Back to reality

April 3rd, 2008 Posted in Avery Johnson, Mavs Talk

Now that everyone has had a day to soak in and enjoy the Mavericks first good win in 2 months it’s time to get back to the current reality of this team. They’re still 1-10 against teams over .500. The Warriors were finishing a stretch of 4 games in 5 days against a brutal schedule. Dirk’s return provided a lift to this team that probably won’t be the same tomorrow night against the Lakers. And there’s still Avery there on the sideline and it remains to be seen what he’ll do in a pressure situation in a close game.

The Mavs now head out for a quick road trip to face the Lakers Friday night and the Suns on Sunday afternoon. Winning one of these games would show that maybe this team is finally turning the corner and gearing up for a playoff run. Win both of them and the Mavs would have to be considered to be right back in the championship picture.

But if they somehow manage to lose both of these games then last night would end up being nothing more than catching a not-so-good team on an off night. These guys have to carry any momentum gained from last night and take at least one of these games. Anything less would be a huge disappointment now.

And then there’s Avery. I’ll give him credit for finally giving Kidd the keys to this team last night and letting him run the show. It was also very refreshing to see Avery leave Dampier on the floor for more than 10 minutes in a fast paced game. And him downplaying the chances of Dirk playing throughout the day was  stroke of genius.

The question is if he will continue to trust his players in a stressful situation. It’s easy to sit back and let your all-star point guard run the show when you have a 20 point lead, no matter who you’re playing. But will Avery be willing to let Kidd have that same kind of freedom in a close game in the 4th quarter or will he revert to the over-coaching guy that sometimes seems to do more harm than good to this team? We’ll probably find out sometime this weekend.


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  1. 16 Responses to “Back to reality”

  2. By jr on Apr 3, 2008 at 11:12:54 pm

    The Little General has sucked the life out of the team. Only when he lets go is when they’ll consistently play up to their potential.

    Who owns the Suns? Nash/Stoudamire. The Spurs? Timmy. The Cavs? LBJ. The Lakers? Kobe. The Jazz? Deron…because even Sloan knows that it’s all about the players.

    So who owns the Mavs? Avery does…and that’s a problem. There’s not a player that the players really look to…not even Dirk.

    AJ wants AJ to own the team…and that’s a problem…a huge problem at crunch time.

  3. By Mav in Cali on Apr 4, 2008 at 12:52:05 am

    Finally, an article that speaks loads of truth that Avery needs to read!

    http://www.dallasbasketball.com/fullColumn.php?id=365

    Avery, repeat after me… “It’s not about me”

  4. By mike on Apr 4, 2008 at 2:26:50 am

    I’d be nice to see Dirk take a few more 3s; that was more like his game before Avery turned his attention to the post. And damn it, Avery needs to work Jamaal frickin’ Magloire into the rotation!!! Solid defender and rebounder, huge inside presence; taking Dampier out of the game won’t make that huge a difference if Magloire were to take his place for those few minutes.

  5. By mike on Apr 4, 2008 at 2:33:10 am

    As for the team’s style, I always thought of it as a mix of San Antonio’s grinding style, with pre-Shaq Phoenix’s up-tempo offense. Of course, that’s probably why they haven’t won anything… by adjusting to other teams :|

  6. By MFFL on Apr 4, 2008 at 8:40:48 am

    So, after reading the above article, I’m wondering, why didn’t Del Harris become the Mavs coach when Don Nelson left instead of Avery? More experience, better suited it seems, and I’m sure Avery could have used the extra years being an assistant and seeing how thing are correctly done.
    P.S. Btw, Magloire doesn’t play because he is not good. They need to sign Diop back again this summer when he’s free agent.

  7. By T on Apr 4, 2008 at 9:39:15 am

    I don’t want to see Diop back due to his lack of offensive ability. If you have Diop and Kidd on the floor at the same time the defense only has to guard three players. I would like to see Magloire play into shape next pre season. Magloire should be fine as a backup for 15 minutes a game to spell Damp.

  8. By WyldMavsFan on Apr 4, 2008 at 10:11:21 am

    Avery needs to start playing damp over 35min a game, b/c in the playoffs, he needs that guy on the court at all times, so he needs to stop taking him out when the team is on a run.

    Why does Avery always make a sub when we are on a run.

  9. By Kirk on Apr 4, 2008 at 2:00:00 pm

    Plus we signed damp to a contract that is outragious, might as well play him. Listen, I loved Diops energy, but he was 7 foot tall and had a real problem dunking the ball. One thing I will say about Damp is with Kidd feeding him more than 2 times a game, he sure is jumping higher and playing harder.

  10. By Ronald on Apr 4, 2008 at 2:34:41 pm

    Mav in Cali:

    Thanks for the article above… Pretty much summarizes and eloquently exposes what we’ve all been witnessing sitting on our couches… wonder why Cuban hasn’t noticed any of that with the better view he has…

  11. By selke99 on Apr 4, 2008 at 11:25:04 pm

    Mav in Cali, that was an outstanding article. Del Harris isn’t going to come back to the bench. It’s funny that the Suns trade to get Shaq might actually help keep Damp on the court if we have to play them. Remember when Mavs beat PHX on their run to the finals (I believe Stoudamire didn’t play the whole series due to injury, Mavs caught a break!), Damp didn’t play at all because he couldn’t keep up, which brings me to my next point…

    T, would you call Damp an offensive player before Kidd arrived? Damp was useless until Kidd starting setting him up! I would argue that Diop is actually more effective on offense than Damp because of his quickness, but Damp is more of an inside defensive and rebounding presence. That would be great if Diop could come back, he is the perfect replacement for Damp.

  12. By Eric on Apr 5, 2008 at 12:14:38 am

    I’m all for firing Avery now. I’m tired of his ’slow it down’ offense. I know everyone on the team is old now, but damn. Everytime we get a big lead, we blow it. Not because we’re old. Because teams know what the hell we’re doing. High screen and roll. Pick and roll. DUH! Come on Avery, change the offense up every once in a while.

  13. By Kirk on Apr 5, 2008 at 12:16:01 am

    Avery Johnson: Fastest coach to epicly fail in NBA history

  14. By bob on Apr 5, 2008 at 12:36:48 am

    Another loss because of Avery and Josh Howard.

    Avery shown he is the worst in game coach by having ERICK DAMPIER trapping Kobe Bryant 50 feet from the basket, and JHo showed he is the mentally weakest player in the league.

  15. By blah on Apr 5, 2008 at 12:45:12 am

    Back to reality - Avery chokes away another close game with his stupid rotations, idiotic defensive schemes, and completely predictable play calling.

    Most overrated coach in the NBA.

  16. By Mav in Cali on Apr 5, 2008 at 1:07:40 am

    Avery gets ripped a new one by Phil Jackson.

    I bet other teams love playing the Mavs because they already know exactly what they are going to do in every type of situation.

  17. By mike on Apr 5, 2008 at 2:32:41 am

    Agreed, bob.

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