Frank Luksa on the Mavs

[David]

Overachieving Mavericks not so high in NBA sky

04/05/2003

It is official. The sky has fallen. Beneath the litter of debris rest the Mavericks.

Actually, the sky has been falling on the Mavericks in bits and pieces since Nov. 28. That was the date of their first loss after a franchise-best 14-0 spurt to open the NBA season. This was where railbirds began to notice that the Mavericks weren't all that good after all.

Maybe they were sort of good. Sometimes they were very good. But they weren't excellent. They weren't among the elite. A pity, but there it was.

Swamis had the Mavericks properly analyzed in their forecasts. A dangerous jump-shooting team when shots fell. But beyond that, unable to defense Ray Charles in the middle or outrebound Danny DeVito.

Hence, no NBA title threat. Which is how every forecast in the land summarized the Mavericks from the get-go.

Sports Illustrated ranked Dallas fourth in the Western Conference and fifth in the NBA behind New Jersey in the East. Our newspaper gathered five experts from its staff for their opinions. None judged the Mavericks worthy of the Western Conference finals. The same downbeat has continued as the season has progressed.

TV analyst Charles Barkley dismisses the Mavericks as a postseason force. Bill Walton also sees Don Nelson's team as a lightweight. Since Barkley knows almost everything about anything and Walton knows what little Barkley doesn't, plus all the rest, the Mavericks have been denounced as unfit for the playoffs.

More supporting evidence surfaced Thursday night at the American Airlines Center, where the underdog Los Angeles Lakers beat the Mavericks, 100-89. Oh, yes. The Mavericks were an unaccountable 4 ½ -point favorite on the betting line. Defeat left Dallas clinging to a one-game lead over San Antonio in the Midwest Division and raised multiple alarms in addition to the sky caving in.

Maybe the Mavericks won't win their division. They might sink as far as third in the West and draw the Lakers in the first playoff round. Maybe Michael Finley never gets truly healthy before it's too late.

Postgame testimony Thursday added to the gloom. I asked Danny Ainge, the TNT analyst, to rank the top four Western Conference playoff teams. He picked Sacramento, LA, San Antonio and Dallas, in that order.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson replied to the survey with less definition. Jackson named the Kings and Spurs first and had the Mavericks trailing on the basis of less playoff experience.

Rick Fox, the Lakers guard, went with San Antonio, a natural choice since the Spurs went 4-0 against LA. He had the Kings and Mavericks in a virtual tie, but leaned toward Sacramento since it advanced to the West finals last year.

Fox also was asked to make sense of the Dallas-LA series. The Mavericks won in Dallas (98-72) in November when Shaquille O'Neal didn't play. The Lakers won at home in December (105-103) by erasing a late, 30-point Dallas lead. Then the Lakers won by 11 in Dallas in April when Finley didn't play.

What does it mean, Rick?

"Nothing. We played a better game this time. In a series you have to beat a team four times. And Finley does make a difference."

A curious scent trails the Mavericks as they near tying a franchise record for most victories in a season (57). It's as if they are failing, or will have failed, if they don't win their division or a first-round playoff series. As if too few enjoy or appreciate that the Mavericks qualify for the playoffs.

There seems to be a tendency to carp about the Mavericks rather than embrace their exciting style. Make unending gripes about their warts instead of viewing them as curable in time. Forget the lassitude of the 1990s, an all-losing decade in which the team won only 239 games in 10 seasons.

A climate of unease also hangs over the Mavericks in terms of expectations known only to owner Mark Cuban. His reluctance to renew Nelson's coaching passport infects the scene, raising unwanted speculation that Cuban has private goals for Nelson to meet. Or else Cuban might make an awful mistake and ...

Listen to Ainge's take on the Mavericks: "As a coach, you don't want to play them. You keep your head in your hands and hope they miss.

"Their coaches deserve a great deal of credit. I like their three superstars. They like to play, and they like each other. It's a good team to root for."

His summary of the Mavericks agreed with mine when he said, "Frankly, I think this team overachieved."

[Usually Lurkin]

<< Lakers coach Phil Jackson replied to the survey with less definition. Jackson named the Kings and Spurs first and had the Mavericks trailing on the basis of less playoff experience. >>



no wonder the Lakers are doing so poorly. Their coach downplays their good play by ranking them lower than a team they consistently beat.

[Fidel]

An article that is based so heavily on Danny Ainge`s opinion is just useless.
Ainge clearly is one of the most annoying and clueless comentators/analysts around.

[DrtyFlthyNstYnQuik31]

<< An article that is based so heavily on Danny Ainge`s opinion is just useless.
Ainge clearly is one of the most annoying and clueless comentators/analysts around. >>



haha yup...

[Chiwas]

Don't cry ManyLetters.

[Chiwas]

<< Since Barkley knows almost everything about anything and Walton knows what little Barkley doesn't, plus all the rest, the Mavericks have been denounced as unfit for the playoffs. >>

Oops, we are doomed.

[mavsfanforever]

Its easy for these so called analysts to belittle mavs because they know lakers have won it three times and spurs won it before. So they do not wanna take a risk in their analysis. Lakers is a safe bet for them. Kings have beaten mavs last year and so these guys wanna put Kings on top of mavs. But what these guys do not know is that arguably the greatest basketball person all time Ramsey feels Mavs can win it all. He also said Mavs are currently the best team in the NBA right now.

[Bayliss]

I don't mind Walton talking about the Mavericks, because even though I think he's an idiot he does know what it takes to be an NBA champion. But what does Barkley know about it? He has as many rings as the current Mavs team (except AJ).

The Mavs are a damned if you do and damned if you don't team as fare the view from the national media. If they win it is either a) fluke b) &quot;real&quot; team not showing up; not mentality prepared; overlooking the Mavs. And if the Mavs lose then a) see the don't have what it takes b) not enough experience;no inside presence, etc.

The only way the Mavs will shut up the national media is to win. And win consistently. And when they do that the media will jump from &quot;the Mavs are a good fun team that can't beat the elite&quot; to being &quot;the elite team that can beat everyone.&quot;

(And while Nelson is in that same situation with me... the difference is Nellie has not changed philossophy for the 5-6 years he has been here... while the Mavs has changed several times.)

[legolas]

i really hope the mavs can win this year. in that way they can have the respect they truly deserve

[madape]

This man is a bitch

[jayC]

This article could have been written a year ago. What insight the ever boring and noninsightful writing the morning news has been putting out their. This just in the mavs have the least playoff experience of the big four in the western conference. Duh! We aren't the favorites but 4-1 in vegas isn't bad.

If they lose then everyone will be right. But if they win they will open a new portal for nba franchises winning by leading the league in assist to turnover ratio. Leading the league in freethrow percentage second in adjusted field goal percentage. The mavs playing without finley and losing not such a suprise. But if Bradley and Lafrentz shoot 40% of their shots we win.

This is no revelation and no keon clark would not put us over the top. Against everyother nba team he is just a bust lottery pick. The fact is picking the mavs to win it all is a risk. But not such a big one if they hold on to the one seed. 5 of the last 10 nba champions have won the nba title with the leagues best record. Fifty percent chance I like those odds negativity runs wild as we find excuses why the title can't happen in big D.

[dude1394]

I enjoyed byron scotts comments wondering why all of the dallas fans are so beside's themselves with the team with the best record. He must have been listening to murph I guess. ;^)