Letters to the Editor
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Minor refinement
A better description of the Raptors game was that they coughed up all but one point of a 20 point first quarter lead.
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Refs Job Action? Plus Champs League
Did the refs try to "send a message" to David Stern the other night over Joey Crawford, or is the coaches box violation making a comeback?
http://tinyurl.com/yu9sea
Also, Liverpool upset Chelsea yesterday to advance to the Champions League final. Man U takes a 3-2 lead to AC Milan today (ESPN2, 2.30p eastern; replay on ESPN Classic, 5p). The two away goals mean AC can go forward with a 1-0 or 2-1 win.
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We're here AGAIN?
King, I still love you, and still e-mail bits, pieces, and sometimes the whole of your columns to my buddies pretty regularly. But you're not going to draw me into another defense of Nowitzki this year.
Last year, you and I went back and forth a couple of times, with both making valid points for and against Dirk's prospects of winning a championship.
But after spending much of the last few weeks screaming at my TV, I give up. When Dirk's awake and playing like he's capable, the Mavs are clearly the class of the NBA. When he's not, well...they're something significantly less.
I finally agree with you, though. Dirk can't lead a team to a championship. I don't think it's because he's "soft," but more because he's not at all selfish. He never DEMANDS the ball. He rarely imposes his will on the other team. Why did it take five games for him to start doing things that he did with great success pretty much all last postseason and during most of the first half of this season? Why did posting up seem such a mystery until last night, when it was easy and worked the four or five times they ran it?
Something's fundamentally wrong with my Mavericks. I still love them and hope they win it all, but if they don't, it may be time to start shopping for a new superstar.
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Odd
... how in this analysis the Warriors seem to have had nothing to do with Nowitzki's poor performance. When Nowitzki doesn't score it's because "his shots stopped falling," but when G.S. misses shots it's because of "tight defense by Jason Terry" and "Nowitzki's presence in the paint." Really?
In addition to Nowitzki suddenly playing like a star, something else happened at the end of last night's game that gave the Mavs the victory--Golden State fell apart. Just a couple of well-executed offensive plays or a couple of shots falling in would probably have ended this series despite Nowitzki's comeback.
I'm not a fan of Golden State, but the Barkley-esque refusal to give Golden State credit is just weird. You don't have to believe the Warriors are a championship team to recognize that, even if they don't win this series, the Warriors clearly have an edge over the Mavs--the more talented team. Is it the individual matchups? Is it the coaching? It is purely psychological? I think it's one of the most fascinating things in sports when a less-talented team or player just seems to own a better one. You should talk about that.
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um, devin harris?
Dirk stepped up but it looked to me like Devin Harris was the key for the Mavericks in the fourth quarter. The Warriors couldn't keep him from getting to the basket and that started to open things up on the perimeter for Dallas. Harris had the assist on both of Dirk's 3's that cut the 9-point lead to 3.
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Ericami has a good point
Dirk is a great player, but he isn't often the one screaming for the ball when it's crunch time - even though he's a solid shooter with the game on the line, as he showed Sunday and last night. Despite Nowitzki's good finish last night, though, Dallas' best player this series has been Josh Howard (and Stackhouse has been an assassin coming off the bench).
I'm a Warriors partisan, who also really likes the Mavs (and Suns, too! King isn't the only one with complicated team allegiances). Last night was a game for the ages - when the Warriors went up by 9 points, that was a 30 point swing since the second quarter! It's really impressive that Dallas didn't fold at that point, and instead came back to win in convincing fashion. One question for the Warriors in that last few minutes is why they totally quit driving to the basket - near the end of the fourth quarter, Dallas wasn't in the penalty. How does that happen?
If there are no suspensions, Game 6 promises to be a doozy. If Jackson goes, I think the Mavs win (Jax has been doing an impressive job guarding Dirk). Regardless, what a SERIES.
A final note: Is Matt Barnes totally fun to watch or what? King's comment about his playing with confidence and energy above and beyond his talent is right on (he also does all kinds of "good teammate" things). Warriors are going to have to pay him next year.
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I didn't see the great Nowitzki
I saw the Warriors develop a team-wide phobia to the paint, clanging low-percentage jumpers from long range, while committing stupid fouls at the other end, allowing Dallas to live at the free-throw line.
I'm not saying that Nowitzki didn't start playing better than he had been, but once Davis hit that falling-down three to give them a 12 point lead the Warriors' brains seemed to freeze at the thought that they might actually win; that one possession where they stalled just past half-court until the shot clock was at 4 was when I announced to the room that they were toast.
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Another thought
Does anybody else think that the Warriors collectively had one of those "Holy crap, how did we get here" moments when they got their 9 point lead, thought too much about winning the series, and not enough about playing the game over those last few minutes? We've all been there before, I'd imagine, whether sports or some other activity (e.g., performing music) where you've been doing something at an out-of-your-mind level, and then realize that's what you've been doing, and subsequently blow it. I just hope there's no carry-over.
Agree with the previous comment that Devin Harris had a lot to do with the Mavs run, and really did open things up for them. Dallas just is overflowing with guys who can hurt you.