The Mavericks got destroyed by Phoenix last night, 106-86. It was really worse than that; you don't see garbage time in Conf Finals very often, but we did last night.
The Mavs played their worst playoff game in years, with almost nothing going right. No one shot worth a flip, esp the usually deadly Dirk. No one could handle the ball - the Mavs committed 14 turnovers. No one rebounded, no one drove the lane, no one seemed to hustle, etc.
Phoenix, on the other hand, could seemingly do no wrong. All kinds of crazy shots were falling for them (which is not that unusual - those guys can shoot the basketball), Raja Bell (yes, the same Raja Bell who spared everyone to death during his years as a Maverick) made a triumphant comeback from his calf injury. Everything Leandro Barbosa threw up went in. The Suns played some effective defense (the earth stopped revolving on its axis for a moment, as well). And on and on and on.
I don't want to sound like sour grapes here, but I'm not sure I'm real impressed with a team who can be inspired to greatness by the return of Raja friggin' Bell.
The only positives I can see from last night's game for the Mavs:
1. Josh Howard did not aggravate the ankle injury in that very awkward fall late in the 4th quarter.
2. Avery Johnson did not pull an Antonio Daniels/Terry O'Reilley by charging into the stands to defend his wife from a couple of obnoxious Suns' fans. Time will tell how this plays out, but Cassandra Johnson was at the game with her kids, so I have a tough time believing she started things with Jose Martinez and Rebecca Kettle. Regardless, Avery kept his cool and didn't do anything dumb.
The Mavs had gone 14 games into this years' playoffs without a clunker, so perhaps it was inevitable. Dirk and Co have established enough of a track record that I'm not going to worry too much about this one. I fully expect Avery to make a few changes and the team to come out blazing in Game 5 at the AAC on Thursday night.
It sure wasn't much fun to watch, however.
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