Avery Johnson disowned in Dallas

I saw where Gregg Doyel of CBSSportsline.com called Mark Cuban insane for firing Avery Johnson as the coach of his team. You can read it for yourself, but I support Cuban's decision whole-heartedly. Doyel states, "Johnson didn't go from coaching savant to idiot overnight." What? Johnson a coaching savant? If you took poll of NBA general managers and scouts that watch the various teams play, I guarantee Johnson would only make a handful of anyone top 10, with most listing him at number 10. Take the last three playoff series Dallas has lost.

Playoff basketball is about matchups and coaching adjustments on game by game basis. Three years ago, Dallas was the best team in basketball period. They were up 2-0 in Miami in the Finals and folded quicker than Phil Hellmuth with a three and seven hole card in off suits. The Mavericks completely lost their poise, (which included the coach) and lost to an inferior Miami team. Pat Riley made adjustments of which Johnson had no clue to counter.

Last season Dallas was the one seed and Golden State was eighth. I'll give anybody the Warriors were a bad matchup for Dallas based on the styles of the two teams. Still, you have to ask yourself, each team played 82 games to earn their postseason spot. Should a well-coached team with better talent, ever lose four games to an 8-seed? The answer is without a doubt NO. Johnson had no answers, this fragile mix of headcases that collapse at the first sign of adversity did not have the leadership on the floor or from the coach to defeat Don Nelson's tricky team.

This season, the Mavericks regressed, ending up the seventh seed in the difficult Western Conference and barely with a whimper were dismissed by New Orleans who had as much playoff experience a Clippers fan. Some will feel sorry for Johnson saddled with Jason Kidd whose career is over and just needs to be told. But the truth is he was never comfortable with Devin Harris, thus Cuban and the front office rolled snake-eyes.

A look at the Dallas roster shows a lot of players that will be 30-years old or more, meaning they are not likely to get better. Johnson's had three solid years to deliver a title to Big D and failed, for the most part, miserably. Myself, I'd hire a hard-ass coach the players would respect and take one more shot, adding a few missing ingredients. I'd make Josh Howard captain of the team (though that could go up in smoke) and move beyond Dirk, since he's has ample opportunity. Will this work, I doubt it, but you can't get rid of all the softies at once.

Attack the Phoenix situation tomorrow.