More respect for the Mavs: Playoff preview by Bill Simmons - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

vjz · 04-21-2006, 10:53 AM

Friday, April 21, 2006
State of NBA, love & trust
By Bill Simmons
Page 2

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(Link to complete article above... A bit tough to plow thru if you aren't a Pearl Jam fan)

23. And sometimes is seen a strange spot in the sky
A human being that was given to fly

I'm giving this one to Kobe. For better or worse, this has been his season over anyone else's ... more importantly, he has reached that same point that Jack Walsh reached near the end of "Midnight Run," when he's driving the Duke through the desert as the helicopters are circling over him, and he looks up and starts muttering, "No, no, no way, I've come too far, I've come too bleeping far." That's how Kobe carries himself every night -- not only is he unstoppable right now, you would have to chop his head off Voorhees-style to beat him. He's also managed (in a roundabout way) to bring the best out of his teammates, who are killing killing themselves for him and doing everything they can to win games. And sure, it's a bizarre dynamic, but it's working.

What does this all mean? I see them shocking the Suns in Round One. I see them beating the Clips in Round 2. And I see them losing in the Western Finals to the ...

(Actually, they get their own song.)

24. Hear my name, take a good look
This could be the day
Hold my hand, lie beside me
I just need to say
I could not take-a just one day
I know when I would not ever
Touch you
Hold you
Feel you
In my arms ... never again ...
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

The all-time most underrated Pearl Jam song, as well as the song that always brings the house down in every concert ("Porch") goes to the most underrated team in the 2006 playoffs: the Dallas Mavericks.

I'm not saying it makes sense on paper, because it doesn't. But they have a superstar playing the best basketball of his career (Nowitzki). They have a point guard (Terry) who's been doing a poor man's Billups routine. They have professional scorers at the wings (Daniels and Stackhouse), as well as the best Glue Guy in the league (Josh Howard), a game-changing guard off the bench (Harris) and an endless supply of guys who know their roles and take nothing off the table (Diop, Dampier, Mbenga, Griffin, Powell, none of whom are bad). And they have a coach who developed into a true weapon this season (Avery Johnson); I caught the Mavs in person twice and thought they were the best-prepared, best-coached, smoothest-running team that passed through the Staples center all year.

Why this year and not last year? Because Nowitzki took it up a notch. Because Avery knows what he's doing. Because they left their nucleus alone for the first time in four years. Because the Spurs aren't as good as they were last season, mainly because of Duncan's foot. And because it just feels right.

So where does this leave us from a prediction standpoint? With a wildly entertaining Final Four -- Lakers-Mavs, Heat-Pistons -- followed by a Dallas-Detroit Finals that would be intriguing on about 40 different levels, most notably the thought of David Stern potentially handing the NBA trophy to Mark Cuban (who would obviously be sobbing like Rocky Balboa at the end of "Rocky 2").

But will it happen ... ?

25. And I listen for the voice inside my head
Nothin'
I'll do this one myself

I say no. Pistons over the Mavs in six.

(Now if we could only get a Mookie Blaylock sighting during the Finals ... )

u2sarajevo · 04-21-2006, 11:14 AM

Quote:

With a wildly entertaining Final Four -- Pistons-Mavs, Heat-Pistons -- followed by a Dallas-Detroit Finals

Wow, how is Detroit going to pull off playing in both the WCF and the ECF?

chumdawg · 04-21-2006, 11:19 AM

They are that good, U2. They are that good.

u2sarajevo · 04-21-2006, 11:21 AM

Well, heck... we end up beating them in the WCF and then have to play them again in the Finals. Maybe we can petition the league to forgo the Finals after we beat them in the Conference finals..... argue that it's no sense playing the Finals when we just beat the team we have to play in the Finals....

V2M · 04-21-2006, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chumdawg

They are that good, U2. They are that good.

LOL

Murphy3 · 04-21-2006, 01:49 PM

Talk about an editor doing a piss poor job....

wescx · 04-21-2006, 01:57 PM

Pistons has been changed to Lakers.

u2sarajevo · 04-21-2006, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wescx

Pistons has been changed to Lakers.

That's no fun.

jacktruth · 04-21-2006, 02:31 PM

After his Lakers description, I think he loses credibility. Pheonix lost to the Lakers once this year, and Nash was out. It was in LA. Pheonix knows how to play playoff basketball.I give Kobe 1 game.

I'm also not confident abotu Dallas against SA. Mainly because Harris probably won't play more than 10 minutes a game if at all. I don't think we can out pace them without him.

Sadly, the only people that have shown the mavs respect actually demonstrate themselves to be either insane (as above) or are kissing mav ass, gambling on a post-season "I told you so" longshot.

Fans crying about respect for the mavs makes me a little sick. Our team has a lot of work to do and a lot to prove. I almost prefer them to get NO respect.