Johnson's guessing game losing out

DALLAS — They tell me Mark Cuban will need to send his apologies and perhaps a check to the folks at American Airlines Arena on behalf of his Dallas Mavericks for, how shall we say, redecorating parts of the facility after Sunday's heartbreaking defeat in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

Those with knowledge of the situation describe an area of the building the Mavericks occupied as being left in a state of disarray and needing minor repairs.

Funny, the same thing can be said about Cuban's team.

Dallas officials say they have no knowledge of any foul play. However, there's ample video footage of Dirk Nowitzki dropkicking a basketball into the upper deck at American Airlines Arena and driving his foot into lighting equipment before entering the locker room.

And the camera crews also caught Cuban needing to be restrained by security personnel as he screamed at referees, and minutes later hurling an expletive at a reporter during an interview.

When coach Avery Johnson emerged several minutes later than scheduled, he wasn't kicking and screaming or dropping F-bombs, but it didn't take him long to follow Nowitzki and Cuban and plunge into the mental abyss.

In that unmistakable New Orleans drawl, Johnson delivered a wild and passionate rant that immediately deserves consideration as one of the best postgame meltdowns, alongside Allen Iverson, Herm Edwards and Jim Mora.

Question: What was your impression of [Dwyane] Wade's drive to the basket when he got the free throws?

Johnson: You tell me, what was your impression?

Q: Unfortunately, nobody cares about my impression.

Johnson: You tell everybody here, you tell us, what was your impression?

Q: My impression was he got two free throws out of it.

Johnson: That's a political answer. Let me ask you the question again, what was your impression on that play? [Pause] We're waiting.

Q: Did he get fouled?

Johnson: I'm asking you the question. What was your impression?

Q: I'm done. I don't know what to say. What do you want me to say?

Johnson: I want you to give everybody an honest answer. We got people from Israel and Minnesota, Chicago, all over. Dallas and Germany.

Q: I'll follow up with another question, if that's all right.

In the simplest terms, Johnson is losing it.

Citing too many demands, he inexplicably lost his team to the temptations of South Beach and mounting family demands that forced him to move the Mavericks to an undisclosed hotel about 45 minutes outside Miami before Game 5.

He lost his composure with 1.9 seconds remaining Sunday as he motioned for a timeout, but failed to verbally relay to his players when he wanted that timeout to be administered. Rather than accept full responsibility, Johnson mistakenly inferred that the officials should have known better.

And most important, he's losing the series 3-2 despite having the deeper and more talented team.

"We're at home now and that's a good thing for us," Johnson told reporters in Dallas on Monday, believing the friendly home crowd can counter Miami's momentum tonight in Game 6.

It's a rookie mistake from a man coaching in his first NBA Finals.

While it's true the home team has won every game in the series and Dallas is 8-2 at American Airlines Center in the playoffs, a partisan crowd isn't enough to overcome the gaffes that Johnson is making.

A week ago he held the Heat in the palm of his hands as Dallas took a commanding 2-0 lead before embarking to Miami. Then the Mavericks began choking at the finish like Phil Mickelson and blew not one, but two chances at victory.

First, Nowitzki missed a free throw in Game 3 that would have forced overtime and Josh Howard missed two foul shots Sunday that could have clinched the game.

Granted, those misfires had nothing to do with coaching. However, allowing Wade to score at least 35 points in each of the past three games is inexcusable.

As good as he is, he's not Michael Jordan.

He is, however, the best player on the court who deserves special attention.

Defending Wade with single coverage is idiotic, yet too often Johnson relies solely on Devin Harris or Adrian Griffin to stop him.

Hubie Brown, the analyst on the ABC telecast, questioned Johnson's strategy. Brown was certain the Mavericks coach would rotate his defenses and give Wade multiple looks.

"The zone works, then he [Wade] figures it out, doubling works and he figures that out," Brown said. "The thing is, you have to keep him guessing."

However, it's Johnson who's guessing which buttons to push, and at the worst possible moment, he's lost sight of what's important. He chooses to negate Shaquille O'Neal, but allows Wade to roam free.

Fortunately for Johnson, he hasn't lost Jason Terry, who has been Dallas' MVP, and Jerry Stackhouse, who returns after serving a one-game suspension.

And the Mavericks have found their way home, which is where this series will end in thunderous applause or deafening silence.

Percy Allen: 206-464-2278 or pallen@seattletimes.com