OK this is a bit of a tangent from the mission statement, but I had a request to blog on this. The Dallas Mavericks have had an excellent NBA season winning 67 games and acquiring the number one seed in the dominant Western conference. Last night they lost their 2nd game in a row to the 8th seed Golden State Warriors, a team who won 25 games less than Dallas making them almost a .500 ball club. Basically, they have a coin tosses chance whether they'll win a game or not. So now Dallas is facing elimination and all us fair weather fans have to ask "what the f*** is going on??"Golden State is small ball; they don't have NBA type big guys so they adopt a run-and-gun strategy. But waitaminnute. Wasn't this the calling card of the semi-successful Mavs of several years ago? The run-and-gun style doesn't provide much success come post season. When the arena staff slaps the "NBA playoffs" decal onto the hardwood floor, they might as well be throwing molasses on the court. The game slows down; more fouls, more half-court setups. And yet here's Golden State up 3-1 in the series.
Lets go to a perennial favorite, questioning the heart of the team leader. Yeah, that's right. You're #1 doesn't have the winner's mentality. Let's tear down our idols! Michael Jordan gambles! *Ahem* OK I'm back. Dallas is lead by the lanky 7'1" German-born Dirk "Diggler" Nowitzki. In the past, Dirk was mostly a scorer whose defense was questionable and Steve Nash really led the team at point guard. But with Nash gone, Dirk has assumed the mantle of leader, resulting in a chorus of MVP chants from fans and analysts. But I saw him barking orders last night, taking teammates to task. He dropped 23pts, equaling his high score for the series.
As I was drifting off to sleep last night, cursing the NBA gods, I had an epiphany. The Mavs have never been punched in the nose and swung back. Look at the dynasties over the past decades. The Bulls had to be roughed up by the Pistons. The Lakers took elbows, knees and even fists from the Celtics. If you look at every championship team, you'll find they each have one player gets dirty (with two r's) and physically intimidates the competition. Now Golden State isn't physically intimidating the Mavs, but they're doing something just as deadly. They’re coming in with the mentality of a carefree underdog. Their pressure is miniscule compared to the hopes that have been lofted onto Dallas' shoulders. So they come in loose and steal the 1st game. Now their confidence is growing. They drop the 2nd game as expected but then the go home and hear the inspired Golden State crowd and now they're pumped. They clobber Dallas by almost 20 points. Think of the mental game like a teeter-totter. Golden State started at the bottom and Dallas at the top. With Golden States confidence rising, it pulls Dallas into the doldrums. Dallas should be Angry! These chumps are gonna take three games from the mighty Mavericks!? Dallas must focus this anger towards the dark side of the force (ahh I knew I could slip in a pop culture reference). Dallas, like all NBA champs, has to get a little blood on the hands. Every foul is hard. No dunks allowed. If Baron Davis wants to play in the paint, you slap him down and show him what it's like. Teams lose confidence on the offensive side, and Championships are won on the defensive side. This is a wakeup call. Get mad or else get out your fishing poles and join Kenny 'the Jet' Smith at the
fishin' hole
No comments:
Post a Comment