Granted, I wished that they would have held onto their lead, but without shutting down James Harden, it was just not meant to be.

Dirk Nowitzki led his Mavericks team through thick and thin of everything this season, but came up short in the turning game of the playoffs and was not able to lead them to victory, this time. Dirk led all scorers with 34 points which also included 13 of 13 from the free throw line. Jason Kidd helped in the scoring by adding 16 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists and was 4 of 8 from the three-point line. JET started the game to give some extra spark, which he did at times, but only had 11 points for the night, but back up center, Ian Mahinmi added 10 points to the mix as well.

Harden led the Thunder with 29 points, Kevin Durant was held at bay most of the game and had 24 points and 11 rebounds, Russell Westbrook, who had led the Thunder in points in previous games, only had 12 points as did Derek Fisher and Serge Ibaka added 10 points for the Thunder.

We all expect Dirk to lead by example and he did not fail, but he has to have some help in the supporting cast and in this game as was the previous game, there just wasn’t a lot of support to get Dallas over the hump.

I hope that what Mark Cuban did to the team last season, and seeing what will come of next season, made this one worth it.

I will not make excuses for anyone losing, you have to come out each and every night and put your best foot forward and try to defeat y0ur opponent, but Dallas didn’t really seem to have the drive this season, for the most part anyway, that they have had in the past and I think it’s because they had already won the title and they let their guard down. Well all that does it make your opponent even hungrier to defeat you and that’s what happened here.

Now granted this is just my opinion and the last that I saw, we live in a country where we have that right and that’s what I am about to speak of.

Each and every year, you have a season of 82 games, then 4 rounds of playoffs, including the finals which takes you into June and then you get a couple of months off before you come back for training camp and open the season at the end of October for pre-season and then you’re off and running again. Well, not all of that happened this past season due to the lockout and then the shortened 66 game season.

Most of these players have been in the league for several years and each and every year they prepare themselves mentally for the season, when it’s going to start, and then they prepare themselves physically for it as well.

As champions, you have some party time in there to show off your new trophy, pick out your ring design and championship banner and have a parade if you want. Well, not all of that happened this past season as it should have to allow these players to do as past champions have been able to do. Again, I am not making excuses for the way Dallas  played this season, I’m just saying  that the mental psyche of the game weighs as heavy on you as the physical portion of the game and the two parts have to go hand in hand in order to be successful, not to mention that the team is an older team and they need more time to get the body in motion.

Now, if the stars and moons and the Earth had all be lined up correctly and there was no lockout, the players would have been able to sit down with Cuban, he would have gotten their input on the design of the rings, had the parade, and then went on summer vacation to return in September for training camp and be ready to open the season up on October 31st as they were supposed to. The difference was, they would have started 2 months earlier and would have gotten all the partying out of their systems a lot sooner and would have been ready to face their foes with a better preparedness.

Instead, get a 2 week training camp, lose some key guys to free agency and you have to basically start over, even though they retained their key guys, in Dirk, Kidd and JET, there was no Tyson Chander, JJ Barea, Caron Butler and so on and they really needed those guys. Yes, this is a business and as management you have to make the tough decisions, but you need to do what is best for your team and for your fans since they are the ones bringing in the money you have and the money you make to pay your players and to have worked so hard for the last 10 plus years to get where you are and then to lose again in the first round, I have to worry about the fans and the mental psyche of the players at this point.

Was it all worth it? What will the next season bring? Will Dallas be able to get one of the “big” key names that is going to be dipping their toes in the free agency market? Will you be able to keep some of the key guys that are currently on your roster that are going to be free agents as well? These are the important questions that I’m sure everyone will be asking and wanting to know.

If Dirk had his choice, would he make a stand to keep the guys that are here now? Will he reach out to some of those guys that are trying to see what they want to do next season? I don’t look at Dirk as being the kind of guy that campaigns out to other guys and wines and dines them to try and persuade them to play for his team. I think that if he felt that it would make a difference, he would make a couple of calls on the teams behalf, but to beg someone to play for his team, I don’t see him doing that simply because he’s not that kind of guy. I feel that he might reach out to them and ask them to come and join a great organization that tries to take care of their players and an owner that will do whatever he needs to in order to make his players happy, but he’s not a beggar, because if you have to beg someone to play for you, their heart is not really there, look at Lamar Odom.

Odom came to Dallas and at first I thought it would be a great thing for the team since he was such a finesse player and brought a lot to a team, look at what he had done for the Lakers over the last several seasons. But he came into the season, out of shape, with a chip on his shoulder, his feeling hurt because the Lakers were going to trade him and then to top it all off, filming a reality tv show during the middle of all this and it was a disaster. Then to top it all off, his wife tweets that he deserved better than what the Mavericks gave him, even though he didn’t give to them what he could have and then they let him stay home and paid him money, lots and lots of money to sit on his butt or go back to Los Angeles and be a thorn in their sides.

This is one thing that I will agree with Charles Barkley on, it is a sad situation when a team can’t penalize a player for not playing up to his end of a deal as Lamar Odom didn’t do. He chose to go ahead and leave LA and come to Dallas and they welcomed him with open arms, especially after the incident last season where Odom did the forearm on Dirk during the Western Conference Semi-Finals. So you can’t tell me that the Mavericks didn’t do what they were supposed to do. He’s a grown man for Heaven’s sake and it’s time for him to grow up and quit acting childish like the rest of the Kardashian clan and do what he’s paid to do and that is play basketball, bottom line.

Well, it’s been an interesting year and now it’s over the Dallas Mavericks and we need to sit back and see who the NBA wants the Miami Heat play in the Finals this year since it won’t be Dallas. Oh I’m sorry, did I say that out loud.

Yes the Heat will probably be back in the Finals unless someone gets the tenacity to play them hard and put them on the ground and then watch LeBron and company cry their way back to the locker room; I’d pay to watch that again! But whoever makes it, good luck and be ready next season because we will be coming back with a vengeance.

With that, I will bid you a good night and say good luck and see you next year and let’s go Mavs!

If you listened to some of the commentators after the game, that’s the impression you would have gotten, especially from Charles Barkley on TNT, as he quoted, “Dallas is just not good enough to beat Oklahoma City, they’re too old and slow and don’t have enough to beat them”. Mr. Barkley, while I have loved listening to some of your color commentating over the years and you have shown some spark in what you say, you are the same guy that just a couple of months ago stated that Dirk Nowitzki was done, Father Time had caught up with him and he couldn’t carry the team any more.

Again he has proven you wrong and I am so happy about that.

I didn’t have the privilege of watching the game live, so I had to DVR it and watched it later and within the first 5 minutes I was ready to throw something at the television because of the way the game was going. Not that Dallas was losing, but because of the officiating. The other thing, why boo a man who has done nothing to you, your team or your city that is detrimental? He is not a threat to you or your organization except to maybe beat you and you boo him and make cat calls from the stands, maybe it just shows your lack of ethics and mentality if you ask me. Again this is just my opinion.

I know that Rick Carlisle had made his thoughts very vocal about the way the Thunder were guarding Dirk and how they played the game, and I never try to put the blame on anyone but the players as to who wins and who loses, but this was ridiculous.

Up to the point with a little over 5 minutes left in the first quarter, before the double technical fouls on both Dirk and Kendrick Perkins, I counted 5 fouls that were committed by the Thunder that were not counted and 2 were very blatant fouls right in front of a referee. The thing of it is, just call it both ways and don’t try to do make up calls later in the game for a foul that you chose to overlook in the first quarter; all that does is shows that maybe you are showing favoritism for one team or another. My motto of sports is, y0u win fair and you lose fair, that’s it, nothing in between and if you do that it doesn’t matter if you lose or win, but it goes back to the old concept people used to have, it’s a matter of how you play the game.

Now I realize that this is playoff basketball and they might let a little bit more physical plays go, but when a guy is smacked in the face, in front of the ref, and a guy is shoved under the basket, in front of the ref and no call is made, things are going to get out of hand as they did when the double techs were called.

Over the years, Dirk has been called a “soft” player and he has tried to come out from under that label and last year especially, I feel that he shed that persona and has over the last couple of years learned how to take the bumps and bangs and has gone toe to toe with the defenders on him and play a little bit more aggressively on both ends of the court, but good Lord, how many times does a guy have to get punched in the back, slapped in the face, pushed off the ball before you say enough is enough. The Thunder threw every possible defender, Perkins, Serge Ibaka, Nick Collison, Durant at him and he’s like a Timex watch, takes a licking and keeps on ticking.

I am not blaming the loss of this game or any other game on the referees, but before it gets to the point where there is retaliation on the part of any player, you have go to take control of the game and that’s the referees job.

Dirk is not and has never been a dirty player and personally, I don’t feel that he will ever be a dirty player or go out on the court with the intention of hurting anyone or seeking revenge, but there are players out there that will, but he takes more hits than almost any other player out there, but doesn’t get near the calls that some players do. But I will commend him and the rest of the Maverick team, they stood toe to toe with the Thunder and gave it their all and I will applaud them for that.

Unfortunately, Dallas came up on the short end of the stick again and is now down 2-0 in this round and they will now head home to see if they can start on evening the series up and I think they will do just that.

This season has been a roller coaster of events for a lot of teams and Dallas has not been left out of that loop and they have had their fair share of drama, but they have worked together to overcome that and hope that they will be able to keep it going, get back to where they were and need to be.

Dirk led the Mavs with 31 points on 10 of 19 from the field which included going perfect from the free throw line on 11 of 11 attempts. Shawn Marion added some spark and finished with 15 points and Delonte West had 13 as well as JET. The Thunder were able to hold JET down the first half, but he finally found a way in the second half to do some scoring, but was not able to cap the final shots to get the tie and force the game into overtime.

Jason Kidd again showed that he is still able to compete with the best of them by putting up 10 points, but he also had 6 rebounds and 7 assists.

Dallas overcame a 15 points deficit in the first half when they were down 42-27 and make a game of it and go into halftime only down by 7. Then they came out for the third quarter and took a lead and then it was a back and forth game and they were only down by 2 by the end of the third quarter. So yes, the Thunder pulled off the eventual win, but again Dallas showed people that they will not roll over and die and just give Oklahoma City the win, if they want it, they are going to have to earn it and they will know that Dallas is on the court with them at all times.

Russell Westbrook led the Thunder again with 29 points, Kevin Durant had 26 points and 10 rebounds. James Harden finished the night with 15 points, Perkins had 13 and Derek Fisher added 11.

Again the numbers across the board were close with Dallas finishing the night shooting 41.8% from the field, which was good since they were only shooting 33.3% in the fourth quarter. Oklahoma City started off hot and was shooting over 50%, but only finished shooting 44.8% for the night. Dallas did attempt more three pointers which they were only able to connect on 21.7% where Oklahoma City connected on 31.2%, but they took less shots from behind the arc. The Thunder was 94.9% from the free throw line to Dallas’ 87.5%. Dallas only had 14 turnovers to Oklahoma City’s 16, which 7 of them were committed by Durant.

For once Dallas did good on scoring in the paint where they had 40 points to the Thunders 18, so they were able to keep guys from getting to the rim and making more perimeter shots, which is good, makes it easier to guard them up and especially when they go into the Zone Defense mode.

So what’s up now for Dallas? Well they have to get these two games at home to extend their season and go back to Oklahoma City and try to get a win there if they want a chance of going into the Conference Semi-Finals and eventually get back to the Finals this season.

Contrary to a lot of people, Dallas is not done; they are not just going to give the Thunder a good game and a run at it and roll over. They are showing people that if you want to beat us, you are going to have to bring it all and if that includes they bullying part of the game, well I guess you’ll have to bring that too, but be prepared because we are ready for anything and we are “ALL IN”!

Now some may feel that I am a sore loser; I am not. I don’t mind losing as long as it’s on an even playground and both opponents are given the same respect of the game that they deserve and you didn’t alter the course of the game, bottom line.

And with that, I will bid you a good night and say good luck and let’s go Mavs!

Stat Source: @ESPNStatsInfo

Yes, this is NOT the same Mavericks team from last season, but they still have some heart left and are trying to step up to the plate and defend their title as they should. I have never got so tired of hearing all the analysts say that very stupid statement, “this is not the same team from last season”, and I want to say, no *&%!, Sherlock. We all know that there are some of the key players from last seasons team gone, but there are some of the integral key players still here and they want to win as well as those that joined the team this season, minus one of course, that are just as hunger for a championship as those that were here last season.

Case in point, Delonte West. This young man has won a lot of respect from his teammates, the fans and me for one for what he has done this season. Take away the goofy incident in Utah with Gordon Hayward and the “West Willie”, Delonte has shown impecable respect for the game, for the team and for the fans this entire season. We all know about his checkered past, but he has tried diligently to erase those memories and step up to the plate for the Mavericks organization and be a total professional, and I believe he has done that.

I read an interesting article about him and his family recently and it brought a new light of respect to him that I had no idea of what he was truly like. Yes he got in trouble with the gun situation and has had mental health issues that he has had to deal with, but with this young man, ever since he has been in the league, he has always tried to take care of his family both immediate as well as extended and at times run his finances amok to tend to his family.

When the lockout occured, he had no money to fall back on since taking care of his family, plus his legal issues (the gun thing) and his medical situation, so he took what ever jobs he could get to earn a paycheck and never complained about poor pitiful me as some of the millionaire players did. When he came to the Mavericks, he had no money, no place to call home in  Dallas, so he slept in the locker-room until Mark Cuban stepped up and helped him secure a place to call home, to put a roof over his head; kudos to Mr. Cuban for thinking about his players in that capacity, not many owners would step up like that.

Since Delonte has been with the Mavericks, he has advised them that he would do whatever they needed  him to do in order to play and he has done just that. He was being admired by his teammates for his professionalism and for fighting through the situation with his finger when he got hung up in the other players uniform and got injured and was out for awhile, but was determined to get back and help his team, and he has done just that. He might not put up spectacular numbers in all categories every night, but he does what he  has to do to benefit his team.

For an old team, Dallas had the bull by the horns, so to speak and made the Thunder make the necessary adjustments to make it a game against Dallas. The thing of it was, Dallas didn’t make all the adjustments at the end to compensate which resulted in the loss to Oklahoma City.

Not trying to take anything away from the Thunder, they are a good team; they are young and can run and dive with the best of them, but I think our old troop proved that they can get on the floor with the best of them and take it to the hoop. Another case in point, Jason Kidd. Here you have the oldest man on the floor between both teams, trying to get the ball from the defender after a steal, winds up on the floor, while sitting on the floor, makes a long throw across court to Dirk who then passes it off to a teammate. The brilliance of the play from Kidd to Dirk was quite impressive from a sitting position, sort of what I saw in Dallas at the All-Star practice when Kidd was making half-court shots, not bad for an old-timer.

Thankfully though Dirk was on top of his game, well except for the 6 turnovers he had, but to lead your squad into battle and get 25 points after having a slow start for himself, was a great thing to overcome. He also connected on 9 of his 10 free throw attempts. JET has been talking about being on display for 29 other teams this season and doing an audition, well his audition for the night was what the Mavericks needed. He had 20 points which included 4 of 5 from behind the arc; the only problem was getting a performance from him in the fourth quarter. Terry was 8-for-9 throughout the first three quarters, but was only able to take one shot in the fourth, and he missed that one. As Dirk stated, they have to find ways to get the ball to JET in the fourth to help with the scoring, since Dirk and JET are the main fourth quarter guys, proven as Dirk scored 11 of his points in the fourth.

As always, there was help all the way around, besides Dirk and JET, Shawn Marion scored 17 points on 7 of 14 from the field and was 3 of 5 of his three-point attempts and pulled down 8 rebounds, Vince Carter showed he still has some “Vinsanity” left in him as he scored 13 points and was 3 of 4 from downtown. And as the leader of the bunch, Kidd, well he had numbers all over the place. Not only did he score 8 points, but he had 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 7 steals for the night, now that might not sound like much, but it is a thing of mystery as how he still can do these type of things for being in the league as long as he has and still giving young and old guys alike fits.

Now a point I want to make is, Dallas did not give the game away, Oklahoma City didn’t take it away, it’s just that the Thunder were able to make and adapt to the adjustments that Dallas had made and smothered their two key guys.

Russell Westbrook, who some feel is MVP material, led the Thunder tonight with 28 points and Kevin Durant added 25, including the go ahead basket with 1.5 seconds remaining in the game that secured the win for Oklahoma City. Serge Ibaka added 22 points and also had 5 blocks and James Harden added 19.

What all this boils down to is this, no matter what you do in the first three quarters, you had better be prepared to bump and grind and knock around with the big boys in the fourth to either get ahead, stay ahead and fend off the opponent to get the victory and that’s what Dallas is going to have to do on Monday to take a game in Oklahoma City and come back to Dallas with the series tied at 1 each and get the 2 wins in Dallas. I am not going to take a thing away from the Thunder, it’s just like the Heat, I am tired of them being crammed down my throat every time I turn around.

Write Dallas off is you want, but rest assured, they are not going to go down without a fight and they are not going to run away from anyone they face.

If you look at the numbers from Saturday’s game, statistically they were pretty even, except Oklahoma City did have the edge on the field goal percentage, but Dallas came out like the team I know they can be, took a four point lead after the first quarter and led most of the game until the fourth quarter, when Oklahoma City outscored Dallas 18-6 in the paint and 7-0 on fast breaks and held the Mavericks to just 36.8 percent shooting, that’s what got them back in the game and Dallas was trying to recover, but was unable to do completely.

So now we wait until Monday night to get game 2 underway and see what happens next and see if Dallas can regroup themselves and again put it to the Thunder and I know they can and should. And with that, I will bid you a good night and say good luck and let’s go Mavs!

(1)  Chicago Bulls vs. (8) Philadelphia 76ers

Don’t let the eight next to the 76ers’ name fool you; they pose a much greater threat to Chicago than it would indicate.

The 76ers are a young, energetic bunch that does most of its damage off of the bench with Lou Williams, Evan Turner, and Thaddeus Young. Those three will need to play at a high level as well as starters Iguodala and Jrue Holiday if they want to upset the Bulls.

At the end of the day I still think the Bulls will get it done. Rose is back, albeit he still isn’t one hundred percent, but their overall depth will be too much for Philadelphia. C.J. Watson and Loul Deng could be the difference makers in this series with their shooting and defensive abilities.

Chicago in seven

(2)  Miami Heat vs. (7) New York Knicks

The Knicks are the underdogs, and the Heat have the firepower to win it all, but the Knicks have a big advantage in one important area.

They have the leading three point shooter in the league in Steve Novak and added J.R. Smith in the middle of the year. They will be without Jeremy Lin, but Iman Shumpert and company have filled in nicely.

The Heat just needs to play their game and not let the Knicks beat them down low. They will hit their threes, but it’s important the Heat control the pace of play or else they could be sent packing early.

New York in seven

(3)  Indiana Pacers vs. (6) Orlando Magic

This seems to be the most lopsided match-up in the Eastern Conference.

A month ago these seeds could have been switched and I would have said Orlando would win convincingly, but now Dwight Howard is injured, they lack stability as a unit, and haven’t looked good since Howard has been sidelined.

The Pacers on the other hand could make some noise this postseason. They have quietly been going about their business led by unheralded star Danny Granger, and won’t be stopped by the dysfunctional Magic.

Indiana in four

(4)  Boston Celtics vs. (5) Atlanta Hawks

Obviously these two teams are pretty even being the four and five seeds, but even putting that aside these two teams provide us with some great match-ups

The Garnett- Smith matchup in the post as well as the Pierce- Johnson matchup could prove to be two of the best in the playoffs.

The ex-factor lies with the Celtics however, and Rajon Rondo is hungry to lead them to a championship as their best player. He has blossomed into one of the top point guards in the game, and he will need to continue that trend in order to beat a very talented Hawks squad.

Boston in seven

Western Conference:

(1)  San Antonio Spurs vs. (8) Utah Jazz

The Spurs seem to be like fine wine and only get better with age.

Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobli are two ageless wonders than can still take over a game. Tony Parker may be the most underrated player in the league, which makes the Spurs that much more dangerous- they have been overlooked all season.

The Jazz have talent as well, and one of those talented players, Al Jefferson, will be looking to prove himself in the postseason; a place he’s never been before. Even with Jefferson and company the Jazz won’t be able to take down the experienced Spurs who look like a team on a mission.

San Antonio in five

(2)  Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (7) Dallas Mavericks

The Thunder should have no problem beating the defending champs.

The Mavs are getting older, and not in the good way like the Spurs. They look slow and aren’t producing at the level they were last year.

The Thunder on the other hand boasts the newly minted scoring champ in Kevin Durant as well as the explosive, but enigmatic point guard Russell Westbrook. Together those two can win a championship, but if one or the other decides they want to be the hero it could be a short playoff run for them too.

Oklahoma City in five

(3)  Los Angeles Lakers vs. (6) Denver Nuggets

The Nuggets are a very unheralded team, but an upset wouldn’t be as surprising to me as it would to other people.

The Lakers have all the stars in Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and Andrew Bynum, but they lack the overall team depth of the Nuggets. Denver can play ten deep and hardly miss a beat with whoever is out there.

Even though I do like a team with a lot of depth opposed to a team with a lot of star power, it does pay off to have one big star, and Denver just doesn’t have one. Ty Lawson their speedy point guard could develop into one, but as of right now he is just a solid point guard on a team of solid players.

L.A. Lakers in six

     (4) Memphis Grizzlies vs. (5) Los Angeles Clippers

Much like the Eastern Conference’s four/five game this one should be very even.

Marc Gasol's inside presence could lead the Grizzlies far this postseason.

The Grizzlies had success last year beating the Spurs in the first round as an underdog, and will be the underdog again this year even though they have a slightly higher seed. With all of their young talent mixed with a few savvy veterans Memphis could make it to the conference final, but this first round will not be easy.

The Clippers really haven’t looked the same ever since Chauncey Billups went down with and injury. They have the two biggest stars in Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, but I don’t think that will be enough in this series.

Memphis in seven

Last season, a lot of people had written off the Mavericks as another “one and done” team in the playoffs, but they fooled everyone and got the upper hand when the defeated the Portland Trailblazers in the first round; then took on the formidable foe, Los Angeles Lakers who some thought would take the Western Conference and not only did Dallas beat them, they swept them and in good fashion. So much so that in the final game of the series, two players were ejected for stupid plays and I stress stupid, because it was and they went home, but Dallas moved on.

The next round of play found Dallas going up against another opponent who was a heavy favorite to win the West as well, the Oklahoma City Thunder. Now not to take anything away from OKC, but Dallas wanted it more and they took the title of Western Conference Champion and now they just had to take on the Eastern Conference Champion and try to win the almighty Larry O’Brien Trophy to be declared the World Champs.

Well everyone really felt that Chicago would win the East and face the best of the West, but that was not so; as it turned out Dallas was the best of the West and Miami took the East and it was a re-match of the 2006 Finals all over again and that’s all everyone talked about, could Dallas overcome the embarrassment from the 2006 Finals to win it this time around.

The Mavericks answered that question without a doubt, even with Dirk sick, hurt and having to bandage his finger in a splint type contraption, nothing was going to hold this team down. They had worked all season long for this moment in the sun and they were going to bask in it and they did. Granted, it took them six games to do it in, but they did it and won on Miami’s home court which is kind of fitting if you ask me. But that was then and this is now.

Again, the naysayers are questioning even Dallas being in the playoffs since they let Tyson Chandler, JJ Barea, DeShawn Stevenson, Caron Butler and Corey Brewer go and this team didn’t have the defensive mind that last seasons team had, well I beg to differ.

A lot of things have to be factored into this season,  to start with only playing 66 games instead of 82, the cramming of games into the weeks, more back to back games and then throw in back to back to back series as well, that takes a toll on any team no matter what age that team is and Dallas was no different than any other team out there this season, but you have to look at the numbers to make a good determination as to the story that this team is and was not as defensive as last season’s team.

Granted, Chandler gave the team a defensive mood and the rest of the team followed his lead because that’s the type of player he is and that it and was the biggest thing that we lost when he was let go, but the team as a whole has stepped up in other areas on the defensive end. As a matter of fact, out of 30 teams in the league, Dallas is at #9 in defensive numbers in the league.

They averages 42.8 rebounds per game and allowed their opponent 44 rebounds per game; they averaged over 5 blocks per game when they allowed their opponent to have 4 blocks per game. Dallas averaged 8.55 steals per game and their opponents averages 8.51 steals per game, which when you compare it to other teams this season, Dallas is right there with the best of them and not much off the team from last season.

Now on the offensive end, Dallas ranks 19 out of 30 due to the low scoring this season. Dallas averaged almost 96 points per game and allowed almost 95 points per game. They shot 44.3% from the field where their opponents shot 43.4% from the field. As far as the three point shooting, Dallas and their opponents averaged around 34% and Dallas got the edge from the free throw line by converting a little over 77% of their attempts into points, where as their opponents averages 75%. Dallas and their opponents averaged almost 21 assists per game, so the numbers are good for the type of season they had.

One of the main keys in winning, well besides scoring and stopping the other team from scoring, is protecting the ball and Dallas was #6 in turnover ratio by committing an average of 14 turnovers per game, but forcing almost 15 turnovers per game on their opponent, not bad.

So now the season is over and even though Dallas did good for their last two home games against Houston and Golden State, they faltered on the road against Chicago and Atlanta, but to only lose to Chicago by 10 points and not have either Jason Kidd or JET on the court, even though it was a loss, it was not that bad of a loss. When Dallas stepped on the court last night to face Atlanta, they were 1 game behind Denver and if they wanted to move from #7 to #6, they had to beat the Hawks and hope that Denver lost; well neither of those things happened, so Dallas is at #7 and will face Oklahoma City in the first round.

It doesn’t matter who you play, it’s how you play; and if you have the right mindset, you can beat anyone, anywhere, any time of the day and that’s the way that Dallas has to look at it. There are no more excuses, the regular season is over with, they got rid of a distraction, everyone there wants to be there and they are ready to take on the world, and that’s what is going to happen.

Dirk and company are ready, Dirk has had plenty of rest and even though Charles Barkley wrote him off earlier in the season, his numbers don’t lie either and when you compare his season numbers to his career numbers, there is not that much of a  difference and in some categories, his season numbers are better than his career numbers. But the main thing is, he is ready and that’s all that matters.

And with that, I will bid you a good night and say good luck and let’s go Mavs, beat the Thunder!

James Harden the player who got hit did not entice World Peace. It looked to me like he was going to receive the ball from out of bounds. His attention was to the baseline and he was the only Thunder player looking to receive the ball. Even if he was getting in Peace’s way it wasn’t enough to cause an elbow like that.

World Peace was issued a seven game suspension which will essentially take him out of the first round of the playoffs. I don’t think this suspension fits the crime. Had World Peace done this on the streets it would have lead to an arrest. His largest suspension has been for 81 games, or one full season, which means this suspension should exceed that one.

I understand he is a fiery and emotional player but at some point you have to be able to contain yourself and learn from your mistakes. The NFL has a system in place that exponentially grows your suspension length each time you get in trouble, which should be the case in every league.

The NBA already struggles with its image which is why it implemented the dress code a few years ago, so after an incident like this latest one it is time for them to get stricter with their suspensions and fines. World Peace should be out for this year’s playoffs plus all of next year. It doesn’t matter whether or not this elbow was worse than the brawl. They were both incidents that involved violence on the basketball court and there should be a zero tolerance policy for such actions. A measly seven games will not teach World Peace any lesions and it won’t prevent him from actions like this in the future.

The NBA needs to decide what is more important at this point. Is it the players being happy with their decisions or is it cleaning up the game and league by giving out bold suspensions for acts that have no business being in the game. World Peace’s elbow was an emotional play, but if he can’t channel his emotions better in the future, and something like this happens again he shouldn’t be allowed to play again.

At one point the Sixers looked like the favorite to win the Atlantic Division after running out to a 20-9 schedule padded start in the strike-shortened 66 game season. However, the Sixers’ offensive woes and a tougher schedule in the second-half cued a free-fall that saw the Sixers win just 14 out of their next 21 games. The result is likely the eighth-seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Though the Sixers are tied with the New York Knicks with identical 34-30 records with two games remaining, the Knicks hold a tiebreaker over Philadelphia by virtue of their head-to-head wins against the Sixers. The Sixers most likely first-round opponent is the Chicago Bulls, who have played the better part of the second-half of the season without MVP Derrick Rose. The Bulls are 17-6 in the 26 games that Rose has missed this season.

But enough looking ahead, the 2011-2012 Sixers simply played above their heads to start the season before coming (predictably) down to earth. That’s just what happens when you don’t have a player in the top 30 of scoring in the NBA. The league is about scoring and despite the Sixers tremendous defense (2nd in points allowed, 89.2), they simply could never score enough to beat the elite teams like the Chicago’s, Miami’s, Boston’s and even Indiana’s.

Andre Iguodala and the Sixers faded during the regular season but could scare an East power in the first round.

The lack of a true “superstar” is hard to ignore on a team that has all the other ingredients to be a championship contender. The black hole the Sixers have at shooting guard is a glaring weakness on the offensive side of the ball, where Evan Turner currently resides. Turner isn’t a bad player, in fact, he’s quite good and improving. But that said, he’s not an NBA two-guard. He doesn’t have a pure jumpshot and struggles to create his own shot. But he’s the best option the Sixers have right now, if you don’t count the one-trick pony that is Jodie Meeks’ three-point shooting.

Just imagine for a second,  Kobe Bryant wearing No. 24 (dreamworld) and starting in a Sixers lineup with Jrue Holiday, Andre Iguodala, Elton Brand and Spencer Hawes. Would that team contend in the East for real? I think absolutley. Kobe would allow Iguodala to become a second or third option and would allow Holiday to purely distribute the ball rather than having to score all the time. While Bryant is an extreme (and unreal) option, a guy like New Orleans’ Eric Gordon would create alot of the same options for the Sixers (Gordon is a restricted free-agent in the off-season).

While the Sixers will be making the postseason for the fourth time in five years, they’ve failed to make it out of the first round in any of those appearances. The last time the Sixers advanced past the first-round was in 2002-2003, when Larry Brown and Allen Iverson were still around.

Both the Bulls and Miami Heat are good basketball teams who should easily dispatch of the offensively challenged Sixers, but anything can happen in the playoffs. If the Sixers play suffocating defense like they know how, and get efficient offense from Jrue Holiday, Andre Iguodala and Co., they could catch one of the east’s powers sleeping in the first round.

Alright, I have to retract one of my previous statements about fourth quarter comebacks as tonight it was one of epic proportions as Dirk scored 21 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Mavericks to a much-needed victory against the Rockets.

Dirk shot 10 of 18 from the field which also included 3 of 4 three pointers and was a perfect 12 of 12 from the free throw line for the night. He knew they needed the win and he was going to do whatever it took to get the win and help to secure that playoff spot for the Mavs.

Vince Carter had the “Vinsanity” and revving going on tonight as he was one of 5 guys in double figure scoring tonight as he finished with 23 points. JET added 19 points to his stat sheet for the night which also knotted him 3 of 6 from downtown and with that, he moved past Chauncey Billups for the #4 spot on the All-Time Three Pointer list. Now the other Maverick on that list is Jason Kidd who had 12 points tonight which also included 4 of 7 from the three-point line and also had 8 assists as well and Delonte “Wet Willie” West added 11 points.

I have to take my hat off to Houston as they came to fight a battle royal and try to catch Dallas off guard and get a win since they were on a 4 game losing streak and still had some hopes of getting into the playoffs.

You can tell that the young point guard, Goran Dragic has had some good training and credit for that goes to Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns ad Dragic played under him and behind him for a couple of seasons and he learned well about weaving in and out of the defense and distributing the ball,  but also scoring as he led the Rockets with 20 points and 10 assists tonight. If he continues and gets someone to continue to mold him, he will be, well maybe, as good as Nash or Kidd one day.

Luis Scola who was in Dirk’s back pocket for most of the night, finished with 18 points, Courtney Lee added 16 which also included 4 of 7 from the three for him as well. Chase Budinger added 14, Chandler Parsons had 12 and Marcus Camby who was playing with an injured wrist, finished with 11 points and 17 rebounds while returning player, Kyle Lowery, added 11 as well.

As you can see, both teams spread the wealth amongst themselves and shared the ball well, but for a while it looked as if there was a three-point rain party going on as both teams swapped out three-point shots left and right, some went in and some didn’t, but both teams finished with over 42% shooting from behind the arc for the night. Houston had 28 attempts, while Dallas had 26.

One would not think that Dallas was fighting to stay in the playoff spot and that Houston was trying to get back into it, but believe it or not, both teams scored 27 points in the first quarter and 28 points in the second quarter going into halftime tied at 55. As a matter of fact, there was never a time in the first half when either team led by more than 5 points.

Houston, however, came out in the third quarter and drew first blood and got a 4 point lead when Dirk went to the hoop, made the basket to go along with a foul for the and one scenario that he is famous for and got Dallas back to within one. Over the next couple of possessions, each team exchanged baskets when before you knew it, Houston had a 9 point lead on Dallas and Rick Carlisle had to call timeout to get his guys back into the thinking mode again before this game got away from them for good.

Dallas did good for a while, but then Houston was able to get their shots to go where Dallas was having a little bit of a problem and again they let Houston get a 6 point lead on them by the end of the third quarter. Now we go to the infamous 4th quarter and we need a hero, really, really bad.

With Dallas going into the 4th down 84-78, they needed to rally and rally big if they wanted in chance of winning this game and at that point, that’s all they needed to be thinking about was this game.

JET got the scoring started for Dallas on a jump shot just 12 seconds into the quarter and then Patterson for Houston made a basket followed by Carter making one for Dallas as well, followed by Budinger getting a pull up jumper when the fun began.

Houston was holding onto a 88-82 lead when Dirk got the ball at the top of the key and swish, nothing but net three-pointer to get Dallas within 3. Lowery took the next possession for Houston and scored to make it a 90-85 game when Dirk, the hero, gets another three pointer, now it’s 90-88, Houston, but Dallas is again breathing down their necks.

Patterson gets the next basket for Houston and then Brandan Wright gets the finger roll basket for Dallas and again we have a 2 point game.

The ball is back and forth and before you know it, JET put Dallas ahead with a three-pointer that made it 93-92 with 7:37 left and that wold prove the be the pivotal play of the game, as Dallas never lost the lead again for the remainder of the game. On the next ensuing play, Kidd grabbed the rebound on a Houston miss and the ball made it to Carter who got another three-pointer to make it 96-92 Dallas. 

Dirk got a three-point play 3 1/2 minutes later to give the Mavs a 102-94 lead which wrapped up a 20-6 go-ahead run their 11-time All-Star forward started with consecutive 3-pointers. Then he made 10 free throws in a row over the final 2 1/2 minutes of the game. Not bad  for a guy that someone said that Father Time had caught  up with him! What a load of bunk if you ask me.

Anyway, now Dallas has to secure at least one win over the last three games to secure a playoff spot and they face the Golden State Warriors at home for the last home game of the season and then they go to Chicago and then to Atlanta to finish off the season and it sure would be nice to end it on a 4 game winning streak and they deserve it.

So with that I will bid you a good night and say good luck and let’s go Mavs!

Dallas came into tonight’s game in the #6 spot while Utah was hanging by a thread and hoping for some help in a win against Dallas and losses against teams around them in the standings as they sat in the #10 spot, but still having a slim chance of pulling of a miracle to get back to #8. Well with the win over Dallas, that knocks Dallas down to #7 and Utah is still breathing a breath of life in the running.

Dirk led the Mavericks tonight with 40 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and was 12 of 12 from the line, while JET added 27 points which included going 4 of 9 from downtown. Now both of those numbers are great for the team, but the other big number is 52:57 and 53:49, that is the number of minutes each player played respectively for the game; that’s a lot of minutes especially since they had just played an overtime game in Los Angeles the night before and logged a lot of minutes in that one as well.

Now not to be overlooked, Vince Carter had 18 points and 12 rebounds for the night, while Delonte ”Wet Willy” West had 16 and Jason Kidd added 10. Carter also logged a lot of minutes in tonight’s game as well as he played 44:36 and Kidd was on the court for 45:20, again that’s a  lot of time to play.

The Utah Jazz was led by big man Al Jefferson who had 28 points to go with his 26 rebounds, Gordon Hayward, the recipient of West’s wet willy, scored 24 points which also included going 4 of 6 from the three-point line, while ex-Mav Devin Harris scored 23 points and also was 5 of 12 from the three as well and the hero of the night, Paul Millsap had 16 and DeMarre Carroll added 15 points of his own. Now not to be outdone by the Dallas players, these guys averaged over 50 minutes as well in tonight’s game since they had a lot of guys out with injuries.

In tonight’s game, Dirk and JET not only worked well together and led the Mavs in scoring, but with Dirk’s points, he surpassed the 24,000 career points margin while JET ended the night by tieing Chauncy Billups on the All-Time Three-Point List at #3 with 1,783 three-pointers and is only third place to fellow Maverick player Jason Kidd who is #2 on that same list. Congratulations to both guys; I know they don’t care about the personal accolades, they just want to win games and win another championship before they hang their sneakers up for good. Oh by the way Mr. Barkley, Dirk still isn’t done.

Yes he tried to again defend himself in saying that yes Dirk has had some good games, but they will only come in spurts, but he is done. There is nothing you can do about Father Time. Mr. Barkley, you might be right, but Dirk at his age is in better shape than what you were at that same age and he takes better care of himself because he knows he doesn’t have that much more time left and he can accept it, but just not right now and quit trying to write him off.

At the beginning of this game, Dallas did look slow to respond to the ball and let the Jazz get a 22-18 early lead on them before they began to wake up and decided to play ball, but you know they had to have been tired from the game from the night before and then factor in the altitude, it can be grueling on the body. But this is a team that relies on their bench to come through for them and in most cases they do. Dallas averages around 103 minutes of bench play per game which is 2nd in the league and it’s always good that you can pull someone from the bench that keeps you team going or makes them better.

To lighten the spirit of the game, Delonte West, during the 2nd quarter looked as if he and Gordon Hayward had exchanged some words during a play that resulted in West fouling him. It was bad enough that we  fouled them which stops the clock and the game, but as Hayward moved away, West followed him a little and poked his finger in Hayward’s ear and then walked away. Of course the whistle blew and the referees congregated  to discuss as to figure out what to do; decision, they assessed a technical foul on him and Hayward missed the shot, kind of fitting if you ask me! It just so happens that Dallas has recently completed a 9-1 run on the Jazz.

But it doesn’t matter, what West did was childish and was totally uncalled for and all it did was to help fire up the Jazz team and fans and Dallas has enough of a hard time in Utah as it is since they despise Dallas and hate Dirk with a passion and it never fails that every time he gets the ball, the boos come out,; talk about childish!

Dallas should have had this win, they had them at the throat and let them take this game away from them and let Utah take the lead all the way from 16-15 in the first quarter and Dallas was in a dogfight all the way to the end. They think that it’s ok for slow starts because they are a 4th quarter team, but with some of the losses this season, the 4th quarter was not their saviour and they should know that by now. You can’t wait and depend on a victory in the 4th quarter every time you get in a bind.

Tonight though was a little different as Dallas was down 85-83 in the 4th with 45.1 seconds to go when Hayward deflected a pass from Kidd and got the steal, then got fouled by Kidd, then made 2 free throws to give Utah a 87-83 lead. But Dallas was not done yet, the fat lady had not sung yet when Dirk got the next possession and found Carter for a three and got Dallas within 1, 87-86, with 15.7 seconds left.

Devin Harris airballed a three when Dallas got the ball again; from Kidd to Dirk to again Carter for another three and now Dallas has a 89-87 lead with 8.5 seconds left in the game. Dallas was on a roll as they had a 9-2 run in less than one minute of play. Utah got the ball in the front court and brought the ball in when Hayward tried to make a basket, ball bounced off the goal, when Paul Millsap came in from behind and did a sneak in dunk to tie the game with 2.2 seconds and Dirk could not make the three-point attempt go in so we go to overtime.

JET started the first overtime off right by hitting the first basket a three pointer to give Dallas the lead again, but we still had too much time to play. Both teams swapped baskets back and forth till there was 3.9 seconds left in the first overtime, when Dirk hit a three-pointer to again tie the game at 105 and Utah didn’t convert the next basket, so now we go to the second overtime.

After watching the second overtime, I can see why Mark Cuban wants some calls and ways of the game to be looked at. Kidd was called for a blocking fouled which was clearly a charge, but also before the call, Millsap had traveled, but then to top it all off, they called it a shooting foul which gave Millsap two free throw attempts when he never attempted to shoot the ball, he still had the ball in his hand, so now here we go again with home team advantage.

So after another 5 minutes of play, we are tied again and now we go into the third overtime. Actually the third overtime was as exciting as the fourth quarter was because during the first and second overtime, you could tell the guys were tired, their legs were dragging, but it seemed that the third overtime, they were ready to play and get this game over with.

Unfortunately Dallas didn’t do enough defensive plays and let Utah again get that breath of life that they didn’t need to give them and left Harris open for a three pointer which I feel was the key to the Jazz getting this game and keeping their hopes alive for a playoff spot. That’s the thing, teams that have nothing to lose, play harder sometimes against teams that have everything to lose and play for and that was the case tonight. 

Dallas had found themselves slipping in the playoff hunt from third to sixth and if they lost tonight, could very well wind up in 7th and maybe 8th by the next game and with only a few more games left, could very well play themselves out of the playoffs completely.

Well with Dallas’ loss and Denver’s win, Dallas is .5 game behind Denver for the 7th seed and just ahead of Phoenix, Houston and now Utah has a spitting chance and Dallas goes home to play Houston on Wednesday.

So where do we  go from here, well if we don’t  play good, home for good until training camp in the fall and we can be the one and done champions. With that, I will bid you a good night and say good luck and let’s go Mavs!  

Even though Dirk Nowitzki had a horrible shooting game, Dallas still had the game under control all through the first two quarters. As a matter of fact, he didn’t even score his first field goal until there was 2:26 left in the second quarter and only finished with 5 points on 2 of 10 shooting for the first half, period. At the end of the first half Dallas had a 54-48 lead on LA, so as you can see the rest of the team scored 49 points for Dallas on 55% from the field, which included 4 of 8 from the three-point line and 6 of 7 from the free throw line and only had 4 turnovers for the whole half.

I have stated it many times that I wish that we could stop playing sometimes in the first half because Dallas forgets how to play ball in the second half if they have a nice lead, especially on a good team and they needed so desperately to get this win to stay in contention in the playoffs with everyone jockeying position here at the end of the season and the playoffs are just around the corner.

For the first part of the third quarter, Dallas kept LA in check, but then starting missing shots and not rebounding as they needed to and let the Lakers get more into the game than they should have, because they started to make a comeback and eventually took the lead with 5:02 left in the third quarter. From there on through the end of the third, it was a back and forth game, sometimes felt as if you were watching a tennis match as much as the game was volleying back and forth.

It was during this time that Dirk started hitting some of his shots and finished the night with 24 points on 9 of 28 shooting which also included 3 of 8 from downtown and 3 for 3 from the free throw line and led the Mavericks in scoring. You could see the determination as well as disappointment on his face every time he touched the ball, determined to make the shot and win the game and disappointed because he had the shots he usually made, they just weren’t going in, but as a good shooter does, they never stop shooting and he didn’t.

Dallas was down 80-77 with 10:19 left in the fourth when he hit a big three pointer that tied the game, and then on the next possession, JET hit one of his big three-point shots to give Dallas another lead. JET finished the night with 21 points which also had him hitting on 5 of hit 6 three-point shots. But Dallas didn’t cover the man who was brought to LA to replace Derrick Fisher, Ramon Sessions who scored 22 for the night, but hit a key three pointer that gave LA a 95-93 lead.

If you watched the game very well, at this point it was really who had the ball at the end as to who was going to win. There was 1.5 seconds left when the game was tied at 98; just before that LA had tried to make a winning basket, but Dirk tipped out the rebound to Jason Kidd who then called a timeout so Dallas could advance the ball into the front court. Dallas took the inbound ball and got it to Dirk who put up the desperation shot only to have it slide to the left and the buzzer sounded, we’re going to overtime  folks.

One never really wants to have to go to overtime, because that means you are having to play extra time, which means more time for your players to have to have more wear and tear on their bodies, legs and run more risk of injuries.

Overtime in this game was a debacle of controversial calls and plays as well. The first one was after the tip-off, Andrew Bynum, who finished the night with 23 points and 16 rebounds, puts up a shot on the basket and the shot doesn’t go in, there are a couple of Mavericks players there and Matt Barnes for the Lakers as well. Barnes goes up for the ball, one foot is out-of-bounds, on the line, he gets the ball and puts up the shot and makes the basket. The ref calls it good, even though his foot was out-of-bounds, that was controversial call number one and LA takes a 100-98 lead.

Dallas of course is not happy with the call, but get the ball back and JET takes a three-point shot at the other end, shot is good, Dallas now has a 101-100 lead. Now comes controversial call number 2. LA gets the ball back after JET’s three pointer, they take the ball into the corner in front of the Mavericks bench and get the ball to Pau Gasol, puts the shot up, granted the shot may have been good on its own, but again Barnes is at the basket and goes up and it appears that he touched the ball as to guide it into the basket. Even if he didn’t, he still touched the goal while the ball was going in, still constitutes an interference call, but no such call was made; now LA has a 103-101 lead over the Mavericks.

Now we get the ball back and bam, Dirk hits another key three-point shot to give Dallas a 104-103 lead, but there is still plenty of time left in the game as the next possession by LA proved. Pau got the ball again in the corner in front of the Mavs bench and hit another three-pointer. Now this one was good as he made the shot on his own without any help from anyone and no blocking from anyone either. Now LA has a 106-104 lead. Dallas knew they had to do something to get the ball and make some quick shots for quick points and try to either win this thing or force another overtime.

Well Delonte West went into the paint and got fouled, made both of his free throws and brought Dallas to a 106-106 tie, but we still had a little over 2 minutes left in overtime and Dallas needed a miracle at this point.

Bynum gave LA the lead on a turnaround jumper and then Metta World Peace added another basket and now LA had a 110-106 lead with just under 50 seconds left in OT. Dirk got the ball to the paint and also got fouled and made the 2 free throws to get Dallas within 2, but in the waning seconds left, both teams missed shots until Gasol got fouled by Shawn Marion with .5 seconds left, he made the two free throws that gave LA the 112-108 lead and eventual win.

Behind Dirk’s 24 and JET’s 21, Dallas also got contributions from West for 20 points, Jason Kidd who had 13 points which included connecting on 3 of 4 three-pointers and 7 assists and Shawn Marion had another double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Even though Bynum led the Lakers, Gasol contributed 20 and had 10 rebounds, World Peace had 18, and Barnes had 11 points and 11 rebounds.

This was one of those nights where Dallas led on the stat  sheet in every category except total rebounds, that they didn’t win the game. One thing they did to be proud of though is they protected the ball.

Now this was a game they really could have and should have won since the Lakers was without their main star, Kobe Bryant, but the thing about it was that they had others who stepped up and took care of business and Dallas is going to have to do that as well or they will be on the outside looking in if they are not careful. With this loss, that puts them just a .5 game up on Denver  for the #6 seed in the Western Conference with just a handful of games left.

Next up for Dallas will be the Jazz tomorrow night and they have to be on their toes when they play teams like this. They really don’t have anything to lose since right now they are not in the playoff hunt, but that doesn’t mean that you can just lay down and take it easy,  because you can’t.

So with that, I will bid you a good night and say good luck and let’s go Mavs!

Bynum has captivating talent that has been overshadowed by injuries in his young career. The fact that he is enjoying his best season in the NBA (18.8 points, and 12.2 rebounds a game) does not make him the best center in basketball.

Dwight Howard has been distracted by trade talks all season as well as where he will be playing in the future. He is still enjoying a good season at 20.6 points and 14.5 rebounds per game. To be fair to Bynum’s numbers would be even higher if he wasn’t on the same team as Kobe Bryant who isn’t always willing to distribute the ball.

Howard is currently nursing a back injury that could keep him out for the remainder of the season. Bryant is also injured, which means Bynum has been able to shine the last few games. A healthy and motivated Howard is still only 26 years old and on the rise of his career. Bynum is 24 and having his best season, which is still not up to the level of Howard’s “down year” he’s having.

Sometimes it gets forgotten that Howard is only two years older than Bynum because he’s been successful in the NBA for so much longer. Howard might lack some of the post moves Bynum possess, but what he lacks there he more than makes up for it with his rebounding and shear power. I’m not even sure it’s fair to say that Bynum has a higher ceiling because his last couple performances are probably the best he can do.

With all that being said the argument doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. Both Bynum and Howard are young stars that can alter any game. With a new team and coach around him Howard could win a championship. The question that needs to be debated won’t be able to be answered until a few years from now, and that’s which one ended up as the better player throughout there whole careers.

Portland was without their star, LaMarcus Aldridge due to a hip issue and it appears that he will miss the remainder of the season to have the hip tended to, but Dallas played the last quarter as if they had not a care in the world; Portland almost made them regret it.

The Mavs started the game with an 11-2 run that finished with a buzzer beater three-pointer by Dirk to end with a statement, Dallas was here and they meant business and they were going to get the win in good fashion and they held up that attitude for about 3 and a smidgen of a quarter before they let the bottom fall out.

You could see the frustration on the face of the interim coach, Kaleb Canales as he was being very demonstrative on the sideline and during time outs. At one point in the game, he just looked toward his guys as if to say, why are we even here if you’re going to play like that?, or that’s what I would have said. But the Blazers knew that they had to hang in there and at one point they knew that Dallas would get lazy and they would make them work for points and they did.

JET looked as if he had been bitten by the “I can’t hit anything bug” that had Dirk struggling the other night as he went 3 of 16 for the night with 10 points,. but he missed his first eight shots from the field which included going 0-for-5 in the first quarter, while the rest of the Mavericks were 13-for-18.

Dirk did lead the Mavericks tonight with 24 points, which also included hitting 4 of his 5 three-point attempts  and grabbed 9 rebounds, better than just getting one in the last game Dallas played.  Delonte West started in place of the “pre-arranged” night off for Jason Kidd, but West added 21 points to his stat sheet, along with 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals, not bad numbers for a guy playing with his hand still bandaged up to protect it.

Shawn Marion and Brendan Wright had a good duo play going on as Marion finished the night with another double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds and Wright had 13 points and 8 rebounds.

Again Dallas won the rebound challenge, 51-38, but lost big time in the protection detail as they committed 21 turnovers to Portland’s 13 which led to some easy baskets by the Blazers.

Nicolas Batum led the Blazers with 20 points, Jamal Crawford finished with 18, while Wesley Matthews had 15 and JJ Hickson, who started in Aldridge’s place, had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Raymond Felton didn’t have as good a night as he did when they last played in Dallas as he only put up 12 points on the board.

As was stated earlier, Dallas had a nice margin for a large part of the game, as a matter of fact, once they got past the 30-16 score of the first quarter, they finished the first half with a 56-41 score at halftime and almost by the end of the third quarter, Dallas had extended their lead to a 24 point margin, but then that’s when the sloppiness entered the court and Dallas tried to give the game away.

Vince Carter hit a three-pointer from the left corner with 1:07 left in the third that gave Dallas their 24 point lead, 79-55, but then it was as if Dallas went on auto-pilot and stopped playing and let them get into the game. Unforced turnovers, sloppy handling of the ball and lack of effort on defense, gave the Blazers that breath of life that made them think that they had a chance to pull off the upset and get the win.

By chance, Dallas finally got their heads back where it needed to be and secured the win, but not without a lot of sweating and wondering if they were actually were going to do this. Overall for the night, Dallas did well in the numbers as they shot 48.2% from the field and 45% from the three-point line and 80% from the free throw line to Portland’s 42.2% from the field, 24% from the three and 78.3% from the free throw line, so as you can see, they should have won easily,but they didn’t and it’s not going to get any easier from here on out.

Of the remaining games left, only two are home games while the rest are on the road and Dallas has struggled some on the road this season. Last season, they were one of the best on the road, but this season, not so much and they have to be ready for that. Also their opponents don’t get any easier either as most of their games are against playoff contenders and we have trouble beating teams that we are supposed to beat as well as hanging on the porch with the big boys. So Dallas is going to have to decide what they want to do, stay in the playoff race and defend their title, or hang it up and watch everyone else play for their trophy and only time will tell as they don’t have much of it.

Next up Dallas goes to Los Angeles to face the Lakers who have been without Kobe of late due to a shin strain and then finish off this road trip in Utah in a back to back before they come home to face the Rockets, again. All three of these games will be a challenge for the Mavericks, they just have to decide if they are up for the challenge or not.

And with that I will bid you a good day and say good luck and let’s go Mavs!

Dallas has as much as a 19 point lead during the course of the game, granted they let a lot of it get away from them by getting too comfortable, but was able to maintain the lead and the eventual win. Golden State got the early lead, but once the Mavs settled in, they took the lead and never lost it again.

Dirk led the team in scoring tonight with 27 points, but was limited to only 1 rebound, not very often that happens to the big guy, but he had plenty of others to help out in that category. We are all sure the Mavs are glad again that Jason Kidd is back on the court as he threatened with another triple-double tonight by having scored 9 points and he had 10 rebounds and 12 assists, not bad for the oldest guy on the roster. Shawn Marion, who in my book should be very top in the running for defensive player of the year, tallied 7 points, but grabbed 12 rebounds for the night.

The big key to Dallas’ win tonight was their bench. Dallas’ bench outscored Golden States bench 57-33 and was led by JET and Brandan Wright who had 16 points each, Vince Carter added 12 and  Roddy Beaubois scored 11 of his own. Again the Mavericks shared the wealth in scoring, but the bench was a big key to Dallas’ success.

Now Golden State was not without their heroes of the evening as well, as they were led by David Lee who scored 30 points, Klay Thompson added 24 points, which included some highlight reel plays and Nate Robinson put up 10 points, but without any “JET” mocking plays for the night.

Dallas is not known for their fast break point effort, but tonight they managed to score 21 fast break points to Golden States’ 15. Dallas also shot 50% from the field compared to Golden States 46.9%. The Mavericks are still having issues at the free throw line on being able to convert attempts into points, but tonight they did manage to complete 75% of their attempts to Golden States’ 87%. Golden State also got just a marginal edge in the three-point category as well, 38.9% to 37.5%, but Dallas did protect the ball and only committed 10 turnovers to Golden States’ 16.

Coach Mark Jackson had a look of wonder on his face at one point when they committed a sloppy play and gave the ball back to Dallas who converted it into a basket as if to say, “what?”, then put his face in his hands and shook his head; that’s kind of how the second and third quarters went, but then they had a spark of “I think I want to try and play now” in the fourth and started to make a comeback.

From the beginning of the game, Dallas toyed with the idea of letting Golden State stay in the ball game, but when Dirk hit the three-pointer at the buzzer to end the first quarter, he was not just there to play, he was there to win and he had a look of determination on his face that said so. That look and determination took them through the next 2 1/2 quarters until Dallas had built their 19 point lead and then started relaxing and Golden State started to make a comeback and was eating at that lead.

With 10:20 left in the fourth quarter, Golden State had gotten the game to within 5 points, 89-84, when another basket was scored and brought the game to within 3, 89-86. They played around with this over the next couple of minutes, but never more than maintaining a 3 point lead. Then at the 8:41 mark, the score was Dallas 91-88, when Dirk got the ball, hit the inside shot at the rim, the ball came through the hoop, he head butted the ball to the ref, Dallas took a 93-88 lead. Again, the look of determination on his face spoke volumes.

On the very next possession by Dallas, they passed the ball from side to side, until Kidd found JET at the top of the arc for a 3, and Dallas expanded their lead to 6 points, 94-88 and never relinquished it from there. Behind Kidd’s lead on the court, and Dirk’s determination, Dallas was going to win this game no matter what.

A lot is still being said about the Lamar Odom situation and I will give a lot of credit to the Mavericks organization as to not bash a guy who as some would say completely demolished their team and brought a cancer into the locker room since his feelings were still hurt after being traded by the Lakers and also with the fragile state his mental demeanor was in after suffering loss of a family member and the accident he was a passenger in that resulted in the death of the other party. Yes we all suffer a great deal in our lives and we have to learn how to handle them, but you pick up and you have to move on or it will eat you alive if you don’t.

I’m just not sure that Odom knew how to do that and he let the trade scenario get the best of him and it was all downhill from there. I for once will give kudos to Charles Barkley, the same one who stated that Dirk was done as father time had gotten the best of him, but he made a good statement. Why should Odom be paid to basically sit at home on his backside and not do anything to contribute to this team? Good question there Mr. Barkley; I don’t think it’s fair to the Mavericks organization to pay a  man who almost destroyed your team, I don’t think it’s fair to the players to have to try and build back up what he destroyed, I don’t think it’s fair to the NBA as a whole to allow this type of crap to happen.

Now if he was unable to play due to some unforseen circumstances, that would be one thing, but to pay a man to sulk and pout his way through a season, is another. I think he should be made to play in the D-League for the remainder of the season and to have his pay cut accordingly and then look at a trade once the season is completely over so you are not stuck with him on your books at the end and have to pay taxes on his salary or to have to pay him any more money.

I appreciate his wife, Khloe Kardashian-Odom for trying to stick up for her man, but come on; you’re a businesswoman, you know how businesses are ran and you can’t tell me that you applaud his attitude and his actions. If you do, then you are no better than the other women in your family and I gave you much too much credit for being the more level-headed female in the family.

We all know that Lamar is a good player, and we all know players have their own quirks and needs, but he is a little bit more needy than most and he let his stardom both on the court and off the court go to his head and made himself and the Dallas Mavericks look like a bunch of goobers. What he should have done was to step back, take some time off before the season got started and taken that time in the D-League as was offered to him and get himself back on track. Yes, Lamar Odom was and is a good player, that’s why Dallas took him in the first place, but to act like a child of demon spawn is completely ridiculous and I for one am glad that he is gone, but do wish him well.

Mr. Odom, take everyone’s advice and get the help you need to deal with the issues you have or it will eat you alive and get back to where everyone knows you should be or stay at home and work on your reality stardom.

Next up for the Mavericks will be a trip to Portland to take on the Trailblazers and let’s hope the end results are better than when they were in Dallas and then the Mavs will wind down the west coast trip by visiting the Lakers in LA before finishing up with the Jazz in Utah. These last games are critical ones for the Mavs if they want to have any hopes of staying in playoff contention.

And with that I will bid you a good night and say good luck and let’s go Mavs!

The Kings have some talented players and they showed some of that tonight as they were led by their star, DeMarcus Cousins who scored 25 points and had 18 rebounds and 6 steals to his stat sheet for the night. Along with him was Tyreke Evans who along with Marcus Thornton and Isiah Thomas each scored 16 points and rookie Jimmer Fredette added 13 of his own.

Dallas was led with co-leaders in Dirk and Roddy who each had 15 points, Delonte West and JET each had 13, Brendan Haywood had 11 and Shawn Marion recorded his 10 double-double of the season with 10 points and 14 rebounds, which included 8 on the offensive end. So as I said, they shared the wealth of scoring tonight and worked together as a team and pulled off a victory.

Now the story of the night was the release of Lamar Odom. Whew, thank goodness that is over with. In a mutual agreement, Odom will be listed as inactive for the remainder of the season  and will be able to go anywhere else after the season is over and basically get paid to sit home and sulk some more. But as Mark Cuban said, maybe this will be an addition with the subtraction, which I relate as to, with the negative energy that he was bringing into the locker room and to the court, maybe with that gone, then Dallas can get that positive feeling back again.

Odom was originally signed to help back Dirk up and be able to give him some much-needed rest, but that hasn’t happened a lot this season, but now there are other guys on the bench who will be able to get on the court and the one tonight was Yi Jianlian who came out of a shell tonight and brought a spark to the game and they needed it. The funny thing is, in that in one-quarter of play of Yi, he got more cheers than Odom did the whole time he was here, not bad for a guy that is basically a nobody in amongst the trees of the Mavericks bench.

Dallas got off to a rocky start and before you knew it, the Kings had a 14-7 lead on the Mavs and Rick Carlisle had to call a couple of timeouts in order to get his player’s heads back into the game. Their lackluster play was very evident as they committed 7 of their 17 turnovers in the first quarter alone and Dirk didn’t appear to be able to hit the side of a barn and even though he had 15 points, he was 4 of 14 from the field tonight, but there were other guys that was able to get on the court and make up the difference, with Yi being one of them as well as Brendan Wright, he played both the 4 and the 5 spot and when he was on the court, he was wowing not only the crowd, but also his teammates on the bench and the court and that’s what they needed, a spark and Wright supplied them with that very thing.

Once Dallas settled down and got their heads in the game, they finally took the lead and took control of the game from their. It was a shining moment tonight when Dallas finally won the battle of the boards by grabbing 56 rebounds and 17 of them on the offensive end, compared to 40 from Sacramento, who had 8 offensive rebounds. The thing of it is, the more offensive rebounds you get, the more of a shot for second chance points you get and that is one of the keys to the game.

Also, once they settled down, they had more spring in their step, they worked the ball around the helm very well and as I stated, shared the wealth, and it showed as they had 24 assists tonight and that was led by the floor general, Jason Kidd. It was good to see him back in the lineup, because even though you might not see high numbers in some categories on the stat sheet for him on a night in, night out basis, there are other ways that Kidd contributes to the game and just his being in uniform starts is all for the Mavericks.

He has a way of setting the tone and the stage for the game and everyone listens to him and follows his lead, that why it saddens me to see him retire and hang his shoes up, but no matter what he does after the game, he will be successful at it and I hope that it’s in a coaching capacity of some sort and maybe even in Dallas.

With Dallas securing the win over the Kings tonight, that still leaves them in the #7 spot in the Western Conference, but now a half a game ahead of the Denver Nuggets and in the thick of things between the Houston Rockets and still nipping at the heels of the Memphis Grizzlies. They may have lost the tie breaker situation with the Grizzlies and game them home court advantage, but I still feel that they could take them in a series of 7 games and come out on top. The thing of it is, that Dallas can beat anyone on any given night if they put their minds to it, it’s just a matter of “do they want to”? We won’t know until after the next 8 games as to where Dallas will fall and unfortunately most of the remaining games that Dallas has are on the road and against playoff caliber teams, so they are going to have to give it their all, and I know they can.

Now Dallas will travel to Golden State to face the Warriors who earlier gave them a night to remember, but it was also on the last night of a back-to-back-to-back game scenario and it was also the last game of a 9 game in 12 night scenario and Dallas was physically and mentally exhausted and maybe, just maybe, things might be different this go around, we’ll just have to wait and see.

So now I will bid you a good night and say good luck and let’s go Mavs!

I realize that was last season and this is now, but the core of the heart is still there, the basis of the need to repeat is there, it’s just lost for now and they need to find a way to get it back.

Coming into this shortened season, everyone knew that there might be rough patches as a team and there were some that were a little more physically prepared than some, but that is no excuse and those that recognized it, made no excuses, well, most anyway. Dallas was not able to get things done for them before the season started in order to celebrate the way most champions were able to do and it seems that the celebration drug on forever as to get all the festivities out of the way, but now here we are at the end of the season and we really don’t look much better than when we began.

Dallas started the season off rough by facing Miami in Dallas on the same night that they hung their championship banner and granted it was a great ceremony, but Dallas was not mentally prepared to play ball that night and Miami got a little of their revenge against Dallas that night, then we finally get our rings and we had a ring ceremony after ring ceremony and on the night the players got their rings that are no longer with the team, Dallas lost just about every game they played, because mentally their minds were somewhere else and the returning players had something to prove and they did.

Now instead of being at the top of the echelon chain of things, Dallas is fighting just to make the playoffs and they now have 9 games left and it’s not going to be easy. They have had a roller coaster ride all year and they have suffered minor setbacks with injuries to key players, but as last season and seasons before, they have been able to overcome those obstacles and be at the top of things over the last 8-10 years, but not this one, and I feel there are more than what meets the eye as to what the problem is, it’s just no one want to come right out and say it.

But take for instance, in the last two games, against Portland and Memphis, Dallas shot better from the field than both teams, where they averaged over 45% compared to their opponents who shot an average of a little over 41%. Now they did lose a little in the three-point range of shooting by connecting on a little over 36% compared to 38% from their opponents. Now the free throw stats are a horse of a different color as Dallas  shot a dismal 72.8% to an average of 83% from their opponents and then you have the turnovers, where Dallas committed 28 turnovers in the two games to 23 by Memphis and Portland combined. Now what happens a lot when you commit a turnover? Well it usually gives the opponent an advantage and they score easy baskets and that’s what happened in both of these games, pure old sloppy play on Dallas’  part and making their opponents look better than they really were.

Granted Memphis is in the running for the playoffs and doing fairly well this season, but Portland is out of it and in the lower part of the Western Conference and you allow them to score 30 points in one quarter while you score only 10 points? What is wrong with that picture? I’ll tell you, everything, that’s what’s wrong with it. Then you let a guy that has only averaged 11-15 points per game come and burn you for 30 points and connect on 5 of 8 three-pointers and a lot of his shots were plain open shots, without anyone guarding him, there is no excuse for that at all.

When Dallas played Portland, they had 6 guys in double-digit scoring and was trying to win a game, but then it fell apart, as it sometimes does for my Mavericks. Then the same thing happened the very next night in Memphis where Dallas only score 10 points in the opening quarter to Memphis’ 29. Now this night, Dallas had 5 guys in double-digit scoring, but they allowed Rudy Gay to open up a can on them and they couldn’t recover.

Now, here we are about to face the Sacramento Kings, again, another one of those teams that we should beat, but the Mavs have had trouble this season beating teams they were supposed to beat, like the three games in three nights against Phoenix, this same Sacramento team and Golden State. Well, Dallas lost all three of those games and had to come back home with their tails tucked between their legs and try to recoup and they did, for a while.

The Mavericks had a lot of talented players in this team and there is no reason as to why they can’t be higher in the standings than 7th seed, but for some reason they can’t work together as a team and I can’t quite put my finger on it. They have had chemistry amongst themselves in season past, but there is something missing this season and there seems to be a barrier there on the bench and on the court and in the locker room.

Before the season started and we knew we were going to lose Tyson Chandler, and then Caron Butler, and then JJ Barea and then Deshawn Stevenson, a lot of people wrote Dallas off and said there was no way they would repeat at champions, and they might have been right; but then Dallas acquired Lamar Odom for a little bit of nothing and we thought, wow, this will help fill some of that void. Odom was a Laker, was the reigning Sixth Man Of The Year, he should be able to bring something to the table. Well that has not been the case all season long and I think that is part of the problem with the Mavericks. Now that’s not the only problem, but it can be a part of it.

If you were to listen to him speak and watch his body language, you could tell he didn’t really want to be here and his feelings were tremendously hurt and he just wanted to get away from LA and so Dallas got him at a bargain price.

It was kind of funny to listen to Kobe talk after the Lakers game in Dallas and said that he was kind of glad that Dallas didn’t know what to do with him, that only he could unlock the ways of Lamar Odom. That’s funny, I don’t care who you are. Odom is a grown man and he needed to have stepped up no matter where he was. He is a professional athlete that has been in the league for a long time and knows that business is business; but if someone is paying you to perform, then you damn well better do just that and he hasn’t.

There were glimpses of his ways from the past, but a flicker don’t keep the candle burning and he has no one to blame for what has happened to himself in Dallas but himself. Then you hear about his wife tweeting that she is upset that he is getting booed at; well what do you want people to do that pay money, money that goes into your pocket to do when you lolly gag around the court and don’t give your best. Now I know everyone is going to have ups and downs and an off night, but this has been going on since December, five months ago  and it’s time to put on your big boy panties and grow up.

So where does Dallas go from here, well they better put together some wins and make a mad dash for the finish line in fine form or they will be watching all the playoffs from their living room and wondering, “what happened?”

And with that, I will bid you a good night and say good luck and let’s go Mavs!

A month later the Sixers have been passed in the Atlantic by not only the Boston Celtics, but also the Carmelo Anthony-led Knicks and find themselves treading water at 29-27 in eight in the East with just a one-game over the Milwaukee Bucks for the final playoff spot.

Talk about a fall from grace. The Sixers were, at one point, 20-9 and looking like a threat to run away with the teams first division title since 2000-2001, when Allen Iverson led the team to the NBA Finals.

But as quickly as the Sixers’ rise gained attention, it just as quickly fell thanks to a tougher schedule and struggles on both sides of the ball. Philadelphia’s vaunted league-best scoring defense came back down to earth thanks to visits from Boston, San Antonio, Chicago, and Indiana during their most recent swoon, which comes after a five-game losing streak in the end of February. Mix in some humbling defeats from some obviously better teams, the Sixers also sprinkled in some awful performances against teams that they should have beat. Those include a 21-point spanking in Washington to the 12-44 Wizards and another 21-point loss at home to the 20-35 Toronto Raptors.

Yikes.

Since being 20-9 on February 13, the Sixers have gone 9-18; going from third-place in the East to eighth, putting their playoff hopes in serious jeopardy. The fall has coach Doug Collins searching for answers and fans getting restless. But in retrospect was the Sixers’ model for success flawed from the very beginning?

In Boston, the big three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen have the aging Celtics looking like a tough out in the playoffs while New York’s Carmelo Anthony has put the team directly on his back heading past the Sixers and up the Eastern playoff picture. The Sixers reliance on team scoring rather than a go-to option has led to a stagnant offensive that relies too heavily on the transition game to get easy buckets. Then when the game gets close in the fourth, everyone on the court stares at eachother wondering who’ll get the next shot.

But to get back to their winning ways, the Sixers need to step up on the defensive side of the ball. Over their last 14 games, Philadelphia has given up 95+ points five times (four losses). On the season, the Sixers still rank first in scoring defense at 88 points per game, but with the offensive struggles (92.9 points per game), the Sixers need to play suffocating defense in order to have a chance in any game.

That suffocating defense (Lock all windows and doors as Marc Zumoff would say) needs to start at New Jersey on Tuesday night and continue for the nine games after that to end the season. If it doesn’t, the Sixers will be wondering how a 20-9 start ended with an early off-season.

It shouldn’t be that hard of a stretch for the Sixers to hold onto a playoff spot, however. Of their final 10 games, just four are against teams with winning or .500 records (Orlando, Indiana twice, Milwaukee). Of the rest of the six games, three are against the 21-37 New Jersey Nets with road trips to Toronto, Cleveland and Detroit before the end of the 66-game schedule. The only problem is that the Sixers’ last five games are on the road, where they’re just 10-15 on the season.

With 10 games left, it’s do or die for the Philadelphia 76ers, and nobody wants to see a good story go down the tubes.

When The Magic’s owner came out before the trade deadline and said if Howard resigns with them he would have complete control over the coach and the general manager positions I knew there would be a rift between Van Gundy and Howard at some point. It’s impossible for a player to respect his coach when he’s been publicly given the right to have him fired.

The Magic were also going through a five-game losing streak before last night’s victory. Tension and losses are the quickest way for a coach to earn a ticket out the door, but it isn’t Van Gundy’s fault. He’s been put in a situation that demands he do whatever Howard wants or else he loses his job. It’s kind of hard to coach the team, and keep the respect from your other players when a fellow player, not the coach, is calling the shots.

I blame three people for this mess Orlando is in right now. Firstly I blame the owner Rich DeVos for even allowing the possibility of this situation to occur. You don’t try to keep your player by telling him he has total control of people who are in charge of the team. It would be similar to giving a private in the army the control to have his general removed from his troop. It seems silly to think about it like that, yet that’s the position DeVos put his franchise in when he went public with that ultimatum for Howard.

Howard should stay in Orlando if Van Gundy is fired.

Secondly I blame Dwight Howard. He could have squashed this right away and it would have never been an issue. I don’t know where his loyalties lie as far as staying with the Magic past this year, but if he leaves and has Van Gundy fired even though he’s leaving I will lose some respect for him. It would have been wiser for Howard to say I don’t want the ability to have my coach and G.M. fired I just want to focus on basketball.

Lastly I blame Van Gundy. I only blame him for not quitting as soon as he found out one pf his players can play “Hand of God” with his job. You can’t coach successfully with that looming over your shoulder. Van Gundy has averaged 55 wins per season at Orlando, and hasn’t had an abundance of talent while doing so. He should have no problem finding a job if he does in fact get fired, so why is he putting himself through this?

As has been stated by the media, that if Dirk Nowitzki gets off to a slow start, then the Dallas Mavericks as a whole get off to a slow start, and that was the case, to an extent tonight. Dirk missed his first shot just 39 seconds into the game, but not to bother, because about 35 seconds later, he passed the ball to Vince Carter who scored a three-pointer to put the first points on the board. Dallas leads 3-0; ok now let’s call it a game and go home! Wished we could, but unfortunately we can’t.

The good thing of it was, Dirk nor Dallas stopped at that point, because about another 30 seconds later, Dirk got a rebound, got the ball to Shawn Marion, who then got it inside to Brendan Haywood for a slam and again Dallas scored; ok, can we go home now? No we can’t, we have too much time left, crap!

As a matter of fact, Dallas for a lot of the first quarter, was in control of this game, until a little over 4 minutes left in the quarter, when Memphis took a 17-15 lead and they held onto that lead for the biggest part of the game. But again, Dallas didn’t stop, because between Dirk and Delonte West, they had the hot hands for the night.

Dirk finished the night with 23 points on 10-18 shooting and West had 14 points on 6 of 7 shooting which included going 2 of 2 from downtown, so as I said, they had the hot hands on scoring for the night, but they did have some support to help as well.

Marion had 16 points and 7 rebounds, while JET added 15 points which included his 1 three-pointer that gave him his 1,760th career three-pointer and tied him with former Maverick, Peja Stojakovic, for fifth on the All-Time three-point scoring list. Congratulations JET on your accomplishment.

Roddy Beaubois, who has been struggling some of late, was back to his zipping in and out of the paint self tonight. He finished the game with 8 points and 5 assists, but he also created problems for the Grizzlies late in the game that caused turnovers and miscues. Ian Mahinmi also had some good numbers, even though he ended the night with only 4 points, he had 10 rebounds as well; so it was a good night for the Mavs.

This was a game that the Mavericks desperately needed to win in order to at least maintain their position in the standings after their ugly, and I mean ugly loss to the Clippers on Monday night. With that loss, that gave any tie-breaker situation for the playoffs to the Clippers and home court advantage. So Dallas had to win tonight since they turn right back around and play the Grizzlies again on Saturday night in Memphis and as of now the series is tied 1-1 for both of these teams, so if it comes down to any playoffs between these two, whoever wins Saturday night, gets the advantage over the other and will also take the 5th seed spot in the Conference by themselves ahead of Denver and Houston and everyone else below the #6 seed.

Dallas did come close to catching up and completely eliminating the 10 point deficit during the second quarter. As a matter of fact they were within 2 points, 47-45, with about a minute left in the half after West hit a pair of long jumpers, then got a blocked shot that then led to a put back lay-up by Dirk.  They just had to hang on for a little bit longer to keep that 2 point margin, when Rudy Gay hit a mercy shot from the right side of the court as time expired to give the Grizzlies a 4 point lead, 51-47, going into halftime.

The best part of the first half, or should I say funny part, was after Dirk had made the shot, the ball went through the hoop, Dirk head butted the ball to the referee as he shouted out in frustration; looked like he was playing soccer there for a minute, just a little bit of confused I guess, but it was funny anyway. The other time was when play was going on, Dirk was blocking out a player, the whistle blew, the players were near the basket and you could hear Dirk yell out “He** no!”, one of the commentators chuckled a little and said, “You can tell Dirk didn’t agree with the call, because he said, “Oh no”, yeah right!

Dallas came out in the third ready to play ball and it was evident, because just 21 seconds into play, West hit a three-pointer to get Dallas within 1 point, then Dallas gets the rebound on the next play, they get the ball back down court to find Dirk for a fade away shot that gave Dallas their first lead, 52-51, since 4:05 left in the first quarter. And again, Dallas had been down by as many as 10 points at one time, but now they have a 1 point lead. Dallas held onto that lead until about 4:08 left in the third quarter when Tony Allen made a driving shot and gave Memphis a 62-61 lead. From there until about 8 minutes left in the game, the lead went back and forth between the two teams, with neither team having more than a 4 point lead, but then the last 7-8 minutes of the game was spectacular, if you’re a Mavericks fan, which I am.

With 8 minutes left in the fourth, Marion had been fouled, Dallas was now down by 1, Marion goes to the line for 2 free  throws, which he made both of them, then that gave Dallas the last lead that they would not relinquish. Over a period of about 7 minutes, Dallas had gone on a 21-4 run that they took all the way to the bank for a 95-85 win.

Memphis just went flat, they were tired and it showed; they were in the same boat Dallas was a couple of weeks ago where they had 9 games in 12 nights which included a back-t0-back-to-back, where they went 1 and 2 and went 2 of 7 for the whole 9 games.

Memphis is trying to incorporate Zach Randolph back into the fold, since he has been out for some time now due to an injury.

Jason Kidd missed another game tonight due to a groin injury and will miss the next couple of games as well, and Lamar Odom was back after missing Monday’s game due to illness, but you could tell that he was not where he needed to be, especially since he let Quincy Pondexter pretty much dance to the basket for a score in the third that caused Carisle to yank him and put Marion back in, and it paid off in the long run.

Sometimes you have to do what’s best for the team and not what’s best for someones ego, and right now Odom doesn’t appear to want to be here, maybe I’m wrong, but it’s just his lack of effort sometimes, and it shows in how he plays. I’m sorry Lamar, but the Lakers organization wanted to trade you for what they thought would be something better, but it all didn’t go the way they wanted completely; you are on a team that at first welcomed you with open arms, but you have to do something to earn that continued respect from your teammates, coaches and the organization as a whole.

Dallas has a good group of guys that do their best to welcome you and respect you, but don’t give them sub-par play and expect supreme respect on an ongoing basis; grow up, step up and accept your responsibility, as a professional, to this team and leave all your glitz and glamour at home or in LA and get back to playing the type of ball that we all know that you can play.

Kobe said here last week or so that he’s glad that Dallas can’t find out what to do with Lamar; well maybe Lamar needs to find out what he can do for Dallas instead of what they can do for him, after all, they’re the ones signing his paycheck, not the other way around.

Next up Dallas plays Portland at home on Friday before heading out to play this same Grizzly team in Memphis on Saturday. They had better get ready and if they play against both Portland and Memphis as they did in about 65% of this game, then they should win both games.

Dallas has to however, be ready for the return of Randolph, because when he’s in there, he comes to play and it can get brutal.

Tonight Dallas finished shooting 50% from the field, 26.7% from the three and 68.8% from the free throw line while Memphis shot 42.2% from the field, 43.8% from the three and 68.8% from the free throw line. Dallas had 13 turnovers to 11 by Memphis and Dallas finally outrebounded someone; which is good since they have been outrebounded in quite a few of their games lately and some by double digits.

Mayo led the Grizzlies tonight with 17 points on 6 of 10 shooting which included connecting on 4 of his 5 three-pointers, Mike Conley added 11 points and Marc Gasol ended the night with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists.

So let’s see what Dallas learns from the past two games going forward. If they play like they did in Wednesday’s game for the remainder of the season, they have a good shot at going far into the playoffs, but if they act like they did Monday against the Clippers, let’s just proxy the games and wait for next season and see what happens.

And with that I will bid you a good day and say good luck and let’s go Mavs!

Now I am a big, huge Mavs fan, but the game tonight was a disaster almost from tip to final buzzer. In listening to the commentators during and after the game, they felt the same way I did and one of them overheard a longtime fan comment that it reminded him of the Mavs during the early 90′s, and that was some ugly basketball.

There was no defense at all, a lot of the time, otherwise you wouldn’t have had Randy Foye, who averages about 11 points a game, get wide open and I mean wide open to make 8 three-pointers out of the 15 he attempted and you certainly wouldn’t have Blake Griffin making poster children out of your big men by giving him an open basket to make the ooh and ahh slam dunks on your home court. I have not witnessed anything like this out of the Mavs in a while and it really concerns me.

I know everybody is going to have an off night, but come on; Dallas looked like the Clippers did a couple of years ago and the Clippers looked like Dallas did last season in the playoffs against the Lakers; kind of ironic don’t you think?

So you didn’t have Jason Kidd running the show on the court, that doesn’t mean you can’t play basketball, but there were times when they were just looking around and at each other as if to say, “what are we supposed to do”? And by the time they figured it out, bam, another three-pointer, another in your face dunk or just another basket scored on you and you don’t know what  to do.

At this point, Dallas is going to be lucky to make it into the playoffs, even in the #8 seed, and if they get there, well they might as well hang it up because they will be facing the Oklahoma City Thunder who they have not been able to beat and as Dallas has been slipping, the other teams, or most  of the other teams have been getting stronger and that light at the tunnel is getting smaller by the minute.

Here we sit, we let some of the talent we had from last season go, and I really feel that it was to try to persuade Dwight Howard and/or Deron Williams in coming to Dallas and they had to make some salary cap space and we came into this season a little hung over and not really as prepared as we should have been, evidence, Dirk. There has never been a season that he didn’t come into training camp in tip-top shape and ready to play ball and hungry to win, but this season was a different story, as it was for most of them.

Yes, I know they finally won the trophy, and they have been partying a lot since then, but everyone else knew that eventually the season would get going, why didn’t we? Why weren’t we prepared? We weren’t and it is definitely showing now, because everyone else is hungry for the trophy and we’re standing there with our thumbs up our backsides trying to figure out what we are supposed to do next.

Well guys, you friggin’ play the game until the season is over, no matter when that is. That’s what you get paid to do, this is a job, just like anyone else, you are paid to do your job. But tonight, some of them just didn’t do it, plain and simple.

Dirk led the Mavs in scoring, which it didn’t take much; he and JET were the only two in double-digit scoring and no one, no one was doubling in any category except wasted time on the court. Dirk had 19 points while JET added 15. Shawn Marion was the only other person that attempted to do any good tonight, he had 4 points and 9 rebounds. That’s it, everyone else had anywhere from 0 to 6 points. Well it was evident, since Dallas only shot 39% from the field, and 21.7 from downtown and 58.8% from the free throw line, 58%, that’s it. They also had 13 turnovers and 38 rebounds, now that’s some fine stats.

On the  other hand, Foye led the Clippers with 28 points, while Griffin had 15 points and 16 rebounds. Former Maverick, Caron Butler, burned his former team for 13 points, Nick Young added 10 and Chris Paul had 8 points, but 10 assists. The Clippers shot 47% from the field, 34.4% from downtown, with the help of Foye, and 41.7% from the free throw line. They also had 13 turnovers, but had 49 rebounds.

You can’t win a ballgame when you constantly get outrebounded in every game and out of the last 5-6 games, Dallas has been outrebounded in double-digits figures. Now tell me, where does the trouble lie? I’ll tell you, everywhere.

A couple of weeks ago, JET had shown his discontent for not being in the game in the waning moments of the game and then he made a comment about some changes needed to be made. You know JET, you are right, some changes do need to be made. You need to sit you butt down and look at the tape of this game and see how many open three’s Foye got because you were not guarding him as you were supposed to have been.

There were several times when he got open, you made a run at him, only to stick your hand up in the air and run by him toward your basket. What the crap was that? You take ill-advised shots when there is no Mavs player at the basket to try to get a rebound in case you dont’ make the shot. Yes, you are good, but you are not that good to think that you are going to make every shot. Not even Dirk is that good.

All of you need to re-examine yourselves and get back to the basics and see what is really important to you at this point in time. Is it more important just to step out on the court and play, or is it more important to you to play as if you want to win. I’m a firm believer that you could and should learn from your mistakes, and boy was this game tonight a big, HUGE mistake. You all  helped the Clippers look better than what they are and to make yourselves look worse than you really are. Is that what y’all want? I don’t think so.

It is a constant battle each and every night for the #4-8 seeds in the Western Conference because it is such a tough conference and the other two spots are close at getting in on any given night. If you win, you might jump up a spot, but if you lose, you might drop down 2 spots, you just never know. So I again ask you, what do you want?

With that, I will bid you a good night and say good luck and let’s go Mavs!

Eastern Conference All-Division Teams

Western Conference All-Division Teams

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Pacific:

Chris Paul

PG- Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers- It doesn’t look like the first year of the CP3 project will bring a championship to the Clippers seeing as they’ve been reeling lately, but his overall play this year and throughout his career wouldn’t allow anyone else in this division to take his spot.

SG- Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers- I still think Kobe shoots too much, and he isn’t a very good leader on the court for his young players, but it’s hard to argue with 28.2 points per game, to lead the league, at the age of 33.

SF- Jared Dudley, Phoenix Suns- This is a weak position in this conference, and it came down to Dudley or Caron Butler. Both of them are averaging 12 points and 4 rebounds per game. Dudley has a little more upside though.

PF- Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers- I’ve always thought Griffin whines too much and needs to toughen up, but there is no doubting his athletic ability.

C- Andrew Bynum, Los Angeles Lakers- The two L.A. teams have most of the talent in this division, which is why they are battling for the title. Bynum has matured into the second best all-around center this year trailing only Dwight Howard.

Bench- Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns- Even at the age of 38 he is still averaging a double-double this season. It’s no wonder why he’s said he would listen to the Heat this offseason. He wants a championship.

Bench- David Lee, Golden State Warriors- I really like Lee’s game. Big, good shooter, and willing rebounder. Like Nash, I wonder what he could do on a winning team?

Coach- Mike Brown, Los Angeles Lakers- Replacing a legend is never easy, but he has his team in first place in the division, and controlling some of the biggest egos on this planet.

Southwest:

PG- Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs- I accidentally omitted him from my point guard rankings a couple months ago. I find that I ask myself why the Spurs have such a good record every year, and the answer is this guy.

SG- Manu Ginobli, San Antonio Spurs- Not the most athletic player in the NBA, but he gets the job done. At 34, he isn’t having his best statistical year, but what he means to the Spurs hasn’t changed.

SF- Rudy Gay, Memphis Grizzlies- Memphis is a solid all-around team that has talent at every position, but he leads the team in points at 19. He has matured into a player that can play multiple positions as well.

PF- Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks- Even though it sometimes looks like it’s hard for him to move, he remains a magician on the court. It is still impressive every time a seven footer makes a fade away jump shot from 20 feet out.

C- Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies- He is the best Gasol in the NBA now and has emerged as a top five overall center. His ability to score and rebound are vital to Memphis’ playoff potential.

Bench- Eric Gordon, New Orleans Hornets- Even though he’s only played in two games this year he remains an elite level talent. In the right situation he could become one of the premier shooting guards in the league.

Bench- Kevin Martin, Houston Rockets- He’s been a solid player the last couple of years and currently averaging 17.1 points per game this season.

Coach- Greg Popovich, San Antonio Spurs- He always seems to get the most out of his teams; even if they aren’t the most talented.

Northwest:

Russell Westbrook

PG- Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder- Plays out of control sometimes, and gets in a scoring competition against his own teammate from time to time, but has really settled down this season which is why Oklahoma City might get over the hump and win a championship.

SG- James Harden, Oklahoma City Thunder- He’s averaging 17 points off the bench, but his skill set would have him starting on any other team; one of the best shooting guards period.

SF- Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder- He’s the best shooter in the NBA right now, and at 6’9” he is a match-up problem for any team. It’s no wonder why he’s been among the league leaders in scoring the past four years.

PF- Kevin Love- Love is playing better than anybody on the planet right now. His spirited effort is refreshing to see. His rebounding ability might be the best in the league, and his versatility on offense is second to none.

C- Al Jefferson, Utah Jazz- He’s never really gotten the recognition he deserves. Not many players in the NBA who are legit 20 and 10 threats get less publicity, but that ends here.

Bench- LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland Trail Blazers- He’s the third best player on this list, unfortunately number two is Love at the same position. He is a top 10 player in the NBA regardless of position and can win a game for his team.

Bench- Ty Lawson, Denver Nuggets- He does a little bit of everything for his team averaging 15.6 points, 6.3 assists, and 3.7 rebounds per game. Those kinds of players are rare and valuable.

Coach- Scott Brooks, Oklahoma City Thunder- Any coach who has a legitimate chance at winning a championship this late in the season is deserving of this.

Do you agree or disagree with the rankings? Let us know how you feel in the comments section.

To see the Eastern Conference teams, click here.

The Oklahoma City Thunder seem to be playing their best basketball right now after they handed the Bulls a 92-78 defeat. This win said a lot to me not only because they beat a great team, but they did it with stifling defense. The Thunder can score on anyone, and usually they use this in their advantage and try and out-score their opponents, but last night proved to me they can win even when the other team slows the game down. That will be key, and make them that much more dangerous when they face teams such as the Mavericks and Spurs in the postseason.

The Thunder beating the Bulls by 14 is less surprising than the Heat losing to the Boston Celtics by 19 though. In fact the Heat’s last three losses have all been by 15 or more, which is a little scary as we make our way to the playoffs. Unless this trend continues where they consistently get blown out by the better teams in the league, it looks as though those three games were more a lack of concentration than a lack of talent.

Right now it would be easy to say (and I’ve heard it said) that the Thunder will win it all and the Heat won’t even win a series in the playoffs this year. This could happen, but the opposite could still happen as well. Take this year’s football season as an example: The Giants went on to win the Super Bowl even though two weeks before the playoffs started it looked like they wouldn’t even make it in.

I’m not making a straight comparison between the Heat and Giants, but the Heat don’t seem to be the team to beat again, which could bode well for them in the playoffs if some of the pressure they felt last year is gone.

Atlantic:

PG- Deron Williams, New Jersey Nets- Even though he plays for a struggling team, he gets the nod over Rajon Rondo here. His offensive game if more advanced, and he has proven he can carry a team. He is averaging 22 points and 8.3 assists this season and it’s likely he will be playing somewhere else next year.

SG- DeMar DeRozan, Toronto Raptors- DeRozan has been a rare bright spot in an otherwise abysmal season for Toronto. His skill-set is starting to match his freakish athleticism and I expect him to be a 20 and 5 guy one day soon.

SF- Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks- Injuries and selfishness have led to a down year for Carmelo, but he still possesses a rare skill-set. He’s averaging 20.3 points per game during a lot of changes at the point guard position. I expect him to bounce back next year.

PF- Amare Soudemire, New York Knicks- Injuries have plagued him as well, and it still remains a question whether or not he and Carmelo can coincide with one another, but Amare is still younger than Kevin Garnett and can still give a team 20 points and 8 rebounds any given night when put in the right system.

C- Brook Lopez, New Jersey Nets- I gave Brook the nod over Tyson Chandler because he is younger and more versatile on the offensive end of the court. His rebounding needs to improve, but his scoring gives you something few other centers in the league provide. He’s only played in five games this year, but I was thinking big picture on this one.

Bench- Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics- He is enjoying his best overall season so far, and has gone from facilitator to the “Big Three” to the team’s best player.

Bench- Andre Iguodala, Philadelphia 76ers- What, no “Big Three” members? I don’t think they are the best at their position in this conference anymore. I wanted to put Lou Williams here, but I think Iguodala’s versatility is more important to the 76ers.

Coach- Doug Collins, Philadelphia 76ers- He’s done a great job blending the youth and experience of this team as they are poised to make the playoffs in a tough division.

Central:

PG- Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls- He has struggled with injuries this year, and his team has played surprisingly well without him, but he remains one of the top two point guards in the league. The Bulls will need him healthy if they want to go all the way this season.

SG- Monta Ellis, Milwaukee Bucks- Recently traded to separate him from Stephen Curry. Ellis is a dynamic offensive threat. He’s averaging 20.8 points while shooting close to 45% from the field this season. He’s still young and could sink or flourish alongside Brandon Jennings.

SF- Danny Granger, Indiana Pacers- One of the most underrated players in the league. The Pacers would not be in position to make the playoffs if they didn’t have him. He’s only averaging 18 points per game, but he makes everyone around him better.

PF- Carlos Boozer, Chicago Bulls- He is the main reason the Bulls have continued to win without Rose. He’s averaging 15.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. You wouldn’t think he’s one of their best players if you watched the Bulls for the first time, because he plays slow, but he gets the job done.

C- Roy Hibbert, Indiana Pacers- I really like Hibbert’s game. He’s massive which allows him to have an advantage on almost everyone in the league. His offensive game has improved by leaps and bounds since his senior year at Georgetown, and I would imagine he isn’t finished yet.

Bench- Brandon Jennings, Milwaukee Bucks- Like Hibbert I think Jennings is a great player. He’s averaging 18.4 points per game this year, but I look for that to go down now that Ellis is here; would have been the top point guard in most other divisions.

Bench- Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers- He’s one of the youngest players in the league, but plays like a 10-year veteran. Hopefully Cleveland gets some talent around him because it looks like he could be special.

Coach- Tom Thibideau, Chicago Bulls- He’s done a great job of keeping his team together without last year’s MVP Derrick Rose. Does that make him this year’s MVP then?

Southeast:

John Wall

PG- John Wall, Washington Wizards- I’ll admit there aren’t a lot of great point guards in this division, but Wall has the talent. If he had more talent around him it would help his development out, but for now 17 points and 8 assists will do.

SG- Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat- Too easy; next.

SF- LeBron James, Miami Heat- Oh yeah the Heat are loaded. These are arguably number one and three in the league right now.

PF- Josh Smith, Atlanta Hawks- The “Big Three” stops here. Smith has emerged from one of the best athletes in basketball to one of the best all-around players. He’s averaging 18.4 points and 9.8 rebounds this year.

C- Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic- Amid all the trade rumors circulating around him this year both he and the Magic are enjoying solid seasons. He leads all centers in scoring with 20.9 a game, and leads the league in rebounding with 14.5 a game. I still think Howard will be playing somewhere else next year, or the Magic will bring in another star: see Deron Williams.

Bench- Joe Johnson, Atlanta Hawks- He’s one of the best shooters in the game, and has seemingly taken over Chauncey Billups’ role as Mr. Big Shot. I’ve liked Johnson ever since he played for Phoenix and I hope he wins a championship one of these years.

Bench- Chris Bosh, Miami Heat- I really wrestled with the idea of putting Ryan Anderson here, but Bosh has had a better career and even in Anderson’s breakout year their numbers are pretty similar.

Coach- Larry Drew, Atlanta Hawks- This is a tough one because Orlando has done great amidst all the Howard turmoil, but Drew has quietly done a great job with his young squad that has had a few injuries of their own.

Do you agree or disagree with the rankings? Let us know how you feel in the comments section.

To see the Western Conference teams, click here.

Coming into tonight’s game, both teams really needed the to get the win to keep in the rank and file of the playoffs, none more important to Dallas than to Orlando. With another loss for the Mavs, it would have put them closer to dropping into those last playoff spots and cringing on the brink of knocking themselves out of the playoffs.

As of today, Dallas is tied with Memphis in the 5th spot in the Western Conference but the Grizzlies have the win edge, so that puts Dallas in the 6th seed, 1 game behind the Clippers and 1 1/2 games ahead of Utah, Houston and Denver, so as you can see it’s a very important game to the Mavs.

After losing to the Heat last night, the Mavs are going to have to regroup quickly and see what they need to do to get back on track. They started fairly well last night, but just was not able to get the finish and Miami got the best of Dallas in the fourth to get the win, but not all was lost on the loss, with Dirk’s points he scored, that put him over 1000 points for the season and puts him in a three-way tie with players who have scored 1000 points for 13 years straight; the other two are Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan, not bad company to be in.

Dallas was going to have their hands full as Orlando is a team that puts up an astronomical amount of three-point attempts and tonight was no different. Orlando threw up 32 three-point shots and connected on 11 of them for a 34.4% from behind the arc compared to Dallas who took 22 shots and connected on 7 for 31.8%. But at least Dallas did keep their shot attempts down a little from their average.

The Mavericks looked sluggish at the beginning of the game, but they stayed on course and even had the lead at one point. But then Orlando was able to get the long shots and drive to the lane without too much difficulty and with a little over 5 minutes left in the first quarter, when Orlando took a 17-15 lead, they finished the quarter with a 10 point, 27-17,  lead and it looked like they were doomed from there. JET came into tonight’s game without his traditional headband and knee-high socks on since he had lost a fitness challenge bet to Jameer Nelson of the Magic and in doing so had to forfeit the headband and socks for the game, or at least the first part of the game. Now that’s just one thing you don’t mess with is your game mojo and that’s his mojo and he messed with it, but of course we don’t know what happened to that mojo last night since he was just 1 of 10 from the field.

Dallas tried to make a comeback of such to open the second quarter, however in the first part of the second quarter, every time Dallas made a shot and tried to erase the point spread, which at one time they were within a point at 32-31, Orlando would come in and get one back and that’s the way the second quarter played out, but Dallas was able to take the second quarter 29-28 and finish with a 55-46 spread.

Now what do you think was being discussed in the locker room at halftime? I can only imagine that there was some serious chewing and telling people that they needed to do more hustle and play the game right, don’t you think? Well maybe not to that extent, but you get my drift, and here we go for the third quarter.

Both teams came out in the third and played well,  to start with and worked up to a 68-60 score when the fun began. Jason Kidd had got the ball, attempted a three, Orlando got the rebound but then Dallas got the ball on a steal, a long throw was made to Dirk, but was over him, Orlando got the ball back and was able to get the ball to Ryan Anderson for an open three to extend the Magic’s lead to 11, 71-60. Then we play back and forth with turnovers, steals, JET gets his headband and socks back on and Dallas makes a score to make it 71-62, but it wasn’t enough and Orlando gets a couple more baskets to now make it a 15 point deficit when Dallas calls a timeout with Orlando leading 77-62.

Now there is about 2:35 minutes left in the third when the rallying began and Dallas went on a 9-1 run that started with a slam by Ian Mahinmi and a couple of key turnovers by Orlando that Dallas was able to capitalize on and ended the third quarter 78-71, Orlando and all this while Dirk  is on the bench.

With a couple of minutes gone in the fourth, Dirk enters the game, Orlando is up 81-75 and the first play is made by Dirk on an open basket and brings Dallas to within 4. Now over the next ensuing 9 minutes of play, there is so much excitement that one can’t write it all down, but the abridged version is this, Dallas was able to force some turnovers and make some good plays, when Dirk found Delonte West, with 1:33 left, for an open three-pointer that got Dallas within 1 point, 97-96.

Then with a little over 1 minute left, West got a rebound on a play by Orlando and then was fouled by Anderson, which sent West to the free throw line in an  attempt to give Dallas their first lead since a little over 5 minutes in the first quarter. West made both free throws and now Dallas was up 98-97, when Nelson got fouled by Mahinmi under the basket and that sent Nelson to the free throw line to take the lead back. Nelson made the first free throw, but missed the second and Dallas got the rebound and took their last time out.

On the ensuing play, Dallas was able to get the ball to Dirk and with only 5.9 seconds left, took the ball, went into his one-legged fade away frame and took the shot and with using the backboard, the ball went in, Dallas now had the lead 100-98; Orlando calls time out.

The Magic got the ball and Nelson drove inside, but was unable to get a good shot, got the ball out to Hedo Turkoglu for a three, the ball was short, Anderson drove to the basket for a lay-up, the ball hit the front of the rim, Dallas got the rebound and the win.

This was playoff basketball, it was intense, it was sensational and it was great for Dallas to get the big win over a top seeded playoff contender such as the Magic. Yes, they have had their problems, but they are still a top team and for Dallas to get the advantage over them tonight, it does a lot for their morale and attitude for the remainder of the season.

Dirk led the Mavs and all scorers tonight with 28 points which was done on 9 of 18 from the field which included 2 of 3 three-point attempts. JET, coming out of his 1 of 10 slump from last night, finished with 17 points on 7 of 12 shooting from the field. Shawn Marion was 7 of 10 from the field with 15 points and 9 rebounds, West added 15 as well and Vince Carter showed he still has a few moves and added 12 points.

Nelson led the Magic with 24 points which also included 3 of 7 three-point attempts. Anderson had 21 points which also included 3 of 6 from downtown. Dwight Howard had 19 points and 14 rebounds, but was only 7 of 16 from the free throw line and Hedo Turkoglu had 12 points.

Dallas finished the night shooting 4.75% from the field, while Orlando finished shooting 44.9%, and Dallas connected on 81% of their free throws to Orlando’s 60.7%. Dallas only had 9 turnovers to Orlando’s 16, but Orlando had 47 rebounds to Dallas’ 37, so there you have it. A side note to mention, West played the entire 4th quarter, while Kidd, who went scoreless for the first time in a while, sat the entire 4th quarter and Roddy Beaubois, didn’t  play at all, coach’s decision. Wonder how this will play out come playoff time?

Next Dallas goes home to get some rest and sets off to face the Clippers of Los Angeles on Monday night, which with this win, gets them that much closer to moving up another spot on the ladder and if they can get the win over “lobcity”, then that puts them right up there in one of the top 4 spots.

So with that, I will bid you a good night and say good luck and let’s go Mavs! 

There have been times that I have watched him get hit in the head or the face 8-9 times in a game, some get called and some don’t, I guess it’s just the angle where the ref is when the infraction is called; but at least the hit on Dirk’s nose was not like the hit Wade gave Kobe Bryant during the All-Star game that broke his nose and required him to wear a protective mask for a while.

As Reggie Miller had stated, Dirk has learned how to take the hits and keep on playing, even if it hurts, and I’m sure it did.

Dallas came into this game on a 2 game winning streak, where Miami had been on a 2 game losing streak, but Miami had more at stake because they also had a 14 home-game winning streak going on as well and they needed to get this win in order to validate all the hoopla from last season and the acquisitions that were made prior to the start of last season. Granted the Heat are sitting in one of the top spots in the Eastern Conference, while Dallas is sitting in  that 5th seed for now, but as tightly jammed it is in the Western Conference, if you win one night, you might be as high as the 3rd seed and if you lose, you could drop all the way to 7 or 8 because between the 4th and 9th spot, it is only separated by a couple of games, so you have to be on your toes at all times.

As Coach Rick Carlisle stated the other day, their playoffs started last week and they have to approach every game as if it already was the playoffs going on. They don’t have the luxury to be sitting in the rocking chair and lollygagging around and being happy with maybe a win; no they need the win and they better put it all out there if they are going to get it.

Again, I wished we could have stopped the game after the first and maybe a little into the second quarter, but unfortunately you have to play a complete four quarter game in order to declare a winner.

Dallas started off strong, as well as Dirk. At one point, both teams were shooting well over 55% from the field and there were times Dallas was shooting a little over 60%, but it didn’t end that way. Dirk started off hot and in the first quarter was 3 of 4 from the field with 6 points and by the end of the first half, he was 8 of 10 with 16 points, and he finished the night with 25 points on 9 of 19 from the field and 7 of 7 from the free throw line.

Lamar Odom, headband and all, had 12 points and that also included 2 of 2 from downtown, Vince Carter and Brandon Wright each had 11 points.

Tonight marked the return of Brendan Haywood and Delonte West, West played and Haywood was dressed, but did not play. West finished the night with 7 points and 1 assists in only 8 minutes of play, but every minute counts.

The Heat did start the game a little flat, even though they scored 24 points to Dallas’ 29, but they had started gaining some momentum and eventually took the lead and never relinquished it. They had gotten up to as much as a 21 point lead, but Dallas at times would whittle the lead down to a single digit lead, when the Heat would regain control and eventually secure the win.

While the Mavs had four players in double-digit scoring, the Heat shared the wealth and six players had double digits in scoring, but no player had high numbers in rebounding. Speaking of rebounding, again Dallas lost the battle and the war on the boards, again tonight, Dallas had 29 rebounds to Houston’s 44.

LeBron James and Chris Bosh led the Heat with 19 points, Wade and Udonis Haslem each had 16, Mario Chalmers had 12 and Cole added 10.

The biggest disparity tonight was the free throw shooting. The Mavericks went the whole first half without attempting a free throw and ended the night only attempting 13 to Miami’s 27, there something wrong there boys if you ask me.

But there again, Dallas was getting beat to the ball and Miami was able to move and swing the ball the ball more than Dallas was and it was evident to all, including Carlisle, that this was a wash and that’s when he sat his big men down and let the bench play the remainder of the game.

The bench is usually one of Dallas’s big sparks, and the biggest being JET, but tonight, he didn’t have it in him and only scored 3 points in almost 31 minutes of play and that was on a three-pointer, that’s it. I wonder if he is going to make another “we need to make a change speech again”? If he does, I will say yes and everyone needs to look at themselves in the mirror when they start talking about “we” need to do better. Yes I know it’s a team sport, but you must have individual accountability in order to accomplish your goal and that is good teamwork.

Tonight, it just didn’t go Dallas’ way and the numbers proved it. Dallas finished the night shooting 42.3% from the field and 37.5% from behind the arc and had 15 turnovers to Miami’s 48.8% from the field, 29.4% from behind the arc and they had 13 turnovers. Miami also scored 46 points in the paint to Dallas’ 24, so as you can see, numbers don’t lie.

So what do we do now; well, they travel to Orlando to take on Dwight Howard and the Magic, who are having their own issues and Dallas needs to get this victory to stay afloat in the numbers game in the Western Conference.

And with that, I will bid you a good night and say good luck and let’s go Mavs!

But, overall, Johnson did instill a defensive mind on his players and it still is in effect today, again, most of the time. I know over the last couple of years that the Mavericks have been labeled as soft on defense and then after they won the championship last season and released players such as Tyson Chandler and Deshawn Stevenson, and some stated that a lot of the defensive minds left and Dallas had no way of getting back to where they were.

Well, some of that might actually be correct, but there were still some glimpses of it in tonights game against the Houston Rockets. Now Dallas did play this same team this past weekend in Houston and even though they had to take the game into overtime to get the win, there were still some defensive mindsets on the court, not all the time, but some of the time.

Dallas came home to get a couple of days rest and practice before facing this same Rockets team and, well if we could eliminate the 1st quarter completely and part of the second quarter, this would be a great game. But we can’t, and I have always been one of the philosophy that you have to take the good with the bad and the bad with the good and unfortunately the first part of the game was the bad and the second half of the second quarter and the remainder of the game was the good.

One would have thought that since the Rockets had to play a game in between their meetings with the Mavericks, that they would be tired and not able to keep up, but that was not the case. I really feel that their game helped them to keep their touch on the ball and some of that was evident when they jumped on the Mavericks and built up a double-digit lead right off the bat and hit Dallas with a series of three-pointers and sent the Mavericks scrambling to play, literally.

From the beginning, Houston was on fire, was running their set plays, getting their three-point shooters lined up where they wanted them and fired at will without too much opposition from the defense of the Mavericks and needless to say, Coach Carlisle didn’t like it too much and had to call several time outs to get his teams heads back on straight and get them focused.

Before they knew it, the Rockets had taken the first quarter quite easily with a  30-19 lead and were feeling very confident. It left the Mavericks scratching their heads for sure. The Rockets knew that they had to put it all out there because of the alignment of the Western Conference for playoff spots and on any given day, between the 4th and 8th seeds and those after, can shift and one day you can be in the playoffs and the next, you’re out, so they knew they had to draw first blood and they did.

The Rockets had made it clear that they were not going to be a pushover and that Dallas would have to tough it out to accomplish the win, and Dallas did, thankfully so.

Over the last three games, at least, Dallas has been manhandled on the boards and prior to Saturday’s game in Houston the ratio of rebounds was 100-63 and it was not better on Saturday night as Houston beat Dallas in the rebounding game as well, but Dallas had the offense and that is what won the game. Well as they had been taught and are still being made to think of, is that a good offense starts with a good defense and that worked tonight after Dallas finally woke up.

As I stated, Houston handily won the first quarter and most of the second quarter before Dallas put on their defensive hats and decided to play ball. But in the second, Dallas started to build some momentum and took the quarter with a 27-19 edge over the Rockets and by the end of the first half, Dallas had cut Houston’s lead from 16 points to 3 with a 49-46 score with the last score on a drive to the basket by Dirk.

Dirk Nowitzki led all scorers for the night with 21 points on 5 of 17 from the field and 6 rebounds. His night started off slow, but in the critical crunch time he either made the shots or he found the open guy to try to get the assists on the score. Roddy B had another great night with his slicing and dicing around the paint, shooting the open three and finished the night with 14 points and 5 assists. The backup phenom, Brandon Wright, had 13 points on 6 of 7 shooting and ended the game on a slam with a foul on a pass from Dirk.

JET added 12 points for the night and the most defensive man on the court, Shawn Marion made have only scored 4 points, but he also had 11 rebounds. The best spark of the night, in tow with a headband, was Lamar Odom. Now we all know that Odom has had his trouble adapting to the Mavericks way of play and he has caught it from the fans as well, but tonight was the best night of his play as a Dallas Maverick. 

Lamar came into the game with a lot of positive energy and pep in his step and looked as if he was really ready to play and he did. Even though he didn’t have astronomical numbers, his numbers were still good for him. He finished the night with 9 points on 4 of 5 shooting, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. It looks as if he is finally settling in and is ready to kick some backside with the rest of them.

Luis Scola led the Rockets with 22 points and 8 rebounds. Goran Dragic finished the night with 17 points and 7 assists even though it was rumored that he might miss the game after rolling his ankle the night before, didn’t look like he suffered much from it if he did. Rookie, Chandler Parsons added 15 points to go with his 9 rebounds and Courtney Lee added 10 points.

Dallas fought tooth and nail to get this win as they had to come from such a deficit early in the game, but finally took command of the game on a three-pointer from JET with 5:39 left in the third quarter and the Mavs were down 53-52, but with the three, Dallas went up 55-53. After a miscue by Jason Kidd and a steal by Dragic, he went down and scored a basket to give the Rockets a 55-55 tie, but then on the very next play, Kidd got to redeem himself by getting an open three and put the Mavericks in the lead again 58-55 and they never lost the lead again.

All of this started with a 21-6 run by Dallas and them limiting the Rockets to only 12 points in the third quarter; with Dallas scoring 23 in the third, now Dallas had a 69-61 lead. Granted Rocket Coach Kevin McHale tried to keep his guys fresh and thinking positive and they did try to make a go of it in the fourth, but Dallas was too much for them and they just finally ran out of steam and Dallas took the fourth and a 90-81 win.

The bench play of Dallas was great tonight by scoring 48 points, but they also had 15 rebounds and 12 assists compared to 17 points of scoring from the Rockets bench. Dallas dominated the numbers tonight by shooting 46.6% from the field, 31.6% from behind the arc and 80% from the free throw line. Houston finished shooting 41.8% from the field, 28.6% from behind the arc and 75% from the free throw line. Both Dallas and Houston had 13 turnovers and Dallas got the advantage on the board, 43-39 and also points in the paint 44-34.

So one can see there is still life in the Dallas Mavericks championship team and maybe soon they will get Branden Haywood and Delonte West back and be able to finish the rest of this season on a good note. With tonight’s game, there are only about 15 games left for the Mavericks and the next two are going to be as tough as any have been this month. They travel to Florida to take on the Miami Heat on Thursday and then face the Orlando Magic on Friday and this will be the first time Dallas has been back to Miami since they won the championship, so you know they are going to have a huge target on their back and the Heat are going to feel they have something to prove since they have lost some good games recently, and lost those game by double-digit scoring.

Dallas is going to have to be ready and put their defensive hats on and get both of these games. And with that, I will bid you a good day and say good luck and let’s go Mavs!

Leading this year’s draft and expected to be the clear cut number 1 overall pick is Anthony Davis.  The defensive stud would fit perfectly in Monty Williams defensive style of play, and at only 19 he has tremendous potential to take his game to the next level.  His around the rim game is superb, shotblocking skills are out of this world, excellent rebounder, there is just so much plus that he has Hornets fans praying they can somehow luck out and get the top overall pick.  A Gordon/Davis combo in the lineup would certainly bring fans back to the arena and a chance to bring this team back into the playoffs sooner.

After Davis there are tons of other players with insane skills and potential that this draft looks to be the deepest that it has been in years, so that means even if the Hornets don’t get number 1 all hope is not lost!  Micheal Kidd-Gilchrist, Andre Drummond, Thomas Robinson, Harrison Barnes, and Jeremy Lamb are just a few big names highlighting the upcoming 2012 draft.  With Chris Kaman and Carl Landry’s contracts ending after this season it is anticipated they may not be back next season leaving the Hornets with the need for a couple new big men to take their spots.  Gustavo Ayon and Jason Smith have shown flashes of improvement it is unlikely they will start next season as starters but as key players off the bench.

Before we go any further let us look at some mock drafts floating around the web to see differentials and how they would fit needs for the Hornets moving forward.  Keep in mind also the Hornets own the Minnesota Timberwolves first round pick, which right now expects to fall somewhere in the middle of the first.

Those at nbadraft.net have the Hornets picking at number 3 in the draft and taking the 6′ 8″ power forward from Kansas in Thomas Robinson.  With the next pick they have the 7 footer Meyers Leonard from Illinois falling to New Orleans 12th overall.  Robinson certainly fills a need at the power forward spot, breaking out this year with averages of 17.7 ppg while grabbing almost 12 rebounds a game in his junior year at college.  Not only that but he has currently taken his Jayhawk squad to the Final Four in which they take on another projected lottery pick in Jared Sullinger and Ohio State for a chance at the NCAA Championship.  The report on Meyers seems to be a positive one, very athletic with a great offensive game around the rim.  Has some range hitting shots up to 18′ away from the rim, blocks a lot of shots, basically an all around solid player around the rim both offensively and defensively.  Right now with Emeka at center in New Orleans, Meyers would more than likely come off the bench should he be selected by the Hornets.  So with this draft New Orleans has filled a couple possible voids should both Kaman and Landry walk after this season. 

Up next we look at what draftexpress.com have to say.  This draft has the Hornets taking the young C Andre Drummond out of Connecticut.  With the Timberwolves pick, New Orleans selects the young PG Kendall Marshall from the University of North Carolina with the 14th pick.  Personally I am not crazy about taking Drummond, despite all the hype and potential here.  Drummond didn’t exactly live up to the hype his freshman year, and his NCAA tournement debut was a very forgettable game as he scored only 2 points in a 2nd round loss to the Iowa State Cyclones.  Kendall Marshall may not be a bad selection, as New Orleans should be looking to find a PG moving forward.  Jarrett Jack is decent, but is more fit as a scorer off the bench and Greivis Vasquez is a decent back up at best.  Marshall is a pass first type point guard averaging 9.7 assists this season, and should the Hornets get a top notch big early in the draft to go along with Gordon; we could have a very exciting team in the Big Easy next season. 

At mynbadraft.com is a combination of the previous with the Hornets taking Thomas Robinson at number 3, and Kendall Marshall going to the Hornets with the 12th pick.  Personally I really like this one, the team gets a pass first guard to go along with an inside presence in Thomas Robinson.  Those two along Eric Gordon could make for a very competive team not only next season but for year’s to come.

There are many more out there as far as mock drafts are concerned, but with 93 days until the draft we still have plenty of time to talk and speculate on who we hope to be the next franchise player for New Orleans to pair with Eric Gordon. 

Recently announced was a new lease agreement that will ensure the Hornets stay in New Orleans until at least the 2024 season.  There are no “escape” clauses included such as attendence benchmarks, promises at least one All-Star game to be held in New Orleans in that timeframe, plus a $50 million bond insuance that will go for funding for improvements to the arena.  The next owner of the team must agree to the lease before taking over the team.  So with the future secured in New Orleans long term, all that is really left is when new ownership will be announced to lead this team forward.

At (24-26) Minnesota is currently 2.5 games out of the final playoff spot, but if Love continues to score and rebound like he did Friday when he had 51 points and grabbed 14 rebounds they may be able to make a run. Even though they lost on Friday 149-140 against the Thunder; Love followed that effort with a 30 point- 21 rebound performance in a win against the Nuggets on Sunday.

Only four and a half games separates the Clippers and the Trail Blazers (number 4 and 12 respectively in the standings), which means the Western Conference is very even right now and if a team can get hot they could easily find themselves breaking out of the pack.

Nobody in the league is hotter than Love right now. He has the ability to carry a team and keep them in the game against anyone. It’s a good thing for a team to have a player like this when they are trying to work their way into a playoff spot. Love plays hard and with tenacity, which is something I don’t often see on a night to night basis in the NBA. He knows what he has to do to get to the postseason, and is well on his way to accomplishing that, but at what price?

Even if the Timberwolves make the playoffs, at this pace, Love will be exhausted by the end of the year. I’m not sure if he will have the stamina to carry his team in to the playoffs, and then have enough gas left to actually win a series. The most successful teams are helped by their stars and don’t rely on them.

Chicago has played great this season despite the fact that last year’s MVP Derrick Rose has missed quite a bit of time. A team like this has a lot of momentum and confidence that will only be enhanced when Rose comes back at full strength.

Love’s performances at face value look to be terrific for the Timberwolves, but in the long-run it poses a problem. Love will likely put together a strong run and get his team into the playoffs, but without a better all-around team surrounding him I don’t think he will have the gas to lead them any farther than that.

The Mavericks were led by Dirk Nowitzki who scored 31 points and had 7 rebounds; it was just enough points to put Dirk on the #19 spot in NBA All-Time scoring just ahead of Sir Charles Barkley, the man who just said  about a month ago that Dirk was done. Well guess what Barkley, he ain’t done yet.

After a dismal game in San Antonio the night before, and Dirk only scoring 16 points, he and the Mavs needed this win in order to regain their confidence and keep their playoff aspirations afloat. After suffering two huge double-digit losses to Los Angels and San Antonio, if Dallas would have lost this game, it would have put them as close to the bottom of the playoff berths as you could get if not knocking them out of the playoffs period and that would not be good at all.

Dallas started the game slow before they decided to get warmed up and really start playing. It was a see-saw back and forth effort between both teams as to who was going to win the quarters. Houston has some good young talent and two of their key starters, Kyle Lowery and Kevin Martin, were out of the game tonight, but that certainly didn’t stop the Rockets from testing the waters against the NBA champion Dallas Mavericks.

Goran Dragic, who studied under Steve Nash in Phoenix, led the Rockets not only in scoring with 24 points, but also in moving the ball across the court and setting screen, and pick and roll plays and did a very good job at it. He certainly wasn’t afraid of anyone and to take any shot, especially the three-point shot; he connected on 5 of his 7 three-point attempts and paced the rest of the team to take the shot and protect the paint on both ends of the court. He not only had his 24 points, but he also had eight assists and five boards, while Luis Scola added 19 points and had six rebounds to go with four assists.

Samuel Dalembert and Courtney Lee each scored 15 points and rookie Chandler Parsons added 12 points and 11 rebounds. Parsons most important points came with only 3.3 seconds left in the game when he took a three-point shot from the top of the arc to tie the game at 91 each and send the game into overtime. Marcus Camby had 4 points to go with his 11 boards.

JET added 24 points for the Mavericks as Brandon Wright had 14 points and a career high 7 blocks for the night, while Shawn Marion had 12 points and 15 rebounds.

Over the last 3 games now Dallas has been struggling on the board and prior to tonight’s game, the last two against the Lakers and the Spurs, the Mavericks were outrebounded 100-63 rebounds and the offensive end of the boards is not a pretty picture either. Dallas was outrebounded by the Rockets tonight as well, 52-38 and of the offensive rebounds, Houston won in that category as well 16-5. Now one may ask, they won didn’t they? Well yes they did,  but if you are constantly getting beat to the ball on the shot and not able to get rebounds, well at least on the offensive end, it means fewer opportunities of second chance points and on the defensive end, it means they are going to get the second chance opportunity and possible score.  And with that the Rockets  scored 18 more second-chance points and had eight more fast-break points than the Mavericks. So this is why it’s important on the rebounding. 

Dallas has got to get more physical inside and fight for the ball, sometimes literally. The more the season wears on, the tougher it’s going to get and they have to be prepared for it. As was evident tonight. In the game against San Antonio, Dirk was getting pushed, beaten off the ball and man-handled with no calls and they have to be ready to fight fire with fire; tonight was the same thing, but at one time it was from his own teammate.

Granted it was an accident, but Dirk did have to get stitches after the game from being hit above the right eye from Brandon Wright while they were battling under the basket for a loose ball against some Rocket players. So it goes to show you, they have the fight in them, they just have to pull it out more often than  not and rub some elbows.

For quite some time Dallas has been referred to as a soft defensive team and I really thought that after last season, they along with Dirk had shed that title from their stat sheets, but sometimes it still creeps back into the midst of things.

According to Coach Carlisle, this was the biggest win of the season for the Mavericks and we turn right back around and play this same team in Dallas on Tuesday night before they head out for Miami on Thursday and Orlando on Friday.

The one really shining thing that Dallas did well was their bench play; Dallas’ bench outscored Houston’s bench 44-13. The Rockets bench shot just 25% from the field and had two assists, while Dallas’ reserves handed out eight assists. So I guess Dallas can brag about their bench a little more.

The Mavericks are going to have to keep this type of intensity up for some time, because before the game started, in the Western Conference, between the #4 seed and the #8 seed was only separated by 1-2 games and it the positions were changing constantly depending on who was winning and who was losing. Dallas only had a .5 game lead on Houston prior to the game and they needed to get some separation and they did. Now it’s just a matter of working out way back up the ladder and that can only come with “W”s on the scoreboard for Dallas. They have done it before and they can do it again, they just have to believe in themselves in order to do so.

And with that, I will bid you a  good day and say good luck and let’s go Mavs!