duncan228
05-11-2009, 12:37 AM
Pride is all Dallas Mavericks have to play for now (http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/basketball/mavs/stories/051109dnspotaylorcol.412f39b.html)
Jean-Jacques Taylor
Dallas Morning News
It's OK if the Mavs are still fuming. And it's fine if Mark Cuban wants to rant, blog or tweet about the incompetence of NBA officials.
MFFLs are certainly entitled to feel ripped off after the NBA admitted referee Mark Wunderlich screwed up by not calling an intentional foul Saturday on Antoine Wright in the final seconds of Game 3, which allowed Carmelo Anthony to take and make a game-winning 3-pointer with one second left.
The problem, however, is that none of that matters right now. Not one teeny-weeny bit.
The NBA isn't going to give the Mavs a do-over. Your Mavs were hosed. Everyone on the planet knows that. If they're honest, even the folks in Denver will admit that.
All that remains for the Mavs is to show us the depth of their personal pride, because Game 4 is merely a formality.
This series is over.
No NBA team has rallied from a 3-0 deficit. The Mavs won't be the first.
Don't forget, Denver has beaten Dallas seven straight times.
No, this series wouldn't have a different feel if the Mavs had won Game 3. Yes, there would've been a sliver of hope for the Mavs, but Dallas has never had control of a single game.
The Mavs played as hard as they could in Game 3. They attacked the basket, resulting in 49 free throws. They committed just 10 turnovers. They limited Denver to 42 percent shooting.
They even dominated the battle of the benches for the first time. Still, the Mavs never led by more than six points.
And they made just enough errors to find a creative way to lose.
The Mavs can whine and complain and throw a tantrum about the horrible non-foul call on Carmelo until they're blue in the face, as my mama used to say. But Jason Terry and Josh Howard each missed a free throw in the final 2:12 that could've kept the game from coming down to one possession.
After Terry gave the Mavs a 105-101 lead with 31 seconds left, the Mavs let Carmelo drive for a dunk.
You simply can't give up a dunk in that situation.
As for the foul, Wright gave up on the play because he assumed the official would make the call after he slapped Carmelo across both arms. Just so you know, Boston coach Doc Rivers took time during a shoot-around Sunday to show his players how he wants them to commit an intentional foul at the end of a game, so the refs can't possibly miss it.
We all know the ref screwed up, but from the time we start playing organized sports coaches tell us to play to the whistle or through the whistle.
Wright didn't do that; Carmelo did.
You never lose a game because of one play at the end. Victory or defeat is always the culmination of hundreds of little plays that occur throughout the contest, which is why the Nuggets will eventually advance to the Western Conference finals against the Lakers-Rockets winner.
The question is whether the Mavs can summon the intestinal fortitude to overcome the profound disappointment of Game 3 and the frustration of the series to salvage at least one game.
After all, no Mavs team has been swept in a seven-game series.
It's also important for Cuban, coach Rick Carlisle and general manager Donnie Nelson not to let Wunderlich's terrible call cloud their view of this team. The Mavs are a good team, but they're not nearly long enough or athletic enough to compete with the NBA's best teams.
One awful call doesn't change that. Much work needs to be done in the off-season.
Jean-Jacques Taylor
Dallas Morning News
It's OK if the Mavs are still fuming. And it's fine if Mark Cuban wants to rant, blog or tweet about the incompetence of NBA officials.
MFFLs are certainly entitled to feel ripped off after the NBA admitted referee Mark Wunderlich screwed up by not calling an intentional foul Saturday on Antoine Wright in the final seconds of Game 3, which allowed Carmelo Anthony to take and make a game-winning 3-pointer with one second left.
The problem, however, is that none of that matters right now. Not one teeny-weeny bit.
The NBA isn't going to give the Mavs a do-over. Your Mavs were hosed. Everyone on the planet knows that. If they're honest, even the folks in Denver will admit that.
All that remains for the Mavs is to show us the depth of their personal pride, because Game 4 is merely a formality.
This series is over.
No NBA team has rallied from a 3-0 deficit. The Mavs won't be the first.
Don't forget, Denver has beaten Dallas seven straight times.
No, this series wouldn't have a different feel if the Mavs had won Game 3. Yes, there would've been a sliver of hope for the Mavs, but Dallas has never had control of a single game.
The Mavs played as hard as they could in Game 3. They attacked the basket, resulting in 49 free throws. They committed just 10 turnovers. They limited Denver to 42 percent shooting.
They even dominated the battle of the benches for the first time. Still, the Mavs never led by more than six points.
And they made just enough errors to find a creative way to lose.
The Mavs can whine and complain and throw a tantrum about the horrible non-foul call on Carmelo until they're blue in the face, as my mama used to say. But Jason Terry and Josh Howard each missed a free throw in the final 2:12 that could've kept the game from coming down to one possession.
After Terry gave the Mavs a 105-101 lead with 31 seconds left, the Mavs let Carmelo drive for a dunk.
You simply can't give up a dunk in that situation.
As for the foul, Wright gave up on the play because he assumed the official would make the call after he slapped Carmelo across both arms. Just so you know, Boston coach Doc Rivers took time during a shoot-around Sunday to show his players how he wants them to commit an intentional foul at the end of a game, so the refs can't possibly miss it.
We all know the ref screwed up, but from the time we start playing organized sports coaches tell us to play to the whistle or through the whistle.
Wright didn't do that; Carmelo did.
You never lose a game because of one play at the end. Victory or defeat is always the culmination of hundreds of little plays that occur throughout the contest, which is why the Nuggets will eventually advance to the Western Conference finals against the Lakers-Rockets winner.
The question is whether the Mavs can summon the intestinal fortitude to overcome the profound disappointment of Game 3 and the frustration of the series to salvage at least one game.
After all, no Mavs team has been swept in a seven-game series.
It's also important for Cuban, coach Rick Carlisle and general manager Donnie Nelson not to let Wunderlich's terrible call cloud their view of this team. The Mavs are a good team, but they're not nearly long enough or athletic enough to compete with the NBA's best teams.
One awful call doesn't change that. Much work needs to be done in the off-season.