Hier ist der Chat mit Eric Neel:
Paul (Dallas, TX): Hi Eric, Nowitzki does have a signature move. Its the fade away high arcing shot from the off foot. He does this at least 5 times a game and swishes it. Its indefensible and doesn't seem like it should work, but its pure and sweet every time. It really is amazing to watch. However, I am a big Mavs fan and I can't fault your opinion too much. I watch every game and its just incredible to watch the determination. You never think they are going to lose until they actually do. I didn't even have that expectation with Cowboys in the early 90's. But unfortunately, when has determination been must see TV?
Eric Neel: Good point, Paul. It's a signature move. It's a subtle one, but a very effective one. Again, I'm impressed, but not moved. Not that you or Dirk should care even a little what I think at this point...
Gerald (Chicago): Eric, how can the Mavs finally win your love? They're going to win 70 games this year!
Eric Neel: It's tough, Gerald. They have to compete with the Suns, who are so entertaining. They're a good bet to defeat the Suns on the floor, but I fear my heart, at least for 2007, is spoken for.
Ben (Chicago via Detroit): Eric, Detroit: 2006-2007 NBA Champs?
Eric Neel: I think the champ comes out of the west, but I think the Pistons make them pay for it in a brutal six, seven-game series. Now, quickly throw your head and heart behind just about anyone in the east, because I'm never, ever right about these things.
steve (minneapolis, mn): who will have the better carreer: KG or Dirk?
Eric Neel: I suspect Dirk's going to have a ring or two, and I'm losing hope that Garnett will. Individually, it's almost a push, but you can't measure the career in a vacuum, and the titles would give Dirk the edge.
Greg(Los Angeles): Whos going to step up and get the last 2 spots in the West? Does Seattle have any chance?
Eric Neel: The bottom of the west is like YBA hoops; everyone gets a chance! I'd say the Clips and Nuggets will win out, if you can call the chance to be eaten alive by the Mavs a win. Your Sonic love should be spent in one way and one way only right now: nightly prayers to the basketball gods asking them to keep the team in Seattle. Don't be distracted by the race for the 8.
Steve Dallas, TX: Here's a stat for you smarta**! The Mavs beat the Suns 101-99 in December, but the Suns are averaging 108 points a game. How do you explain this?!?!?
Eric Neel: I explain the win and the point differential like this: The Mavs are very good defensively (check their nightly margin), particularly in transition, which is where Phoenix thrives. They jam up the break and make the Suns rely on the secondary break pretty regularly. Now, how do I explain you calling me names and getting all personal when we've never even met? That one has me stumped...
Andrew (Toledo): Did you see what the Cavs did to Detroit this week. If LeBron continues to play like he is and starts getting half the calls Wade gets, the Cavs will be the team out of the East.
Eric Neel: What I loved about the LeBron game the other night was his insistance on getting to the bucket. They struggle and stagnate when he settles for jumpers; guys just watch him, and he doesn't shoot a high enough percentage to make it work. When he works the creases the Cavs role players are suddenly worth talking about.
Jeff (Dallas): Eric, After I clean up my vomit, I'm going to ask a question. Ok, here we go. Did you say the same thing about the Spurs teams that were winning titles? Besides a Duncan bank shot (Let me hold my excitement back for a minute.) and defensive prowess, how much flair and fire did they have? You have to remember, Avery was on that team, he was their fire. And you say this team has no spark? Wow...
Eric Neel: Sorry about the carpet, Jeff. Like I said in the piece, I'm sheepish and selfish just for thinking this way. Yeah, actually, I did write about the Spurs and Duncan in a similar vein once upon a time, for what it's worth. The Mavs are great, truly. They just don't make me tune in. Apologies.
luke (los angeles): with Odom and Walton gone what do the lakers need to do to advance past the first round of the playoffs? Trade for?
Eric Neel: James Worthy?
Jeremy (Bellevue, Wa): Oh man Eric here comes the Dallas faithfull. How quick they are to defend the Mavs now, but when they had a chance to hold the trophy what happened and were where they? The regular season doesnt mean crap. Look at the Mariners won 116 games and what? That is all!
Eric Neel: I hear you, Jeremy, but don't slight the Mavs for their run last season. They hit a perfect storm of elements against Miami: Dirk hit a nasty slump at the worst possible time (that happens sometimes), and Wade went insane and took over games (and that happens sometimes, too). The Mavs season last year was tremendous and this one looks even better. Whoever faces them in the playoffs can only hope that Dirk has such a rough patch again (not likely), and can only hope they have a hot Dwyane Wade at the ready (not many of 'em).
Dave(Toronto): Eric, have you been watching Bargnani, Bosh and the Raptors this season? Will they make any noise in the playoffs?
Eric Neel: The Raptors have been tremendous. Bosh and Bargnani are my favorite skinny-guy frontcourt since McHale and Parrish. Noise in the playoffs? Sure, a first round win, maybe over Chicago seems very possible.
Pat (Princeton, NJ): Nobody on the Mavericks cares about 70 wins, etc... they don't care about streaks, numbers, MVP talk, shoe contracts, etc... all they care about it winning.. and you're actually bashing them for that?
Eric Neel: Not bashing them, Pat. I admire what they're doing and how they're doing it. Just isn't all that entertaining, from a pure hoops standpoint for me. And I found that odd because each of the other teams who've been where the Mavs are headed seemed to really have some dramatic character/element that stuck out about them. Maybe the Mavs are achieving something those clubs couldn't, though: a total team concept so complete that even their bona fide superstar blends right in. Further reason to admire them, no doubt.
Henry (NY): I have league pass and I actually specifically watch Mav games because I love seeing Dirk swish crazy jumpers all over the place. My problem with your article is that you are enthralled by the Pistons? They arguably play the most boring brand of basketball in the league! I find there games completely unwatchable.
Eric Neel: I hear you, Henry. The Pistons thing, yeah, it's not for everyone: To me, the thing that makes them compelling is that almost their whole crew is made up of guys other teams didn't want, cast-offs. I like the us-against-the-world anger and swagger that gives them.
Eddie (NJ): If the Lakers somehow get matched up with Utah, do you give them the edge or is LA just doomed due to injuries this season?
Eric Neel: They have the Kobe edge, which is, of course, huge; the Jazz have nobody who can match his offensive explosiveness should it get to that. But the thing that might kill the Lakers in a series with the Jazz is that they're not playing aggressive defense these days, and the Jazz, running the high screen roll like they do, and using Deron Williams to get through traffic for dishes to open shooters like they do, could exploit that in a big big way.
Jordan (Sapphire, NC): Eric, I'm a Mavs fan and frankly couldn't care less whether you're entertained or not, and neither should any other Mavs fans. The most entertaining team doesn't get you a trophy as evidenced by the Suns losing last year, and the Pistons winning in recent years. Just give me a championship and I'll be happy. There's no spot in the box score for style points.
Eric Neel: I'm with you, Jordan. I'm intrigued by something missing from the Mavs, something that surprises me, but as a fan of the club, you're sitting pretty.
ian (denver): With lebron struggling and melos recent problems, who do you think is the better player
Eric Neel: I'll take LeBron seven days a week. Twice on Sundays. Anthony's a strangely productive player -- tons of stuff in transition, great nose for the ball and for open space -- but he's nowhwere near as versatile as James.
Jason (NYC): With the way Shaq and Eddie have been playing and with Wade coming back what odds do you give the Heat making it out of the EAST?
Eric Neel: See, this is why I hate making predictions. I thought two weeks ago they were washed up. Then Shaq, like he's on a mission to prove me wrong, finds the 25-year-old legs in the back of the closet and starts jumping all over people. I'm sorry, Big Fella. I was wrong. It won't happen again. Seriously, if he can keep this up (still a pretty big IF, given there are still 20-plus games left), and if Wade can be back for the playoffs, they're a very legit shot to reach the Finals. My worry, though, if I'm a Heat fan, is whether the big man can do what he's doing on quick turnaround nights in a hard-fought series.
Henry (NY): After seeing Lebron get bashed for playing without passion and still averaging 26 6 6, does it make you appreciate even more the historic year he had last year? I still can't believe he didn't win MVP. The Cavs had no right winning 50 games last year.
Eric Neel: Agreed, Henry. He was almost too good last year to make sense of. The MVP award gets pegged to teams that win games in great numbers, so he suffered a little because the Suns put up a bigger win total, but it wasn't just that. It was also, I think, that people weren't ready for him to be that good that soon. I think he didn't compute in a way...
Eddie (Dallas): Cuban said in '05 that he was going to change focus to build the team more like the Spurs model. Your article may be the best indicator that he has succeeded. The Mavs are the new model for boringness in the NBA! In your face Spurs!
Eric Neel: There you go. Eddie is excited.
Kyle (Boston, MA): Let me be one to say I agree with you. All these people bash you but I am a fan of neither team and if they are both on ESPN im watching the Suns. There is no team as entertaining as them. The Mavs are great but I would much rather watch the Suns play.
Eric Neel: Thanks, Kyle. (Your check's in the mail...)
Steve Dallas, TX: So, does Dirk win the MVP?
Eric Neel: He's a very good bet, but my thing is, let's wait. Why rush picking this one. We have such great candidates, so closely bunched, on teams fighting it out down the stretch. I want to see who goes off, who makes like Vlad Guerrero a few years back and just yanks the thing out of everyone else's hands. I think it'll be decided in the next couple weeks, and I relish the thought of watching it play out.
Travis (Lake Highlands): Why in the world are the Celtics and Sixers trying so hard? Nobody is going to blame them for tanking the season for the chance at Durant or Oden...
Eric Neel: The Commish would have issues. But beyond that, I just don't think it's very easy to tank, even for a little while. Guys don't like losing. They don't like coasting either. They like to play hard. Teams like Boston and PHilly, they've been looking for combinations and opportunities that will work and it's reasonable for their guys to want to continue to push when they find something promising. Plus, not a man on either roster likes the idea that they have to be "saved" by some 19-year-old kid, you can count on that.
Max (Texas): Was Michael Olawakandi a bust at #1?
Eric Neel: Um, maybe not compared to Joe Barry Carroll...
Dave (Las Cruces, NM): If the Cavs were to catch fire and LeBron wills them to a title.....will I stop hearing how D.Wade is the better player? Because he's NOT!
Eric Neel: Sure.
Danny (Dallas): What if Kobe elbows Dirk on Sunday, and then Dirk gets pissed and goes off on the Lakers like Karl destroying the table in Die Hard, starting a big ugly rivalry with Kobe, Phil and Jack Nicholson? Would that make the Mavs entertaining?
Eric Neel: Now we're getting somewhere. Can we mix in some pre-game room-service food poisoning accusations? And can you get Josh Howard to play blindfolded?
Victor (Maine): In 5 years, you're going to be bagging my groceries Neel! Book it!
Eric Neel: This is a job offer, Victor? In Maine? Nice of you to be thinking of me. I'm good with the groceries. I put the heavy cans down at the bottom of the bag and the produce and breads up near the top.
Henry (NY): Are you an Oden or a Durant guy?
Eric Neel: Durant. I like the range. Oden will be a force in a relatively limited space on the floor, but Durant will cause problems, different problems each night, all over the joint.
Eric Neel: All right, Folks. I'm out. Thanks for the time and the insight. Hope to do it again soon. --E