Any Different Pre-Game Rituals for the Mavs Prior to Game 6?

In a word: no!

Mavericks players are doing the same thing they've done all postseason which for most includes a good pregame meal and an hour long nap.

"Today you just relax, do your normal routine," Mavs guard Jason Terry said Sunday morning at shootaround.

Having said that, he admittedly is the one superstitious exception.  His pregame routine is quite different from his teammates. 
  
"I'm very superstitious so all those superstitions will be intact and ready to roll," he added.

His biggest one: how he ties his shoes.  For him, getting the perfect tie is paramount.

What is the Mavericks Mindset Going Into Game 6?

Rick Carlisle's Sunday morning shootaround media session lasted an almost record-short one minute and 53 seconds.  Individual players' interviews weren't that much longer.  That's because eight hours prior to tip off of Game 6 of the NBA Finals, there's not much more these players and the Mavericks head coach can say about their Sunday night matchup with the Heat.

"This is Game 7," Jason Terry proclaimed on the American Airlines Arena floor.  "This is our approach tonight.  We're trying to get this thing done tonight."

If what the Mavericks have done previously this postseason is any indication, the odds are in their favor.  Dallas is 3-0 in closeout games this year.  Plainly put, they've ended playoff series when they've had the chance.   Whether it was the Blazers, Lakers or Thunder, Dallas got it done.

"It's been a killer instinct," center Tyson Chandler said when I asked him about the team's approach going into series-clinching games.  "Understand that you don't want it (the series) to go on, that you don't want to give the other team any hope, any chance.  You finish them while you can."

So what is the Mavericks mindset as they are just one win away from reaching that goal, winning the franchise's first-ever NBA title?  From what I've been able to glean, they're focused and relaxed while trying to maintain a bit of an edge.

"Same thing we been doing throughout the playoffs: we keep a certain amount of focus," Chandler said. "You don't change anything.  You don't try to get overhyped or animated, anything like that.  You just focus on the game, focus on execution, what you can do to succeed.

"This has been a very intense two week period," Rick Carlisle said during his 100-yard dash-like interview.  "It's an extended period yet it seems to go by quickly.  You just kinda roll with it.  I embrace the intensity of it and I know our guys do."

Why You Still Won't Be Hearing From Mavs Owner Mark Cuban Anytime Soon

You've heard all postseason long about Mark Cuban's silence.  You haven't heard him talk any trash about this postseason.  He hasn't made any postgame show appearances, given any lengthy interviews or made reference to dirty Riverwalk water.  Sure, he may have vented about a call or said a thing or two about the Dodgers but that's about it.

While he's been incredibly cordial and polite to all of us, even delivering a live postgame fist-pump to me on TXA21 outside the Mavs locker room in Portland after a Game 6 six win, he's politely declined ust about every substantial on the record interview request.

Don't expect that to change.

After the Mavs amazing comeback win in Game 4 Monday night in Oklahoma City he came out of the locker room following the game while the media throng was gathered in the hallway.  He had a relieved, half-smile on his face.  A number of media peeps asked him if he wanted to talk.  He broke into a bigger smile and shook his head no.

We joked with him, asking him if he's ever going to talk again, considering how well his team is playing with his lips somewhat sealed.  It was another broad smile with a head shake as he walked away.  He said something to the effect of "I'm not messing with what's working."

Much has been made about the genesis and inspiration of this silence.  I wouldn't be surprised if this wasn't a more coordinated effort.  Perhaps head coach Rick Carlisle has seen what a potential distraction Cuban's chatter has been in the past and maybe suggested that the owner stay quiet.

Just a thought.

Mavs Come From Behind to Beat Thunder in Game 4 of the Western Conf...

   

Yes, that happened.

In my Michael Johnson-like pace to churn out a video blog before we hit the road to Dallas, I forgot to mention something.  Brendan Haywood told me that Rick Carlisle told his guys this was a character win.

Watching the Mavericks come from 15 points down with less than five minutes to go to beat OKC can understand why.  But what was so interesting was what Tyson Chandler and Jason Kidd said after the game.

Both said that the Mavericks could have easily given up.  Think about it.  Down 15.  They had already gotten a win in Game 3.  A split in Oklahoma City (a tough place to play) would have been just fine by anyone's standards.  You would have taken that, wouldn't you?  But Dallas wasn't willing to settle for "just a split".  Both players admitted as much.  Obviously, if the Mavs don't win, we're having a different discussion.

That being said, I think "character win" is an appropriate description because Dallas showed a hell of a lot of it in Game 4.  It definitely wasn't anywhere close to a perfect game.  FAR from it.  I know most of you Mavs fans were cussing at the tv (and at me on twitter and facebook!).  But it's one they'll learn from, take and hope to build upon in Wednesday's Game 5.

Are the Mavericks the Most Battle-Scarred Playoff Team in the NBA?

You could almost make the case for that.  And it might just be a reason why the Mavericks could be primed for one of their most successful seasons in franchise history. 

We've focused all offseason on just how playoff-tested the Mavericks are.  Jason Kidd, Dirk Nowitzki and Peja Stojakovich each have at least 10 years of postseason experience.  The rest of the squad, save for Corey Brewer, Dominique Jones, Brian Cardinal, Rodrigue Beaubois and Ian Mahinmi, all have at least five years of playoff experience.  All this postseason experience and, let's be honest, disappointment each individual player and Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle have been through with other teams have shaped this 2011 Mavericks squad.

It's made the Mavericks a hungry, smart team that understands not to take a ride on that emotional roller coaster than can be an NBA postseason.

But no one put it better than Jason Terry on Sunday before the Mavs watched film of Game 3.

"You look at each individual, almost to a man, Peja Stojakovich: Sacramento vs LA, he didn't get it done. Myself and Dirk: in the Finals up 2-0, didn't get it done.  Coach Carlisle: two Eastern Conference Finals, never made it to the championship.  Jason Kidd: two Finals appearances, didn't hoist up trophy.  Someone told me the other day Shawn Marion's been to Western Conference Finals twice, hadn't got the Finals.  Those unique stories in itself (is) what drives us and motivates us to get it done this year."

We know getting it, a championship, is the goal this season.  Can this be the team that finally does it?  I think it's in better shape, both mentally and physically, than the team that made the Finals run in 2006. 

It's One Silly Little Loss, But Are the Mavs Taking the Thunder Too Lightly? Yes, Says 1 Mavs Player

I'm not a girl who likes to say I told you so, but......

The Western Conference Finals are tied at one after Dallas lost to the Thunder 106-100 on Thursday. It's only one loss to but I definitely feel the Mavericks Game 1 win masked a few areas of concern that enabled the Thunder to win Game 2, particularly on defense.  Remember the Thunder were within six with under three minutes to play in Game 1.  We pointed this out on Mavericks Game Night prior to Game 2 Thursday night. 

This series is still right on pace for what I predicted to be a win for the Mavericks in six (I had OKC winning Game 1).  But have the Mavericks lost their edge defensively?  OKC is averaging 109 points a game through the first two.  Dallas didn't given up more than 100 in the entire postseason prior to the Conference Finals.  At least one Mavericks player admitted that they're concentration is off, perhaps they're taking OKC too lightly and that, yes, they have lost some edge.

Dallas allowed OKC to shoot 58% percent in Game 2 and, for the first time in a while, was outplayed by an opposing team's reserve players.  The Thunder bench outscored the Mavs second unit 50-29, led by James Harden's 23 points.

Much more in the video blog.

What We Learned in the Mavs Win Over the Lakers in Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals.

You can look at the box scores and stats anywhere on-line. These are my impressions of how the Mavs are handling this success.

I think it's fair to say the Dallas Mavericks have shown us something we haven't seen in a while. They are a more mature, veteran team that seems poised to deal with the roller coaster the NBA postseason throws at them. I was impressed with the Mavs victory but even more impressed with the player's reaction afterwards.

It's also worthwhile to note that Mavs owner Mark Cuban is keeping a lower profile in these 2011 playoffs. He seems to be letting his players and coaches do the playing and talking. He came out of the locker room Wednesday night, with an expression of relief, elation and restrained calm that was refreshing.

"We got two games. We got two games. Gotta get two more," he said emphatically but with a calm, almost library-appropriate voice.

I think everyone involved with this entire team is showing us something and, eight postseason games in, it looks good.