Mavs come up short

The Mavs didn't have enough to put themselves over the top, losing the NBA Finals Game 6 last night, 95-92. Miami won the series and the 2006 NBA Championship, 4 games to 2.

Two months into the playoffs, the Mavs season is over. They went to heights never before reached by this franchise, but failed to climb to the highest point.

And make no mistake: It was a failure. The Mavs proved in Games 1 and 2 they are the better team. However, they were unable to sustain their momentum after the first two wins. Key players disappeared for long stretches, Avery's bag of tricks came up empty for the first time this year, the shots stopped falling, and Dwyane Wade emerged as a bona-fide superstar.

I hate to lay blame, as I am grateful to the Mavs for their entertainment value all year, and genuinely like a lot of these guys. However, we have to call out a few dudes who's performances (or lack of performances) contributed to the failure.

First: Dirk. He was the best player, consistently, through the first three series, but was not even close in the Finals. The Dunking Deutschlander needed to be The Man last night. Sure, he nutted up and made a few plays. But overall, he was not even remotely Bird-like. He was OK, but not a superstar.

Next: Jet Terry. Another MIA. A great first quarter, then a no-show for the final 3. Your team needed you last night, Jason. Where did you go? You even had a chance to redeem yourself on the last shot of the game - all would have been forgiven if that wide-open three had fallen. However, it did not and, in some strange way, it made sense that it didn't. Last year it was playing off Nash. This year it's missing the final shot. In both cases, a long summer for the Jet.

J. Howard. Never put together 48 minutes of great play. He had some flashes of brilliance, but vanished down the stretch every time. Dude has all kinds of talent, but has to be able to sustain it night in and night out. Once again, when the Mavs needed him down the stretch, he vanished.

Jerry Stackhouse. "Win one for Stack" became a rallying cry for the Mavs through the playoff run. Stackhouse contributed some clutch shots, key hustle plays, and one monster shot block last night, but he also clanged more than his share of wannbe-threes. I think the pluses outweighed the minuses, but not overwhelmingly so.

The Little General. Avery had the magic touch all year and thru the entire playoff run, right up until the 4th quarter of Game 3 in Miami. His team let that one slip away, and never recovered from it. Even after the Game 3 meltdown, Avery seemed to keep his head screwed on up until Game 5. It was then that the law of averages caught up with him and he lost it. Game 5 was the first time (and, I bet, the last) time we saw Avery with no answers. He had tried every trick he knew or could conjure up, and none of them worked. His public thrashing of poor Eddie Sefko from the DMN was a result of his bewilderment and frustration. I hated to see it, because I think the world of Avery Johnson. It hurt to see him so out-of-control.

So, where do we go from here? It's hard to say. I don't think the Mavs will lose anyone of any real consequence - Quisy Daniels and Darrell Armstrong seem like sure bets to depart, but neither loss should be deadly. However, the league, and especially the West, are only going to get tougher. To wit: Phoenix with Stoudamire back (maybe), Yao with another year under his belt, Carmello with another year under his belt, LeBron with another year under his belt. D-Wade with another year and a title under his belt. No one is standing still.

Well, it sure has been fun this year, and I will be back in front of the tube, listening in to Old Follywill next year. Thanks to everyone in the first-class Mavs organization for all the thrills. See you in the fall.