Sportsattitude

That sound you just heard was Mavs’ owner Mark Cuban shutting the door to sit down and have a chat with his HC Avery Johnson after Dallas was bounced from the NBA playoffs in Round 1 for the second year in a row courtesy of the upstart New Orleans Hornets.

I can remember when he was named the eighth HC in franchise history, and surely very soon now we’ll get to find out who will be the ninth.

Ironic Avery was born in New Orleans, as that city is likely where his HC career came to an abrupt halt tonight after the Hornets took a 99-94 victory to clinch their series in five games.

Of course, when you’re playing the league’s MVP in Chris Paul, you’re already starting out behind the 8-ball.  CP3 went 24-11-15 last night…just another crisp, outstanding effort for a guy who appears to be getting better the longer his season goes on. 

I hope the fans in the Bayou realize how special a season - and player - they have and continue to show up in the stands, at rallies, etc.  Obviously, New Orleans has a long, long way to go to heal…and it will never be the same.  But, with sports teams like the Saints and Hornets to rally around…well, the South has always found a special place in their hearts for home teams who put forth the effort and the city could do worse than have a couple of high-quality pro franchises as a key ingredient of its recovery. 

Mark Cuban has to blow up his Mavs now.  They’ve underachieved for way too long.  The Jason Kidd trade really paid dividends, didn’t it?  Paul made him look like Johnson could have come off the bench and played him stronger than Kidd did.  Sure, the Hornets have a very decent supporting cast around CP3 but no way Dallas should have gone down as easily as they did in this series. 

In fact, Charles Barkley said on TNT of all the series in the Western Conference he felt the one he had figured out for sure was Dallas over New Orleans.  He admitted his mistake before tonight’s game and correctly predicted New Orleans would be playing “taps” for Dallas by night’s end.

As I have written before, please check out Paul and Company as the playoffs advance.  Much like the smooth jazz that comes out of the city’s streets, New Orleans is playing some sweet, soulful music on the courts these days.