[ddh33]

And that's an ender...fittingly, I might add.

If I were a Dallas Maverick, I would be more than embarrassed. Heck, I'm just a fan, and I'm beyond embarrassed.

No reason to talk about what needs to happen. That's a whole different thread for a later time. This is about what went wrong tonight, which was nothing more than what went wrong all series.

By the way, when did all those celebrities become Warrior fans? I don't remember seeing them there last year? Just more reason to dislike California and all of their celebrities!

I know that a lot of people are going to blame Avery, and he certainly isn't beyond reproach. At the same time, in Avery's case, I just felt bad. As a player Avery didn't have much talent. He was known for his toughness and intelligence. His team showed none of those things. Oh, I didn't like a lot of things he did, but I sort of understood several of the decisions. I think he looked and felt helpless. His team couldn't execute. They couldn't hit shots. They couldn't defend. They couldn't rebound. A coach might be able to scheme, but he can't do things for the players. In my mind, this loss is much more on them.

Speaking of, Dirk is a wuss. Oh, I know we all have enjoyed watching him and cheering for him. We have even told ourselves that he can't be a wuss because we have seen him have huge games in the clutch. All good points. However, I see a soft jump shooter, a defensive liability, and a guy who played scared, tentative, and looked like a big sissy. I think the two lasting images of this series that I will forever carry with me are Dirk shooting fade away jumpers over guys a foot shorter than him and missing practically every one of them. The other image happened in the third quarter tonight when Baron Davis got in the open floor, blew past his man, attacked the rim where Dirk was coming to help, and went right over him. Dirk didn't try to block the shot. He didn't even wave at the ball. He just let the man score. He immediately looked towards the bench like Avery was supposed to somehow bail him out. I swear to you, if that was a junior high player, I would have sit him down indefinitely. It absolutely made me sick.

Josh Howard played awfully hard this series. In a way, Josh personified all of the good and bad about this team. For the most part, effort was never the problem. Basketball IQ was. Josh tried to do everything he could, but he just didn't seem equipped to lead this team. Unfortunately, no one else was either.

Jason Terry was a no show. Jet had more turnovers than assists. He proved he couldn't play like a point guard, and his size became a bigger liability against the Warriors bigger guards. Making matters worse, he couldn't make shots either.

Devin Harris was a bright spot to me. I thought Devin should have been more of a focal point of this team, and I have been saying that for a long time. I thought Devin did everything that could have been expected of him. It's not saying much, but he was the best defensive guard Dallas had all season long. Fouls were a constant issue though. He grew more and more as a point guard, and I thought that was evident tonight. He did a nice job of moving the ball. In fact, when he wasn't in the game, the offense fell apart. Someone remind me again why there were so many times that he wasn't in the game?

Desagana Diop already had a big fan in me. I'm a bigger fan now though. I thought Diop played very well. He had no help inside though.

Erick Dampier was a non factor. I think I have typed those words before in playoff time. It may be time to re-evaluate that.

Jerry Stackhouse is another guy who is all heart. Stack kept Dallas in this game with his early shooting, and he helped shoot them out of the game in the second half. He took a lot of threes, like everyone else on the team. I still admire his toughness. I wish more guys on this team had it. I tell you, if he had the legs to go with his heart, this team would be a lot better off.

Devean George was less consistent with his shot than Adrian Griffin ever was.

Greg Buckner seems like the same guy he was last time in Dallas. Remember why Dallas let him go?

Austin Croshere, I wish we had more of you. He was another guy who was a true pro, and he played with heart. He was willing to battle for his team.

Maurice Ager played hard in the blow out. I thought he made his entrance a little early, but I kind of liked some of what I saw.


In the end, the Mavs just failed brutally and miserably. They choked in a huge way, and the MVP will be the story.