I completely missed the tail end of SLAM Online’s Top 50 player rankings, but SLAM’s commenters did a great job of pointing out a travesty: Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony were ranked higher than Dirk Nowitzki. In most cases, I understand the tendency to put Dirk on the back end of the top ten. I do. And I have lots of love for both Durant and Anthony. But Durant is almost completely one-dimensional at this point, and Anthony only marginally more versatile. And when it comes to flat-out scoring, I’m not even sure that either is more skilled than Dirk. Nowitzki carries a 50-win team on his shoulders as the team’s best player, and Melo and Durant can at best only claim one of those qualifiers.
Kevin Pelton chimes in with a reminder on preseason statistics, in light of yesterday’s post: [Preseason statistics] mean more than you might think, but are limited by the small sample size, making shooting percentages potentially misleading.” You can read Pelton’s previous studies on preseason performance here.
“Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.”
-Voltaire
The Mavs’ season ended not with a bang nor a whimper, but with the sigh of a team that just didn’t have enough. The Nuggets were the better basketball team, and they played like it. That’s why, for the first time in a long while, I rested easy after the Mavs bowed out of the postseason. There was no implosion and there was no letdown. Although we Mavs fans were holding onto the hope of another Western Conference Finals, they should be able to find solace in the way these Mavs fought and the way that Dirk thrived.
All the credit in the world has to go to the Denver Nuggets. The Mavs were a good basketball team playing their best basketball at the right time, but the Nuggets are a superior basketball team playing even better basketball with more two-way consistency. Personally, I’m ecstatic every time I get to watch the player that Carmelo Anthony is morphing into. Something about his game was both equally troubling and appealing, and to see him do away with the silly turnovers and the forced shots is to see him morph into an incredible basketball player. He showed every bit of that transformation in this series, and put the cherry on top in Game 5 with 30 points on 13-22 shooting (he had to miss 6 straight attempts to fall to that mortal mark). Melo will never be the playmaker (read: LeBron) that some wished he would be, but I sincerely doubt that many will be disappointed with his finished product.
Chauncey Billups (28 points on 10-16 shooting, 12 assists, 7 rebounds) made the point guard match-up a bit of a joke. While the Mavs’ veteran floor general was ignoring easy layup opportunities, being caught in the air with nowhere to go, and getting completely abused by a fairly rudimentary two-man trap in the half-court, Chauncey was doing more than his fair share to push the Nuggets over the edge. His shots were timely and brutal, and the lack of mistakes in his decision making was a perfect way for Billups to put his stamp on this series.
But before I get too gushy about the Nuggets’ stars, let’s not forget our own. Dirk Nowitzki finished with 32 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists, and the rest of the team simply could not carry the burden of doing the rest. Dirk was positively glorious. He was drawing fouls on any Nugget that dare try to defend him, and when Dirk wasn’t waltzing his way to the free throw line he was draining jumpers that barely touched net. Though his 5 turnovers are quite uncharacteristic, I think he’s done more than enough to absolve himself. After all Dirk has done to carry the Mavs this season and this postseason, he’s certainly earned that much.
The Mavericks’ defense was undoubtedly their downfall. Though it’s easy to point the finger to the careless turnovers or flubbed offensive possessions, you hardly even need to single out the atrocious transition defense and nearly as miserable half-court execution. The perimeter defense just isn’t good enough to stay with quality NBA players, and the Mavs lack the type of help side defenders that can compensate for that weakness. The result is layups, and dunks, and free throws, which are a bit easier than the Mavs’ jumpers. Dirk is a fantastic jumpshooter, but he can hardly keep pace with a Nugget layup drill.
Jason Kidd (19 points, 9 assists, 5 turnovers, 5 threes) had a tough time running the offense, and couldn’t stay in front of Chauncey Billups to save his life. But to Kidd’s credit, he came out in the second half ready to make a difference. The Mavs trimmed their 10-point deficit in a jiffy, in large part to Kidd hitting open three after open three. It was a nice second half effort to step up as Dirk’s scoring bro, but needless to say I expected a more complete game (and series) from Kidd.
Brandon Bass (17 and 7) was great, and J.J. Barea (7 points on 3 of 5 shooting) played some good minutes to spell Kidd during his turnover phase. Unfortunately for both of them, J.R. Smith (18 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists) was better. How many momentum-killing long threes did Smith hit in this series? He can shoot from the damn parking lot.
The Mavs had chances to win this game, but here’s the important thing: they earned those chances. Dallas sprinted out of the gate to a quick lead, but eventually ceded it to the Nuggs. Then they fought back several times in the second half, only to be held at arm’s length by a Carmelo three or a J.R. heartbreaker. But this outcome is something the Mavs should have been expecting since Game 2, and rightfully so. Congrats to the Nuggets, but plenty of congratulations to the Mavs for putting up a helluva fight, staying within reach, and hoping for a miracle. The fact that it never came doesn’t make their effort any less impressive.
Closing thoughts:
Dear Jason Kidd, You need to eliminate the jump pass from your brain. I don’t want you to be able to perform that action anymore. Know who you’re going to pass to, stay on your feet, and be a damn point guard. Love, Rob.
Chris Andersen was rendered a non-factor in the last two games he actually played, largely because Dirk was very aware of his presence. Andersen tried to swoop in on several occasions for a weak side block on Dirk, only to find Nowitzki waiting patiently to draw the foul. Great stuff as always from Dirk.
This was not a good series for Jason Terry. I might go as far as to say that this was the worst playoff run of his career. Rick threw him into the starting lineup, and it did a whole lot of nothing.
Can someone explain to me how Anthony Carter got three offensive rebounds, all of which were around the basket?
Great season, guys.
GOLD STAR OF THE NIGHT: The Gold Star of the Night is practically a formality. I’d feel dirty if I gave it to anyone else but Dirk. Well deserved, buddy.
Just a little reminder that despite the lack of a double-header, the Mavs-Nuggs will still tip off at 8:00 central time.
Check me out on the NBA Today podcast with Jason Smith talking Mavs — mostly Dirk straight beastin’ and the fan hijinx.
Rick Carlisle on technical fouls, via Tim MacMahon of the DMN Mavs Blog: “I’m never an advocate of technicals, even though I’ve had more than my share this year, but when they sort of manifest with a pure heart, you feel a little differently about them, especially if they win. Now, if we’d have lost by a couple points and gave up five technical free throws, I’d be singing a different tune. But I just thought the way we fought was great.”
An extensive history of Dirk’s performances in elimination games tells many Mavs fans what they already know: when the pressure swells, so does Dirk’s play. With one notable exception (2007 was a doozy), Dirk has been exceptional with the series on the line.
Mike Moreau of Scouts, Inc./ESPN: “The Game 5 defensive plan must include better efforts by Howard and Antoine Wright to deny Anthony the ball. Once every three or four times isn’t enough. If Anthony gets it going in Game 5, it will be lights out for the Mavericks. Anthony’s defender must deny, front, fight and refuse to concede a single catch in the post, wing or top of the floor. Just preventing two catches per quarter takes 16 potential points away, and Anthony’s attempt to receive a pass in Game 5 should become a fight for position and for the ball…The Mavericks cannot take a single defensive possession off in Game 5. Any lapse in concentration will turn into the quick scoring runs that can turn this game into a blowout. This must be their best defensive effort of the year — every shot contested, everybody in the lane on drives, everybody on the glass.”
Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News: “Asked if he thought Cuban’s blog, where the owner apologized to Kenyon Martin’s mother and to other Nuggets fans, including Vazquez, whose experience at American Airlines Center was marred by confrontations with Mavericks fans, was the wrong forum for an olive branch, Anthony said: ‘No blog to blog. No twitter to twitter. Face to face.’ Martin also voiced his feeling that the online apology to his mother was not the most genuine way to go about it.” For what it’s worth, the TNT crew mentioned on Inside the NBA that Mark Cuban apparently tried to contact K-Mart’s agent, tried to contact his mother directly, and even waited for Martin at pre-game shootaround, where Kenyon refused to speak to him. Let’s all remind ourselves that all of this nonsense is the product of Cuban telling a player’s mother that her son was a ‘punk.’ This is the reason why the off-day hype machine is a bad thing.
Oh, but Kenyon did finally make some attempt to communicate with Cuban face to face…but this video isn’t for ye of virgin ears, those at work, or nuns.
Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News: “Mano-a-Melo. It just doesn’t get much better…Down 3-1, the Mavericks still don’t have much chance to rally for a series win. But with Denver seemingly married to the idea of guarding Nowitzki one-on-one, you have to wonder if just about anything is possible for him. ‘I can’t say enough about what Dirk did out there,’ Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. ‘Just a fantastic performance. There are very few guys I’ve been around in this league that are as strong-willed as he is. Dirk’s performance was amazing.’”
And wonderful, another incident with a Nugget familial cheerleader and the Mavs’ bleachers. Here’s the video of LaLa Vasquez, Carmelo Anthony’s girlfriend/fiancée, being escorted out of the arena. She’s playing the race card, which isn’t something to throw around. A Mavs fan claiming to be sitting in her immediate vicinity argues otherwise, but at best it’s he said-she said-she might have said.
Kelly Dwyer of Ball Don’t Lie: “Now, I’d like to discuss Dirk Nowitzki. Not unlike Carmelo, just about any shot he decides to toss up will have a solid chance of going in. And like a lot of players who can go over either shoulder, on either block, in either direction, in a number of ways, the sheer amount of possibilities and ways for Dirk to score sometimes boggles the mind. His mind, most importantly. It leads him thinking way too much, trying to set up the perfect shot, when sometimes a one-footed fadeaway off of no contact from 17-feet is a 70 percent proposition.”
Rick Carlisle on Dirk, via Tim MacMahon of the DMN Mavs Blog: “The one fadeaway shot that he hit was a force of sheer will to get that ball in the basket, because it was an incredibly difficult shot…I’ve seen Bird make those shots many time during the prime of his career. The great ones, they somehow find the will to do it and they get it done. You know, he’s one of the great ones.”
There are some Nuggets who don’t have much to stand on when it comes to discussing “class,” but that doesn’t mean the crowd at the AAC needs to get into the act. There are some lines that fans aren’t meant to cross, and when family comes into the picture, any insult becomes intensely personal. For everybody’s sake, let’s stay away from that. I don’t care who said what or who did what at this point; cut it out.
Jeremy of Roundball Mining Company: “…the Nuggets have lost their physical edge.Along with the points in the paint Dallas crushed the Nuggets on the boards.I generally do not make a big deal about rebounds unless the Nuggets get or give up an avalanche of second chance points, but the Mavericks completely controlled their defensive glass giving up only six offensive rebounds to Denver while corralling 41 defensive boards.”
Yes, Erick Dampier suffered, but THIS IS A MYTH. I REPEAT, THIS IS A MYTH.
Woodie Paige, The Denver Post: “In a game of plots, conspiracies, subterfuges, gambits, feints and ploys, it came down to a one-on-one, face-to-face, mano-a-mano Star Wars lightsabers duel between Carmelo Anthony and Dirk Nowitzki. Nowitzki edged Anthony. The Mavericks edged the Nuggets. This was Frazier-Ali, Connors-McEnroe, Gibson-Drysdale, Ben-Hur-Messala, Skywalker-Vader, Russell-Chamberlain, Magic-Bird. Staring down, looking up. Point for point, rebound for rebound, big play for big play. Basketball is a team game, but there was an individual clash of the titans Monday night that was epic and classic, a pleasure to watch, an amusement park ride, a test of wills, drives and jumpers. If you don’t like that, collect butterflies.”
Even if the Mavs fall in Denver, there’s a pretty big difference between losing in four and losing in five.
Bob Sturm of Inside Corner: “With Dirk playing in the post as a ‘5′, then Bass can be a ‘4′. It is not exactly Gasol and Odom, but it makes quite a bit of sense against many teams. If Dampier cannot provide any reason for the opposition to guard him, and if he also brings almost no energy plays, then allowing the offense to run through Dirk on the post against guys who cannot guard him make the Mavs impossible to deal with without a double team. And, then, your shooters make them pay. Dirk as a 5 might be the future of this team. So, maybe a true defensive Power Forward is what this team really needs to allow the Mavs to “play small” even though they would have a 7-foot center. It all starts with Dirk being interested in banging around, but he banged for 44 last night and Denver had no clue what to do.”
In the subplot that I currently could not care less about, Mark Cuban apologizes to Kenyon Martin, his mom, and his family. A kind gesture, but come on, do we still have to talk about this?
ESPN’s Marc Stein: “The historic part: Nowitzki and Anthony became just the third twosome ever in a playoff game to each total at least 40 points and 10 rebounds. Jerry West (41 and 10) and Elgin Baylor (45 and 17) did it as Los Angeles Lakers teammates against Detroit in 1962. Michael Jordan (42 and 12) and Charles Barkley (42 and 13) did so for Chicago and Phoenix, respectively, in the 1993 NBA Finals. Then the list ends with Dirk and Melo.”
“Little strokes fell great oaks.”
-Benjamin Franklin
Our man Dirk sure knows how to put on a show.
In a game where the anarchy of flagrant and technical fouls ruled, Dirk was able to make order out of chaos. He was never involved in the game’s numerous entanglements, not once caught fuming with uncontrollable anger or demonstrating anything but the desperation and calculated resolve that makes him such a force. The result? Dirk poured in for 19 in the fourth quarter, the importance of which is amplified by the Mavs’ narrow margin of victory. The Mavs needed every single point to reel in a victory that desperately tried to escape their grasp. Though this time, no near-foul, heart-breaking shot, or referee could stand in their way.
Plus, how’s this for irony: the Mavs were feeding off of the energy of Antoine Wright wrapping up Carmelo Anthony in the way that he was ’supposed to’ at the end of Game 3. After Anthony grabbed an offensive rebound early in the second quarter with the Nuggets nursing a 14-point lead, Antoine Wright wrapped up his arms to foul him on the floor. For seconds after the whistle blew, Wright refused to let go of Anthony’s arm. Carmelo wasn’t all too pleased about that, and responded by trying to push AW off, only to maybe possibly kind of catch a bit of Wright’s cheek. The implications of which were much more significant than a simple technical foul; the Mavs and the crowd were awakened to fight off the surging Nuggs, and a game that seemed destined for a blowout was suddenly altered into a competitive affair.
The Dirk takeover had commenced, and it was really one of those nights. One of those nights where Dirk’s greatness can hardly be quantified, but also one of those nights where the numbers (44 points on 25 shots, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 16-17 FT) turn out quite beautifully. Dirk’s attack was as captivating as it was methodical, as he used every trick in his book and then some to lure the Nuggets’ defenders into fouls, including an insatiable desire to score at the rim. K-Mart, Nene, Melo, whatever; Dirk took advantage of whoever was guarding him, turning every matchup into a problem with his footwork, balance, and silky smooth jumper. More coming on Dirk in a later post.
Carmelo Anthony (41 points on 29 shots, 11 rebounds, 5 steals) provided the perfect foil for Dirk. Whereas Dirk’s moves were calm, planned, and deliberate, Melo’s game represented the brash improvisation and spontaneity that makes him such an effective scorer. His pull-up jumpers were exclamation points, and each steal and subsequent fast break dunk a flurry of its own. Melo’s night was exemplified by his clutch, hard-hitting three pointer with just seconds remaining, a chilling reenactment of his Game 3 shot that pulled a seeminglysafe four-point lead into an ever-vulnerable two-point one. I’m just glad that this time around, that shot was dangerous and not deadly. It’s also certainly worth noting that J.R. Smith went absolutely hog wild on huge, game-changing jumpers. Some of his attempts deserved to go in and other’s didn’t (a certain straight-on bank shot, perhaps?), but Smith bailed the Nuggs out of many a shot clock violation by hitting important shot after important shot.
Though Dirk was undoubtedly the shining star (and the Gold Star, hint-hint), he couldn’t have done it without some help from his friends. Josh Howard gimped his way to 21 points and 11 rebounds, and though his shot selection in the fourth very nearly cost the Mavs the game, they couldn’t have even been in this game without him. J.J. Barea (10 points, 5-8 FG) and Brandon Bass (11 points, 4-6 FG) were able to get easy baskets at difficult times, and Jason Terry (12 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists) made his presence felt in spite of foul trouble. Roll all of that up into a ball with superior team defense (though you’d never guess it based on Carmelo’s totals), a much more dependable Jason Kidd, and world’s finest Dirk Nowitzki, and you’ve got yourself a win.
Sad team defense is often tough to point out in the box score, but it was clear that in these last two games, the Mavs were much more willing to prevent Denver’s transition attack and contest many (notably not all) of the Nuggets’ attempts in the paint. Of course that starts with the perimeter guys — Kidd, Howard, Wright, Terry, Barea — but relies on the rotation of bigs like Dampier, Bass, and Dirk to make things work. This is one area in particular where I thought Dirk Nowitzki excelled, and though his individual defense may not have received any of the spotlight, his effectiveness on that end should not go unnoticed. He and Bass proved that they can work together as a defensive tandem and still be effective, which means quite a bit for the team’s most efficient offensive frontcourt.
Closing thoughts:
Please, please, please, NBA, have some consistency with the flagrant calls. The Mavs were called for two very iffy flagrants to finish the 2nd quarter, one of which, combined with a technical arguing the play and a Melo bucket, turned a 5-point deficit into a 10-point one at the buzzer. I remain convinced the fouls on Kleiza and J.R. Smith were just that, fouls.
The Birdman didn’t suit up for this one due to some severe stomach cramps.
I’d feel bad if I didn’t single out Brandon Bass by name for praise for his defense. Erick Dampier racked up six fouls in just 23 minutes, so Bass played a huge role in keeping Nene to a very mortal 9 points and 8 rebounds. Essentially, Nene has been the difference between a nail-biter and a blowout for the Nuggets. When he’s on his A-game, they can just roll over teams. But when a physical defender really digs in and gives him trouble, their offense can really struggle.
The Mavs won the battle of the offensive boards 9-6 and got the win. That’s no coincidence.
GOLD STAR OF THE NIGHT: Come on. Seriously? Do you have to ask? Dirk Nowitzki. No-brainer.
Just one more note on the not-so-imaginary foul before we move on, and only because Mike Fisher of DallasBasketball.com makes a very sound point: “‘Hammering’ can get you a game-losing flagrant. Even ‘wrapping up’ can result in…a shooting foul…is Antoine Wright supposed to guess if the refs: Are in the Kobe Mood – where he can throw a chin-high elbow and have the foul be called on the other guy’s chin? Are in the Dwight Howard Mood – where an elbow earns a one-game suspension? Are in the Ron Artest Mood – where he gets an ejection for going too aggressively for the ball? Are in the Kenyon Martin Mood – where he gets a slap on the wrist for a goal-line tackle? Are in the Derek Fisher Mood – where he gets in immediate ejection for a thrown shoulder? Are in the Rajon Rondo Mood — where he must have to draw blood twice to get truly penalized? Are in the Zaza Pachulia Mood – where he gets an ejection for … talking? That’s too subjective. That’s too arbitrary. Wright cannot be expected to guess at whether Messrs. Wunderlich, Salvatore and Mauer had a bad night’s sleep, are feeling grumpy or…whatever.”
Okay, okay, one LAST LAST thing, from Woodie Paige of The Denver Post: “The referees, the source said, were ‘not upset by the league’s announcement, but (they) believe it was the correct noncall in that situation.’ According to the source, one of the referees said: ‘If they think we missed the call, that’s their decision.’”
Jean-Jacques Taylor of the Dallas Morning News: “All that remains for the Mavs is to show us the depth of their personal pride, because Game 4 is merely a formality. This series is over. No NBA team has rallied from a 3-0 deficit. The Mavs won’t be the first. Don’t forget, Denver has beaten Dallas seven straight times. No, this series wouldn’t have a different feel if the Mavs had won Game 3. Yes, there would’ve been a sliver of hope for the Mavs, but Dallas has never had control of a single game. The Mavs played as hard as they could in Game 3. They attacked the basket, resulting in 49 free throws. They committed just 10 turnovers. They limited Denver to 42 percent shooting. They even dominated the battle of the benches for the first time. Still, the Mavs never led by more than six points. And they made just enough errors to find a creative way to lose.”
Rick Carlisle, via Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News: “You’ve got to be honest and study the things you could have done better over the course of the entire game…The two areas we’re going to have to improve on are dribble penetration and second shots. We do better in those areas, then it doesn’t come down to an official’s call or the lack of a call…We talked about the position we’re in and why tomorrow is important. It’s pretty simple at this point. There are some adjustments you can make, but the whole adjustment thing diminishes as you get three or four games into a series. We need to get on the board and go from there.”
Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post: “During the postgame chaos after Saturday’s Nuggets-Mavericks game, Dallas owner Mark Cuban had a brief but heated confrontation with Lydia Moore, the mother of Denver’s Kenyon Martin, who was seated near the tunnel that leads to the Mavs’ locker room. Cuban said Sunday by e-mail that when he walked off the court, a fan was screaming about the Nuggets being ‘thugs,’ so Cuban said to Martin’s mother: ‘That includes your son.’…Cuban said by e-mail he knew Martin’s mother, because after a previous game that Denver won, she had approached him and made trash-talk-type comments.”
Apparently Dirk’s lady friend is guilty of more than we ever thought.
I’m sure that at this point another viewing of Carmelo’s three isn’t necessary, but in case you’re in the mood for some parody (hat tip to reader Andrew B.):
Also, a little note that you may or may not find interesting. Last night the betting line on combined points was 209.5…which you’ll notice is just a basket below the final outcome of 211. With the score sitting at 105-103 advantage Mavs, those betting on the under win the day. But one no-call and a Carmelo three later (although any basket would have done the trick), ‘over’ bettors are suddenly in the money. It’s not a scandal, and certainly no conspiracy, but it certainly does put an interesting spin on last night’s events.
Art Garcia of NBA.com: “Wright said he didn’t want to make any extra contact in case Anthony was about to shoot, which would have led to three foul shots. ‘What do you want me to do? Do you want me to Derek Fisher him, just take him out and then I get a flagrant foul late in the game,’ Wright fumed. ‘I can’t blatantly run through the guy. I have to try to make a play on the ball and that’s what I felt like I did. I didn’t want to jeopardize my team in any way by making a foolish foul.’” In the grand scheme of things, Wright is but a peon. Carmelo is an elite offensive player that tends to do amazing things in the final moments of games. Call me crazy, but I err on the Wright side of this debate. If AW is waiting for a whistle and one never comes, he has fractions of a second to react and scramble to contest the shot. In that scramble, the odds that he gets called for a foul are probably 50-50, despite what actually does or doesn’t happen. In a perfect world, should Wright have played out the sequence regardless of a whistle? Sure. Does that mean we should blame him for it? Hardly.
Randy Galloway of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: “Despite a controversial ending, let there be no Mavs crying, not after missing two free throws (one by Jason Terry, one by Josh Howard) in the final 2:12, among four clanged in the fourth quarter. Or when Dirk Nowitzki, who otherwise was very game, threw up a lame shot with 7.9 seconds left, which was a failure in three areas: No. 1, he missed. No. 2, Dirk didn’t milk the shot clock enough, leaving three critical seconds and 6.5 overall. No. 3, while guarded man-to-man by Kenyon Martin, he didn’t do what he had been doing much of the afternoon. Driving the rim hard, getting to the line.” There are millions of reasons why the Mavs ended up at 105 points, and plenty of those reasons are failures to complete certain tasks. Yes, Dirk should have milked the clock. Yes, he should’ve tried to get to the basket. And yes, the Mavs should’ve made their free throws. But essentially, the Mavs were penalized for regressing toward the mean. On the season, the Mavs as a team shot 81.6% on their free throws. They shot exactly that same percentage in Game 3. On the season, the Mavs as a team had 49 free throw attempts, which is almost double their regular season average. Dirk far exceeded his average attempts of 6.7 by shooting 15 free throws. It’s a pity that those already excellent marks were brought back down to earth by a failure to score in the final minutes, but the numbers would tell you that such a fall was inevitable. The Mavs had played well enough to endure that slip, but they were hardly afforded the chance to.
Via Tim MacMahon of the DMN Mavs Blog: “If I was the league, I wouldn’t say that,” Dirk said Sunday. “I don’t think it makes anybody feel better. We don’t get the last seven seconds back, to kind of play it over again. So more than anything, I think it made it worse.” Sigh.
“When angry, count to four. When very angry, swear.”
-Mark Twain
There are losses that make you want to yell and scream. There are losses that make you want to roll over and die. And then, there are losses that leave you staring in disbelief, mouth agape, as if the life has been sucked right out of you.
Or, if you’re like me, it’s a rotation of the three until I successfully recover from my postgame stupor.
In general, I try to avoid the thing that nobody wants to talk about but everybody wants to talk about: officiating. There’s a certain give and take to the ref game, and I respect that. But tonight is different. Although a blown call in the fourth quarter technically carries the same weight as one in the first, the critical mistake of the officiating crew in the final seconds of Game 3 was the biggest dagger I’ve seen in these playoffs. In one missed call, Dallas fell from a hopeful 1-2 to a funereal 0-3, a death knell in NBA basketball. It’s up for debate whether or not the Mavs had a real chance at winning this series, but one suddenly silent whistle made any debate irrelevant.
No team has ever come back from an 0-3 deficit, and though winning some games would dress up the series in its Sunday’s finest, the Mavs don’t appear to be a team that can buck that trend. Every piece of evidence imaginable would point to the Mavs losing this series, and can’t even convince myself, much less you, otherwise.
What makes last night’s loss so painful is that the Mavs did what they needed to to win. Nene (5 points, 2-10 FG), a dominant force in Games 1 and 2, was neutralized by a more effective frontline and a defense aware of his presence. Josh Howard was revived from ankle hell to score 14 points, grab 7 rebounds, and play some commendable defense on a white-hot Carmelo Anthony. Dirk (33 points, 16 rebounds) was absolutely wonderful, and managed to actually build upon his prior brilliance by adding an impressive 15 free throw attempts to his series resume. Jason Kidd and Jason Terry each broke out of their respective slumps, with Kidd running the break with mastery and Terry hitting the (original) biggest shot of the game to put the Mavs up 4. But all of that was wiped away when Antoine Wright tried to use the Mavs’ foul to give with two seconds remaining and was denied by official Mark Wunderlich, who saw no reason to stop the play and allowed Carmelo a free look at a game-winner. This isn’t a complaint about a questionable call — NBA president of league and basketball ops Joel Litvin confirmed the boo-boo — but rather voicing the frustration of a clear error that denied the Mavs a chance at this series.
The thought that history will likely remember this day as a Nuggets’ triumph rather than an officiating failure pains me, but credit to Denver for clawing their way through this game. It wasn’t always pretty and, to be frank, wasn’t always effective, but they managed to perservere despite a lot of things going wrong. Foul trouble and poor execution be damned, the Nuggets weren’t going to see themselves embarrassed, and that mentality just so happened to get them face-to-face with a winning jumper. Luckily for the Nuggs and their fans, Melo didn’t blink.
Brandon Bass (16 points, 5 rebounds, 12-14 FT) was awesome. He alone dominated Chris Andersen (plagued by foul trouble) and J.R. Smith (plagued by poor shot selection being J.R. Smith), and played tough interior defense while Erick Dampier was resting. Early in the game, it looked as though Ryan Hollins may have supplanted Bass as the back-up center, but Bass played with exactly the kind of energy and discipline that he needs to be effective on a regular basis. The free throw attempts are clear evidence of his assertiveness around the basket, but that kind of quantification hardly tells how important he was to the Mavs’ offense. In the first half, Dirk sitting on the bench meant a scoring drought. But once Bass started hitting his stride, he afforded Nowitzki some much-needed rest and the team a much-needed weapon.
Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups…were Carmelo Anthony (31 points, 8 rebounds) and Chauncey Billups (32 points). They had the kind of big games that you expect from players of their paygrade, and there was no chance that Denver even sniffs a win if those two don’t contribute huge baskets and meaningful plays at both ends.
Aside from that, the only other Maverick-killer was their inability to secure defensive rebounds. The Nuggets grabbed 13 offensive boards, many of which were converted into impressive tip-ins and dunks. That’s a disheartening way to end a play, especially when Dallas’ half-court defense seemed much improved from the first two games. They were putting the Nuggets in tough spots, but Birdman or Kenyon Martin would swoop in for an easy jam as the ball bounced off the rim. We’ve asked the Mavs to improve their defense and they responded, which makes those easy put-backs that much more harrowing.
Closing thoughts:
Well, Gerald Green played a full 9 minutes, and it wasn’t pretty. Josh Howard and Antoine Wright’s foul trouble left Carlisle digging into his bench, and Green rewarded his generosity with 0-4 shooting, 0 assists, 0 rebounds, 0 steals, 0 blocks, and 3 fouls. Ai yai yai.
In case you missed it, you can actualy re-watch the game in its entirety here.
Say what you will about Antoine Wright “giving up” on that final play, but I don’t see many faults with his play. If he challenges the shot, there’s actually a decent chance that Anthony catches him jumping from out of position, draws a foul, and gets three free throws (or maybe even more if the foul was flagrant). If he even challenges the shot, there’s still a chance that a whistle negates his efforts. And all of this is taking place in about a second flat, fleeting moments in which Wright is expecting play to be stopped by a tweet.
Josh Howard was called for an offensive foul on a play where he drove into the lane and warded off a defender by kicking out his foot…which you may remember was almost the exact play that won a regular season game for Chauncey Billups and the Nuggets against the Mavs back in January (check the clip here at the 1:50 mark, although it’s pretty bad quality).
Damn.
GOLD STAR OF THE NIGHT: The Gold Star of the Night goes to Brandon Bass. Dirk has been playing well all series long and deserves his props, but Bass provided something both unexpected and delightful tonight. Shooting 14 free throws off the bench in just 25 minutes is quite a feat, and Bass is quite a player.
“Have the courage to live. Anyone can die.”
-Robert Cody
Brick by brick, the Mavs built the foundation for a victory. They survived 1st quarter adversity to remain within striking distance. The bench stepped up as Josh Howard went down. They clawed their way into a game that they really had no business being in. And yet, when a Jason Terry three finally pushed the Mavs ahead 74-72, I couldn’t shake the unmistakable feeling that it would all come crashing down.
Boy, did it, in a way that may seem eerily familiar.
After hanging, and hanging, and hanging with a Nuggets team playing better basketball than them on both sides of the floor, the Mavs blew a perfect opportunity by scoring just 2 points in the first 6 minutes of the fourth quarter. There were rim-outs, there were horrible turnovers, and there were blocked shots, all of which seemed to end in free buckets for Denver on the break. The offensive magic that pulled the Mavs through the third quarter unscathed was left gasping the thin Denver air, and the Nuggets danced on the grave of the Mavs’ dead and buried transition defense. The team that wanted to turn this series into a marathon was run out of the gym, and I can’t decide whether ‘leak out’ better describes the nemesis of the Mavs’ defense or the insufferable feeling of their playoff hopes dripping away. Each drop brings us a bit closer to another playoff loss puddled on the floor, and another step towards the team staring itself down in the puddle’s reflection.
For three quarters, this was a game. You can thank Dirk Nowitzki (35 points on 20 shots, 9 rebounds, 4 assists) for that. Dirk’s impact was anything but the silent assassinations we’re used to; each fall-away and maneuver in the post was deafening. He served as a constant reminder that no Nugget can guard him (don’t worry, I’ll get to the TNT crew later), and also that the Mavs’ offense can’t function without him. That’s where Denver’s defense really excels. They can’t stop Dirk, and they don’t even do a very good job of limiting him. But the second that the offense stops going through Dirk or the second that he sits on the bench, the Mavs look bewildered. Our possessions begin with a lot of dribbling on the perimeter by Jason Kidd or Jason Terry, and usually end with a turnover or a forced jumper at the shot clock buzzer. They haven’t taken away our best player, but they may have taken away much more.
The number of open dunks and layups the Nuggets had was humiliating. Erick Dampier, Ryan Hollins, and James Singleton finally started stopping the freebies with a steady supply of fouls, but the attempts the Nuggets were able to get on the whole were entirely too easy. The Mavs would grind and pick and squeeze two points out of a jumper, and the Nuggets would respond in a matter of seconds by hitting a wide open Nene for a dunk. It’s impossible to say exactly how much Dampier’s ankle is limiting him, but for his sake I hope it feels like a ball and chain. Otherwise, Nene has basically ripped Damp’s heart out of his chest, demoralizing and emasculating him on national television with rolls to the basket, thunderous dunks, and sly work in the post. Nene finished with 25 and 8, but it seemed like his highlight reel would last for days.
The Mavs’ bench does deserve the appropriate credit for their offensive exploits, but the defense was bad enough that no Mav should leave this recap unmarred. Jason Terry finally looked like Jason Terry again, registering 21 points and 6 assists off the bench. Ryan Hollins was the Mavs’ most effective center, and he somehow corralled his speed and athleticism into a few buckets. J.J. Barea and Brandon Bass vaguely resemble the contributors we saw against San Antonio, but even their mild success was balanced with a steady diet of defensive failure.
On his return, JET ran headfirst into his foil, J.R. Smith (21 points on 6-10 shooting). Smith showed his full range by making alert, intelligent passes to open teammates, and pulling up early for an errant 26-footer at the end of the second quarter that allowed Kidd to run the length of the court and hit a bomb of his own to pull the Mavs within three going into the half. He was every bit the Maverick irritant, coming away with a few steals and hitting big shots to stop the Mavs’ momentum dead in its tracks. I’m sure George Karl will fall asleep smiling.
Carlisle made frequent use of the zone defense, and personally, I’m not sure what to think about it. It seemed to limit the number of successful slashes, but the Mavs gave up entirely too many offensive rebounds to Denver’s bigs, and surrendered a few baskets to backdoor cuts. It’s hard to tell exactly how effective it was without some in-depth analysis, but to be honest it seemed like a wash.
Carmelo Anthony (25 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists) was again brilliant in the fourth quarter, capping an otherwise quiet game with a 15-point explosion to put the game out of reach. Whether foul trouble or stomach pains have kept Melo mortal, his close-out performances have been stellar. He’s hitting tough jumpers without forgetting to attack the basket, and essentially using a style that is quintessentially Melo to improve on his perceived shortcomings. There’s no doubt that he has evolved as a player, and when that fully-evolved form is on display it is to be both feared and respected.
Closing thoughts:
I can’t think of anything that makes me angrier than Jason Kidd penetrating all the way to the rim, and declining a layup for a chance to whip the ball around to a shooter. Truly infuriating basketball.
The TNT crew (and by that I mean Kenny, Charles, and C-Webb) really grilled Dirk for describing Denver’s defenders with positive attributes. Apparently in saying that Nene and Martin are strong and Andersen can challenge shots, Dirk was ceding some gravely important psychological edge. Oh, but then he kind of dropped 35 on them. A big thanks to Ernie Johnson and P.J. Carlesimo for being voices of reason and actually listening to Dirk’s soundbite before they frolick off into exaggeration land.
Denver’s first quarter parade to the free throw line was brutal. They entered the bonus with about 6 minutes remaining, and shot 14 free throw attempts in the first quarter alone.
Jason Kidd’s performance was much easier to swallow, but with all the free three-pointers he blew, his performance still hurt. On top of that, Chauncey Billups (18 points, 8 assists, 4-9 3FG) finally emerged from whatever cave he was hiding in, so not only was Kidd sub-par, he was outclassed.
For those who don’t know, Josh Howard missed three of the four quarters with some swelling and soreness in his ankle.
GOLD STAR OF THE NIGHT: The Gold Star of the Night goes to Dirk. Let’s just leave it at that, because even though Dirk had a wonderful night offensively, this team doesn’t deserve a superlative right now.
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