So Is This How It Ends?

Tonight is my 10th wedding anniversary. No, I didn't forget. We had hoped to spend it watching the Mavs close out a sweep of the Heat. Ain't happening.

I am writing this during the third quarter, primarily because I can't watch this garbage anymore. I would tell you that the two announcers are 100% in the process of promoting all things Miami, but based on the way this game is going, that would be fair for them to do so. Miami can do anything. Dallas can do nothing. Dirk is scared to death, and looks like a rookie in his first big playoff game. Wade is playing with such cool confidence, he doesn't think he can do wrong. Most everyone on Dallas' team is terrified, playing scared, and has their underwear so far up in their rears that they may not get it out until next season. Thus far, there really has been no reason to show a Dallas highlight, or to talk about anything Dallas has accomplished.

So I ask:

Is this how it ends? Is this how we are going to go down in our first finals, to a team that is not as talented, not as fast, not as young, not as good? Are we so scared that we are going to let a team of this caliber take us so far out of our game we can't come back? Yeah, I realize that it is still earlyin the series. But those of you who know me know that I assess a game very much by feel, and I think there is a point in a game where you can just tell when it's officially over, and that may be long before the fourth quarter. In game 3 I never felt comfortable because I knew Miami would make one more push, and I wanted to see how Dallas would respond. We didn't. We lost. we had 89 points with more than 6 minutes left. We scored 7 more. They scored 22. The collapse began.

Tonight we have had no runs, no spurts, no confidence, no contributions from any role players, and our starters are terrified. I hate to think this is how it ends. We have let an inferior team think that they have just as much control over the series, perhaps even moreso. Miami has all the swagger, all the confidence.

It will be interesting to see how/if Avery can change our mentality. Otherwise, the collapse rolls forward.