Who Are You, and What Have You Done With Dirk?

You may have caught the interview with Shawn Marion of the Phoenix Suns after Game 4 between Dallas and Miami. Marion was utterly baffled at the big, white guy wearing number 41 for Dallas. It sure didn't look like Dirk. "This is just not the way he played against us," Marion offered. I would agree.

At this point, is there anyone (Heat fans excluded) who thinks Miami is better than Phoenix or San Antonio? How about this: is there anyone who thinks Miami is as good as either of those teams? Hardly. So, what's the deal?

Everything starts with Dirk....

You cannot overlook the struggles of Nowitzki when trying to figure out what has happened to Dallas. Dirk's points are dwindling, because yes, his shot is not falling. But it doesn't stop there. Dirk has quit crashing the boards and playing defense. He has done the unforgivable: he is letting his lack of offense affect his defense. What's worse, he is not moving without the ball on offense, which enables Miami to play better defense on other players, and clog up the middle with virtually no consequences. Dirk won't drive. Remember just a few weeks ago when San Antonio fans were complaining about Dirk getting calls, and making claims like "all Dirk can do is shoot free throws." Man, what I wouldn't give to see Dirk get 20 free throws against Miami. But, he is going to have to take it to the rim first in order to do that. Honestly, are you seeing the MVP Dirk of the last few series? Are you seeing the 50 point "Monster" that we saw just recently? Dirk, where are you?

Nice call, Crawford...

Okay, so fans love to complain about the officials. But honestly, did you see it called at both ends last night? Was any particular act a foul at each end of the court, and was it called consistently? Not a chance. Last night was the San Antonio series revisited: Spurs were allowed to push and belly up on Dallas shooters, but if anyone stood straight up, feet not moving, hands in the air and perfectly straight, it was a foul if Tim Duncan had the ball. It was pathetic. Last night was no different. Clearly there were a number of exchanges where Dallas would miss a shot with a lot of contact, then Miami would be at the other end shooting free throws after minimal contact. Avery's technical was completely understandable.

None of this should matter...

Chances to win a championship come along rarely--just ask Charles Barkley. You may only get one chance in your career, and you may get NO chances at all. That is precisely why it is so important to play every game with the urgency that it may be your last. Dallas has not done that consistently. When this series ends, and if Miami has won, we will all look at Game 3 as the turning point. At that point Dallas had Miami on the ropes. The Mavs started that game poorly, which was understandable for the first Finals road game, but finally got it together and got up by a bunch. Then it happened.

Dallas' style of play and aggressiveness changed, and it has not really returned in full since. Dallas began playing 'not to lose.' The Mavs went into a sort of "prevent defense" that allowed Miami to catch up with some urgent panic-play. I went back and watched that game again and noticed that Dallas switched to a sort of one-on-one game that continues until the present. Where was the ball movement? Where were the open shots? Where was the creation of opportunities? It was all gone. And it starts with Dirk.

That being said, Game 3 was still winnable. Game 4 was not--at least not the way Dallas played (or failed to play as the case may be). But this is where the rub of Game 5 comes in: the Stackhouse suspension. Our best bench player is better than ANY of Miami's bench players, and better than 3 of Miami's starters. Do you think Dallas wins that 5th game if Stack plays? Sure they do.

But that is what I am talking about: opportunities. When you have the opportunity, you have to take it. You don't know what is coming tomorrow. You can't count on everyone being healthy, or active and not on suspension. Yes, the suspension was a joke; any time the league has to review a play for 24 hours, and the officials didn't see it as a flagrant-2 foul at the time then it does not merit a suspension, PARTICULARLY in a game of this magnitude. In other words, where reasonable minds may differ, and there is any doubt that is created, and you are talking about the NBA Championship, then you cannot take the action. Remember, the league RAISED the severity of the foul almost 24 hours later. Not 10 minutes, not an hour, the next day. Enough said.

You add that to the kind of night that Bennett Salvatore, Joey Crawford and Joe DeRosa had last night, Dirk's disappearing act, and the Heat should have won by 20. Again. But it still shouldn't have mattered. You see, the Mavs should have taken care of business in Game 3. It all goes back to Game 3.

Media Report Card...NO, IT DOESN'T LOOK GOOD FOR THE MEDIA IDIOTS...

At this point, Hubie Brown and Mike Breen have succumbed. They now see the series only as it relates to Miami, much like the rest of the national media. When Dallas was up 2-0, ALL of the talk was about what Miami must do to get back into the series. We heard EVERY ANALYST in the national media and on the networks talk about how Shaq had to get more involved, that the role players had to step up, that Riley had to get creative, Miami this, Miami that, Miami even more. Every thing we heard was about how this series relates to Miami. You heard NOTHING about what Dallas is successfully doing, how well they are playing, etc.

Now tell me honestly: are you now hearing that with respect to Dallas being down? Are you hearing the analysts talk about what Avery needs to do, how the role players need to step up, etc.? Or are you hearing how great Dwayne Wade is, how he is setting records, how he is scoring at will, how Miami's role players are hitting big shots, how Riley has figured out how to defend, etc.?

Why is that? Why is it that when Miami is down the overwhelming volume of talk is about what they need to do, but when Dallas is down, the talk is about what Miami is doing? That, people, is bias. You know, Dallas fans can sit and scream about media bias forever, and most people will say it is just their own bias that makes them hear it. However, the analysts emphasis in this series has made it patently clear that they are pro-Miami, and anti-Dallas. Well, that may be a bit harsh. Truth is, they may not be "pro" anyone. But, they clearly are more interested in Miami, and their perspective is all about how this series relates to Miami, Wade, Shaq, and Riley. To ESPN and ABC, Dallas is merely the foil. Late in the game the free throw advantage was so lopsided in favor of Miami, it had clearly become the story of the game. However, Breen and Brown were so caught up in their love of Wade that they FAILED TO EVEN NOTICE IT!! In an effort to see if I was imagining things, I turned on the local radio broadcast. Surprise: the instant, I mean instant I turned it on, the local announcer immediately remarked on how there was already a huge disparity in the free throws and fouls called, and in favor of Miami. Since it was so ridiculously in favor of the Heat, the ABC analysts failed to even notice that it was worthy of mention until very late in the game. Do you think they would have failed to mention it if it were in favor of Dallas in such a lopsided way? That's a rhetorical question.