Thunder 4, Mavs 0: Top 10 CBS Contemplations
10. Give Rick Carlisle credit. He tried everything. Zone defense. Benching Brendan Haywood. Starting Jason Terry. Nothing worked. Because, let's admit it, Oklahoma City was the better team.
9. Dear Lamar Odom, eff you. And I know your former teammates feel the same way because they voted against giving you a $14,000 playoff share.
8. Up 81-68 in the third quarter it appeared the Mavs had a pulse in Game 4. But without anyone to protect the rim it was all Fool's Gold.
7. When your layup attempts become highlight-film plays – for the other team – you know you're on the wrong side.
6. Dirk Nowitzki had two 30-point games in the series, but Jason Terry had only one good half and the Mavs got zilch offensively from Shawn Marion and Delone West and Vince Carter. Their margin for error was too slim to not play a high level. Bad series + Good opponent = Sweep.
5. I'm afraid we've seen the last game in a Mavs' jersey by Terry. And potentially Jason Kidd. Sad. Not so sad? Saturday was also the last game as a Mav by Brendan Haywood.
4. Roddy Beaubois played 12 minutes the entire series. Color me very uncertain about his future with the team.
3. Maybe it's just me, but I feel no worse when my team is swept 4-0 than if they would have lost 4-1. And I still we would've had a different, longer series had Kevin Durant's Game 1 prayer not been answered. Lot of mind-sets were altered with that quirky bounce.
2. Watching James Harden effortlessly slice through the lane in Saturday's fourth quarter was a stark reminder that Kidd has lost a step and that Nowitzki never had any defensive hops.
1. Easy to say now. But, in all honestly, it was easy to say back in December as well: Mavs' fans would have preferred to defend their title with the team that actually won the title. This suffering, short-circuited season will be worth it if it lands All-Star point guard Deron Williams. If not … breaking up the Mavs' championship core will go down as one of the biggest gaffes in Metroplex sports history.
