Even Peja located the rim"Why Don't The Dallas Mavericks Drive To The Hoop When They Know They Will Win If They Do."
I'm not a sports psychologist or even a regular psychologist. I don't understand what it is like on the floor of an NBA Playoff game nor do I know the mindset of a professional athlete.
And I sure as hell don't understand the dumb stuff athletes do on the court or playing field.
The Mavericks blew a 23-point second-half lead on Saturday and the mantra afterwards was why the Mavericks didn't simply put the ball on the floor and drive to the hoop. Worst case is that you miss the shot. Best case is you make the basket. In the middle is you get fouled and go to the line. Outside of Brendan "Bricklayer" Haywood (who has the yips, by the way) this is a good thing.
Sure enough, the dumb Mavericks suddenly "get it" and go to the line 35 times in a 93-82 game five win. All on a night that they shot a lackluster 41 percent from the field
Now, we can celebrate this win. Or we can go ahead and bemoan game four. I choose the latter.
What is it about going to the rim that is so hard to remember to do.
Surely at this stage in their careers, the Mavericks know that they must get to the rim and the free throw line in order to win. They're not idiots. And if they want to win so badly, why wouldn't this be job No. 1.
As a Mavericks fan, I'm frustrated as hell. You should be as well.
We get upset when the Cowboys offensive line doesn't block even though they know they should. We get upset if the Stars don't turn the puck over in their own end even though they know that they should.
Why don't we hold the Mavericks to the same standard, night after night? We conveniently forget their struggles when there's a "W" on the schedule. The Mavericks know the secret to success. They can just as easily go to the NBA Finals if they relentlessly attack the rim. Bottomline. No argument.
Notes:
1. I love when Jason Kidd shoots well he's a good shooter. When he doesn't (most nights) then he's doing something else. Fact is, the 14-assist nights have been a rarity all year.
2. Mavericks win. J.J. Barea gets 13 unimportant minutes. Correlation.
3. Tyson Chandler: His first excellent game of the series. Realized he's in a contract year.
4. Mavericks, 49 rebounds. Blazers, 37.
5. The Mavericks will win this series, probably, and we will all forget how bad Dirk Nowitzki was from the field.
6. That Wes Matthews has been obscenely irrelevant.
