Mavericks

[Farmersfan]

I haven't seen any comments on the Mavs. The last time I posted about the Mavs I indicated that I was having the same sinking feeling that these guys give me every season going into the playoffs. A lot of you told me they would be ok and they were better on the road than at home. They were 1/2 game behind the lakers for second place in the division and go into LA last night and get beat by 30 points. Do I smell another 1st round disappearing act by this team?
And which was worst for us Dallas fans? The Stars being 3 points out of a playoff spot and getting beat 6-0 last night or the Mavs being 1/2 game behind the Lakers and getting beat by the Lakers by 30? I say the Mavs play last night was by far more of a indicator of where this team really is........ comments?

[waterboy]

Yeah, I don't know what has happened to the Mavs. They haven't been the same team since the Dirk injury earlier in the year.:( They can look good at times, but they are very inconsistent. The turnover bug has hit them lately, along with poor execution on offense, lapses on defense, shooting cold spells, and just general inconsistent play. They have the capability to beat the Lakers, Spurs, Celtics, Bulls, etc., they just haven't been able to pull it back together. It seems their confidence is fading and they are getting frustrated. You could see them getting rattled mentally last night, and I was extremely disappointed with that. It's a shame, because they definitely have the potential to make a serious run. It's possible they could exit in the first round if they continue to play like they have, but my money says it'll be the second round this season.

[Farmersfan]

Originally posted by waterboy
Yeah, I don't know what has happened to the Mavs. They haven't been the same team since the Dirk injury earlier in the year.:( They can look good at times, but they are very inconsistent. The turnover bug has hit them lately, along with poor execution on offense, lapses on defense, shooting cold spells, and just general inconsistent play. They have the capability to beat the Lakers, Spurs, Celtics, Bulls, etc., they just haven't been able to pull it back together. It seems their confidence is fading and they are getting frustrated. You could see them getting rattled mentally last night, and I was extremely disappointed with that. It's a shame, because they definitely have the potential to make a serious run. It's possible they could exit in the first round if they continue to play like they have, but my money says it'll be the second round this season.


Even the second round is terribly unacceptable for a team that has been building for a decade. Dirk is regressing some as a player, Kidd doesn't have a ton of playing left and Terry is basically nothing but a shooter now and is way too inconsistent. If they don't do it this season their chances in the future can only be seen as diminished. The proverbial "window" is shutting fast on this team.

[crzyjournalist03]

Originally posted by Farmersfan
Even the second round is terribly unacceptable for a team that has been building for a decade. Dirk is regressing some as a player, Kidd doesn't have a ton of playing left and Terry is basically nothing but a shooter now and is way too inconsistent. If they don't do it this season their chances in the future can only be seen as diminished. The proverbial "window" is shutting fast on this team.

I'd tend to agree with you Farmersfan, but I'm still curious to see what all goes down this summer with the lockout and what the Mavs do with Caron Butler, because they were a completely different team with him than what they've shown since his injury. I don't know if it will be him or someone like him with whatever available cap space they have, but they if they're able to get a wing man for Dirk, I really think they could keep the window open for 2-3 more years.

[Emerson1]

Originally posted by waterboy
Yeah, I don't know what has happened to the Mavs. They haven't been the same team since the Dirk injury earlier in the year.:( They can look good at times, but they are very inconsistent. The turnover bug has hit them lately, along with poor execution on offense, lapses on defense, shooting cold spells, and just general inconsistent play. They have the capability to beat the Lakers, Spurs, Celtics, Bulls, etc., they just haven't been able to pull it back together. It seems their confidence is fading and they are getting frustrated. You could see them getting rattled mentally last night, and I was extremely disappointed with that. It's a shame, because they definitely have the potential to make a serious run. It's possible they could exit in the first round if they continue to play like they have, but my money says it'll be the second round this season.
What? They were something like 20-3 at one point after Dirk came back.

[icu812]

Defensively the Mavs are not what they were before C.Butler went down. Also, the Mavs still are in need of a big physical 2 guard who plays both offense and defense. Yes they could lose in the 1st rd but so could all 8 playoff teams in the West. Denver especially will not be an easy out in the playoffs. I don't think the sky is falling just because they lost 1 game to the world champs.

[waterboy]

I agree that the window is definitely starting to close for this group of current players. There will definitely being a changing of the guard in the next 2 to 3 years. In watching them play the Lakers last night, I was extremely disappointed in their psyche. The only glaring advantage the Lakers had over the Mavs was mental toughness (experience, too, but that can be overcame....). The Mavs have to do something major to overcome their mental toughness handicap, something I thought they had improved on over the last couple of seasons. They have a reputation of being soft, and seem to reaffirm that when the chips are down. I'm not exactly sure what they can do to change that this season, but that is something they have to work on in the offseason. I'm not saying THIS season is over yet, but they will have to make some drastic turnaround in the mental toughness aspect of their game to have a chance at accomplishing the goals they set at the beginning of the season. It's frustrating to watch them get rattled by other good teams and not be able to respond to that pressure in a positive way.

[Emerson1]

Eh, losing Caron hurt, but he isn't a superstar. He had spells where he turned into Terry and just threw up jumpshots.

They were on a 5 game win streak, including 3 on the road. No reason to freak out now.

[Txbroadcaster]

Originally posted by Farmersfan
[B] Dirk is regressing some as a player, B]

I think Dirk is having one of his best seasons especially with no real sidekick

[waterboy]

Originally posted by Emerson1
What? They were something like 20-3 at one point after Dirk came back.
True, but they weren't the same mentally as they were before Dirk's injury. Yes, they won a lot of games during that stretch, but I could see a change in them, somehow. I can't put my finger on exactly what it was, but they just didn't have that edge to them that they started the season with. There were a lot of weaker teams played during that stretch, too.

[Txbroadcaster]

Originally posted by waterboy
True, but they weren't the same mentally as they were before Dirk's injury. Yes, they won a lot of games during that stretch, but I could see a change in them, somehow. I can't put my finger on exactly what it was, but they just didn't have that edge to them that they started the season with. There were a lot of weaker teams played during that stretch, too.

I think it is the Butler injury

[waterboy]

Originally posted by Txbroadcaster
I think it is the Butler injury
That certainly didn't help, and probably prolonged whatever problem they've shown, but I saw the change before Butler was injured. Like I say, something changed when Dirk went down. They recovered a lot, but just not back to before Dirk's injury, especially mentally.

[WildTexan972]

the mavs have won over 50 for years now, and those type teams just position for the playoffs and don't really worry about each game with less than 10 to go.....THEN the season starts...

but this is strict human nature....most humans that have earned millions for years and are still going to earn millions to come just don't get all that motivated to play any single game, and if they ever decide to send me 8-10 million $$s a year for near a decade, I will gladly behave that way as well......

Dirk is still good, so the maves will still be just 1-2 players away for a few more years.....just depends if they get the right 1-2 each year....

[eagles_victory]

The poster formerly known as JR2004 said if the Lakers lose a series to the Mavericks he will give me his truck for free.