Don't Believe the Hype - Games are Rarely Decided by Single Plays

Please don't get me wrong. No one was more upset about the outcome of the Dallas-Denver playoff game last Saturday than I was. The way the game ended was a travesty but not for the reasons you may expect me to list. I thought the non-call of the now infamous phantom foul was malarkey. Those officials knew the situation - they knew Dallas would be using their last foul.

The NBA is usually quick to give out fines and suspensions for fouls they deem to be too hard which makes it even more confusing why no foul was called. Next time a team is in the same situation, they'll make sure they get their money's worth with their foul no matter what the league may decide to do as punishment. HOWEVER, there are some things that must not be forgotten when examining this game.

The Mavs lost by one point - they missed seven free throws in the game. Some may say, "So what, all teams miss free throws." The Mavericks are one of the best free throw shooting team in the league. Their performance Saturday from the charity strip was uncharacteristically choke-worthy. If they had made half of their misses they would have won the game.

One reason the Mavericks played so much better in game three than in the previous two games was because the Mavs posted up Nowitzki and Kidd in one-on-one situations. This strategy worked well all night. Then for whatever reason, in the last three minutes and thirty seconds, Dallas started jacking up the jumpers and at one point missed seven shots in a row from the field. It's hard to win any game missing shots in that manner much less a playoff game.

That brings us to the play everyone has been mulling over on talk radio for the past two days - the attempted foul. When the foul was "committed" it appeared as though the Mavericks and even some of the Nuggets stopped playing. The problem, of course, was that no whistle blew to stop the game. That is a central lesson we teach to young basketball players all over the country - play until you hear a whistle. Apparently, the Mavericks need a refresher course in this area. Fans could blame the officials but coaches and players aren't. They know better than to make such statements. If the Mavericks are the kind of team we hope they are, they are claiming responsibilty for that loss and making up their mind that they will do whatever it takes to never again trust the outcome of the game to anyone other than themselves.

The good news is the Mavericks won tonight and what a gutsy performance by Nowitzky. The bad news - the series is now 3-1 in the Nuggets favor going back to Denver rather than tied at two as it should be. Anything is possible, of course, but I'm afraid by winning, the Mavs have simply delayed the inevitable.