NBA Playoffs 2012: The Mavs Feared the Beard, Go into Hiding for the Summer

When each Dallas Mavericks player headed home Saturday night and prepared for bed, he didn't cry himself to sleep because he just was swept by a better team.

The Mavs weren't punching walls in frustration after losing a 13-point fourth-quarter lead to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

When each Maverick closed his eyes Saturday night, he shivered in fear.

He shivered—because of an evil beard.

James Harden, if he hadn't already, locked up the Sixth Man of the Year award with his superman-like performance as the Thunder did something that hasn't been done in five years—sweep the defending NBA champions the following year in the first round.

Throughout Games 1-3, the talk for Dallas was how it was going to slow down the dynamic duo of Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. But the young All-Star point guard dominated from the field in the first two games, and the three-time scoring champ obliterated Dallas in Game 3.

Saturday night, however, the difference was Harden and his beard, a beard bushy enough to be a safe haven for three squirrels.

It was evident early how Harden's performance was going to go. He hit four of his first five shots while Durant and Westbrook struggled.

Then after the Mavs grabbed a double-digit lead with a terrific third quarter, Harden went to his left more times than the Democrats and completely dominated, getting to the rim with ease.

When all the dust had settled, the Mavs' heads were hung low in disbelief and embarrassment, while standing tall were the Thunder and an amazing basketball player:

With an amazing beard.

Alright, the Harden crush is over. Let's move on to the topic at hand.

This series summed up everything I've been saying for the last few months. Once again, and for the third time in this series, Dallas couldn't close out the Thunder. Every time the Mavs made a shot in the third quarter, it was almost as if it were fools gold because they knew the inevitable Thunder comeback was coming.

Oh, did it come.

OKC got whatever it wanted from the paint. Off the top of my head, the only points that were scored from outside two feet was the three-pointer from Durant that completed the comeback and tied the game early in the fourth.

Any other basket was more than likely a layup from Harden when he went to his left. If you were looking for anyone over 7' from Dallas who was ready to play the post, you would have come up empty.

I'm going to skip any possible analysis and let you all make what you will of what would be best said from an analytical standpoint. So let's go ahead and look forward to next year.

And it couldn't come soon enough.

The possible dream of another dominating dual-center combo has finally run its course, and this game proved that Mark Cuban and company need to use the amnesty clause on Brendan Haywood the minute they're allowed to use it.

Because if anybody in that organization truly believes that a man who can't catch a basketball to save his life is worth almost $60 million, someone may need electroshock therapy to see if they're still sane.

Ian Mahinmi is still a nice project in the making, and he can only continue to get better. He's worth keeping, as well as Brandan Wright. But the honeymoon with all the components from Washington in the Josh Howard trade may soon come to an end, and it better.

Dirk Nowitzki finally gets a chance to rest for an entire offseason. Obviously, this wasn't the best of years for the German god we all know and love. For his sake, it's a great thing that this year has come to an end.

As for the current core, there will be an extreme overhaul of this roster coming in July, starting with the fates of both Jason Kidd and Jason Terry.

Kidd wants to come back for one more year and play until he's 40 years old, but it's quite obvious at this point in his career that he can't be the starter. Which is the best explanation for why some guy named Deron Williams has been on the Dallas radar for almost a year now.

I hear he's pretty good, and I hear Cuban's looking to throw a ton of money his way this summer when he becomes a free agent.

As for the man they call Jet, it's a tossup. Not many people would mind if he came back for a couple more years, just because of his ability to provide instant offense. But there are two things he'll need to do if he wants to come back for another year or two in a Dallas jersey.

1) He'll need to understand that if the Mavs pick up D-Will in the offseason, the offense goes through Williams, and not himself. His tendency to make stupid decisions from a play-making standpoint have gotten on everyone's last nerves.

And what's No. 2, you might ask? He needs to shut his mouth.

Because after saying he's auditioning for 29 other teams, he better like what he gets and deal with it.

As the days go by, it's looking more and more likely that Dwight Howard won't try to find a way out of his current situation in Orlando, so bringing Superman to Dallas seems unlikely. Unless pigs start flying and the Mavs can land both Williams and Howard, it might not happen.

Bottom line: Dirk needs help this offseason. It doesn't matter if it comes in the form of Deron Williams and Dwight Howard or Javaris Crittenton and Kwame Brown. The man needs help if he wants to get one more championship.

His time has come and gone from being the No. 1 guy. He needs someone to be the second scoring option who can put up more than 20 points a game.

No one's job, except for Dirk's, is safe this offseason. Everyone should be getting some form of performance review and rightfully so. People will be gone, this team will be brand new and things will change in Dallas.

As for the Thunder, their beat goes on and now they receive a good amount of rest until they meet the winner of the Lakers-Nuggets series. And if Denver continues to give Kobe and company problems in Game 4, that rest may prove to be more helpful than we thought.

No matter which team gets through, no one should take OKC lightly. That may sound cliched and overplayed, but it's true. The Thunder are the favorite right now to get through the rest of the West and make it to the Finals. No team should be playing the experience card on them right now.

As for Dallas, the Mavs now go fishing for the summer looking for some immediate answers. The good thing is, they're not hard questions and can be answered when the opportunities present themselves.

But the lingering haunt of a frightening black beard will be the symbol of everything that is evil in Dallas until next November.

Enjoy your early vacation, Dallas. You deserve it. Did you feel the sarcasm?