Let me explain. I really wanted to watch the Mavs live this year, especially after their key off-season acquisitions of Tim Thomas, Drew Gooden, and Roddy Beaubois. No I didn't. Yes I did. No I didn't. Actually, the mere thought of watching Tim Thomas and Drew Gooden on the same team, and taking a chance of seeing two of the most underachieving players in NBA history taking the court together, had not even entered my mind all season. What the hell, right?
Man, I'm glad I went to that game.
As always, the AA center was rocking the usual 106.1 KISS FM hip-hop jams before the game and occasionally catered to the middle aged crowd by sprinkling in some Tom Petty, Aerosmith, and some Stones. I'm still amazed at how easily accessible the arena is from I-35 and how painless it is park and get in and out of the game. The other Dallas owner should take a page out of Mark Cuban's book. There's a reason the Mavs have sold out their last 350+ games and have won over 50 games in each of the past 9 seasons.
The final quarter and overtime couldn't have been more entertaining. Mr. Diggler (Dirk Nowitzki) overshadowed any sort of black cloud that loomed over Dallas last night. He led the Mavs with 36 points and the go-ahead face snarling, fade-away jumper with 1.7 seconds left in OT.
What made this victory even sweeter was the look on Stephen Jackson's face after Dirk hit the game winning shot. Jackson has to be the second most disliked player in the NBA behind Ron Artest. Mavericks fans reserve a spot at the front of the line for the chance to inflict pain on this man at all costs. (Detroit fans could claim first, but they're worried more about the economy these days)
In 2006-07, the Mavs flirted with the best record in NBA history and were believed by many to be one of the greatest teams ever. That memorable season for the Mavs just happened to be wedged between two of the worst sports scenarios of all-time.
Scenario #1, June 2006: Dallas was fortunate enough to play it's way through a 7 game series against San Antonio and a 6 game series against Phoenix in order to make the franchise's first ever NBA Finals appearance. The Mavs jumped out to a quick 2-0 series lead with convincing victories over Dwayne Wade and the Miami Heat. To make a long story short and to keep me from chucking my wireless mouse across the room, Wade went on to take 73 free-throws in the final four games of the series to capture the title for the Heat. (I'm gonna have to side with Tim Donaghy here.)
Scenario #2, June 2007: Following their run at history, the Mavericks, for one night, took their foot off the gas and rested their starters before the playoffs. This proved to be one of the biggest blunders in sports history as the Mavericks were defeated in the first round of the playoffs and became the butt of many NBA jokes for the second straight year.
I'm not sure if the Mavs head coach, Avery Johnson, did it out of respect for his mentor and former coach, Don Nelson, or if he was just giving his starters a night off to regain their legs. This much I do know, it wasn't the final game of the regular season, it was the second to last game. The Mavs actually played their starters in the final game of the season and that's what makes this weird. Did the Mavericks want to face off in the first round of the playoffs against their former head coach and his erratic style of play, which happened to beat them 3 out of 4 times during that particular regular season? OR....did the NBA arrange this series? I would argue the latter based on the TV ratings for that series (3.77 million viewers for Game 7).
Anyway, this brings me to my point. Stephen Jackson and his thug attitude during that 2007 playoff series were so polarizing to Dallas fans that he immediately was cast into the same breath as Leon Lett, Roy Tarpley, Jim Jackson, and any Washington Redskins player. So last night was a great way to get back at Stephen Jackson and his shenanigans (note: Jackson scored 28 points and every time he made a shot, the crowed just hissed. I loved it.).
Tim Thomas and Drew Gooden combined for 15 min of playing time. Whew.
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I'd like to see a fistfight between Dirk and a cocained-up Roy Tarpley. That would be absolute money. And Dirk's estranged (and ugly) lady could take the winner. To fight, not to have and/or to hold.
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