To be or not to be The Dallas Mavericks took back home-court advantage beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 93-87 last night. They have a 2-1 advantage in the series. They are two wins away from a second trip to the NBA Finals.
It was not pretty and it was never easy. The Mavericks darn near blew a 22-point lead in the second half, but it was the struggling Dirk Nowitzki who forced some shots down and iced the game, for all intents and purposes.
Neither superstar was particularly sharp. Neither second fiddle was just awesome (Russell Westbrook took 20 shots to get 30 points). The benches were awful.
Again, how they combined for 180 points is beyond me.
What I think we did learn is just how immature the Thunder are. This was a point made by some before the series started: That the Thunder didn't know how to win on this stage. Generally, that's a ... generalization that I tend to not buy into until it actually happens, if it does.
To proclaim that a team doesn't have what it takes to win at a certain level is disrespectful and, really, impossible to know until it happens. Consider that many veteran teams never learn to win on the highest level (see: the Utah Jazz of the 1990s and early-2000s). And then how would you explain the Memphis Grizzles doing what they did to the San Antonio Spurs or the 2007 Golden State Warriors dismantling the 2007 Dallas Mavericks. That argument holds little empirical weight.
Now, it is clear the Thunder are a tad over their heads. They are probably a veteran or two away from really giving a better team a run for their money.
It will not get easier for the Mavericks, however. The Thunder may be overmatched, but they are prideful and a team of some badasses who will not go quietly into that good night. I still say this goes seven games and there's little evidence at this point that suggests otherwise.
It is disconcerting how apt the Mavericks are at coughing up double-digit leads. Good grief. How many more times can they afford to do that? It's shocking that the Mavericks have had a lot better teams that have not made it any further than this Mavericks team. It seems all too good to be true. But I'll take it if it gets the German a ring.
