The Aftermath
- That was a fantastic win. However, make no mistake -- Oklahoma City is still incredibly tough, and this is a vastly different game with Russell Westbrook playing. A first round match-up against the Thunder is very possible, and while it's certainly a better draw than the Spurs, there will be no easy sleep for any Maverick if that's who the opponent is.
- Do you want an example of why this game changes so drastically with Westbrook playing? Look at this defense.
- Kevin Durant is the second-best player in the league and one of the best players of his generation. The Mavericks have gone with a let-him-get-his-points approach and he's dropped 50, so tonight, whenever he brought the ball up the court, they would double team him with the center (Dirk did it once, but Blair or Wright worked much better).
- Derek Fisher is wide open in the corner, but he's two passes away. The ball rotates, but Calderon doesn't have to worry about blazing speed and closes hard to prevent the three, which is about the only thing Fisher can hit these days. That gives time for Blair, who doubled up top on Durant, to recover to Ibaka, his man. And while Ibaka does get a good look at a hook shot, that's not really his game.
- The gif can be found here if you're interested.
- If Westbrook's in that corner instead of Fisher, then the threat of him hitting that three pointer or, more likely, blowing by a closing Calderon are much higher.
- And rapid-fire style: Man, I still like Caron Butler. It makes me sad that Wayne didn't crack the regular rotation tonight. What a game from Shawn Marion, who ever since the 2011 playoff series, loves to kill the Thunder. Congrats to Vince Carter, topping 23,000 points for his career. From VanIblis in the game recap comments, Dirk has shot under 42 percent from the field just three times in his last 25 games. He's good.
Socially Acceptable
You might need to rethink your point guard situation if you're playing one that gets outmatched athletically by Jose Calderon.
— Josh Bowe (@Boweman55) March 17, 2014
Calderon just played good man-on-man defense, but it was against Derek Fisher, so it doesn't count, right?
— Tim Cato (@tim_cato) March 16, 2014
Fisher learned the game from Bob Cousy, voted for FDR's third term, was a fan of the Beatles before they blew up. #dfishfacts
— Mavs Moneyball (@mavsmoneyball) March 16, 2014
How will Dallas lose this lead? #WereAllThinkingItSoDontYellAtMe
— Kirk Henderson (@KirkSeriousFace) March 17, 2014
Over OKC. WEIRD. RT @mdug: With the 23-point win, Mavs have their largest margin of victory this season.
— Rebecca Lawson (@beccaaftersix) March 17, 2014
If you like .gif
Brandan Wright is ridiculous. That is all.
I'll give a cookie to anyone who can explain to me how Monta made that pass.
When you get blocked by Jose Calderon, it might be time to retire.
I don't have anything to add. Just Shawn Marion at his finest.
That's a 37 year old and a 35 year old teaming up for a full-court pass and fast break dunk.
Some light reading
- You read our recap, right? Add a comment with your thoughts!
- Do you like buying Mavs gear? Do you want to win a free $50 NBA.com Store gift card? We've got a relatively simple contest running today that can help you with just that. Seriously, no strings attached -- just make a prediction and we'll let you know if you're the winner.
- After the game, Wright had this to say about his ridiculous alley oop: "As long as he doesn't throw it over the backboard, I'm in good shape."
- What do margaritas, Monta and the Matrix have in common other than the letter 'm'? Well, the two Mavericks bartended at On the Border and made some Montaritas, so of course we were out there seeing what it was all about. Here's the scoop from Rebecca.
- Totally unrelated to anything Mavericks or MMB, but I really enjoyed this feature story by James Herbert about Rasheed Wallace's transition to a coach.
- And finally, a little Texas Legends stuff: I was at Friday's game and Shane Larkin had his best game in the D-League with 21 points and 11 assists. I thought he was pretty open and informative in the three-minute conversation I had with him.
Haiku and goodbye
One day, he will jump
And he'll go straight up to space
Goodbye, Brandan Wright