what were your first impressions when you first saw the Dallas Mavericks 0-4 at the beginning of the season?

Answer 1

My first thoughts were that finals collapse

Answer 2

I'm an avid fan and was in shock...didn't expect them to play as disjointedly as they were...but once they got into the groove, it was a beautiful thing. At this point, as a Dallas resident, if they don't make it to the finals, and ultimately win, it's going to be a HUGE blow for them.

Now, the only issue is the lack of press they get overall, considering what an amazing season they are having. (Dallas news was dominated by Cowboys late season struggles and subsequent coaching search). Nationally, it seems the focus is on Kobe, Labron and Dwayne Wade. I read the paper every day, and I understand that they are uniquely talented individuals but they are not on teams that are going anywhere in the playoffs this year.

I realize Dallas doesn't have as many "brand" players (players with huge Reebok, Nike, Adidas, Gatorade contracts, etc. that put them in radio/tv commericals and print/online ads), nor do they have all the off the court drama of a Kobe, Pacers, etc. But shouldn't a strong work ethic, SELF-DICSCIPLINED, well-educated, group that demonstrates solid team work and a commitment to excellence be celebrated in a sports world that has become "all about me?" They aren't flashy in the same way that the Suns are so the short highlight clips are aren't as frequent but a longer clip would show great ball movement, hustle, great court coverage and beautiful pure spot up shooting that is absent in 3/4 of the league.

They have made enormous strides in their core weaknesses - low post play, settling for jump shots and no defense - and have one of the most balanced teams in the league. Their current success deserves SI cover story level coverage, not just token/obligatory coverage.

Another issue is seeding for the play-offs. To improve the quality of the play-offs they need to stop seeding by conference and just seed by record. All wins/losses should count to be able to progress to the next level. At this point, geography counts more. Take that out of the picture and force the league to play quality basketball all season long (and manage their player acquistions accordingly). This would eliminate the erosion of competitiveness in the playoff run to the Finals (better tv ratings)that we've seen in recent years because one conference is so much stronger than the other. They beat their conference up and limp into the championship to face a team that's had 1/2 the competitive challenges all season long.

Answer 3

I knew it wasn't time to panic, since it was more of a hung over from losing the finals slump than bad play slump. I knew we would turn it around..(I live in Dallas by the way)

But to go 44 and 5 after that was a sweet treat.

Answer 4

why if they dint go 0-4 and instead like 3-1 we could have like 47 wins we have 44 right? so 47-2 im mad but were gonna break some nba records and we did this took me 15 minutes to write.

Answer 5

first of all i want to mention that i am a Mavericks fan.

i wasnt worried. I thought it was just an early cold streak. i guess i was right. And look at them now! winning their division and in single-digit losses at the all-star break.

Answer 6

I knew that the Mavericks were going to bounce back.

Answer 7

The same thing when I seen my Suns 1-3 . They will turn it around and run the table

Answer 8

It's only 4 games.

Answer 9

That if they don't turn things around they'll end up a very low seed in the Western play-offs or not make the play-offs at all.

Answer 10

My first impression was they are my team and they will come back and at least make noise in the playoffs.