i hope you all have your preparations in order because it's going down on sunday. the fantasy basketball draft of the CENTURY. explosions, rhinos etc. sunday at two central. if you pick dirk, you auto win the league. game over. shhhh it's a secret. i put that there to see who actually reads all of this stuff.

don't forget or else yahoo will screw you with autopicked players who have been retired for two years.

last season 6 guys from this site braved an 82 game season in a fantasy basketball league. eighty two games. it was harrowing, but i think a majority of participants survived.

anyway, now that basketball is scheduled to be played again, it's a good time to inform everyone who can read and click here that the league is back again. league id is 37941 and the password is mavsmavs. the tentative day for the draft is december 18th at 2pm central. i'll gladly move the day and time.

if we could get more than 6 people this year, that'd be super.

The year was 2006, a good year to be a 20-something male who liked the NBA in Dallas. “College” up to that point had been a breeze, mostly because it was of the community variety, and the Dallas Mavericks were in the NBA Finals for the first time. They had swept the Grizzlies, gotten by the Spurs in an absolutely epic series, and then finished off the Suns in a somewhat anti-climatic Western Conference Finals. Then came the NBA Finals. After the first two games, I was as happy as I usually was when I finished an English paper at the literal last minute. Nothing could stop the Mavericks.

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why are you looking in an off topic thread right now? the mavs have won the western conference finals against the thunder, and are about to face the heat in the finals. you should be looking for something on topic to talk about.

this thread is for those of you who do not want to talk about the amazing job the mavs are doing in the two thousand eleven national beardsball association playoffs. seventy five words is such a beating.

What an infuriating series.

This was the series where the Mavericks were going to prove critics wrong, and show that they could take care of a lower seed and move on to the second round of the playoffs. That was the plan. It was executed well enough in the first two games, but then it stopped working, and everyone started panicking. The Mavs stopped playing defense, the coaches stopped coaching. For an entire quarter it seemed as though someone had rewound history just to stick it to Dallas again. As fans, we can't expect anything less to occur.

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The roof the roof the roof is on fire
The roof the roof the roof is on fire
The roof the roof the roof is on fire
We don't need no water let the motherfucker burn
Burn motherfucker burn

Hello my name is Jimmy Pop and I'm a dumb white guy 
I'm not old or new but middle school, fifth grade like junior high 
I don't know mofo' if y'all peeps be buggin' give props to my ho 'cause she fly 
But I can take the heat 'cause I'm the other white meat known as Kid Funky Fry 
Yeah I'm hung like planet Pluto hard to see with the naked eye 
But if I crashed into Uranus I would stick it where the sun don't shine 
'Cause I'm kind of like Han Solo always strokin' my own Whookie 
I'm the root of all that's evil yeah but you can call me Cookie

via i53.tinypic.com

Hey, how are you? I am fine. After a good idea was posed in the caramel thread, I chose to throw up this thread because I dislike Carmelo. Okay then, I have blabbed enough.

This is the place to talk about all your random ass opinions about other teams, other players, vanilla or chocolate, m&ms or skittles, two and a half men or seinfeld, whatever.

This is the fanpost that covers everything. Ramble here. Bruce can do this next week. We can all take turns!

Is anyone looking at a basketball blog before or during a championship game of another sport? I guess I'll find out with this here thread about the game. Either I talk to other people or to myself, it makes little difference. No offense, DOH. I don't know who's playing, but I heard that they won the most important playoff games this year, so they get to uh play another one. We'll see if I'm right.

There's a thick fog of hostility in this community, and I thought that I would add to it since it's been a while since I've written anything long enough to put in a fanpost. The following is my group of criticisms of this site, and you, the community.

This site doesn't have any auto-play videos

I don't know about you, but when I visit a website, I expect to be hit with a minivan commercial after clicking on a link. This site needs more loud noises, and random videos are the way to jar people who visit. Scare them, and they'll come back for more.

This site should charge people for the privilege to post comments

Buy an eight pack of comments, and if they're not stupid, then you get one free. Marketing genius. T-shirts will be made that indicate its genius, and people will buy them. Maybe put Dominique Jones' picture on it somewhere.

There needs to be more fanshots

And those fanshots need to be about how people are doing. Picture it. DOH would have one about how his day is going like a stupid gif of the chocolate rain guy getting hit in the face with a football or Bruce is feeling like a clown smile jpeg. I don't read them, but someone would.

Every single member of this site needs to throw up a fanpost about the previous game

It builds character, and pisses off bbob. It's as if JJ had sex with his sister-girlfriend, and left her at the truck stop. Desensitize bobby to it like JJ desensitized his sister to little-person fornication.

More trade speculation

Where is everyone's sense of adventure? Visit a dungeon. Eat fast food. Jump out of a plane over the ocean. Watch a Mavs game and expect Dominique Jones to get 20 minutes. Be haphazard and know that the organization can get Rudy Gay, Amare Stoudemire, Steve Nash, Devin Harris, Raja Bell, Lamar Odom, and Joe Johnson if Mark Cuban is willing to take on salary, and sell half of the American Airlines Center to Chuck Greenberg. The fact that Cuban hasn't made it happen doesn't mean anything. Keep coming up with half-brained scenarios because for every twenty that you visualize, none happen. Thems good odds.

Better race relations

A lot of you guys are simply racist. There's no way JJ Barea deserves so much of your hate, and most of it comes from the fact that he's from another race or whatever. You don't hate Dirk, do you? He's German or something. JJ could be comparable to Dirk.

Better sex relations

No, I'm not talking about bbob's sister-girlfriend again. Everyone leave Britney alone. I mean uh Lisa. She's just trying to accumulate numbers in peace. Also, everyone leave me alone. One has nothing to do with the other, but I thought I would throw it out there. I'm a guy, but I bleed like a girl.

kthxover

The Mavs are facing the Jazz tonight, and there wasn't a thread about it on the front page, so being the ambitious person that I am, I took the initiative and made this nice little thread in which people can talk.

Remember when the Mavs won that playoff series against the Jazz? I do.

What else is there to say? We'll get to see Al Jefferson go against the guy for whom the Mavs traded instead of Jefferson, Tyson Chandler.

Should be entertaining. Don't go to SLC Dunk. They don't like you, while I tolerate you.

There is a pair of basketball games on tonight, and I feel like talking about them. If you do, too, then welcome. Phoenix plays Golden State which should be a well played offensive extravaganza, and of course, that other game. Both are on TNT.

It has been a pleasant day in Dallas, weather wise. How is the weather where you are?

The word minimum for these posts is ridiculous. No one looks at fanshots, so there is no reason to make one. Don't take that the wrong way doh. Everyone is interested in french stuff.

There's a Mavs-related game going on tonight, and one I'm looking forward to as Dominique Jones will get some playing time tonight on a basketball court, and maybe more than he has received all season.

It's not on television, but for those of us in the metroplex, the game will be on the radio on 103.3 FM.

If the thought of minor league basketball doesn't do it for you, then talk about something else. I'll talk about Joe Alexander, and Antonio Daniels enough for everyone.

As a fan, it is sometimes interesting to pour over a team's moves and non-moves when games are not being played; and when the team is sent on a longer-than-expected vacation, it provides more time for the, sometimes futile, exercise. This offseason seems like it will not end, especially when the only news being released now is when ticket plans go on sale, and how Brian Cardinal is going to impersonate Tim Thomas this year for the Mavericks. No offense to either of those guys, but I could care less who sits at the end of the bench in the fourth quarter while Carlisle horsewhips Dirk Nowitzki. It simply does not matter who keeps Dirk from playing a full 48 minutes. Watching the movement in a story like that is dull.

Inactivity, to fans, feels like torture, but at the same time, I have to wonder why individuals put themselves through such an ordeal every year when no one is forcing them into devotion. It could be that this team has left its fans wanting more because we see the passion and dedication in the owner, and its star player, but passion does not lead anywhere.

Coming back every year for something different is what every fan does, except for those who keep winning championships, and it makes me wonder why. This team doesn't owe me a championship just because they failed at their only chance in 2006. They do not even owe themselves a championship, but there is one thing they do owe themselves, and that is an honest outlook.

Mark Cuban has said that the Mavericks have enough depth on the bench and length to match up favorably with the Lakers. Great. Way to go out on a limb, Cuban. It seems like I have heard this in the past. I noticed that he did not mention how the Mavs compare to the Spurs, the team that knocked Dallas out of the playoffs this past season. Maybe he should look at that instead of looking ahead to a series that might never happen.

For once, I wish this team would be honest with itself and its fans, and admit that the dedication, and to a lesser extent faith, placed in them by us is not misguided. Surely, that is a reasonable request. Tell us how we compare to the teams that we will be facing in the playoffs, not the Lakers.

Give us a reason why this season will be any different from previous years because optimism without basis becomes redundant, and eventually it runs out.

So, I was thinking of starting a fantasy basketball league on Yahoo for the people who post on the site, and I wondered if anyone would anyone be interested in something like this. The main obstacle would be having a draft in which everyone could participate. If you are available for something like this, then put down the ideal time and date you would be available for a draft, and we will see if something could get started.

     After watching a crushing defeat in the playoffs, I decided to take the optimistic approach to the offseason, and at the time, it was the only option other than admitting this team will, every year, do the same thing and let fans down again. Of course, "letting fans down" is a relative feeling as it means something different to everyone.

     I understand that only one team wins the championship every year. It is a privilege to obtain a ring. There are worse situations in a sports life. Just as easily as witnessing a decade of making the playoffs, I could have watched the Mavs trudge through a decade of mediocrity with an owner who does not care about winning, but who cares about profit only. Thankfully, this has not been the case, and this city has experience a decade of winning, even if it does come attached with an empty feeling.

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So here we are, in the purgatory that is the NBA offseason, weeks removed from free agent decisions, and days after the Summer League concluded. What have the Mavericks, and its fans, learned from this offseason so far?

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Wow, the Celtics and Lakers are in the finals.

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Ah, the end has come to both of our seasons. It is an unfortunate situation that neither one of our fanbases saw coming, and it comes too soon. And so the Suns have set on the spurs; the time has come for us to bring this petty bickering to an end, but before that happens, I think that I speak for everyone of us who have come in contact with your kind when I ask one, simple question.

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"I'll have the pancakes in the age of enlightenment."

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A thought or two on some of the players who have seen minutes in this series

Dirk has been phenomenal, which is nothing new, but the past two games he has averaged 16 points while raising his cumulative turnovers from three to nine. From the numbers, it would seem that something San Antonio is doing is affecting him. The numbers also suggest that he was more active on the defensive end with two steals, and two blocks after not registering a block or a steal in his previous game while averaging almost a steal and a block per game during the series.

Shawn Marion’s field goal percentage is down significantly during the playoffs from 51% during the regular season to 41% during this series, and his minutes reflect his downward shooting, as he has averaged almost 7 minutes per game less than the regular season. His decrease in playing time confuses me if only because he seemed to have such a long leash during the season.

Which brings me to JJ. Turns out, he is averaging minutes that are in line with what he had during the regular season, but he is being more haphazard with the ball in this series than in the regular season. His TOV% (turnovers per 100 plays) is up 5, and compared to Kidd, he’s holding on to the ball too much which is evident through their usage percentages, 21 to 12 for Barea, and Kidd, respectively. Of course, after bashing the guy, I feel the need to point out that he is shooting better than he has during the regular season, but just barely. (49% eFG in the regular season, 50% in the playoffs)

Jason Kidd played 36 minutes per game in the regular season, and 40 so far in the playoffs, not an absurd difference, but it does seem high for a player of his age. A result of this may be a decline in his 3-point percentage. He averaged 42.5% in the regular season, and 33% so far in the playoffs. He is working his ass off at both ends, and it is evident during the games, but he needs a minutes reduction at some point.

My opinion that Jason Terry has not been very noticeable in this series is exaggerated, partly due to his absence in Game 1. Since his breakout Game 2, he has averaged 14 points on 41 percent shooting. His shooting is poor, which is nothing too out of the ordinary, but 60 percent free throw shooting in those same three games is abnormal for him.

Brendan Haywood is better than Erick Dampier in every way except rebounding. It isn’t a noticeable difference, but their offensive capabilities is big enough to give Haywood the starting job over Dampier for the rest of the year. Dampier hasn’t made a field goal. Not one on four games. He is both a black hole, and completely ineffective when he has the ball for more then 3 seconds. Enough already.

And then there is Caron Butler. With my own two eyes, I have watched the best and worst of him within three games. You know what I’m talking about, the guy gets less than 15 minutes one game where he totals more turnovers (3) than points (2), and 2 games later, he shoots 50 percent on the way to 35 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 steals. He’s still shooting too many threes. 6 for 18 is no good. He has to be aggressive or at least three players will be standing around the perimeter for most of the game.

Not enough data to talk about Prisoner 3, Deshawn Booth, or Smiley McGee. Go Mavs, bring it back to Dallas.

(Thanks to http://www.basketball-reference.com for the numbers.)

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There is, at least, one more game to play, and the Mavs will play it.

Apathy is a feeling we all know too well, and it is a feeling that creeps in when things like this have happened. It is a familiar feeling. Down 3-1 to a team that has won three straight games, and that seem to have our number, the situation with the Mavs seems hopeless to the casual fan, and to the die-hard fan alike, but it is not. We have hope as fans of the Mavericks, and they have the ability to realize that hope as players.

As fans of the team, what can we do to silence the noise that accompanies the words of Spurs’ fans or critics or analysts who gloat and smile while saying, “I told you so?” We can choose not to give up, and take their hate tactfully.

We can choose to deal with the pain that comes from a team of basketball players disappointing us when it matters most, and we can appreciate the team for who they are – guys who might not be able to get over the hump from 4 years ago, but who also leave a little part of their souls on the court after every playoff loss.

Do not lose hope in a team that you have put your passion, curses, time into watching eighty-two nights a year. Deciding to give up when the future looks bleak does not solve anything. I suggest you look at this team, right now, and you decide whether they are a set of players whom you can stand behind, and whose effort left on the court you can appreciate even if the scoreboard does not positively reflect it.

They may owe us nothing, but if we are true fans, then we owe them our loyalty. If you do not agree, then feel free to become a fan of this year’s NBA champion, and do not come back when it looks better for my Dallas Mavericks.

We all know that the state that our team is in looks bad, but if we can approach this game with objectivity, and gratitude for another year away from the lottery, regardless of the outcome, then we should. Apathy is for lottery teams; and no matter how this series turns out, this team is not worth giving up on.

A couple of days ago, I had a weird thought: what if i went to the game instead of watching it on television? It hadn't even crossed my mind until I thought about a bet I had just lost with a friend that had to do with the Mavs.

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I hate having to come up with 75 words to fill out this part when all I want to do is put this up, and call it a day, but here I am trying to write a paragraph that will interest you enough to discuss the games in this thread. So today's games include the in-progress Bulls/Cavs game, Bucks/Hawks, Heat/Celtics, and Jazz/Nuggets to round out the night. That's a messload of basketball. I hope I don't get tired of it before tomorrow's game. Go Matt Carroll.

cause it'll be deleted anyway. i'll go first. matt carroll is the most underutilized player in the game of basketball. if he were to receive dirk nowitzki's minutes, then he would score just under 20 ppg, a little over 9 rbg and 5 assists while averaging 60% shooting from the field. i did the calculations. alas, he is used on the bench to rehydrate his overachieving teammates such as eddie najera and jason terry. go mavs.

Since Wes doesn't have a thread open, I thought that I would take some initiative, and start one myself. Early game tonight, and Caron Butler isn't playing for the second straight game. Probably withdraws. The Hawks will probably give us a little bit of trouble, but I think that the Mavs will pull it out in the end. Shocker, right? Anyways, this is a good place to talk about the game. Go Matt Carroll, and go Mavs. 

So the post-Dampier injury/trade deadline news out there is the story about how the Mavs are working out shooting guards for some weird reason, and they're looking to replace Damp's tiny hands and not his long arms. Anyways, if given a choice, what addition would you make to the roster right now? I thought Von Wafer showed some promise the past few years, but bringing him or McCants in when we have a perfectly good Beaubois on the bench, to me, seems stupid. What do you think? Who, of those two guys, would you want? Am I at seventy five words yet? Do I need to talk about how great Matt Carroll would be if he were the starting center? I hope not.