I expect Dirk to play 10-15 min.

Epic sendoff. Damn Mark Cuban did a great job.

Thought Steve Nash would be there as well.

Hoping Pop and Duncan saw a few words tonight too.

TheMasterplan said:

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Epic sendoff. Damn Mark Cuban did a great job.

Thought Steve Nash would be there as well.

Hoping Pop and Duncan saw a few words tonight too.

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Nash attended a game last week and said on the air that he couldn't make it to last night's game due to other work/family stuff.

Well dang, tonights game got moved to the local CBS affiliate in Dallas, KTXA 21. Was wanting to watch just one last game from the big guy against the Spurs.

Wow.

He finished with a double-double. And despite tearing up in the beginning, he seemed to have fun out there.

M.C. Swag said:

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Last night was amazing. I'm still sorting through the emotions and part of me is desperately wishing for this all to be a bad dream and that I'll wake up any second and Dirk is nowhere close to RETIREMENT. The man has been in my life since I was 9 years old. I don't have a single basketball memory without him. Basketball is my favorite sport. Dirk is my favorite athlete. Those two have been married together for my entire cognitive life. How did 21 years feel this fleeting?

21 years! We will never see anything like that again. EVER. In ANY sport.

No one was ever more deserving of a night like last night than Dirk. Mavs basketball will never be the same.

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Jake asked last night on the post-game show whether it's tougher for someone who was a long-time Mavs fan who has clear memories of the pre-Dirk era, or for someone who only remembers the Mavs with Dirk. As someone who has strong memories of going to games in the late 80's with the original scrappy team that took the Showtime Lakers to 7, it's a no-brainer, and you proved that. Losing something that's all you've ever known is tough.

Good send off. I've seen many NBA polls saying SA has the most intelligent fans so no surprise

Well said. I can't imagine watching games next year without dirk. It's going to be very strange. Watching the game tonight, all I thought about is how it was the last time I'd be watching dirk in a Mavs uninform...something that has been a regular part of my life from October through April (or June) for the past 21 years. I still don't think it's fully hit me yet. That probably won't come until next season starts.

The good news is that we have Luka. But because I started watching dirk at a young age, even if Luka has an amazing career, I know it will never feel the same to me as dirk's career.

It sounds lame and over-dramatic, but dirk retiring feels like a big connection to my childhood/teenage years is retired as well (even though those years have been gone for a while now). He was a big part to a lot of excitement during those years, so even as I have grown older, Mavs basketball has always felt somewhat the same.

Great last two games. He went out the right way.

FWIW, Grizzlies, Mavs and Pelicans end up tied and each have a 26.2% odd to get into the top 4 (i.e. all 3 teams have the same lottery odds). The win last night moved their odds from 34.6% to get in top 4, to the 26.2%.

Coin flip(s?) to determine draft order otherwise. Pelicans want 7, Grizzlies want 9. It doesn't matter to Dallas.

Huge coin flip for grizzlies.

mavsfan4ever said:

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Huge coin flip for grizzlies.

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And the Celtics

M.C. Swag said:

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Last night was amazing. I'm still sorting through the emotions and part of me is desperately wishing for this all to be a bad dream and that I'll wake up any second and Dirk is nowhere close to RETIREMENT. The man has been in my life since I was 9 years old. I don't have a single basketball memory without him. Basketball is my favorite sport. Dirk is my favorite athlete. Those two have been married together for my entire cognitive life. How did 21 years feel this fleeting?

21 years! We will never see anything like that again. EVER. In ANY sport.

No one was ever more deserving of a night like last night than Dirk. Mavs basketball will never be the same.

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Man this post just hit me hard. I hadn't thought of it that way until now.

Same situation for me...Dirk has been on the team since I was 7 yrs old. Its all i've ever known with this franchise. Although we all knew it was going to come to an end sooner rather than later, the emotions of the whole ordeal are still raw and hard to process right now.

Honestly, I think for a lot of us it probably hasn't truly sunk in yet. We'll see how it is when the preseason starts and the actual season starts next year.

somewhat related, Dutch Oven repping the Dirk/Mavs gear during an interview
https://www.reddit.com/r/Mavericks/comments/bbj6zz/derek_holland_taking_questions_after_pitching_for/

Sports-Ag said:

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Spurs with a tribute video.

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Where's the Manu And-1 highlight? LOL

I haven't lived in Dallas for awhile but caught them playing OKC the night before New Years and saw Dirk hit a couple threes. So glad to watch him this season.

I watched a little bit of the game today but since I'm overseas the time zone sucks. Had to keep working. It was good to see him hit a couple shots but man it was still really hard to watch!

I know Dirk's gone but I am really excited about the future. It does feel good that even though Dirk's leaving, the franchise will continue on. Smart move by Cuban and Carlisle as well to keep focusing on the future while also paying attention to Dirk.

So many good memories of Dirk.

TheMasterplan said:

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Sports-Ag said:

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Spurs with a tribute video.

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Where's the Manu And-1 highlight? LOL

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Haha I thought the same thing. That was the one highlight I was looking for.

Apologies for the off-topic but just wanted to mention something about that 2011 championship...My favorite thing about that 2011 run was the weight it lifted off Dirk and Dirk fans shoulders. I remember when everyone was calling him soft, or a choker, and I felt the NEED to fight tooth and nail with everyone about Dirk's greatness. I can't tell you how many hours I spent arguing with my Houston friends about how good he was. They'd troll me and just **** on him every chance they got and I'd be unable to resist firing back in eager defense. That all changed after 2011.

That title run obliviated any shred of credibility a person who tried to trash talk Dirk had. Dirk haters became nothing to me. You don't waste time arguing with people who don't believe in gravity because those people are just crazy. That's what that title did for me and thousands of other MFFLs. It put Dirks greatness into the same category as the laws of nature itself.

And now I'm just so happy and grateful it allowed the NBA world to shower Dirk with the same love we've had for 21 years.

God bless that man.

Last night was fun, even spurs fans were cheering for Dirk and I didn't care if we won or lost at all.

So begins day one AD (After Dirk).

It's helping me a bit to know we have a solid core to build around with Luka/KP. This would be harder if we had the roster from 2 years ago.

The nostalgia makes me feel a bit sad that Dirk is leaving, but I would feel much worse if he wasn't passing the torch to Luka/Porzingis. He could have been passing the torch to DSJ/Wendell Carter. So instead of being sad that Dirk is heading out I am optimistic. It makes it easy to think about both when Dirk was at his greatest and the greatness that the Mavs can get back to in the next few years. In the DSJ/Carter scenario I would probably just be thinking about how Dirk was the worst player in the NBA this year and that there isn't much to be excited about next year. Dark thoughts.

It was a pretty fun start to the year. The Mavs played very well at home to start. I think next year the Mavs will be in the playoff mix and play great at the AAC. I don't think people appreciate how much change there is about to be in the Western Conference in the next three or so seasons. Consider this, only 3 of the WC all star selections will be under the age of 29 when next season starts. The teams and players that have run the West will be aging out over the next few years. I don't think the Mavs will be able to sign a superstar (KD, Kawahi, etc...) but should be able to find 2-3 starters (read shooters) that fit around Luka. Hopefully they don't hand out any dumb contracts.

Final thought is that the Mavs have a 6% chance at the number 1 pick. That is always a valuable pick but this year it has particular importance for the Mavs. It is hard to win a championship, there are 30 teams vying for this thing after all. But the Mavs have a 1 in 16 chance to pair Luka/Zion/Porzingis together for the next 10 years. That isn't just worth one championship. That is a dynasty. I'm not suggesting to hold your breath on that one, but it is in play.

jeffdjohnson said:

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The nostalgia makes me feel a bit sad that Dirk is leaving, but I would feel much worse if he wasn't passing the torch to Luka/Porzingis. He could have been passing the torch to DSJ/Wendell Carter. So instead of being sad that Dirk is heading out I am optimistic. It makes it easy to think about both when Dirk was at his greatest and the greatness that the Mavs can get back to in the next few years. In the DSJ/Carter scenario I would probably just be thinking about how Dirk was the worst player in the NBA this year and that there isn't much to be excited about next year. Dark thoughts.

It was a pretty fun start to the year. The Mavs played very well at home to start. I think next year the Mavs will be in the playoff mix and play great at the AAC. I don't think people appreciate how much change there is about to be in the Western Conference in the next three or so seasons. Consider this, only 3 of the WC all star selections will be under the age of 29 when next season starts. The teams and players that have run the West will be aging out over the next few years. I don't think the Mavs will be able to sign a superstar (KD, Kawahi, etc...) but should be able to find 2-3 starters (read shooters) that fit around Luka. Hopefully they don't hand out any dumb contracts.

Final thought is that the Mavs have a 6% chance at the number 1 pick. That is always a valuable pick but this year it has particular importance for the Mavs. It is hard to win a championship, there are 30 teams vying for this thing after all. But the Mavs have a 1 in 16 chance to pair Luka/Zion/Porzingis together for the next 10 years. That isn't just worth one championship. That is a dynasty. I'm not suggesting to hold your breath on that one, but it is in play.

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The west needs some change.

I'm sick of all the good teams being in the west and the east being weak as hell.

Dirk is an all time great. Glad I got to watch his entire career. Hope he has a wonderful life in retirement. Much respect from this old glory days Spurs fan.

I was yelling for him after that last shot. Very poetic way to end it knocking one down with a guy all over him.

flashplayer said:

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Dirk is an all time great. Glad I got to watch his entire career. Hope he has a wonderful life in retirement. Much respect from this old glory days Spurs fan.

I was yelling for him after that last shot. Very poetic way to end it knocking one down with a guy all over him.

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Yeah...it was a nice ending.

As for a guy all over him, I'm pretty sure popovich was yelling at his defender to back up a bit LOL. And he started clapping afterwards.

Lol that too was also awesome. Beating Miami on their court was another one. It was just a great run that shut down any and all haters.