Friday, June 16, 2006

Uh-Oh. Game 4: Miami 98, Dallas 74

Without much hesitation, I think we can all see now that we most definitely have a series on our hands. Game 4 was putrid on many levels, and now the Dallas Mavericks must question themselves in the biggest of fashions after being crushed in a game that we all agreed was crucial.

Usually, up top in my game notes, I focus on one particular item in the game that was noteworthy and spend a little time elaborating on the story of the night.

Well, I just am so dumbfounded at finding a particular reason for last night’s embarrassing meltdown that I may just skip it.

They were horrible. Dirk could not play worse. Josh Howard was missing.

I have no interest in telling anyone “I told you so” when I issued the most serious “tap your breaks” warning upon our arrival in Miami. I think everyone knows now that we have a serious problem in front of us here in Dallas.

Again, the Mavericks are a mentally tough bunch who responds very well to adversity. And now they can sit and ponder their adversity until Sunday. Are they letting the chance of a lifetime slip away? Are they on the verge of the biggest choke in Dallas Sports History? Are they about to lose to Freaking Finland after beating the Russians in Lake Placid? Are they about to make Spurs fans and Suns fans very happy for the rest of the summer?

Adversity, welcome to the Dallas Mavericks locker-room.

Notes from Game 4:

• Dwyane Wade is amazing. He also should be forbidden from claiming any sort of injury or illness for the rest of his career. Who plays possum better than Wade who has sucked the media into believing his limps, and then drops 78 points in 2 games? Perhaps, the Mavericks are put in the odd position of having to leave Shaquille to more straight up coverage, and send the double teams at Wade. Something tells me that Shaquille would then explode and begin to dominate from the inside, but I am not sure I see much other choice. You cannot let Wade get 40 and just demoralize you like he has. I have no idea what you try in Game 5 defensively, but what you did in Game 4 is laughable.

• This morning, the Sportcenter boys are convinced that Stackhouse will be suspended for his hit on Shaq. Make no mistake; it was an overly physical play that appeared to offer no play on the ball. But, it would seem that a suspension might be a bit strong. I guess we shall see, but I thought a flagrant was proper, and we shall see what the league office decides today. In other news, it is nice to see someone push back at the Heat physically, because it sure appears that some of the Mavs shrink when the pushing gets going.

• Basketball is a very simple game. You cannot win when you cannot shoot. The Mavericks cannot shoot right now, and I have no real explanation for the reason. Are the Heat playing great defense? Or, are the Mavericks just missing shots they normally knock down? It would seem to me that the poor shooting is more the product of the touch being a bit off, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter “why”. It just matters if it is going in the hoop or not. And for the better part of 4 games, the Mavericks are not shooting the ball well. This better change in a hurry.

• And what about the German? I refuse to knee-jerk like many emailers are; Here is one example from my email box: Flopping Dirk is no MVP! MVP's don't disappear in the Finals. But let’s all be honest: He has to find another dominating performance in a hurry, or this thing may slip away. He is getting out performed by a mile when you compare him to Wade, and he also is looking uncomfortable with Haslem and Posey in his jock. He has built up too much credibility with me in this post season for all of that to be forgotten because of a few rough games in Miami, but this isn’t about credibility. This is about what could be his only chance to win a title in his career. He has to rise above the bumps, bruises, and critics. He has to find at least one more signature effort to close the deal. And it needs to happen quickly.

• 7 points in the 4th Quarter.

• Given that he was one of the few players to get to a loose ball last night, I may consider a bigger dose of Adrian Griffin going forward.

• Lest we give Dirk all of the blame, would someone please remind Josh Howard that he can get to the rim anytime he wants? This Antoine Walker impression which seems to include a steady diet of 20-foot jump shots is not what the Mavs need right now, Josh. Be aggressive with the ball and stop launching shots that are not nearly as high a percentage. In fact, the whole team needs to stop launching jumpers. 22 three point attempts? C’mon!

• What really stinks about this outcome is that there was a period of the game where the Mavericks had cut the lead to 10, at 80-70, and they had 3 shots at getting it closer, but nothing would fall. During this same time, they received many calls. The Mavericks were actually getting all of the calls, and could do nothing with it. I am not saying the refs were trying to keep it close, but…

• Nothing is more irrelevant than pointing out Marquis Daniels looked absurd during garbage time with a few air-balls and a goofy turnover, but I really can’t help it. I have never seen anyone look like they have never played before every time he steps on the floor, quite like Marquis.

• The Heat deserve a lot of credit. What a response to two horrible performances in Dallas which had them left for dead. They have showed a ton of emotion and resolve and have taken over the role of getting to every loose ball and every rebound that is up for grabs. Pat Riley has kept them together, and now the players are starting to rise up. Wade and Shaq are playing like a title is right there to be had. That should scare us all.

• DJ MBenga returns Sunday. Secret Weapon???

• It appears someone explained to Antoine Walker what they needed from him. He took almost no stupid shots until garbage time.

• Well, they only needed to get one in Miami, right? It seemed like an easy task when they had 3 shots at it, and a reasonable assignment when they had 2 cracks left. Now, with only Sunday left, they know what they must do. But can they?

• Do we need to start researching whether the home team has ever won all 7 games in a NBA Finals? Don’t assume the Heat cannot win a road game.

47 comments:

Anonymous said...

Knee Jerk. Rangers. Mamrit. Got it covered guys!

Anonymous said...

1994 Houston Rockets vs. New York - series went 7 games, home team won all 7.

Kind of scary though, to come home to your own place losing 2-3, andhaving to win game 6 JUST TO FORCE a game 7

I sense a phoenix like game 5 where dirk explodes

Anonymous said...

I yelled, I screamed, I begged and pleaded.....this is Karma. Kinda like "My Name is Earl". The only way this gets fixed is if Cuban shaves his head. (Trust me, the B-ball gods talk to me).

It's time to quit acting like this is a "party" (i.e. bits with the Heat players) and start acting like this is a F-ING WAR!!!!!

Heat in 6

Flaco said...

I dont know if the Mavs can score on this team like they want to.

I simply dont understand why they are so afraid fo taking it to the hoop. Theyre going to get the calls if they take it strong to the rim. It may take all night, but those calls will come and if you get folks in foul trouble...

ugh. ugh ugh gugh ugh

stupid Mavericks. Avery is getting outcoached.

Theyre letting it slip away. Summer is going to be miserable...

Cap It said...

I knew it was going to be a long night at halftime. We're down by 11 with both Wade and Shaq on the bench for a large part of the 1st half.

Sphincter's are just too tight, and they are playing scared. (except Stack).

Breath.

Cap It said...

or did i mean Breathe?

Anonymous said...

Do you people have any idea how difficult it is to hit the front of the rim? It's a much smaller area than the hole in the middle. Give the guys some credit. They're on FIRE!

And turning up the floor before the ball has ever left the shooter's hand is comedy genius. It's like letting the other guy hit you over the head with a beer bottle in a bar fight. Can't wait to see game 5 as long as this bullet misses my eye. Click...

Flaco said...

Breathing is about the only thing they were doing last night.

Anonymous said...

I have no interest in telling anyone “I told you so” when I issued the most serious “tap your breaks” warning upon our arrival in Miami. I think everyone knows now that we have a serious problem in front of us here in Dallas.

Bob, actually, you said this after game 2.

"I am not here to knee-jerk or anything, but it sure seems like we can now begin to use the word “when” instead of “if” the Mavericks win a World Title this year."

-laughs-

Anonymous said...

He's right Bob...you did say all those things.

Guess that next to Attorneys, talk show hosts can flip-flop as much as they want. (or as we say, alternative pleadings)

Example:
You Claim: Your dog bit me.

My Defense:
1. No it did not
2. If you did get bit it wasn't my by my dog
3. If it did bit you and it was my dog, you weren't hurt
3. If it did bite you and it was my dog, and you're hurt, you provoked it

Scoreboard.

Anonymous said...

Crap, this blog needs spell check.

Sam said...

maybe i'm a little sloshed with kool-aid, but i think the heat are simply doing what we kinda' knew they'd do - play with energy at home. i also think that the mavs are still a better team top to bottom so i'm taking a deep breath, gonna' stay away from sportscenter for a few days, do some world cup, and then i expect avery and the mavs to come back on sunday with a toughness and determination that can help compensate for the heat's energy. i'm just thinking about how they responded after giving up a 3-1 lead to the spurs and struggling against the suns. this is mavs 2.1. they'll be ok. at least for me, i think my fears are linked to past versions of the mavs and their weaknesses.

Anonymous said...

Don't forget, No. 5: "I don't own a dog."

Anonymous said...

After everything this post season, the Mavs haven't proved anything yet. At least thats the way it feels.

The Western conference playoffs seem so long ago. That was different. This is a new thing.

The Mavs have shown nothing at this level yet.

I've lost all my confidence. I hope they havent lost all of theirs

Cap It said...

...so THAT's what the barrel of a shotgun tastes like...

Anonymous said...

Dirk got lulled to sleep by the terrible D phoenix would play. He needs to rachet it up. Stack was getting shaq back for popping his nose in game 1. Im very afraid. We have no offensive plan when we cant trust dirk to get something positive done. we take 18 seconds trying to get him the ball while he posts up right inside of the 3 point line, when we cant, terry takes a forced jumper or we swing it around to get a forced jumper near the end of the shot clock. Im very worried. someone on our team needs to GO OFF. we have to be able to get to the rim more often.

Anonymous said...

I think he was going for affirmative defenses.

I just watched games 1 and 2 on OnDemand and they were even more dominant the second time. Game 3 cut out with about 7 minutes to go, but the Mavs held a 13 point lead on their way to a blowout. No question the Mavs sweep this one. What time is game 4 on tonight?

Anonymous said...

TWO GAMES AND WE ARE A WORLD CUP BLOG!!!

Mavs are CHOKING on a near Yankees scale.

Suck it, beootches!

Go footy.

Anonymous said...

if anyone needs me, i'll be in the garage with the car running.

didn't know the Cryptkeeper was an NBA Official,
Arthur

Anonymous said...

Shaq's stiff arm on Harris was classic. I guess they're legal in the tricked up Finals format. Then on the rebound Shaqe threw the poor kid back to 2002 where he met up with the 3 point shootin' Mavs of old.

Anonymous said...

Rip Van Winkle said:

I think he was going for affirmative defenses.

Nope: an affirmative defense is one that must be plead by the defendant to defeat the plaintiff's (or prosecution's) cause of action. Affirmative defenses raise facts and arguments that defeat the claim, even if all the allegations in the complaint are true. E.g. "contributory negligence" or "insanity."

Alternative pleadings are those which allege various, even mutually exclusive, theories of recovery or defense. See TRCP 48 or Regency Advantage L.P. v. Bingo Idea-Watauga, Inc., 936 S.W.2d 275, 278 (Tex. 1996).

That is all. Sports content to follow.

-AttnySimic

Anonymous said...

I wholeheartedly apologize.

God Gawd Ahmighty have we stooped to Lawyer talk on this blog...guess we're all in denial of the truth regarding our savior coach. Avery is scared.

He should be.

Anonymous said...

"Cuban must shave his head." That's genius, attnDan.

And btw (I know this is off topic) but what sort of law do you practice? I start Wesleyan Law this fall.

This playoff run has changed me forever. I'm actually a little happy that we have a series. The 90s Cowboys fan I used to be would have loved a sweep..but ever since that Spurs series, I've been craving competitive games.

Does anyone else think that Shaqfu elbow to Dirk's head might have set him back a bit?

Anonymous said...

We've got a law sting going on the Metroplex's finest sports blog. Thanks Mavs!

Game 5 prediction Mavs 98 - Heat 96. D-Wade falls down 14 times.

Anonymous said...

WTF?? Who isn't a lawyer here? Screw this, I'm going to Chef School instead.

Anonymous said...

It think I'll print this off. Probably the first time Bob's Blog has ever been used for reference in a Civ Pro exam.

Anonymous said...

This is from the Onion article about Manu...but it seems to apply to Wade's dramatics as well...

NBA analysts say are calling this incident the most extreme case of flopping since 1992, when Vlade Divac, who was hiding a razor in his wristband, surreptitiously sliced his supraorbital vein and bled to death after drawing minor contact with the Clippers' Danny Manning

Anonymous said...

remember the play where Terry had a layup and opted to try a pull-up bank shot? are we collectively pussing out?

Arthur

Anonymous said...

I dont know if I would say the Mavs choked... offensively they were worse than pathetic. It made me sick to know in the 4th quarter even though the Heat were TRYING to give the game away by not scoring for 6 minutes or so, that there was no way a Maverick jump shot was going to go in.

I am marinating in misery until Sunday at 7:30. I have to avoid all sports media until then or I might end up hanging in my garage with a nintendo controller.

I refuse to believe that it was all the Heat defense that did it to the mavs. They had way too many open jumpers that simply did not fall, when normally they do. And hey if I'm wrong, f me, and I'll gladly engage in a murder/suicide pact with you, smart guy.

Is Dirk panicked to go to the rim after the combo of the Shaq elbow, and the Mourning pile drive to the gound last night? I dont want to believe it. I want him to score 50 on Sunday, and then we can all worship him again. Please Dirk do it. Please.

Unknown said...

dean...i'm going into my third year at South Texas law school. my advice to you is to abandon this blog quick!! it is life-draining.

sports: mike young needs to turn up the power knob and hit A home run occassionally. tex just needs to up the average.

who won the mavericks game last night?

Anonymous said...

Gets knocked down once, gets up once. Twice, twice... Gets knocked down for the 7th time, gets up for the 7th time. Where's the 8th time? Does he climb on a ladder?

Anonymous said...

when i get off work, i'm going to smoke the biggest joint i've smoked since high school.

the great escape,
Arthur

p.s.
i don't think we should let our kids near the garages. alot of suicide innuendo today.

Anonymous said...

Well, if any of you are planning to leave this fair world, let me know. Dying without a will and estate plan is just stupid. I would be happy to help you out...for a nominal fee of course.

Hey, maybe the Mavs choking will be good for my practice.

More Wills, DWI's, domestic violence...now that I think about it....go Heat!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Genius, AttnyDan. Maybe lawyers are funny. And law talk always is. Now I'm going to find out what that blue thing on Law & Order is.

Rebound like we did in series 1-3 please.

Anonymous said...

Scoop Jackson cracks me up, mainly because if you've ever heard his actual speaking voice you would realize that he's not even remotely as "street" as he tries to be in his articles. It's like listening to a black Elmer Fudd.

Last night was infuriating. I can deal with a team losing when they play well, but when they play like a bunch of spares it drives me nuts.

Hey everybody, turn to ESPN! You can watch Mexico give Ginobili lessons on how to writhe in pain without actually getting touched! Wheeeeee!!!

-JB

FBombAndy said...

When the Mavs won Games 1 & 2, Miami just said, "They did what they were 'sposed to. Now we have to hold our court." Now, Miami wins Games 3 & 4, and all they do is smile. Cocky MFers.

Does ESPN and ABC kiss up to Miami or is it just me? When Miami loses, Sportscenter starts with what they did wrong. When Miami wins, it starts with what they did right.

And who cares what they looked like when they were a kid?! All kids are ugly.

Anonymous said...

I'm glad Stack put Shaq on his ass. At least he had the guts to punch back. The Mavs need to check themselves before their whole season goes down the drain. Damn NBA can suspend Stack, but when Shaq leads with his elbow and busts Stack in the nose, he JUST gets a personal foul. AAGGHHHHHHH!!!!

Anonymous said...

F Stu Jackson. F him to H.

Anonymous said...

Stack out?!! You're freakin' kidding?!! That's ridiculous. It was a hardfoul...its part of the game...even Shaq said so, and he's the one who freakin got fouled!!

This series just took a very ugly turn and I think it's directly related to Stern's fear of Cubans Sexy Dangerous Speedo.

Hey Jay...I was just in Houston and picked up a copy of their "H" magazine (I'm guessing they put it in each hotel room)...anyway it was the "Top Lawyers" issue and I noticed that about 95% of them were South Texas grads. I'm going to Wesleyan because 1) I was impressed with the school and 2) it is 5 minutes from my house...

So anyway, my goal is to not do wills and estates and stuff like my best friend (and apparently AttnyDan), but rather solve crimes like Matlock. Or maybe those dudes that lived on the houseboat and had the robot.

later...p1dean

Anonymous said...

I would have to agree with Stu Jackson on his article. Dirk needs to show some DAMN emotions. He gets hammered by three Heat players and doesn't say sh!+ to them or the officials for not calling a foul. Get physical and stop letting them push you around like if you're a little wuzzz....

Anonymous said...

F the entire NBA and their inconsistent standards.

And F Chuck Cooperstein, too.

Anonymous said...

DAMMIT!

Okay okay, I can see when we're beaten. Not only is Stack out for Game 5, Dallas has clearly lost the hottest dance team trophy. I've examined the evidence and it's undeniable.

Listen up, Cubes: we need to scrap this thing. Let's start scouting free-agent talent immediately. We'll also need a new look. I'm thinking we can abandon the sparkly crap and get with the millenium. I want the boobs to be BIGGER, the asses to be TIGHTER, and the dance steps to be CLEANER. One, two, one two! Let's go girls!

Anonymous said...

Here we go with the consipiracy theorists....yet again. God, Mavs fans are the biggest whiners on the planet...

Anonymous said...

I wish full-blown AIDS on Stu Jackson.

Oh, and throw in some thyroid cancer too.

Anonymous said...

MrSimic, you are clearly being swayed by the east coast cheerleader media bias. 19 pics with only 7 mavs dancers, plus converage begins and ends with Miami...

Still have to respect the talent in 9.

Anonymous said...

w/ stack out, brutha marquis will start and get 20, howard should guard drama from get go.

Anonymous said...

By 20 do you mean get 20 turnovers or make 20 sub-8th grade-quality basketball plays? He is awful...If Howard, Terry and Dirk don't play the same way they played in the San Antonio/Phoenix series', the Mavs are f'ed. No conspiracy theories over here...the boys didn't go for the kill shot in the end of game 3, and they got ass-whipped in game 4. In a 7 game series, the best team wins 99% of the time, so if the Mavs are the better of the 2, then the Larry O'Brien trophy will sit on Mark Cuban's mantle, sickly observing him whack it to strange internet porn and thinking of ways he can look more like Frankenstein.