Jason Terry, Rick Carlisle, and Shawn Marion

They right now represent everything that is holding back Dallas from winning a championship.

Let’s start with Terry. Once an explosive player with great athleticism and a clutch jumper, he is now a shell of himself forcing contested step-backs and awkward lay-ups as his body betrays him and his mind refuses to accept the decline. He is still a defensive liability and does not guard his man well from getting to the paint. I appreciate his leadership and experience, but I take great issue with his ability to stunt our offensive rhythm and defensive progress. I think going forward his spot should be officially handed over to Roddy. He is young, explosive, and a great shooter. He also provides great defensive potential with his lightning feet and long arms.

Next up in this blame game is Rick Carlisle. I will certainly concede that Rick was faced with tough choices in this series, but it unfortunately appears to me that he made all the wrong decisions. He continued to force Terry on the court rather than trying Roddy, he played Dampier well more than Haywood in the beginning of the series, and he stubbornly stuck to these decisions even as games two and three clearly showed that change was needed. Carlisle also relied way too heavily on JJ Barea in the first few games rather than using Caron Butler and Roddy in different combinations. Perhaps the most damning evidence against Carlisle though was his inability to control the teams tendencies in a significant fashion. I am specifically referring to the fact that the Mavericks continually settled for jumpers and ran plays that wouldn’t get rolling until late in the shot clock. I honestly had never seen a play before a few nights ago in which two different perimeter players circled up towards the dribbling point guard and received a short pass only to immediately give it back to the point guard. These Maverick tendencies cyclically resulted in poor possessions and ultimately damned the Mavericks to their fate as they could not overcome their amazingly dry periods in the game. I would not go so far as to advocate for the immediate firing of Rick, but I think he honestly needs to examine his recent performance and change some of his philosophies to better help this team next year.

Lastly, my personal culprit for this series is Shawn Marion (I say personal since he doesn’t seem to get that much blame from others). I blame him because I think that he was largely responsible for our slow starts in these games with what I would describe as lackluster defense and offense that continually led to awkwardly missed shots and turnovers in the first quarter. The game that especially sticks out for me with respect to Marion was game three in which he had a dreadful first quarter capped off by several turnovers and missed shots that actually got him pulled for Roddy. None of the other first quarters were quite as bad, but they did seem to be full of bad decisions that stunted the Mavs into holes that they couldn’t dig out of. In a way, Marion may be my own personal scapegoat.

Going forward, the Mavs have a lot of work to do to make this team championship caliber. I think Jet and Dampier need to move on for sure, with possibly Marion or Butler joining them depending on trade options (I really hope the DUST chip can work out for anybody good at this point). The Mavs as such will need to grab a new back up big man and some type of combo guard with quickness and the ability to at least slash to the basket. I am not necessarily demanding one of the top free agents (although I want the Mavs to pursue all and any options), but we definitely need a guy who can offer some youth at the guard position (I also wouldn’t mind if he pushed JJ way down the chart). Other than that, Dallas should also look into getting someone as least ready to play the small forward position (other than Butler) since I feel that Marion’s time in Dallas is going to come to a close before his contract runs out. Oh, and in case I didn’t make it clear, Dallas must do everything it can to retain Dirk in Dallas. I honestly don’t think he would leave, but if he did I can honest to god say I would cry since he has represented professional basketball to me since I was ten year olds.

As you may have been able to tell, this loss has been deeply upsetting as a Dallas fan and I felt like writing about it a bit so I could feel like all my blame and rationalization was at least going somewhere. Sorry it was so long, and as much as this hurts, I can't wait until free agency begins so I can once again start the cycle of believing in the Mavericks.

Here is my second attempt at another mock first round taking combine performance into account. I have not included any trades or considered what teams might do in free agency. 

Continue reading this post »

Here is my dream draft for the Cowboys this year (within realistic boundaries). Just to be perfectly clear, I think that Dallas's biggest needs are OT, S, OG, WR/KR, and DL.

1st Round - OT Trent Williams, Oklahoma

LT Trent Williams Highlights/Lowlights 2009 Oklahoma (via ProDraftParty)

I would love for Trent Williams to fall to us in the first round. He can play all along the line with his great size and good athleticism, and I think he will maximize his potential at RT.  I think a line anchored by Free at LT and Williams at RT would be great for this organization's future success.

2nd Round - S Morgan Burnett, Georgia Tech

Morgan Burnett 2010 NFL Draft Highlights (via sheets24heisman)

I am a Georgia Tech student so I am biased, but I think Burnett would be a great pick in the second round. He had 14 career interceptions in 3 years at GT and is the type of playmaker that the Cowboys could use. Plus, he has a lot of experience coming up to stop the run since GT's front seven (outside of Derrick Morgan) really struggled at stopping the run. He would be a steal late in the second round, and I honestly am not sure he will even be available for us (but then again this is a dream draft).

3rd Round - OG Brandon Carter, Texas Tech

via sportsillustrated.cnn.com

Brandon Carter is definitely a guy the Cowboys would love to get in the third round. He has great size with a 6'6", 326 lbs. frame. However, he has pretty quick feet for his size and has a lot of experience in pass protection coming from Texas Tech. Perhaps his biggest accomplishment though was being the only real OG to handle Ndamukong Suh all year.

4th Round - WR Jacoby Ford, Clemson

Jacoby Ford: The Fastest Player in College Football (via lordseal92)

I would LOVE for us to get Jacoby Ford in this draft. I have been high on him for a while since watching him personally shred the Tech secondary. He clearly has great speed (as a track star), but he is not a track star pretending to be a football player as evidenced by his legitimate WR skills. He is a good catcher of the football and would immediately provide Dallas with a great slot receiver and a great returner (punt and kickoff).

6th Round - DT Corey Peters, Kentucky

via kykernel.com

With this pick the Cowboys will finally address some defensive line concerns and draft a DT to play 3-4 DE for Dallas. He is 6'3", 295 lbs., has a good build for the position, and was selected as a second team All-SEC DT. Plus, with his four sacks, I think he clearly has the ability to rush the passer. Once again, it is quite possible that Peters will not be there, but if he could fall to us in the sixth that would be great value.

7th Round - CB Walter McFadden, Auburn

Walter McFadden Interception Outback Bowl 2009-2010 (via autiger615)

I think this pick is purely a depth pick. A team can never have too many cornerbacks, and I think McFadden would be a great CB to pick up this late. He definitely has a slight build at 5'10" and 176 lbs, but he does have great speed and was a second team All-SEC pick at the CB position. Plus, he was the leader of an underrated Auburn pass defense and made a name for himself with big plays in the Outback bowl.

Well there you have it. This is my dream draft with semi-realistic constraints as to who will be available at our picks. Please feel free to ask any questions and level any criticisms. 

Here is me and my roommate's first edition of our mock draft. We talked out each selection so I apologize for not having explanations with the picks, but I would be really interested to hear some feedback about what you guys think.

1.     St. Louis Rams – Ndamukong Suh DT, Nebraska

2.     Detroit Lions – Gerald McCoy DT, Oklahoma

3.     Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Eric Berry S, Tennessee

4.     Washington Redskins – Russell Okung OT, Oklahoma State

5.     Kansas City Chiefs – Rolando McClain LB, Alabama

6.     Seattle Seahawks – Jimmy Clausen QB, Notre Dame

7.     Cleveland Browns – Joe Haden CB, Florida

8.     Oakland Raiders – Trent Williams OT, Oklahoma

9.     Buffalo Bills – Sam Bradford QB, Oklahoma

10.  Jacksonville Jaguars – Derrick Morgan DE, Georgia Tech

11.  Denver Broncos – Dez Bryant WR, Oklahoma State

12.  Miami Dolphins – Dan Williams DT, Tennessee

13.  San Francisco 49ers – Anthony Davis OT, Rutgers

14.  Seattle Seahawks - C.J. Spiller RB, Clemson

15.  New York Giants – Earl Thomas S, Texas

16.  San Francisco 49ers - Taylor Mays S, USC

17.  Tennessee Titans – Jason Pierre-Paul DE, USF

18.  Pittsburgh Steelers – Brian Bulaga OT, Iowa

19.  Atlanta Falcons – Sean Witherspoon OLB, Missouri

20.  Houston Texans – Brian Price DT, UCLA

21. Cincinnati Bengals – Golden Tate WR, Notre Dame

22.  New England Patriots – Sergio Kindle LB/DE, Texas

23.  Green Bay Packers – Bruce Campbell OT, Maryland

24.  Philadelphia Eagles – Carlos Dunlap DE, Florida

25.  Baltimore Ravens – Patrick Robinson CB, Florida State

26.  Arizona Cardinals – Navorro Bowman LB, Penn State

27.  Dallas Cowboys – Mike Iupati OG, Idaho

28.  San Diego Chargers – Jonathan Dwyer RB, Georgia Tech

29.  New York Jets – Jared Odrick DE, Penn State

30.  Minnesota Vikings – Donovan Warren CB, Michigan

31.  New Orleans Saints – Arthur Jones DT, Syracuse

32.  Indianapolis Colts – Charles Brown OT, USC