How The Dallas Mavericks Made Me Look Like a Fool

How the Dallas Mavericks have made me look like a fool.

I've never been a particular fan of the Dallas Mavericks.

Perhaps it was because the competed with my Sacramento Kings early in the decade for the fastest offense.

Maybe its because I thought they were simply stupid in letting Steve Nash walk.

Could be because I was fully behind Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal in 2006, and the Mavs happened to get in the way.

Probably because I was told off my a teacher for making too much noise when the Warriors dispatched the Mavs in 2007. I love an upset (cmon Bulls!)

I never liked Dirk Nowitzki really. Or Jason Terry (likely because a friend never shuts up about him).

And yet, this year, I warmed towards them slightly. I've always been a fan of Jason Kidd. I've followed Jose Barea since one of my favorite writers mentioned him in her column two years ago.

Dirk Nowitzki didn't seem so annoying anymore. I put him in my fantasy team and he delivered. My respect for Jason Terry grew after watching him handle being moved to the bench with the utmost class and saw him flourish there.

I'm still not a fan of Erick Dampier. Or Ryan Hollins, but overall, I've let my grudge against the Mavs go.

But I still didn't respect them as a team. And they have shut me up.

I've included the Mavs in articles all year.

I wrote a piece on who was likely to finish in the 9th spot in the West. I voted for the Mavs.

I wrote a piece on how the Suns could easily overtake the Mavs in the playoff hunt with just two weeks remaining.

I mentioned repeatedly how the Mavs would never last against the Lakers.

I have said how they would not fare well against a Nuggets team...in the first round!

And here we are. The Mavericks have moved into the second round. Last time they did that...it was 2006. Detroit were a powerhouse, Tracy McGrady was spotted on a basketball court and Seattle had a pro bball team...things change.

The Mavs made a great late-season push (ironically, much in the same style the Spurs normally do)

They won 7 of their last 9, only losing twice in April. They surged up the Western Standings and grabbed the 6th seed, along with their 50th win, on the last night of the season.

A lot of people, even a week before the season finished, would have guessed the Mavs would have scraped themselves that high.

But they had drawn the San Antonio Spurs. No they aren't the Spurs we know and love, but they're still not too shabby.

I agreed with most that this would be a hard-fought series, which could even go to seven games, but that the Spurs would come out on top.

Wrong on both accounts. While there are still several series remaining that could easily go all the way, the Mavericks-Spurs matchup lasted just five games.

And they made it clear they are no joke. They are not the same team as last year.

It wasn't a Cleveland-Detroit type beatdown, but the Mavs did prove that they can play, and that they have the pieces to do it.

More importantly though, they showed they can do it as a team.

The Mavs have main men: Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry and Josh Howard.

Dirk scored 31 in game 5, but went over 20 just one other time.

Jason Terry didn't score over 20 in the series.

Josh Howard had 28 and 25, but also had 7.

It may seem like I'm trying to show these as negatives, but they aren't at all. It showed the Mavs can work together- Dirk no longer has to be everything on the offense.

The bench has shown major improvements, perhaps none more so than J.J Barea. He scored 50 points in the series while dishing 23 assists. And he did it when it was important, he is a great help for the Mavs.

Barea is able to come in for Jason Kidd, which leaves Terry at the 2 spot to help with the scoring load.

If nothing else, the series with the Spurs has been a massive confidence boost. And it is a huge achievement in itself, whatever happens with the Nuggets.

About that...

The Nuggets are rolling. Chauncey Billups was on fire against New Orleans. J.R smith heated up towards the end of the series. It was three's and alley-oops everywhere, they are rolling as well as any team in the playoffs right now.

Can the Mavs slow them down?

My instinct says not really...but I think we've learnt what happens when I bet against Dallas.

I do expect the Mavs to put up more of a fight than the Hornets. Denver is bound to cool off for at least a game or two. And as mentioned earlier, the Mavericks can now spread the scoring load.

Whereas New Orleans had Chris Paul...and kind of David West.

It was well documented how physical Denver was in their first round series. Expect some more of that. In the same way it helped to slow Chris Paul, the Nuggets will use this on Dirk Nowitzki.

The Mavs can bang around too though. Erick Dampier's game is mostly taking up space and making hard fouls. Jason Terry and Josh Howard aren't going to be pushed around.

Whichever team comes out on top, the Mavericks should be proud, and consider this a successful season.

They managed to keep their 50-wins-a-season streak going, they not only made it into the playoffs, but got a decent seeding and caused an upset. And they did this with one of their main guys missing 30 games.

No, they are not contenders and their championship window is closed as firmly as the Suns'.

But a year ago they had been knocked out by the Hornets in a more-than-embarrassing manner. It seemed like the franchise was dead-and-buried.

As much as a few months ago, many (myself included) thought the team was done.

Alas, the Dallas Mavericks made me look like a fool. They could easily do it again.