The Mavericks have home court advantage over the Heat and a two-nothing lead after two games. All that, and they still find a way to lose.
Congrats to the Heat for an excellent performance.

I really wonder if this whole Mark Cuban vs. The NBA thing is good for the team? After several years of hearing how the league is trying to screw them, maybe that's started to get in the player's heads. Perhaps Cuban has become nothing more than a destructive distraction who makes sure his team has an Xbox in every locker.

This was the year of the Mavericks, and they blew it. I find it hard to imagine that the current regime will ever make it back to the top of the mountain. If they can't come back from three straight losses in Miami, how do they hope to come back from something this crushing?

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I'm a bit of a basketball fan, so I have a few thoughts of my own.

I don't think Cuban's antics hurt the team as long as the coach didn't complain about the refs. Avery's the one the team listens to, and therefore he sets the tone.

When Avery Johnson started ranting after games 4 and 5, that's probably when it started filtering into the locker room.

Cuban's effect on his young coach might have caused a trickle down effect.

Coming back from this choke job will be difficult, but there are a couple of things Mavs' fans should take heart from.

1. The Mavericks have one of the youngest teams in the league. Their oldest starter is Jason Terry at age 28. Dampier and Stackhouse, who've been the first two players off the bench most of the year, are the oldest significant roster members at 31.

Josh Howard, Devin Harris, DeSagana Diop and Marquise Daniels are all still 25 or under. All of them bring athleticism to the mix, but need to improve their skills. That should come with time. We'll see if they learn from this playoff run, or it scars them.

2. Avery is basically a rookie coach, who is still learning his new duties. Fans might forget he was trying to sign with the Mavs as a player at the beginning of last season, and only reluctantly agreed to become an assistant coach. So as good as he's done, Avery can improve.

He's said what he learned most from last year to this year was not to micromanage the game. But he still does it and should learn to take the foot off the pedal. The veterans tune it out, but it has affected the play of the young guys at times.

You look at Devin Harris and Marquis Daniels, and they look to the bench before and after every play. Harris only got his head right in the playoffs, but still seemed indecisive at times.

Daniels was a non-factor in the playoffs, and only showed confidence in himself last night. If only the rest of the team had played with his abandon in the third and fourth quarters. He was the only one who stepped up.

3. Cuban has been no help to the team this playoffs. But he is always a big help in the offseason, when he opens his wallet. Hopefully, the Mavs have one solid (if not spectacular) free agent move left in them.

They have to decide whether to re-sign Jason Terry and Keith Van Horn.

Terry gave them big plays throughout the playoffs, but he's also had at least one major bonehead move the last two post-seasons (leaving Nash open for the killshot last year, low-blowing Finley this year). He also killed them in Game Six last night, putting up shot after shot when none of them seemed to be falling. I'm sure they re-sign Terry, because he gives them a shooter on a team full of "athletes".

The team should probably let Van Horn go, and try to sign a forward who gives them toughness/presence and maybe even a little intimidation. I've never seen a team more in need of an enforcer, and one with a few skills wouldn't hurt. Whether that player exists on the free agent market, I don't know. But the player I'm talking about doesn't need to be a big name, and probably won't play major minutes behind Nowitski and Howard.

MAV's FANS should take heart, though. This was supposed to be a rebuilding year. Many pundits--even into the postseason--thought the Mavericks were still a year away. So maybe this is the growing pains of a young team, and they can learn from their mistakes.

Or maybe they've been exposed, their confidence has been shattered and they never get closer than this year. It won't be easy getting back to the finals. The Spurs's bench will get younger and more athletic in the offseason, and the Suns will have Stoudamire back.

Either way, I imagine Mavs fans will always look at this year as the one that got away.

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Well said, MacGuffin.
Sounds like you watch a lot of basketball.

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I travel a lot in my job, so I end up watching a lot of shows from my hotel room. TNT basketball is one of them. That Charles Barkely is irrepressible.

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What line of work are you in, if you don't mind my asking?

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It looks like the Mavericks are going to churn the bottom of their roster.

They drafted Maurice Ager in the draft. Ager is a 6'5" shooting guard. He is known for his ability to drive to the basket, as well as a jumpshot. Ager is also considered a tough-nosed player who can play in your face defense. He will replace the departing Adrian Griffin. (Griffin was not considered quick enough to cover the best shooting guards in the league, while his lack of offensive punch left a hole in their lineup on the offensive end. It was hard to play him when other offensive liabililities like Desagana Diop were on the court.)

Ager's drafting also made Marquis Daniels expendable. They traded Daniels to the Pacers, who would not have gotten playing time (unless an injury occured). In return, they got 31-year old 6'10" power forward, Austin Croshere.

Croshere can spot up for the three. While not a great rebounder or defender, he can get inside and give the team rebounds. He is considered dependable and has a certain amount of tough-mindedness. Croshere will back up Dirk Nowitsky, and fill the role that was filled by Keith Van Horn these past two years.

Croshere has a little more meat on the bones than Van Horn, so he should give more on the rebounding and defensive front. That isn't saying much, of course. Van Horn is a better natural shooter, but Croshere is a solid career 34% three-point shooter. His overall shooting totals are nothing to brag about, though. Neither is athletic, but we are talking about the 3rd or 4th guy off the bench, so these guys are usually specialists.

The Mavs have made an offer to 31-year old guard Mike James, who played for the Raptors last year. James is a scorer and a shooter at guard, and torched the Mavs in last year's playoffs (when James played for the Houston Rockets, who took the Mavs to seven games). He would back up Devon Harris at point guard.

Like Harris, James is not a natural ball distributor. He's probably a better shooting guard, a la Jason Terry. But the Mavericks need more shooters coming off the bench, and the addition of James and Ager should do the trick nicely. James is considered an "Avery type" player, meaning he has mental toughness.

The Rockets and Timberwolves are also courting James. I tend to wonder if the Mavs will acquire James. He loved playing in Houston. More importantly, the Rockets have a $4.2 trade exception. That means the Rockets could trade a draft pick (and only a draft pick) for James, then sign him for higher than the mid-level exception. Teams can sign players on their roster for more than they can sign free agents. Since this would give the Raptors something in return for the loss of James, they might be willing to do the trade.

From the Dallas perspective, if this deal falls through, then the Mavs will still have their mid-level exception ($5.5 million) to pursue a veteran point guard backup.

If this works out, the Mavericks should improve their bench from last year. James and Croshere are solid, stable veterans who can hit shots from the outside, which should help with scoring from the bench.

Since Ager is also a shooter, it looks like the Mavericks have diagnosed one major problem in the Finals--the Heat could cheat too much onto Nowitsky and Terry, because they often only had three scorers on the floor at any given time. All in all, Nowitsky and Terry were the only pure shooters they had, which made it easier for teams to scheme the Mavs. (Some might argue Stackhouse is a shooter, but he's more of a slasher/scorer type in my mind.)

So this would present a bench of Dampier, Croshere, Stackhouse, Ager and James. That should be an improvement over last year. How much is left to be determined, but when you are two games from the title, you only need a subtle change to put you over the top. My guess is this group is a little better...and decidedly better, if the rookie (Ager) can contribute next year.

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Wow! Talk about a detailed analysis.

From the sound of it, it looks as though the Mavericks will be better next season.

Thanks for the evaluation, MacGuffin. Very solid stuff. Maybe you're in the wrong line of work.

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Mike James signed with the Timberwolves today.

Apparently, the T-Wolves offered something neither the Rockets or Mavericks would...a four year contract.

James is 31, so that fourth year would have guaranteed $5 million plus to a 35-year old. Basically, James got an extra 5 million to sign with Minnesota.

Looked like James was leaning towards the Mavs over the weekend. He talked about his long friendship with Avery Johnson and his desire to play for a contender. It's hard to care about title contention when there's extra money on the table.

Alas, it looks like the Mavericks will have to find a new backup point guard. James was the best left out there, but Dallas still has the mid-level exception to offer to a free agent.

Since the Mavs don't have a classic point guard (Harris & Terry prefer to shoot it before they pass it), maybe they can find one of those in free agency. They certainly won't find another scorer like James on the open market.

Stay here for your Mavericks news.

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"The Gods are just, and of our pleasant vices
Make instruments to plague us." - King Lear