench is short. But let's not count on Stevie Wonder going quietly because he's tired. Please.

3. The Rangers/Mavs win/loss streak has extended to 7. Rangers play Seattle tonight in Arlington. First pitch at 7:05. Game 4 tips at 8:10.

4. I watched Game 3 at the bar in a Buffalo Wild Wings in Pearland, TX. Even though I don't like wings, I'm now a fan of Buffalo Wild Wings.

5. Got the coolest gadget from WalMart.com this week. It's a little stick that plugs into the cigarette lighter in your car and plays mp3s from a flash drive! It'll also play from an iPod or other mp3 player with a 3.5 mm jack. Unfortunately, my phone/PDA/mp3 player has a smaller jack which makes it hard to integrate with car stereos, home audio, etc. But that's the genius of this thing - I just drag and drop audio files onto the flash drive and plug it in. It plays them via FM radio frequencies over your radio (so you probably lose a little quality but it's really not that bad). It has limited features (no shuffle or track display) but it works for me. Check it out here.

Bethany's First Gallery

I interrupt this Mavs playoff coverage to bring you a photo collage by Bethany Sanders. My daughter took her first photos today. Some of them turned out pretty good, I would say. Good enough for me to proclaim her an art prodigy. Enjoy them now because soon you may have to pay $1,000 a piece for them.

My tie and fat belly.


Zach is worried. His foot is poised to attack.


Not sure how she did this.


Look at the way this is framed! Genius.


Feets!


Still life.


Um...she shoots what's eye-level.

There's a more flattering shot of Mom.


And Dad.

Laying Blame

I have a bad feeling that we're going to get really tired of seeing Nash hit big shots during this series. Did I not warn the team with my pre-game post about that? His two threes in the last two minutes of play looked exactly like the daggers he used last year. I love him but I want to hate him.

But the real blame for last night's loss can only be placed in two places: me and the Texas Rangers.

I did many things wrong: bet on the game, failed to wear Mavs gear, and worked during the game in an AAC suite. Not good. A real fan would have stuck with what brung us.

And the Rangers lost a day game yesterday. Thanks to Andy for discovering this trend: the last five times the Mavericks and Rangers have played the same day, the result has been the same.

Game Face

Getting serious about tonight's game. I'll be at the arena for this one and I've got some money on it so I'm way into it (as if I wasn't already.) A few thoughts:

• It occured to me today that our road to the Finals may very well run through Tim Duncan, Steve Nash, and Shaquile O'Neal.
• In the last 15 seasons, the team who won Game 1 of the Conference Finals won the conference 91 percent of the time.
• Four seven-game series makes for an awefully long playoff season. That's a possible 28 games - more than a third of a regular season.
• Let's not hate on Stevie like we did on Fin. Steve is a good guy. I wish we had him back.
• Not to be negative here, but what Mavs fan isn't still haunted by Stevie's three at the end of Game 6 last year? Let us not do that again.
  

A few more Mavs/Spurs photos before we move on...

He-man.

Josh got all growns up.


Now, tell me again, Spurs fan, how this wasn't a foul.


What will TNT do during dead balls if they can't show Eva?

Another pic of Dirk scoring over Manu. Familiar sight.


That's neat-o.

Happy.

Happy off-season, boys.

Game 7...OT...In-State Rivals....What Could Be Better?

In the annuls of NBA history, last night will rank among the most memorable.

• Only one other team has ever won a Game 7, on the road, in overtime.
• Before last night, the Mavericks had never beaten the Spurs in a playoff series.
• Only 15 percent of Game 7s in NBA history have been won by the visiting team.

A few observations about the Spurs:

• I was thrilled to see Manu Ginobili make the bone-headed move to cost SA the game. The only thing that Pop said in the huddle before that play that tied it at 104 was "don't foul." Manu hit the big 3 to take the lead but then he committed that foul. The only way that could have been sweeter is if Tony Parker had been the screw-up.
• I really feel sorry for Michael Finley. Let's remember, he is not the one who decided to leave Dallas. He also didn't ask to get punched in the crotch. He's always been a class act and, even though his new teammates have rubbed off on him a little, he whines less than most other Spurs. As a fan that watched Fin in the "green jersey years" when he was the only bright spot, I feel sorry for him that he went to play for the world champions and now gets beaten by his old team. Fin, I'll continue to wear your jersey with pride. (wiping away a tear....)
• I don't feel so sorry for Duncan. And I have a prediction: Looking back on his career in a few years, Duncan will realize that he never won an NBA title without David Robinson. With the Admiral gone and the Little General on the other bench, Timmy couldn't keep his boat afloat. (Yes, I wrote that.)

A few observations about the Mavs:

• Do free throws get any more clutch than the one Dirk hit to send it to overtime? Fire for brains, man. Fire for brains!
• I loves me some DeSegana "You're-not-se-gonna-back-me-down-Timmy" Diop. Everybody say "Diop! Diop!" (Also, Diop is hard to type.)

A family affair:

• All four members of my family were dressed for battle last night: I wore the Finley away jersey. Christine wore the Nash home jersey (yes, we specialize in jerseys of former Mavs). Bethany wore her Mavs cheerleader outfit. And Zach donned the Mavs onsie. It was fun but, in the light of day, I wonder if it was good family bonding or just pathetic. (Also, of the four outfits, I beleive Zach managed to spit up on three.)

Game 7

Get used to seeing Mavs celebrating. Tonight, a shift will occur in the NBA Western Conference. From now on, the road to the Finals goes through Texas a little further north than in years past.