I Love Google Image Search

There is something about Dirk that is always funny. In this case it’s him driving a Mini and a Lego boat.

click pictures for full size
Dirk Vintage 2003

Dirk Has Shaved His Head

I’m so glad he waited until the season was over to do it.

“It’s summertime,” Nowitzki said Thursday, showing off a clean-shaven face and head. “Sitting home yesterday, I was disappointed, obviously, frustrated. I had to do something.”

click pictures for full-size

Congratulations Miami

You deserved it.

Dallas was tied on their home court, facing elimination, and in the bonus with 5 minutes to play and couldn’t pull it out.

It begins again next year.

Cuban fined $250,000

I don’t really care about this (I doubt Cuban does either), but I figured I should at least mention it.

The NBA doesn’t say exactly what the fine is for.

I’m sure most of the fine is for him running onto the court after game five to yell at the officials.

A little bit more is probably for saying fuck.

And a little bit more is probably for the report that came out that said Cuban told Stern the NBA was rigged after game five. Cuban vehemently denies that. David Stern has denied the report as well.

The man who reported that is the one and only Greg Cote - it’s mixed in with the article I posted earlier. What Cote doesn’t say in that article, but did admit on ESPN radio this morning, is that he didn’t actually hear him say that. But somebody told him he said that so he just went ahead and printed it with no explanation.

ESPN article on fine.

Game Six Links

Eddie Sefko still think the Mavs can win even though they now have no margin for error.

Dirk the Daring: He hasn’t played anywhere close to his best in this series. He’s overdue for a monster game.

The house is a-rockin’: Two home games to win a title. The Mavs will ride the fans’ pandemonium to success.

General-ly speaking: Avery Johnson has made smart decisions in the playoffs. He won’t stop doing so now.

Kevin Blackistone puts in a plea for Dirk to begin outplaying Wade.

David Moore is beginning to question if the Mavs Finals inexperience is the problem.

Eddie Sefko also has an article on Stackhouse eagerly waiting to return.

“We got four home games, and they only had three. We got to look at this as a great opportunity. And we should feel good about our situation. We’re at home, and we’ll have our sixth man in the stands.”

Jason Terry has another entry in his playoff diary.

Art Garcia write about the Mavs “controlled anger”. Jason Terry explains what that is.

“Controlled anger is going out there, playing aggressive, taking the ball to the basket strong, making strong moves, defensively holding your ground and not backing into anything and battling for every loose ball. Just scrapping out there.”

Randy Galloway liked what he saw in game five.

Their overall best performance, by far, in Miami was Game 5.

With Stackhouse sitting out, the Mavericks rallied around that injustice, won back the boards, outhustled the Heat and even appeared to have Wade in defensive check.

OK, I said “appeared.” Forty-three points later, the Heat won anyway.

Jeff Capplan writes about Devin Harris.

Want ANOTHER reason to hate Miami?

How about idiot Miami Herald reporter Greg Cote. Here are some snippets.

There could not be a more perfect locale than Dallas for these NBA Finals to resume tonight. Just a few miles from the basketball arena is the infamous grassy knoll, national Mecca of conspiracy theorists.

Ooooh, a grassy knoll reference about a Dallas team - SO clever!

Here, the Mavs say they’ll play with ”anger” as the hostility of all North Texas funnels into one arena. Not sure in what role Dwyane Wade might find Shaquille O’Neal more useful tonight: Center. Or bodyguard.

Judging by the way he played in his first two games in Dallas - bodyguard for sure.

And so there it was for all to see past midnight Sunday in Miami’s downtown bayfront arena: the sourest, saddest, sorriest display by a losing team that you’d ever wish to witness.

Very professional.

There was Cuban, whose billions can buy just about anything but a mortal slump by D-Wade, careening onto the court in a blue Jerry Stackhouse jersey after the final buzzer, screaming profanely at referee Joe DeRosa.

Just like EVERY Mavs fan in Dallas.

That was just after The Incredible Shrinking Dirk Nowitzki — who began the series as a 7-foot superstar but has seen the series turn him into his own bobblehead doll — punted the basketball up into the 300-level seats after the buzzer and marauded off the court

I find nothing dumber than Dirk attacks. Dirk was of 8-19 on Sunday, Wade was 11-28. The difference between their games was that Wade was sent to the line as much as the entire Dallas team. I’m not denying that Wade has been the best player this series or that Dirk has been disappointing, but this is third time I’ve read a Miami reporter basically say that Dirk is hugely overrated. None of them had probably watched a Dallas game all season, and I am beginning to wonder if they are even watching these.

A reporter asked what he thought of the foul call that turned into Wade’s game-winning free throws with 1.9 seconds left in overtime.

”You tell me. What was your impression?” Johnson replied.

The question was essentially repeated four more times; so was the coach’s increasingly testy reply.

”No I want you to give everybody an honest answer,” Johnson demanded, finally. “We have people from Israel and Minnesota, Chicago, all over Dallas Germany.”

Johnson’s performance seemed applicable to the phrase ”cracking under pressure”

That reporter was DMN Eddie Sefko. It was an obvious bait question. Avery is smarter than that. He never blatantly complains about the officiating in his postgames. Never. He wisely alludes to it, you have to read through his words. Sefko should have known that. There was no way he was going to say flat out that it was the wrong call, so he tried to get Eddie to do it for him. I watched this live and I thought it was hilarious.

Dallas’ once-commanding 2-0 lead in this series seems as long ago now as NBA short-shorts. Three straight home victories by Miami have put control of the championship trophy in Heat hands entering tonight;

Amazing that he can the point at the lunacy of the people proclaiming sweep after the first two games but can’t see his own idiocy by proclaiming it over after five.

And you contrast that with Nowitzki too often playing like David Hasselhoff sings, in the biggest collapse associated with Germany since the Berlin Wall.

Then he goes back to his bread and butter - Dirk bashing mixed with Germany jokes!

Yet Dallas would cite the officiating, as if that was why the Mavs blew a 13-point, mid-fourth-quarter lead in crucial Game 3 — a collapse that left the entire Dallas team writhing on the court in need a of a group Heimlich maneuver.

Actually, none of the Dallas players blamed the refs after that game.

Again Sunday night, responsibility for the loss was not accepted by the Mavericks. Class was not in session. So, in the wake of the 101-100 defeat, they blamed the refs.

Said that Wade, with the ball and 9.1 seconds left, committed a backcourt violation that was not called.

Certainly debatable.  I’ve read so many interpretations of established and positive position the last few days that my head hurts.

Then they said Wade committed a foul on Jason Terry en route to the basket that wasn’t called.

”He pushed him. I guess that’s not a foul,” Cuban groused.

It looked like he did. It looked like he pushed off Josh Howard too. But, I don’t expect that to be called late in games. A correct no-call.

Then they said Wade was not fouled at all on the final drive that froze the clock at 1.9 and set up his winning free throws. Half right on that. Nowitzki was called but was not the fouler. However, replays clearly show Devin Harris grabbed Wade’s inside right elbow, an obvious foul on anybody’s court.

Yep, there is one picture that shows Devin’s hand on Wade’s arm. But that picture doesn’t tell the story. In the replay you can’t even see it happen. Neither Dirk nor Harris prevented Wade from taking his shot or from getting to the basket. They barley touched Wade and just like the offensive fouls that Wade committed I don’t expect them to be called in that situation. But it was.

Yes, let the Mavericks not accept blame for their third straight Finals loss or entertain the absurd idea Miami might be a worthy opponent.

I’ve heard nothing but respect for Miami as an opponent from Avery Johnson and the players. But he would have to attend any of the 10 press meetings with Avery over the last two weeks to know that, so I’ll let slide.

Let’s instead put a telescope on the grassy knoll and imagine Stern there — is he grinning? — exacting some sort of vendetta against Cuban over the fact he is the most outspoken critic of NBA officiating. A conspiracy! Yes. That’s it. Stern’s Revenge!

Back to the lame grassy knoll reference as he tries to connect the beginning and ending of his article just like he learned in journalism 101.

He might better have meant his team’s response to the loss in the absence of any sort of grace.

Grace - nothing this article can call itself either.

Day of Indignation

I just want to clear up my position on everything from last night before the links…

• I don’t think there is a conspiracy against the Mavs, or that the NBA is a fraud. I just think refs sucked ass last night.
• I still think the Dallas players should put the blame on themselves - they still should have won.
• I don’t think a foul should have been called on the final shot. Everyone who has watched basketball before last night should know that the refs normally only send a player to the line to tie or win the game if they have to. You let the players decide the outcome. The refs didn’t do that last night. I’m not sure Wade was even fouled, but if he was it had no affect on his shot or his getting to the basket. If it didn’t affect the shot, you don’t call it in the final seconds. It’s the way the NBA has been officiated forever. You especially don’t call the foul if the player had to commit a backcourt violation and severely push off Jason Terry just to get to the basket. Ticky-tack calls should go both ways - you won’t convince me they did last night.
• I also think Dwyane Wade is really good.
• I have no idea what happened with the timeout at the end. None of us ever will for sure. But even if Dallas did still have a timeout there is no guarantee they would have made a tough shot in 2 seconds. It’s the missed free throws that really mattered.

onto the links…

You have to watch this interview of Mark Cuban after the game last night. Personally, I love the man.

I didn’t see this last night because I immediately turned my TV off, but Dirk was angry. Anyone have video of him kicking the ball?

David Moore is waiting for Dirk.

We’re five games deep into the Finals, and Nowitzki isn’t the best player on the court. He’s not even the best player on his team right now. That distinction belongs to Jason Terry.

Jen Engel is done waiting.

What was needed was a big game from The Big German. What they got instead was The Big No Show.

It has to change. Or this Finals will officially become The Big Disappointment.

Dan Le Batard wants to marry Dwyane Wade.

Tension? Intensity? Insanity?

Wade does not fear these things.

He lives for them.

He actually refers to ”pressure” as “opportunity.”

Tim Cowlishaw wants to believe in home court advantage.

The only good news for the Mavericks is that they have played their final game in AmericanAirlines Arena this spring. The rest of them – that’s either one or two – will be in American Airlines Center.

The names may sound alike. They couldn’t have been more different buildings in this series. After suffering three straight losses, the Mavs can only hope that it’s all about the arenas.

Kevin Blackistone came away from last night’s game impressed by Avery Johnson.

Sunday’s game should’ve been the Heat’s to lose, not the Mavericks’ to win. That it turned out to be the latter was because whatever Avery did in the days in between Game 4’s debacle and Sunday night worked. Again.

Randy Galloway thinks the game wasn’t decided by the players.

Certainly no Stackhouse was a factor, but in the end, and throughout the 53 minutes, this was a contest decided by whistles from the NBA’s trio of officials.

Those whistles did not favor the Mavs, certainly with just under two seconds remaining in overtime when Dwyane Wade drove to the bucket, missed the shot, yet got the whistle.

Was it a foul? Not one that should have been called, for sure. It was ticky-tack at best on a Dirk Nowitzki swipe.

In that situation, the let-’em-play mentality normally prevails, as it did at the end of Game 3 here, when the Mavericks were in the process of blowing a 13-point fourth-quarter lead.

Josh Howard’s Side of the Story

The timeout wasn’t nearly as big a deal as those missed free throws - Howard can’t explain those.

But his explanation for the timeout makes some sense. When I saw it happen I thought there were two reasonable explanations.

1. Josh Howard totally messed up
2. He misunderstood the coaches and messed up
3. The ref messed up (didnt think that was the case)

Here’s what Howard says happened - a scenario which I didn’t think of at the time.

ESPN.com: “Josh, Joey Crawford said you called timeout twice. Is that true?”

Howard: “No. I’m going to leave it at that. No.”

ESPN.com: “A pool reporter went in there, and Joey said you called timeout not once, but twice, and we had no choice but to give them the timeout.”

Howard: “If that’s what he’s saying, that’s what he’s saying. I know I didn’t call a timeout twice. I didn’t even say nothing to anyone. I just made a sign like that.” (Howard places his hands in the shape of a “T.”)

ESPN.com: “Were you looking over at the bench when you did that?

Howard: “I was looking straight at Coach.”

ESPN.com: “Never made eye contact with the ref?”

Howard: “Never. Like for real never.”

So according to Howard he was making the sign to Avery as a way of asking him what to do. It makes sense. But at the same time, did Howard really need to ask?

I feel bad for Howard. He had a great game last night despite rolling an ankle, straining his hamstring, and having a bad cough. Then it just all fell apart for him…

Howard, clearly frustrated from it all, lost his cool after giving his explanation.

“What am I saying to you right now, dog? Please, don’t come off on me right now because I’m going to come off on you, and I’m not in a great mood right now. Get out of my face, man. Get out of my face.”

Whatever You Do…

…Don’t panic - two of Miami’s three wins were given to them by Dallas

…Make your free throws

…Know when and when not to call a timeout

…Don’t listen to a single word the ABC crew says

…Resign Jason Terry

…Don’t breathe on Dwyane Wade - he’ll get to shoot free throws

Not a single ounce of me thinks Wade was fouled on that final shot. Maybe I’m crazy.

I’d like to try and recap the game but all I can think about are missed free throws by Dallas followed by undeserved free throws by Wade. Star treatment was taken to another level tonight.

Dallas should have won anyway. They blew it.

I’ll see you at the AAC on Thursday.

Tonight’s Game

Must win for both teams?

Or just Miami?