Mavs Fan Therapy: Time for a Hug and a Question

You're not making this up.  It's not some self-hatred you manifest.  The Wall Street Journal notes today that it really is tough to be a Mavericks fan.

"The Mavericks have had the best-ever 10-year stretch in the NBA without winning a championship. Through Saturday, they had gone 534-236 (.694) in the regular season since 2001-02. During that stretch, they earned a top-four seed in the Western Conference playoffs six times and won at least 60 games three times, but they reached the finals just once—losing to Miami in 2006. They have fallen in the first round in three of the past four seasons."

The article goes on to compare the Mavericks to the Utah Jazz of the 90's, those John Stockton/Karl Malone led teams that won 50 or more games in all but two seasons during the 90's but made the playoffs every year.  They won 64 games in the 96-97 season, 62 in 97-98 only to lose to the Bulls in the Finals twice.

The Mavericks have had regular season success.  They are a playoff fixture, making the postseason 10 straight years, second only to the Spurs who have 13 consecutive playoff appearances. From every email, tweet and Facebook post I get from you, I get the impression you're a little tired of it. 

Soooooooooooooo, would you give up some of that regular season success for just one championship, one parade and one year of bragging rights?  Would you take an NBA title if, say, like the big, bad Heat you won just 15 games a two years later?

Mavs Don't Want to Get in a Small Ball Race with the Nuggets

Notice the new neck tatts

The Mavericks towered over the Nuggets shortened lineup on Wednesday night in a 102-101 win.  Dallas hopes to use size to its advantage again on Saturday when the two teams meet at the AAC.

With multi-tattooed tall guys Chris Andersen and Kenyon Martin recovering from offseason knee surgery and Nene a late scratch because of a groin strain, the Nuggets didn't have a player on the floor taller than 6'9 during the game's 48 minutes. 

Between us girls, if a roster says a player is 6'9, it's more like 6'7.   They all lie.  I got in trouble once when I interned for the Rockets for revealing a Hall of Fame player's real height.

I digress.

What's the Mavericks philosophy when playing a team that goes small?  Try and stay big.

"We've got to try to keep our length in game as much as we can," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said after practice Friday morning.  "That’s one of our real defining attributes."

That doesn't mean the Mavericks are going to go big at all costs.  They'll size up the matchups and hope to take advantage.

"There are times when sizing down makes sense," Carlisle added.  "We looked at it a bit in the first game anything’s in play."

Dirk's a Travelin' Man But Why the Pitstops, Detours & Runarounds?

Dirk Nowitzki's travel plans just get curiouser and curiouser.

First Donnie Nelson was going to meet him Germany.

Then Nelson gets a phone call while he's supposedly standing in line at the airport from Dirk's adviser, Holger Geschwindner, that they are coming to Dallas to meet with him on Thursday at Dirk's home in Dallas.  The Mavericks organization even told us as much.  I had confirmation that Dirk was arriving in Dallas from Germany on Thursday.

Then there's the New York city detour to meet with Jason Kidd.  I have confirmation from an impeccable source that Dirk is scheduled to arrive in Dallas on Friday morning from NYC.

BUT WAIT, then ESPN's Marc Stein tweets that Dirk arrived in Dallas on Thursday night.

WTH?

No doubt, Stein is right.  Of course, Dirk has every right to do whatever the hell he wants and I applaud him for doing it, although if I were him, my butt would be enjoying a mojito on the roof of the Peninsula Hotel.   But why the game of travel cat and mouse?  Dirk reportedly has a killer schedule and sponsorship commitment.  Cool, I get it.  But why was his itinerary released by the Mavericks?  Is there a reason?  Is he trying THAT hard to shirk the media and avoid any fans that might be waiting for him at the airport?  Is it beyond that?  I'm not saying it's crazy, right or wrong but is it just a little peculiar?

Dirk's NYC Pitstop. Cause for Concern? No, According to the Mavs

Dirk Nowitzki was supposed to be in Dallas Thursday to meet with Mavs GM Donnie Nelson.  He was even confirmed on a flight from Germany to DFW.

That all changed in the last 12 hours when it came out he was stopping in New York, supposedly, to have dinner and chill with teammate Jason Kidd. 

How concerning is this to Mavericks and could Dirk be meeting with Nets/Knicks execs or some other team brass?

Here is what I know:

-From multiple Mavericks sources, I am hearing they are not concerned with Dirk's change of plans to spend the night in NYC.  They still remain confident that he will return to the Mavericks.  Donnie Nelson has been quoted saying it's no big deal.  I've heard from people who do not have to tow the company line say the same.

-I can understand Dirk's desire to lay low.  Jason Kidd has said that Dirk isn't about glitz and glamour, which is true.  I can see him exiting that Terminal D at DFW airport beaten down to a pulp seeing Mavs fans (sorry) and media (that I already know he hates) greeting him and welcoming him home.

-Finally, for what it's worth, I've heard from some very-in-the-know NYC area folks that all the Knicks and Nets brass are in Ohio trying to pitch to LeBron James.

So, it seems Dirk's layover in New York is something just about any of us would do: hang out with a friend in one of the best cities in the world and possibly avoid delay that inevitable onslaught of media and fans waiting to welcome him back to town.

Mavs Dig Dirk & Want You To, Too!

By now you should know the story. 

At 11:01pm North Texas time, Dirk Nowitzki will become a free agent for the first time in his career.  He and his advisor, Holger Geschwindner, are coming to Dallas on Thursday to meet with Mavs GM Donnie Nelson.  Nelson found out that bit of information while he was at DFW airport trying to get a ticket to go to Germany to woo Dirk.  He was standing at the ticket counter when Holger called to deliver that news.

Kind of weird turn of events, dontcha think?  I feel Dirk will stay in Dallas but wouldn't be totally shocked if he left.  Would you?  Maybe he feels he's done all he can with the Mavericks and the best opportunity to win a title is with another team.  Just sayin....

On to the fun stuff.

The Mavericks are putting on a fullcourt press to get fans involved in the keep Dirk in Dallas campaign.  It's got a fun title: DFW Digs Dirk. 

There is a video message saying just that currently scrolling on Dallas' Hunt Building overlooking Woodall Rogers freeway.

Thursday, the team will start selling DFW Digs Dirk t-shirts on Mavgear.com and all team fan shops at the AAC, North Park Center and Willowbend Mall.  Plus, you amateur graffiti fans get to have fun, too!  With your purchase of a shirt, you get some shoe polish to decorate your car and show more support.  The best part is that all Dirk-related merchandise will be....wait for it......41% off. 

I can't believe the 2010 free agency summer is finally here.  We've talked about it for so long.  It's going to be a crazy few days.  At least the Mavericks want you to be involved and have a little fun trying to convince Dirk this is where he should keep playing.

Stay tuned!

Dirk Opting Out: Take a Chill Pill, Miss Saigon

Dirk Nowitzki can put Dallas in a panic like few men can.

In honor of Sex and the City's 2's Thursday release, I'm taking inspiration from the HBO show's second season for this one.  In the episode, "Old Dogs, New Dicks", one drag queen tells another to "Take a chill pill, Miss Saigon!" and I think that's the message Mavericks fans need to heed. 

Marc Stein had this news mid-afternoon on Saturday.  I was literally walking out the door to go the HP Byron Nelson Championship when the Steiny posted the article on ESPNDallas.com.  My brother, Lance, called and texted in a panic.  My phone started exploding. 

THIS is Your Leader?

This column by Jeff Caplan on ESPNDallas.com got me thinking.  I'm in a bit of sinus medication induced haze right now, so that might not be such a good idea but I couldn't let this go.  I digress.

Many (notice I don't say all - many) Mavericks players say on-camera or to a reporter that Jason Kidd is this team's leader.  As that leader isn't he held accountable to the team in some form or fashion?  Isn't he the one to look to when adversity or first round failures happen?

Kidd did not participate in the Mavericks final exit interviews last Friday after their Game 6, season-ending loss to the Spurs.  Head coach Rick Carlisle had no issue with it.  "He went back to Phoenix to get away from it and do some personal things," he said.  "I've got no problem with that."

Granted, Kidd wasn't 100% during the series and, according to two excellent Mavericks sources, was dealing with an ear infection this postseason.  But that's not an excuse for bolting so quickly.  If he is that leader in the locker room, he owes it to his team on that last day to be there.  Send that message, whatever it may be, but at least make a statement!  In my biased opinion, he also has an obligation to speak to the media on that final day.  Yeah, sure, we're a beating but part of the high-paying pro-athlete gig is dealing with us fools.  Dirk Nowitzki did.  Carlisle did.  Caron Butler did.  Kidd - MIA.

Great leaders do not walk away from circumstances that don't suit them as Kidd did last Friday.  They meet them, face them, learn from them and move on. 

I am not so sure, though, that Kidd truly is the Mavericks unquestionable leader, as we've heard a few times before.  After one particular loss to San Antonio, I got into a conversation about leadership.  The message was communicated to me that the Dallas locker room lacks a real sense of leadership.  Why is that not surprising?

That's something that's plagued this team for years and, once again, when looking for a man to serve as a leader for this team - there's not one to be found.

Even Roddy B's in on Free Roddy B. He's Funny, Too!

I hear you.   I read your tweets and found you on facebook.  The Free Roddy B campaign has never been as loud as it was in the final three quarters of  the Mavericks series-ending Game 6 loss to the Spurs.

You know the story.  Beaubois had 16 points in 18 minutes in the second and third quarters.  He provided that speed and spark off the bench that helped Dallas rally from a 22-point deficit.  Yet in the fourth quarter, he was mysteriously on the bench until the 2:44 mark of the final period.  At that point, the Mavericks trailed 89-81 and it was a cliche case of too little too late.

Even Mavericks owner Mark Cuban claimed he shouted "Free Roddy B!" when Beaubois was off the court.  Cuban was aloof when asked about it after the game.  "I'm not a coach, so I don't even have an opinion on that," he said.

It's rare when Cuban doesn't have an opinion on something, isn't it?  Isn't his lack of one telling?

Friday Carlisle took responsibility for Beaubois' benching saying that there are "no right decisions when you lose."

General manager Donnie Nelson stuck with the message.  "You can go around and around with that stuff," he said Friday.  "Pick your poison.  I don't think it's the right thing one of the all-time great 4th quarter performers Jason Terry is not out there.  It's such tough call but I think in those situations you go with the knowns."

Beaubois is smart and while he's cool with the coach's decision, he, like any competitor, saw opportunities to contribute.  "For sure, I wanted to play," he said.  "In the season I never really knew when I was going to play or not.  I just wait and that's it."

As for the Free Roddy B movement and the Mike Fisher-designed t-shirts that are scattered around North Texas, Beaubois admits it's pretty cool.

 "I was flattered when I saw that (the t-shirt).  It's good to have support from fans."

When asked if he had a Free Roddy B t-shirt he said someone gave him one Thursday night.  The media throng asked if it was from Cuban to which he replied in his wonderfully thick Guadeloupe/French accent, "no".

You kinda had to be there.

Are They Who We Thought They Were?

To paraphrase Dennis Green, are they really who we thought they were?  Did you recognize what you saw last night?  The Mavericks resembled Elaine Benes' herky jerky dancing from Seinfeld.  Seriously.  And like Elaine's dancing, it's impossible to figure out just what this Mavericks team is.

Is it the one that beat San Antonio by six in Game 1 and looked dominant?  The one that failed to show up in Game 2 and lose by 14? Or is it the Game 3 group that battled but didn't have anything left late in the game?  Even CBS11/TXA21 photographer Bill Ellis remarked while looking at the video he shot of Game 3 that the Mavericks looked confused.


I get the sense Dallas thought the Spurs would be an easier bunch to deal with.  Even after last night's loss, I still sort of feel that way.

The Mavericks have to make shots down the stretch.  They made only seven of their 22 shot attempts in the final period.  Would making a substitution have helped?  Rick Carlisle stayed with small ball for the majority of the fourth:  Jason Terry and JJ Barea to start the fourth, along with Jason Kidd.  Dirk Nowitzki started the fourth on the bench, like he usually does.  It's easy to understand why Carlisle went with that group the majority of the second half, they had a 17-0 run in the 3rd quarter, built a nine point lead and entered the fourth quarter with 70-66 lead.

"In the fourth quarter, we had too many empty possessions," Nowitzki said after the game.

You have to wonder if it was as effective as it could have been.

Caron Butler sat the entire second half. A starter.  Yes, I get he struggled,  going just 1 for 3 with two points.  Don't you at least give him a few minutes?  Now you have to ask where his confidence is.  Will he be pressing in Game 4?

This much I do know about the Mavericks: they need to win Game 4 because based on what they've shown, combined with the way the Spurs are playing, Dallas doesn't seem have the constitution to come back from a 3-1 deficit.

Please Stop!
Finally.  Stop.  Just stop about the refs.  It's so junior varsity.  Sure, the Mavericks are a whine-inducing 1-17 when Dan Crawford officiates games.  It's a bitch.  I get it.  But deal with it and move on.  It's an excuse that's old, tired and nothing more than a lame reason for the Mavericks to feel something was taken from them.  Take responsibility and deal with it.

No More Masked Mavs Man!!!!

I seriously had a dream about Jason Terry in that damn mask.

Get your mind out of the gutter! 

Nothing inappropriate at all!  It was more like a Jason/Friday the 13th/scary sort of dream.  I even told  him about it last week and he mentioned that he was ready to be done with that thing. 

Well after he played without on Sunday in game 1 against the Spurs, he's says he's done for good.  "Keeping my fingers crossed I don’t get hit or anything but no mask," he said after shootaround on Wednesday.

No doubt he's looking for a better performance in Game 2.  Terry was 2/9 with 5 points, with both of those shots coming in the final 6:05 of the fourth quarter.

"I'm definitely going to be more aggressive than I was in that last game," he said.  "Watching the tape, I let the defense dictate how I was getting my shots."

Did You Know:
The Spurs have not won a playoff game in Dallas since Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals on 5/19/06.

Some Spurs Perspective Down the Stretch

With five games left and the Mavericks impersonating Sybil, the Spurs are quietly playing some good basketball at the perfect time of year.  They're only two and a half games behind Dallas in the Southwest division.  San Antonio is 7-3 over its last 10 games with impressive road wins over Boston and the Lakers and home wins against Cleveland and Orlando.  Interestingly, they do have a stinker loss against New Jersey serving as the only blemish during a 5-1 stretch.

The DMN's Brad Townsend breaks it down here.  Long story short, if the Mavs tank and the Spurs win the regular season finale, by virtue of a few tiebreaks, San Antonio could win the division.

The Spurs had just a 4-4 record when they came to Dallas on November 14th.  They actually dropped to 4-6 and back to 9-9 in November.  I asked Tim Duncan about that .500 mark and about their general approach on the season.  He told me that they don't get too concerned with the first few months of the regular season.  "We want to be playing our best basketball going into the playoffs," he deadpanned, looking over to his PR guy hoping that he would end the interview after just the third question.  (The PR guy didn't)

Duncan's bunch doesn't seem to have that identity crisis that's plaguing the Mavericks.  Will it get them any a first-round series win?  Who knows but theirs is certainly a good philosophy to have.

Mavs Knock Nuggets Down and More.

After Dallas' win over Denver, coupled with Utah's win over New York, the Nuggets fall to 5th in the Western conference.  They entered Monday's game tied for 2nd in the West with the Mavericks.  How crazy is that?

Detes on that, Dirk's triple double and more after the Mavericks 109-93 win over the Nuggets on Monday night here in YouTube video blog.

One thing I didn't touch on: Rodrigue Beaubois.  The hot topic this morning was just how much Roddy B would play vs the Nuggets.  The pre-game media throng that included, the Dallas Morning News' Jean-Jacques Taylor, the Star-Telegram's Jen Floyd-Engel and Dallasmavs.com's Earl K Sneed set the over/under at 14 minutes.  A number of people, including Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and yours truly, took the over.  Turns out we were right just by a hair.  Beaubois' line: 14 minutes 56 seconds, five points, three steals, one assist and two fouls.  This prompted my partner in pre- and post-game crime Derek Harper to remind everyone who had just punched Beaubois' ticket to the basketball hall of fame that "40 is hard to follow-up" and that it "doesn't happen every night".  True that but I think we can all agree there's a lot to look forward to with the 22-year old Guadelope native.

Mindless Trivia Time:
Now from the dumb question department: without checking Google, do you know what a Guadeloupe native is called?  Guadelopian? Not sure.

What I am sure of, though, is that those indigenous to the US territory Guam are called Chamorro.  How do I know?  Because for six months I lived right on the Phillipine Sea on that tiny little island. 

And with that, I bid you a good night!

Mavs Beat Bulls and A Bull Almost Beats Harp!

Does Dallas lack a killer instinct? Dirk says kinda sorta. Why was Jason Terry all stopped up? PLUS, which Bulls player shot Derek the devil eyes?

Check out my latest video blog for the answers to all those questions and more!


One Addendum:

Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said after the game that Jason Kidd asked to sit out at the start of the fourth quarter because his knees were sore.  Kidd after the game that it wasn't an issue,  the game was in hand and that he wanted to "let the other guys play".  The Bulls did get to within seven, so the game wasn't quite that in control.

 Ok, there's a disconnect. 

Simple miscommunication?  Perhaps.  The real story might lie somewhere in between.  Right now, I'm not losing sleep over it.

OH!  One more from the RANDOM department: 
Former Nets coach Lawrence Frank was at the game.  He came up to Harp after the game to say hello.   Remember New Jersey fired him in November?  He said life is great right now.  He's being paid to hang.  Nice.

I happened to see him sit down in the stands during the pregame show and I was like "is that Lawrence Frank?!?!?".  He's all of 5'7 so he's kind of hard to pick out of a crowd.

Why in the hell I kind of know him is because he was an assistant coach at the University of Tennessee under Kevin O'Neill when I covered the Vols.  MAN, could I tell you some stories (about O'Neill, not Frank).  They would all involved some serious curse words and questionable behavior.

Anyway, Frank doesn't remember me at all and has no clue who I am because I was as low-level and spare as they come.  That being said I never, ever felt comfortable around that Tennessee coaching staff.  Just saying.

And To End on a Positive Note: 
Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro couldn't have been nicer.   He came up to say hello to Derek (which almost everyone does - players & coaches LOVE him).  Del Negro has had a tough few months and admitted as much.  He was so nice to introduce himself to me and say hello.  Just saying.

Chewing the Straw with Caron Butler

I didn't really know what to expect when I sat down for an interview with Caron Butler.  Aside from a brief introductory "hello", teaming upwith him to play ping pong, and a few media scrum interviews, we hadn't chatted much. 

So when we took over the AAC's main media room, delaying the poor production folks who were trying to set up for Tuesday night's Stars/Sharks game, I came away from our 10-minute interview impressed and intrigued with the just-turned-30-year old's perspective on a number of things.

Here are some highlights:
-He doesn't think that Kobe Bryant was blowing smoke when he told me during All-Star weekend that the Mavs/Wizards trade puts Dallas up there with the NBA's elite.  He said that Kobe isn't in the business of saying things he doesn't mean.  In fact, Kobe texted Caron as soon as the trade happened. Tune in tonight to find out what Kobe said.
-He explains why this trade has worked so quickly for Dallas and how much it's reinvigorated him as a player.
-When the trade happened, Mark Cuban wanted to Butler to fly to Dallas immediately and hang out with him during All-Star weekend.
-He outlines the parameters of "strawgate", when he can and can't chew straws and how he started the whole straw-chewing business in the first place.
-And, I know you Tony Romo fans will hate this, he says Romo is a phenomenal athlete and killed his team one time in a basketball game.  His Racine high school team used to play Romo about 3 times a year in high school.

You can hear the rest of Butler's interview on Mavericks Game Night with Derek Harper and me tonight at 7pm on TXA21.

JET Back on the Runway, PT II

Sefko has Rick Carlisle talking about it here.

I talked to Jason Terry on Sunday at Carlisle's ping pong tournament.  He told me point blank he's shooting for a Wednesday return against the Bulls.  Detes of that conversation here. What was interesting is that Terry offered up his return plans.  I didn't have to ask.

Derek Harper and I return from an extended Mavericks Game Night layoff and offer up pre- and post-game coverage of Mavs/Bulls on Wednesday night starting at 7:00pm.