3 Cheers - Game 4, Round 1

WARRIORS 103 vs. MAVS 99

Dear sweet and beautiful baby Jesus,

What did I do that was so wrong that you can't help me out here?  Don't answer that publicly.  I guess it's out of your hands now.  After the shots that the Warriors were hitting last game, I can tell who's side you're on.  Maybe I deserve this.  Perhaps I should take this up with another entity.

Take it easy, Amen.

Dear lazy and pathetic Dallas Mavericks,

You listen and listen good.  I know none of you had anything to do with the 90's Decade of Despair.  I know some of you had nothing to do with the early 2000's False Hope Parade.  But let me explain a little something about the Dude.  I give my time, my energy, my heart, my soul, my passion, and now my gift for writing awesome game reviews to you.  And this is how you repay me?  I got ridiculed all through high school and college for being a Mavericks fan, but I never swayed.  And this is how you repay me?  What you are doing now is even worse than any 11-win season you could possibly put me through.  I want a championship, but more importantly, I want to be a proud Mavs fan that doesn't have to walk around having people either feel sorry for me, think I'm a masochist, or start berating me and talking smack about my team.  I defend you with all my heart.  I even called one of my friends a penisface in the last post because he was bagging on you.  I hate myself for calling him that, but you made me do it and now you're making me look and feel like a damn fool.  You listen and listen good.  You better get your s**t together and win 3 straight or you will see a different side of the Dude this off season.  A sick, sadistic side.  I'm not kidding.  I went from sending emails to friends, to writing a blog, to starting my own website for you.  Get your game right, and do it NOW!  You have to work for your Dude love now.

3 CHEERS:

1. Baron Davis - The crowd was chanting "MVP" for Captain Grizzly, and they weren't too far off.  That's how he's been playing.  33 points on 12 of 17 shooting.  3 of 4 on 3 pointers, although one of them he shot from a ferry on the way to Alcatraz and drained it at the halftime buzzer.  8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, a block; the only thing you can really knock is him shooting 6 of 12 from the free throw line.  Kind of crazy that a guy who can drill a last second shot from behind mid court could miss an uncontested 15 footer 6 times in the same game.

2. Mickael Pietrus - Silent for the first 3 games, Pietrus finally got on track to help the Warriors with defense and hustle.  16 points, 5 boards, 2 steals and a block, but that block was phenomenal if you're a Warriors fan.  Personally, it made me vomit in my mouth.  Jason Terry had a wide open fast break layup, and out of nowhere, Pietrus comes flying in to swat it into the 3rd row.  Every time we shut down one of their threats, another guy steps up.  Give them credit.  That's how you win a playoff series.

3. Closing the Deal - If we learned anything about Game 4, it's that the Warriors are aware that a quarter lasts 12 minutes.  The Mavs apparently think it's over once you take a lead of 7 or more.  For that very reason the Warriors were able to take advantage of the Mavs lackadaisical approach to the last 4 minutes of the last 3 quarters to overcome deficits of 7+ points to either tie or go ahead by the time the frame was done.

3 JEERS:

1. Mavs Charity - It's not going to wind up as a feature on any of those "NBA Cares" commercials, but the Mavs were giving the ball to the Warriors like it was beads at Mardi Gras.  And the Warriors didn't even have to degrade themselves to get it.  We had 19 turnovers as a team, which lead to 33 points for the Warriors.  The Mavs all need to head to the trainer's office so they can start extracting bullets from their feet.

2. David Copperfield - There was no smoke, wind or surgically enhanced women with more makeup than clothing, but the Mavs pulled off a disappearing act for the ages.  You look at the stat lines, and you would think that we had a great game.  Howard had 22 points and 12 rebounds, but only 2 of those points came in the second half.  Stackhouse had 24 points (9 in the 4th) and one huge block, but he had 4 turnovers that killed the Mavs momentum late in the game.  Jason Terry had 19 points and 5 assists, but he had 3 turnovers and started the game 0 of 6.  And Dirk, ahh, Dirk.  23 points, 15 rebounds (6 offensive), 4 steals and a block.  But he also only got to the line 4 times because he was jacking up 5 3 point shots and numerous 20 footers.  Do you realize that Dirk hadn't made a 3 pointer this entire series until those two desperation and meaningless heaves at the end of the game?  Avery Johnson looked flustered and actually ran out of timeouts that might have come in handy at the end of a close game.  None of this can be placed on the shoulders of one person.  It was a collective disappearing act.  For your next trick, you should make the Warriors disappear.  That would be a feat that would make David Copperfield proud.

3. Referee Discretion - I will start with the disclaimer that I am not pinning this loss on the refs.  However . . . the Warriors shot 11 more free throws than the Mavs, and it wasn't because they were the only ones attacking the basket.  I have a hard time understanding how 3 of our key players wind up with 5 fouls while 3 of their key players only wind up with 4.  I have a hard time understanding how they whistle us for touch fouls while Dirk gets hacked, shoved, pushed and thrown down without a call.  Exhibit A: The Warriors inbound the ball with only 4 players on the court.  Automatic technical, except the refs convene for almost 2 minutes and decide to let it go.  It's like the spineless parents whose son decides to beat up the nerd on the playground, and they decide, "Oh well, kids will be kids.  Just don't do it again."  The rules specifically say that you have to have 5 guys on the court or it's a technical.  There's no gray area here.  But the refs decided to ignore that page of the rulebook.  They must have torn it out and used it as toilet paper before the game.  Exhibit B: Dirk made a shot, caught the ball out of the net, turned to head back down the court and flipped it over his shoulder to the refs out of bounds.  They call a delay of game.  I don't know how much basketball all of you watch, but if they call that a delay of game every time it happened, each team would be shooting 20 technical foul shots a game.  Exhibit C: Stack is going for a rebound and Mickael Pietrus goes over his back and shoves him out of bounds to the floor.  No call, ball out on Stackhouse to the Warriors.  Exhibit D: They called a lane violation on Jason Terry during a Warriors free throw, even though EVERY PLAYER was in the paint before the shot was released, Mavs and Warriors alike.  The Warrior that was shooting missed the shot, was rewarded another shot, and he made that one.  Exhibit E: JET later dove for a loose ball.  A Warrior dove into JET like he was the Cowboys' Roy Williams spearing a quarterback.  No play on the ball, just drove head first right into JET's back.  No call, ball out on JET to the Warriors.  Exhibit F: Later, JET slows up to the hash mark to call a time out.  Matt Barnes, who has fouled out of the previous two games and has been a constant instigator the whole series, runs over and wraps him up, knocking the ball out of his hands and exchanging fighting words with JET.  No foul, no tech, no warning.  Kids will be kids.  Again, I'm not blaming this loss on the refs, but all these calls did coincide with the Mavs losing large leads.  If you're going to call it, call it on both ends.  If you are going to let it go, let it go on both ends.  I remember a few years back, analysts were saying that the Mavs weren't going to get calls or respect from refs until they had proved that they were superstars.  Well, a team that made it to the Finals last year and won 67 games this year should qualify in that category, and yet the Warriors are still getting the benefit of the majority of the whistles.

RANDOM CRAP!

• I just saw Josh Howard's commercial for Apple Orthodontics for the first time.  You know how the world fell in love with Napoleon Dynamite for his endearing awkwardness?  That just about sums up this commercial.  Howard's walking back and forth, then pauses for a close up on his face and teeth.  With a big smile, he says stuff like "Got Grillz?" and "Big Savings!".  It's almost Shakespearean.
• My wife writes down a very simple, yet poignant note on my pad: Go Mavs!  Win the stinking game already.  Thanks.
• I couldn't have said it better myself.
• I always look for things I might have done that affected the Mavs mojo during a game.  In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have allowed my wife to apply Age-Refining Eye Cream to my face at halftime.  That was a poor decision.  But don't judge me.  I don't use that stuff.  It's just that the way this series is going, we figured we could use it as a preventative.  Again, bad move on my part.
• I've never been one to question Avery, but I'm going to do it now.  I don't understand the play calling that requires Dirk to stand far out on the wings without having the ball swing to him or even in his direction.  It's bad enough that Golden State is taking Dirk out of the game, we don't need to go helping their cause by eliminating him from our offensive flow.  The Warriors only double team him when he touches the ball.  If he doesn't touch the ball, they can stay home on their main defensive priority.  Even if we wound up getting the ball to Dirk in these sets, he would receive the ball in the corner along the baseline and the sideline.  That makes it even easier to double team him or even guard him one on one.  Keep running the pick and roll or pick and pop with Dirk at the top of the key.  It worked for 67 games this year.  Just a thought.
• Baron Davis had this to say after the Warriors took a commanding 3-1 lead over the Mavs: "They're still in control of this series."  Nice try, Baron.  Nobody's buying the underdog malarkey anymore.
• Dirk had this to say after the Warriors took a commanding 3-1 lead over the Mavs: "All we can do is come out swinging."  Welcome to the party, Dirk, but apparently you showed up fashionably late.
• Every single prayer the Warriors threw up in this game was answered.  They should thank sweet and beautiful baby Jesus.
• In non-basketball related news, the NFL Draft was this weekend.  The Washington Redskins are fierce rivals of the Cowboys.  So what do you make of them spending their first two picks on a guy whose first name is Dallas, and another guy whose last name is Landry?
• I just have one more thing for Dirk.  One more item of inspiration.  One more nugget to get Dirk's competitive juices flowing.  With the Warriors defense making him feel trapped, it's time he started looking for freedom.  Channel The Hoff, Dirk, and be prosperous.

I don't know what else to say now but "Get it done."  If your sense of pride isn't enough to will you to victory, how about a sense of gratitude for my loyalty.  I don't want to go out like this.  It's on you to see to it that doesn't happen.  Go Mavs!

Comments

[Kelly Walker]

Brandon, today is a better day. I hope you are in good spirits from last nights game. I wanted to make sure you see our blog today, titled "Go Mavs". It's no 3 cheers, but I try and I think you'll appreciate it.
http://walkers.typepad.com