Review Pending

In the Spurs game I was something less than a detached third party; by the end of regulation I was out of my fucking mind. A concise recap will have to wait until I can watch the videotape. Look for it in a few days. After I recover.
-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

Must . . . Get Through . . . Offseason . . .

News Bits:

- The Rocky Mountain Review -- the second half of the Summer League, it isn't being televised locally -- is in gear. Last night our Mavs beat down the San Antonio Spurs 84-77, and from what I'm hearing it was anchored by a Mighty Man effort from Gerald Green. Are the Basketball Gods possibly cutting us a break here? Is the young Gerald getting a game together? We'll see.

- He made it! He made it! Sunday night Germany beat out Puerto Rico for the last slot in the Olympic Men's Basketball Tournament. Germany's going to the Olympics, first time since '72. That's one more big goal checked off Dirk's career To Do list. All that's left is the NBA Championship. Most of us MFsFL are geeked for the guy . . . just please to be minding those leg joints, okay dude?

- Team USA is getting together for their training camp. Our Mr. Kidd is one of the starters -- he was on the last Olympic team to win it all (2000 Sydney games). Give you an indication of how fast the rest of the world catches up and passes; Team USA slunk out of Athens with a bronze. FAIL.

- The Olympic Tournament has twelve teams playing, divided into two groups of six. In the preliminary round everyone gets a game with each other team in that group. The four best records advance to the quarterfinals. After that, it looks like straight single elimination, with the medals going to the three teams left standing. Group A consists of teams Argentina, Australia, Croatia, Iran, Lituhania, and Russia; Group B of teams Angola, China, Germany, Greece, Spain, and United States.

- Team USA's Preliminary Round schedule looks like this:
8-9, 9:15 AM CST, versus China
8-11, 7:00 AM CST, versus Angola
8-13, 7:00 AM CST, versus Greece
8-15, 9:15 AM CST, versus Spain
8-17, 7:15 AM CST, versus Germany

- Experience is something you underestimate, especially if you don't have it. A lovely and thought-provoking article on Basketbawful (of all places).

Happy Tuesday, yo. Is the offseason over yet?
-BJ

Well As Fuck-Yous Go . . .

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/basketball/nba/specials/playoffs/2008/05/20/spurs.delayed.ap/index.html

My Fellow Dallasites,

Why didn't we think of that?

Yours,
-BJ

My Humble Opinion, May 20

Spurs advance, squashing the Hornets in Game 7. Check it out:

http://www.nba.com/games/20080519/SASNOH/gameinfo.html?nav=scoreboardhome

Whoop-dee-shit. Honestly, it was a matter of soul-searching to decide who I wanted to lose more. Goes double for the conference final.

If anybody's gotta win it all, I'm going to let my homerism show and say Go Pistons. Detroit needs all the feel-good and hard cash it can get.

In a perfect world I'd introduce myself to Lauren and Mandy over at Girls Gone Sports and together we'd hatch a cloak-and-dagger plot to get the Finals cancelled. Burn the flag, steal the rings, scratch Property of Dallas all over the trophy, whatever it takes. We can't have it; neither can you. So there.

But then we'd start fighting over who gets to break into Dirk's house and steal his razor (Dear God, please make him keep the beard!), who gets to plant the vicious attack hamsters in Kobe Bryant's luggage, who gets to monitor the Shower Cam . . . nah, it wouldn't be a good scene. You know?

(the author would like to point out to the hopelessly literal legal eagles who might come across this blog that she is speaking facetiously and would never in ten trillion years do anything illegal or in poor taste to anybody for any reason, and would like to further point out that she is a grown woman in a free society and may say whatever the hell she damn well pleases)
-BJ