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| 2010-11 Dallas Mavericks roster. Photo credit NBA |
Before the 2010-2011 NBA season the Dallas Mavericks were expected to be a contender yet again, but not a serious one...yet again.
The Mavs were coming off a very impressive regular season but fell as the number 2 seed in the 2010 Western Conference first round to the rival San Antonio Spurs. It was a madly depressing end for a team that seemed destined to achieve the pinnacle of basketball greatness for the first time in their 30 year existence.
This edition of Dallas basketball seemed promising from the start. Along with the big guy from the G, Jason Kidd had a full season with the team and a playoff series win under his belt, Jason Terry was still very much the "Jet" that you won't find today. The team acquired Shawn Marion in the summer in a sign-and-trade with Toronto for the life forces remaining in Antoine Wright (ugh) and Devean George (so Toronto could sign Hedo Turkoglu to be their global ambassador) and during the All-Star Break - in Dallas - the team acquired Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and Deshawn Stevenson for again, life forces of former All-Star Josh Howard and the admirable services of Drew Gooden.
I was actually sitting in the metal bleachers watching the Celebrity Game with friends, one who had a family member participating, when we were elated to hear about the trade.
The team even brought back fan favorite Eddie Najera but in the end the Spurs handed the Mavericks a crushing blow, taking games 2, 3, and 4 in round one to upset the Mavs.
Something else also came from the 2009-2010 NBA Playoffs.
The Los Angeles Lakers would eventually repeat as champions but their first series against the 8 seed proved to be the one people remember most. It was the dawn of the NBA's newest elite club member, the Oklahoma City Thunder.
With the Mavericks disappointing yet again, a bunch of "fans" decided to take their fandom to these new popular darlings of OKC.
They were tired of the torture that "their" Mavs put them through for nearly a decade. Almosts after almosts and during the following summer, remembered for LeBron James switching teams, a bunch of so-called fans did the same.
Do I blame them? no. they aren't real fans if they won't stick with their team through thick and thin and really thin.
The Dallas Mavericks won the NBA championship next season and #MFFL's like yours truly were rewarded with the ultimate prize and euphoria that put my birth on the silver medal podium in life moments.
And boy those bandwagon "fans" came crawling back. Some of them even had the audacity to sport Thunder jerseys during the Dallas-OKC Western Conference Semi-Finals. **** them. Forever. Harsh? sorry, find another writer.
Even though the Mavericks finally reached basketball royalty in 2011, the previous years of playoff frustration are being craved for here in 2014. Post-championship the Mavericks moves are well documented...breaking up the championship team and aspiring to sign a superstar free agent.
2012 and 2013 were lost seasons with lousy teams that didn't have a win in the postseason, but 2014 features a team of veterans and renewed hope and optimism far better placed.
The similarities to the 2011 team are obvious on paper, but between the striped lines the Mavericks have appeared far from a veteran team.
There is no replacing a Jason Kidd...
Mavericks point guards in 2012-2013 were Darren Collison, Mike James, Derek Fisher (but yes, Derek Fisher), rookie Jared Cunningham, failed first round draft picks Roddy B and Dojo, and D-Leaguers Justin Dentmon and Josh Akognon, who is a career 100% shooter @ the AAC.
...and there has been no replacement for Tyson Chandler.
Maverick centers in 2012-2013 were Elton Brand, Brandan Wright, Chris Kaman, Eddy Curry, Troy Murphy, you saw Eddy Curry right?!, and rookie Bernard James.
Dirk Nowitzki and his caveman beard willed the Mavericks to a .500 finish, splitting the 82 games right down the middle amidst all the terrible italics above.
This season there is much much more to be desired. Much.
Jose Calderon has stabilized the (starting) point guard position and Monta Ellis signed as a bargain cause teams were afraid of Monta doing Monta things.
Look, if I played alongside Stephen Curry and Brandon Jennings for the past three seasons, I wouldn't pass much either!
Samuel Dalembert isn't Dwight Howard but next to Chris Kaman he actually is if you get the right angle at the right time.
The 2013-2014 basketball product is actually a basketball product. Dirk has had a resurgence with good health this year and the team is still a Devin Harris away from being at full strength.
But last night's MELTDOWN in the final 5 minutes at the CP3-less Clippers was a turrible, turrible taste that is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too familiar for Mavericks fans.
Honestly, before the team even choked, coughed up and (something worse than those two forms of regurgitation) their 17 point lead with 4:49 to go after Brandan Wright completed a "yes blood yes foul" 3-point play.
The remainder saw the Clippers outscore the Mavericks 23-4, winning the game 129-127 and adding one of those 'moments' to the recent tale of our Mavericks that drives "fans" away but makes real fans suffer even worse. Because we're not going anywhere.
Like any other Clippers game, it became very chippy and was very poorly officiated and Blake Griffin was at the epicenter of all of it. Anytime he's in the paint it seems someone is either entangled with him, locked up, jawing at one another, wincing (that's Blake) and there are technical fouls, flagrant fouls and the dreaded double-fouls as a result.
National Basketball Association, THIS IS NOT A COINCIDENCE.
Out of our control: Samuel Dalembert gets a technical AND a flagrant for bringing down Blake Griffin, who got...nothing. Very noteworthy that Griffin already had a double technical earlier for swiping at Dirk many moments after the whistle.
Simply enough, the league was afraid to eject Griffin after mistakenly doing so on Christmas Day. Personally I believe Blake was well aware of this added leverage that he needed to secure a comeback.
In our control: Monta Ellis missed a long jumper with 40 seconds left and the team up four. The shot clock had just reset and was sitting at 15.
Despite the expected Clipper-friendly refereeing playing a key role, the Mavericks also went scoreless the final 2:57 including four very, very makeable misses from their superstar Nowitzki. Dirk missed his last four being guarded by Reddick, Reddick, Collison and Jordan.
“I was thinking, we might be the only team trying to find a way to lose this one," he said afterward.
They certainly weren't trying but this kind of thing only seems to happen to the Mavericks.
The team can not close.
They have lead by 17 or more four times this season and lost. Yes, a big lead can disappear fast in the NBA but the consistency of these torturing defeats is just so defeating. It continues to drive fans away but I assure you true MFFL's will stick it out no matter what.
The question isn't how much more can we take because we don't matter as much as them. The question is can the team make the changes necessary to be a contender.
Because last night was a key loss as the team sits at 23-17 and 8th in a tight Western Conference race. They are .500 against the West, which won't bode well if they don't start taking care of business against their playoff competitors.
Losing put Dallas 4 games back of the Clippers, who sit 4th. Winning would have moved kept Dallas in the 7 spot but only 2 games back of the 4th spot. The critical impact of this meltdown hurts even more with each revelation.
The Mavericks are at Phoenix next, who they are currently tied with record wise. They were demolished two weeks ago in Phoenix and the Suns can capture the very important season series with a win, which would secure them an if-necessary tiebreaker with Dallas.
With a Head Coach like Rick Carlisle I fully expect the Mavericks to head into Phoenix ready to play. If not, then they don't deserve to be a playoff team anyway, so let's hope they are, because us true fans who couldn't sleep last night and (I) haven't even eaten yet today, we're going to be ready for a bounce back W vs. the Suns Friday Night.
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