Game 10, Dallas Mavericks visit New York Knickerbockers

Theme: Micro Chip League, "New York New York"
Game Info: Be a part of it

Ahem. Anyone else want to talk about how Dirk can't carry a team?

- Mavs down by fifteen in the first? Here we go again.

- I didn't listen to the whole game -- honestly, I don't think my heart could've taken it. I did hear the end of the half and The Sharpshot That Wasn't. God damn you, refs.

- Bass's minutes have been shrinking lately and his stats've suffered as a result. This game wasn't a monster explosion, but he was Taking Care of Business.

- Same cannot be said for our Young Mister Green. He started as shooting guard and came dangerously close to trillion-land. His only stat was an assist in six and a half minutes. So no, he's not starting material yet. I stand by my recommendation as sixth or seventh man.

- JJ. Please keep giving me reasons to like you. A couple of threes is a start. Not letting the offense totally break down when Kidd subs out is mandatory. Giving Coach pep talks? That's just gravy. :-)

- Who the hell is James Singleton? I don't know yet, but I like his double-double. Hey man! M'name's BJ. Pleased ta meetcha!

- Louis Gossett Jr. as Sgt. Foley = Pure Genius.

-Back for the fourth. And halfway through the quarter, when the score stood at 112-105 Knicks, I could feel my heart starting to crack along the fault-lines . . . again.

- And then . . . the Basketball Gods doth smile upon us. From that point on, the Knicks didn't hit a thing. Not. A. Thing. Jet Terry tied it at 112 all. Knicks tried to answer and got nowhere. Overtime.

- And in OT, it's pretty much the D.W. Nowitzki Show. Seven more points, including a gorgeous monster 3. And it's not at all creepy I know Dirk's middle name.

In The Wash: Oh thank God! It's not fun standing on the NBA ledge, watching your team orbit the Black Hole Of Suck and knowing there isn't a damn thing you can do about it. We're not the disaster our record indicates. Let's be fair; the schedule's had two back-to-backs and included six playoff contenders. We're better than 3-7, and with any luck this win is the start of a long stretch of playing like it.

Interestingly, Coach ditched the "traditional center" school of thought for this one. Erick only played four minutes and 'Gana didn't play at all. For this game it worked. The Mavs went down hard in the first and spent the rest of the game clawing back.

As an aside, Stack was in civvies as a DNP-Coach's Decision. That has the journalistic gonads of the DFW sports media twitching. I think Stack and the Mavs are headed for a divorce and it's pretty much up to Stack whether or not it's on harmonious terms.

Tomorrow the guys go up against the Bobcats, who haven't been sucking as much as they should be so far (see the lack of stat curse, Basketball Gods? See? See?), and then they hop over to Houston for another crack at The Invincible Sky-Armada Of Ming The Merciless. Not that I'm bitter or anything, but here's hoping Yao and Company take the ass-kicking of their lives. Fuck you for ruining my opening day. Fuck you to death.

Final: 124-114, Mavericks!
-BJ

The Boss Speaks, Field Trips, and Other News

From the homefront:

- Mark Cuban spoke on Randy Galloway's radio program earlier today, giving an extended interview. Among the subjects covered, reputation-rehab for Josh Howard, failures in leadership over the past season, failed trade scenarios (among them one where we gave up Dirk and J-Ho for Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, the idea of which has Mr. Fish over at DallasBasektball.com crying into his beer), votes of confidence in Coach Carlisle, and the work between him Jerry Jones to get the NBA All-Star game to the new Cowboys stadium in Arlington (which would be mega-awesome with cheese). Podcast here.

- Coach Carlisle's in Orlando at "predraft camp," checking out the stuff. The Mavs have a second-round pick, 51st overall. There's plans to go to Italy, where the European draftees will be gathered -- because of financial issues, that's most likely where the FNGs are coming from this year. Little help from the Basketball Gods would be good there, neh?

- A remark from Mr. Cuban's interview clarifies a lot to me -- "Guys were breaking plays a lot. They didn’t trust the play-calling . . ." No wonder Avery Johnson was damn near throwing a coniption fit over by the bench, and no wonder the folks on the floor had this bad habit of standing around looking confused. He's also saying that Dirk's the one who broke rank there originally. Good in that the Organization's been screaming for him to take up a leadership role for the last five or six years; bad because such behavior could be construed as childish and counter-productive. I'm erring on the side of goodness, mostly in light of Johnson's actions since he was fired (revisionist and egotistical would about cover it). It could also be inferred that the disconnect between the coach and the players tainted Jason Kidd's adaptation to the team, which made all the other chemistry problems worse.

- The NBA has decided to impose fines on players for "flopping" -- exaggerating impact when one is fouled. Sort of like screaming bloody murder when your sister gets a good lick in during a pillowfight. Discouraging melodrama that doesn't come from the game itself is a good thing. Several years of following figure skating has me good and sick of manufactured melodrama.

- And finally, Dirk landed in Germany last week, prepping with the national team. And get this, the inconsiderate bastard got a girlfriend. Wah!
-BJ