Game 25, Dallas Mavericks visit New Jersey Nets

Theme: Combichrist, "Fuck This Shit"
Game Info: Don't fucking talk to me about this one

Not only did we get totally fucked . . . somebody put sand in the Vaseline.

- God Mode got split between Harris and Vince Carter and the Mavs were totally unable to shut either one of them down. They tried man-to-man; Epic Fail. They tried zone; the Nets just shot over it. Bupkis.

- The Kidd Trade happened just as I was getting into the team, so I have no direct familiarity with Devin Harris as a Maverick. By all accounts the Organization expected him to blossom into an All-Star at some point. Just not this soon. Or this dramatically. Or this painfully.

- I'm not familiar with Harris, but I am familiar with Avery Johnson. Looking back, maybe the Organization would've done better to have given up on the coach before giving up on the point guard. Jackass.

- To you guys in the Dirk Is Not A Leader canoe -- what exactly is your critera for leadership? Making sure the unhappy team doesn't murder the coach in his sleep isn't enough?

- By Dirk standards, he had a mediocre night against the Nets. I will now accept that MVP talk at this point is strictly homer talk and shut up. Until he uncorks another fifty point night (it's coming).

- I'm not sure why Hardwood P has Vince Carter clocked as a douche. Other than whaling the snot out of my guys I didn't see any proof of it.

In The Wash: You know what? I'm gonna weasel. Read this for a comprehensive analysis of the Mavs suck factor.

Most of the points this gentleman makes are right on the money. Bass isn't having the year everyone was hoping he'd have, Jason Terry's abilities as a passer are hit-or-miss, and while Dirk's a long way from his Irk-with-no-D days, his defensive skills are nothing to stop alien invasions with.

On the other hand, the Nets need that kind of nads-that-warp-time-and-space performance out of Harris and Carter every night if they're going to make any noise. This is a decent team, but if they make the playoffs it'll be because a lot of other teams screwed up.

The same could be said of the Mavs. If the playoffs started today, we'd be out.

Final: 121-97 (sob!) Nets
-BJ