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True.
http://espn.go.com/nba/dailydime/_/p...429/daily-dime
Spurs Advance, Leaving Mavs To Ponder
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
SAN ANTONIO -- The realization hit Dirk Nowitzki in midsentence late Thursday night. It hit him just as he was explaining again that he hasn't deeply pondered his future, doesn't yet know whether he wants to become a free agent on July 1 and isn't any clearer about the possibility of hashing out a contract extension before he even gets to free agency.
"I guess I've got some time now to think about some stuff," Nowitzki lamented.
Dirk and his Dallas Mavericks have more unwanted time to think than they ever imagined. The team that made the splashiest trade of the season has crashed out of the playoffs, ushered to an early vacation by the surging San Antonio Spurs in the very first round.
With a considerable edge in continuity, stifling team D that coerced Dallas into its worst start in a series of slow starts, and more clutchness from the fast-emerging George Hill, San Antonio inflicted another dose of springtime suffering on the long-tortured Mavs. The Spurs jumped to a stunningly lopsided lead in Game 6 Thursday night, squandered it all, and then still had plenty left to pull away for a 97-87 triumph to eliminate the West's No. 2-seeded Mavs, giving Tim Duncan three full days of rest before a second-round reunion with Phoenix.
The unexplained forces that consistently lift Spurs versus Mavs to the highest grade of basketball theatre were at work again at the AT&T Center, rescuing this clincher after San Antonio surged to an embarrassing 22-8 lead in the first quarter that eventually ballooned to 22 points later in the first half. The best Dallas could ultimately say, though, is that it didn't roll all the way over against a group unforgettably slammed by Gregg Popovich for playing "like dogs" in Game 1.
Despite briefly snatching the lead in the third quarter and getting as close as 80-78 in the fourth, Nowitzki's Mavericks have been ousted for the fifth time in seven playoff series since winning an epic Game 7 in overtime on this same floor in 2006. It's also the third first-round exit in that span, which isn't going to be any easier to stomach no matter how many times someone points out that San Antonio isn't your basic No. 7 seed -- with its nearly $80 million payroll and the increasingly clutch Hill (who scored 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter) giving new life to the le-tested trio of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.
Mavs owner Mark Cuban didn't trade for Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood in February, taking on millions in extra salary and luxury tax in the process, to make such a swift return to the early playoff misery inflicted by Golden State in 2007. Dallas became the first No. 1 seed in league history to lose a best-of-seven series in the first round that year ... and just became the first No. 2 to lose in Round 1 since the NBA went to a best-of-seven format in 2003.
"We're a failure," Mavericks guard Jason Terry said. "We failed. There's no other word but failure. That's how we feel right now."
Cuban himself acknowledged after the Mavs' Game 1 triumph that the F word -- yes, failure -- was going to be the reaction all over town and all over the league "if we don't win a championship." He went on to insist that no decisions, about the future of Mavs coach Rick Carlisle or further changes to the roster, would be "based off this series," but the decisions don't solely rest with Cuban this offseason.
Nowitzki has until the end of June to choose whether to sample the open market and unexpectedly join the most anticipated free-agent class in league history. Most rival teams haven't even considered the possibility that the 31-year-old could be part of that class -- since Nowitzki has stated repeatedly that he wants to retire in Dallas and that winning a championship anywhere else wouldn't mean nearly as much -- but there was no new Mav-for-life talk after this latest playoff disappointment.
"I wanted to obviously have a long playoff run and go for my [championship] dream again," Nowitzki said after overcoming four first-half fouls -- two of which he picked up on foolish swipes out of frustration at Hill -- to pump in 25 of his 33 points in the second half.
"Now it's obviously too shocking and too disappointing. I haven't really thought about anything about my future yet. We'll just have to wait and see. Like I said, everything is too fresh now."
The Mavericks' hope, according to team sources, has always been signing Nowitzki to an extension before the start of free agency and then making a sign-and-trade run at top free agents. Sources say that list, improbable as it seems, starts with Cleveland's LeBron James, based on the idea that a locked-up Nowitzki would be among the major selling points to lure a big name, along with Cuban's free-spending history and -- in James' case -- the promise of playing a few regular-season games in the Dallas Cowboys' palatial new stadium that hosted the NBA's All-Star Game in February.
Convincing any marquee free agent to push for a sign-and-trade to Dallas, however, would seemingly depend on Nowitzki's presence as a sidekick. Yet it remains to be seen how Nowitzki, who comfortably ranked as the best player in this series, copes with another postseason ending that is sure to bring him unjustified criticism, even after he averaged 26.7 points on 54.7 percent shooting.
All franchise players get the blame when their teams fall short of expectations, but it's likewise true that even franchise players need consistent top-flight help, as Kobe Bryant quickly discovered until Pau Gasol arrived in Hollywood. It's easy to single out Nowitzki as the one on-court constant in the Mavericks' run of 10 consecutive 50-win seasons -- and their status as the only franchise of the four to achieve that feat that hasn't won multiple championships -- but the Spurs couldn't have been more relieved that Nowitzki's supporting cast, even post-trade, is still lacking.
"He's ... amazing," one Spur said. "Dirk doesn't deserve the crap he gets."
Said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, after Nowitzki passed Amare Stoudemire (five) and Bryant (four) with his sixth 30-point playoff game in this building, more than any other visiting player: "I hope we never have to play those guys again. I don't even want to play them in the regular season."
Butler (25 points) and rookie fan favorite Rodrigue Beaubois (16) offered some meaningful Game 6 support, with Beaubois keying Dallas' improbable rally from 22 down when he finally got a chance to play. But San Antonio's team schemes and control of the tempo consistently neutralized Jason Terry and Jason Kidd all series, while also shutting down the Mavericks' running game apart from Tuesday's Game 5.
"We've got a great base," Cuban said. "We'll have a chance to work with each other [in training camp before next season]. You could see some of the uneasiness because we haven't had a full season to play together, and that showed a few times, but we'll pull all the pieces together and we'll go at 'em again next year."
We'll see.
Sources with knowledge of the team's thinking told ESPN.com after Dallas fell into a 3-1 hole that a first-round exit would not put coach Rick Carlisle job in jeopardy. Cuban himself insisted before the Mavericks' emphatic victory at home in Game 5 that Carlisle's job wouldn't come under the threat. But dissatisfaction with Carlisle's offense and subs ution patterns -- inside and outside the organization -- is only bound to rise after Butler sat out more than half of the fourth quarter and Beaubois watched almost all of it.
Yet it's also true that the Mavs, even after all their wheeling and dealing, starting with the acquisition of Kidd at the trading deadline in 2008, still have holes that would need filling no matter who was coaching. Convinced that the arrivals of Butler and Haywood made them tougher, deeper and capable of playing a variety of styles, Cuban's crew too often found out otherwise against the Spurs, straining to keep up with their old rivals because they had two or three non-scorers on the floor. Which is precisely what happened in Thursday's crunch time to the NBA's oldest team, when Carlisle opted for Terry's veteran savvy over Beaubois' unpredictable youth, only for San Antonio to lock in on Nowitzki with Terry ineffective (two points on 1-for-7 shooting) and Beaubois and Butler on the bench.
"I think he'll come back," Carlisle said of Nowitzki. "I do.
"Dirk was special again. ... He's an amazing player, one of the all-time greats. As much as I'm disappointed for the team and for Mark [Cuban] and for myself, I'm even more disappointed for Dirk, because a lot of this was about trying to get him to a point where he could realize the dream. The window is still open, but this is a tough blow."
True.
Maybe it's Dyess.
He is a free agent. I'm happy to kiss his arse a little if he'll consider signing for vet min.
...but Terry does.
Terry doesn't get any crap from the national media. The only crap Terry ever gets is from dedicated fans and radio.
Terry is full of !
Dirk is a phenomenal player. I agree that he gets alot more than he deserves. He was the only Mav that was consistent.
of course Dirk doesn't deserve the craps he's got. he deserves better teammates who can give him enough support to make a serious run for championship, but the present guys he's got are truly... in the highest respect they deserve, nothing more valuable than craps IMHO.
I would be shocked if he left... but if Stoudemire leaves, don't think for a second that Nash isn't trying to get his boy in a Suns uni.
Sounds like Bonner to me.
That sounds like a quote from Tim. Dirk deserves the blame for 07, but otherwise he's been pretty damn good in the playoffs his entire career. I still remember him plastering 40 on the Spurs like it was nothing in his first playoffs. I always wonder what would have happened had they not made that disastrous trade for Antoine Walker and kept that 03 team together. Dallas makes way too many panic trades.
What could Dallas offer to Cleveland that would convice them to let James go to Dallas in a sign and trade? Getting a bunch of overpaid bums back is not going to work for the Cavs. James could only go to Dallas for the Mid Level exception without a S&T.
Now I know Lebron loves the Cowboys, but he doesn't love them enough to take $90MM less on his next contract.
Erika Dampier is FA - the Mavs seem to think they can get assets back on a sign and trade for him. Is that realistic given the limitations he has as a player?
BTW, the problem with the Mavs is NOT Dirk, its the roster surrounding him - a roster formed by basketball genius Mark Cuban. To steal a quote from Emmitt Smith, Dirk is ".... a diamond surrounded by doo-doo."
I wonder how much Mark Cuban affects Dirk's image as well especially since he's paid a ton of cash to make the Mavs a consistent 50 win pretender and is about as emotional and loudmouth of an owner you can have.
He's a great player but in that elimination game he made two boneheaded fouls against Hill and got sidelined and possibly affected his intensity on defense which is questionable at times anyway. He did come back with a vengeance but ya gotta wonder how different it'd be if he had kept his cool.
Last edited by Cane; 05-01-2010 at 04:39 AM.
Dampier would bring enormous cap relief, since his $13 million next season isn't guaranteed, and thus he could be cut like Bruce and Fabricio were by Milwaukee. It ain't gonna land them A-level talent, but they got Caron Butler for a much less valuable trading piece in Howard (Howard was worth $10M and Washington still had to pay luxury tax on his deal). I think I read somewhere that Dampier would have needed to make an all-star team or something ridiculous like that to guarantee a large portion of that final year. I'll defer to Mavfans as to what the exact proportion guaranteed might be though.
OK. I thought Damp was a free agent this summer. The Mavs could get a player with a bad contract like RJ - the Mavs will once again have more above average players on LT contracts.
Dallas will try to do something drastic once again (panic mode has set in now with Herman Munster, I mean Markie Mark Cuban). Time is running out them, given Nowitzi's age and the physical beating he has endured recently.
he doesnt indeed. He is a great player, just at the wrong team. he needs to go somewhere else.
Definitely sounds like Tim- especially if he actually used the word "crap." Also, the writer probably would not care unless it came from someone whose opinion carries any significance.
Dirk is great, needs a better team.
Yea sounds like Tim to me too. Dirk is a great player, future HOFer. Definitely does not deserve all the blame he gets for all of the Mavs early exits.
It's weird seeing Terry being kind of humble..."We're a failure," Mavericks guard Jason Terry said. "We failed. There's no other word but failure. That's how we feel right now."
Taylor: Mavericks 'not nearly good enough to win a le'
12:32 AM CDT on Saturday, May 1, 2010
Column by JEAN-JACQUES TAYLOR / The Dallas Morning News | [email protected]
Jean-Jacques Taylor
Archive | Blog | E-mail
The Mavs played to their pedigree when it mattered most, which is why their season ended with a first-round playoff loss.
Again.
That's three times in four years. You shouldn't be surprised. The Mavs seemingly do this every year.
They play great in the regular season and collapse in the playoffs. The franchise proudly points out how it has 10 consecutive 50-win seasons, something only three other franchises have accomplished.
The difference is that the Celtics with Bill Russell, the Lakers with Magic Johnson and the Spurs with Tim Duncan each won multiple les. The Mavs have advanced to the NBA Finals only once – and none of us will ever forget that historic collapse against Miami.
There's no shame in losing when you compete as hard as you can for as long as you can.
They played like chumps in the first quarter, when the game was decided. The Mavs, owners of the NBA's best road record (27-14) during the regular season, let San Antonio's raucous crowd intimidate them.
The Mavs scored eight points in the first quarter, the fewest in franchise playoff history. When it ended, they trailed 22-8.
At the end of the first half, Dirk Nowitzki had eight points and four fouls, Jason Kidd had one assist and zero points and Jason Terry was also scoreless.
Only Dirk redeemed himself in the second half, finishing with 33 points and giving Dallas a brief one-point lead in the third quarter.
You're simply not going to beat a franchise like San Antonio, which has won four les since 1999, when Terry makes one of seven shots. Or when Kidd, excellent during the season, has virtually no impact. Or when starting center Brendan Haywood makes his only basket in the fourth quarter.
And it's really hard to win on a night when Rick Carlisle benches Roddy Beaubois in the fourth quarter after the rookie has scored 16 points in 20 minutes.
Afterward, Mark Cuban exhibited his usual petulance with thinly veiled whining about the officials. While you have to love Cuban's passion and willingness to spend money – the trade with Washington cost him about $30 million – he's created an atmosphere in which it's OK to suggest there's some other reason the Mavs lost besides their own incompetence.
There's not.
When presented with an opportunity to acquire Haywood, Caron Butler and DeShawn Stevenson, Cuban said he stayed in the shower for about 30 minutes contemplating whether to make the deal.
Well, it's time for another long, hot shower.
The Mavs, as currently constructed, are good enough to win 50 or 55 games next season, but they're not nearly good enough to win a le.
Any change that doesn't include Dirk – trading him would be foolish – is strictly cosmetic. Moving Kidd or Terry isn't going to happen because of their massive contracts.
Carlisle, outcoached by Gregg Popovich, isn't going anywhere because Cuban is already paying Avery Johnson not to coach.
There's really only one hope: Roddy B. spends the summer working at point guard and becomes the star Dirk has never had. His speed and uncanny ability to drive to the basket give him star potential.
The disappointment of losing is so bad, Dirk actually sounds like he's thinking about opting out of his contract and exploring free agency. None of us really believes he'll do it because he loves the Mavs, the only team he's ever played for, and no one can pay him more than Cuban.
Still, he had never wanted to even think about exploring another option.
As usual, Dirk had no consistent help. Perhaps he's grown weary of carrying this team year after year without the ultimate payoff.
Can you blame him?
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...r.367d2eb.html
Great article by Mark Stein. He is an excellent basketball journalist.
Dirk whines too much, but otherwise I really like the guy and utterly respect his game.
Not going to happen but I would love for him to be here. But there are $21.5 million reasons for him to be a Mav next season.
Year in and year out. He doesn't have the supporting cast to get over the hump.
In '07 I would also call out Avery for his decision to scrap a line up that won 67 games in order to go small against the Warriors.
Dallas does seem to make those panicky moves don't they. It's like Cuban just throws at the wall and waits to see what sticks. Does he have a plan as to how he wants to build a team? How do they evaluate talent and how it fits with their current roster at the time? We about the Spurs FO but they have a consistent plan, year after year. What they have done over the last decade and a half obviously has paid off.
Dirk is a phenomenal player. It just goes to show you how hard it is to win in this league.
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