why so unmotivated

[Findog]

LOL some of you are making Avery out to sound like a deranged tyrant.

....


wouldn't surprise me though if it were true, I always thought Avery was a one-hit wonder kind of coach. Good for a run fueled by motivational phrases but ultimately coming up empty. Most of all, I always thought Avery was not a good fit for the Mavs and vice versa. He seems to try to mold his players into something they're not.

Right or wrong, he seems to have lost his team or his ability to get guys to buy into his concepts. And it's not his fault that our players seem to lack a toughness gene. And as fans when things go bad it's always easy to point the finger at the coach because that's always the easiest thing to change.

[ludda]

Right or wrong, he seems to have lost his team or his ability to get guys to buy into his concepts. And it's not his fault that our players seem to lack a toughness gene. And as fans when things go bad it's always easy to point the finger at the coach because that's always the easiest thing to change.

well it never looks good for a coach when he's being outcoached by the national TV commentators on the game (recent Lakers game)

I don't know much about this whole issue obviously, but from what I've seen, Avery has never utilized his player's strengths. I could be wrong, but I always remember Avery harping about Dirk's post game even making references to Duncan and then yesterday I read his postgame comments about Kidd not scoring/driving enough (maybe that's why he didn't play as much?). Avery has two great players (Dirk and Kidd) for their unique strengths and he can't formulate a game plan to take advantage of that? Doesn't sound like a good coach to me, or at least for the Mavs.

[monosylab1k]

I think we can almost definitely throw this season into the scrap heap.

But the way this team plays the rest of March will decide for me what this team needs to do for next season and the future.

If they go the rest of March with only 1 or 2 losses at the most, which is absolutely possible given their schedule, then I thnk this team is still salvageable and we can make a le run next season.

If this team loses any of their next five, loses 2 or more games against LA-SA-Bos, and gets beat by the Clip, Warriors, or Nuggets......then I think this team has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that they've given up on themselves mentally. And if that's the case, this entire team needs to be BLOWN UP and we need to start from scratch. And when I say BLOWN UP I mean a Memphis Grizzlies fire sale, and we start all over again.

[Shank]

Because of who you are and what you know, what are the chances that Avery is gone this summer and a seasoned, veteran coach is brought in to replace him? Surely Cuban is seeing what we are seeing. Even if we make the playoffs, how does any Mavs fan like the potential matchup of Avery versus Phil Jackson in a seven-game, oops, that is to say, a five-game series?

Avery has done a lot of good things in his tenure here, he brought a renewed focus and commitment to defense, and for most of his time here, he's been a great motivator. But the average life-span of a coach is about three years and for good reason. Avery's been here for three years, and on top of that, he's a control-freak perfectionist like Skiles or Fratello. I think Avery has a bright future as a coach in this league, and after the Mavs, he'll get a job again. But if Cuban couldn't wait on Devin Harris, why would he be willing to wait on Avery? I was 5 rows behind the bench at the Sacramento game, and Avery hardly ever sits down. He's calling out plays on nearly every Mavs possession. I tried to pay attention to Reggie Theus to see if he was as hands-on as Avery and I didn't get the impression that he was.

I would love to see JVG on our sidelines next year. He'll make these guys play defense, and he's not in love with "experience." And since he was the first person to implement the defense against Dirk that was later implemented by Miami and Golden State, I'm sure he has some ideas for how to counter it.

We've seen recently that Cuban listens more to his players (Dirk, especially) to gauge their opinions of the team. He'll trade a guy even if he's the most likable kid in the entire city if it's going to make the other players happy and help the team succeed. This will also go for Avery. If he hears that the players are tuning him out and would like to see someone else on the bench, then he'll take a good, hard look at the situation and firing Avery wouldn't be out of the question. As anyone has seen, Cuban absolutely HATES to lose - in business, checkers, gay lovers, whatever. If firing his coach is what it's going to take to push this team toward a ring, he'll do it. Tom Landry was canned here in Dallas. It's not a stretch to see the same happen to the legendary Avery Johnson.

You're right on about the other coaches just letting their guys play. Adelman did it almost all last night. Sloan was mostly hanging out. But Avery insists on yelling and over-coaching the entire game. These guys have been playing basketball almost all their lives and live and breathe the sport every single day. I'm sure they can still manage long stretches of a game without being told what to do every second. But hey - that's what Avery likes. He's almost tyrannical in the way he has his thumb on every thing.

Antoine Wright could be an answer for the #2 spot. Magloire might have done better than Juwan Howard last night. Marquis Daniels could have done well in Dallas. Devin Harris could have flourished (though I'm still behind the Kidd trade). Diop might have done more if he wasn't in the doghouse. But we'll never know because the decision to play any of these guys and to find their worth comes down to Avery and he continues to shun them in favor of guys like Eddie Jones, Devean George and JUWAN MOTHER ING HOWARD.

Seriously, my could have outplayed Howard last night.

[monosylab1k]

It's pretty telling that Juwan Howard had to knee a guy in the nuts in order to get a basket. We have that on our team, and decided to cut Nick Fazekas?

I'm not saying Fazekas is anything special, but you're telling me that Juwan Howard is a better option? Bull . Fazekas can at least rebound and put in an occasional basket.

[stretch]

We've seen recently that Cuban listens more to his players (Dirk, especially) to gauge their opinions of the team. He'll trade a guy even if he's the most likable kid in the entire city if it's going to make the other players happy and help the team succeed. This will also go for Avery. If he hears that the players are tuning him out and would like to see someone else on the bench, then he'll take a good, hard look at the situation and firing Avery wouldn't be out of the question. As anyone has seen, Cuban absolutely HATES to lose - in business, checkers, gay lovers, whatever. If firing his coach is what it's going to take to push this team toward a ring, he'll do it. Tom Landry was canned here in Dallas. It's not a stretch to see the same happen to the legendary Avery Johnson.

You're right on about the other coaches just letting their guys play. Adelman did it almost all last night. Sloan was mostly hanging out. But Avery insists on yelling and over-coaching the entire game. These guys have been playing basketball almost all their lives and live and breathe the sport every single day. I'm sure they can still manage long stretches of a game without being told what to do every second. But hey - that's what Avery likes. He's almost tyrannical in the way he has his thumb on every thing.

Antoine Wright could be an answer for the #2 spot. Magloire might have done better than Juwan Howard last night. Marquis Daniels could have done well in Dallas. Devin Harris could have flourished (though I'm still behind the Kidd trade). Diop might have done more if he wasn't in the doghouse. But we'll never know because the decision to play any of these guys and to find their worth comes down to Avery and he continues to shun them in favor of guys like Eddie Jones, Devean George and JUWAN MOTHER ING HOWARD.

Seriously, my could have outplayed Howard last night.

I really wish he would play Antoine Wright more. Guy has some skills.

[Shank]

It's pretty telling that Juwan Howard had to knee a guy in the nuts in order to get a basket.

Yeah, but $10 says he still suits up and gets 12+ minutes and spares the out of us against the Nets tomorrow night while Magloire sits behind the bench in a suit again. This is how Avery does things.

He coaches based on his perceived potential of a player rather than taking a step back and looking at the reality that we all seem to see with our own seemingly untrained eyes.

[Findog]

Well, mono's right. The worst aspects of last night can be fixed with effort and heart. We'll know where the Mavs stand after that road game against the Clippers 12 games from now.

[mavsfan1000]

How the does Juwan Howard get to play over Magloire? How the so?

[leemajors]

The best veteran coaches available are Larry Brown, Rick Carsisle and JVG. The whole "we're going to take it a little bit easier this regular season" worked out well in the most compe ive western conference race ever.

aren't they the same kind of grating coach avery is?

[Indazone]

JVG would be interesting. Not sure what to think of him as coach of the Mavericks. Sometimes he seems brainless, but other times he makes some fantastic moves.

Hahaha if you really want to tank your franchise go ahead and hire him.

[Dirk Nowitzki]

The Mavs are saving this big run for the end. It is not a question of IF this will turn around. It is a question of WHEN this will turn around. I am saying sometime this month at any point they will catch fire and never look back. I dont see how this team comes up short this season. I honestly see them getting the job done even if it has to be the hard way. I fully expect more than ever to see Dirk holding the Finals MVP and the Larry O'Brien Trophy in both hands as the Mavs are crowned the 2008 NBA Champions!

[The Franchise]

The Mavericks? I thought this thread was going to be about yet another viral marketing site for TDK.

If I were a Mavs fan this game would really worry me too. This game was packed with reasons to come out fired up (nationally televised, division opponent just ahead of them, stepping up with a star player out) and instead they just laid a gigantic egg. Houston may have been the hottest team in the league, but the Rockets without Yao are not 15 points better than the Mavs without Dirk.

Horse !!!!

[Shank]

They're 30 better without Dirk and only 15 if he's in there.

[ratm1221]

They're 30 better without Dirk and only 15 if he's in there.

Houston sucks balls.

[mavsfan1000]

The Mavs are saving this big run for the end. It is not a question of IF this will turn around. It is a question of WHEN this will turn around. I am saying sometime this month at any point they will catch fire and never look back. I dont see how this team comes up short this season. I honestly see them getting the job done even if it has to be the hard way. I fully expect more than ever to see Dirk holding the Finals MVP and the Larry O'Brien Trophy in both hands as the Mavs are crowned the 2008 NBA Champions!

You are delusional.

[Allanon]

Until Josh Howard gets his head out of you know where, the Mavs aren't going anywhere. I mean seriously Mav fans, what happened to JHo? This dude was supposed to be competing with Dirk as the best player on the team, Devean George can outplay him...ok not quite but what happened?

And the other problem is this Mavs ISO offense for 45 minutes of the game? That thing looks terrible, you use up the entire clock and then rush up a shot. Using it late in games is great...but all game long?

[Findog]

Until Josh Howard gets his head out of you know where, the Mavs aren't going anywhere. I mean seriously Mav fans, what happened to JHo? This dude was supposed to be competing with Dirk as the best player on the team, Devean George can outplay him...ok not quite but what happened?

And the other problem is this Mavs ISO offense for 45 minutes of the game? That thing looks terrible, you use up the entire clock and then rush up a shot. Using it late in games is great...but all game long?

Howard is coming back from a back injury, and he's had issues with his personal life that I won't go into here that are affecting his concentration and focus.

[Allanon]

Ah, thanks for the info Findog, I was wondering what happened to JHo. Last I remembered he was a baller. Hope he gets it back together.

[monosylab1k]

I feel for Josh, but if he's gonna go out and play for this team, he needs to put his personal stuff aside and give 100% to the team. He can grieve without displaying a ty at ude and making it abundantly clear to everyone watching that he has no interest in playing alongside Kidd.

If I'm Avery, I bench Howard and start Antoine Wright. Send him a message that either he gets with the program, or at least puts forth an effort to give a .

[SpursDynasty]

I don't notice any difference? The Mavs have always been mediocre.

[SouthernFried]

You're right on about the other coaches just letting their guys play. Adelman did it almost all last night. Sloan was mostly hanging out. But Avery insists on yelling and over-coaching the entire game. These guys have been playing basketball almost all their lives and live and breathe the sport every single day. I'm sure they can still manage long stretches of a game without being told what to do every second. But hey - that's what Avery likes. He's almost tyrannical in the way he has his thumb on every thing.

This is all you need to know.

Players can listen to Avery for only so long. I don't think anybody likes working in that type of environment for very long. After awhile it's..."stfu already."

Coaches like Pop choose their moments very carefully...realizing you can't do it every night.

Avery will hopefully learn, but he's always been like this. Time will tell.