big3bigD
01-19-2007, 02:42 PM
BLOGFISH
The 33-8 Mavs: Half-Way, and Half-Wits
Somebody around here once wrote that "Mike Fisher is a poor man's Bill Simmons,'' which I took as a compliment in many ways. To labor as I have since 1982 to get editors to approve of sports articles I considered insightful and accurate yet snarky and edgy -- and then to see young Simmons do it so effortlessly, and better than I ever dreamed -- well, I couldn't be more pleased. (Except for the "poor man'' part. Less "poor,'' I guess, would technically cause me to be more pleased.)
So I don't want to get in a pissin' match with Simmons when I reference his recent french-kiss-disguised-as-a-column praising the Phoenix Suns as "surpass(ing) anything we've seen since Magic-Kareem-Worthy-Cooper-Scott-Thompson/Green or Bird-Parish-McHale-Johnson-Ainge-Walton'' and potentially "historically good.''
Bill, how can the Phoenix Suns be the greatest team in NBA history when they aren't even the greatest team in this year's Western Conference?
Thursday's 114-95 home win over the Lakers brings us to the halfway point of the NBA season, a good time to take stock in what elite teams like Phoenix and Dallas are accomplishing. Let's cover some of the happenings at American Airlines Center while also digging though Simmons' exhaustive (and as always, highly-entertaining) Suns suck-up and see if there are bones to pick, gaps to fill, components that are missing. ...
SIMMONS WRITES: The Phoenix Suns. ... have a chance to be historically good. You could be bouncing your grandkids on your lap someday and telling them that you watched the 2007 Suns. Naturally, nobody's talking about them. Everyone's tired of hearing about Nash at this point, and since they don't have the best record in the league, there isn't any urgency to make a fuss about them. But. ... They're sniffing at true greatness.
BONES, GAPS AND MISSING COMPONENTS: One of Simmons' greatest skills is combining the know-how of a basketball insider with the crazy-off-the-wall hoohaw of a beer-and-baloney-filled fan. Only using those split personalities can he write one sentence that says "nobody's talking about them'' and then another sentence that says "Everyone's tired of hearing about'' them.
Bill, if "nobody's talking about them,'' how can anyone be "tired'' of them?
Nobody talks about the Phoenix Suns? Las Vegas digs the Suns. Jack McCallum just wrote a book about 'em. Sports Illustrated seems to love them second only to D-Wade. And, um, Mr. Simmons. ... you just wrote a one-billion-word essay on them for "The Worldwide Leader In Sports.''
Since when is the publishing world, Sports Illustrated and ESPN "nobody''?
SIMMONS WRITES: The Suns are 26-2 in their last 28 games. Here were their two losses: Dec. 22: They lose to the Wizards in OT (144-139) in a game that Arenas tied with a 3-point play in regulation, then Nash missed a wide-open 3 that could have ended it. Dec. 28: They lose in Dallas by two (101-99) when Nowitzki made a jumper with 0.1 seconds left. With two reasonable breaks (Nash making the 3-pointer, Nowitzki missing the jumper), the Suns could be working on a 28-game winning streak right now.
BONES, GAPS AND MISSING COMPONENTS: Well, yeah, but. ...
Hell, if Nowitzki missed other shots, other teams would be winning games against Dallas. And if Nash made every shot, Phoenix would never lose.
How is the fantasy of a "two-losses-short-of-a-28-game-win-streak'' superior to this reality: During approximately the same time frame, the Mavs mounted REAL streaks of 12 wins, 13 wins and now six wins. Bill, add it up: 12+13+6 = 31. That's 31 REAL WINS that were achieved in REAL STREAKS.
Not streaks you "wish'' would happen because you enjoy watching the Suns. Real wins. Real streaks. Real streaks that provide the Mavs with a 33-8 record through the halfway point of the season, which ties the franchise-best mark (set in 2002-03) through 41 games played.
I'm not saying being 26-2 isn't impressive. I am saying it's NOT Magic-Kareem-Worthy-Cooper-Scott-Thompson/Green or Bird-Parish-McHale-Johnson-Ainge-Walton. In fact, I'm saying that because there is a certain other active NBA team that has a similarly impressive winning percentage (with a 33-4 mark in their last 37 outings) and that certain team is 2-0 against the "historically good'' Suns and that certain team is in first place in the NBA while the "historically good'' Suns are not in first place. ...
A missing component, Bill?
SIMMONS WRITES: Barbosa: He'd be the best guard on more than half the teams in the league right now. ... Diaw: Killed them in the first few weeks by showing up out of shape, now he's fine ... Bell: He's also their fiercest competitor ... Marion: As long as he's happy, playing hard and feeling even mildly appreciated, the 2007 Suns are unstoppable ... Stoudemire: I'd say he's about 87 percent back, which makes him the second-best center alive (behind Yao and tied with Dwight Howard) and a top-20 player. ... Nash: I wouldn't have voted him MVP the past two years (when he did win), but I'd absolutely vote for him this year (when he won't win because nobody's prepared for a world where Steve Nash is a three-time NBA MVP).
BONES, GAPS AND MISSING COMPONENTS: We can play that same game with the Mavs' roster -- and base it on Thursday's win over the Lakers alone: Josh Howard finished with 29 points and 11 rebounds. ... Jason Terry recorded a double-double with 12 points and a Mavs-season-high 13 assists. ... Erick Dampier grabbed 10 rebounds and his little-used backup 'Gana Diop grabbed eight more. ... "Scrubs'' Devean George, Jerry Stackhouse and Anthony Johnson all scored in double figures. ... Oh yeah, and Dirk (with another almost-automatic 27/10) is, like, the best basketball player on the planet.
Phoenix is better than all that? By what measure?
My take on Simmons' Suns takes (and notice he only goes six deep because Phoenix only goes six deep): Barbosa would be Dallas' third-best guard. ... Diaw being out of shape is quite an accomplishment! ... Bell's "fierceness'' is familiar. It reminds of Mavs spare parts Buckner, George and Stackhouse. ... Stoudemire is an incredible talent. To say anything more, at his age and coming off the knee problems, is premature. ... Nash is. ... well, read on.
SIMMONS WRITES: That's the biggest difference between the 2006 Suns and the 2007 Suns, with Nash's haircut symbolizing everything -- they play with a chip on their shoulder. ... (Nash has) a new and improved killer instinct.
BONES, GAPS AND MISSING COMPONENTS: Okay, I officially cannot stand it anymore! Steve Nash changed his hairstyle and that's why the Suns are as good as Magic's Lakers and Bird's Celtics. ... and BETTER than Dirk's Mavs?!
Two sidebar issues here: One, Simmons will be tickled to learn that now Nash and the fellas are putting away the razors as long as their win streak continues. "I don't know who started it, but I got suckered into it,'' Nash said. (Ain't those Suns cute, Bill?) Two, Dirk cut his hair short to begin the year and will let it grow all season. And Jason Terry appears to have gotten his 'do shaved way down. And Austin Croshere seems to have a receeding headline and. ... wait a minute. ... why are we discussing the strategic importance of Suns' and Mavs' hairdos?
SIMMONS WRITES: If the Suns stay healthy, they should win 67-70 games and nobody should touch them in the playoffs except for Dallas, the one contender that can dictate a specific tempo and force its opponents to abide by it. Still, I can't imagine the Suns blowing a seven-game series. ...
BONES, GAPS AND MISSING COMPONENTS: Boy, I CAN imagine the Suns losing a playoff series. Since, you know, I saw them do it just a few months ago against Dallas! The 75-Member Staff was speculating the other day, as Simmons did with Phoenix, on Dallas' chances of winning 70. The Mavs are 33-8. You do realize, don't you, that to win 70, they'd have to be SUBSTANTIALLY BETTER in the second half than they've been in the first? That after going 33-8 in the first 41 games, they'd have to go 36-6 in the second half?
Does anybody really wanna put a buck on Dallas doing that? Or on Phoenix being even better than that?
Once again, the crazy-off-the-wall hoohaw of a beer-and-baloney-filled fan.
The 33-8 Mavs: Half-Way, and Half-Wits
Somebody around here once wrote that "Mike Fisher is a poor man's Bill Simmons,'' which I took as a compliment in many ways. To labor as I have since 1982 to get editors to approve of sports articles I considered insightful and accurate yet snarky and edgy -- and then to see young Simmons do it so effortlessly, and better than I ever dreamed -- well, I couldn't be more pleased. (Except for the "poor man'' part. Less "poor,'' I guess, would technically cause me to be more pleased.)
So I don't want to get in a pissin' match with Simmons when I reference his recent french-kiss-disguised-as-a-column praising the Phoenix Suns as "surpass(ing) anything we've seen since Magic-Kareem-Worthy-Cooper-Scott-Thompson/Green or Bird-Parish-McHale-Johnson-Ainge-Walton'' and potentially "historically good.''
Bill, how can the Phoenix Suns be the greatest team in NBA history when they aren't even the greatest team in this year's Western Conference?
Thursday's 114-95 home win over the Lakers brings us to the halfway point of the NBA season, a good time to take stock in what elite teams like Phoenix and Dallas are accomplishing. Let's cover some of the happenings at American Airlines Center while also digging though Simmons' exhaustive (and as always, highly-entertaining) Suns suck-up and see if there are bones to pick, gaps to fill, components that are missing. ...
SIMMONS WRITES: The Phoenix Suns. ... have a chance to be historically good. You could be bouncing your grandkids on your lap someday and telling them that you watched the 2007 Suns. Naturally, nobody's talking about them. Everyone's tired of hearing about Nash at this point, and since they don't have the best record in the league, there isn't any urgency to make a fuss about them. But. ... They're sniffing at true greatness.
BONES, GAPS AND MISSING COMPONENTS: One of Simmons' greatest skills is combining the know-how of a basketball insider with the crazy-off-the-wall hoohaw of a beer-and-baloney-filled fan. Only using those split personalities can he write one sentence that says "nobody's talking about them'' and then another sentence that says "Everyone's tired of hearing about'' them.
Bill, if "nobody's talking about them,'' how can anyone be "tired'' of them?
Nobody talks about the Phoenix Suns? Las Vegas digs the Suns. Jack McCallum just wrote a book about 'em. Sports Illustrated seems to love them second only to D-Wade. And, um, Mr. Simmons. ... you just wrote a one-billion-word essay on them for "The Worldwide Leader In Sports.''
Since when is the publishing world, Sports Illustrated and ESPN "nobody''?
SIMMONS WRITES: The Suns are 26-2 in their last 28 games. Here were their two losses: Dec. 22: They lose to the Wizards in OT (144-139) in a game that Arenas tied with a 3-point play in regulation, then Nash missed a wide-open 3 that could have ended it. Dec. 28: They lose in Dallas by two (101-99) when Nowitzki made a jumper with 0.1 seconds left. With two reasonable breaks (Nash making the 3-pointer, Nowitzki missing the jumper), the Suns could be working on a 28-game winning streak right now.
BONES, GAPS AND MISSING COMPONENTS: Well, yeah, but. ...
Hell, if Nowitzki missed other shots, other teams would be winning games against Dallas. And if Nash made every shot, Phoenix would never lose.
How is the fantasy of a "two-losses-short-of-a-28-game-win-streak'' superior to this reality: During approximately the same time frame, the Mavs mounted REAL streaks of 12 wins, 13 wins and now six wins. Bill, add it up: 12+13+6 = 31. That's 31 REAL WINS that were achieved in REAL STREAKS.
Not streaks you "wish'' would happen because you enjoy watching the Suns. Real wins. Real streaks. Real streaks that provide the Mavs with a 33-8 record through the halfway point of the season, which ties the franchise-best mark (set in 2002-03) through 41 games played.
I'm not saying being 26-2 isn't impressive. I am saying it's NOT Magic-Kareem-Worthy-Cooper-Scott-Thompson/Green or Bird-Parish-McHale-Johnson-Ainge-Walton. In fact, I'm saying that because there is a certain other active NBA team that has a similarly impressive winning percentage (with a 33-4 mark in their last 37 outings) and that certain team is 2-0 against the "historically good'' Suns and that certain team is in first place in the NBA while the "historically good'' Suns are not in first place. ...
A missing component, Bill?
SIMMONS WRITES: Barbosa: He'd be the best guard on more than half the teams in the league right now. ... Diaw: Killed them in the first few weeks by showing up out of shape, now he's fine ... Bell: He's also their fiercest competitor ... Marion: As long as he's happy, playing hard and feeling even mildly appreciated, the 2007 Suns are unstoppable ... Stoudemire: I'd say he's about 87 percent back, which makes him the second-best center alive (behind Yao and tied with Dwight Howard) and a top-20 player. ... Nash: I wouldn't have voted him MVP the past two years (when he did win), but I'd absolutely vote for him this year (when he won't win because nobody's prepared for a world where Steve Nash is a three-time NBA MVP).
BONES, GAPS AND MISSING COMPONENTS: We can play that same game with the Mavs' roster -- and base it on Thursday's win over the Lakers alone: Josh Howard finished with 29 points and 11 rebounds. ... Jason Terry recorded a double-double with 12 points and a Mavs-season-high 13 assists. ... Erick Dampier grabbed 10 rebounds and his little-used backup 'Gana Diop grabbed eight more. ... "Scrubs'' Devean George, Jerry Stackhouse and Anthony Johnson all scored in double figures. ... Oh yeah, and Dirk (with another almost-automatic 27/10) is, like, the best basketball player on the planet.
Phoenix is better than all that? By what measure?
My take on Simmons' Suns takes (and notice he only goes six deep because Phoenix only goes six deep): Barbosa would be Dallas' third-best guard. ... Diaw being out of shape is quite an accomplishment! ... Bell's "fierceness'' is familiar. It reminds of Mavs spare parts Buckner, George and Stackhouse. ... Stoudemire is an incredible talent. To say anything more, at his age and coming off the knee problems, is premature. ... Nash is. ... well, read on.
SIMMONS WRITES: That's the biggest difference between the 2006 Suns and the 2007 Suns, with Nash's haircut symbolizing everything -- they play with a chip on their shoulder. ... (Nash has) a new and improved killer instinct.
BONES, GAPS AND MISSING COMPONENTS: Okay, I officially cannot stand it anymore! Steve Nash changed his hairstyle and that's why the Suns are as good as Magic's Lakers and Bird's Celtics. ... and BETTER than Dirk's Mavs?!
Two sidebar issues here: One, Simmons will be tickled to learn that now Nash and the fellas are putting away the razors as long as their win streak continues. "I don't know who started it, but I got suckered into it,'' Nash said. (Ain't those Suns cute, Bill?) Two, Dirk cut his hair short to begin the year and will let it grow all season. And Jason Terry appears to have gotten his 'do shaved way down. And Austin Croshere seems to have a receeding headline and. ... wait a minute. ... why are we discussing the strategic importance of Suns' and Mavs' hairdos?
SIMMONS WRITES: If the Suns stay healthy, they should win 67-70 games and nobody should touch them in the playoffs except for Dallas, the one contender that can dictate a specific tempo and force its opponents to abide by it. Still, I can't imagine the Suns blowing a seven-game series. ...
BONES, GAPS AND MISSING COMPONENTS: Boy, I CAN imagine the Suns losing a playoff series. Since, you know, I saw them do it just a few months ago against Dallas! The 75-Member Staff was speculating the other day, as Simmons did with Phoenix, on Dallas' chances of winning 70. The Mavs are 33-8. You do realize, don't you, that to win 70, they'd have to be SUBSTANTIALLY BETTER in the second half than they've been in the first? That after going 33-8 in the first 41 games, they'd have to go 36-6 in the second half?
Does anybody really wanna put a buck on Dallas doing that? Or on Phoenix being even better than that?
Once again, the crazy-off-the-wall hoohaw of a beer-and-baloney-filled fan.