Sports Talk with MC

by MC

The Mavericks are on the cusp of being eliminated by the eighth seed Golden State Warriors in round 1 of the Western Conference playoffs.

A bluff? Watch ESPN and you’ll know I’m not joking.

After an 18 point drubbing at the hands of the speedsters from Oakland, the Mavericks fan and basketball pundit in me is inevitably led to ask- is Dallas done? Are the Mavericks overrated? Is there truth behind the notion that maybe, just maybe, Mark Cuban could have gotten a more polished low post scorer instead of spending money on Kevin Willis? Is Dirk’s generally soft spoken demeanor rubbing off too much on his on-court persona in these playoffs? Is Dallas about to wilt under the stress yet again?

  Who is to blame here? Who was to blame for the collapse against Miami in the 2006 finals (consequently, Miami is on the verge of elimination against the Bulls). I would hate to just go out and put all the blame on Nowitzki, or on Avery, or on Cuban. I think that right now, the Warriors are the better team, and their running Dallas out of the building night in and night out is evidence of it. It comes as no consequence that Don Nelson is the the man running the show in the Bay Area. Nelson guided Dirk as he rose to that place with thin air we call the NBA stratosphere. He helped the Mavericks franchise emerge from amongst the NBA’s worst to amongst the NBA’s best.

Perhaps Dallas STILL being a perimeter oriented team has something to do with their propensity to stall, at times. Maybe the 67 wins has placed so much pressure on them to the point that they can’t wear their heads on straight. The Mavs have always been a team capable of adapting, but in this case, has their former “master” pushed all the right buttons, such that Dirk and co. have been caught on top of the heap, but in way over their heads with regards to dealing with all the speed, and fury, involved in making it to the top of the mountain, with the thought of it having to be a “repeat” performance of sorts, no less? Are Dirk and Josh Howard players who need a hardwood maestro like Steve Nash, to help them reach levels beyond their full potential? Is Golden State on it’s way to pulling off perhaps the most stunning postseason upset the NBA has ever seen? 

Maybe some assertions are accurate, maybe some are downright ridiculous, and maybe others teeter from certain to unmerited every 5 minutes. However this all plays out, we’ll sure to be witness to the cementing of legacies, and the placing in doubt, of others. Moreover, we may just get to see something not everyone who follows basketball, or sports, for that matter, gets to lay their eyes on- the exposure of a very real humanity behind the jersey numbers, the uniforms, and the team emblems. Amidst all the bright lights, it can become easy to forget just how much being vulnerable, like people are, can hold water in a contest dictated by always robotic efficiency.

Feel for your team. Consider that maybe, just maybe, it may not be a lack of skill. It might just be a lack of will.

My personal observation is that, beyond the stat sheets, the Mavericks, after being caught off-guard, are feeling more worn down by the latter.

I can see it in their eyes. Very vividly so.

~0~