They played a meaningless game against the Clippers and played their starters, they went all out and they won the game. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270409006
They played a meaningless game against Golden State, they put a team on the floor that was D-League material to intentionally lose that game.
Yes, when you add it up, Dallas essentially controlled their fate as to who they would play in the first round. The streaky Clippers probably would have beaten New Orleans the next night if the Mavs would have played their bench like they did against the Warriors (the Clippers would have won by 20+ without a fight, allowing them to rest their starters - the Clippers lost in over time to New Orleans).
Now, Dallas is playing one of the top teams in the league. According to Mike Dunleavy, they wanted it that way:
"From what I'm hearing, Dallas didn't play their guys," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "Obviously Phoenix played their guys, so it tells you they (the Mavericks) probably prefer to play Golden State than us. That's what it comes down to."
This is Twilight Zone stuff, IMHO. What was Dallas thinking?
They played a meaningless game against Golden State, they put a team on the floor that was D-League material to intentionally lose that game.
Yes, when you add it up, Dallas essentially controlled their fate as to who they would play in the first round. The streaky Clippers probably would have beaten New Orleans the next night if the Mavs would have played their bench like they did against the Warriors (the Clippers would have won by 20+ without a fight, allowing them to rest their starters - the Clippers lost in over time to New Orleans).
Now, Dallas is playing one of the top teams in the league. According to Mike Dunleavy, they wanted it that way:
"From what I'm hearing, Dallas didn't play their guys," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "Obviously Phoenix played their guys, so it tells you they (the Mavericks) probably prefer to play Golden State than us. That's what it comes down to."
This is Twilight Zone stuff, IMHO. What was Dallas thinking?
