Dallas Mavericks' Fan Diary: February 11

February 11, 2010:
 
Dear Diary,
 
It's down right frustrating to be a Dallas Mavericks fan!
 
Everyone in Maverickdom is starving for a championship in Dallas, not a single day goes by that we don't salivate for it.  I just wish the players on our team acted just as   hungry.
 
With all NBA eyes on Dallas this weekend for the All-Star game.  Being shut in by the snow, I'm thinking back to the recent missed opportunities. 

 
January 13th:   A stain on Dirk's moment in Maverick history:
 
On a night were the brilliance of Dirk Nowitzki shone like the star that he is...
 
On a night were the American Airline Center was a frenzy party in waiting of Dirk's golden moment...

On a night when Dirk made Mavericks history by reaching the 20,000 career points mark... 

On a night when the Mavericks had the reigning World Champions Los Angeles Lakers in our house with star forward Pau Gasol sitting in street cloths due to injuries, and  their star guard Kobe Bryant on the floor in name only playing with injuries...

Dirk's team failed him again, his team failed all the fans witnessing his-once-in-a-lifetime moment, by not doing their best in securing the nights win.

January 17th:  The Mavericks under achieved again!
 
Mavs fans how many games have we seen our Mavericks let one go so far this season?  Too many. 
 
Granted even the Lakers can get beaten by the LA Clippers, so dropping one or two bad games over an eighty-two game season is acceptable.

 
What is not acceptable is...
 
The Mavericks give us this look at times like they should be contending for Lottery Balls, not a team battling for playoff position. 
 
Watching game after game has become very frustrating, the team has fallen into a predictable well rehearsed routine.  The Mavericks will dig themselves into a rut by lackluster starting, and quickly fall behind after the first minutes of the game.

Then they trail for most of the game till someone flips a switch, and the Mavericks start working themselves back into the game.
 
Then we see what looks like everyone climbing onboard the broad German shoulders of the Great Nowitzki as he shoots light-out in the fourth quarter to clinch the win.  But the games don't always end that way.

 
Rarely vocal Dirk called out his team by saying he can't do it every night by himself. 
 
I heard a commentator say that the Mavericks are too comfortable at home.  So are the Maverick players arrogant at their winning prowess?  Or are they just lazy? 
 
One thing for sure the Mavericks struggle to win at home, and they didn't use to be that way.  Are they thinking with the home crowd and familiar comforts that the wins are automatic? 

So I'm sitting here with my laptop watching the snow fall and I'm wondering, what will it take for the Mavericks to be the team that started this season?  You know, the one that beat the Lakers in LA,  and the Cavs in Cleveland.
 
Alright Mavs! enough is enough!  If you are going to be contenders, play like one!