What he said. Although I can’t decide if Miami lost or Dallas won. Most likely it was some indeterminate combination of the two. But no matter how you look at it, it was fun watching Erik Spoelstra quietly s*** his pants as Miami decided to go November 2010 on us. Anyway, here are the winners and losers of Game 2. Read More »

Honestly, a Twitter recap for Game 2 of the NBA Finals could be a list of different ways to say “holy sh**,” but of course, the first 41 minutes of the game matter, too. If you turned the TV off with Dallas down by 15 and seven minutes left, you probably missed something important, say, a 22-5 run to give the Mavericks a historic 95-93 victory against the Miami Heat.

To get it out of the way, the postgame Twitter trends included “LeBum,” “Series Tied” and “Tinky Winky,” though it’s unclear whether the latter was an adjective referring to Chris Bosh‘s defense on Dirk Nowitzki or something completely unrelated. Read More »

I never understood the 2-3-2 format of the NBA Finals. If the visiting team steals one of the first two games on the road, their fortunes are reversed. Not only have they stolen home-court advantage, they get to return home for three straight games and kick the opponent while they’re down. Not cool, David Stern. The Mavs will be ready to seize this gift of an opportunity. Especially after their horrid offensive performance in Game 1, which included an 0-for-3 night from the corpse of Peja Stojakovic and a 1-for-8 outing from the underrated turned overrated J.J. Barea. Despite stumbling out of the gates, the Mavs will look to bounce back in Game 2. Here are the three keys to victory for tonight’s game: Read More »

Many things were different in 2006. Our president was still white, Osama still roamed the deserts and no one had even heard of Soulja Boy. Yet, the NBA was still as competitive as ever as the upstart Miami Heat took on the Dallas Mavericks in a wild six-game series. Five years later, as the two teams hook up again in the Finals, we take a look at the top 5 reasons why the 2011 Finals is not the 2006 Finals. Read More »

So the Heat won and the Mavs lost. Pretty simple. But if you watched the game closely, some other winners and losers definitely slid into the conversation. So here’s to you, unsung heroes. And losers, try again in Game 2. Read More »

When C.J. Watson replaces Derrick Rose, Chicago fans collectively hold their breath. While their star briefly recharges the batteries, they can only hope that he does not shed his offensive leash. In a structured offense, an overconfident backup can singlehandedly ruin the dynamic. Think Jamal Crawford when he’s ice cold. This, in a nutshell, is C.J. Watson. But the emotional rollercoaster that is Watson’s game does not provide a concrete answer to the following question: How much do the Bulls actually miss Rose when Watson is on the floor? More generally, how great a difference is there between a starter and a backup in the playoffs? Let’s find out. Read More »

How long will it take the Mavs to get the creaky joints moving again? The Western Conference Finals finally kick off in Dallas tonight at 9 p.m. ET and the Mavs need to be sharp after having more than a week off. One team is coming off a dragged out, never-ending, physical war while the other has been sipping on green tea and getting deep-tissue massages on all of their old limbs. Read More »

Did this really happen? On the day we come together to celebrate our favorite women, the Dallas Mavericks gave the Los Angeles Lakers a very un-motherly funeral, 122-86, to complete a cold-hearted, embarrassing sweep of the defending champs. Will Phil Jackson walk away after suffering his first sweep in 21 playoff series? Could this be the “Phil-nale,” if you will? (sorry) The Mavs are playing as well as anyone left in the playoffs. And Mark Cuban is pretty pumped about it … Read More »

Up 87-81 with only a few minutes to play, it felt like the Lakers had their mojo back. But just as they have all year, the defending champs couldn’t close as Dallas ended on a 17-5 to win 98-92 and push the Lakers from worried to dead. L.A.’s final minutes read like a movie script from a drunk screenwriter: no one could solve the Dirk Nowitzki (32 points) high post-up, and the German either scored or found wide-open shooters. Read More »

As this season nears its end for the Sacramento Kings, leaning halfway out the door on their way to Anaheim, we need a reminder. Once upon a time, a decade or so ago, there was no fanbase more rabid, no love affair between a city and team more pronounced and no basketball more exhilarating than the Kings. Cowbells were in, and on the East Coast, it meant staying up late and getting up early for SportsCenter.

They never did win anything of substance, those Sacramento teams immediately following the second retirement of Michael Jordan. But damn, they had substance. Read More »