FireAvery.com - A Dallas Mavericks Blog

By Charles on Mar 2, 2008 at 3:53:24 pm

Avery Johnson is the worst coach in the league. He was foolishly handed one of the most talented teams in the history of the NBA, and he has turned them into middle of the pack mediocrity with poor roster choices, bad trades, and idiotic game decisions.He will do worse as time goes on, and Dallas will sink back to a second tier team that is sub .500 before Cuban realizes how bad he actually is.

By Kevin on Mar 2, 2008 at 4:05:14 pm

I think that’s a bit overzealous. Avery did make a couple coahing mistakes in the finals a couple years ago and last year his giving the players too much rest and jacking with the lineup in the Golden State series was critical and yes the Kidd decision in san Antonio was foolish if for no other reason it sends the wrong message to J-Kidd. However he’s a good coach, has passion which is important and connects with his players which is crucial. Firing him now would be foolish and saying he is the worst coach in the league is much worse than foolish. Give it time, at least one full season next year, and then revisit his ocaching abilities. Remember he was the fastest coach in league history to 150 wins. And I think he took a middle of the pack team and turned them into one of the elites. Nellie was a middle of the pack coach as evidenced by the Warriors. Nellie doesn’t care about defense, Avery does. That means something.

By VicInCa on Mar 2, 2008 at 4:39:07 pm

Avery is an excellent coach. He as made some dumb mistakes, but which coach hasn’t? He is a true leader and other teams, including Spurs fans, would love to have him coach their teams someday. Maybe the problems the Mavs have are not with the coach. Maybe the problems are with the players. Avery’s mistakes could be just an excuse for players who can’t get it done. But I guess its easier to put up a website like “fire Avery” than it is to create a website that says, “fire the Mavs”.

By Jarednow on Mar 2, 2008 at 5:48:05 pm

message to avery:
1) josh howard sucks now and is DESTROYING the mavs. STOP PLAYING HIM SO MUCH. Bench his sorry butt now!!!
2) after watching the lakers game and your lack of concern for your team getting raped by the officials…(Kobe shooting more free-throws than the Mavs team combined) it is obvious that you don’t care about your team. Get off your butt and start getting involved!!! Stand up for your team.
3) brandon bass is d-league at best. So stop playing him! given the choice between j-slow and brandon nobody, i’d choose neither. play with 4 players if you have to (put anyone else in until j-ho can get his act together, and bass actually makes a dang shot)….
4) stop playing j-slow!!! aarrrghhhhhh!!!!!
5) make dirk your star. make him score the points and take over games. As seen tonight vs the lakers, KIDD CANNOT WIN GAMES AS MANY DOLTS THOUGHT…He blew it. Dirk TOOK over (missed a clutch three but many the clutch three to send them to o.t..) HE HAS TO TAKE OVER, and bottom line is
6. YOU HAVE TO START BEING SMART, STUDY FILM OR SOMETHING, I HAVE NEVER SEEN A TEAM BE SO GOOD AND BECOME SO BAD, IT ALL STARTS WITH YOU, GET YOUR CRAP TOGETHER< THIS IS RIDICULOUS!!!

FIRE AVERY!!! CHAMPIONSHIP OR BUST. PERIOD.

(and for the record, we shouldve never let nellie go) (let paul take over)

By b on Mar 2, 2008 at 7:21:11 pm

The double team didt’nt come until 2 seconds left in the 4th. Nuff sed.

By Jarednow on Mar 2, 2008 at 8:27:13 pm

the mavs played lazy tonight. esp. j-slow (josh)…look, i used to think josh was good. i mean,i used not think terry was the weaker of the two. now, terry is showing up (somewhat) and josh has played absolutely terrible the past month or more. his shots are not falling, his defense isn’t there, and he just trots around like he doesn’t care. yes, this is the player, not avery, but for avery to give him pt is a bad move. this isn’t a “shooter’s slump”, something that he can work out of….we don’t have time for that crap. we need wins NOW. if you can’t produce and win games, don’t play ‘em avery. enough of the talk. we don’t buy it anymore. we see what you see. (i think)…honestly, as fans, we love our mavs, and it’s not fair to anyone to allow this nonsense to continue. take a cue from pat night and punish these guys during practice. stop being easy. get out there and beat it into their heads that if they don’t do it this year, YOU’RE chance has come and gone and so has the mavs….dirk, kidd, stack, etc. will never see a ring. bad coaching killed us the past couple of years in the PLAYOFFS. let’s GET to the playoffs and in the regular season PLAY like a playoff team-like the lakers (and the refs), the spurs and the hornets. And message to mark—get fined millions of dollars again like the good old days over refs. i mean, GEEZ mark, getting soft?!?! the refs are KILLING us out there with b.s. calls. get on it buddy! let’s see the passion again! has it taken an american airlines plane out of the nba? where’s the passion people?!?!? where’s the fire?!?!?! i wish we had artest at this point….coaching.

By Jarednow on Mar 2, 2008 at 8:29:07 pm

btw that’s “i used to think terry…” and Your, not you’re…sorry, but the terribleness i am seeing is making me stupid.

By Ross on Mar 2, 2008 at 9:08:50 pm

I think this is just silly… Why will you fire a head coach when he just led you to the nba finals two years ago??? Half of yall do not know what you talking about SO SHUT THIS SITE DOWN!!!!

By fuller on Mar 2, 2008 at 9:12:36 pm

If you Fire Avery, who do you suggest Cuban bring in to coach the Mavs,Don Nelson, Westphal, Jeff Van Gundy? I don’t remember any of these coaches winning a Championship. Avery did get them to the finals. Nelson and no other coach of the Mavs have ever done that. They also won 67 games last year. It ended in disappointment with the lost to GS but no other coach of the Mavs have ever done that either.
Coaches coach, players play.

The players need to do what they need to do. Josh Howard needs to work on his game. Whatever is bothering him whether its him now being the #2 guy or just going thur a bad spell he needs to get his act together.

I was down on Jet but since Kidd came he has been better. I still don’t trust him at clutch time.

I have never seen Dirk play with so much fire in eyes. Kidd seems to have lit a fire under him. Now all Avery needs to do is get the rest of the cast to play at their best. If that means benching Josh Howard or whoever is not giving 100% then so be it. YOU ARE WITH US OR AGAINST US. We want a Championship team not a Chumpship team.

By Jarednow on Mar 2, 2008 at 10:06:16 pm

well, i would say that don nelson is one of the greatest coaches in the history of the nba…top 5? 10? he destroyed our mavs last year with golden state, which if anyone needs reminding-was the biggest upset in the history of the nba playoffs…no, he didn’t win any with the mavs, but he handed avery his team that should have won. AVERY WAS OUTCOACHED against nellie. this wasn’t the players playing. this playoff series was nellie destroying anything that avery threw at him.

as demonstrated tonight, we are in dire need of a backup to damp…NOW. he played well, but after fouling out, we needed a big man inside.

right now we have to win games, and right now for avery, in order to win games, he needs to light a fire underneath everyone’s butt who wants to jerk around out there…josh…georgey….josh again.
the problem is, AVERY needs someone to get him going…josh is farting around doing jack crap because avery is doing same thing. and avery is giving him time.

the fact is, yes, avery had two teams the last couple years that had great regular seasons, but he has not been tested as a coach. so how can we say that he is great? he’s not. he hasn’t proved anything. and the thing is, right now, he is PROVING that he doesn’t know how to get his team to WIN, WORK, and THINK. the west is on fire right now and avery is getting cooked. the west wasn’t NEARLY as hot as it was when he was winning, but now, things are different. Avery, now is your chance to prove that you CAN coach, and adjust to what is happening. Prove that those two years weren’t fluke years. (yeah, you lost, but i’ll give you a little credit)…..win. win. win. win. win. geez. i wish i could call you and tell you as a fan to get raw with your team and rip j-slow a new a-hole.

By blugrylwpurred on Mar 2, 2008 at 10:11:31 pm

as a cowboys fan, i can’t say “fire wade”…but i can say “fire avery” because he makes extremely poor choices. besides gametime decisions, i wonder what is happening in practice? anything? the team is not playing like they used to. period. if the team doesn’t play well, fire the coach. it sounds silly, but that’s how it works. it’s the coaches job to make the players play, and right now they may not even make the playoffs.

By Reginald on Mar 2, 2008 at 11:31:12 pm

I feel that the roster decisions Avery utilizes during the games or poor to narrow minded. He doesn’t allow his bigs to play through points of games after proving they can handle the opponent. He allows Josh, Stack & Terry to float around the three point line, and fire away way too much. He has more than capable big men on the inside,but their game revovles around the outside shot over sixty percent of the time. For what it is worth J Kidd is a good player, but he cannot shoot or drive to the hole the way Devin Harris use to. He has not lost the last four out of seven by himself, but he has not been what Harris was. It appeared as if Avery coralled Devin because he wasn’t the player with the gifts that he possessed. My rant isn’t all about Devin, but it is pecuilar that once he left they have not won as much; and don’t give me the adjustment excuses because Kidd has been doing his thing way too long. I am tired of the excuses gives me some X’s & O’s that will help us win a game against the Lakers or the Spurs. If the Mavs are not very strong in the showing dept. come playoff time, then it will be time for The Little General to march on out!!!!

By Thor on Mar 3, 2008 at 10:27:20 am

Gee…publicity of this site will be great for team morale and focus.

Good job dumbasses….

By mark cuban on Mar 3, 2008 at 10:49:27 am

the samuel fields of the nba repeatedly refers to his championship pedigree with sa
let me remind the ****** generaL that sa won three times as many championships and counting without his arse than with him

By Will on Mar 3, 2008 at 11:14:35 am

Thor sore? Hey, I don’t agree with most of the scattershooting here, but I’ve got problems with Avery too.

And foremost among those problems, I’ve never heard him admit to a single mistake of his own. He’s happy to blister his players publicly, but when he (finally) gets some heat from fans and press… well, that’s “poisonous.”

By Rich on Mar 3, 2008 at 12:34:12 pm

You guys need to get over one game…he only took this team to the finals…who else would coach this team and be just as effective? Van Gundy? Skiles? Larry Brown? This team is unbeatable if all their players hit on all cylinders….Josh Howard and the JET have been up and down..if they stabilize..then “fans” like you will have nothing to complain about. Go Avery

By fuller on Mar 3, 2008 at 12:47:28 pm

Jarrednow.If Don Nelson is such a great coach and this was such a great team, why didn’t he get them to the NBA finals? Maybe it’s not the coach, maybe its the players. Don Nelson was coach for the Mavs for 8 years. Not one year did he get the Mavs to the WCF. Avery got this great team Don Nelson put together to WCF and Finals.

Rethink your stance?

By Stan on Mar 3, 2008 at 1:54:55 pm

Wow. I bet you guys also wanted to release Tony Romo as well? Dallas fans are “BANDWAGON-ED.” Every body was kissing Avery’s ass a few years ago, before Nowitzki and the rest of the gang choked in Miami. I hope they do fire Avery, then you morons can see how quickly he gets gobbled up by a team looking for a great coach. It’s the players not the coach…look at Phil Jackson.

By Matthew on Mar 3, 2008 at 8:30:23 pm

The reason Avery led the Mavericks to the finals is because he inherited a team that had the telent to do so. Most new coaches get a team that has been terrible and the last coach got fired. Not Avery. He got a team that was about to do great things and because of Cuban and Nellie’s problems with each other Nellie left and Avery got to take them there. Since then Avery pushed them to win 67 games, which was great, but then let Nellie get into his head and changed the lineup in game 1 of a playoff series that they should have won. Now with the Kidd trade the Mavericks have a point guard who can take over and be a coach on the court but Avery wont let it happen. Avery is such a control freak that he would constantly be yelling at Devin Harris and look at what he did last night 4 of 8 from three. When in his time with the Mavericks did Harris ever take 8 threes in a game? Never because he never got the support from the coach and had absolutly no confidence in his game.
I have been against Avery since the begininng because he has always been overmatched as a coach and never been able to make in game adjustments or make something happen for the team. Just look at his go to offense. All he calls is isolation plays for Dirk of Josh. Now that you have one of the best point guards ever to play the game why dont you let him run the pick and roll with Dirk? The fact that his ego and always wanting to be in control of the team is getting in the way of the talent of the team is frustrating me to the point where is I saw Avery in the street I might slap him in the face.

By Paul Westphal on Mar 3, 2008 at 9:19:00 pm

The team would be much better if I took over as coach.

By Matthew on Mar 3, 2008 at 9:28:46 pm

Del Harris would be better. Sorry Phil.

By Jarednow on Mar 3, 2008 at 10:01:25 pm

fuller- don nelson has over TWELVE HUNDRED wins. count ‘em. avery doesn’t even have 200. He’s coached in over FIFTEEN playoffs over the years. In case you forgot he also won a Gold medal with the usa team????
and in cased you missed it, like i said, Nelson outcoached avery’s mavs last year for the biggest upset in nba playoff history. what’s there to rethink? so avery has never coached a winning team in the nba finals, neither has don. hey, last time a checked, getting your butt handed to you by one guy (dwayne wade) isn’t something avery wants on his record. he lost.
it’s already been proven that don is a better coach than avery. anyone who says otherwise eats dumb pills.

By Jarednow on Mar 3, 2008 at 10:07:20 pm

and to the duder up there-
yeah, if ALL our players were firing on ALL four cyliders we’d be unstoppable. yeah, so would most teams…
and this is the nba, other duder, this isn’t what have you done for me 3 years ago (again, WE LOST PEOPLE!!!!) it’s what have you done for me lately?

!!!!!!!what don’t you people get? Avery doesn’t get bonus points for getting us to the finals and LOSING, and getting dominated again last year!! HE LOST!!!!! WE SHOULD HAVE WON!!! NO POINTS DUDES!!! MMMKKAYYYY???? !!!!!! i’ll say it again, AVERY STUNK IT UP SINCE HE’S BEEN THE COACH BECAUSE HE CHOKES AND CAN’T WIN THE FINALS!!! THANK GOD TO THE PERSON BEHIND THIS SITE BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT THIS YEAR IS!!!! STINK IT UP AGAIN- YOU’RE FIRED!!! WIN THE FINALS IS THE GOAL, NOT LOSE!!! MMKKAYYY????!!!

By Jarednow on Mar 3, 2008 at 10:20:30 pm

jazz go on a 14-0 run, dirk gets td up, 3 minutes left in the game….now you call a time-out? good job yet again avery. terrible coaching.

By averyisntmyhomeboy on Mar 3, 2008 at 10:34:13 pm

wow another loss by a top team in the west…what’s that? 5 in a row now? each game terrible coaching was on display.

By captainjack on Mar 3, 2008 at 11:47:16 pm

As the bible and the Byrds said, there is a time to plant and a time to reap and a time to live and a time to die. I think it is time for Avery to go. This opinion became firm in my mind as soon as Doug Collins said “Kidd is not on the floor” the other night. Avery Johnson may have inherited the best team any new coach ever had so the early success must be somewhat mitagated. He may have been the right hire at the time but not now. It is similar to talking about Steve Nash as MVP. I love Nash but people forget his trade to the suns coinsided with the emergence of a pre knee injury Stoudemier on a already good team. Nash is great but MPV? Silly. Avery may have been the best person at that time but now he needs to go. In my 40 years of playing and coaching bb (I am 50) I have seen it a million times. A guy who has not got playing out of his system (some never do) and wants his player to be a clone of him. (impossible) If your son was good enough to make it in the NBA as a point guard would you want him to play for Avery? Trick Question. A year ago 90% would say yes. My answer now is no. It is obvious he overcoaches and at times I felt sorry for Devin Harris. Avery hounded that man to the point where it was possible to feel sorry for a millionaire who makes his living playing ball. Remember when the mavs hired another “can’t miss” coaching prospect? His name was Buckner and I don’t think he coaches any more. Am I saying Avery has “Bob Knight” desease as bad as Buckner? Of course not. But he is too much of a control freak for a veteran team and a veteran point guard to swallow. I am 100% in favor of the Kidd trade. Devin is quick and talented but as a starting point guard in pro ball he will never be above the middle of the pack. He would be fine as a 2nd point guard or devensive specialist to come off the bench for a championship team but not a starter. Avery would not have been either had he not had Duncan AND Robinson, 2 of the top 6 big men of the last 20 years on the same team. I think Avery is a college coach. They can win it with Kidd. But I want to come back to this and make another point that is connected to this.
As far as I am concerned the Mavs have already won their championship when they beat the spurs. The Mavs were far superior to the heat and Dickie B gave the series to the Heat to get even with Tony Cubes for bitching to the league about the officiating. This is the elephant in the room. It is self evident. It goes on to this day. You can’t beat the lakers or anyone else if 1 guy goes to the line more times than your entire team. This includes guys named Bryant, Wade, James or Cobblepot.
Kobe gets continuation on fouls that happen (and some that son’t happen) before he catches the ball. Dirk gets Squat in comparison. If the officials don’t call the game at least close to straight up it don’t matter who the coach is. And it don’t matter who the players are. They are the best in the world and too close in talent. Cubes knows this, he is too smart not to, but it is an inigma. Especially since I can’t spell conumdrum.

I am retired military and have been all over the country. We have some of the best sports guys in the country here in the Metroplex including Hanson, Cooperstein, Norm H., Galloway and others. But they have their dream job and they sure as hell are not going to screw it up by reavealing the truth about what the NBA has become. The WWF. No I don’t want to get rid of Cuban as the owner. I love Cuban. But the refs don’t and that is quite plain. The fact is that money has obscured the game. I lived in Boston for 18 years and loved the Celtics until they blew up boston garden and abandonded the celts. I became a Mavs fan in 1992 when Uncle Sam sent me to Texas. (I loved it so much here I stayed when I retired 10 years ago). But those Garnett and Jesus Shuttlesworth trades to Boston do not pass the smell test. Gasol to Lakers does not pass the smell test. The NBA desperately needed a competitive franchise in Boston so they made one. Ditto for the Laker with the laughable gasol trade. Especially in light of the shootings at the 07 all-star game and the gambling ref. Does any serious bb fan not see that split screen that is coming when the playoffs start? Magic vs. Bird all over again. Vince Macmahon could not have done better with a million marketing degrees working for him. But it stinks. It is not sports and it is not legit. They need another Jordon and they will take whoever to do it. It has been tried with Wade and last year with “King” James. They have always wanted Kobe to be it but his Colorado problem and his running the most dominant big man of the era out of town could not be sold as sportsmanship. I saw Bird and I saw Jorder in their Hey day. It is more than physical talent. It is this totaly unique talent coupled with the heart of a croc. Not just the willingness, the the lust, the desire to tear out the opponents heart and feed it to him while it is still beating and you cannot teach it. Can any of you ball fans tell me when a worse team than the cavs (and I am originally from Cleveland) were in the Finals? Hell no because it has never happened. Good for the league though. Lebron seems to be a wonderful young man. he has a great personality and is and wonderful skilled/power player. but now matter how much ESPN hypes this kid, He is not going to be Oscar or Bird or Jordon. None of those guys were showered with cars and girls at the age of 13 or 14. They developed a hunger he can never develope. And what about the gambling ref? Why do we not hear about it any more. And why is “Bugsy” Stern to enamoured with Vegas? Yeah, I know. I have heard the sterotype crap. Young Blacks millionaires who dominate the league want to go to Vegas for lots of reasons and middle aged white guys like me just don’t get it. I get it. But I also know you can’t have a legit sport with even the appearance of being in bed with gamblers. We have more than an appearance here. We have the most underreported sports story in history. The gambling ref. He got out of the papers and off the air. Wonder whats up will old Tim? Hmmm. So the fact is that until the NBA stops being as fake as the WWF and until we hire straight refs and take the game away from the players who are well compensated for playing a childs game and give it back to the fans, you have squatola. Again, without addressing these issues, it don’t matter who the coach is.

But I digress. To finish my Avery thought. Don Nelson has proved time and again that he can improve a team but not win it all. Nelson is a great GM but just a good coach. Improving your teams winning percentage by trick match ups and small ball is like the atkins diet. it works at first. You lose 30 pounds and gain 60 when you come off it. And nobody has ever got past the second round with small ball. So I can see why Cuban let him go. But it is time for Avery to go. The Mavs have at least 2 guys who are better coachs that are already drawing a paycheck. And please don’t give me the race boloney. I think Avery Johnson is a wonderful man and a straight up guy. But he can’t be Popivich any more than Harris could be Avery (especialy without Duncan and the admiral). And he has got more out of what god gave him than damn near anyone I have ever seen. But I honestly think his true talent at this point is coaching on the college or High School level. Whoever started this site, you owe me one. Cause this will stir em up. Capt. Jack Aubrey

By MMKKAYYY????!!! on Mar 4, 2008 at 2:39:23 pm

We? when did you losers join the mavs? You’re just fans…albeit Bandwagon fans, but fans none the less. You don’t get to suit up, play in games, travel with the team, pick up chicks at Cuba Libre, etc. That being said, I’m sure Mark Cuban is listening to all your suggestions…I mean you were the same dopes that were crying when Nash left citing the fact that the Mavs would never be the same…well, they ended up in the finals, somewhere Nash has never been. So keep posting crazy assumptions and opinions about Avery and crew from your mom’s basement…I need a good laugh. I’m sure you’ll all buy Western Conference hats/tees/bumper stickers/window flags when the Mavs get back there all the while taking credit for always supporting them.

By averyisntmyhomeboy on Mar 4, 2008 at 2:51:42 pm

yeah…could anyone imagine avery coaching talented, older players like tim duncan, paul pierce or….jason kidd? avery is a college coach at best. and even then i don’t think he has the talent to do that. the mavs had a great team the past couple of years. That’s why they won in the regular season. Coaching blew it in the playoffs. look at the teams that have won the finals the past few or so and their coaches. Pat Riley, Greg Pops, Phil Jackson, etc. It takes a great coach nowadays. I really am sorry, but Avery just isn’t one of them. And the thing is, our talent is being wasted. Absolutely wasted. We have the MVP, one of the best point guards to ever play in Kidd, and a decent combo with jet and jo-ho. There’s no reason why would should be getting beat by the likes of the jazz or the hornets. we should be dominating, but

poor coaching decisions during the game has cost us in “those so close” games. Coaching decisions.

By averyisntmyhomeboy on Mar 4, 2008 at 2:53:05 pm

mmmmmkaayy?? we ended up in the finals but lost in the finals…as jarednow said,
no brownie points for being losers in the finals.
mmmmkayyy?
what’s with that? dropped on your head or sumzing?

By averylostinthefinals on Mar 4, 2008 at 2:55:53 pm

i lost in the finals. i didn’t win.
see herm edwards video on youtube….
“We play to WIN the game….”
that’s what sports is.
my name is avery, i lost.

By dallasfanboy on Mar 4, 2008 at 3:00:17 pm

wait a second but member when we lost in the finals to the heat? a team that has become the laughing stock of the league?
we made it to the finals! we lost!
give avery some credit, i mean, we did Lose in the finals. all the other teams lost before we did. and we lost last! can don nelson every say that? huh? leave avery alone, he took us to the finals and lost. the ultimate goal in the nba is to lose, so he did that for us!
so if we fire avery we might win in the finals, we don’t want that, we want to lose like we did that other time. don nelson never lost in the finals but avery did.
i love avery. if we make it to the finals andn lose i’ll be happy cause i’ll still have my western conference winners t-shirt for me and my boys.

By MMKKAYYY????!!! on Mar 4, 2008 at 3:08:06 pm

Yeah, it was the coach who missed a key free throw in Game 3 during the Miami series that would have put the game away (Dirk), it was the coach who got out played by Undonis Haslem during their 4 loses in a row (Dirk), it was the coach who disappeared in the 2nd half of every playoff game last year (Josh Howard), it was the coach who couldn’t post up/take advantage of Baron Davis, Monta Ellis, Stephen Jackson (Dirk), it was the coach who proclaimed “it’s pretty much over,” when losing to GS for the 3rd time (Dirk)…AVERY YOU SUCK!!! You ain’t my homeboy either fool!

4-4 with Kidd? They should just call it quits…season’s over.

By Kevin on Mar 4, 2008 at 5:46:08 pm

Come on people. The Mavericks just proved over the last week that they can hang with the West Elite, on the road. The Utah game was a bit shaky but they were in it late. The Mavs have 9 of 10 coming up at the AAC. They get the Celtics, Spurs and Lakers here during that stretch. And later on they get the Jazz here and they have 2 games remaining against Golden State, one at home. They are still integrating Kidd, it’s like a mini training camp. All in all I think things are looking good for the Mavs. They should finish no lower than fourth in the conference. The thing they need to do is learn to win on the road and finish off good teams which I predict they will. The Mavs will be firing on all cylinders heading into the playoffs. They will compete for the Western Title. They may not win it because so many teams are equally as good this year but they will be a very tough out in the playoffs. And by the way Josh Howard is still trying to get his game back after a fairly serious back injury.

Please people, Please come back off the ledge.

By adyer on Mar 7, 2008 at 6:10:47 pm

So far a terrific site (3/7). Can’t say I’m an advocate for firing Avery (yet) but you’ve got good content and are in my bookmarks.

By Greg on Mar 8, 2008 at 12:42:32 pm

Bring in the one and only Bobby Knight. Enough said.

By captainjack on Mar 8, 2008 at 10:53:37 pm

Yo, MMKKAYY, It’s about that orange thing about the size of a moderate pumpkin. It is about bringing a first world championship to Dallas (in my mind their second) It is not about exotic dancers, high priced call girls, drugs, night clubs, high stakes gamblings. etc. If your jones is that bad perhaps Mr. Cuban will sell you all the used Jock Straps so you can sniff to your hearts content. And Greg, Bobby Knight? Nuff said. I would have bet someone that out of touch would be unable to log on to a computer. Let’s talk about something important. Let’s talk about Dirk becoming the all time leading scorer. And hey MM–He did it without 1 single sexual assualt charge! Without ever getting into a fight in a titty bar! Without being on U-tube smoking crack! He did it by being a Gym rat and working his tail off and I for one got a tear in my eye when he did it and the crowd showed him the love. I might add that the fellow he took the record from did it the same way. 2 class acts. It was possible then it is possible now. Ro & Dirk are the proof, Congratulations to both!!!
And hey Avery. I like your comments about the team. About the pacificer, etc. But it was misdirected. The comments about the “new people” making mistakes. Even Greg, who obviously misses the point would know that “new people” mean Jason Kidd. The problem is that my eyes have seen Jason Kidd busting his backside on D on every play. My eyes have seen Kidds presense make our center much, much better. (can you put a price on that) Damp is getting the ball in a position where he can do something on offense and it is obviously transfering energy to the defensive end. Damp will never be Bill Russell or the admiral (both cat quick lefties) but jeeze, Damp is challenging jump shooters and playing with a passion I have never seen. Stack is using his toughness and leaping ability to play better D and it is obviously Kidd making this happen. Did I mention that Dirk looks like the reining MVP again (even if the refs don’t seem to realize it). Again, a good player makes others better because they get double teamed and leave others open. A great player makes his teamates better by his presense on the floor. And Avery, I am sorry dude but it is not about you. As long as it is legal, the end does justify the means. This is ballin. It is not religion. It is not nuke security. It is not airport secruity. It is ballin. yes, defense if very important. But if Mr. Kidd or any of these grown men blow a defensive assignment 1 time, or occasionaly, he is not condemed to hell under the book of popivich chapter 1 or Avery 3:16. Calling a time out 40 seconds after you we just huddled up to make a minor adjustment to “show em who is in charge” is out dude. It is just not necessary. You need to get out your old Beatles cd’s Avery:

“while you see it your way, theres a chance that we might fall apart before to long, we can work it out, we can work it out we can get it right or say goodbye”

The hardest position to fill on a championship team is the 5 and the second hardest the 1 and the third the 4. With Kidd, Dirk and Damps play with Kidd on both ends, we have it. Stack can be counted on. So who is left? JOHO and JET. the 2 and 3 guys. That is who needs to put the pacificer down. If you are a JET then use your speed on D and get your points in the flow of the game. Jason will hit you. And JOHO. It is time to stop pouting about your (on and off the court)running buddy getting traded. This is about the team. You have the best NBA body on the team to dive cut, run the floor and take advantage of Mr. Kidds leadership and talent. This same body should be a “bowen like” terror on D with the opposing 2 and 3 players. Both of these things are not about your body but about your head. Get it out of your butt! If not, As I say, 2’s and 3’s are the easiest things to get. And these and all the other 2 & 3 men (sans stack who gets it) on the Mavs are the folks Avery need to be addressing his “pacificer” and “time for excuses are over” comments. Am I saying Kidd is perfect. heck no. He is throwing the ball away too much. But playing together is the only thing for that and can’t you see that your team now moves the ball better than any team in the league? You have time dude! Peaking early has killed your teams. It’s ok to peak as you enter the playoffs. Ask the New York Football giants. (whom i hate) Lighten up. I honestly think the mavs can win it all this year if the officials give them a close to square deal. Anything to avoid “bugsy” Sterns burning desire to show Garnett and Kobe on a split screen and compate them to Bird/Magic and Russell/Chamberlain. Please don’t make me have to cheer for the spurs again. Please limit the ego Avery. Dallas loves a winner more than any city I have ever been in. Bring a title to Dallas and you are set. Swallow hard and give the ball to Kidd. Go Mavs.

By MMKKAYYY????!!! on Mar 9, 2008 at 9:51:29 am

Yo, Captain Yack..it’s about the players. I guess Phil Jackson is a great coach huh? Stopped doing with Shaq gone and now he’s doing it again with Gasol and a developing Bynum. I guess Pat Riley now sucks as a coach/GM now huh…I mean his team is the worst in the league. Coach Dantoni has suddenly stopped his genius offensive schemes now huh? Oh and Jeff Van Gundy…don’t you near sited fools see that his team is doing better without him.

Captain Yack…you’re my hero..you’ve changed my mind..Avery should be blamed for everything and given credit for nothing..this is still Don Nelson’s team afterall.

It is about the orange pumpkin.

“Please don’t make me have to cheer for the spurs again.” Your quote says it best for a “typical” mavs fan. Jump on the band wagon and then distance yourself the moment turmoil hits. Go mavs!(….unless they hit a 3 game skid again)

By captainjack on Mar 10, 2008 at 12:40:42 am

MMMM,

I bet you had to take ridelin as a child. You sure as heck have a problem understanding things and paying attention, even when it is written down. Perhaps I was not clear as I assumed folks who spend time on this site, actually know something about the game beyond the Hyperoble of Sportscenter. I never liked Phil Jackson as a coach. And I don’t like Riley. I AGREE with you about Jackson and the Shaq/Gasol comment (and Jordon, etc).
Riley had teams in LA that would have been a contender if YOU coached them. He also made sure the refs were afraid of him. The year miami “won” it, dickie b was the MVP. In a recent poll, Riley was the coach the players in the NBA LEAST wanted to play for. I like Avery more than either one. But unlike college, NBA players stay around for awhile and a coaches rheortic becomes stale. It does not mean the coach is a bad coach or a bad person. Avery was fine at first. he did the bonding thing going over to Africa to Djop’s people and helping, etc. Brilliant stroke. But it has passed. You cannot catch lightning in a bottle. And you can’t put the Jeanie back in. If he don’t go now he will go in the off season. He sure as hell is not the coach for Jason Kidd. Did the Mavs and Avery and Mr. Cuban jump through all those hoops of fire to get a 36 year old hall of fame point guard so Avery could micro manage and “avery” him to death? Hell no. Avery is a “system” coach. Using the “system” he got from Popovich. The cornerstone of this system is a hyper-devotion to the defensive end (system). And that works great with David Robinson and Tim Duncan to funnel the ball toward, two all-time GREAT defensive big men who also show up sober and in shape and cause no off court problems. (can you imagine Mono Ginobli running Duncan out of San Antonio to feed his own ego like Kobe did?) It is the same principal that sayes Jackson’s childishly simple triangle ofense works great, when you have Michael and Kobe to drive the bus. Pop’s system is wrong for this team, particularly with Kidd. That is what I am saying. The NBA is about the players? You are right there to. But it should be about the fans. It should be about athletic competition and sportsmanship and achievement through hard word. But it seems to me it is about tee shirt sales, shoe sales, Las Vegas, gambling, tickets average people cannot afford, video games, rap music, etc. You see, it is no longer about WINNING. About paying yur dues, working hard, and winning the trophy for your city and your fans. Tim Duncan is the winningest player in the league. But he wears short sleeve button up shirts and is a solid citizen and thats not sexy enough to sell. Mono was not on the all-star team. This is silly. Parker married a glamorous t.v. star but he has class and is rarly seen at a party with puffy. All these boring people do is win. Fortunatly we have a guy named Dirk who is cut from the same cloth. So we have a chance to win. Look at Lebron James. I have not checked but I bet during his time with the cavs they are not even .500. King my ass. As another poster say in quoting Herm, “you are susposed to win the game”. It is not about how man dunks you have. Vince Carter is the biggest loser to come along since Bob Mcadoo. McGrady seems to be doing o.k. now but he is another loser. He has more physical skills than Jordon but is not competitive and not interested enough to win. the jury is still out on Lebron but I suspect it is true of him also. This may not be his fault. People have been codling hinm since he was 10. Jordon was cut from his H.S. team and Bird worked on a garbage truck. Wilt carried bags at Kutchers resort in the catskills IN THE OFF SEASON. Makes you hungry. Whoring and gambling and disrespecting women are not susposed to be part of the game. Finally, although you won’t get it this time either, My “don’t make me cheer for the spurs” comment was in response to the fact that I believe trades of a very dubious and possible illegal nature went down to strengthen the Celtics and the Lakers and to some extent the Cavs, TO HELP THE LEAGUE, T.V. AND PERHAPS TO SPUR GAMBLING, ETC. The trades, and the gambling ref being quieted up so fast do not pass the smell test. Therefore, IF, I say IF the Mavs were no longer in it, I would have no choice but to support a team that I considered legit and deserving. And that would be the Spurs, or the Pistons (Dumar’s is the definition of class and doing it the right way, although it is difficult to root for Wallace who is probably the biggest idiot in the league).

I honestly believe the Mavs can win it this year and be in it the next 2. But only if Avery loosens up on the “system” or he is replaced with a coach whose nickname is not “general”. Since this nickname has only been used for Bobby Knight and for Avery. The Mavs as currently constituted need for Jason Kidd to be “the general” or they will lose. That is why I came to this site and that is why I post here. Thank you for the interesting debate.