Dirk Nowitzki likes to have time for himself, still not accustomed to the superstardom basketball has afforded him. He might have ventured to the Australian Outback with mentor Holger Geschwinder to get away from it all anyway, but considering the number Golden State did on him, the trip bordered on an escape.
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| A win over the Warriors will help to bury past pain. (Getty Images) |
"I felt for Dirk," Nelson told the Dallas Morning News. "He had the best year he's ever had. Then to get beat in the first round of the playoffs. I felt for all of those guys, to be quite honest with you, all the guys I've coached. It was a high for me and a low for them. I certainly know, I've been on the other end. I know the feeling."
Nellie has lost a lot of games, well over 900 actually, but he has no idea what the Mavericks went through last year. Dallas won 67 regular-season games, losing only 15 in one of the finest showings in league history. Three losses came by Golden State's hands. Then came the playoffs, where they were dispatched in six and became a laughingstock around the league.
"We all still have a bitter taste in our mouths," Nowitzki admitted, "knowing we had a great season last year and they ended our season pretty harsh."
The Warriors welcome Dallas in on Thursday night, and you can throw out the records. Actually, though, don't.
Golden State hasn't won yet this season. If it happens to beat Nowitzki's Mavericks, it would be like re-opening the wound. You normally don't get must-win games this early in the season, but this is no ordinary meeting. I'd argue that the Warriors/Mavericks has surpassed Suns/Spurs and Pistons/Bulls as the premiere rivalry in the NBA. Look at the history. Nelson drafted Dirk. He appointed Avery Johnson to be his successor. He feuded with owner Mark Cuban and famously spoiled Dallas hanging its Western Conference championship banner by coming in and winning at the AmericanAirlines Center last November.
It's almost as if ever since he left, he has taken every opportunity to one-up his former employer. The Mavericks have to put a stop to it immediately.
Losing to a team missing Stephen Jackson to suspension and playing with hobbled regulars Kelenna Azubuike (ankle) and Monta Ellis (flu) would be another massive embarrassment. The Warriors are giving up 119 points per game, for crying out loud. Dallas has to win.
Nowitzki and Johnson spent all summer stewing over what happened and have cooked up ways to combat Golden State's swarming of the reigning MVP, which held him to a scoring average of less than 20 points per game in eight meetings last season. To truly put the past behind him, Nowitzki has to come out and mercilessly dominate.
Josh Howard, the Mavs' leading scorer, has the right idea when he says his team simply got caught up playing their opponent's style of basketball and that this is a new season, but all the memories will come flooding back if Dallas walks out of Oracle Arena a loser.
Win, and it can go about its business of re-establishing itself as the Western Conference's rising power. Lose, and perceptions about how mentally weak the Mavericks are will rise up again. Games in early November don't get as big as this one.
Riley needs a mulligan
Miami coach Pat Riley disclosed just before the season started that he would be willing to do just about anything if he could have center Shaquille O'Neal healthy for 70 games.
Anything, Coach?
"I'd make a pact with him right now, if he were healthy for 70, I'd give him 12 off -- any 12 he wants," he told the South Florida media. "Don't tell him that, but I would."
Someone who looks eerily similar to O'Neal has suited up for the Heat's first four games, even throwing down a few "don't fake the funk" nasty dunks, but that wasn't the Shaq that Riley was hoping to see. The one he envisioned wouldn't be without a double-double and averaging 6.5 rebounds per game.
Granted, he's still working his way back after missing the entire preseason, but we can't all get suckered in by the fact he has played in fewer than 60 games in each of the past two seasons and pat him on the back just for being out there.
O'Neal promised he'd put Miami on his back and get them through this initial patch without Dwyane Wade -- and he has failed. The Heat will almost certainly fall to 0-5 on Friday night when Phoenix rolls through town and now face an uphill climb the rest of the way in an improved Eastern Conference where there have been impressive gains by division mates Orlando and Atlanta.
I hope Shaq stays healthy. I hope he re-establishes himself as a dominant presence in the post, because the league is much better when he's doing his thing. That said, he has lost his privilege of taking 12 games off. Frankly, Miami can't afford it. Given the $20 million it's paying him this season, it's on him to be out there for 82, especially since he has been a shell of himself in these first few outings.
Sticking with Gilbert
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| Gilbert Arenas doesn't want anyone to freak out about his slow start. (Getty Images) |
From his NBA.com blog comes the following gem:
Don't Put Me on Waivers
Have you seen my stats? For all my Fantasy owners, do not give up on me yet. I know my three-point percentage is horrific right now –- 1-for-17 -– but I think the rims are broken around the league. David Stern, you need to look into fixing these arenas. But really, 1-for-17, I'm shooting worse than ... I don't know who to say without pissing somebody off. I'm just shooting really bad right now, but I'll get the mojo back in a minute.
Arenas will be happy to know he's nowhere to be found on the CBSSports.com most dropped players list, where Portland's Jarrett Jack and Minnesota wings Corey Brewer and Gerald Green lead the most discarded.
Arenas had his knee drained for the second time in the last month earlier this week and expects to be back to his normal self by the time Thanksgiving rolls around.
Quote of the week
"His game is elevated, his leadership qualities are magnified now. Dwight is really starting to come full circle, for us, for the organization, for the city. When you think Orlando, you won't think Disney, you'll think Howard." -- Magic guard Keyon Dooling on teammate Dwight Howard, whose 18.8 points, 13.0 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game have Orlando at 4-1, atop the Southeast Division and among the leaders in the East.
