2008 Woodie Awards
FACE OFF
Tom Mertz vs. Zach Parker
Ben Shupe
Issue date: 4/1/08 Section: Sports
With Dirk Nowitzki out indefinitely with knee and ankle injuries, the Mavericks will be forced to hang on to their seventh seed in the West without the reigning MVP. Will the Mavs make the playoffs without Dirk?
TM: Between Dallas, Golden State and Denver, someone is finishing ninth in the West and will be enjoying the playoffs from the couch like the rest of us. The loss of Dirk basically guarantees that it will be the Mavericks left out when the regular season ends on April 16 at home against #2 New Orleans. The Rockets hammered the Mavericks earlier this month in the only game that Dirk didn't play this season.
The Mavs are in control of their own destiny by playing Golden State and Denver a combined three times in their last 12 games but these games will result in heart-breaking losses for them without their team's leading scorer and rebound grabber.
ZP: Playing in a Western Conference where one bad week can send a team from first to last, the Mavericks are treading a slippery slope right now without superstar forward Dirk Nowitzki.
With the way Jason Kidd has struggled to fully mesh with the Mavericks' style of play, I don't see the Mavericks
making the playoffs if Dirk is out for longer than a couple of weeks.
The Nuggets are currently only a half game behind the 8th place Warriors, and without Dirk, look for both of those
clubs to move up while the Mavericks fall out of the hunt.
THE SCORE
Mark Cuban is wiping his tears with cash.
Tom 0
Zach 1
Led by Stephen Curry, including his monster 40-pt. effort in the first round, Davidson busted many brackets by upsetting Gonzaga followed by toppling mighty Georgetown en route to the sweet sixteen.
Could Curry be the tournament's MVP?
TM: Stephen Curry just had the week of his life. Unfortunately for him he is nowhere near the MVP of the NCAA tournament and will miss out on the Final Four.
Winning one game isn't a run, winning two games is just a little bit better. If UVM had knocked off Michigan State in 2005 to go to the Sweet Sixteen would anyone have been talking about T.J. Sorrentine for tourney MVP? Hardly.
TM: Between Dallas, Golden State and Denver, someone is finishing ninth in the West and will be enjoying the playoffs from the couch like the rest of us. The loss of Dirk basically guarantees that it will be the Mavericks left out when the regular season ends on April 16 at home against #2 New Orleans. The Rockets hammered the Mavericks earlier this month in the only game that Dirk didn't play this season.
The Mavs are in control of their own destiny by playing Golden State and Denver a combined three times in their last 12 games but these games will result in heart-breaking losses for them without their team's leading scorer and rebound grabber.
ZP: Playing in a Western Conference where one bad week can send a team from first to last, the Mavericks are treading a slippery slope right now without superstar forward Dirk Nowitzki.
With the way Jason Kidd has struggled to fully mesh with the Mavericks' style of play, I don't see the Mavericks
making the playoffs if Dirk is out for longer than a couple of weeks.
The Nuggets are currently only a half game behind the 8th place Warriors, and without Dirk, look for both of those
clubs to move up while the Mavericks fall out of the hunt.
THE SCORE
Mark Cuban is wiping his tears with cash.
Tom 0
Zach 1
Led by Stephen Curry, including his monster 40-pt. effort in the first round, Davidson busted many brackets by upsetting Gonzaga followed by toppling mighty Georgetown en route to the sweet sixteen.
Could Curry be the tournament's MVP?
TM: Stephen Curry just had the week of his life. Unfortunately for him he is nowhere near the MVP of the NCAA tournament and will miss out on the Final Four.
Winning one game isn't a run, winning two games is just a little bit better. If UVM had knocked off Michigan State in 2005 to go to the Sweet Sixteen would anyone have been talking about T.J. Sorrentine for tourney MVP? Hardly.
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