Nowitzki was eligible to receive up to $96 million. By taking less, Nowitzki conceivably allows free-spending owner Mark Cuban added flexibility in improving the roster this summer. The Mavericks front office privately hoped Nowitzki would be agreeable to such a deal, as Dallas hopes land another marquee free agent through a sign-and-trade.

Does Dirk not know anything about NBA contracts? Taking less than the maximum amount he can get to help out his team? Clearly he doesn't realize that things are different for professional athletes and grabbing all you can to the detriment of your organization isn't something that anyone can blame you for.

What a maroon...

well, look at who's number 2:

http://www.nba.com/2010/news/features/john_schuhmann/03/24/magic/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpt1

And with a #14 ranked defensive efficiency at that...not too shabby...

Well it was bound to happen. The DVR officially can't hold anymore games and I need to make some room..here's the games I have recorded..which would you drop?Top 3 games will be recycled into the great beyond. And on another note entirely,does anyone know how to record games off their DVR for posterity?

It's amazing how much you can learn from a 2nd watching of a game..I highly reccommend it to anyone who wants to up their understanding of the game.

Link

 Kevin Arnovitz ponders why Dallas didn't go to Dirk in the fourth:

"Should Dirk have been more assertive? Should the Mavericks' guards have been more attentive to getting Dirk touches? Was his ailing elbow the main issue?"

That's so strange, why wasn't Dirk, an all star and MVP, not getting involved in the 4th quarter of a tight game? I think there might have been some other guys on the floor at the time...it's almost they were trying to 'deny' him the ball somehow..huh..I guess we'll never know...

just in case you forgot:

Do you even have to click this?

It's nice for Steve to get the recognition ( and by a wide margin, except for the homer states ) after the last few years of

" ...cleary, Dwill and CP3 are the best PGs in the league..bla bla bla..."

* side note: you'll notice that 'other' is getting 15% in Texas...yes yes, we know, Tony Parker, Jason Kidd and Aaron Brooks are actually better than anyone listed in the poll...* rolls eyes *

First of all, you guys run a great blog here, and that's saying alot considering I'm coming to you from Bright Side of the Sun.

Secondly, though I haven't earned the right to call myself a Rockets fan, I've been rooting hard for you to pull this off. The heart this team shows in the face adversity is unlike any team since...well, since the Suns not too long ago. You've got a great team and great fans from what I can tell.

Lastly, there's alot of people talking about how great it is to just be at game 7, and how there's no pressure going into it, win or lose, and I have to disagree.

Let me tell you a story. You see, last season the Suns drew the Spurs in round 1 and in spite of alot of troubles, we were confident we matched up well and were poised to defeat our foes at long last. And when game 1 rolled around, we executed well, leading throughout most of the game. We had all but won when a couple mistakes in the final seconds got the game closer than it ever should have been. And it finally came down to one stop, which would win the game for us, or send it into overtime for them.

 Well, we didn't get the stop, and it came from a tim duncan 3, of all places. With that one shot, the Spurs eventually won the series, and tore apart the Suns from top to bottom. In that offseason, our coach departed, unable to forget that horrible shot, and the foul he should have used. Players got dumped and traded, and our whole philosophy was overturned.

The reason I bring this up is that now, the Rockets have the opportunity to do the same thing to the Lakers. A game 7 win would send the Lakers organization into a tailspin, and as in the resulting panic the team would be torn apart. Free agents will leave, Phil may decide to retire in shame, Kobe may even leave for greener pastures. The power of the hated Laker organization may be broken forever.

 So you see, there's alot more than just one series at stake here...We stand on the precipice of never having to see all those damned Kobe ads again... Sasha's punch worthy face will never again soil our screens. In short..freedom.

 God speed Rockets fans, the entire Western Conference is counting on you.

OK, so the season ended, and all we have to tide us over is old suns games on the DVR which we watch and try to look suprised when we win ( who saves losses after all).

But that doesn't mean you can't still root for your favorite suns all the way into the finals! After all, once a sun, always a sun! Follow along and see how many you can spot, and you damn kids who are too young to know any of these people,  learn some history and stay off my lawn!

Let's go to it ( Note for internet smarties: This is mostly from memory and only intermittently verified, so if I get anything wrong, feel free to show the web how smart you are! )

Since suns are everywhere this postseason, it's a much shorter question to ask: How many teams have NO Suns connections in players, coaching or front office? Name them now! ( note, we're not counting coulda wouldas like Rondo or Rudy, etc)

Answer:  Five teams: Blazers, Cavaliers, Rockets, Magic, and 76ers

Which playoff team has the most connections currently?

Answer: ever since the battle of 1976, the Suns and Celts have had a weird connection that spanned all levels of the organizations. We share so much blood we're practically related. Currently, Suns wearing green ( metaphorically ) are : GM Danny Ainge ( get well soon ), sharpshooter Eddie House and um..basketball player Steph Marbury. And of course you nitpickers will talk about Rondo but I prefer not to think about that.

As for the rest, starting in the west:

Lakers, as much as it pains me, there's a phonenix bloodline in LA which leads to..Rambo? Kurt Rambis came to us at the end of the 80's from the Lakers and returned in 93.

Jazz: Before Jeff Hornacek went up against MJ in the finals, he was a Sun, and still lives in AZ. He's currently a special assistant coach in Utah.

San Antonio: Everytime Kurt Thomas or Micheal Finley score against us, the gorilla cries a little.

Dallas: Still kicking in the second round, Jason Kidd ran point for us in the 90's and still aint bad

Nuggets: Really? Yes Really..The current President of Player Operations is Rex Chapman, former phoenix dead-eye.

Hornets: Our favorite Kiwi Sean Marks found the playing time he never got under Mike here in Phoenix.

and in the east:

Pistons: Antonio Mcdyess was a sun twice over! once in 97-98, then again in 2003

Hawks: Joe Johnson, enough said

Miami: James " what u talkin bout " Jones is still knocking them down from the 3 now along D-Wade...and if only Mr. Marion had stayed...

Chicago: Who could forget that Vinnie Del Negro was actually applying for the Sun's coaching spot in the offseason? Though he may not have been the best fit for us, he's shown he's got some coaching chops...

Well there you have it folks..if I missed anyone, put it in the comments and Phoenix Stan will give you free cupcake!

 ( note: cupcakes left over from Grant's '82' celebration from 3 weeks ago)

 ( note on previous note: there's not really any cupcakes )

via a.espncdn.com

Random thoughts on the first round match ups so far:

Lakers vs. Jazz: Sportswriters loved this one because it made them look like a bunch of fortune tellers. " I predict the Lakers in 5 " I'm a genius! On another note, for all the press the Suns and Pistons have gotten for their run being over, how about the ESPN crew attacking the soft defense of Utah? Unheard of even a couple years ago.

Hornets vs. Nuggets: What kind of bizzaro world are we in where the Nuggets are playing lock down D and Chris Paul looks like the 2nd best point guard in the series? On the other hand, the Nuggets have Chauncey Billups. Think about that for a second. How tough do you have to be growing up with a name like Chauncey? Who names their kid Chauncey anyways? Regardless, it's good to see the old timers show these whippersnappers what-for now and again.

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