Comebacks and closeouts on the road. Not so easy.
Dirk stops thinking and starts shooting
One of the strangest puzzles of the world is the ultra cocky and confident elite athlete who shrinks on the big stage. These guys are worshipped from a young age. They dominate mortals at sports and get everything they ask for from money and favors to girls to male groupies that want to be them. Then when it comes to the big game, we have to wonder about if so and so can hit the big shot? Does he have what it takes? Is he scared?
Dirk finally did something clutch to keep the Mavericks season alive, but for the second game in a row it came when he stopped thinking and started shooting. He is 4 for 4 on threes over the last two games when you can actually see the hamster wheel stop turning in his head and he knows to just throw something up there because his team is behind and out of options. Why not do that all game long? The Warriors play that style, taught to them by Nellie of course. Back when Dallas first became a good team after being a league doormat since the beginning of time, it was because Nellie encouraged Dirk and Nash among others to play free and easy and not be afraid to just let it go. The year they got off to the 14-0 start, I clearly remember Dallas beating Jersey in a game when the Mavs had the lead late, got an offensive rebound and the proper play was to run the clock down. Dirk jacked up a three that nobody was expecting with 23 seconds on the shot clock and nailed it for the dagger. Think less. Shoot more.
Last night Dirk started out strong, then he kept missing little putbacks and open jumpers that he nails in the regular season, and for long stretches of the game he was just floating around the opposite side of the floor from where the ball was. Then at absolute desperation time, he hit those threes and made the key defensive play. Dirk, you are a killer. KILL.
As for the Warriors, they showed so much heart coming back from a 20 point hole. I would argue that Matt Barnes looked like the hungriest player on the floor. And I’m not just saying that because me and my friend were watching the game with a bottle of the goose that my old roommate forgot to take with him when he moved out. You’d think that a statement like that would be goose driven, but it’s not. The Mavs had their lead, the Warriors kept chucking threes and hitting them. Dallas did blow a 20 point lead against the Spurs in game 7 last year before Dirk made the three point play that was supposed to shut up everyone forever that called him soft.
I love this Golden State team. They just keep shooting threes, they’ve got exciting guys like J-Rich and Monta, some really bad tattoos, the polar opposition of Biedrins and Pietrus, Nellie and his feud with the increasingly annoying Mark Cuban, Baron Davis one of the most likeable superstars in the game, Chris Mullin as GM… what’s not to love? I am jealous of Branden from XXL and I wish the Warriors were my team.
The cold reality is that halfcourt execution at the end of a playoff game on the road is kind of important. The Warriors failed at that, and when you end up on the wrong side of a 15-0 run when the greatest upset in NBA history is right there for the taking, you have to wonder about how they feel about themselves. Baron picked up his 6th foul for trying to avoid Devin Harris and Stephen Jackson was tossed for clapping while being Stephen Jackson.
Dallas is the better team and they should never have been in this position. Let’s see how it plays out in Oakland tomorrow night. The fans there are a difference maker. The most recent example of rowdy fans in an NBA playoff series destroying the psyche of a superstar is in Detroit with Tim Duncan. Remember the game where Pop had to pull him and give Duncan a leg massage on the bench? We’ll see how Dirk responds to a crowd that doesn’t support him. I did not hear the Dallas fans chanting “M-V-P!” when Dirk went to the free throw line last night. Maybe I missed it, but that is a tradition you expect from the playoffs. Did I miss that? If so, blame Grey Goose.
In the early game, the Nets much like the Warriors, fell behind early with a chance to close out a series, made a shocking comeback, but could not seal the deal. The final possession came down to Vince attacking the hoop and then finding a wide open and ice cold Boki for the series winning three. It is smart to find the open man, and the proper basketball play. That is a shot that Nachbar can knock down with ease, and he would have become a New Jersey Nets folk hero if he made it.
HOW EV ER…
Vince, you are a superstar. You are a marked man in Toronto. The refs will give you that foul call and the game can go to overtime. At the very least, the reaction to the foul call would have been good for some rioting in the streets. If Nachbar was hitting his shot, fine. But he was 0 for 6 from three at that point. Great 30 point game in a hostile environment for Carter, but the imagery is too thick to ignore. For whatever reason, he didn’t want the responsibility of those free throws. Once again, the fragile psyche of the elite athlete. Or it could be over-analysis and Vince simply thinks “Hey, there’s an open teammate. I’m playing the right way.” Vince gave Boki a chance to be the hero, which is a lot to ask of a frigid ice cold shooter at that moment in time.
The Raptors and Mavericks got a call from the governor and have not been executed yet. Jersey and Golden State are both in the drivers seat, but they also both now have pressure on them to do it in front of their home fans. A loss by either one would be catastrophic, at least by NBA basketball standards.
It’s easy to write forever about the playoffs. But the most fun part for me has been sitting back and watching the Dallas-Golden State series. And sitting back is the wrong phrase, cause I am jumping up and down, throwing arms up in the air, yelling out loud, and so forth. It’s been everything that sports is supposed to be. Can’t wait until tomorrow night. The games tonight (DEN-SAN) and (LAL-PHX) should be entertaining, but they just don’t have that same emotional pull as #1 vs. #8.
41 Responses to “Comebacks and closeouts on the road. Not so easy.”
May.2 at 9:00 am
jaytrey says:
i didn’t get to finish the game last night, but when i woke up, the first thing i did was check the score. i almost had to close my eyes and peek through my hands to make sure that dallas did not waste their whole season. in a way, im glad dallas won because this is a type of collapse that a player/team does not recover from. esp a player of dirks caliber. we’ll have to wait and see if he can duplicate this performance in gsw…should prove to be another grey goose night.
May.2 at 9:35 am
Ryan Jones says:
You know what’s cool, Sam? NBA.com currently lists “No Games Today” on their schedule. You might want to forward a link to this column to the League office, just so they know.
May.2 at 9:36 am
Ryan Jones says:
Also, Vince took 18 steps on that last play. I counted.
May.2 at 9:52 am
1hush D says:
I am sorry for you Dallas lovers but you just don’ t understand this whole series. Dallas is done. GState will take care of business at home, like they have done for much of the season. I say that without even looking at their home record. You go do that and think about it. We have a reason to “believe” and it clashes with your hope for the Mavs and wish that Dirk would get nasty in the playoffs. We all know that Dirk shuts down at some point in the playoffs. He still may be, legitimately, the MVP. But the Warriors are taking it.
May.2 at 9:53 am
Joel O's says:
no games today? what happened to “40 games in 40 nights?”
May.2 at 9:54 am
Hightz says:
Wow sitting in my house having a couple of beers yelling and screaming at my TV….snackbar almost stoped my heart in the final seconds….GOD I LOVE THIS GAME…. game 6 is will be all about Bosh and the big rook i think they will come thru, and my boy Mo Pete finaly came around he is the only one to get under VC’s skin friday will be the biggest game in raptor history…. i think im the only Toronto fan that still has love for Vince but i gotta draw the line somwhere….. dude your time is up you gotta go, raps will win in 7
May.2 at 10:13 am
white hot eboy says:
It’s awful funny that the two games the Mavs “won” also included B-Diddy and Whoo being out of the games at the end. Both games at home, Dirk getting away with a BLATANT foul on a three attempt late in the game. Please, and I’ve been hearing about D-Wade’s foul shot fest last year!? It’s OVER tomorrow. Dunzo is the only word that can sum up the Mavs season. Join the Heat as the most dissapointing first round teams in many, many years.
May.2 at 10:15 am
Keith says:
What was up with the Dallas crowd last night? Dallas will get through the series and go on from there…people just need to believe.
May.2 at 10:17 am
bootlace says:
Its funny, if superstars dont pass the ball to an open teammate, they are called ballhogs and criticized for not trusting their teammates. If they do make the right pass, as was the case for Carter last night, then they are blamed for not taking enough responsibility and being scared to choke. I guess thats the burden of being a superstar….
May.2 at 10:26 am
Sam Rubenstein says:
Exactly bootlace. With great power comes great responsibility. (Spiderman in theaters Friday)
The Dallas crowd was right on the edge of turning on their team, if not for Dirk’s first big three.
May.2 at 10:31 am
Decs says:
Why is no one talking about Chris Bosh in this way? I like him and he is a great player, but he hasn’t really shown up this series has he….
May.2 at 10:33 am
J says:
Bosh is shook.
May.2 at 10:38 am
DubsGonDoIt says:
The Dallas crowd was booing their team fighting for their lives with 3 minutes left .. I’m not saying all of the Mavs’ fans are fair weather, but I thought that was pretty poor to boo your home team when they are playing their hearts out trying to keep their season alive. It will be a stark contrast game 6 in Oakland were the fans lose their voices cheering on the Dubs!
May.2 at 10:44 am
Keith says:
Like was mentioned the other day by someone (sorry if it was you Sam) - fans really CAN make the difference. The crowd need to get off of them, the Mavs need to start playing a bit looser, believing in themselves and they’ll be okay. They won 69 games regular season and they reached the finals last year, they gotta know they can beat teams.
May.2 at 10:45 am
white hot eboy says:
Bosh is young, untested in a playoff atmosphere and his team is just STARTING to jell. That’s why he’s not taking the hits that Dirk is. We haven’t been force fed that he is the greatest power forward of the generation (much like he’ve heard about Dirk) and he really doesn’t have the type of takeover mentality that the truly great ones have. I think the Nets run them out in Game 6 and Vince gets some validation and set’s up an interesting matchup with the Cavs. That may be an interesting 7 game series that no one was expecting.
May.2 at 10:51 am
Decs says:
Can you imagine if Wade, Melo or Bron had been flops in there first playoff games and getting away with just being ‘untested’ in playoff games? I have Bosh in with the the ‘Top 4′, and I measure him as I would the others, and he hasnt impressed.
May.2 at 10:58 am
allenp says:
Melo didn’t really dominate in his first playoff games. Hassell had him on lock his rookie year. Just thought I’d mention that.
May.2 at 10:59 am
white hot eboy says:
Decs, Melo was kind of shit$y in his first playoff series too! And if D-Wade didn’t have Shaq’s presence with him he wouldn’t have his ring at this point. Regardless of Shaq’s critics, he still makes things easier for wing guys. I’m sure no one thinks Bosh is a flop maybe just a little too overhyped.
May.2 at 11:00 am
Sesa says:
Stephen “Whoo!” Jackson have cost his team the game. Should he stayed, things will be different. Probably Dallas will win this series because of the Warriors constant emotional outburst channeled in a wrong way.
May.2 at 11:07 am
Decs says:
Yer true, but Melo got given shit then (at least from the people i know). And i guess i just expected more from him. 16 and 9 is not what i expected against a team whose only real post threat isnt actually playing.
May.2 at 12:16 pm
ALX8725 says:
Sesa, several factors “cost” the warriors the game. One of the main reasons was the stupid refs. First they call the no-touch Baron foul (when Baron was just tryin to pressure Josh on the inbounds) which led to Baron fouling out… and then NOT calling the assault and battery of Jrich on his 3 attempt to stretch the game? Stephen was ejected at a point where the game was SLIGHTLY within reach. Don’t be so quick to blame Stephen because if it wasnt for him, the Warriors wouldnt have even been in it.
May.2 at 12:25 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
1. Vince needs to take the ball to the rack in that situation. No question. He’s probably THE BEST at avoiding contact and getting to the rim. And worst case scenario, he gets fouled. I sent an e-mail to Lang right afterwards suggesting that Boki should suckerpunch him in the shower for pulling that crap. 2. Whenever I looked at Dirk last night, all I could think of was that some poor homeless man in Dallas was missing his beard. What do you got, Dirk? Mange?
May.2 at 12:28 pm
DubsGonDoIt says:
I agree with all of what you said ALX! I give credit to Dallas for Dirk making the 2 tres & Devin getting the and1 (although he did jump right into Baron who was jumping backwards). Plus, on J-Ho’s missed FT Barnes & S-Jax collaborated to knock the ball out of bounds. I give credit to Dallas, but put some $ in the refs back pockets because they wouldn’t have won without their assistance.
May.2 at 12:42 pm
ALX8725 says:
yeah, credit to Dallas for making plays when it counted… but those refs… the officiating has been WACK.
May.2 at 1:06 pm
Bimbo Coles says:
bosh definitely hasn’t produced well enough for the raps to win the series, but then again there were some bogus calls by bob delaney particularly in bosh’s way. if cb4 gets those calls, heads to the stripe 12-14 times a game, he’s a major factor. if he doesnt get called for mickey mouse fouls early in the game, he wouldn’t be relegated to the bench. but in all honesty CB needs to have a big game on friday for the raps to have any chance at taking the series.
May.2 at 1:17 pm
Dblizzy! says:
Sam i like you you overanalyzed VC’s thinking on that last drive, then immediately dismissed the notion as a possible over analyzation. The Mava- Warriors game was great. Barnes played great and i think he surprised a lot of people. I hope this turns into the classic “Break out playoff performance, turned multimillion dollar cotract, turned underachiever” cycle ala Tim Thomas and Jerome James.
May.2 at 1:21 pm
soyboy says:
does anyone notice dirk says, “obviously” pretty often in post-game interviews?
May.2 at 1:21 pm
Dblizzy! says:
Yeah the refs are buggin, that was clearly a foul on JRich’s 3. Then they anticipated the foul when Baron Davis clearly didn’t touch Howard. Then they just ejected Whoo for fun. I understand if a guy is disputing a call and curses at you, but these refs take this getting “shown up” crap too far. And Reggie Miller is the worst commentator on earth. Forget the fact that he said “throw the whole kitchen book” his voice is just plain annoying.
May.2 at 1:41 pm
K22C says:
Dirk is not an MVP caliber player….. he just showed up last night…. if Dirk gets it they my as well just give it to all of Dallas.
May.2 at 1:58 pm
Chris says:
I think Golden State winning would be amazing, not just for fans of the L but for the League itself. They are fun, exciting, and play hard. Plus they play pretty good defense (which kidn f surprises me for a Nellie team)
May.2 at 2:03 pm
john says:
what makes an elite athelete not shrink on the big stage is not his ego (or lack thereof), but a mental “center” - some trait that makes him/her believe that their worth is not based solely on whether or not they make the big shot. Some, like Kobe, have a drive and desire that supercedes anyone else’s expectations of him; some live only for fame/popularity/noteriety and some don’t care as long as they can cash in their max contracts.
Vince is a guy who has all the raw ability in the world, but has lagely coasted on his God-given talents. Can you imagine if he spent an entire summer working on his handle? Can you imagine if he worked at a 50% clip on defence?
Strangely, when Vince came in, he was the guy that tried to please and have everyone like him. Oddly, this was probably the best thing for him at the time. He called his coaches “Sir”, he listened to everything Butch Carter told him (i.e. “Go put a double-pump reverse on Rick Smits”).
But then he started to believe his own hype and became such a primadonna. Now he tries so hard to make ppl believe that he doesn’t care what they think, that he’s not affected or phased by it. Thing is - it’s obvious that he does care - he’s played pretty horribly in Toronto this series (b/c everyone here hates him). What used to be a strength for him, now that he’s denying it, has become a huge defficiency - not only in his game but in his personality.
That’s why he will never, NEVER be a champ. Did I mention that I hate Vince with every fiber of my being?
May.2 at 5:21 pm
jbn74sb says:
Sam - Great job on this. One thing - Baron picked up his 6th foul after trying to avoid Josh Howard, not Devin Harris. What was interesting was that Baron appeared to rush at Howard and was clearly going to foul him, even raising his left hand in preparation of doing so in an obvious manner. He appeared to realize at the last second that he had 5 fouls, and pulled back right before fouling him. Unfortunately, the ref was on the opposite side of the play, and his view was shielded from the area where the contact would have occurred by Howard’s body.
May.2 at 6:32 pm
Mehmet says:
Dallas fans were terrible yesterday. They still seem to take this series for granted. They weren’t cheering when they were up, they were completely silent when they were down. The only time I heard MVP chants for Dirk was when he went to the line with the score at 114-112. Dallas lost 3 games and their fans are still in awe when GS takes the lead. Wake up and get real!
May.2 at 7:06 pm
hollywud says:
its harder for bosh to have an impact bcause he starts down low and mid range where he gets double teamed and cant avoid it. bron and wade can dodge the dbl teams
May.2 at 7:25 pm
lil.baller says:
Im your biggest fan ever in your whole carrier
i hope you come back in the playoffs.
May.2 at 8:07 pm
Eoin says:
Hey what happened to that dude who used to say “Play wit it” in every comments section?I miss that dude.
May.2 at 11:00 pm
Drolfe says:
Yeah.. DP. He got a letter published in the latest issue. Jerk.
May.3 at 2:25 am
diababy says:
dirk is done. oaklands takin’ over
May.3 at 5:24 am
Darksaber says:
Danke Herr Nowitzki. And Baron? For that boneheaded play where you faked your face being smashedin by the lighter (but more cut)Jet? U get a serious reprimand my friend, what do you think this is, Serie A Soccer? Your Name Pipo Inzhagi now? Punk. Just play, leave the acting to Cruise, Pitt and co.
May.3 at 5:26 am
Darksaber says:
And the refs threw Baron out with 21 ticks to play, because the ANTICIPATED him fouling Howard, ridiculous call. They expected him to foul to stop the clock, but he clearly did not. That was something. And Whoo!! you are a dumbass, nice shooting though, hope you can’t keep it up for game 6.
May.3 at 5:39 am
robbie says:
are you a fool? “These guys are worshipped from a young age. They dominate mortals at sports and get everything they ask for from money and favors to girls to male groupies that want to be them. Then when it comes to the big game, we have to wonder about if so and so can hit the big shot? Does he have what it takes? Is he scared?”-
the worst call since it was directed at dirk. buddy, bad call