Lakers vs. Nuggets, The Fall of the Maverick Empire, Isiah Thomas's Path of Destruciton

Lakers vs. Nuggets

The only game I watched yesterday was the Lakers vs. Nuggets. It was forming in my head that the Nuggets have the weapons to pull the upset in the first round. The game tied at the half only inflated that belief. Carmelo Anthony and Allan Iverson provide enough fire power and the supporting cast can do damage too. They also have Marcus Camby - last year's NBA Defensive Player of the Year. However as the game progressed I changed my mind. The Lakers are just more talented. Despite the perception of Kobe Bryant being selfish, the Lakers play better team basketball. At least in yesterday's game they did. They took the extra pass, hustled harder and outplayed the Nuggets. The Lakers also looked liked the more experienced team. Iverson is battle tested and has Finals experience. Bryant just has more experience in the heat of playoff battles. Anthony is a great player but is still inexperienced in playoff battle. The Nuggets might have the tools but it remains to be seen if they can put them together to make the series competitive.

The Decline of the Dallas Mavericks

Like the fall of the Roman Empire, the Dallas Mavericks are in a slow decline. Only through looking back in time can we appreciate where the peak occurred and the decline began. Rome reached a zenith but gradually lost her strength and fell to the Barbarians. The Mavericks are still strong but the Barbarians are knocking at the gate.

The Mark Cuban era Dallas Mavericks peaked the during the 2006 Finals. Since the Finals, it's been a slow and lumbering decline. In game three, the Mavs blew a 13 point lead with six minutes remaining and Miami rallied to win. That 13 point lead was the summit. It been downhill ever since. Close out the game and the Mavs are one game away from a title. Instead they lose four straight and Miami wins the title. Sure they had the best record regular season in 2007 but they went down in monumental defeat in the first round. This year's version is no better. The trade for Jason Kidd reeked of desperation. The Mavs felt they had to do something to keep up in the West. The team just doesn't have in them what it takes to win a title. 2006 was the best chance and they've been sliding down ever since. That just makes me laugh!

The End of Isiah Thomas in New York

The reign of Isiah Thomas the Terrible has come to an end in New York. The Master of Disaster reduced a once proud franchise to a pile of rubble. If anyone ever hires Thomas to run any kind of business they should be committed. Terrible Thomas left his distinct fingerprints on other teams too. In Toronto, Thomas was a VP and minority owner. He made a bad power play for majority ownership and ended up getting fired. Then he moved on to coach Indiana. Thomas took over a team that went to the Finals the previous season. He immediately coached them into mediocrity. They never got out of the first round under his watch. He was fired at the end of 2002-03 season. The next season the Pacers posted the league's best record and made it to the Eastern Conference Finals. Thomas also managed to bring a whole league to it's knees. In 1998 he bought the CBA. Yes, he bought the a whole league. Two years later they went bankrupt and folded.

Knicks owner James Dolan bears most of the responsibility for Thomas though. Instead of firing Thomas, he allowed Thomas to run the franchise into the ground as team president. Dolan should have pulled the plug during or after the 2006 season. Instead he allowed Thomas to remain president and hire himself as head coach. Dolan finally removed him as president this season and installed Donnie Walsh as general manager. Walsh promptly dismissed Thomas as head coach.

Thomas was reassigned to a no title job with in the organization. If they are wise they'll give Thomas an office away from everybody. Let him have a computer and a telephone that don't connect to anyone in the organization. There's a Cheers episode where the corporation that owned the bar hired Sam Malone so he could pitch for the company softball team. They gave him an office, a telephone, a pencil sharpener and a secretary but nothing to do. I imagine that will be Thomas's role with the Knicks.

I just highlighted a few of Thomas's blunders. For a more indepth look at his terror go to Isiah Thomas Greatest Lifetime Achievements

One final note. Congrats go out to Danica Patrick on winning the Indy Japan 300 and having her face painted on the side of an AirTrans airplane. See the photo and article at AirDanica.