Well, I considered no game notes today, which, of course, win or lose has not happened the entire playoffs. But, instead, I am writing today’s notes under protest. Just like many of you are going to work or class under protest today. When Jim McKay opened Wide World of Sports for decades telling us of the “Thrill of Victory, and the Agony of Defeat”, we might have thought it was just good writing. But, no. Today, we have way too much invested in the Dallas Mavericks all know the true meaning of the “Agony of Defeat”.
Dwyane Wade is willing his team to victory. And there appears to be almost nothing Dallas can do about it. Incidentally, if there is something you can do about it, Dallas, please feel free to do whatever that is immediately!
The guy had 43 points last night, including 21 in the 4th Quarter and Overtime. After 3 quarters of relative normal play, the dude just went off. There were attempts to stop him, but it reminded us all too much of those teams back in the 1990’s trying to stop MJ. They could try anything, they could blame the refs, they could double team, they could not double team; but at the end of the night, they were cursing themselves for not keeping 1 guy from beating them.
More Game Notes from Game 5’s heart breaker:
• The Mavericks were guilty of many unforced errors last night. The most obvious is Josh Howard calling the timeout at just the wrong time, but let’s not forget the others: Erick Dampier throwing an outlet pass to Terry, despite Wade sitting on it. Wade then takes the ball right at Dampier which drew a 3rd foul on Damp before halftime, and stopped the momentum on the run. Also, The Mavericks get Shaq to miss two free throws, then Mbenga and Dirk both assume the other guy is getting the board, meanwhile Posey grabs it and hits Shaq for a dunk and a foul. And Diop fouls out because Avery wanted Devin Harris to foul Shaq, Devin did not, so Diop oddly takes the 6th foul on the most unnecessary foul in NBA history. This is not even mentioning Dirk missing a Free Throw with 1:26 left in regulation, and Josh missing two free throws with :54 left in Overtime and holding a 1 point lead that should have been 3. All I am saying is that these are things that get you beat that you do control. You cannot control what the refs do on the final play, but you can control all of these…
• Jason Terry appears to be the only person who regularly takes the ball right at Miami in the paint. I think the Mavs played courageously, and therefore I am not here to point too many fingers, but you are only going to get fouled if you play with courage in the lane, and the Mavs are taking many jump shots. Terry played with a venom that got him a huge night. It is a shame to waste that performance.
• That camera on the wire that ABC and TNT insist on showing us is the most annoying camera angle in camera angle history. Lose it!
• Seriously, at what point do you spend a moment considering trying something other than Devin Harris on Dwyane Wade? I love Devin’s effort, but don’t you get the idea that no one person is going to stop Wade right now? Shouldn’t you consider playing two guys on him at any point of crunch time until he proves he can beat that, too? Don’t you want James Posey taking clutch shots more? Leave Posey unguarded. Leave Payton open (except on a layup). Leave any human being open if it means Dwyane Wade will not beat you. I am bitter right now about that. But I am also reminded that a guard like Wade is the single toughest guy to stop because unlike a post player, you cannot keep Wade from getting the ball.
• I am getting a lot of Dirk emails this morning, and trust me, I am happy to ask “where is Dirk?” when it is necessary, but he had two monster hoops last night on very difficult shots, and he also had a huge assist on the pass to Dampier with :09 in regulation. Three world class plays that will all be forgotten since they lost the game, but nevertheless, Dirk was clutch at clutch moments last night. And then he destroyed plenty of furniture in the tunnel.
• I love Adrian Griffin, but dude, why are you trying to take a charge when you should be guarding Wade with 3 seconds left in regulation? Did you really think the refs were going to call a charge on him? Play straight up defense and maybe you could at least make him miss the shot.
• To the topic of the refs: I know around the water cooler, the blame rests with the officials this morning, but aside from being annoyed that the final call on Wade’s drive seemed very generous, I still come down where I always do. The Mavericks put themselves in a bad position by making way too many unforced errors. I see it like this: The NBA Refs are always going to favor the superstar, and usually always going to favor the home team. So, to act surprised when Wade gets a call in overtime in a game in Miami is evidence that you aren’t paying attention. He is always going to get that call, so you have to either, A) figure out how to guard him without any contact at all, or B) have a lead that can sustain 1 basket from Wade with a few seconds to go. I know this is not a popular stance, but it is mine. Refs do not control the outcome of games, you do. So, make your free throws, and get 1 freaking stop at crunch time, and you win the game.
• I still think this series has changed to Miami’s advantage because of the physical nature of these games. Miami has gone old school NBA, and turned the lane into a meat grinder. The officials have seemed to allow this, and therefore Miami has been smart to do it. The Mavericks have been competing hard, but it still appears that the more physical the game gets, the less the Mavericks succeed.
• Josh Howard was really, really good last night. Those two free throws didn’t help, but I thought he really played like a star last night, and his hustle is really admirable.
• That Hack-a-Shaq seemed about as half-arsed as I have ever seen. They did it once, then didn’t do it for a while, then did it again. Then, in overtime, they fouled him twice, despite Miami not having the bonus. So, all it seemed to do is get Harris cheap fouls, and give Miami back the ball at mid-court. Between that and the timeout situation, it really looked like Avery and his staff made some poor decisions late.
• Well, in the history of the NBA Finals, no series has been 2-3-2 format and had all 7 games won by the home team. If this is going to end right, this will be the first time. The Mavericks have lost 3 straight games, and now must dig deeper than they ever have. This is their first elimination game, except for the mutual elimination of that Game 7 in San Antonio, and finally, the backs are squarely against the wall. Is this where the fairy tale ends?
• 24 Hour Rule applies today. Everyone feel sorry for themselves today, but at dawn Tuesday, it is time to focus on getting out of this mess. This is not over. You have invested 9 months, do not give in now!
57 comments:
Re: the first bullet point of your post - amen!
I agree that there were plenty of other reasons we lost the game last night.
But if you are really going to claim that you were anything less than SHOCKED when they called that foul, then you are not human. That is NOT a foul they will call everytime, and that is NOT a call that our "superstar" gets in our building in the same situation.
Avery was awful, Josh puked all over himself on those free throws, and Dirk continues to play like a role player other than those three plays, but let's not give Bennette Salvatore a free pass. That doesn't even mention the fact that the Heat are ALLOWED to make this series a meat grinder, and the Heat are not allowed to breath on Wade.
Oh no. It looks like after listening to 3 hours of "don't blame the refs" talk on the morning show i'll have to survive another 3 hours from noon to 3.
Is that a handful of shorts used to throw off a defender on Wade's final drive? Thought so. Apparently not as violent as Dirk's loving touch on the small of D-wade's back though.
,So, make your free throws, and get 1 freaking stop at crunch time, and you when the game.
Yea, they should have one it..
mavs in 7
Did Gordo write this?
So, make your free throws, and get 1 freaking stop at crunch time, and you when the game.
Sorry! Serves me write for speed righting this.
On a Positive Note:
Summer bash was great!! Bob has lost way TOO much weight. His new diet is turning him into the third Olsen twin.
I make a motion that noon-3 is all summer bash talk.
All in favor?
Those opposed can meet at Choker's Anonymous and jump off the AAC w/ Avery!!
Late in last night's game, when I squinted just right, I swore that I could see Khalid Reeves bringing the ball upcourt with Tony Dumas on the wing, Oliver Miller and Chris Anstey setting half-hearted picks, and Loren Meyer catching AIDS in the paint.
I fear that the ghost of Frank Zaccanelli has already decided this one.
seems to me that the one weakness the Wade has is that he fouls and sometimes they actually get called. I would like to see the Mavs really run at him. See if you can get him sitting on the bench with 3 fouls have way through the 2nd quarter. See if you can't get him out of the game or at least playing so cautiously that he can't be aggressive. I am not sure that there is a defense that can stop him, but maybe fouls can.
I'd rather listen to 3 hours of don't blame the refs than 3 hours of nutty Mavs fan conspiracy theories.
Avery had better get a grip quick, he absolutely lost it in OT last night and they lost the game as a result.
Say what you will about the officiating (which is always awful toward both sides most every night), but the Mavs, and more specifically Avery Johnson, flat out lost that game last night.
That is NOT a foul they will call everytime, and that is NOT a call that our "superstar" gets in our building in the same situation.
No instead, your superstar got those calls on San Antonio's home floor.
I just got back from the future and let me tell you about the amazing thing that is going to happen at the AAC on Tueday: The 12 miles of beer line is going to be cleaned, FINALLY!
Oh, and the Mavericks WHEN!
I need Lazer. I second AttnyDans motion and request that a generous portion of the show be replays of Lazer's hilarious interview from Friday.
I don't want to talk about Refs or Wade or Dirk's failing star, or Cuban's hubris , or Laura's stupid parade, or Josh's mistake, or Avery. I want Sexy Dangerous Germans in speedos. And that was the gayest thing I've ever typed.
Game 6: Miami 101, Dallas 100 (Miami 3-2)
i thot it wuz gayme 5 last nite.
well, i guess you can't expect Dirk to show up in every series, until he's an mvp that is.
Mavs are very lucky this didnt come back and bite them in the ass.
Like, say, it contributing them losing or something.
-JB
"Game 6: Miami 101, Dallas 100 (Miami 3-2)
i thot it wuz gayme 5 last nite."
That's just Bob's early prediction for game 6. Anybody know a good tackle shop? I've got a few reels that are in need of cleaning before Wednesday.
I AM SAD. I KNOW THIS ISNT NEW BUT IT'S MY TAKE AND MAKES ME FEEL BETTER:
WIN IT FOR THE THOUSANDS THAT SPORT THE CAR FLAG. WIN IF FOR US WHO SPEND HUNDREDS ON YOU JERSEYS. WIN IT FOR US WHOSE EMOTIONS HANG ON YOUR GAMES. WIN IT FOR THE THOUSANDS THAT HAVE TO ENDURE HUBIE BROWN AND HIS D-WADE KNEE PADS. WIN IT FOR STACKS SUTURES. WIN IT FOR ME SO THAT I CAN EXPLAIN TO MY FUTURE KIDS I WAS THERE IN 2006. WIN IT FOR THE BANDWAGON. WIN IT TO STICK IT TO THE MAN. WIN IT SO WE DONT HAVE TO SEE WHITE CHOCOLATE CELEBRATE. WIN IT FOR THE OWNER WHO HAS TURNED THE SHIP AROUND. MOST IMPORTANTLY WIN IT FOR YOURSELVES. BE THE FIRST GROUP TO BRING LARRY O’BRIEN TO DFW. LEAVE IT ALL OUT ON THE FLOOR. WE HAVE YOUR BACK. JUST WIN IT BOYS.
"No instead, your superstar got those calls on San Antonio's home floor.
"
No, Anon, actually he didn't. Manu's call in game 7 was an obvious foul that had to be called. The only similar play in the series in the final seconds was when Bowen blocked Dirk at the end of game 5. There was a similar amount of contact on that play, if not more.
I said at the time that that is a good no call, and I truly believed it.
So no, he didn't get that same call. That was essentially a phantom call with 1 second to play in overtime of game 5 of the NBA FREAKING FINALS.
If the series is now a meat grinder and the officials are letting it go, why are all the touch fouls being called at the Mavs' end?
We still have home court. I truly believe that since Miami got a boatload of calls Sunday, we'll get a boatload of calls on Tuesday just so this thing will go the full 7.
New 1st for me last night...broken remote control. Still looking for the Tivo button, it's probably under the couch.
Wow, that was hard to watch.
Sinking feeling squarely in place. Hopefully the 24 hour rule helps.
Panic. Panic real hard.
I took brok my remote.
All they needed to do when was get a stop....and then needed to try again. Neither time. Both Wade? Is there anything you can do?
Should we even feel bad? If in 10 years we can look back adn say the Mavs were just the 1st victim on Wade owning people, will that make anyone feel better?
uh...go rangers?
foolish mavs. damnit.
Sounds like someone's got a case of the Mondays.
For all you idiots talking about the call the Dirk got in San Antonio, SHUT UP. That was a foul Ginobli hit dirks hand, and the replays show it!! Show me a replay that show Wade getting fouled last night?
It wasn't all you idiots, it was just me. And if you go to ESPN.com they have a picture of Harris fouling Wade. The only bitch you have with the refs is that they called it on Dirk instead of Harris. There was as much if not more contact on Wade as there was on Dirk in Game 7 of the semis.
And Bob, I thought only fans one team towns like SA made up conspiracy theories? Why don't you address that ridiculous claim you made during the SA series.
I agree with Bob that the Mavs dug themselves into a hole last night. There were so many mistakes made in that game it would take all day to list them. But! I strongly disagree that the refs had nothing to do with it. Everyone is so afraid of sounding like a Spurs fan, that they won't state the obvious. First, Stackhouse is suspended for a hard foul that Shaq himself admitted his daughters hit him harder than Jerry did.(Was anyone else sickened by the Superman commercial last night?) If we're gonna suspend Stackhouse for that love pat, let's suspend Shaq for the almost broken nose he dealt to Jerry 2 games before! Does anyone else notice the mauling Dirk gets every time he touches the freakin ball? And Josh Howard's black eye is hard to miss as well. It's getting absolutely ridiculous, not to mention boring! If the Mavericks walk away from this runner up, I will no longer watch the NBA. I love my Mavericks, but if they're going to be held back , on purpose, really, what's the point? I think this is the league's way of saying, "Mark, if you screw with us, we'll screw with you. Oh, and by the way, there's nothing you can do about it."
I agree with Bob that the Mavs dug themselves into a hole last night. There were so many mistakes made in that game it would take all day to list them. But! I strongly disagree that the refs had nothing to do with it. Everyone is so afraid of sounding like a Spurs fan, that they won't state the obvious. First, Stackhouse is suspended for a hard foul that Shaq himself admitted his daughters hit him harder than Jerry did.(Was anyone else sickened by the Superman commercial last night?) If we're gonna suspend Stackhouse for that love pat, let's suspend Shaq for the almost broken nose he dealt to Jerry 2 games before! Does anyone else notice the mauling Dirk gets every time he touches the freakin ball? And Josh Howard's black eye is hard to miss as well. It's getting absolutely ridiculous, not to mention boring! If the Mavericks walk away from this runner up, I will no longer watch the NBA. I love my Mavericks, but if they're going to be held back , on purpose, really, what's the point? I think this is the league's way of saying, "Mark, if you screw with us, we'll screw with you. Oh, and by the way, there's nothing you can do about it."
Sports media loves the "don't blame the refs" cliche more than any other, especially the ticket people. They want you to think that anything can be overcome in sports "if you are good enough" because if too many people feel that teams get purposely screwed they might tuned out of sports and sports radio. Count me in as a quitter.
that's basketball, that's just basketball, that's basketball, that's basketball, that's, listen now, that's basketball, that's basketball
This will go to game 7... everyone calm down.
p1dean
Tommy T. All I can say is Karma sucks...
As Junior said this morning, what goes around comes around.
As a Lakers fan, I couldn't care less who wins this series, although I wouldn't mind seeing Shaq prevail for old times sake.
However, I have never seen myopia like the Mavs and their fans have. You shouldn't be calling out anybody in San Antonio, Detroit, Miami, LA or anywhere else. When the Mavs win they are invincible and when they lose, it's always the refs fault. Cuban has always been pathetic like that, but now Avery Johnson is just as bad as he is. Maybe if he was concentrating more on coaching last night instead of barking at the refs, his guy wouldn't have mistaken his timeout call there at the end.
If you want to know why the rest of the NBA can't stand you, your owner and your team, there is your answer. You guys are the biggest bitchers and whiners in the NBA bar none.
And to think I was almost suckered in and was beginning to get this here game of basketball, but then I watched game five of the NWWFBA's basketball game / wrestling match and remembered why for almost my whole life I 've basketball sucks. I was right all along. It doesn't matter who gets the bad calls, our superstar or their superstar, there is just WAY to many FREAKIN' calls period. The refs are WAY too involved in this game, their like a third team on the floor. So it's hockey tonight, and after the cup gets skated tonight, I'm out until football starts and the N[WWF]BA and its advertizers have seen the last of me.
That anonymous guy needs a whole box of tissues to get all of that brown SH!+ out of his nose. The game of basketball is a beautiful game, but it's become so damn political, that it's taking the fun and EVERYTHING that attracts people to it away.
That last play of the game should have NEVER happened, but because the 'best refs available' didn't call a backcourt violation on Wade, it did. I think the refs are doing a poor ass job on calls and are not being consistent on both sides of the floor with their calls. Dirk gets abused everytime and gets very few calls, yet if we as much as breathe on Wade, it's a freaken foul. Somebody else posted a comment saying that if we got shafted, they wouldn't watch the NBA anymore....... well, I was actually thinking the same thing. Just let the players play!!!! It is so DAMN frustrating watching these officials deciding the outcome of the games. Don't get me wrong, we should execute better down the stretch and not give the refs an opportunity to take the game from us.
Is it just me or do they let Shaq get away with pretty much everything? As Harris was trying to purposely foul him yesterday, Shaq lead with his elbow and hit Harris right on the jaw. That's about the fourth time I've seen him do that in this series. The biggest being the bloody nose on Stack which, if you look at the replay, you will see that it WAS intentional cus he lead with the elbow.
LET THE PLAYERS DECIDE THE OUTCOME OF THE GAME AND NOT THE REFS!!! DON'T RUIN THE GAME OF BASKETBALL!!
What are you people seeing in the last 3 games that I'm not? Close game, we lose. Overtime, we lose. Shaq can't hit a freethrow, we lose. We have the last shot, we lose. We outrebound, we lose, we play defense, we lose.
What have we seen that should make me confident we will see game 7 (oh, would Cuban STILL give away tickets for that game if we get there---I highly doubt it.)
I'm asking a question, that's it, no more no less, not looking to get cussed at, just asking.
Atty - Cuban said that the NBA put the kibosh on the free tickets because they get a cut and they aren't down with getting their cut shortened. Yet Cubes still said that he'll probably give some tixs away and just "pay" for them personally so that the NBA still gets their cut.
So don't knock Cubes about that - he's trying to stick to his word.
I'll answer your question ATTYDAN, the answer is the fact that the Heat are a different team at home than they are on the road. Our only hope is that the Heat play more to their paper on the road.
Dirk usually has better games at home, as do the rest of the Mavs...so we'll see.
So this is why I don't watch basketball.
For whatever reason, the Mavs should have won Games 3 and 5. Explaination: They can't close the deal, and it is because of this reason they will lose this series. Blame who you want, but the killer instinct lacks in this team. Period.
"Three world class plays that will all be forgotten since they lost the game, but nevertheless, Dirk was clutch at clutch moments last night."
Bob,
Did you think that if Dirk had more than 12 POINTS through 3 QUARTERS that there wouldn't have been the need for those plays? As much praise everyone(including me) has given him, he needs to be accountable for the game 4&5 losses.
If you think your day is bad. I was on a plane listening to 2 generic sports fans from effing KC break down the Finals, armed with expert analysis from Mike&Mike.
I dunno how I really feel about Cuban publically airing his grievances and acting like an idiot after such a close loss.
There's a part of me that admires him wanting to fight The Man. But there's another that says you're fighting a losing battle which you have no control over, especially, when you air your grievances publically.
If there's one thing the league really frowns upon, it's public criticism. Whether or not it shows how think skinned Stern and his bunch are is another debate. But that's just how it is.
Cuban's been in the NBA long enough to understand how things work along those lines. And while I'll agree with Avery's take that if the league is suspending Stack or telling the refs to favor calls towards Miami that it's pretty sorry, Cuban has take some of the blame for that if it is indeed true.
And to follow up on what Polit Burro said.
Turns out Cubes was very much right about Wade committing a backcourt violation.
I may be delirious here, but we're all biting our nails because the Mavs lost by one on the road with their best reserve watching from his couch. Let's get a little perspective.
It's just like I told the Heat fans taunting me on my way out of AAA last night: they don't give the trophy to the first team to win three. This thing's coming home, and if the home team stays undefeated, we're all going to be pretty happy with the result.
Happy birthday to Dirk, by the way.
Section X-Ball in Backcourt
a. A player shall not be the first to touch a ball which he or a teammate caused to go from frontcourt to backcourt while his team was in control of the ball. EXCEPTION: Rule 8-Section III-e (EXCEPTION).
b. During a jump ball, a try for a goal, or a situation in which a player taps the ball away from a congested area, as during rebounding, in an attempt to get the ball out where player control may be secured, the ball is not in control of either team. Hence, the restriction on first touching does not apply.
c. Following a jump ball, a player who secures a positive position and control of the ball in his frontcourt cannot pass the ball to a teammate or dribble the ball into the backcourt.
PENALTY: Loss of ball. The ball is awarded to the opposing team at the mid-court line.
e. Any ball out-of-bounds in a team’s frontcourt or at the midcourt line cannot be passed into the backcourt. On all backcourt and midcourt violations, the ball shall be awarded to the opposing team at the midcourt line, and must be passed into the frontcourt.
DUDE !! you right on the money with this,but I'm wondering ? what now? What do the MAVS do now??
We gotta come out swingin' and finish the game swingin'.
Bob,
I know you are Sports Sturm - but aren't you also Bob the Baptist? People used to disguise the language, but I guess they are getting the Game 5 loss exception.
Cuban is so proud that he cussed last night he blogged about it. He is even proud when his 3 year old drops an M F. I guess when your are Richie Rich you feel like you can do anything you want. I like Cuban as the owner - I just don't like the Crybaby that comes out when he doesn't get his way.
He needs to be dropping F bombs in the locker room to the players, not in somebody's mini disc.
If you ever worked for yourself, owned anything yourself (and I don't mean paying a bank for something you think you own), you will understand Cuban's actions.
If you don't, then you will call him a crybaby and tell him what to do with his own property.
If you don't like it, buy a team and show him how it should be done.
Eh? Didn't think so.
I don't understand this... You say that we know that Wade is going to get every call in the world as every superstar does. Then the very next statement you say that the officials are going back to old school officialting and letting everything go in the lane. The problem is that Shaq and Wade get 85% of their fouls in the lane. Dirk, Terry, and Harris have all gotten creamed in the lane the last 3 games w/o getting hardly any fouls called. Basically, the way I see it is that we have 2 different games being called. It seems to be less about the calibre of player and more about which end of the floor it is called on.
If you can admit that the outcome of the game depends on how it is called, then you must admit that the outcome is not based upon which team outplays the other.
Harris fouling Wade
http://i5.tinypic.com/14vmbte.jpg
Dirk fouling Wade?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v627/Vladefan21/Miscellaneous/14vpao0.jpg
Pretty weak...
Bottom line...quit BITCHIN' about it!!
you guys are nuts. the mavs lost, make some free throws. wade was hacked by devin, doesn't matter if it was called on dirk. foul is a foul. you still have home court, quit your crying and lets see how this plays out. btw- its not like miami has proved they can shoot on the road. let's just wait and see folks, quit your crying ... for now. btw- our "superstar"? superstars show up in more than 1 of the last 9 games. two clutch jumpers, but where is the ole throw the troops on your back mantality? damn, howard looked like the "superstar" last night. well, until he went webber on us.
That camera on the wire that ABC and TNT insist on showing us is the most annoying camera angle in camera angle history. Lose it!
Amen, Brotha!!!
from Dwain Price's article in the Star-Telegram:
And when word got out that the City of Dallas was already planning a parade route to celebrate a Mavs' title, Wade was furious.
"No question [the parade talks] were very motivational," Wade said. "After Game 2, Coach [Pat Riley] showed us an article saying we were not a worthy opponent.
"That blew my mind, and blew our team's mind."
After that, Wade and the Heat went to work and proceeded to ruin the Mavs,' and the city's victory parade plans. And the Mavs couldn't do anything but salute him.
Thanks Laura and Tim.
Arthur
last post, i promise. but i just had to say this:
fuck the fucking fuckers.
there, i'm done.
until the best sport in the league gets going in Oxnard, Ca,
Arthur (extremely pissed off and tired)
..best sports league in the world, not sport in the league.... how Ribby....
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