Some way, some how, Kobe and the Lakers have never faced off against Dirk and the Mavs since the two superstars were acquired. It’s a shame these two titans have never clashed, akin to how John Cena and the Rock won’t be wrestling until next year’s Wrestlemania.
Want to know why they’ve never met?
The Mavericks are perennial chokers. They are bound to have a remarkable regular season and slip up in the playoffs.
Exhibit A: After holding a 2-0 lead over the Heat in the 2006 finals, they go on to lose the next four games and the championship.
Exhibit B: 2007, the year Disco Dirk won his one and only MVP award was also the year the Mavs were shocked in the first round by the upstart Warriors. The Warriors were the eighth seed that year.
“At some point you got to get over it,” Nowitzki said of the loss to the Warriors. “You can’t hold grudges forever. It is what it is. They got hot that year and then they beat us in the playoffs. You move on from there.”
Exhibit C: In last year’s playoffs, the Mavs were ousted in the first round yet again. This time by the seventh seeded Spurs.
You see it doesn’t matter where the Mavs finish in the standings, as Matt Barnes poignantly tweeted earlier in the week “me & the Golden State homies laid out the blueprint on how to beat Dallas. ‘PUNK ‘EM’ Ain’t changed.”
To be fair, the Mavs have never had a defensive minded center like they do now in Tyson Chandler. And with their core players (Kidd, Dirk, Terry) all near the end of their primes, I bet they’ll be eager to exorcise the demons of early exits past.
That doesn’t take away from the fact that I’d prefer to see Dallas in the second round as opposed to the Thunder.
Last year, the Thunder came within a Pau Gasol tip-in of sending the opening round series with the Lakers to a Game 7.
This year they’ve added Kendrick Perkins, the man who has given the Lakers’ big men nightmares in the Finals two out of the last three years. Perkins, alongside Ibaka may be the only front court in the NBA that can match up with Andrew Bynum and Gasol.
Lest we forget their trump card in Russell Westbrook, who epitomizes what the Lakers have trouble defending: quickness in the backcourt. Lakers Nation saw first-hand what Ellis and Curry did to the Lakers last night, now imagine having to contain a much improved Westbrook. (Russell is averaging three points less than Derrick Rose with nearly identical assist and rebound numbers.)
That’s why I’m relieved the Lakers finished in second. They avoid the biggest threats to a three-peat until the Western Conference Finals.
As the saying goes, every dark cloud has a silver lining.