Far From Neutral Notions - Philippine politics, culture and stuff

I’m reposting this article I wrote for The Basketball Exchange, about the Dallas Maverick’s current struggles. At the time of writing, the Mavs are in a two-game winning streak, pulling off close wins over the Suns and the Trailblazers. They are now 2-4.

A few days ago, fellow BallEx writer John Dacanay asked the question: What is happening to the Mavericks? I won’t bother with the stats too much, because the reason he posed the question is blatantly obvious: this Maverick team is struggling, opening the season with four straight losses - the worst in franchise history.

This is a team that kept its core after reaching the NBA Finals last year, and they supposedly got deeper. This is a team that has the reigning Coach of the Year in Avery Johnson, the best foreign player (and easily top ten league-wide) in Dirk Nowitzki, and boasts having Jerry Stackhouse as a sixth man.

Last year was supposed to be the turning point of the franchise: Coach Johnson instilled a defensive mentality that held opponents to 93.1 ppg, with 104.7 points allowed per 100 possessions, good for 10th best in the league, yet still keeping their superbly efficient offense intact with 99.1 ppg and an offensive rating of 112.1 (roughly this pertains to points scored per 100 possessions), best in the league. (The Suns came in 2nd despite scoring a lot more points because the Suns offense is, well, not as efficient.)

This year they’re allowing 103.67 ppg over 6 games. The Mavericks have opened the season losing both of their home games and have dropped three straight home games dating back to the 2005-06 regular season, after having only lost consecutive home games once last season (11/26 vs. Memphis and 12/1 vs. San Antonio). In their win over Phoenix, they had 37 free throw attempts on 11/9 at Phoenix and made 11 more (33 FTM) than they ATTEMPTED in any of the four games prior.

Could their Finals collapse still be looming over their shoulders? Is this team mentally weak? I don’t think so. This is a team that after all beat the Spurs on the road in game 7 of last year’s Western Conference Semi-Finals. You don’t beat Tim Duncan’s Spurs by being mentally weak. You don’t call a team coached by one of the greatest overachievers the game has ever seen metally weak. The new ball, then? Dirk’s still scorng around 25 a night, and dishing out 4+ assists a game to boot. Jason Terry and Josh Howard are also scoring 16+ ppg apiece, at 45%+ clips.

It’s probably a hodgepodge of the things mentioned above, mixed with a very key ingredient: identity. The Mavs are a team that has lost its soul, and taking a page from the Mortal Kombat games of old, David Stern is Shang Tsung. And with the new rules in NBA conduct, he’s had Mark Cuban acting like a good little boy.

As much as I admire the passion and effort he’s put into running the Mavericks franchise, it is no secret that his antics on the court are disruptive at best. Don’t get me wrong, I wish every NBA team had an owner like Cuban who actually cared about his players *coughJAMESDOLANcough*. But by the same token, his actions have shifted the focus away from the game and the players to himself, which detracts from my enjoyment of watching a game. Have you seen his show, the Benefactor? Neither did I, and there’s probably a reason for that: apart from his brilliant business mind, he’s not all that interesting. Beneath that rogue-ish charm of a billionaire who made it big doing it his way is, well, a boy, who’d overreact and throw tantrums or pout when things didn’t go his way. I mean, there’s a way to do things properly, and another way to do things that just scream “look at me!”

Not this season. Sure, he still refuses to wear a suit and tie, preferring instead his t-shirt with a “He Fine Me” printed at the back. Sure he still gets sarcastic. But he doesn’t charge the court like he used to. Doesn’t complain about calls like he used to. Apart from having an independent study conducted about the new ball, which every team should do, anyway, he’s been keeping his cool.

And quite frankly, I kinda miss it. And I bet Dirk Nowitzki or Jason Terry or Jerry Stackhouse may have, at some point, turned towards the bench after a bad call, only to see Cuban sit there calmly instead of arguing for his best player. Because, as much as it galls me, Mark Cuban isn’t just the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, he is the Dallas Mavericks. He is their soul, their heart, their identity. He’s been the primary force behind their chemistry, and he doesn’t even suit up.

I’m betting this losing trend won’t last - they’re simply too deep and too talented - but the spark, the fire that brought them surging all the way to the Finals seems to be gone, and that’s just too bad. I guess the old saying that goes you never know what you had until is gone applies here. With no Mark Cuban eruption to highlight a Mavs game, I just don’t find them fun to watch anymore. And, apparently, given their record, the Mavs feel the same way.

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