Monumental Crash And Burn, Mavs [Dallas]

For the Mavs to have lost in the Losing first round stinks. To have lost as the overall #1 seed in the playoffs (with the sixth best record ever) stinks more. To have lost to a Don Nelson, small-ball team stinks even more. But to have been outclassed and whipped by 25 points in the final game stinks the most.

I put some of the fault at Avery Johnson’s failure to play out the season. The Mavs finished the season 6-4 in their last ten games as Avery rotated sitting out starters. While it would have risked injury, it would have kept some of the sharpness that was clearly missing in Game 1.

But even more importantly, the Mavs played Golden State in the next to last game of the season. If the Mavs had won that game, Golden State probably would not have made the playoffs. I thought it was a mistake for the Mavs not to treat that game as a playoff game. Instead, Avery had Nowitski, Howard, and Stackhouse sit out and the Mavs lost big (sound familiar?). I think that win emboldened Golden State, especially given that it was their 5th win in the last 6 games against the Mavs.

But acknowledging that mistake, there were lots of other problems with the Mavs in the series. Just by way of a minor and the most recent example, Dirk was 1 of 3 in the second half last night (and 2 of 13 overall). He only took three shots? Seriously? If he wins the MVP, that presentation will be awkward.

Meanwhile, Layla’s love for the Mavs continues unabated. She wore her Nowitzki jersey to school today. I told her to be prepared for ridicule.