Game 23, Dallas Mavericks host Denver Nuggets

Theme: Pink Floyd, "Is There Anybody Out There?"
Game Info: Is there anybody out there?

Quiet arena? Don't hang it on me, I was doing my part. To the point of embarassment. Hey, you try doing your face while in a moving car/in a parked car/on board a light rail train.

- How bad did we need this. Denver is second in the conference, playing like a team possessed since they got rid of Iverson. In retrospect, that's looking like a what-were-you-assholes-thinking? move on Detroit's part.

- Okay, can we declare the Viva Barea! period over? I am not slighting JJ. God no. But he's not a Plan A when he's competently defended (no one is). And Denver did that. He served up nine assists, so he knows what to do when that happens. The rest of the team? Not so much.

- Oh shit, Kidd's no longer money from the arc. We've got a problem.

- Back off, Carmelo. It's not anybody's fault yo mama named you for a dessert topping.

- I'm really trying not to play the Blind And Brain Damaged Ref card when it comes to the Mavs. I really am. But it's hard when the Nugs decide their best way to defend Dirk is by putting him in a half-nelson.

- And while we're at it, I could really learn to dislike the Nuggets. I don't remember who it was (I should start bringing a notebook), but on offense, I saw the guy with the ball hook a foot at JJ's ankle. It didn't connect, but if JJ had been about half a step closer he would've tripped.

- What has me mad is this game was winnable. The Nuggets had a stretch late in the game where they weren't shooting for shit. The Mavs could have, and should have, beaten them bloody. They didn't.

- I. Still. Don't. Understand. Why. Devean. George. Is. Getting. Playing. Time.

- Welcome back, J-Ho! We missed you! Just . . . please don't go 1-5 and expect me to not cry. I'll accept that its because you're on restricted minutes and you need time to get back in rhythm. For now.

- We only scored how many points in the paint?!?!?

- Due diligence from the big guy; 27 points and 10 rebounds. A solid night's work from Jason Terry; 19 points. Not enough.

- Richard Carlisle, quote machine; "We couldn't hit a bull in the ass with a bass fiddle. When you're not guarding them and not making shots, you're going to suck." Thank you, Captain Obvious. Extra points for both alliteration and assonance in a single statement.

In The Wash: Well that's it for the homestand. Thank God; I don't think my heart could take much more of this. We did what we were supposed to do; got back to a winning record, officially we're in the playoff picture. We even managed to beat a contending team, nuking Phoenix into the Dark Ages.

However, that doesn't feel true to my heart. On the checklist of Things To Do was a victory that definitively says the Mavs can play with the superheros. And we didn't do that. One can dismiss the Phoenix game as a victory over a team that's busy coming apart at the seams. It took two overtimes for San Antonio to do it, but they kicked our butts. And the Nuggets didn't even need that. Coach waved the white and emptied the bench in the last minute of play.

In perfect frankness I will say that I am not as hopeful for this team as I once was.

Final: 98-88, Nuggets
-BJ

Games 5 and 6, Dallas Mavericks visit Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers

Theme: Combichrist, "Shut Up And Swallow"
Game Info: Nugs here, Clips here

I'm just going to do these two together, if it's okay with you guys. Don't like it? The Internet's a big place; I'm sure there's some other girl who watches basketball whose rants you can read in between Solitare breaks.

Bitter? Pissy? So tired I'm delusional? All of the above and then some. Somebody hug me.

- The Denver game I'm not so mad about, really. The Nugs made the second-to-last mistake, pretty much. I was chewing my nails off until the final posession.

- The Clips? If I could, I'd express-mail a smack upside the head to the entire team, starting with Coach and going straight down the line. I'd need a stepladder to do most of the work but never mind.

- Rebounding? You're not doing enough of it. Period.

- I don't like Randy Galloway. I think he's a southern-fried jackass, to be perfectly honest. But . . . and God how much do I wish I wasn't writing this . . . he's got a point. It's a mite early in the season to be talking about hardcore motivational schtick. Now, I believe cheerleading has a place in life. Most of us need someone to coax our best stuff out of us. The Mavs didn't need the best stuff; that's what's so galling. Just the regular stuff. And that should be above rah-rah claptrap. The game against the Nuggets was winnable; the Clips game was ours to lose.

- I have a question. Is it me, or are the Mavs hearing a disproportionate number of whistles? I mean, a flagrant against Kidd? What'd he do, anally rape Al Thornton's mother while pouring sugar in his gas tank? And how come Dirk doesn't get fouled unless he throws his arms up and does Duncan-face? For crying out loud--

- Settling for jump shots; is that a judgement-shot-because-my-brain-is-on-fire thing? If it is, we're screwed. I read somewhere that Dirk was laboring under the idea that he'd only have to play 30 minutes per game. Look at his stats; that's not happening. And it isn't for lack of a backup; Four-String's been solid.

- Jet Terry's 3-15? Dude!

- Fourth-quarter shit remains a problem. I'll grant that a lot of the lopsidedness in the score is Coach striking the colors and subbing out the starters when the situation becomes hopeless (I'm very not okay with that, but I understand his rationale). But why are the situations allowed to become hopeless? Why are they permitted to win these ballgames? Why are you not stomping those maggots' guts out?

- And no hanging these on Dirk's doorknob (that came out significantly filthier than it sounded in my head). A double-double against Denver and 32 points against LA strongly suggests all due diligence on his part.

- Gerald Green, Sixth Man of the Year. That's where he should be in the rotation. Just my opinion.

- Stackhouse is trade bait. We need to get him to a team that needs his leadership and get a comer who can play in the frontcourt. Also my opinion.

- Waitaminute, the Knicks don't suck? Ack!

In The Wash: I am so tired of being on the wrong side of the Cinderella story. We're becoming the second-to-last boss in the main body of an RPG, the one that gets you ready for the Save The World And Get The Girl Final Fight. Look at our last few post-seasons; loss to the Heat because God reached down and said unto D-Wade, "Hey I need somebody to be the best basketball player in the entire fucking universe and I picked you," loss to Golden State because they were the only team we absolutely did not have an answer for, loss to the Hornets because they turned in the performances of their lives while the Mavs were preoccupied with not killing the coach.

It isn't a lack of Veteren Leadership. We've got something of an embarassment of riches in that department. So why aren't the Mavs locking down? Unless it's -- horrible thought -- the team tuning out the veterens. Read, tuning out Dirk. If that's the case, we're totally fucked.

It's early yet and I'm in this for the long haul. Hell, high water, or the lotto tank. The Lakers are in town tomorrow and I am there. Look for the two fat ladies up in nosebleed country. I'll be the one cheerfully overreacting to everything; my mother'll be the one sitting next to me saying I don't know this person.
-BJ

Game 4, Dallas Mavericks visit San Antonio Spurs

Theme: Metallica, "Creeping Death"
Game Info: So let it be written

When I saw the SA on the docket for the Mavs on Election Day, I said to myself, "Self, if [insert canadite's name] loses and the Spurs win, fuck this shit, we're hauling ass to Panama. For the End is pretty seriously Nigh."

Politics are private so never mind that. Let's focus on the game:

- Wow, I didn't realize things between the Mavs and the Spurs were that intense. Some of the blurbs TXA-21 threw up look like borderline riots. And correct me if I'm wrong on this, but aren't our Mavs normally peaceable guys?

- Ter-ree! The Jet is up as a starting two-guard and, you should pardon the expression, rose to the challenge in fine style. When Terry's on, he's a joy to watch. I'm not sure what Coach's ultimate Plan is at the shooting guard position. Jet's most valuable as a sixth man and bench riders spark plug. But damned if he didn't look tasty.

- Good grief. Duncan-face lives. I now understand why basketball guys have problems rooting for the Spurs -- a cynic (and I am one) might suspect that abuse of the rules when it comes to fouls is a calculated part of their game plan. A lot of the sports guys I follow (Matt at Hardwood Paroyxsm, Basketbawful, Mike Fisher, etc) insist that that is so; I haven't wanted to believe it because that's cheating. In this game, the Spurs got 20 free throws to Dallas's 5. I'm a believer now. And shame on them.

- Of course the Spurs can write this off. They're playing without Ginobli, who went down with a bad ankle in the Olympics semi-finals. To which I say, phooie-karblooey. The Spurs outclass the Mavs in many categories; this game was theirs to lose.

- Oh the tasty assist. Kidd Pony-Expressed the ball to Dampier on a bounce-pass, in traffic, Damp puts it in.

- Fourth-quarter execution? Put the stress on that last word. The Spurs tried to rally, they really did. But then . . . Howard puts up a bad shot that clangs off the rim, Dampier reaches over a sea of Spurs hands, tics the ball once-twice, bats it to Jason Kidd hanging out just past the top of the arc, Kidd flips it over to Dirk, Dirk cans it. Three points. Die, by my hand . . .

- Given how poorly he performed in the Cavs game, I'd wondered if Dirk might've caught a bug -- he lacked his usual sparkle. Winning might or might not be good deodorant (Jason Kidd, quote machine), but it's a pretty good antibiotic too. Thirty points, on 13 of 24 shooting, including a couple of threes. There's the Dirk we know and love.

- J-Ho. Double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds. Stretch it out through the post-season and you will be a god, man.

- And speaking of, Kidd's still flirting with triple-double 101. The threat is there, don't doubt it.

In The Wash: God how bad did we need this! With a performance this solid it gets easier to chalk up the Mavs's stumbling about to growing pains. Coach's indecisiveness when it comes to a shooting guard concerns me; I don't think Stackhouse is capable of being an effective part of the rotation, Antoine Wright's too inconsistant, Green's too . . . green, and Williams hasn't played at all yet. Few things tear the heart out worse than realizing you're working for a boss that can't make up their mind.

I'm not sure who put the hammer down on the subject of rebounding, but the players took it to heart; 45 boards. Good things happen when you get posessive of the ball.

Onward and upward, literally. The Mavs have a couple days off then it's off to Denver for our first game against the Billups-era Nuggets. I'm going to keep half an eye on the Pistons from here on out; Iverson needs to be kept on a checkrein to be effective and I don't doubt 'Sheed and Company are up to the challenge. Paddles might be needed.

Final: 98-81, Mavericks
-BJ