Let's forget all the refs for a second. Let's forget that non-call and what Dwyade did in 2006. We wouldn't be having such troubles, feeling such gut-wrenching agony with every Mavs' playoff loss if it weren't for one thing.

That's the home playoff loss. One of the big reasons why the Mavs have no NBA championships is that they've lost critical playoff games at the American Airlines Center, which in all regards, should be a fortress. The best homecourt in the league, filled to the brim come playoffs time with a chunk of the city's over 1 million people population.

When the Mavs moved to the AAC from Reunion Arena, they were coming off a 53-29 season and a trip to the second round of the playoffs as a result of knocking off a strong, veteran-savvy Utah Jazz team. They were loaded with young talent, most namely a 23-year-old German 7-footer who could score from all over the court.

The move to the AAC brought an entirely new image to the Mavs. New uniforms, new logos, new colours, a much more modern facility. The fans responded and the new arena was packed full, game-after-game.

Come playoffs time, the anticipation for the Mavs was at its peak. In a three-game sweep over the Timberwolves, every three sunk by Dirk Nowitzki, Nick Van Exel or Steve Nash, every thunderous dunk ripped down by Michael Finley, even every block by Shawn Bradley was met with a roar. It was a clinical offensive display by the Mavs, polished off in Minneapolis. Hope was high as the Mavs readied for a showdown with top-seeded Kings.

They earned a split in Sacramento and considering what had happened previously, there were high hopes of heading back to Sactown for Game 5 with a 3-1 lead. But that came to a halt as the Kings offence worked mercilessly over two games: 115 layups over the entire series. The Mavs lost Game 3 after struggling to get their stops, handing homecourt back to the Kings. Then, they blew a 14-point lead in Game 4, even after both Vlade Divac and Chris Webber fouled out, with Mike Bibby sealing the game with a jumper over Dirk. A Game 5 in Sacramento was just not a task they could handle after two demoralising defeats.

It was a setback, but at the time, it was still early for the Mavs. Dirk was only 24. Nash and Finley were at their peaks. Bradley, LaFrentz, Van Exel, Najera formed a solid rotation behind the Big Three.

That blossomed in the 2002-2003 as the Mavs started 14-0, flashing their typical sparkling offence and showing new commitment on the defensive end. Eventually, they ended tied for the best record in the league: 60-22, and were headed to the playoffs again.

Both the Portland and Sacramento playoff series were epics in their own rights, but let's head straight to the WCF against the Spurs.

In a tremendous FT-shooting performance in Game 1, the Mavs fired 49-of-50 from the line after a first-up miss by Eddie Najera, stealing the game and homecourt advantage with a 113-110 win. A blowout loss in Game 2 ensued, but the Mavs had gotten what they wanted.

But things turned in Games 3 and 4 as the Spurs quickly found ways to exploit the Mavs and their weak front-court defence. In the most important storyline of the series, Dirk's season ended when he stepped on the foot of Manu Ginobili at a critical point in Game 3. With San Antonio holding a 3-1 lead like Sacramento did in 2002, the Mavs look buried once more. Then the Spurs shot out of the gates in Game 5 and led 44-25 and then later 70-53 in the third, and the Mavs seem pretty much done. Enter Michael Finley, who fuels an incredible comeback: he scores prolifically in the third quarter, with a three-pointer pushing the lead back to 72-64. The Mavs enter the fourth quarter down 74-81, but brings it down to 1 with a 6-0 run: Walt Williams scores on an up-and-under, Nash produces an incredible shot-clock beating floater and Van Exel makes a difficult layup. Then Nash ties it up with a three and gives Dallas the lead for good by assisting Raef LaFrentz on the go-ahead dunk. Finley buries the dagger.

Having fought back to 3-2, the Mavs found themselves with the momentum: a Game 6 win in front of a big crowd would send the series back to the SBC Center for a Game 7, and with rumbles of Dirk Nowitzki making a comeback for a possible Game 7, they had a good chance.

The Mavs took the initiative upon themselves and built a lead: the Spurs generally struggled after a tough collapse at home and Nick Van Exel knocked down a shot early in the fourth, the Mavs led 71-58.

And then came the collapse. Words cannot describe what I felt at the end of it: all I can remember from that was Stephen Jackson, Manu Ginobili and Steve Kerr, all taking times to nail three after three: [cliche]with each dagger feeling like a nail in the coffin[/cliche]. Total collapse: a 23-0 run allowed, the Mavs had no way of getting back even at home. And that was the first painful defeat: being eliminated in such a way, at home to end what had been a terrific and promising season.

2003-2004 came. Over the summer, the Mavs brought in more scoring: Antawn Jamison and Antoine Walker. The regular season was no biggie: everyone knew the Mavs had the talent and general make-up to make them, and it was all about getting deep into them and winning the championship. A third straight year playing against the Kings.

And another loss at home. Down 3-1 once again, after having been unable to win the first two at Arco, the Mavs went back to Sacramento, fought hard but got generally shredded by Mike Bibby, and a potential Dirk game-winner bounced off the rim, sealing a 119-118 win for the Kings and a first-round exit for the retooled Mavs.

2004-2005 was a complete change in personnel and a transition from offensive-orientated to balanced. The first-round series against Houston was another epic with its fair share of controversy: after Games 1 and 2 at home, the Mavs levelled it up in H-Town, and then won Game 5 after a contentious call on a play involving Michael Finley. A 40-point blowout win ensued in Game 7, and the Mavs were moving on.

And there was the Nash series. Everyone remembers his game-tying three over Jason Terry to send Game 6 into overtime. Another killer blow, the Mavs went on to lose: again, eliminated at home.

The road to the 2006 FInals was hardly smooth either: only an amazing, stunning, brilliant Game 7 road win in San Antonio avoided what would've been another big collapse as the Mavs lost Game 6 at the AAC. But they steadied up against the Suns, winning Game 5 on the back of Dirk's 50-point gem, and then giving the Suns a taste of their own medicine.

That trend continued in the playoffs: after a pretty close Game 1, the Mavs turned Game 2 into a blowout and went to Miami with a 2-0 lead and a great chance of winning one of the three back there, having swept the season series. Games 3 and 5 were among the biggest gut-punches of the all the Mavs' playoff defeats this decade, riddled by officiating fail. But Dallas had homecourt advantage and Big D should've been geared up for the biggest sporting events in the city's history (think about it: Brett Hull scored that goal in the third overtime in Buffalo, and the Cowboys win their Superbowls away from Texas Stadium). There would have been nothing like a Game 7 in Dallas, in that arena.

Only that Game 7 never happened. No matter how long a leash Wade got from the refs, no matter how bad both calls at the end of Game 5 were, no matter how inexplicable that Game 3 loss was, there was no way the Mavs should've lost the elimination Game 6 of the 2006 NBA Finals on their own homecourt. Wade led the way again for Miami with 36 points, but that was moreso his skill than the home cooking and the phantom fouls he drew back in Miami. The Mavs lost the game by two points, and that was by shooting cold, hard bricks for most of the game. Shooting bricks in an elimination situation, in front of a packed house filled with your own fans, is inexcusable. But it happened: the home playoff loss, the most devastating out of all of them.

I'll make the last two quick: the Game 1 loss to the Warriors gave them the belief ("We Believe" and such) to complete the upset with their homecourt advantage and their athleticism. The Game 4 loss to the Hornets was just a surrender, destroyed by Avery's poor coaching, Josh's marijuana revelation and a flurry of missed jumpshots.

And that brings us to tonight. Every time we look back at why the early 21st-century Mavs have never won a championship, look at the fact that they lost critical playoff game after critical playoff game in that fortress of theirs. Sure, hypothetically they mightn't have won those 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 or 2008 series even if they hadn't lost those home games, but each defeat was a killer.