Mavericks Perform the Biggest Choke Job Ever!

At the risk of offending any body.......I had to celebrate how the 8th seeded Golden State Warriors at 42-40 manhandled the Dallas Mavericks in a best of 7 series, 4 games to 2.Dallas had a franchise best 67 wins this year, and home court throughout the playoffs.
To me, it just shows how once again, Mark and all his loudmouthing sets himself up for big disappointment.It's the players on the floor that let the big D down, but is it safe for me to say that this organization is fast becoming a choke artist?
Thanks for letting me have the floor guys-let me know what you think!

 

I'm not all that shocked, Golden State matched up with them very well. Who knows that Dallas team better than Don Nelsen anyway?

Congrats to GS, I am a Bay Area Native and its nice to see them do well for once. I wish I still had my Pervis Short t-shirt.. Ya heard

 

Dallas Mavericks

Definitely heard you. It was the biggest upset in NBA history since they went to the seven game series where a numer 8 beat out a "number one." Anyway, that series increased some interest!

 

Man, was I happy to see those ugly Mavs get beaten up by Baron Davis and the Warriors!!!

Mark Cuban just pisses me off, waaaaaay to involved in on-the-court stuff as an owner if you want my opinion!!

BUT all that said, GO SPURS!!!!!!!

 

Indeed, man. A lot of people were saying that they were mediocre and that Golden State got lucky. That's bull. Maybe in Game 1, and that's debatable. You don't get lucky 4 times - in 48 mins for that matter. Golden State just had swagger, something Dallas just didn't. Dirk proved again that he's not yet the superstar that he can and should be - one who can be there when his team needs him, the way Jordan, Bird, Clyde, Magic, Russell, Kareem and the rest were for their teams. I believe Dirk still has a lot of improving to do and has got to step up.

Secondly, Dallas' defense was even worse. In my opinion, championship caliber teams do not give away more than 100 points three consecutive games. Baron Davis just ran through Dallas - literally. Jason Richardson and Stephen Jackson were just getting open looks beyond the arc all series and took them well. Pietrus proved himself to be an excellent defensive stopper that he is. Overall, Golden State had more will and passion and that's why they won.

Elsewhere.....

Houston should have won but for their lacklustre shooting. Defense cannot do it alone, especially against a solid transition team like Utah and thats why Utah beat them.

We all knew Phoenix were going to bounce the Lakers back home; it was a matter of when. The Lakers need some solid players and if its gonna take getting rid of some "players" and a Kobe pay cut, so be it because this team is hurting Phil Jackson's legacy - and the Lakers', more importantly. They're so awful they look hopeless even when they win. Honestly, it was Kobe vs Phoenix Suns. If Kobe takes over a game, they say he's selfish. If he doesn't score and looks to his "team", they lose - badly. This team are hurting for real.

San Antonio beat Denver because of a better defense and more consistent offense. They just were better and the outcome was not a shock.

In the East, New Jersey were just better than Toronto, and despite the efforts of Chris Bosh, T.J Ford and Jose Calderon, Carter and co. were much superior. Whether they can do the same against Cleveland Cavaliers remains to be seen.

Detroit were highly favored against Orlando and they didn't disappoint. They outrebounded, outscored and downright demolished Orlando. Dwight Howard's offensive game still needs more polishing and Grant Hill needs to retire for real. In my opinion, the Eastern Conference title - and a place in the Finals - is Detroit's to lose (or win, depending on how you wanna term it). That Webber trade was for the better.

Cleveland would not have had such an easy run had Arenas and Caron Butler been fit. With those two and Antawn Jamison in the lineup, they can be unpredictable and given the fact that Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes and Donyell Marshall are some of the most inconsistent players, all they would have needed to do was applying the "Jordan Rules" on Lebron which means force him to pass or shoot, rather than slash. Detroit did it in Games 1, 2, 6 and 7 last year and won all. The Cavs got lucky but it just might run out against the Nets.

Finally, my dear Heat succumbed to the Bulls. :evil: It wasn't quite a shocker as D Wade isn't fully fit and some people on the team are either too inexperienced or too damn old. No one was really expecting a repeat of last year and to be frank, Luol Deng made all the difference. The Heat just weren't as tactical as they should have been and you cannot do that against the likes of Ben Gordon and Deng. They all looked like a bunch of tired heffas neways :lol: :lol:. So much for the two games i went to see.

So far, the playoffs have been fun, with a few suprises but no more room for inconsistency, laziness and errors. You blow it and that's it; bye bye.

Here are my predictions :

Spurs over Suns
Utah over Golden State

New Jersey over Cleveland
Detroit over Chicago.

Overall, i predict a repeat of the 2005 Finals i.e. San Antonio vs Detroit.

 

Your predictions are pretty good Laydeezmancris,

BUT...that NJ pick over Cleveland isn't looking too good right now is it?
And I believe the Warriors are gonna give Utah all they can handle and more before they bow out...
That's of course if Baron Davis doesn't go crazy on them like he did against the Mavs, in which case the JAZZ might find themselves watching the finals in the west with the rest of us!!!

And how about these BULLS...they swept the HEAT and now they are on the brink of being swept by the PISTONS...talk about a turnaround!!!

I like the SPURS too, I think that STOUDEMIRE made a mistake calling the SPURS a dirty team...they are going to go at him big time and try to make the game really hard on him!!!

To finish, anyone else here who thinks (like I do) that Steve NASH is the REAL MVP????

Peace!!!

 

JRem, you're very right about the Nets-Cavs matchup. In my opinion, Vince Carter is, if not the most inconsistent player in the league, amongst them. One minute, he plays like he's Jordan (and not only because of dunks), the next he's playing like Samaki Walker. I just cannot understand that dude no more. Since 2004, he hasn't been playing to the best of his ability and that's why New Jersey are trailing right now. No disrespect to Lebron James, but the reason his team are 2-0 up is less to do with their talent than the Nets' inconsistency, lacklustre "D" and bad shot selection. I couldn't believe my eyes in Game 1, with New Jersey just chucking bad shots. Now don't get me wrong, Lebron has been the heart and soul of his team but if New Jersey played like they did last night, they can pull off a shock and go through. Obviously, it won't be a slam dunk but the Cavs are a horrible defensive team and aren't stellar behind the arc - something the Nets are better at - and if Mikki Moore stops getting bullied under the glass by Z, they can push forward.

I hate to say this, but i'm starting to think twice about my prediction in the Warriors-Jazz matchup. Man, was Baron Davis on fire?? They blew out Utah in a way even in a way the most ardent Warriors fan wouldn't have predicted. I still am convinced Utah will edge them but as you rightly said, it'd be a fight to the end.

I couldn't be happier that the Bulls are getting swept (coming from a childhood MJ-era fan) but that's the prize you pay for beating my team :lol:.But seriously, the remaining teams might as well bow out now and the Finals begin because let's get fucking real, New Jersey or Cleveland aren't gonna beat a team like Detroit who are the only team remaining in the entire playoffs who have not lost a game. And what's scarier, they've blown Chicago out in all 3 games. There's nothing anyone can do to stop them -they're just too compact and consistent - and except the intervention of God, the NBA Finals' eastern place is theirs.

I still stand by my Spurs prediction. Steve Nash is good and all but all that run-and-gun, slamming and jamming, up-tempo game will end up like Nash's nose - bust. San Antonio, and Detroit, have been the defensive team in this year's contest and coupled with stellar play from Duncan, Parker and Manu plus solid outside shooting from Barry and Finley, have made every game seem like a pickup match. They've been able to successfully slow down the Suns - something the Lakers didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of doing - and i don't care what anyone says about San Antonio, they're still pound-for-pound the best team in the entire league (Sorry Mavs fans).

Lastly (and unfortunately) JRem, this is where i'd disagree with you. Dirk is the MVP. Now i understand that the Suns had some good games this year and lost most games that Nash missed, but that isn't all that makes an MVP. It means Most Valuable Player and as far as i'm concerned, not even Kobe has been as meaningful to his team as Dirk. A lot of folks say he shouldn't get it because he went out in the 1st round but the award is for what you do in the regular season, and not the postseason. Dirk has made Josh Howard the breakout star that he is and even though Dirk lost to Nash (twice) on national television, the Suns haven't been as good as the Mavs. I'd go through all their milestones but i don't have as much time on my hands. I've made my case - Dirk should enjoy his consolation prize as MVP.