Welcome to the second part of our 41-question countdown. The rules are simple – we’re counting down 41 questions (a number chosen in honor of Mavs’ legend Dirk Nowitzki’s jersey number) about your Dallas Mavericks and the NBA in general. We’ll be answering those questions as well, but of course have the comments section open for you to provide your own answers, as well as to debate the responses others have given. Without further ado, here are the next 10 questions!
31. Which team do you hate to lose to most and why?
There really isn’t a specific team for me. I simply have an irrational dislike for when the Mavs lose. If I had to chose from recent history, I’d say the Los Angeles Clippers and Phoenix Suns are toward the top, stemming from recent playoff animosity.
30. What one great player in the league would you not want on the Mavericks for any reason and why?
At this point, I’d probably say LeBron James. At age 40 and for what would likely be a short stint in Dallas, I don’t think I’d want the team to revolve around him at the expense of younger players, nor would I want to give up a ton of assets to get him at this point.
29. If you could make one rule change in the NBA what would it be and why?
A single flagrant foul to replace flagrant 1 and flagrant 2. “Unnecessary” and “unnecessary and excessive” is far too objective a difference, results in too many replay reviews and is inconsistently adjudicated. It’s not that difficult – if a foul is obviously towing the line of a criminal act, toss the offending player and get on with the game.
28. If you could not root for the Mavericks, what other team(s) in the league would you root for?
This is a massively difficult question for me, as I’m the type of fan who wouldn’t use an umbrella that featured another team’s logo even if I was standing in the rain. After far too much thought, I would go with the Detroit Pistons and/or Utah Jazz. Hardnose, working class franchise types with likable historic great players work for my tastes.
27. Chemistry: key to victory or completely overrated?
Key to victory. There are too many examples to list when it comes to teams that look unbeatable on paper but don’t work out on the court. Having chemistry is the proverbial “whole being greater than the sum of the parts.”
26. Would you rather be the owner, coach, or general manager of the Mavericks and why?
Owner. Of the three, the owner allows for the best stewardship of the franchise over the long-term and I would enjoy the role of facilitating a vision and shaping the team.
25. If the Mavericks had to change their team name, what name would you choose?
As objective as I can be on this, I think the Mavericks is one of the coolest and most city-appropriate names across all sports. If I had to pick something else, it would need to be on par with Mavericks. Gunslingers comes to mind, but the NBA would probably never go for that. Maybe the Outlaws as a fallback.
24. How many great players do you need, at minimum, to win a championship?
Two. A “Big Three” is certainly nice, but plenty of great teams had tremendous success with two greats and either a third near-great or excellent role players.
23. If you had to choose between a great athlete with subpar feel for the game, or a subpar athlete with a great mind, which would you take?
I’d take the player with the great mind. Taking quick stock, I feel like there are many more players with a great mind that outlasted and out-succeeded purely athletic players.
22. Everyone has their personal shining moment playing a sport. What was yours?
I’ll go with a goofy one. At summer camp when I was around 10 years old, we were no strangers to dodgeball. One of our games saw an exchange of eliminations before quickly becoming lopsided, leaving me alone against eight players on the opposing side. I managed to eliminate all eight. I was wholly unprepared for the status such a feat could bring a young boy for the remainder of the summer.
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