Suns fan here (some insights)

[mckane]

I've been a PHX fan for a long long time...and always liked Kidd.

I watched the LA, Mavs game today and wanted to chime in:

I love this Mavs team. I like the Kidd trade. You guys still look like you're trying to fogure everythign out and gel as a team - but the peices are there. Gonna be scary in the Playoffs. Kidd gives you another playmaker with rebounding etc. Dirk and Howard had pretty bad games today and you still were one break away from taking that from LA on the road.

Wish I were a mavs fan right about now. If you are concerned about your post-trade team, put yourself in our shoes.

One thing I know for certain, I'll root for the mavs if they play the Lakers or Spurs.

[FGump]

Thanks for the encouraging insights. Sometimes it's hard to get a good perspective from up close because we see our own weaknesses well, and we assume other teams don't have as many flaws because we don't watch them as closely.

[dirkforpres]

Thanks... Todays game didnt concern me because Kobe and the Lakers always play well against the Mavs. I also think if it werent for an idiotic coaching move in San Antonio, we would have won that game though.

[JES12]

Wish I were a mavs fan right about now.

Its hard to be one right now knowing we use to beat the good teams and experiment against the bad teams with our previous lineup. Now we have to beat the bad teams to stay in the playoff race because we suck against the good teams.

[jbsg02]

I def think we're on the up since we got Kidd, it just sucks losing so much when you expect so much from your team

[SaintofKillers]

I've been a fan of the trade since day one and I think this puts us at a better chance to win a title... but not this year. We still have to jel and make some additions in the offseason since the concept of double teams are alien to Avery, so we might have to find that elusive defender like Artest or Marion, and maybe some athletes to flank JK.

[mckane]

-= original quote snipped =-

Now we have to beat the bad teams to stay in the playoff race because we suck against the good teams.

Believe me. I know how THAT feels. But the SUNS can't even beat the bad teams right now.

The Kidd trade makes you guys better and smarter. Devin Harris was a solid PG but he made some really bad decisions down the strech and Avery never trusted him with the ball at crunch time. I never thought he had that killer instinct. And when I watched the Suns play the Mavs I always hoped the ball was in his hands down the stretch. Jkidd thrives when the game is on the line.

The Shaquisition has the potential of killing our team this year and crippling us for the future. Count your blessings. I'd trade Shaq for Kidd in a heartbeat. Seriously... just show me where to sign....

[That Nicka]

IMO, you guys still have not fixed what lost you the championship in 06... someone that can defend SGs... Everyone knows it was Dwyane Wade that beat you guys that year and not the Heat... Kobe score 62 in 3 quarters the following year, and seems to always have a field day against you guys... GSW which is basically comprised of a bunch of SGs beat you guys last year...

I dont see you guys getting passed the Lakers or the Spurs this year the way you defend SGs... This has to be addressed this summer for you to have a realistic shot at winning the championship next year

[Teffer10]

IMO, you guys still have not fixed what lost you the championship in 06... someone that can defend SGs... Everyone knows it was Dwyane Wade that beat you guys that year and not the Heat... Kobe score 62 in 3 quarters the following year, and seems to always have a field day against you guys... GSW which is basically comprised of a bunch of SGs beat you guys last year...

I dont see you guys getting passed the Lakers or the Spurs this year the way you defend SGs... This has to be addressed this summer for you to have a realistic shot at winning the championship next year

That has been pretty obvious to all but 3 people in this world and I won't mention their names but the acronym of their first 3 initials are DAM.

[JES12]

That has been pretty obvious to all but 3 people in this world and I won't mention their names but the acronym of their first 3 initials are DAM.

Donnie
Avery
Mark

[Duiz]

The team defense is terrible when defending the big time scorers... and I think the Mavs seen is interior scoring... Someone like David Lee, Jason Maxiell, Paul Millsap, or even Glen "Juicy Babey" Davis

[FGump]

I like the trade more and more, after seeing the results. The Mavs increased their potential considerably. Before I thought Harris was too much to give up, but now I'm seeing the light. Harris is an undersized 2-guard. Kidd is an oversized PG. Size matters in the NBA in terms of what you can accomplish and the way you impact the game.

[davidse]

the mavs aren't good enough.

other than kobe - everyone on the lakers had a horrible game, radmanovic (who's been playing well) and ariza didn't play at all, and obviously bynum - which made dampier look like shaq.

i'm not even sure if the mavs will make it to the 2nd rd of the playoffs.
the only benefit you'll see from the kidd deal is next season when you use him as a 20 mil expiring contract and may actually get a couple of players that can help you win.

this team is better than the mavs of a few weeks ago, but just not good enough to hang with the west's elite.

[Jordan45822]

The only elite in the West are the Spurs & Lakers. Mavs, Jazz, Rockets, Suns, & Hornets are not there yet.

[Realmavsman]

-= original quote snipped =-
Its hard to be one right now knowing we use to beat the good teams and experiment against the bad teams with our previous lineup. Now we have to beat the bad teams to stay in the playoff race because we suck against the good teams.

So that is what you got out of these two very close losses on the road against what most people consider the best two teams in the Western conference? "we suck against the good teams." Come on, I am dissapointed that that we did not beat the Spurs and the Lakers but in many ways I was encouraged that we are every bit as good as either of them. The Mavericks lost the lead in San Antonio, a game they lead most of the way. Disappointing but it did show that the stupid theory that the Mavs could not play the Spurs anymore without Devin Harris and Diop is simply false. And the Laker game the Mavs shot the ball horribly most of the night and still could have won that game. Both these games were on the road against teams playing like it was the playoffs.

If you want to make that out to be "we suck against good teams" go ahead but the rational Maverick fans know that the Mavs were a good bounce away from beating both those teams on the road.

[JES12]

Disappointing but it did show that the stupid theory that the Mavs could not play the Spurs anymore without Devin Harris and Diop is simply false. And the Laker game the Mavs shot the ball horribly most of the night and still could have won that game. Both these games were on the road against teams playing like it was the playoffs.

If you want to make that out to be "we suck against good teams" go ahead but the rational Maverick fans know that the Mavs were a good bounce away from beating both those teams on the road.

You honestly think Parker was fully healthy? What about Bynum, Radmonovic, Ariza? And aside from Kobe, all the other Lakers were having sub-par games. If they start clicking and/or get healthy, Dallas will start seeing 20 pt losses. If you can't see that, then I'm feel for you when you see the shock of playoff ousting that is going to happen this year.

And don't expect Dampier to get 16pts & 17 rebounds a game either.

[FGump]

It's interesting that supposed Mavs fans say "the other team wasn't playing well, they can play better" but never apply that same rationale to the Mavs. They always assume the Mavs have played their top game. Kinda dumb, really.

I can point to bunches of things that are going to be hard-to-impossible for the Lakers to repeat next time. For example, what are the odds that any other reffing crew gives the Lakers DOUBLE the calls of the Mavs in a game. That's nuts. What are the odds the Lakers can hold the Mavs to shooting 37% next time? If you change either of those factors to something more normal, the Mavs win in a rout.

See how that works?

If you wanna be real, you see the still-adjusting Mavs (with pluses and minuses during the game) went into LA and played a red-hot Lakers team even. It's almost impossible to beat a really good team on their court. So I don't see the problem here.

In a playoff series, you hope to win ONCE on the other team's floor. If these two teams played virtually that same game 3-4 times, would the Mavs win at least one? Of course. They didn't dominate, in fact they lost, but they are right where they need to be. Competitive with the best on their court,

[JES12]

I agree with you FGump, but the Lakers are a good defensive team and that 37% (32% w/o Damp) is very replicable by the Lakers.

And to counter your statment, they can do 2 of those games on our home court.

It goes both ways.

In a 7 game series, Lakers win 4 and may not even reach 7 games.

[FGump]

I'll say it again. It was one game, that could have gone either way. Overtime. In LA, not Dallas. The Lakers getting DOUBLE the foul calls (a 25-FT disoarity probably wont happen again this season in a Mav game, that's how rare it is.) You are ASSUMING the Lakers would play that well in Dallas - in other words, you only assume good things for the opponent, and you assume bad things for the Mavs. You assume the Lakers defense will play that well next time, rather than perceive the Mavs top offense can play much better once they get on the same page with Kidd.

All in all, I find that general approach and all those assumptions unrealistic to the max.

[crucifixx]

lol the mavs would've wrecked the lakers if dirk and jho were their usual selves to start the game