Who saw the Jazz-Mavs game?

[Reality]

Cheapshot by Dirk?
Absolutely.  Oh he might not have intended for AK to get injured that badly, but it was reckless flagrant all the way.  Here is an espn mini clip if you missed it on the sports news. 
http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=280303026&action=playvideo&hcmp=motion
Btw what is AKs latest status?

Beyond that, how did the Jazz blow a 21 point lead, only to ride 18 fts in the 4th qtr to win? 

[Reality]

It does look like Dirk got faked out by AKs pumpfake, went airborne, then as AK went up it spun Dirk around.  Dirk looked like he was trying to chop AKs shooting arm, not clothesline his neck.
Still a cheap play imo, but not intended to clothesline.

Was the ft parade by the Jazz in the 4th payback for this clothesline or just shabby D by the Mavs?

[WayOutWest]

No way that was a cheapshot.  Flagerant II yes, but clearly it was not a cheapshot.  Dirk was falling and instinctly just held on for dear life.  Tough play, hope AK will be ok.  The Mavs just play fouling defense in the 4th, nothing new there.

[Ted]

There was no head fake. Andrei was in the process of jumping to the basket. The foul pissed me off. Not the initial club to the neck; that was just a foul. The problem is that Dirk didn't let go until AK was horizontal. I'm not going to proclaim it a cheap shot, but it was stupid and dangerous.

If you look at Al Horford's foul on T.J. Ford (which knocked TJ out for 3 months) and this foul, I think Dirk's foul is clearly more "dirty."

[SPURSX3]

wow, look out how quickly the Mavs and the Suns have started to fall after the trades...   they are dropping faster than I thought...Dirk is an idiot, this was not a cheap shot, just his stupidity.

[JoMal]

A Jazz player gets clotheslined by a Euro-softee? Anyone else not see the irony in that?

[msc]

As an isolated play, I didn't think it was a cheap shot.  Flagrant II for sure.  However, while watching it I was reminded of the play on Sunday where Dirk swung his arm around "reaching for the ball" and clocked D Fish upside the side of his head.  Isolated, I thought that was a Flagrant II as well just because of the hard contact with the head region.  Put them together, two games in a row and maybe he is playing a little dirty.  One can definitely see that part of the Mavs improved D is playing more physical.  Clearly, Avery Johnson, or someone in the organization is coaching the Mavs to be "tougher".  They've been called soft for so long, I don't blame them.  I'm all for physical play and have never been one of those fans that cries foul when teams get physical.  Rather, I expect my team to step up and match the style of play.  

There is a fine line between playing physical and dirty.  I believe that in this case Dirk might have crossed the line unintentional simply because it's constantly being beaten in to his head that he's soft and needs to play tougher.  

[westkoast]

Not a cheap shot but an easy flagrant call to make.  There was no play on the ball and it really could have injured AK.  Dirk was given a slight head fake and once he realized he was out of position he tried to foul him to make sure he couldn't get the shot.  They said the x-rays were negative so that's a good sign at least.

Dallas needs to stop the bleeding quickly.  Losing to 3 of the best and playoff bound teams in the WC is not a good sign.  The choking in the 4th quarter of all 3 games would have me VERY worried if I was Avery Johnson.  They just can't close out games against good teams.

[WayOutWest]

Dallas needs to stop the bleeding quickly.  Losing to 3 of the best and playoff bound teams in the WC is not a good sign.  The choking in the 4th quarter of all 3 games would have me VERY worried if I was Avery Johnson.  They just can't close out games against good teams.

They have barely had time to gel with Kidd and EVERY single one of those games were very winable by the Mavs.  They could have easily beaten the Spurs, Lakers and Jazz with a few fortunate bounces.  They were on the road and I did not expect them to be that close against those teams since they have been so hot.  IMO this is a good sign for the Mavs going into the playoffs, a few tweeks here and there and they will be just as good as anyone else.

IMO the Lakers could have played better.  While I attribute Gasols poor shooting to good defense, the Laker 3 point shooters were just missing.  The Mavs IMO did not cause the Lakers to shoot so poorly from beyond the arc, Sasha has actually cooled off quite a bit from his torrid pace durring the historic road trip the Lakers were on.  Yet it's hard to attribute ALL 3 games to poor performances from those teams, the Mavs must have had something to do with it.  I do agree the Mavs crunch time execution does not look good.

Question for Spurs, Lakers and Jazz fans, were the Mavs that good or were your teams just having an off night?

[Reality]

^^ Agree.  For sucking so bad, how were the Mavs in the game in the last 60 seconds vs Spurs Lakers Jazz.
After tonights game vs Houston, Dallas gets a schedule break with about 5 straight .500 or less teams.
Plenty of time to get more comfortable with end of game plays with Kidd.

You guys are on crack to think that is anywhere near a good hard foul or so far away from a cheapshot.
As Ted pointed out, watch Dirks arm how long he holds on for the "takedown".
"Holding on for dear life."  Pssssh.
Delivers a karate chop blow to AKs shoulder blade then continues for the takedown.

[westkoast]

Dallas needs to stop the bleeding quickly.  Losing to 3 of the best and playoff bound teams in the WC is not a good sign.  The choking in the 4th quarter of all 3 games would have me VERY worried if I was Avery Johnson.  They just can't close out games against good teams.

They have barely had time to gel with Kidd and EVERY single one of those games were very winable by the Mavs.  They could have easily beaten the Spurs, Lakers and Jazz with a few fortunate bounces.  They were on the road and I did not expect them to be that close against those teams since they have been so hot.  IMO this is a good sign for the Mavs going into the playoffs, a few tweeks here and there and they will be just as good as anyone else.

IMO the Lakers could have played better.  While I attribute Gasols poor shooting to good defense, the Laker 3 point shooters were just missing.  The Mavs IMO did not cause the Lakers to shoot so poorly from beyond the arc, Sasha has actually cooled off quite a bit from his torrid pace durring the historic road trip the Lakers were on.  Yet it's hard to attribute ALL 3 games to poor performances from those teams, the Mavs must have had something to do with it.  I do agree the Mavs crunch time execution does not look good.

Question for Spurs, Lakers and Jazz fans, were the Mavs that good or were your teams just having an off night?

They could get a pass for not having time to gel if they were not 2-3 loses away from being an 8th seed.  They literally have no time to gel and that is why I said they need to stop the bleeding now.  The west is wayyy to competitive right now for them to lose games to teams right behind them or above them in the seeding.  The same applies to PHX.

Dallas plays solid defense for about 3 quarters and then something happens.  I don't know if its a mental break down or choke (ala Miami/GS) or they just flat run out of gas.  Asking Jason Kidd to guard the Kobe Bryant and Manu Gnob's of the league is just down right asking for it.

As for your question...I don't think the Spurs or Lakers played horrible.  They executed down the stretch and Dallas did not.  It's great Dallas kept it close for 47 minutes (50+ for the Lakers) but if you don't win the game it really means nothing.

[SPURSX3]

I would no say the Spurs were bad, but In would not say that the Mavs are THAT good either, I think both teams were having issues, and I don't think that the Mavs trade for Kidd was a good idea.  The suns and Mavs IMO are fast paced teams and both of them have started to lose since they traded, IMO it is hurting both teams until they change the offense to if the players they traded for.  The mavs are going to need more time though IMO.

[Reality]

^^ Agree Xs3.  Altho WoW and i do think Dallas will get better with a little more quality Kidd time being spent, the Mavs certainly seem to have lost their swagger.  They just seem like a 2nd tier team now, one that can come close but cannot prevail over tier 1 teams.  I'd like to see them run more O thru Josh Howard, they seem married to Dork in crunchtime and its too predictable.

[jn]

First off Ted is correct, there was no pump fake.  Dirk turned and jumped, AK then power dribbled to let Dirk go by.  Second, Dirk wasn't just hanging on.  He came down hard and was actually throwing Dirk away from him as he went down.  If he was trying to just hang on he would have pulled AK toward him.  Instead he threw AK backwards.

[msc]

The Lakers didn't play well offensively on Sunday.  They played pretty good D actually (surprisingly); however, offensively they settled for too many 3's, played outside of the offense after the 1st qtr, and had it not been for a studly performance from Kobe would have lost convincingly to the Mavs.  I don't think the Mavs are that bad right now, but rather having to gel on the fly while playing tough Western Conferance opponents on the road.  Not an easy task.  

While I was initially against this trade and still think it's foolish for the long run.  I think Kidd will end up helping them in the sort run (this year and maybe next at most).  He actually helps them run more as Dallas had basically transitioned (no pun intended) to a half court team running isolations under Avery.  He will also bring tougher D and rebounding in that position.  He's already shown he can really help Dirk, I think a key component is Kidd getting familiar with Howard and how to make him better.  Howard had a good game last night, but up until then he hadn't been playing that great since the arrival of Kidd.  Those two gelling will be key to their success, IMO.