Column:

Bye bye Dallas

By Patrick Daugherty

Published May 2, 2008

The first round of the National Basketball Association Playoffs are finally almost over, and we have learned quite a bit. Well, some of us have. A lot of the things I learned have been known by a bunch of people for quite some time now.

Namely: Chris Paul is about as real a deal as they come. I knew he was talented enough, but I didn’t think he was mature enough yet to lead a team deep into the playoffs. I thought he would lose his cool the way he did in the Atlantic Coast Conference and NCAA tournaments at Wake Forest, but he has done the opposite, ramping up his play and romping all over the hapless Dallas Mavericks.

Which is the other thing we resoundingly learned: The Mavs window, which seemed indefinite only two years ago, has slammed emphatically shut.

Against the Hornets they looked like what they were: a seventh seed. They played no defense, mustered no offense and appeared discombobulated, and much worse, completely disheartened throughout. Aside from Dirk Nowitzki, Brandon Bass and Erick Dampier, they displayed absolutely no emotion or passion.

And Dampier’s enthusiasm did little to help as David West and Tyson Chandler dismantled him down low.

Much worse for the Mavs though, is that the Jason Kidd trade is now looking to be one of the worst in NBA history. Despite appearing to have something left in his tank in New Jersey this season, it now appears to finally be empty. He is old, slow and tired and was outplayed in every facet by Paul, even in the areas that go beyond pure athleticism.

He didn’t play like some crafty veteran. He made bad passes, didn’t push the tempo and looked thoroughly confused as to what to do. He looked helpless. Compounding all this is that he now appears be the worst shooter in the NBA. The Hornets didn’t even bother to guard him when he went behind the arc because they knew it would either be a near air ball or that Kidd wouldn’t risk the embarrassment.

Devin Harris might turn out to be nothing special over the course of a career, but he certainly would have helped in this series just by virtue of being quicker and more athletic than Kidd. And looking like an NBA player when he shoots.

Even DeSagana Diop might have proved more valuable to Dallas than Kidd. Dallas’ only “big,” Dampier, was so thoroughly outplayed you’d think he was one of those clowns ESPN uses when one of their analysts wants to diagram a play. A second legitimate large and tall man (I’m not saying he’s talented) like Diop could have at least helped in wearing down West and Chandler. Instead, Dampier was left hanging out to dry, broken, exhausted and beaten. Just like Dallas.

Firing Avery Johnson is surely only the first in litany of steps the Mavericks need to make if they want to even get back to the playoffs next year, let alone contend.

It’s going to be incredibly tough though, as Dallas has the most bloated contracts in the NBA this side of the New York Knicks. What an awful way to go out for one of the teams that reintroduced the fast break and scoring, and therefore excitement, to the stagnant NBA of the late ‘90s. Godspeed, Dallas. It was great while it lasted.