They're Done

Well, they're done. And thanks to a tivo malfunction I was only able to watch the 1st and 4th quarters of the Mavs game tonight. Dallas entered the 4th quarter only down by 5 and it was a close game. However Dallas' defense wasn't great, again, and they made too many bone headed mistakes in the 4th quarter which let New Orleans extend their lead to double digits. The Mavs were actually down by 17 in the 4th quarter and I had basically given up. But Dallas stormed back at the end with barrage of 3 pointers cutting the Hornets lead to 3 inside 30 second to play. All Dallas needed was a stop...and then go down, make another 3 and push it to overtime. The Hornets inbounded the ball, Chris Paul launched a shot that was off...and Tyson Chandler batted the ball back out to Peja and all Dallas could do is foul him (he was the best free throw shooter in the league this year at 92%). So Dallas ended up losing by 5...season over.

You know, at this point, I'm not sure if it would have been better if Dallas lost by double digits or made it close in the end only to lose. I'd like to think that it was better to lose the way they did, not getting blown out. However, after the game was over, this is how I felt:



Another Mavs player, Stackhouse, lost his cool in the 4th quarter and ended up getting a technical foul and getting tossed. And it didn't matter one bit. Truthfully and objectively, the Hornets were just a better team...period. And they showed it. And now the whole Mavericks organization from top to bottom is left reeling and wondering who will be back next year playing for the Mavs. The players I think will be back are as follows: Dirk, Dampier (too big of a contract make him impossible to move), Kidd (see same reason as Damp) and Jason Terry. Everyone else, and I mean EVERYONE, is expendable.

Right or wrong, I don't think Avery will be back. That's just a gut feeling I have but after the post season collapses of last year and the year before plus the struggles the Mavs had during the regular season this year and only winning 1 game in the playoffs, I don't think Cuban can bring him back. There needs to be a new voice in the locker room because Avery has lost the team. I still think Avery is a helluva good coach and he will have success where ever he goes. But I just can't see how Cuban can bring him back next year. However, Cuban is unpredictable and loyal to a fault so anything is possible I guess.

I hope this thing doesn't sink to the level of the current Sacramento Kings team. They were on the cusp of going to the finals just a few years ago but the last two years haven't been close to sniffing the playoffs. Their championship windwo shut rapidly and now it looks like the Mavs' window is shut too. Mavs basketball is fun to watch and I hope they remain competitive. But I'm not getting my hopes up.