Nobody wants to hear the superstar on their team talking about how the team is not playing well at this time. Sure, it might be true, but you still don’t want to hear it when the team has much higher aspirations than just making the playoffs.
Dirk says he’s concerned. Now, I know part of that is him just being honest and giving credit to another team that he knows will play well. However, I still don’t think this is comforting.
If you watch Phineas and Ferb, there’s a great episode where the family goes to London. The arch-nemsis of Perry the Platypus (yes, the family platypus is a secret agent who kicks tail,) Dr. Doofenschmirtz, runs not only into Perry the Platypus, but into Agent Double O-O (voiced by the incredibly awesome and talented Damien Lewis from Life and Band of Brothers.) Anyways, they’re talking, and Doofenschmirtz says that “If he’s P and you’re OO, together that spells” (of course he’s going for poo.) Then, Double O-O gets all testy about it and says, “They’re not )’s, they’re zeroes, alright.” Then, Doofenschmirtz counters with, “I think I struck a nerve therrrrre.”
Rick Carlisle kicked a ball into the stands after a tough loss to the Thunder on Wednesday. Cuban was fined $75,000 and Carlisle was fined $35,000. Cuban was criticizing the officiating after the game because, well, they stunk.
I think we all know that pro sports officials, on the whole, are actually not very good. Especially in baseball and basketball, they are usually very bad at their jobs. So, I think it’s fair for an owner of a team (someone who has a major investment in the product the league puts out being good) to speak up. Unfortunately, the league doesn’t see it that way. Here’s what Cuban had to say after the loss on Wednesday:
Charles Barkley dished on Dallas’ ESPN 103.3 about Dirk, the Mavs, and beating the clock. He talked about how Dirk’s age is starting to get in the way. (I think we already knew this, but Charles knows about this first hand, so it’s fair to pay attention.)
“Dirk’s getting old bro. Father Time is undefeated. You know, Dirk’s been a great great player for a long time and he’s been in the playoffs pretty much every year. Father Time is catching up with him.”
Now Delonte West and Vince Carter have decided to step up. In a 122-99 win over the Suns, the Mavs had Vince Carter putting down threes, Delonte West driving, and people coming out of the woodwork to make this team go. As many times as the Mavs will have something happen (Dirk’s knee hurts, Jason Kidd is injured) they have people to step up and take charge. I was very concerned that without Tyson Chandler they wouldn’t have as much heart, but I think that winning that title last year made them into believers.
Dirk Nowitzki came back from his break to help lead the Mavericks to a win. However, Jason Kidd will be out for at least a week with a strained calf. Age is abounding in Dallas. So, how can the team possibly have everybody healthy at the same time, at the end of the season?
Well, I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating. Stop caring about the regular season. As long as you’re in the top four in the playoffs, you’re all good. It’s the Laker and Celtic philosophy. You just need to get there. However, how much rest is required when two older players have to be sitting in and out for a certain number of games because they are injured?
The Mavs come into tonight’s game without veteran guard Jason Kidd, who will be out for around a week after straining his calf. Dallas will potentially be without Dirk Nowitzki, with his status set as questionable for tonight’s encounter with the Spurs.
On Friday night, the Mavs showed their great roster depth in overcoming the Utah Jazz in a very impressive performance. Roddy Beaubois and Lamar Odom got 22 and 19 points respectively, with Roddy starting in place of Delonte West.
The Mavs take on the Spurs tonight with tip-off at 6.30pm. In recent seasons, contests between the Mavs and Spurs have been fast, physical and entertaining, providing one of the best rivalries in the NBA.
Dirk Nowitzki isn’t afraid of anyone in the western conference. I’m not particularly sure why, but I just know that he said he thinks the Mavs can handle anybody who comes at them. If that is the case, then I think we need to look at his comments and break them down to make sure he hasn’t lost his mind.
“I haven’t seen one team in the West that I’m scared of. I really haven’t. I think we can compete with all of them.”
“Oklahoma City has probably the best record, but I think we’ve played them well every time we’ve seen them and everybody else has been up and down.”
It sounds like the title of a Michael Moore documentary. ”Cuban for Dodgers.” I can see it now. He’s following around Mark Cuban as he tries to convince the EXCEEDINGLY old school baseball establishment that he’s good for baseball and he should be able to buy the Dodgers. Michael Moore, I want residuals, ok?
Well, it appears that that movie does not end happily. The Blackstone Group, which is handling the sale of the team for Frank McCourt, has narrowed down their list of bidders, and Mark Cuban is not on it.
After a very tough start to the season with his new team, Lamar Odom received some good news as he made the final squad to represent team USA at the London Olympic Games in the summer. Odom takes a spot in the roster amongst huge amounts of talent in what is a sublime team, which should take the Gold medal.
The full roster for the 2012 Olympics is as follows;
LaMarcus Aldridge (Portland Trailblazers)
Carmelo Anthony (New York Knicks)
Chauncey Billups (LA Clippers)
Chris Bosh (Miami Heat)
Kobe Bryant (LA Lakers)
Tyson Chandler (New York Knicks)
