67-15. Best record in the league by 6 games. Sixth best record all-time. More wins than the team had from Autumn of 1991 to Spring of 1994 (46 total). You know what that means? Jack Squat! Actually, it's something to be very proud of, and something they will be even more proud of if they win the championship. I don't think there is a team in the league that started this season last November with more of a black cloud over them for the way they went out in the Finals last year. To fight through that to post one of the best records in the history of the NBA is just the first step. The game against Seattle was just the last dress rehearsal, the last warmup. It's Go Time, baby! Bring on the Warriors! Are you pumped? Are you ready for this? Do you need a little tickle? Check out some of the original 3 Cheers emails from last year to get your pits sweaty. Whooo!
3 CHEERS: MAVS 106 @ SONICS 75
DIRK'S DIGITS!
Dirk played 25 minutes of warmup time, but managed to drop in 7 of his 13 shots and all 6 of his free throws for 20 points, 5 boards and 5 assists. See you Sunday, and bring your A+ game.
1. Jason Terry - JET only played 20 minutes of warmup time, but brought in 12 points on 5 of 8 shooting (2 of 3 from behind the arc), 3 boards, 5 assists and a steal. See you Sunday, and bring your A+ game.
2. Jerry Stackhouse - Stack only played 18 minutes of warmup time, but pitched in 13 points on 4 of 7 shooting (hitting all 5 of his free throws), tossed out 4 assists and got a steal. See you Sunday, and bring your A+ game.
3. DeSagana Diop - Diop played 29 minutes, only had 4 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist, but he had 5 blocks. See you Sunday, and bring your A+ game.
RANDOM CRAP!
- I didn't watch a whole lot of this game, because I knew it would be a walk. It also didn't start until 9:30. I was also busy watching Lost and finally getting to see Sanjaya kicked off American Idol. So I don't have notes on this game, but I do have my postseason awards. Here we go:
- MVP: Dirk Nowitzki - Everyone else says that Nash makes everyone around him better. Great. He plays with 2 other All-Stars, and one of them (Stoudemire) will probably wind up on the first team All-NBA list. Does that mean that Nash made them that good, or does that mean that he was surrounded by better talent? Everyone says that Dirk had more weapons around him, but Howard only made the All-Star team after half the league got hurt and won't be on the first, second or even third team All-NBA lists. Does that mean that Dirk single handedly won 67 games this year? Some say look at how bad the Suns were when Nash was hurt this year. I say look at how Dirk played through pain all year to make sure his team was never in that position. Throw it all out the window. Dirk will average about 25 points and 10 boards this year as the best player on one of the best teams in NBA history. That has to account for something. Plus, I have a man crush on him. Dirk for MVP.
- Coach of the Year: Avery Johnson - Overcome a heartbreaking loss in the NBA Finals and a 4 game losing streak to start the season to win 67 games and clinch the best record in the league with a week to go? You're coach of the year. All due respect to Sam Mitchell in Toronto (my Eastern Conference dark horse) and Jerry Sloan (the Susan Lucci of NBA coaches, and the female reference wasn't unintentional). They did great jobs this year. But Avery Johnson won 67 games while keeping his team's focus and drive going over the haul of an 82-game, 6 month season when there was nothing to gain until the playoffs. Avery for Coach of the Year.
- Sixth Man Award: Jerry Stackhouse - Some say Leandro Barbosa of the Phoenix Suns. Some say Manu Ginobili of the San Antonio Spurs. I say, "Who's house? Stackhouse!" Barbosa plays 30 minutes a game. Ginobili started almost half of his games this season. In Barbosa's case, do you really have a sixth man on your team when you only have a 7 man rotation and everyone plays fairly equal minutes? In Ginobili's case, do you reward a guy that was demoted to the sixth man role because the team was struggling early in the season with him starting? I say you give it to a guy that could average 25 a game in this league if he was the king-ding-a-ling starter, but has willingly bought into the system and legitimately helped his team to 67 wins while only averaging a little less than 20 minutes a game. Stack for Sixth Man.
- Most Improved Player Award: Josh Howard - Oh, shut up! I know what you're saying. I'm a Mavs fan, I write a Mavs blog, I'm admittedly biased to all things Mavs, I have just named all Mavs to all my postseason awards. Hear me out. You will see people talking about guys like Deron Williams, Kevin Martin, Tyson Chandler, etc., but how many of those guys elevated their games and their status to second best player on the 6th best team in the history of the NBA? Howard's rise has been largely overlooked, and I think this would be the best way to reward him for it. Ask yourself, did you think back in November that Howard was going to be the stone cold lead pipe lock as the #2 stud on this team, or did you HOPE that he would? I rest my case.
- Rookie of the Year: J.J. Barea - Sorry, I just had a pattern going, and I couldn't help myself.
- Blog of the Year: Brandon May's 3 Cheers - Mavs Land Musings - I would like to thank the Academy for appreciating my awesomeness. (cue music)
- Okay, my honest predictions for those awards are as follows: MVP - Steve Nash, Coach of the Year - Jerry Sloan, Sixth Man - Leandro Barbosa, Most Improved - Kevin Martin, Rookie of the Year - Brandon Roy. Not that I agree with all of those, but that's just what I think will happen. Not only do the Mavs have the 6th best record in league history (if I haven't mentioned that yet), I also think they are the most doubted and disrespected 67-win team in league history. Much to my chagrin, I would not be surprised if the Mavs didn't get one single post-season superlative award other than naming Dirk to first-team All-NBA.
- Ready for some postseason predictions? First round: Mavs over Warriors in 5, Suns over Lakers in 6, Spurs over Nuggets in 4, Rockets over Jazz in 7 ----- Pistons over Magic in 6, Cavs over Wizards in 5, Raptors over Nets in 6, Bulls over Heat in 7. Second round: Mavs over Rockets in 6, Spurs over Suns in 7 ----- Pistons over Bulls in 6, Raptors over Cavs in 7. Conference Finals: Mavs over Spurs in 7 ----- Pistons over Raptors in 6. Finals: Mavs over Pistons in 5.
- I really hope I didn't just jinx myself. But know this: if I'm anywhere remotely correct, I will make an absolute point to put a bright, flashing neon light over this post to show you how awesome I am.
Rest up everybody. It's almost time. I would also like to say that today, April 19th, is the 10th anniversary of my first date with my wife. Thanks for the best decade of my life. It's just so happened to coincide with the Mavs rise to power, and I'm positive that you are partly responsible for that. Thank you, and I love you.
No more dress rehearsals, no more resting players, no more excuses. This is what we played 82 games for. It's time for redemption, it's time for revenge, it's time to put up or shut up. It's time to go down in history as one of the greatest teams of all time or one of the biggest flops in the world. Take the Warriors first. Wait for my signal, then unleash Hell. Go Mavs!
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