Quote:
Originally Posted by Dirkadirkastan
Yup, wait and see. That's exactly how I feel.
The point was not to directly compare this year's and last year's teams. The point was to highlight the key difference in the two different forms of optimism going in.
Last year, you could say "We have seen phenomenon X, which is a good sign heading into the playoffs." Phenomenon X could be late game execution, winning against elite teams, winning on the road, etc.
This year, you can only say, "We have not seen phenomenon X, which is a good sign heading into the playoffs." Phenomenon X could be more minutes for the older guys, extended time without Odom, or whatever you want to fill in the blank here.
Maybe that's enough to get some people excited for a deep playoff run. But I'm skeptical.
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Skepticism is understandable, in much the same way as it was last year. Last year's team limped into the playoffs. Losing 4 of your last six games down the stretch (3 of those to playoff teams) has a way of muting optimism a bit. I remember all the doom and gloom here after the Lakers stomped a size 18 in the Mavs' ass in the 28-point blowout. I remember all the doom and gloom after losing to the Blazers and Nuggets by 8. In the stretch where they lost 10 of 13 last year with Dirk missing the majority of those games, they still started off 1-3 with him back in the lineup. Dirk was clearly rusty versus Memphis, as you noted, but he went for 32-5-5 in a 14 point loss to the Pistons the next time out and they followed up a big win over the Lakers with an ugly offensive performance in a 82-77 loss versus the Bulls.
A true skeptic not only questions and doubts the generally accepted conclusions of others, but his own conclusions as well. A true analysis of how this team stacks up in a historical sense can only be determined when this season is a part of history. Predictions and other bits of trivia can be entertaining, but are utterly meaningless in the grand scheme of things. In the end, the Mavs will decide how things will play out, not a bunch of dudes debating about what the future holds on a relatively obscure forum. And cheers to that. Give me the excitement and uncertainty of a 7 game playoff series over wheel-spinning any day of the week.