Don’t get me wrong, I don’t dislike baseball. Sometimes I genuinely enjoy it. But it just doesn't quite compare to the one sport I so love, at least until the postseason starts in October. Plus, you just know that the Rangers are teasing us this year: they’re good enough to be relevant, but will probably end up in second in the AL West behind Anaheim, and either the Red Sox or Yankees will grab the AL Wild Card, just like always.
Maybe since I predicted this will happen, it won’t. I’m sure hoping to cheer the Rangers in the postseason, I’m just setting my expectations low.
Plus, Big Papi getting busted for ‘roids really pissed me off....But I digress.
The point is, we’re about 2 months out from the Lakers’ championship (Boo.), and are still almost 3 months until game 1 of the regular season. But that doesn’t mean a lot hasn’t been going on. My observations on the Mavs’ offseason, in convenient enumerated format!
1. DallasBasketball.com is my new favorite basketball-gossip-related website.
I used to be continuously frustrated during the offseason by the dearth of Mav-related info. The best I got was a one- or two-paragraph write-up once per week from the Dallas Morning News that quickly and superficially summarized the week’s events in the Mavs’ front office. But thanks to David Lord and Mike Fisher, two very well-informed insiders who contribute to DallasBasketball.com, I can get my daily fix on trade speculation, etc. (Ramon Sessions is the latest name to be tossed out there.) And it's not completely baseless speculation; there’s some very sensible logic behind it. I’d rather let these guys, who are FAR smarter than me, figure out the intricacies of the salary cap.
I was there to see it, DB.com picked out Shawn Marion days before the trade went down. (More on that later.) I’m addicted. And grateful. They're why I'm inspired to write this long-winded blog entry, in fact. So blame them for your ongoing suffering.
2. The Mavericks absolutely, positively, undoubtedly HAD to re-sign Jason Kidd.
I’ll be the first to admit that I hated the Jason Kidd for half-the-Mavs-roster-including-our-only-answer-for-Tony-Parker-a.k.a.-Devin-Harris trade back in March of ’08. And I still think Dallas gave up too much. But the Kidd has won me over.Yeah, he’s 36. Yeah, he’s a little slower and can’t quite fill up the bucket like he used to. But he’s INCREDIBLY savvy on offense AND defense, and always seems to hit those timely 3’s. (He actually led Dallas last year in 3-pt percentage at 40.6%.) If Dirk is the V8 engine that makes the Mavs go, Kidd is the oil that keeps the whole thing from grinding to a screeching halt. (And that’s as deep as my automotive metaphors will go.)
Seriously, what would the Mavs have done had they let Kidd walk to New York? They might’ve pursued Andre Miller, who’s also getting up there in age and doesn’t compare with Kidd. Maybe let Jason Terry and J.J. Barea split time at the starting point.
The Dallas Mavericks ARE NOT a playoff team without him. They ARE a playoff team with him. That’s all you need to know.
3. The Mavs did right in taking the red pill.
So now we stay in Wonderland, and we see how far down the rabbit hole goes.
Dallas’s trade to acquire “The Matrix” (i.e., Shawn Marion) was a very smart basketball move. Here’s why.
The Mavs get a premiere defender who is versatile enough to chase Kobe, Amare, Dwyane, and ‘Melo who can lead the team in rebounding (which means more running fast breaks with the Kidd), hit the occasional 3, and catch some of those alley-oops from Kidd on the fast break. AND they got him at a reasonable price: After getting paid $17 mil a year last year, he’ll earn less than half that during his new contract -- about $7.7 mil per year. (Thank you again, DB.com.)The only caveat is that we’re going to have to learn to live with that AWFUL-looking release.
4. There are still PLENTY of Dirk lovers and haters out there.
There are two sides to the Dirk debate. First of all, he’s been one of the most consistently productive players in the league this decade. So much so that he makes a very convincing case to earn a spot on the All-Decade Team for the 2000s. This article does just that, and in fact, his formula concludes that he has indeed been the MOST productive player since 2000. More than Tim Duncan. More than Kobe Bryant. More than Kevin Garnett. Just look at this list.
Then there’s the other side, that says he disappears in the postseason, and that he’s among the most overrated players in the league. (Um, did you SEE last year’s Denver series? 30+ ppg doesn’t do it for you?) Yeah, he had his chances in the Finals. And yeah, he’s had an off year or two mixed in there. But, like all the greats, his production is significantly elevated during the postseason.
One thing I do know is, since we’re even HAVING this debate, he’s gotta be pretty daggum special. We’re all Nowitznesses to a hall-of-famer who, I believe, will still win his championship ring.
I just hope he’s wearing a Mavericks uniform when he does.
5. YouTube and my DVR have helped me get through this period of basketball fasting.
It helps to be able to see Josh Howard’s three-quarter-court shot against Phoenix last April whenever I want. In High Def, no less. But just as great is the ability to reminisce about their 2003 run:
Ah, those days of Nash, Van Exel, and RAEF LAFRENTZ make me teary-eyed. Thank God for YouTube.
6. The best new expression of the summer: “Getting kicked in the Gortats”.
Again, thanks to DB.com. Earlier this summer, Dallas committed $38 million to backup-center phenom Marcin Gortat from the Orlando Magic, who was a restricted free agent, meaning once the offer was made, the Magic had seven days to match the offer and keep him. While Dallas’s money was tied up on the Gortat offer they let undersized, energy PF Brandon Bass (a hoss) go to, you guessed it, Orlando. Only days later, Orlando pulled the tablecloth out from under Mark Cuban and, surprising everyone, matched the Gortat offer, thus keeping him AND Bass.
And that’s how the Mavs got kicked in the Gortats. Which I will now proceed to use in everyday vernacular (...thus leaving my partners in conversation thoroughly confused.) The silver lining: maybe Gortat isn’t all that great, and the Mavs avoided getting their money all tied up for years and years, like the Shawn Bradley and Erick Dampier situations. Time will tell.
But, in the meantime, Dallas ATTEMPTED to shore up the center position by adding big-man whacko Drew Gooden who, despite being semi-productive, has bounced around to seven teams in eight years. They also added 3-point marksman/knucklehead Tim Thomas. To do: re-sign either energy 7-footer Ryan Hollins or potential Brandon Bass replacement and headband extraordinaire James Singleton.
No doubt the Mavs have beefed up their roster a little, but will it be enough...?
7. Holy crap, you’re still reading this? Well, since you made it this far...
Talk about long-winded. I’ll spare you further analysis and just say: Dallas will not win the Western Conference championship this year. But it won’t be a disappointment, either. I predict 56 wins, the second seed in the playoffs (behind only LA), and a loss to LA in an epic 7 game series in the Western Conference Finals. But 2010 will be a different, much more successful story. Start planning that parade route.
And dammit, they better keep my man J. J. Barea.
1 comment:
Also a good source: http://www.thetwomangame.com/
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