Ballin’: Dallas Minus Dirk = Done
NBA March 24th. 2008, 9:59am
San Antonio 98, Dallas 91: Forget the 19-0 run the Spurs peeled off on the road Sunday on National TV – what about Dirk? Two weeks without your superstar in the throes of a playoff race? Done. The only positive note is that a Mavs blogger is going to be on Beauty and the Geek.
Golden State 115, Los Angeles Lakers 111: The Warriors led by 26, then the Lakers rallied in the second half, only to have Stephen Jackson drain two three’s in the final minute as Golden State registered a crucial road victory and pulled within half a game of the Mavs for the 7th playoff spot. This might be Kobe’s best play all season. Sick.
Denver 109, Toronto 100: Nice road win for the Nuggets, who better beat Memphis tonight, because their season could hinge on the four games after that: Dallas, Golden State, at Phoenix, Phoenix. A 1-3 mark would be crushing.
Washington 95, Detroit 83: So the Pistons are a serious threat in the East? Really? Road trips to Cleveland and the Phonebooth ended in disaster last week. As for the Wiz, we have no idea what to make of these kids, who are maddeningly inconsistent.
52 Responses to “Ballin’: Dallas Minus Dirk = Done”
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March 24th, 2008 at 10:01 AM
Sick pass by Kobe. Spurs just keep winning.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:03 AM
so gilbert was ready to play yesterday, but the Doctors said no. He didnt seem to happy about not playing to me.
Wizards still suck TBL
March 24th, 2008 at 10:04 AM
thanks dirk…thanks a fucking lot. way to carry my fantasy team to the playoffs, then go and puss out the very day before it starts. and 2 weeks is bullshit, either call it until the playoffs or fucking man up. i cant drop your ass because you might come back, fucking asshole.
and i thought german imports were supposed to be reliable.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:06 AM
Since nobody every admits they’re wrong on here (me specifically). Nick P, you’re right, the Lakers should be and probably are very afraid of the Warriors – as should EVERY team.
Your turn to admit you’re wrong about Dallas! Come on guys, this will be fun.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:07 AM
I think every team outside of san antonio should be afraid of the warriors.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:07 AM
cursed…personally, im still not ready to write them off. who knows whos coming out of the west?
March 24th, 2008 at 10:07 AM
Cursed: Yes, when I made my prediction re: Dallas, I assumed Dirk would get hurt and miss 2 weeks, and they’d still win the West! Cut me some slack. They are D-U-N, though.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:08 AM
the western conference playoffs will be unreal.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:08 AM
You qualified that Nick P..you qualified it!!
March 24th, 2008 at 10:12 AM
Suns are no longer afraid og gsw, sorry cursed. They figured them out two weeks ago.
Btw, only a 1/2 game out of first.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:13 AM
Every team in the West should be afraid of every team.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:14 AM
Hef…who are Suns fans most afraid of in the playoffs? still SA?
March 24th, 2008 at 10:15 AM
You call it “figuring the Warriors out” I call it “Shooting 54% from the field.” Here’s hoping your favorite team “figures it out” come playoff time!
March 24th, 2008 at 10:16 AM
Boston would destroy Phoenix.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:18 AM
We’ll see this week, nick. They play detroit tonight and boston on wednesday. I’ll be here tomorrow to face up if we lose.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:18 AM
Dallas was one of the few teams in the West that I never gave a chance, Dirk or no Dirk. They have never recovered from that choke job in the finals and still haven’t beaten a decent team (0-8 against +500 teams) since trading for Kidd.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:19 AM
Sounds good. I’m assuming it’s away?
March 24th, 2008 at 10:19 AM
Hef, that game means way more to Phoenix than it does Boston. I wouldn’t put too much stock in it either way.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:20 AM
How soon will it take Simmons to pen his “Ewing Theory” and use it for Dirk?
March 24th, 2008 at 10:21 AM
Both are away.
@spence: right now, i’d say the lakers at full strength. For some reason, no one’s mentioning the spurs around here these days.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:22 AM
@cursed: I’m more interested to see if he’ll rename it the Durant Theory after Texas is seemingly playing much better without his man-crush, next-Jordan-McGrady-Dirk amalgam, best prospect in the history of the sport no longer on the roster.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:22 AM
@cursed i’ guessing it will up by wed.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:23 AM
And Nick P, I know your a stats guy so help me assess Stephen Jackson’s year. By most accounts, he’s been killing teams all year. However, his shooting percentage is at 41%. Good player or bad player?
March 24th, 2008 at 10:23 AM
@cursed: why would it mean more to boston? We killed boston with shaq before we even figured out how to play with him.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:24 AM
i see the Suns beating both the Pistons and the Celtics
March 24th, 2008 at 10:24 AM
Hef…lakers? id take the suns any day in that series. shaq would empty the tank to make sure he kicked some serious ass. abstract reasoning for sure, but there’s no doubt he’d be motivated in that series. plus the suns would be able to score at will on the lakers.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:25 AM
I’m one of the few guys around her who still likes Simmons (sometimes). But remember his over-the-top praise of Chase Budinger two years ago. He’s a good college player, but he was making it seem like the guy was going to a once-in-a-lifetime college player.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:26 AM
Boston has the number 1 seed pretty much wrapped up and needs to rest players at this point. Those guys have all the confidence in the world.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:26 AM
That Kobe play is friggin SICK.
Kobe >>> Lebon bon
March 24th, 2008 at 10:26 AM
@cursed: He wastes way too many shots, and he doesn’t offer much board or dime help. However, he’s pretty solid on D. I’ll give him an “average.” He’s certainly not good.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:30 AM
Nick P, fair enough. Although how much board help can you add when teams are getting layups against you and you’re leaking out on the offensive end to get the break started??
March 24th, 2008 at 10:31 AM
I Saw a stat this weekend in the Star-Ledger (couldn’t find it online) that said the Lakers were 2-11 in games in which they (or both teams?) scored under 100 points. Wish i had the exact #, but it’s interesting.
Also interesting: how fun it is to see the media and everyone jump on a new team each week. Such a great season in the NBA.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:31 AM
@spence: that’s the feeling around town. The suns and lakers rivalry has been good since the 80s and it’s been great this year. Dantoni and jackson really seem to hate each other.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:32 AM
Big Lead.. answer my post about Stern in the roundup!!
March 24th, 2008 at 10:32 AM
Spence – I’m w/ you on Dirk and fantasy. No money for me this year. But otherwise who really cares about a Spurs/ Mavs game? It was just a battle of 2 teams the Celtics steamrolled on their Texas beat-down trip.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:32 AM
hey im sticking to my team TBL
Hedo > Lebron
March 24th, 2008 at 10:34 AM
More than he currently gets. His rebound totals are even worse when you consider how fast paced G-State games are. There are just a lot more shots taken (and missed) as a result.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:36 AM
I’m going to break character and agree with irish. Hedo is way underrated. He used to be the biggest suns killer out there.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:37 AM
irish…you cant seriously believe that. i know you hate all the lebron hype around here, but come on.
walfredo…yea man, it sucks. the worst part is, i had a pretty solid squad but now have a giant hole in a bunch of different categories. at least i have Z-Bo as a replacement…points and rebs good enough for me.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:41 AM
Irish ha ha!! Understood you’re just trying to get a rise out of Cleveland folk. And Hedu is having great year. But he’s European.
European = Choke in playoffs.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:52 AM
walfredo, Tony Parker is from Europe, right?
March 24th, 2008 at 10:54 AM
Maybe there is still playoff hopes for my Blazers…win 12 more in a row and have the Mavs go 3-9. Sounds reasonable.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:59 AM
CH – Good point. Parker, however, plays an American brand of ball (i.e. take the ball to the hole strong, not afraid of contact). I was thinking more like Dirk and Peja and such…
March 24th, 2008 at 11:00 AM
@walfredo: So Europeans are chokers…unless they’re not?
March 24th, 2008 at 11:07 AM
Nick – You got me. Yeah, pretty much. I’m just talking general styles of ball. Euro style (i.e. finesse, free flowing, wide open jump shots) doesn’t work in NBA playoffs. Dirk can snarl all he wants, but until he grabs some tough rebounds in the clutch, he won’t be up there w/ Kobe, LeBron, Duncan, etc… Jury still out on Hedo…
March 24th, 2008 at 11:09 AM
hedo > stephen curry
March 24th, 2008 at 11:31 AM
the mavs are just playing around with everybody to surprise them in the end. mark my words……MAVERICKS, NBA CHAMPS 2008.
March 24th, 2008 at 11:31 AM
@spencer- cmon you think im serious with that statement. you know me better than that. Hedo is playing great though, he better come through in the playoffs thats all i know
March 24th, 2008 at 11:48 AM
Suns would be most afraid to face the Hornets in the playoffs.
March 24th, 2008 at 12:16 PM
Nick P, Stephen Jackson or Wally – who would you rather have on the Cavaliers(salary considerations notwithstanding)?
March 24th, 2008 at 12:44 PM
Two years ago I would have said Wally in an instant, but he’s shot so poorly as a Cavalier that I’d probably side with S-Jax, especially given his decided advantage at guarding 2s, 3s, and small 4s on defense.
I think the Cavs could give all (or most) of Devin and Wally’s minutes to S-Jax (those two rarely play together) and be better off for it. I’m quickly becoming the biggest Devin hater on the planet. He’s miserable.
March 24th, 2008 at 3:20 PM
You really cant quantify S-Jax’s contributions to the team with statistics. He does take ALOT of ill-advised shots early in the shot clock. But his uncanny ability to get hot when it matters is what makes him such a good player. And yes I said good. Hes definitely better than average. He is also a very good defender.