Scorched Earth?

Ok, last Mavs post and then we will put them to bed.

I actually had the rare afternoon away from work that allowed me to spend the afternoon absorbing the little general's farewell press conference.   I began the day by thinking how much of a stand up guy Avery was being.  Facing up to his firing, fielding questions with confidence, and being the man who had never been afraid to tackle adversity.

After my third time of listening through, it seems that all of Avery's confident words seemed much more arrogant than humble.  One would almost think that Avery might be giving himself a little more kudos than there were to really go around.  Let's look at a few examples:

In his first full season, the Mavericks reached the NBA Finals but blew a 2-0 lead and lost to Miami. They came back the next season and won 67 games, only to lose in the first round to the Nelson-coached Warriors.  "That team significantly, significantly overachieved," Johnson said. "We paid the price for it in the playoffs."  What an easy way to wash your hands of those two colossal meltdowns.  Why would he not mention the way he was bullied by Pat Riley and Don Nelson in those series?  Could you not adjust your game plan in these series to help you team overachieve for a few more games? I am not saying that the team overachieving is not true, it is just too easy of an out.

He said it was a “miracle” that this season’s team even reached the playoffs.  Thus making him the miracle worker?  Or was his coaching and decision making the obstacle that required this miracle?

Johnson also seemed to backpedal from the Jason Kidd trade. He referred to Devin Harris as a budding All-Star who he helped develop for four seasons and especially this season when Harris took over as the starting point guard.  "He's going to be an 18 (points) and eight (assists) guy," Johnson said This begs the question of how badly Johnson really wanted to make the deal.I'm on record [within the organization] about what my feelings were," Johnson said, without specifying what exactly he told Cuban or president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson.  Someone tell me how he felt this way when he was busy stripping Devin Harris of his play calling duties?  Many reports showed Avery on board with this trade:

And now, for the first time, the General has a quarterback.  We've got somebody who when you are in the red zone can help you get touchdowns," said coach Avery Johnson, going all football on us. "We feel this inches us a little closer."  I don't buy this at all.  Like most fans, Avery did not like the Kidd deal in the end, but all signs point to him being on board to "changing of the guard" in February.

This is by no means in any way to absolve the players of the failures of the last three years.  Players play, coaches coach.  The players have to deliver on the court.  I just don't think it this easy to explain it all away.