Luckily for us, we had the opportunity to listen to the best NBA commentators in the business. Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy and Mike Breen could make a Kings-Clippers game interesting. During this broadcast, after being asked about the Mavericks' "inconsistency," Jeff Van Gundy had a very interesting and accurate take:
"Everyone always wants to label a team as 'inconsistent.' Guess what? There are very few teams that are consistent: the Lakers, Celtics, Cavaliers, Magic, Grizzlies and Wizards. Those teams are all consistent: either consistently good - or consistently bad. Everyone else is in the middle."
Man that makes sense. Think about it: The Jazz have a losing record on the road...are they "consistent?" Portland has lost to the Clippers, Bobcats and the Thunder...are they "consistent?" The Spurs have lost to Milwaukee twice and the Knicks...are they "consistent?"
In the NBA, you are one of three things: 1) an elite team (Lakers, Celtics, Cavaliers, Magic); 2) a hideous team (Wizards, Clippers, Grizzlies, Kings, Thunder, Raptors)...or: 3) in the middle. The Mavericks are clearly "in the middle."
Van Gundy went on to say [paraphrased]:
"Of course Dallas has experienced more bad losses this year than in years past. They aren't nearly as talented today as they have been in recent years. Just look at the floor right now - look who is playing: Bass, Singleton, Barea, Wright and Terry. The Mavericks just don't have the talent that they used to have. It's easy to say that 'this team underperformed' or 'that team underperformed,' but it generally comes down to talent. I think that it's a gross misstatement to claim that this Dallas team has underperformed."
Again - right on the money. Mavericks' fans have been spoiled by having the opportunity to watch the second most winning franchise this decade (behind San Antonio). Fans now expect Dallas to win 55 games and earn a top spot in the playoffs. It's just not that easy.
As Van Gundy stated, the NBA is about talent. Right now, Dallas just doesn't matchup with the elite teams in the league. We all need to understand that every non-elite team in the league has inconsistent stretches during the season. Every team has a few really bad losses, a few surprising wins and a lot of games decided in the last five minutes. We all need to lower the expectations. Dallas is in the same boat as Utah, Portland, Houston, Denver and New Orleans. Or as Van Gundy said:
"The Mavericks are right where they should be."
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