General NBA thread

[ET21]

Go Mavs

[jgb191]

Under Mark Cuban ownership, the Mavericks fortunes turned around seemingly right at the turn of the century when he bought the team.  I remember in November & December 1999, the Mavericks had one of the worst records in the NBA, then one of the better records in January-April 2000.  As a Texas native, I'm glad Mark bought the team and helped make the Texas Triangle a constant contenders for the championship.

[Max Rockatansky]

It has been a really long time since the Mavericks were consistently bad.  I don't know how the perception of some their really bad 1990s era teams seems so fresh in my head.

[Stephane Dumas]

Under Mark Cuban ownership, the Mavericks fortunes turned around seemingly right at the turn of the century when he bought the team.  I remember in November & December 1999, the Mavericks had one of the worst records in the NBA, then one of the better records in January-April 2000.  As a Texas native, I'm glad Mark bought the team and helped make the Texas Triangle a constant contenders for the championship.

And they won their first championship in 2011 against Miami Heat when LeBron played for them and that loss of the Heat against the Mavericks inspired once that meme.

[The Ghostbuster]

I wonder what Dirk Nowitzki's career would have been like if the Milwaukee Bucks hadn't traded his draft rights to  the Dallas Mavericks. I suspect his career might have been very different, and I wonder if he would have ever made it to the NBA Finals at all? In current events, the NBA Finals starts tomorrow, and I expect the Celtics to ultimately prevail. If the Mavericks are to win the championship, Kyrie Irving and Luka Dončić will have to play exceptional basketball.

[jgb191]

Nowitzki turned out to be the best player in the 1998 draft in my opinion, although (individual-talent-wise) Paul Pierce and Vince Carter might have their cases as well.


Interesting you brought up the Milwaukee Bucks; they drafted the #2 (Ferdinand Alcindor Jr.) and #6 (Dirk Nowitzki) all-time career scoring leaders and traded them both away to the Lakers and Mavericks, respectively.  Had the Bucks kept him in 1998, Nowitzki would have joined Olympic Gold-Medalist Glenn Robinson, and All-Stars Chris Gatling and Ray Allen, and probably would had the talent to reach the Finals at least once (or two).

[Henry]

Under Mark Cuban ownership, the Mavericks fortunes turned around seemingly right at the turn of the century when he bought the team.  I remember in November & December 1999, the Mavericks had one of the worst records in the NBA, then one of the better records in January-April 2000.  As a Texas native, I'm glad Mark bought the team and helped make the Texas Triangle a constant contenders for the championship.

And they won their first championship in 2011 against Miami Heat when LeBron played for them and that loss of the Heat against the Mavericks inspired once that meme.

Also the year the Mavericks exacted their revenge on Dwyane Wade, who helped the Heat beat them in 2006.

[SEWIGuy]

Nowitzki turned out to be the best player in the 1998 draft in my opinion, although (individual-talent-wise) Paul Pierce and Vince Carter might have their cases as well.


Interesting you brought up the Milwaukee Bucks; they drafted the #2 (Ferdinand Alcindor Jr.) and #6 (Dirk Nowitzki) all-time career scoring leaders and traded them both away to the Lakers and Mavericks, respectively.  Had the Bucks kept him in 1998, Nowitzki would have joined Olympic Gold-Medalist Glenn Robinson, and All-Stars Chris Gatling and Ray Allen, and probably would had the talent to reach the Finals at least once (or two).

The Bucks were drafting Nowitski for the Mavs. Just like the Hornets drafted Kobe for the Lakers. These were pre-set trades agreed upon ahead of time.

Anyway, even if they had held onto him, a Herb Kohl owned team would have found a way to screw it up. Loved that he saved the team from leaving in the late 80s, but he was by and large a terrible owner. Just like his college roommate Bud Selig was a terrible owner of the Brewers.

[epzik8]

Why did ESPN find it necessary to spend all day talking about Dan Hurley?

[Ted$8roadFan]

Because the Lakers are involved, and he's the reigning college basketball champion coach.

[jgb191]

It's also interesting you guys brought up the 2011 Finals, in which Mavs Coach Jason Kidd won his one and only Championship in three Finals appearances.  I believe this will be a more competitive series than many fans expect to be.  I wouldn't be surprised to see it go at least six or the full seven.  The Mavs have a coaching advantage and have the two best players in the Finals, will those factors be enough to overcome a more well-balanced Celtics team?

[The Ghostbuster]

Game 1 is in the books. Boston dominated for much of the game, and prevailed 107-89. Despite cutting it to 8 in the third quarter, the Mavericks just didn't have enough firepower to overcome their deficit. Kristaps Porzingis had 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots in his first game in 38 days, after missing 10 games with a calf injury. Luka Doncic led the Mavericks in scoring with 30 points, although Kyrie Irving only had 12 points. Game 2 is Sunday at 8PM EST on ABC.

[jgb191]

Any reactions to the Lakers coaching situation/predicament?  Who should be their backup candidate?  Mark Jackson, JJ Redick, Kenny Smith, Sam Cassell, Brian Shaw?  Even JB Bickerstaff is a good coach, who was unjustifiably canned by the Cavaliers.

Dan Hurley came to his senses when he finally figured out how different the NBA game from the college game.  My guess is  Rick Pitino and John Calipari may have made private phone calls to Dan to think twice about jumping to the NBA.

[Henry]

Tomorrow night, the Finals resumes in Dallas for the next two games. It's not going to be an easy road for the Celtics, as they may be up 2-0, but will face the daunting task of winning at least one in American Airlines Center (and let's be honest, how many of you got that mixed up with the former American Airlines Arena in Miami?).

[Rothman]

Tomorrow night, the Finals resumes in Dallas for the next two games. It's not going to be an easy road for the Celtics, as they may be up 2-0, but will face the daunting task of winning at least one in American Airlines Center (and let's be honest, how many of you got that mixed up with the former American Airlines Arena in Miami?).

Sounds like a Dallas fan wrote this.

[jgb191]

Tomorrow night, the Finals resumes in Dallas for the next two games. It's not going to be an easy road for the Celtics, as they may be up 2-0, but will face the daunting task of winning at least one in American Airlines Center (and let's be honest, how many of you got that mixed up with the former American Airlines Arena in Miami?).

Sounds like a Dallas fan wrote this.

Sounds more like a Celtics fan using reverse psychology.  As much as I'd love for the Mavs to win, the Celtics had just played their final home game this season; it's a clean sweep.

[Ted$8roadFan]

As the finals shifts to Dallas, we can see that Luka is phenomenal, but he needs (way) more help from his teammates if the Mavs are to win.

[ET21]

This is likely joever, but would be hilarious if Boston blew a 3-0 series lead.

[SEWIGuy]

This has probably been the least compelling playoffs in a long time. The three game sevens were duds, and the semis and finals have been very dull series.

[thspfc]

There's only been one competitive series that actually mattered. The east was a joke, the Bucks and Knicks injuries would have prevented them from ever competing with the Celtics and nobody else had the talent. Credit to the Pacers for making a run but they were dead meat against Boston and everyone knew it. The west was a little better, particularly the conference semis, but still just not that thrilling.

NBA is a drama/storyline league. The only big one of the whole postseason is Kyrie going up against the Celtics and he hasn't been given a fair roll of the dice in this series.

[Henry]

Lifted from the Hockey thread...

Now it'll take a miracle for Edmonton, Florida leads 3-0 in the Finals.

And it'll also take a miracle for Dallas, Boston leads 3-0 in the Finals.

[The Ghostbuster]

I fully expect the Celtics to finish their sweep of the Mavericks tonight. Dallas had a good chance at pulling off the upset in Game 3 if Luka Doncic hadn't fouled out. I thought that 20-point spurt by the Mavericks in the fourth quarter was quite shocking to say the least. Of course, if Dallas does manage to keep their season alive tonight, Game 5 will be Monday in Boston at 8:30 PM EST.

[The Ghostbuster]

Well, so much for a sweep. The Dallas Mavericks crushed the Boston Celtics 122-84. Boston looked pathetic, and Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla pulled his starters out of the game in the third quarter. Now the series shifts back to Boston for Game 5 on Monday.

[Ted$8roadFan]

Not surprised that the Celtics list, but I am surprised by the margin. i expect things will be different on Monday for Game 5 (617 day).

[mgk920]

You're entitled to an 'off day' every now and then.  That's why it is a 'best four of seven' series and not 'one and done'.

Mike