Been a while, crocodile, and summer trades

Wow, more than two months without an update. But it's not like anything important has happened.

It's not like the Mavs have taken some beatdowns on Sunday afternoon, dished out one of their own, clinched a playoff sport, are active on the summer trade front, and are poised to move up in the Western conference standings.

Right?

Apologies to the dozen (if I'm lucky) readers of there here blog, other writing duties, several hangovers and missing quite a few Mavs games of late have all contributed to the lack of updates.

But I'm back with an empty promise that updates will be more regular.

Now that we've got that out of the way, let's take a look at where we are.

After a gutsy win over Miami, in which they were able to take Wade out of the latter half of the fourth quarter, they responded with yet another letdown game against the Grizz.

Then the Mavs took part on yet another Sunday afternoon beatdown, but lo and behold, they were the ones dishing out the punishment.

And now the Mavs are red-hot heading into the last four games, three of which against playoff teams, two of which against the New Orleans Hornets.

If you're like me, you're waiting for the Mavs collapse tonight or Sunday, and the eventual slide back to the 8th seed, followed by a swift dispatch from the Lakers.

But as Andy Dufresne told us, "hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things."

Before we take a look at tonight's game, let's take a look at some of the hot rumors that have been sweeping MavsLand.

Shaq

Shaq and Tony Cubes have been carrying on a twitter romance, and if it weren't for Mark's wife, maybe the two of them could have been something more.

Shaq has wanted to go to the Mavs for a while now. Do the Mavs want/need Shaq next year?

Do they need him? Maybe. Dampier is inconsistent, but if he has a game like he did against the Jazz, he would be tough to lose.

Although he did miss four easy shots, and drop a number of easy passes from Kidd.

The problem Shaq had in Phoenix was that he slowed down their fast break too much, he was taking the place of Stoudemire or Marion.

The Mavs don't have that problem because Dampier isn't a part of their fast break, so you wouldn't lose anything on that front.

Shaq also tends to show up a little more often than Damp, although you never know what another year does to a player, especially one who's been carrying around as much bulk as Shaq.

But tell me a lineup of Kidd, Wright, Howard, Dirk and Shaq doesn't sound good. Three hall-of-famers right there, even if two are past their prime.

I would be all for getting Shaq is we didn't have to give up Howard. Howard has proved in the last few games that he is one tough M.F.er, as well as a defensive X-factor, and the man to set the scoring pace early.

Sure, he might be held together with little more than twine an chewing gum right now, but that doesn't mean he's not helping. A career-high seven steals against the Jazz show that, and he had a beaten-in face.

If the Mavs could trade Damp (now an expiring contract) and Stack (essentially an expiring contract with a $2 million buyout) for Shaq, I am all in.

I think it would help Kidd want to stay, and I think it would fire up the fans without giving up too much.

Chris Bosh

A Dallas native, Chris Bosh has rapidly become disenchanted with what was, a year ago, a promising Raptors squad. It appears Jose Calderon isn't the franchise PG we (or at least I) thought he was.

The rumors have been that he will is excited to come and play for the home team. What would the Mavs have to give up if they were to snag him before his contract expires?

Probably Howard, probably Bass, and probably one more player. Is is worth it?

To be honest, I'm not sure. Bass and Howard are becoming the glue that keeps this team together, and to jettison them as they are blossoming and finding their roles would be a shame.

But Bosh could provide a big jump shooter, which would make it very tough to double-team Dirk, he can rebound, he can hit free-throws, and he's not too shabby on the defensive end.

I think Bosh would be more effective in the 4-spot, with a true center there, but then Dirk has to move to the three, and if you think he'll be stopping the likes of Odom, Pierce or LeBron, you're crazy. So I'm not sure how that would work out. I think there are better options out there, such as:

Chris Paul (!!)

Apparently Cuban went after Paul pretty hard at the trade deadline,and he's ready to make another run.

Always a business man, Cuban's proposal is aimed at saving Hornets owner George Shinn (who seems to have gone to the Robert Sarver school of sports ownership) close to $100 million. In these tough times, it's hard to turn that down, even when it virtually destroys your team from a basketball standpoint.

A scenario could be Howard, Stackhouse and Dampier for Paul, Peja and Chandler, or maybe James Posey. Which, despite my newfound respect and love for Josh Howard, is pretty hard to turn down for the Mavericks.

They get the polar opposite of Dampier, a guy who has trouble staying healthy, but can handle the alley-oop, play great defense, and is very athletic.

They get Peja, one of the best three-point shooters out there, but who also has health problems and is on the downside of his career, not to mention an awful contract.

But you also get some guy named Chris Paul, who is apparently pretty good.

A point guard who has spent the last few months redefining his position, still two years away from his prime, and carried a mediocre (and that's being generous) supporting cast to a seventh game against the Spurs in the Western Conferene semifinals in his first trip to the playoffs.

Having Chandler there to take those alley-oops is huge, and if you think players like Dirk, Terry and Bass aren't going to benefit from better looks, you don't know much about basketball. Bass is like a younger version of West, and that similarity can't hurt either.

I'm sorry, I think I just drooled all over my keyboard.

That is a deal that could be entirely possible in these times, and it may even lead to a scenario like the Celtics has last season, where ring-hungry veterans sign on for one last run.

If the Mavs can keep Gerald Green and Ryan Hollins around, that gives them an incredible mix of superstars, veterans and youngsters that will shoot them right back to the top of the mix in the West.

There's something to chew on for the summer, but let's take a look at tonight's game. In the next post of course.

Why it (Sometimes) Sucks Beng A Mavs Fan

Please don't confuse my headline as a result of bitterness at the two blowout losses last week. Though that does sting, thanks for bringing it up.

No, the headline and the following article result from my recent realization that being a Mavericks fan makes it hard to appreciate much of what has made the NBA fun for the last few years.

And I'm not just talking about the 2006 Finals. No, it's a deeper, more fundamental thing, and not just Tim Duncan.

What follows below is a list of people and teams that, as a Mavericks fan, I cannot root for. And you will soon see that it's no picnic being a fan of the blue and white. And sometimes green.

The San Antonio Spurs

A given. And if you're any kind of Mavs fan, you're asking, "What's so bad about hating the Spurs? I've done it my whole life." And as a Mavs fan, I have to answer:

Nothing. They should be reviled.

But in hating the Spurs, Mavs fans have missed out on appreciating the best power forward to ever play the game. I love Tim Duncan's game, and I hate myself for saying it.

Every time he hits his patented bank shot at an impossible angle, I find myself marveling at it for a second, then a dagger to the heart quickly follows suit.

The Golden State Warriors

Thinking about Stephen Jackson's gap-toothed grin, Baron Davis' scraggly beard, and Don Nelson's visual answer to the "What would Chris Farley look like if he was alive today?" question gets my blood boiling.

But guess what? As long as you weren't a Mavs fan, the Golden State Warriors accomplished something special with the 2006-07 Playoffs.

They beat the Mavericks by winning a game on the road, then letting their home crowd make it impossible for the Mavs to get homecourt back.

They beat the Mavs with amazing three-point shooting, high-energy dunks, and sheer moxie. Normally, that's everything that you want from an underdog, and more.

And my favorite team was on the losing end of it.

Not only that, but the coach that left the Mavs was the one to lead the charge. Nellie was the one who devised the defensive plan (sounds like an oxymoron, I know) to lock down the Dirkster.

I remember watching the Jazz-Warriors series that succeeded the Mavs-Warriors series, and every one of my friends were all over the Warriors. After all, who doesn't love the underdog.

Alright, now I'm getting depressed. But it's not over.

The Miami Heat and specifically Dwyane Wade

I hate Dwyane Wade. I hate him with every fiber of my being. Prior to June 2006, he was one of my favorite young players in the league. No more.

It wasn't that he went to the free-throw line if someone breathed on him wrong (okay that's part of it). It's the fact that he had the nerve to call out the Mavericks and the Dirkster specifically, for choking in the Finals.

Guess what Dwayne? Joey Crawford and co. helped you get your ring much more than any of your teammates did. Just because the league decided to make you it's newest superstar and leave ol' Tony Cubes holding the bag, doesn't mean you need to be a jackass about it.

I get so mad watching Heat games, because Wade still gets the same treatment. He goes to the line almost at whim, which is usually a skill, but in his case, it's just the star treatment.

People complain that Bron Bron whines too much, well Wade never whines, because nothing ever goes against him.

I was giddy with glee reading all of the things about D-Wade that came out in his divorce proceedings. Serves him right. He's got this image of a religious, down-to-earth guy, but his own kids don't know him, and he gave his wife an STD, which he contracted through adultery.

Sorry, but with D-Wade, this time it's personal.

The New Orleans Hornets

Chris Paul. More than Kobe, almost more than LeBron, he does things on the court that defy rationalization, if not the laws of physics themselves. His passing. His stealing. His shooting. His movement in transition. All of it, as close to perfection as you can find.

And as a Mavericks fan, you can't root for him. Sure, he's not as bad as the Spurs or the Warriors, but he still tears us apart every time the Mavs play him. He makes Kidd look like a high-schooler. His alley-oops to Chandler make Dampier look like a boulder (which isn't far off).

David West pulled one of the most obnoxious stunts I've ever seen in last year's playoff, and not only did Dirk do a great thing by not escalating it, Dirk's toughness was called into question while David West felt no consequences.

In Conclusion

Quick, name the top five players in the NBA. In no particular order, Kobe, Bron Bron, Chris Paul, D-Wade, and Dwight Howard. Maybe some leeway there, but hear me out.

Kobe plays in the West, and he beats the Mavericks, which is more than enough reason to root against him, except when he plays the Spurs.

To recap the article, three out of those five should, nay must, be hated by any self-respecting Mavs fans.

So what can we as Mavericks fans root for, besides our team. More than you might think.

• LeBron James. He doesn't really have an effect on the Mavs, besides playing them twice a year. Until he beats us in the Finals (which, at the point, we would be lucky to see), there's no reason to dislike him, at least from a Mavericks point of View.
  
• Chris Bosh. Man, is he fun to watch. A Dallas native, he's stashed all the way up in Canada, and his team isn't good enough to beat the Mavs. Sounds like a winner in my book.
  
• The Boston Celtics' Big Three. Despite the beatdown they gave us yesterday, there isn't much to dislike there. I always liked Pierce, Garnett, and Allen, and since we only play them twice, and we sure as hell won't be meeting them in the Finals anytime soon, they're safe.
  

And that's about it. The good news? The Celtics just beat the Lakers, and Bron and (hopefully) the Cavs look to have a good shot at keeping the rest of the teams from winning anytime soon. Sure, that could eventually include the Mavericks, but we'll pass that bridge when we come to it.

You might be wondering, after reading this, why Mavericks fans don't just hang themselves with their Dirk jerseys. Well, because A) a Tony Romo jersey would offer more support, and B) It's not all bad.

Every time Dirk hits one of those completely undefendable fade-aways, it's worth it. Every time you see Mark Cuban on the sidelines, screaming for his team harder than any fan, it's worth it. Every time you see Jason Kidd use spin to put the ball where it has absolutely no right to be, it's worth it.

And maybe one day, when Dirk is holding the Larry O'Brien trophy far above his head with a beaming-from-ear-to-ear Cuban next to him, and David Stern looking like he's rather eat a bullet that hand that trophy to Cuban, it will really be worth it.

This Could Be The Start Of Something Beautiful

Well, here we are. More accurately, here you are. Reading my first ever blog entry. Ever.

I never wanted to start a blog before. I never considered events in my life to be worth noting for public consumption, and I never had a topic that was worthy of constant dissection.

Well, the latter has changed. As I watched my beloved Dallas Mavericks get bounced from the playoffs in the first round for the second straight year, I realized something. That something was this: I need to see the Dallas Mavericks win a championship. I need to see Dirk win a championship.

I am a Red Sox and New York Giants fan, and I saw both of them win within the past year, and that has only whetted my appetite for what I cannot have.

The Giants won a thrilling Super Bowl, and the Red Sox won a second World Series, after four generations of New Englanders lived without seeing won.

The effect of this is twofold, only one of which has any relevance here. I am now consumed with the idea of the Dallas Mavericks winning a championship.

What will follow in this blog are my Mavericks related thoughts, including how me (a native Washington D.C.-er) became so infatuated with the Mavericks, why I love Dirk Nowitzki with every heterosexual (and possibly some homosexual) bone in my body, where I was during the disatrous collapse in the 2006 Finals, and much, much more.

I think it will be good for me. I still can't read those 2006 Finals Boxscores without getting upset, and I can barely stand to look at D-Wade, Shaq, Riles, Baron Davis, Nellie or Stephen Jackson without the rage bubbling to the surface.

That should about do it for this first entry. Stay tuned for much more as I delve into a modern case of tragic fandom, and stay with me as one day, maybe, just maybe, Mark Cuban and co. lead us into the promised land.