The Ordinary Singaporean

Musings from Singapore

Tag: dallas mavericks

Basketball! It’s back! (2019-20)

October 22, 2019 /

I don’t know what to do with my hands!

You’d think that, after about ten years of following the NBA, and actively writing (like, two or three pieces a week) about it for a couple years – shout out, The Pick and Roll – I’d be pleasantly looking forward to the new NBA season, but not necessarily overly-excited or anything.

You’d be dead wrong. I’m so stoked for it all to begin again, man. I can’t feel my face.

Why? You all know why

My reasons for excitement are the same as with just about anyone else. There are several good teams with reasonable claims to make it to the Conference Finals, and there’s every chance we get a Finals match up that we’ve never seen before. There is legitimate uncertainty (in a good way) again.

Can LeBron James and Anthony Davis string together enough healthy games to push the L.A. Lakers into the playoffs for the first time since 2013? How will a L.A. Clippers team that’s expected to at least make the West Finals respond to this newfound pressure and expectations?

I’m just gonna leave this here.

How many games before everyone forgets the Cleveland Cavaliers actually exist (I give it five games)? How many 3:30 am practices before Heat staff tell Jimmy Butler to quit acting hard and to come in at 10:00 am like normal folk?

I’ll never stop making fun of Jimmy Butler.

There’s just so much to get hyped about. I’m looking forward to the games, to the Zach Lowe pieces (serious or otherwise), to NBA Desktop, to my maiden attempt at Fantasy Basketball.

This is my team. Their name: The RockEm Siakam Robots.

And of course, I’m looking forward to seeing my Dallas Mavericks.

Let’s go Mavs

I wasn’t pleased with Dallas’ off-season dealings – they once again seemed like they were late to the party, missing out on multiple free agent targets and looking like fools in the process.

But for all of that, I’m still really excited to see how this team plays. Luka Dončić in year two will be a blast, and Kristaps Porzingis looked pretty good in preseason.

More of this, please.

Jalen Brunson is well on his way to being a larger, better J.J. Barea, and I hope we hang onto him forever. Maxi Kleber and Dwight Powell are underrated, top-shelf role players. Delon Wright will get a proper swing at a starting role, Seth Curry is back to light nets on fire with his shooting. Justin Jackson could grow into a quality wing.

The Accountant, Ryan Broekhoff, already started tallying the numbers in August.

I feel like making the playoffs is a realistic goal. The immediate post-Dirk era might not involve title contention, but it’s still a future worth caring about. Let’s go Mavs!

Predictions

I’ll end off with some picks.

MVP: Giannis Antetokounmpo
DPOY: Rudy Gobert
ROY: Zion Williamson
COY: Quin Snyder (I think Rick Carlisle stands a chance too)
6MOY: Lou Williams
MIP: Anfernee Simons
Leading scorer: Stephen Curry

Eastern Conference Finals: Milwaukee Bucks over Philadelphia Sixers
Western Conference Finals: L.A. Clippers over Denver Nuggets

NBA Finals: L.A. Clippers over Milwaukee Bucks

Most disappointing team: Brooklyn Nets
Most surprising team: Chicago Bulls

The NBA is finally back, guys.

I was on a Mavs podcast

June 27, 2019 /

Talking offseason, beers, and the genesis of my fandom.

In late April, I got the opportunity to be a guest on the Hoops And Hefeweizens podcast.

Hosted by the good dudes Alex and Ruben, and joined by Jeevan, a fellow Singaporean MFFL (Mavs Fan For Life), we talked about how we became Dallas Mavericks fans, our thoughts on the offseason, and our favourite beers.

Check out the specific episode here.

Please listen to it, I’ll love you for it ♥️

(P.S. This was recorded in late April, so my opinions – especially on Kemba joining the Mavs – may have changed a little)

The Dallas Mavericks: Eight years after the title

June 14, 2019 /

It could’ve been better, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Eight years ago today, my team, the Dallas Mavericks, won the NBA title.

Since then, we haven’t even won a single playoff series. I watched as we wasted the last of Dirk Nowitzki’s remaining productive years, the roster a revolving door of just-decent players (Monta Ellis, Harrison Barnes) at best, and old and/or busted ones (Deron Williams, Amar’e Stoudemire, Rajon Rondo) at worst.

Even our most exciting free agency capture ever was perma-crocked, with my final feelings on Chandler Parsons that of relief that we didn’t give him another big contract and instead let the Memphis Grizzlies do it. This, coming from someone excited enough at the time to describe the team’s pursuit of him as “addictive”.

It was a rather mediocre existence the Mavs led from 2012 to 2017. The team always flattered to deceive, putting together teams that looked good on paper (remember O.J. Mayo?) but which never went anywhere. We built players like Al-Farouq Aminu and Seth Curry up, only to see them leave as soon as free agency hit. Our trades were either inconsequential or actively hurt us. The Lamar Odom and Rajon Rondo transactions essentially snuffed out all hope of a contending team in Dirk’s last few seasons.

I loved Rondo before he came to Dallas. Now? FOH.

As far as league-wide attention went, we were pretty much non-existent. I never stopped supporting the team and I still regularly watched Dallas games, but I admit that my enthusiasm waned a bit.

(Luckily, I was assigned the Andrew Bogut beat in 2015-16 for The Pick and Roll. Got to watch a lot of good and fun basketball thanks to that.)

We kept trading away draft picks, and were hardly bad enough to get really high selections anyway. This meant that, for a good long while, friggin’ Justin Anderson was the only glimmer of youthful hope we had.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the dude – he seems like a bright and positive young man. But a franchise-changing talent he is not.

Dennis Smith Jr. then came along, but the obvious flaws in his game tempered any high expectations fans might have had. It may be a bit harsh to say of someone who just completed his second pro season, but DSJ is still very much more ‘potential’ than ‘valuable contributor’.

Here’s where I thank Giannis Antetokounmpo for becoming the superstar he is today.

Mark Cuban nixed general manager Donnie Nelson’s suggestion to pick Giannis in the 2013 NBA Draft, all to save money to chase Dwight Howard.

Jesus Christ.

Thankfully, that chicken coop’s worth of eggs on his face meant that he shut up in 2018 and empowered Nelson to go ahead and trade up to select Luka Dončić. And oh my god what a refreshing blast of cool air it’s been to witness the birth of Dončić’s NBA career on the team I support.

Dončić is a star in every way: he puts up numbers, he hits buzzer-beaters, he’s getting praise from veterans, and he’s inspiring memes:

Credit: Reddit

What’s more: not only is he a good player, he’s a fun player. And having a young and truly exciting player who’s a perfect fit for the modern game means that the Dallas Mavericks are relevant again. We are finally worth a damn after so many years.

Of course, there are still many question marks about the future. Can Luka continue to develop, or is this more or less all he is? How healthy is Kristaps Porziņģis, and are his off-court issues for real? And even if these two guys come good, will the front office be able to maximize their talents with a great supporting cast or a third star?

I’ll tell you hwat though: these are great problems to have. I can’t emphasize enough how much fun and how energizing this past season was to experience, even with Dirk retiring at the end of it. Luka’s just that damn good, and the team has a chance to be special again.

And after eight years of total irrelevance, a chance is all I need.

That’s just the essence of fandom, isn’t it? Sticking with a team through its low points just makes the good times that much better.

For all my talk of irrelevance, I guess the last few years really weren’t useless after all. Much like how all of Dirk’s troubles made the 2011 win so much sweeter for him, perhaps all this time spent waiting will lead to something special.

Eight years on, I can dream again.

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