The D.A.Y. of Dallas Revenge
When you win 18 of 19, got to clean up that 1.
The Dallas Mavericks have one loss over the past six weeks. They were fired up to erase that blip on the radar, and the Lakers felt the punishment. How funny is this thing I wrote, knowing what we know now?
MIAMI 104 INDIANA 101
The Pacers were missing half their team - that is to say, they were without Murph and L’il Dun and Diogu. The new guys. It looked like a Miami blowout, and I stopped watching when the Heat had a 14 point lead with 4 minutes left or something like that. Of course, the Pacers went on a tear and cut the lead all the way down to one point. Dwyane Wade started to dribble out the clock, waiting to get fouled. The Pacers let him go all the way to the basket, so DWade shot too early, thinking he could turn it into a game sealing three point play. He might have been fouled, but he scored anyways. Nice to see the refs not giving him the call. Wade finished with 33, 8, and 6 and 4 steals. Slimmed down Antoine Walker and James Posey have been coming off the bench while Kapono and Haslem start. The Pacers got 28 from Danny Granger and 23 from Marquis Daniels, both of them playing more with the short bench. Granger had a look at a three to tie it at the end, but he missed. Miami was lucky not to blow this game.
DALLAS 114 LA LAKERS 95
Revenge. The Dallas Mavericks are not playing around. If you want to use the back-to-back against the Spurs and Mavs as an excuse for the Lakers, go ahead. I’ll just say that the Mavs are a much better team and they were extra motivated to beat the only team that has beaten them since December 11th. Josh Howard led the team with 29 and 11 while Kobe led L.A. with 26. Avery is not letting them relax. After 41 games, the Mavs are 33-8. Matching that in the second half would make them a 66 win team. The first Shaq-Kobe Lakers championship team won 67 games, including a 19 game win streak as part of a 30-1 spurt. That’s how Avery wants his team playing. Ruthless.
29 Responses to “The D.A.Y. of Dallas Revenge”
Jan.19 at 10:15 am
J says:
what ever happened to this crazy ridiculous dirty 30 that you were talking about
Jan.19 at 10:36 am
Sam Rubenstein says:
Hollinger just upped the ante on power rankings style columns. DAILY! What a madman. I have to recalibrate my sattelites.
Jan.19 at 11:03 am
J says:
so youre holding it off because its an ego thing where you need to be the best?
Jan.19 at 12:12 pm
winston and the telescreen says:
I dont know, the mavs obviously destroyed the lakers last night, but as I was watching I was actually really happy
for some reason while watching them it just became obvious that the lakers would destroy the Mavs without mercy in a playoff series
(assuming the injury bug is over, we need our top 2 rebounders back of course, and we need lamar to guard dirk)
if the mavs run into the lakers in the playoffs the mavs are in serious trouble
I’m not sure exactly why I became certain of this while watching the game, but it became cemented in my mind
and I’ve learned to trust my psychic instincts
—-
the mavs were really clicking on all cylinders last night though, fun to watch, now that the spurs have aged into their dotage, and that my psychic powers have informed me the lakers will kill the mavs in a playoff series- the only team I fear is the suns, now that Amare is back they could really give us trouble
Jan.19 at 12:42 pm
lifetimerule says:
he winston way to go with your crazy ramblings. you gotta be out of your mind and kidding as well
the lake show destroying the mavs in the playoffs?????
Jan.19 at 12:48 pm
winston and the telescreen says:
you shall see lifetimerule
you. shall. see.
Jan.19 at 12:58 pm
Dutch Rich says:
Hollinger is awesome. Sam, I would leave that grimey 30 alone for now.
Jan.19 at 1:00 pm
Duckets Ruckus says:
I don’t know what Winston is hiding in his Aquafina bottles but I fear he’s gone ovwerboard with the stuff.
Jan.19 at 1:08 pm
Sam Rubenstein says:
It’s tough to top the Hollinger rankings. He’s got computers doing it for him and they’re using user submissions for the write-ups. I’m in awe.
Jan.19 at 1:47 pm
gbaby says:
who cares that kobe missed his dunk hes still the most dominating player in the NBA…..what about wades shot…the layup behind his head…thats michael jordan material….hes the truth….
Jan.19 at 3:09 pm
Magic Chicken says:
I think your giving The Mavs too much cred, but that may be because I just read the ESPN “Daily Dime” (the espn rip off of the D.A.Y.), and they were saying how this game was a defining point in their championship run. O.K., I’m a die-hard Laker fan, and it hurts me to admit this even a little bit, but we’re not that good. Sure we woop all the big-boys asses when they’re not looking, but what exactly was everyone expecting last night from Kobe, and a bunch of role players/rookies (remember, Odom-Kwame-Mihm injured)? The Lakers play big games against big teams, but with a short-handed team u can’t expect much, and you really can’t expect much when it comes on the eve of back-to-backs against the best teams in the NBA. These “best teams” even have two of the best big-man, and who was guarding them? Oh that’s right: Brian Cook, Adrew Bynum, and Ronnie Turiaf. If I were to make any serious statement about this (or last night’s) game and its significance, I would say that its a sad sign that those “best” big men couldn’t score more against this skeleton of a team.
Jan.19 at 3:11 pm
Chris says:
Wade is definately leading the league in “throw the ball behind my head towards the basket without looking at the rim while jumping away from the hoop or doing a 360″ and 1s
Jan.19 at 3:12 pm
Maha10k says:
Don’t think it’s so far fetched that the full-strength Lakers could hang with the Mavs in the playoffs. It’d be a great series and it’s a likely second round matchup. Anyone notice how Jason Terry sticks his foot straight out when he drives to the basket. He kicked a couple guys in the balls last night. One play Steve Kerr says “look how he continues to elevate after the contact.” It’s because he’s climbing up Turiaf’s midsection!
Jan.19 at 3:24 pm
Sam Rubenstein says:
That Wade flip was amazing. There’s no way he thought that was going in when he did it though. If that was a pool shot he wouldn’t get to go again.
Jan.19 at 3:37 pm
namik says:
That whopping was painful to watch. No one made thier shots and Kobe tried to hold his inner “darth” inside but he finally showed himself in the 2nd half. Losing to Dallas in thier arena when they get like a million offensive rebounds and no body misses an open shot is not too bad. We still need to trade Luke”I must make 5 crucial mistakes every game” Walton. And there is a marked difference between MJ’s circus shots and Wade’s chuck ups. MJ usually planned the move, he didnt stumble around and throw prayers up. Still amazing shot.
Jan.19 at 4:22 pm
jbn74sb says:
Namik - The last thing we need to do is trade Luke. I can’t even believe you thought that, let alone wrote it. The reality is that he is hurt most by Lamar’s absence, as the other team is able to focus on him much more. Once Lamar comes back, the court opens wide up for Luke to do his thing as the opposing D has to double team Kobe and Lamar. The analysis that people make that don’t know basketball is mind-boggling. As far as the game last night goes, it is next to impossible to win the second night of road back-to-backs, especially against good teams. Even ignoring the fact that the Lakers are missing 3 of their top 8. (Everyone forgets that a healthy Mihm would have been the Lakers starting center to being the season.)
Jan.19 at 4:33 pm
winston and the telescreen says:
TRADE LUKE?!?!?!?!
you are insanse
Luke makes that team so much better when he’s out there,
I felt the same way about the rebounds and 100% from the field though, they were just on last night, and thats not gonna happen nightly in a playoff series, and with Kwam and Lamar in you can take 20 of their rebounds and put them in the Lakers column
Jan.19 at 4:39 pm
Kene says:
…hehehe…whiny Laker fans…i love it
Jan.19 at 4:41 pm
namik says:
First, I have hated Luke Walton for like 4 years. Second, stop getting so hung up on what commentators say on TV. Luke Walton is our 3rd option. That means in such situations, when Kobe or Odom get hurt, he must be the 2nd best player we have. I fail to see how we can hope to win a chip with a player whose only talent is overestimating his abilities and screwing up every 4th quarter. Yes he makes some good plays but he pretty much balaces it out by making some dumbass play that completely disrupts our momentum and then he compounds it. Your suggestion that he needs Kobe and Odom is laughable because that would be true for almost anyone. What is it that Luke can do when “the court opens wide up”? Shoot the 3? Maybe, he shot it well for a month out of the 36 he has been in the NBA. Pass? Any decent player in the triangle could. Create for himself? Hell no. Defend? No, cos he is too slow. Yeah he sounds exactly like a player we need.
Jan.19 at 4:56 pm
winston and the telescreen says:
you underestimate the passing within the triangle offense
maybe it is easy to pass
but most people arent willing to do it
other than his ugly tattoo
luke walton is awesome
he rebounds, he passes, he hustles, he hits open jump shots, he makes his layups-(I used to think layups were gimmes until the Kwame era)- not only does he make the normal passes but he makes the super sweet extra passes that result in Bynum and Kobe dunking and Kwame sometimes dunking sometimes missing lay-ups-
and smush has proved his ability to score, even with injuries walton can continue to be glue, he doesnt need to become a dominant scorer overnight—
mainly your ‘any decent player in the triangle could’ is laughable, because the triangle has shown itself to be not all that easy to execute, if it was everybody but phoenix would be using it, it takes years to remotely understand let alone perfect, luke executes the triangle, I love Luke Walton
Jan.19 at 5:02 pm
Darksaber says:
Sam, recalibrate all you want, but know this one truth of life…. MAMBIATCH!!!. Go Mavs
Jan.19 at 5:03 pm
jbn74sb says:
Namik - Sign up for a basketball camp and then come back to us. Luke is one of the best fits for the Lakers style of play in the league. And like all role players, of course he has his shortcomings. Those shortcoming are more exposed when Lamar is out and he is forced to do too much. Lastly, we (we as in the Lakers) are not contending for a ring this year, so stop smoking that stuff. But if and when we do, Luke will play a huge part in that.
Jan.19 at 5:03 pm
Darksaber says:
Flash is off the charts. utterly. what a b-ball specimen
Jan.19 at 5:09 pm
namik says:
No he WAS hitting open jump shots and that was the only reason he was a decent player. And he dosent make his layups either. He is no where close to Kwame’s level but he definetly misses a lot of layups. He’d be fine if he was like Bruce Bowen on the Spurs, who did the dirt work and let us win. Except he is like our Manu Ginobli. And he is a very very poor man’s Manu Ginobli. I will give him his passing, but can a player be on a team just because he passes even if those passes are “super sweet extra” passes, especially when he isnt even our PG? He cant really rebound on a consistent basis despite being 6′8-9. 12-5-4 in 33 is alright but we’re not going anywhere in the playoffs with this guy. Please dont cite Game 2 of the 04 finals because that was 1 game and he didnt do jack afterwards. Overnight? You think Luke Walton is EVER going to be a dominant scorer??? No that has to be mistake so I wont even argue on that point. Anyway, I dont want Kobe and Lamar’s prime years wasted by a mediocre supporting cast. 3-4 years and the window will be completely closed.
Jan.19 at 5:14 pm
namik says:
Jbn-Wake up and look around. We have the 4th best record in the L with Lamar out. I dont know what they teach in those basketball camps that youre talking about but last time I checked, thats a pretty good indication of a team being a contender. Luke would be a great fit for this team if he was the 7-8th guy off the bench. Not a goddmaned starter. Like I said, stop listening to Steve Kerr and learn to have some thoughts of your own.
Jan.19 at 5:36 pm
winston and the telescreen says:
lakers are a contender now, they can take out anyone in a playoff series (except maybe the suns) because now all the players are stepping up more so that Kobe doesnt have to do everything
dont forget, we have the ultimate playoff weapon to end all ultime playoff weapons, yes, better than MJ, not not Mamba
ladies and gentlemen, we have Phil Jackson
and this year the lakers are listening to him, he IS the ultimate playoff weapon, and relax Namik, kobe and lamar have more than a 3 to 4 year window, mainly because Andrew Bynum is 19!!!!!!!!!!!!!, if that boy can put some muscle on over the next 3 years we’ll have a less explosive but more intelligent Kobe paired with the brand new MDE, Bynum has the potential to be Russel/Wilt/and Shaq all rolled into one- I actually will feel bad for the rest of the leauge if Bynum doesnt get injured or lazy
Jan.19 at 6:22 pm
Kene says:
…Russell/Wilt/ and Shaq rolled into one??…Bill Walton, is that you?
Jan.19 at 7:28 pm
jbn74sb says:
Namik - what they teach in those basketball camps is the skills that make Luke a perfect complimentary basketball for a team like the Lakers. Nobody would ever suggest that Luke will be a dominant scorer. But just as Fisher, Fox, Horry, and Harper all contributed to the Shaq-Kobe dynasty, Luke will contribute to the Lakers future success. And, no, even as a diehard Laker fan, we will not win the title this year.
Jan.19 at 11:05 pm
namik says:
jbn-you just compared Luke Walton to Derek Fisher and Robert Horry. This discussion is over. And I didnt say they WILL win this year. But they definetly can be considered contenders.