1. The Spurs beat the Suns 4 games to 1 with a win last night. And thus one of the two interesting first-round series is over. Remember when people were saying this could be one of the best opening series ever? Idiots.
2. With the Boston Celtics up by almost 20 in the fourth, the other good series feels like it's losing its luster. I really hope the Hawks can pull out Game Six.
3. We only have to wait until Saturday for the second round to start with the Spurs-Hornets series, which makes the playoffs feel less stretched-out than usual. But the next day (Sunday) could feature a bunch of first-round Game Sevens. I'm sorry, but that's just weird.
4. The Dallas Mavericks fired head coach Avery Johnson today. The franchise has clearly underachieved in the postseason, especially since blowing a 2-0 lead in the 2006 Finals. They won 67 games last year, but lost in the first round. This season the team traded for Jason Kidd but couldn't recapture their elite status.
Until the bizarre story of a player-run practice after Game Four came out, I didn't think Johnson was on the chopping block. But at least the actual firing was entertaining:
Johnson got the news during a meeting at his condominium Wednesday morning. Donnie Nelson, the team's president of basketball operations, was there, while team owner Mark Cuban joined via cell phone from Chicago.
The Mavs come to your home to fire you? That's nice; you have to respect any organization with that kind of class. And joining in on a cell phone call sounds kind of, I don't know, tacky, not a word I'd ever expect to apply to a guy like Cuban (end sarcasm). Seriously, though?
I also love that even though Don Nelson's son is running the team, and even though the elder Nelson laid the smack down on the Dallas franchise a year ago, Dirk Nowitzki's still smack-talking his former coach like this:
'You don't basically want to go back to the Nellie days where we just run and gun and have fun, and you get scored on every time down,' Nowitzki said.
With the team they have in place, you have to wonder whether this is the first of many moves for the Mavericks.
5. But hey, Nuggets coach George Karl will be back.
Comments
There is simply no excuse for starting the second round when the first round isn't done yet. Does this mean that if the Spurs sweep the rest of the way they will have 4 weeks off before the Finals while they are waiting for the Eastern Conference champion?
The firing of Avery Johnson is classic, but he had to see it coming. The real problem with that franchise was the decision to build around Dirk. He clearly lacks the ability to lead a team in the postseason.
Great point about the Spurs. It would be hilarious if that happened.
I didn't really watch the Dallas series, but heard good things about Dirk and he had very good numbers (26.8, 12 boards, 4 assists). So I give him some credit. On the other hand, I do agree about him. The problem for Dallas is, how often does a player better than Dirk become available?
story?page=simmons/080501.
The Mavericks organization is a joke, from the GM who made that ridiculous Kidd trade to Josh Howard the self-proclaimed pot head, this team is headed in the wrong direction. I agree with John, Dirk isn't the leader that team desperately needs him to be. What's surprising to me is Kidd's lack of production and lack of leadership. I'm not sure if that's because Avery was holding him back, or if the higher-caliber western conference opponents are just exposing his weaknesses more.
I'm not sure how I feel about Karl being back. He says he will be more committed to holding his players accountable, especially on D. All I can say is that he'd better hold them more accountable, otherwise we'll have another disappointing one and done next year also.
I've always thought Kidd was a little overrated (a passer, to me, is not as valuable as a big-time rebounder or clutch scorer, and I've never feared his scoring), but I think his biggest problem now is age. It's tough to play point at 35.
I saw Karl's comments (which make it sound like he suddenly plans to take his job seriously...it's almost like he was trying to make himself look bad) but still wonder if he's the right man for the job. There's no one out there I'm dying to have us hire, though.