Heard It Through the Grapevine
Posted by Rob Mahoney on April 30, 2009 under The Grapevine | 
- Denver it is. The good news is that I’ll launch into full preview mode soon. The bad news is that even after New Orleans kept the game close for a half, they were still thoroughly trounced by a Denver team that was clearly ready to rock. It’s gonna be a great series.
- Jason Kidd, on what I believe to be the mantra of the neo-Mavs (via Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News): “Patience,” Kidd said. “That’s the key for us. “As much as we wanted it to happen last year, it didn’t. It shows the character of this team to be patient and come back and put ourselves in this position. We got four big wins and now it starts over.”
- The Nuggets-Hornets series all boiled down to toughness. Here’s to hoping the Mavs all go tough guy on the Nuggets, and refuse to let the physicality get to them.
- Bill Simmons (it’s a long one): “To be clear: The Mavs still gave up waaaaaaaaay too much and should have fired their coach before shaking things up; there’s an 81 percent chance they’d be just as unstoppable with Devin Harris in Kidd’s place. But you can’t deny Kidd’s effect on Jason Terry, Josh Howard and Dirk — he lives to make them better and they are better. Beyond that, the Mavs have excellent chemistry for the first time I can ever remember. Part of that might be Nowitzki emerging as a leader, but again, maybe that doesn’t happen without Kidd.The most interesting wrinkle to me: Of any “former great,” with the possible exception of Karl Malone, Kidd did the best job of accepting his weaknesses and accentuating his strengths. He can’t defend good point guards anymore, and he always shot a poor percentage. Fine. But he can run a team. He can make 3-pointers as long as he’s wide open. He can advise and lead. He can run fast breaks as well as anyone. He can still jump passing lanes and swipe a dumb pass. He has recreated himself as a still-effective complementary player. That’s something that Gary Payton couldn’t do, or Chris Webber, or Allen Iverson, or Charles Barkley, or Larry Johnson, or Mitch Richmond, or Glen Rice, or Penny Hardaway, or Jermaine O’Neal. … I mean, it’s hard to say, “I can no longer do everything from A through Z, but I can still do A, D, F, J, K and M, so that’s what I will do.”In a stroke of luck, Kidd might make it the rest of the playoffs — a postseason that featured a remarkable slew of penetrating point guards — without facing anyone else who will chew him up like Tony Parker did. In Round 2, Chauncey Billups is a perfect matchup for him, a herky-jerky, physical jump-shooter who Kidd can bump and grind. In Round 3, he’d go against Derek Fisher, Shannon Brown and the Artist Formerly Known As Jordan Farmar, or as I like to call them, the Poop Club Sandwich. In the Finals, he’d get Mo Williams and Boobie Gibson. That’s why I see Kidd gaining steam as the playoffs keep going, this rejuvenated Dallas team making the Western Conference finals, and even the Lakers sweating out that Finals berth more than people anticipate.
You know what else? A reader (can’t remember his name) pointed out something to me that I passed along in a podcast and now I will mention here: Kidd is the only guy who can defend LeBron and Kobe. Why? They respect him too much. They don’t want to kick his butt. It doesn’t make them feel good. They settle for jumpers instead of just destroying him off the dribble in a goofy display of guilt and respect. Back in the ’60s, Wilt rarely unleashed against Russell because he liked him so much. … In fact, that was Russell’s ploy, to make Wilt like him so he wouldn’t annihilate him. I don’t think Kidd thinks that way; the situation is what it is. Those guys love him from their Redeem Team days and have no interest in eviscerating him now. But as strange as this sounds, Jason Kidd’s advanced age and declining defensive skills might be Dallas’ best chance against the Lakers and Cavs. Call it the Pity Theory. Just wait.”
- Another nugget from Simmons: “Q: I love the NBA’s new playoff commercials, so what would be the funniest slow-motion, black-and-white commercial to see with that piano music playing?A: I thought of this idea myself and then a few readers sent in similar thoughts. The funniest ever would be Bennett Salvatore’s bogus call from 40 feet away of Dirk’s slight shove on Wade in Game 5 of the 2006 Finals, followed by the crazed reaction of Dallas’ bench. This would be the funniest one ever. It just can’t be topped. I would laugh and laugh.”
- David Lord attacks Jason Kidd’s free agency head-on, and it’s just as we thought, pre-Terry’s comments: nothing impending, but Dallas has a great chance to retain Kidd.
- Wave buh-bye to Folowill and Ortegel, everybody. ESPN and TNT will cover the broadcasts from here on out on an exclusive basis.