No Game Is an Island: Rhythm and Meaning
Posted by Rob Mahoney on February 5, 2009 under Previews | 
The Dallas Mavericks visit the Utah Jazz
9:30 EST
“Jazz is rhythm and meaning.” Seems oddly prophetic, no? Here comes Dallas, winners of four straight and holders of the sacred mo, in all kinds of rhythm. They’re clicking, snapping, and strumming from top to bottom, and a regular season game against the Jazz has doubtfully ever been more meaningful.
Forget the playoff race for a second. Ignore the fact that the Mavs are just 2.5 games out of the unenviable 9th seed, which Utah currently occupies. The Jazz are a walking trap. Deron Williams is banged up, Carlos Boozer will nevereverever play basketball again, and Andrei Kirilenko is sidelined after surgery. Fully understanding Utah’s tentative status as a playoff team requires that one confronts their ridiculously unlucky and unfortunate string of injuries, a footnote that turns their efforts this season from solid to glorious. Maybe this was a team poised for regular season dominance, but the current incarnation of the Jazz is clawing and fighting their way into mediocrity. And that’s not just ‘fine,’ not just ‘respectable,’ but damn impressive. Their supporting cast lulls you into a false sense of security, and then while Memo Okur puts you in a half-nelson, Ronnie Brewer rips your throat out. The fact that Deron Williams is back, but not really back, makes matters worse. He’s in and out of the lineup, creating an apparent sanctuary on the schedule for any team willing to let their guard down. Then it’s over.
Maybe all of this is a bit melodramatic; the Jazz are hardly undefeatable. They are still a force at home, though, and the Mavs could be starting to get a little full of themselves. In the Grapevine this morning, I mentioned that the Mavs are developing a bit of confidence, a bit of a swagger. The line that a team ‘needs to walk,’ between respecting an opponent and respecting itself, is finer than fine. Personally, I want the Mavs to have unbelievable/undeniable swag, even if that means underestimating a few opponents. It would only fuel that ridiculous offensive efficiency of the last few, and maybe even recapture some of the dominance the team had in its past lives. So come on, Mavs: win or lose tonight (hoping for a win of course, the playoff race is still tight after all), let’s see that confidence.
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Kirk