Suns 129, Mavs 100: Clubbing Baby Seals

   As a sports-media town, Dallas is as cuddly as a baby seal. Consider the Mavs, as well as their recent foes from New York and Phoenix, where the media formally greets its local baby seals and then commences to a-clubbin’.

   EXHIBIT A: Nate Robinson is one of the most fan-fave Knicks, a Slam-Dunk contestant who is part Spud Webb, part NFL punt returner and part Cabbage Patch Kid. Problem is, he isn’t playing well. After New York’s loss at Dallas on Thursday, Nate’s shooting slump was even more pronounced.

   He did make one interesting basket in Dallas, though. The NY Post’s Marc Berman explains:

   “During the first half, when the Knicks were rollicking and rolling, Nate Robinson showed why the Knicks are one of the NBA's biggest losers and have been the past few years.

   Nate Robinson stole the ball, glided in for a breakaway layup and decided to do some styling, posing with his left hand behind his head as he laid the ball in. Moments later a timeout was called and you could see the Knicks' players laughing as Robinson came to the bench.

   If the Knicks had a leader - and they don't - someone would've told Robinson to cut that stuff out, our team is well below .500, save it for the Slam-Dunk competition because all it does is tick off our more established opponent.

   The Mavericks awoke in time to take the game, 99-94, as you knew they would. …’’

   Berman’s headline in the Post’s blog:

   “NATE’S A LOSER’’

   Consider the baby seal clubbed.

   EXHIBIT B: Let’s go to Phoenix, which hardly shares the Big Apple’s reputation for media savagery. Still, in a pre-Mavs-at-Suns analysis of rookie Robin Lopez’ contributions to the Suns’ cause, mainstreamer Scott Bordow is brutally frank:

   “Robin Lopez was going to play 15 to 18 minutes a game as Shaquille O’Neal’s backup and give the Suns the defensive-minded big man they so desperately needed. … Well, so far, Lopez … ha(s) been about as useful as belly button lint. Lopez now has more personal fouls (42) than rebounds (40). He plays soft, he has no offensive game and for somebody 7-feet tall, he is incredibly passive around the rim. …’’

    Consider the baby seal clubbed.

    Which brings us to. … Friday night in Phoenix.

    EXHIBIT C: The Dallas media is not like the NY media. (I’ve been a part of it here since 1990, and for the most part, I’m proud of the distinction.) But to learn that the Dallas media’s teeth aren’t even as sharp as those in the Valley of the Sun? A revelation.

    Our friend David Moore issues a velvet-gloved observation – and yet, among the mainstream-media types with any true insight into the team, the most edgy observation -- of what is happening between Josh Howard and the Mavs:  

  “No one in the Mavericks organization will tell Howard this. They choose their words carefully around the small forward. They fear any challenge will be perceived as a slap in the face, one that will cause Howard to withdraw.

   “Howard responds to criticism the way Mark Aguirre did 25 years before him. The temperamental similarities between the two are striking.

   “When Howard is upset, when he feels the organization or coaching staff hasn't shown him the proper respect, it impacts his performance. He allows his moods to diminish his talent and energy.’’

    And that’s about as close as a gutpunch as anyone around here has thrown at Josh. Those harsh words come eight paragraphs into David’s column, and they come under an accentuate-the-positive headline that emphasizes how Josh is “showing signs’’ of being “all the way back.’’

    Lots of velvet there.

   As it is the exception to our rule of behavior (mine included; I’m a gentle soul), it reconfirms my assertion that for the most part, the local media is forgiving toward J-Ho, empathetic toward J-Ho, hopeful of success for J-Ho.

   I’m not saying that is necessarily a bad thing. Forgiveness, empathy and hope are not automatically signs of media weakness. Nor are those adjectives – which certainly describe how the Mavs themselves are working with Josh – necessarily the wrong approach for the Triangle of Trust. We can assume that if anybody knows how to get Josh to “Live Your Best Life’’ (thanks, Oprah) it would be trust-giving Mavs family members like Cuban and Donnie and leadership-skilled friends like Jason Terry.

   Will Nate Robinson respond to being clubbed by making a shot? Will Robin Lopez respond to being clubbed by picking the lint out of himself? Will Josh Howard respond to what the Triangle of Trust believes is the best approach with him – no baby-seal-clubbing allowed?

   For one night, Fate took its toll.

   With 9:43 left in the third quarter of this second-night-of-a-B-2-B in Phoenix, Josh fell on the left wrist that he’d sprained earlier this year. The Mavs chased down X-rays that were negative, but Howard – who was leading Dallas in scoring with 16 at the time of his accident -- said he was anxious to get more details.

   “Unfortunately, we're on a road trip so we won't be able to get back home for our X-ray machine, but we'll see how it goes,’’ Howard said. “Of course, it hurts like hell.’’

   So does the overall result. The Suns led 72-63 at the time of J-Ho’s departure. But that nine-point deficit was an illusion. Phoenix was dominant inside (Shaquille had 25 points and 10 rebounds) while shooting 62.7 percent shooting.

   “You give up 70 points in the paint, which is a joke," Dirk Nowitzki said. "You give Shaq eight dribbles, that's just embarrassing out there."

   Phoenix pulled away with its season-high 40-point third quarter, which Mavs coach Rick Carlisle called  “a demolition.’’ The points-in-the-paint edge was Suns 68, Mavs 18. The rebounding edge was 43-32, Phoenix. The fast-break-points edge was 16-2, Phoenix.

   It hurts like hell.

   Do you choose to trust management to handle Josh Howard and the Mavs properly? That’s an acceptable option. Or maybe you want to leave Josh out of this and batter the rest of the Mavs the way the mainstream media does it in other cities? At this moment, that seems acceptable, too.

    Good luck, though, finding enough clubs.

1258pm jan 10 2009