 | Avery Johnson (right) and the Mavs were upset with Bennett Salvatore and the refs, but it wasn't the reason they lost. Ronald Martinez/NBAE via Getty Images |
MIAMI -- Somewhere, probably out in suburban Detroit, there is a reclining chair holding a happy man.
Chris Webber is finally off the hook.
It's been 12 years since Webber called the most infamous timeout in NCAA, nay basketball, history when the former Michigan Wolverine halted the championship game against North Carolina with a timeout his team did not possess. Webber's untimely TO resulted in a Michigan technical foul and helped propel the Tar Heels to the national title.
Webber can now breathe easy. The mantle has been passed to
Josh Howard.
Whether Howard actually called the timeout is irrelevant. He says he didn't. But the officials say he did (
Joey Crawford says he called it twice) and you aren't hearing Mavericks owner
Mark Cuban arguing it -- well, not that call anyways. TO or no TO, Howard's gaffe drilled the final nail in Dallas's coffin, as without a time out the Mavericks couldn't advance the ball past halfcourt and
Devin Harris's 45-foot prayer at the buzzer never had a chance.
Yet while Howard's misfortune will be the subject of many an instant classic, the truth is Dallas lost for one simple reason: its complete inability to contain
Dwyane Wade.
Gilbert Arenas told me last month that in his eyes Wade was "the most Jordan-like" player in the league today. His abilities to stop on a dime, redirect and score was unparalleled.
Lawrence Frank compared Wade to
Barry Sanders, a comparison based on Wade's ability to bounce off defenders on his way to the basket. I now see exactly what they were talking about.
To understand the beating Wade takes on a nightly basis one must observe him after the game. Watch him limp to the podium to address the media or stand there when he is done while a cart drives him away like a football player who just tore his ACL. Wade is hurting. His knee won't be right until the offseason and we're not even taking into account the myriad bumps and bruises he's not telling us about. Yet there he is on the floor showing more quickness than Harris, more strength than
Adrian Griffin and more athleticism than
Josh Howard. Watching Griffin cover Wade was probably the most interesting sight. During one inbounds play the normally mild mannered Griffin delivered a stiff forearm to Wade, a reaction to Wade's muscling him around the basket. Wade has gotten under Griffin's skin. That's not easy to do.
No matter what Cuban says, officiating is not the problem (Cuban could be seen shouting into the stands after the game, presumably in the direction of NBA commissioner
David Stern; you can bet they weren't making dinner plans for Dallas). Yes, the officials made some bad calls. The timeout was questionable, maybe Wade stepped into the backcourt and I'm not sure on what part of the body Wade got hit on that final possession. But putting the onus on the refs to win games for you is akin to grasping at straws. For every lousy call that goes against Dallas there is one that goes against the Heat. Or are
DeSagana Diop and
Erick Dampier just massaging
Shaquille O'Neal under the basket? Let's not forget it was only two series ago when it was
Pat Riley playing the role of
Avery Johnson, blistering the officials for what he perceived as unfair treatment towards the Diesel. These things are cyclical; they go both ways.
The Mavericks need to regroup. They need to go home, get some rest and go back to the drawing board because as effective as their five-pronged defense is against O'Neal, their defense against Wade has been porous. A consistent game plan must be improvised. It's the only way the Dallas can save their season.
