Lakers Must Send a Message to Mavs

Every year the media tosses the Dallas Mavericks into the NBA elite and every year they fail miserably. The lone trip Dallas made to the NBA Finals during the Cuban/Nowitzki era was an epic failure that the franchise has yet to recover from. Still, that hasn’t stopped the ever quotable Cuban from flapping his gums in the direction of Los Angeles.

Let’s make something clear. No matter how much talent you have on your roster, no matter how much cash you’re willing to spend, you can’t buy heart. We heard so much of the same noise from the Sacramento Queens back when C-Webb and Peja were supposed to be Laker killers. Every year when the Lake Show closed the curtain on Sactown’s season a new excuse came forward. The Kings need homecourt, the refs gave the series to the Lakers, Horry hit a “luck shot”.

In the wake of Sacramento’s dismantling, it’s the Mavs that have inherited the throne of pretending contenders to the Lakers.

Dallas enters tonight’s contest slumping. Playing without Dirk helped to jumpstart the current 6 game skid the Mavs are mired in. It’s up to the Lakers to put their foot on the throats of Dallas and put them out of their misery now. No need to give this failed franchise any hope at all.

While it is highly doubtful their current play will continue it is vitally important to remind Dallas how far they are from becoming a legit title contender. The Lakers owe it to themselves as they can set the stage for future meeting between these two. But more importantly they owe it to the Maverick faithful. These mislead fans have been drinking the Cuban Kool-Aid for far too long. None of the trades, free agent signings and coaching changes has made any difference in Dallas.

With his deep pockets, it seems impossible for Cuban’s mouth to write a check he can’t cash but that doesn’t mean he can’t have more of that crow he’s been getting served. Before the season started, Cuban said his team could compete with the Lakers. Now with season more than half-gone, it’s time to put the babies to bed so the adults can get down to business.