Over the last couple of months, we’ve focused much of our NBA attention on the three blockbuster trades that went down within a couple weeks of each other. We spoke highly of the Lakers’ trade theft of Pau Gasol, and expressed some doubts about the moves for Jason Kidd and Shaquille O’Neal. Well, it turns out those concerns were justified. Pau’s Lakers? Moving on. J-Kidd and the Big Cactus? Gone fishin’.

Remember when there were whispers about the Mavericks breaking the Chicago Bulls’ record for most wins in a season last year? All was well in Dallas; they had the MVP, a rising star in Josh Howard and the bitter taste of defeat from their loss in the 2006 NBA Finals. But after falling to the upstart Golden State Warriors, the Mavs’ earth has seemingly rotated off their axis.

A more experienced team like the Mavs should not have been ousted in five games by the Hornets. As good as New Orleans has been all year, you would expect Dallas to show up in the postseason because of what happened last year. Didn’t happen. And that trade for Kidd turned out to be a nightmare, as the future Hall of Famer was abused by Chris Paul in five straight games. After such a great 2006 season, the Mavs’ entire franchise now appears to be snake bitten. Where do they go from here? They have a guy in Dirk Nowitzki who still refuses to show up in big games. And now they’re without their future point guard in Devin Harris, now playing for the Nets. Mark Cuban has done some great things over the years, but he screwed the pooch this time.

The Suns knew that something had to change. They had found out that defense wins championships after getting shellacked by the Spurs in two of the last three postseasons. But even with two giants inside, the Suns had no answer for the Spurs, who still managed to fly under the radar before the series started. All of the focus was on Shaq’s Suns, but how about those Spurs? We know how good they are, we just always seem to forget it. With two aging players in Steve Nash and Shaq, the Suns’ window of opportunity appears to be closing. Hell, it already has for their head coach.

So much for that. The Mavs and Suns made these blockbuster deals looking towards glory in April, May and June. But all of that now appears to be thrown out the window. But hey, at least Pau worked out.

I don’t think this is what Mark Cuban had in mind when he resigned Devean George in the offseason. Yesterday, news of a blockbuster trade involving Jason Kidd going back to Dallas spread like wildfire. And then, in an instant, it was gone. The reason? Devean Freakin’ George, who vetoed the trade that would have sent him and a handful of Mavericks to New Jersey.

Imagine that. Here’s a guy that’s averaging just over three points a game and barely sees the court for much more than a quarter. The Mavericks, desperate to match blockbuster deals by the Lakers and Suns, thought they had another piece for a run to the NBA Championship. Instead, George nixed the deal. And to top of it off, the bastard went 0-11 last night

Perhaps George did the Mavs a favor. After all, they’d be trading four contributing players and two future draft picks to acquire the services of an old point guard for, at the most, a couple seasons. If this trade would have gone through, their frontcourt defense would begin and end with fatass Erick Dampier (I don’t consider Dirk Nowitzki a part of any discussion involving defense). That doesn’t sound like a winning formula in the playoffs against guys like Andrew Bynum, Amare Stoudemire, Shaquille O’Neal and Tim Duncan.

Maybe this is just a sign that George still loves the Lakers. He won three NBA Championships in Tinseltown, earning quality minutes off the bench behind manwhore Rick Fox. And now, with the Mavs desperately trying to match the Lakers in the blockbuster trade department, George managed to screw it all up. Thanks Devean!

Dirk Nowitzki might be named the MVP of the 2006-2007 season but if his playoff performance is any indication, he belongs on a milk carton before attending an MVP Ceremony. With the Mavs on the brink of elimination, Nowitzki scored eight points on 2-13 shooting. The 8th seeded Warriors, inspired by a raucous crowd at Oracle Arena, eliminated the 67 win Mavs with a 111-86 beating.

TNT commentator Marv Albert frequently called this result “the biggest upset in the history of the NBA Playoffs.” But it’s not like the Warriors got a few lucky bounces their way. Fact is, they were simply better than the Mavericks. If it wasn’t for a chaotic three minutes in game five, this series would have never even returned to Oakland. Is it really an upset when the better team wins? The Mavs, despite their 67 wins, never solved the Warriors this season. Their 2-8 record against the Boys from the Bay shows that.

Baron Davis’ injury late in the first quarter had to have worried fans and teammates alike. But once he returned, he inspired everyone around him. Steven Jackson, known for his criminal record, stepped up with 33 points and seven three pointers. Davis ended up with 20 points, 10 assists, and 6 rebounds, despite playing on one leg. For all the courage that Davis showed, for all the passion that Golden State showed, Dallas showed neither.

The likely league MVP was passing up shots to pass to guys like Austin Croshere and Devean George. With about 10 minutes left in the game, the Mavs had completely given up. Sure, they were down 20 but how about some pride? Despite an incredible year with 67 wins, the Mavs are now a footnote in the NBA Playoffs. All of that is down the drain. Meanwhile, a team that hadn’t won a playoff series since 1991 is playing on.

Is anyone else aware of what is going on up in the Bay Area? I’m not talking about the scuffling A’s or Barry Bonds quest for the home run record. I’m talking about the Golden State Warriors who, as of last night, are now up three games to one on the supposedly unstoppable Dallas Mavericks behind the resurgence of point guard Baron Davis.

Watching the Mavs and Warriors play last night was truly an inspiring event because as I argued with a friend of mine as to whether Baron Davis was a better player than Devin Harris or not (he is, and I still don’t see the argument otherwise), Davis put on an absolute show. The best team in the NBA is currently facing elimination in game five because Baron Davis single handedly picked this team up and carried them to a victory last night. His 33 points, 8 boards, and 4 assists propelled the Warriors, who were down as much as 10 points in the fourth quarter, to a 103-99 win against the defending Western Division Champs. And can we please not overlook how great his lumberjack beard is, especially considering he has no hair on the top of his head. I love it.

I’ll admit that I was one of the many who jumped on the Mavs wagon this season and truly felt that, in a seven game set, nobody would come close to touching this team. Now I am just one of the many who is enjoying eating my words for making those fallacious statements. I’m not saying the Mavs are done, not by a long stretch. Game five will be in Dallas, and a huge win could be all that Dallas needs to get the ball rolling and sweep out the last few games of this series to restore order in the universe. On the other side of the coin are the Warriors, who just need to survive the trek to Dallas and can close the deal in a game six win at Golden State. The fourth win for Golden State will undoubtedly be their most difficult, but if there’s a team that can defeat the Mavs, it’s them. Over the course of the last five months, the Warriors have beaten the Mavs more than any of the other teams in the league combined. Outrageous. While this series isn’t over yet, the Mavs are facing their destiny and I can’t wait to watch Dirk-Bot throw it into high gear while Baron Davis continues to prove to me just how special he is.

If you happened to miss yesterday’s Suns-Mavs tilt, you missed a hell of an offensive showcase. After staying close for three quarters, the Mavs decided to revert to the defense of their early 2000s teams. The Suns shot 65% on the day and outscored Dallas by 15 points in the fourth quarter. Apparently this didn’t please the Mavs’ front office. They went out and signed a veteran big man…Kevin Willis!

Looking for another big body for the postseason, the league-leading Mavericks on Monday signed 44-year-old 7-footer Kevin Willis to a 10-day contract.

A 20-year veteran, Willis has not played in the NBA since appearing in 29 games for Atlanta in the 2004-05 season. He had a reputation as one of the best-conditioned players in the league.

Being well-conditioned is one thing. Being 44 years old is something entirely different. Compare Miami’s veteran presence inside to Dallas’. Alonzo Mourning is 37 years old. Willis has him beat by seven years. Dallas’ guard Devin Harris was born in 1983. Willis was drafted in 1984.

What can Willis bring to the Mavericks besides discounted prescription drugs? Hopefully, an inside presence. The Suns carved up Dallas inside, doing whatever they wanted. If the Mavericks want to do anything in the playoffs, they’re going to need to toughen up inside. Willis should be able to bring some experience to the table. But this will definitely impact his Pros vs. Joes schedule.

Of all the teams that could potentially give the Dallas Mavericks fits, you wouldn’t expect it to be the Golden State Warriors. But last night, the Warriors frustrated Dallas again. Last night’s 117-100 win snapped the Mavericks’ 17 game winning streak and in the process, extended Golden State’s winning streak over the Mavericks to four.

You can’t expect the Mavs to be great every game. They’re 52-10 and they’re getting everybody’s best shot. Last night’s sellout crowd was instrumental in giving the Warriors the edge. But so was the Mavericks’ schedule. They had just wrecked the Lakers on Sunday night in a nationally televised game and may be looking towards Wednesday’s game with Phoenix. The Warriors also had the motivation of wearing their throwback uniforms, which may be the best in the NBA. Dirk Nowitzki wasn’t amused.

“We were backpedaling all game long. We were just never really ready to play. That’s something we’ve got to learn from if we want to do anything this year in the postseason,” said Nowitzki.

Calm down Dirk. One road loss isn’t the end of the world. Your team has lost three times in the last three months so maybe you’re overreacting a bit. Every team has 23 turnover performances. Every team has a game where they give up 57% shooting. It’s just a bit shocking that the Warriors have been the team to do it lately.