Game 35, Dallas Mavericks host New York Knicks

Theme: The distant screams of about ten thousand fans.
Game Info: Clickity.

Halfway through the first, the audio in the AAC quit. No Humble, no Chris Arnold, no Ally D, no chant-guides (it's funny how you're a little lost without Humble Billy Hayes hollering in your ear), no amplified swish to let everyone know the shot dropped. The Drumline did what they could to provide us a backbeat. By the way, if you're going to a Mavs game and can afford lower bowl seats, get them as close to the back rows of Section 112 as you can. The Drumline alone is worth ticket price.

The audio's not the only thing that needed some jury-rigging.

- I went home mad from this one. Why? Because these are the Knicks. The marquee Defense Later team in the league . . . and they somehow managed to hold Dirk to ten points (only three field goals for God's sake!) and Jet Terry to ten points.

- However, I saw on the Morning News that Dirk's fighting a headcold. If it's the same virus I caught over Christmas, that explains a lot.

- It became clear fairly early that it was going to be another one of those nights. The charge that the Mavs don't move well without the ball is a fair cop just lately.

- Rebounding. Rebounding, rebounding, rebounding. Good things happen when you get greedy with the ball.

- I don't know if it's a referee blind spot when it comes to the Mavs or if it's bad decisions on Dallas's part, but why is it whenever the Mavs commit a foul it's almost always "in the act of shooting" but when we get fouled it isn't?

- Wright stuff! Antoine got the start and comported himself as a man. 13 points, two assists, and a steal. Coach's demands for the starting shooting guard slot are not extreme (I get the feeling he's downchecked his expectations somewhat); keep the spot warm for Terry and sub in for Jet when he needs a breather.

- Devean George, DNP. After the boneheaded Mega-Mario appearance in the Clips game (0.8 seconds of play time, committed one foul which resulted in four enemy points), all I can say is thank God and pass the Cheetos.

- There's the Bass we know and love. He was taking it in, getting fouled, making his free throws (mostly), rebounding, and blocking. He's the only Mav with double-digit boards this game. Also a couple of steals. Please say this is a harbinger and not a fluke.

- Interesting shakeup. Dampier came out with a couple of fouls in the second, and instead of getting spelled by Diop like he usually is, Singleton came in as the sub. I saw a couple of bad moves on Jimz's part, but by and large he did his duty. Coach going with a forward-center? Or another wake-up call for our 'Gana?

- J-Ho continues to tease. After kind of being there in the first half, he came alive in the second. Nineteen points, four boards, three assists, three steals. I wish I knew why he's being so inconsistent. I want to like Josh, I really do. There's a lot riding on him being able to get those twenty points and eight rebounds per night, every night. He can't restrict his superheroics to nights when Dirk is either out or present-but-not-there.

In The Wash: Like I said, I came away mad from this one. Because of what I saw as a lack of effort on the defensive end -- lots of uncontested shots. Reading DB.com and the Morning News, though, makes me wish I could get the video and rewatch it without a section full of lunatics at my side. Accepting that Dirk and Jet only combined for twenty points and we won anyway . . . I mean, that's not a bad thing. Right? Especially when I saw the Knicks stick a couple guys on Dirk like a set of bookends.

We can chalk this up to a Trust Your Defense win. When the other team struggles making shots, they start doing stupid shit. San Antonio's made that their raison d'etre; keep making it hard to score points and with not-as-good teams, their will dies.

Note the qualifier -- not-as-good teams. We're fresh out of those on the schedule. Other than a trip to Sacramento on Sunday, the next week's grueling. Phoenix tomorrow, then a nasty back-to-back in Denver against the Nuggets then straight back home against the Hornets. The Western Conference playoff picture boils down to the Lakers . . . and eight other teams. Right now Phoenix is the odd one out. I don't count on that lasting.

Final: 99-94, Mavericks
-BJ

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