The Association

Monday Morning Point Guard

By Craig Kwasniewski 

March Madness eat your heart out! One weekend down and there were several upsets, a few stinkers and a couple expected results. As much as I love the whole one and done March Madness thing, you don't get the physical play, the adjustments and strategy that a 7-game series offers. Here are a few thoughts with one game down in each series: 

Boston vs. Chicago - Is there room on the Derrick Rose bandwagon? The Bulls were the one team I regret not seeing in person this year. Anyone with an eye for hoops can appreciate the full range this rookie brings to the Bulls but what I didn't notice until Saturday is Rose's quick and explosive LAST step. Most players have that quick first step to blow by defenders but Rose explodes right at the rim at his last step. Also, his extremely calm nature works well with the youthful Bulls. Game 1 against the defending champs and he has the heart rate of a librarian and it's contagious as the Bulls weren't phased at all. I still think Boston wins, but the Bulls should make Rose the GM, coach and owner and build around him for the next 12 years. 

Cleveland vs. Detroit - Are we done yet? Are we done yet? Are we done yet? SWEEP! 

San Antonio vs. Dallas - One quarter in, Duncan had springy legs and looked very 2007, I was on the brink of writing a "Mavs should have kept Maquis Daniels instead of Josh Howard" piece and Nowitzki was in foul trouble... basically it didn't look good for Dallas. I left home, went out thinking the Spurs would win easily and I caught the last few seconds at a bar as Dallas... PULLED AWAY FOR A W??? What the hell happened? Suddenly Dallas looks like a very legit Western Conference finalist and San Antonio looks old.    

Portland vs. Houston - This really looks like a match-up problem for Portland more than anything else. Maybe their inexperience cost them a W as they didn't have that fifth gear or maybe they're just happy to be there.  All I know is Yao played the best playoff game of his life and showed EVERYONE that the problem was always T-MAC. 

Los Angeles vs. Utah - No Okur, no chance for Utah... it's just that simple. But the real story is the referees killing the entire second half of the game. It's no surprise that Joey Crawford was the lead ref in the worst called game of the weekend. Does the NBA pay him by the fouls? Does he really think the fans pay to see him ref? Is he out to single-handedly ruin professional hoops?  There were SIXTEEN fouls in the 3rd quarter alone and a free-flowing game became a possession-by-possession freethrow festival. Terrible! 

Orlando vs. Philadelphia - I've said this all year, Orlando doesn't have the go to guy necessary to make a deep run in the playoffs. C-Webb pretty much blew a gasket ripping on the Magic not riding Dwight Howard all game. But does Superman really want to be "that guy" with the Magic or is he content with monster numbers, monster dunks and showmanship? NBA Champions all have the definitive alpha dog and an understood chain of command. The Celtics heart lies with KG but crunchtime went Pierce first and Sugar Ray second. The early 00's Lakers had Shaq for 3 1/2 quarters with Kobe as the closer... what about Orlando? 

Atlanta vs. Miami - The Hawks put together a Special Edition Double-DVD set of highlights on the Heat on Sunday. Instead of 2006 Kobe and the Lakers with their near upset of the #2 seeded Phoenix Suns, the Heat resembled the 2007 edition and the very one-sided 4-1 loss to Phoenix. But we'll see what kind of road playoff team Atlanta is in games 3 & 4. 

Denver vs. New Orleans - Denver put together a sick 21-0 run late in the 3rd early in the 4th to put away what was a close and very physical game. Chauncey Billups went retro looking like a 2005 version going 8 of 9 from three on his way to 36 points. NOLA basically gave up at the end of the 3rd quarter so this blowout doesn't really mean the Nuggets will sweep. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if NOLA steals game 2. This really feels like a very bitter and very physical seven game series.

Is Cuban's Insider Trading 'Great Business for NBA'

by Craig Kwasniewski

"From a business perspective, it's great for the NBA. It's reality television, people love train-wreck television and you hate to admit it, but that is the truth, that's the reality today. Notoriety sells in this day and age… I can't think of anyone who is going through a legal problem who doesn't get high attention. Is that cold-blooded? Yeah. But it is bottom-line reality."

With news that the SEC Charged Cuban today with insider trading the upcoming trial might be “great for the NBA” but that's not where the quote comes from.

Instead it was "The Benefactor" himself, Mark Cuban, speaking about Kobe’s rape trial during an interview with Access Hollywood's Pat O'Brien. (Cocaine and insider trading, man I wish I was a fly on the wall between takes!)

Will the trial be great for the NBA? Is it great to see one of the more successful owners on and off the court in professional sports go to jail? Did Mark Cuban become the Bruce McNall of the NBA? And will Kobe chase down Pat O'Brien at Promises and give his take on the trial?

I'm not sure... all I know is that professional sports and the NBA loses if Mark Cuban disappears from the scene. And given his relationship with David Stern, it's all but guaranteed.

If the third quarter of Game 3 on the 2006 NBA Finals can be construed as the peak of the Mark Cuban Era in the NBA then today is rock-bottom.

Monday Morning Point Guard

By Craig Kwasniewski

Time to dust off another edition of MMPG. It's been awhile since the last time I did one of these, basically it's a brief look at the past weekend's action in the NBA.

The Celtics blowout in Game 7 was no surprise: Did anyone really think the Celtics would get knocked out of the playoffs by the Atlanta Hawks? Turns out, neither did the Hawks... jeezus! Talk about a major case of sphincter-itis! Actually this series totally reminded me of the Lakers-Sacto Kings in 2000. The Kings were young and hungry and rode the wave of their home court to push the league-best Lakers to a deciding Game 5. And just like Sunday, the Lakers rolled to a 113-86 win. Bring on LBJ, this will be fun!

Utah owned the glass and still loses to LA: The Jazz DOMINATED the offensive glass 25 to 8 which helped them shoot 22 more field goals than the Lakers. Mix in that Pau Gasol played like a rookie and I'm stunned the Jazz didn't win. If fact, except for a late rally, the Lakers held the Jazz in check all game. This series really comes down to the fact that the Jazz simply can't stop Kobe Bryant. And I don't want to hear anything about the refs "helping" Kobe! A lot of those fouls were because the Jazz were too late to rotate over to defend. It's weird... but a team that does such an exceptional job of containing CP3 simply can't stop Kobe.

One last thing, this might be a stretch but Derek Fisher played Deron Williams so well yesterday that I'm wondering if there's like a whole mentor-student thing there. There's no way in hell that D-Fish could hang with Williams, but he had many key steals and did a decent job of containing him. The 18, 9 and 9 were deceptive numbers, Williams wasn't much of a factor.

Rick Carlisle to the Mavs... really? Hey didn't Dallas just fire a defensive oriented coach that calls all the offensive plays? Can Mavericks fans really put up with the s-l-o-w, predictable and boring style of ball that Carlisle likes to play? And was Carlisle that much better of a coach than Avery Johnson? How many NBA Finals appearances? Exactly!

Spurs need to slow it down! Okay, I only watched portions of the Hornets-Spurs game from a distance in a bar (date night with the wife... believe me I tried!), so I won't pretend to be an expert on Game 1. But what I did see was the Spurs trying to match the NO in an up-tempo game... and they got crushed! The Spurs don't have the athletes to match Chandler, CP3 and West in an up-tempo game. Slow it up and slug it out or this will end real fast.

Pistons - Magic: Not too many thoughts here... But if anything, the Magic should try to use Hedo Turkoglu more. There were moments in the 3rd quarter where his offensive game reminded me of Scottie Pippen, but with a better outside shot. His length and ability to draw fouls while driving to the left of the cup need to be exploited more.

BTW - I used to give all the ex-2002 Sacramento Kings a bunch of crap over the years, but Turkoglu, Stojakovic, Bibby and even C-Webb (with quality in studio analysis) have done a good job to shake their choking reputations this postseason.

Playoffs 2008: The List of Coaching Have-Nots

By Craig Kwasniewski

Is it me or have these playoffs established a wider divide between the coaching haves and have-nots? For every Gregg Popovich and Phil Jackson leading two well-oiled machines primed for a colossal showdown in mid-May you have Flip Saunders and Doc Rivers doing... well doing their best Doc Rivers and Flip Saunders impressions (read: not coaching). Since the haves are very obvious (Jackson, Popovich, Byron Scott, Jerry Sloan, the Hedgehog and Mo Cheeks) lets focus on the have-nots:

Mike D'Antoni: Honestly, Phoenix Suns fans should be even more pissed off at D'Antoni after Sunday's season-saving win over San Antonio. It only took all of three games for D'Antoni to finally make the key defensive adjustment by switching Boris Diaw on Tony Parker. THREE FREAKIN' GAMES!

When we finally look back at the 2006-07 Suns, people will point fingers squarely on Steve Kerr and blame downfall of the Suns on the Shaq deal. It was a huge gamble that, as Charles Barkley pointed out on TNT, the Suns needed to take a chance on. Sure, they probably needed more time to blend together as a cohesive unit and facing the second best team in the West in the first round obviously didn't help. But Mike D'Antoni cost the Suns this series. Let's even look at that epic Game One where Popovich ran circles around D'Antoni at three key moments:

1. D'Antoni had Leandro Barbosa guarding Michael Finley as he hit the first game-saving three at the end of regulation. Where was Grant Hill? He has same build and athleticism as Finley and is strong enough and has the basketball IQ to throw off Finley from the perimeter. Instead the Brazilian Blur, who's not know for his half-court defense, became the Brazilian Burned and the Spurs were given a second chance.

2. The second game-saving three was a pure miracle shot by Tim Duncan that never should have happened. The Suns should have fouled Ginobili when he was dribbling around the perimeter looking to create (or facilitate, the buzz word for 07-08) for one of the Spurs spot-up shooters. Instead, the Suns watched Ginobili dribble around and then the collapsed on him in the lane leaving Duncan wide open. Why collapse on a guy in the lane when you're up three? And isn't it a European thing to foul instead of playing defense? And didn't D'Antoni make his name as a hoops star in Italy?

3. But the game winner was pure Popovich! The Suns were out of time outs and Nash just hit a risickulous three in the corner to tie it up. Normally Pop would signal an immediate time out and diagram a play. He's notorious for saving all of his time outs for these situations, but the Spurs didn't stop the action. Why? Because the Suns took out all of their interior defenders for that last-second three and Popovich realized that Manu had a good chance at driving the lane for a game winner. Well... we all know how that ended and we all know that Pop CLEARLY dominated D'Antoni.

So the question remains, how many more postseason failures and late adjustments will the Suns' fans, front office and roster put up with? Or more importantly, how many more seasons do they have a relevant Steve Nash on the floor? Stay tunned!

George Karl: Rumors persist that the Nuggets are keeping Karl for next season.

(Time to play "Really" with Seth Meyers and Amy Pohler.)

Really? The Nuggets are keeping a head coach who's led the third highest payroll to a first-round sweep? Really? The Nuggets have a total of three playoffs wins in the last four years (BTW - such a low number that it's grammatically correct to write out the number) and you're keeping him? Really? Melo admits that the team quit in game three. Isn't it the job of a coach to motivate the players? Really? Really? The same George Karl famous for season-ending flameouts in Seattle and Milwaukee is being asked to return? Really? Karl will return to coach the team that "saved" Allen Iverson from 76ers. Isn't that the same 76ers that have at least two more playoff wins than Karl's Nuggets? Really? REALLY?

Avery Johnson: Before Sunday's loss to New Orleans, Johnson was on the 50-50 list along with Mike Woodson, Mike Brown (say what you want about his coaching, the guy pulls out W's), Sam Mitchell and Rick Adelman. But Avery Johnson made two mistakes that killed the momentum of the game and ultimately ended the series (Dallas just doesn't have the stones to rally from a 3-1 deficit.).

What the hell was JJ Barea doing in uniform instead of Tyronn Lue? I know he's injured with a back, but a broken Lue is eons better than Barea! And the Mavs paid dearly when Johnson put Barea in with a lead during the second period. Barea played like it was "win a spot on the Mavs night" and killed all of their momentum. That was the turning point of the most important game of the season and Dallas never really threatened the rest of the way. Why play the ball boy during the playoffs?????

Unlike Phoenix, people should point to the Kidd trade as the downfall of the Mavericks. It never should have happened and now the Mavs are way over the salary cap with Avery Johnson most likely fired this summer.

Doc Rivers: Until this guy actually wins a playoff series (which he hasn't in *NINE SEASONS* of coaching!) I can't ever consider him a good head coach. And the "best team in the NBA" just lost to the eighth-seeded Atlanta Hawks. Hey I understand... quality teams are allowed to stumble every now and then. As San Antonio showed us, good teams tend to lose focus. But what absolutely kills me is that this guy is actually in the conversation for his second coach of the year award. Really? (opps, I already did that!) So you're telling me that he's getting votes over nine-time NBA champ Phil Jackson or even Jerry Sloan (who deserves it more that anyone). The guy has never won a playoff series in *NINE SEASONS* of coaching!!!!!!!!!

Eddie Jordan: Two GLARING things with the Wizards: bad turnovers and worse emotions. A ton of HORRIBLE turnovers did the Wizards in on Sunday. But what's even worse is the lack of control that Eddie Jordan has on his players. Is it wise to piss of one of the best players in the NBA? Do you really need to motivate him even more?

Flip Saunders: Let's save the best story for last. On Sunday's telecast on TNT, Chris Webber confirmed what everyone in the NBA already knew but didn't know: that the Pistons tune out Flip Saunders. With Detroit losing to Philadelphia by 10 at the half, Ernie Johnson put a question out to the former Piston and new in-studio member:

Ernie: You've been in that locker room with Flip Sauders at halftime, what is the mood in there now.

C-Webb: Truthfully, no disrespect against Flip but it doesn't matter what Flip says because they take on the personality of Joe Dumars. So I'll tell you this: Rip, Chauncey, Tayshaun Prince, Rasheed and McDyess are very mad right now, they're probably not even talking and they're probably just saying, "okay we're going to go win this ballgame."

Joe will come down to the locker room though and tell everybody, "I don't know what y'all think you're doing. I'll trade all y'all today." Joe will do that.

So who's doing the coaching anyway... Joe D or Flip? This totally explains why under Saunders the Pistons seem bored during the playoffs. But if they were tuning him out last year (as C-Webb learned first hand), then why is Saunders still coaching them? Again, like the Suns, how many playoff disappointments under Flip Saunders will the Pistons' fans, front office, and roster put up with? Sheed, Rip and Chauncey are getting up there in age. Do they really want to do this again next season?

You can't hide bad coaching in the playoffs.

The Return of Dirty

By Craig Kwasniewski

The rumor of his demise has been greatly exaggerated...

Wasn't it just over a week ago that Dirk Nowitzki twisted his ankle in a nasty spill? Wasn't he supposed to miss a few weeks of action, killing Dallas' chances at making the playoffs along the way? And wasn't Dallas supposed to be the first 50-win team since the early 70's to never make the playoffs?

Just when I was about to write off Dirk Nowitzki as a head-case reeling from back-to-back postseason disappointments he roars back with three RIDONKULOUSLY HUGE games saving the Mavs season and making them the most dangerous 7 seed in NBA history (okay that may be a little strong, but Dallas no longer looks like a whimpering poodle heading for lottery-land).

Let's take a quick look back at the last three games and how Dirk saved the Mavs season:

Dallas vs. Golden State: Criticized by his own coach for lacking leadership and the ability to fight through tough situations, Dirk surprises everyone and returns early from the high-ankle sprain against GSW. Dallas rode the emotions from the defending MVP and throttled the very fatigued Warriors 111-86. (Hey Nellie, you can't run at a 48-minutes-of-hell pace and play only 6 guys all season! Mix in a bench!) Oh and did I mention that this win was the first W against a winning team since the Kidd trade? This was their biggest win of the season!

Dallas at LA Lakers: The Lakers rallied back to pull out a win in the end, but Dallas dominated the first 3 1/2 quarters. Dirk reminded us why he was MVP last season during a 14-0 run in the second quarter. He absolutely killed Pau Gasol for three straight possessions forcing the Lakers to switch Odom on him as the Mavs went small. It made no difference as he took LO to the post and found Kidd for a wide open three (unlike Sunday, Kidd actually hit it). Dallas was short-handed (Stack was out and they were playing Tyronne Lue big minutes????) and had no business taking it to the Lakers. I'm thinking Dallas wins it if Stack is playing.

Dallas at Phoenix: The Amare Stoudemire dunkfest (and intellectually irresponsible MVP discussion) was interrupted after Dallas made a key defensive adjustment and Dirk clutched up with a key steal and two *SICK* hoops. For the first three quarters the Mavs defense focused on Shaq and Nash and Amare made them pay with an array of punishing dunks. So the much-criticized and soon-to-be-fired Avery Johnson made the game altering change and double teamed Stoudemire off screen-and-rolls. The result? The Suns were held to a shocking 9 points and the "MVP Candidate" missed 3 key freethows down the stretch.

BTW - Amare's NOT an MVP candidate! He's padding his stats while being single-guarded most of the time. Just imagine the damage LeBron, Kobe, Wade, etc. would do if they were never double teamed. His numbers ballooned after the Shaq trade because defenses stopped focusing on him! Like James Worthy was to Magic and Kareem so is Amare to Nash and Shaq. Just stop the MVP talk now!

Oh and those two sick jumpers by Nowitzki? Jason Kidd didn't do Dirk any service by dropping the ball off in a "here you take it" manner with the shot clock running down. (BTW - Didn't they get Kidd because of his decision-making skills???) So with Shaquille O'Neal on him, Nowitzki took what looked like two broken plays and hit a two (wait for it...) DIRTY off-balance jumpers to seal the game and secure the Mavs playoff spot.

Maybe Mavs fans will help me on this, but outside of that game-saving three-point play against the Spurs in 2006, was this the grittiest stretch of basketball in his career?

The Sarge Report: Will the Suns or Mavs Miss the Playoffs?

The Sarge (or Encyclopedia Bri-Danica from the public access airwaves) is a frequent commenter, Madden trick-play specialist and longtime friend of The Association.

Since the Trade deadline has passed, should the Suns and Mavericks be worried about making the playoffs? Both teams are closer to the 9th spot than they are to the top spot in the West.

Let’s start with the #6 seed, the Phoenix Suns, who got blasted the other night by Denver, the current #9 seed. Since the overpaid and overweight Shaq have come to Phoenix the Suns are just 2-5 and are fading quickly. Shaq first stated when he got to the suns that he would evolve to their game but a few days ago he said they should change to his style of ball. Note to Steve Kerr: Shaq is not only in it for himself, but also for the alimony that he has to pay to his ex-wife. The Suns are also in trouble because 3 of the next 4 games include San Antonio, Utah, and Golden State -- all playoff teams right now. I guess Marion meant more to the Suns than they thought.

Now for the #7 seed Dallas Mavericks, losers of 4 of their last 5 games, all 4 of which were losses to playoff teams. This trade though is looking similar to that of the Suns. Jason Kidd is old and cannot match up against the younger, quicker guards in the West like Chris Paul and Deron Williams. Dallas however has a much easier schedule coming up than the Suns do. They only play one team from the West over the next 5 games. Jason Kidd is still talking about his old team the Nets and not quitting them. It is amazing how pro athletes DO QUIT on their teams if they're unhappy and want a chance to play someplace that looks better to them than their current situation. I think both players here -- Shaq and Kidd -- did quit on their old teams, and both did what they had to do go get out.

The bottom line is this: both trades were made because the Lakers got the steal of the century, and the fact that San Antonio is still as good as ever. But It would be pretty Ironic if one or both of these teams missed the playoffs due to these trades, which are looking more and more to be hurried and meaningless.

Write What You See: A Great Night in the Association

By Craig Kwasniewski

Okay this is not some long-winded gloat-fest about the Lakers win over the Suns. I'll save that for the playoffs. Instead, tonight was a night for all the hardcore NBA fans out there. You had major debuts, a sick game winning jumper, a triple double, a very smart trade and even a Clippers win... simply fantastic!

So let's just run with another edition of Write What You See:

Boom Dizzle hits a SWEET game winner against the C's: I gotta give Baron Davis and GSW Hoops credit for beating the Celtics without Captain Jack. Normally I'd try to find something negative in the W just to get under the very sensitive skin of the Oaktown fans, but you guys deserved this one. I thought the Celtics would come out on fire after their loss last night at Denver and I thought Golden State would drop a second loss in a row, but instead they rode the wave of their incredible fans and once again rallied in the 4th quarter for a huge win. That has to be something like 12 fourth quarter rallies by GSW this year. It's a damn shame that they currently sit 9th in the west. The NBA *NEEDS* this team to make the playoffs!

Spurs get Kurt Thomas: Once again, while other teams are making panic deals in trying to keep up in the wild west (read: Dallas and Golden State), the Spurs go under the radar and acquire exactly what they need: a defensive big. This is why the Spurs have been contenders since 1999 and will still remain in the title race for the balance of Tim Duncan's career. Tim Thomas offers veteran experience, a tough/east coast style of defense and he's a great teammate. What makes the deal even better is that the Suns have been reeling defensively since they let Thomas go in a money-saving deal. So as the Lakers and Suns are scary-big, the Spurs counter with additional front court help and gave up nothing in return. They match up perfectly with what the Suns offer and can probably hang with the Lakers.... simply a smart deal.

LeBron with a Triple-Double: With all the debuts and game winners is LeBron's triple-double against the Pacers. The ESPN guys were praising Kobe tonight as a top MVP contender, but I'm still giving it to LeBron. The guy is simply carrying a broken and not-that-talented team to W after W. They may run out of gas in the playoffs against the C's and Pistons, but what LeBron is doing is straight out of the 80's (Bird, Magic, Mj, Isiah) with that will to win.

CP3 to Kidd: Debut This! Chris Paul drops a major schooling on Dallas in Jason Kidd's debut. I'm guessing that the Western Conference leading New Orleans Hornets are getting tired of all the talk about everyone else out west the past week and were primed to send a message to the Mavs. I know Kidd only had one practice with his new team and I know they'll get better, but expect a lot of the top point guards to have great nights against Kidd. The guy's simply not the same defender he was a few seasons ago. And I can't state this enough (especially after the Kurt Thomas trade), the Mavs are not big enough to hang with Phoenix, San Antonio or Los Angeles.

Shaq's debut in Phoenix: No gloating here... just a few facts: Fact, Shaq played his ass off and clearly knows his role with Phoenix (defense, rebounding and size). Fact, Nash and the Suns will learn to play with Shaq. Fact, Shaq is no longer explosive, but is smart enough to make a difference. Fact, with Shaq eating space, Amare will get some seriously monster numbers.

However...

Fact, the Suns defense is not that good (especially with Nash, Shaq and Amare all poor on pick and rolls). Fact, the Suns will miss Marion's help defense (he was a great rotational shot blocker). Fact, the Suns will miss Marion's defense against Kobe (he split defense on Kobe with Raja Bell, who looked tired at the end). That being said, despite the loss at home to a Lakers team missing Andrew Bynum and playing the second of a back-to-back and despite blowing the season tiebreaker in a very emotional game, the Suns are still one of the teams to beat out West (three team race with the Lakers, Suns and Spurs).

That was a fun game to watch and I'll pay close attention to Shaq's "college basketball season" over the next few weeks just to see how it plays out.

Whatever happens, tonight was one of those "I love the NBA!!!!" nights.

Dallas Should "Be Ready" for Other Things from Kidd

By Craig Kwasniewski

So the yahoo article states, "Kidd’s advice to new teammates: Be ready." Obviously it's referring to the leadership and passing skills of Jason Kidd.

I think they should "be ready" for a few other things:

Be ready for a zillion shots of his son - nothing hides a player's questionable past more than children (read: A.I. in the 2001 NBA Finals).

Be ready for "women issues" - remember his wife? Or the fact that he beat her? What about the Toni Braxton incident (who coincidentally caused problems the last time Kidd was in Dallas)?

Be ready for limited defense against the likes of Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Baron Davis, Tony Parker and Steve Nash.

Be ready for "coaching problems" from the notorious coach killer (ask Byron Scott, who's coaching the Western Conference leading Hornets, how he feels about Jason Kidd).

Be ready for a kajillion, manillion, fafillion, zazillion shots of son of Kidd (remind me again please... what do the children of celebrities and athletes have to do with anything???)

Be ready for "Clank!", "Brick!", "Bang!"... all sounds coming from Jason Kidd jumpers of the wide open nature.

Be ready for an openly sobbing owner in a MFFL Nowitzki tee shirt this spring because Dallas ain't getting by Phoenix, San Antonio, Los Angeles or Utah in the playoffs.

This trade might help the Mavs damaged psyche (Dirk Nowitzki) in the short run, but it doesn't improve their chances in the very powerful west... especially on the defensive end. By trading Diop they gave away an important body (and fouls) to help Dampier against the likes of Shaq, Duncan and the Lakers' twin towers and Kidd's defense is more like Gary Payton in the 2004 NBA Finals. I can't see this trade helping much.

The NBA... where overrated trades happen...

Write What You See: Devean George is My Most Favorite Player Ever!

By Craig Kwasniewski

Devean George for having the bollocks (I've been watching a lot of V for Vendetta) to use your no trade clause in the face of the Jason Kidd to Dallas trade, I dub thee my most favorite player ever! Seriously, Devean George of all people just denied a major blockbuster deal. I can't imagine anything funnier... well except Smush Parker having a run-in with a parking valet and getting benched for the season.

Do you now see what I went through during the Devean George/Smush Parker run in 2005-06? Can't the NBA just retroactively give Kobe an MVP award for taking that woeful Lakers squad to a Game 7 against Phoenix? Other Laker greats on that team include: Kwame Brown, Brian Cook, Chris Mihm and Slava Medvedenko.

Anyway, one of my favorite Shaq-ism (and a not so veiled dig on Kobe) "Write What You See" is a few random thoughts of the mid-week in the NBA. What better way to kick start a new weekly segment than to have a few random thoughts on the Devean George hoops cock block:

A no-trade clause for that guy??? First off, I thought Kobe Bryant was the only guy in the NBA with a no-trade clause? So your telling me one the the best players in the NBA *AND* one of the worst players in the NBA are the only ones with no-trade clauses? How the hell did this happen? Seriously, one of the biggest douches in the NBA has the right to refuse a trade? I can keep asking a bajillion questions here because I thoroughly confused... Devean George has a no trade clause????

Wasn't George complaining about PT a few weeks ago? Yeah I know, another question, but it was only a few weeks ago the George was complaining that the lack of PT was hurting his chances at earning a new contract. Ummmmm correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't a team in the east battling for the 8th playoff spot have a better chance of playing a VERY low basketball IQ player with no range, no intelligence, no handles and a low basketball IQ (worth mentioning a few times, he's that dumb) than the Dallas Mavericks? Devean, you were only playing big minutes because of injuries! Do you actually think Mark Cuban will allow you in his gym after this stunt. Dare I say season ending tendonitis?

That loud F-Bomb you hear is from the TNT studios in Atlanta: It's kind of a stretch, but there was a remote chance that if the trade went through today that both Jason Kidd and Shaquille O'Neal would be making their respective debuts against each other on TNT. Talk about drama... the last game before All Star break, Shaq and the new look Suns hosting Jason Kidd and the Dallas Mavericks with Marv Albert probably calling the game. You're talking playoff atmosphere and every NBA lifer watching this one. Too bad... THAT would have been a fun game to watch. I mean it still will be, but Kidd returning to Phoenix the same night Shaq makes a debut, I mean come on!

I bet Mark Cuban is no longer thanking Phil Jackson for letting George go. Mark Cuban, who's always willing to take a jab at PJ, was quoted as thanking Phil for letting Devean go via free agency to the Mavs because of his hustle and defense. Yes Phil, as a Laker fan, thanks for letting Devean George go.

This is actually a good thing for Dallas: Count me in the minority for this one, but I didn't like this deal for Dallas. They're gutting their roster for an aging, expensive, slower on defense, coach killing, wife beating point guard at the end of his career. Can you honestly say that the Mavs are better than the Suns, a healthy Spurs, a healthy Lakers or even Utah after this trade? They lose youth and speed at the one position in a conference deep in those areas (CP3, Deron Williams, Tony Parker, even Steve Nash). The Mavs window of opportunity is now the same 2 years as the Suns, the one team they can match up with in all five positions including the lack of depth on the bench. Maybe in the long run the Mavs can thank Devean George for allowing them to sleep on the trade and passing on it tomorrow.

Or Devean George will be forever banished to the medical ward with tendonitis, a frequent injury at the end of his Laker career. Either way, thanks Devean for showing Mavericks fans why I blew out my voice-box booing the LeDev era in Los Angeles.

Tables Have Turned, Mavericks Now Own The Warriors

by Brett Edwards

After a year in which the Warriors completely dominated Dallas, both in the regular season and the playoffs, it appears that the Mavericks have finally figured them out. As Kenny Smith screamed repeatedly during the dunk contest where Vince Carter was doing ridiculous things, "IT'S OVER!" Dallas dominated from start to finish, and the Warriors must now be wondering if they'll ever win a playoff series again.

The "BALLGAME!" play in this one came late in the fourth, when Dirk blocked Stephen Jackson's shot attempts twice on the same possession, then Stackhouse finished with an acrobatic spinning layup on the other end to seal the deal.

By his teammates accounts, Dirk played his best game of the year.

"He exorcised some of his demons," Jerry Stackhouse said. "It's something that needed to be done."

"He just refused to allow them to double-team him," added Jason Terry. "This was definitely his best game of the year. I liked everything he did."

Even a couple of the Warriors, who are occasionally a little cranky in defeat, were nothing but complimentary towards Dirk:

"I think Dirk just played his game, like the MVP," said Stephen Jackson. "I thought he played great. I think if I could put my hand on one thing it was that he was more patient on the block. I think he just stayed under control. He definitely carried them tonight."

Warriors forward Al Harrington noticed, too.

"Dirk was aggressive. He wasn't passive," said Harrington, who scored 21 points. "He was determined to put his team on his back and play at an MVP level."

So I don't think the Mavs have anything to worry about anymore when it comes to playing the Warriors. But Golden State has plenty to worry about when it comes to thinking playoffs. Now that they have lost their edge on Dallas, who exactly do they think they can beat in the first round? Obviously not San Antonio or Phoenix, and we know what happened when they met up with Utah. The Lakers? Doubtful, considering they were very lucky to beat them last time, and before that one they had lost nine in a row to L.A.

Unless GSW can somehow get one of the top three seeds in the West, there's just no way they're winning a playoff series this year.