Both coaches from the 2006 Western Conference Finals are gone… just like that

SCOTT JACOBS

Two years ago on a beautiful night in Phoenix the Suns coughed up a 20 point second quarter lead in game six of their fabulous Western Conference Finals, and Dallas punched their first ever trip to the NBA Finals.

Two years ago I was sitting at a bar with some friends watching the Mavericks pummel Miami’s title dreams into the ground. Dallas led by 13 with barely half of the fourth quarter left to play, and were coasting towards an insurmountable 3-0 series lead. They were as you might remember, planning that championship parade.

And then Dwayne Wade just would not miss leading the Heat all the way back. Miami ended up winning the game, and the Mavericks would never get closer as they lost the final four games after winning the first two in dominant fashion.

Who would have thought that the NBA’s premier franchises would never get closer.

The strange downward fall was completed today, when Dallas fired Avery Johnson, who led the Mavs to 67 wins last season and that 2006 Finals trip, and the Suns are on the verge of doing the same as they prepare to can coach Mike D’Antoni.

Who could have thought that a year ago when the Suns and the Mavs were 1-2 in wins in the NBA, that this would be the end result? Remember that game last year? That double overtime barnburner between teams with the highest winning percentages in NBA history that late in a regular season game? Remember? Feels like eeons ago.

The fall from grace is complete.

Dallas is old. Phoenix is older. Both made huge trades that shook up the makeup of their respective teams. Both failed to get out of the first round. The same two teams that brought fun and excitement back to the NBA are now nothing more then side-shows, facing the prospect of major changes, as their respective window of opportunity continues it’s bitter close.

A year ago the Suns lost because they lacked the toughness to hang with the Spurs. A year ago, the Mavs gave in to Golden State and allowed them to control the pace. Yesterday, the Suns thought they had the right formula to hang with San Antonio. Yesterday, the Mavs thought they could keep up with the young and hip Hornets. Neither succeeded, and with parallel failures, both lost by 5, in five.

It’s an incredible story if you give it thought. For years the Suns were always a playoff team, but they never really went far except in 1993 when they had that painful Finals defeat to the Bulls. In the 1990’s the Mavs were perennial door-mats. Mark Cuban bought that team, gave it a makeover, put the pieces in place, and watched his team flourish. In 2004 Phoenix brought back Steve Nash from the Mavs signing him for 65 million dollars over 5 years.

The teams were forever linked from there on.

In 2005 when the Suns posted the best record in the NBA and D’Antoni won Coach of the Year, Colangelo won Executive of the Year, and Nash won the first of his back to back MVP’s they appeared to be on the road to tremendous things. Phoenix’s seven seconds or less attack became an instant hit, and the Suns were sensational 1-5 in their starting line up. They played fast, hit tons of threes, and scored from end to end so quick it was hard to believe.

In 2005, the Mavs finished fourth in the West. They played the Suns in the second round in what was one of the better series I can remember in recent memory. The Suns came back from a big deficit late in game six to win the clincher in Dallas and advance to the Conference Finals.

In 2006, the Mavs were the favorites as they got the Suns yet again in the playoffs. Only this time it was in the Conference Finals. In a very exciting, back and forth race down the floor series both teams went back and forth. Dallas prevailed in six, getting the last laugh a year after Phoenix dumped them.

In 2007, a budding rivalry was forming between the two. A fun, one of these two is going to be there at the end I just know it, type of thing. Everyone was picking Dallas and Phoenix to face off in the West finals. That’s what everyone wanted. It never happened. Avery Johnson’s team lost in the first round in one of the greatest upsets in NBA history, and Phoenix got taken down by the team it never could beat, the Spurs.

And now… well, now it appears to be the end of the line. After the Suns finished sixth, and the Mavs seventh, even in the tightly contested West, it should of been a sign. That close, but just not close enough. It’s been Phoenix’s and Dallas’ mantra ever since the teams really became special starting in 2005.

And now, they’re on the verge of major changes. Both teams are going in different directions, getting rid of coaches that both won the Coach of the Year.

It’s funny how sports works? If you had told the team 10 years ago that you’d have a four-five year run with this type of success would your fans complain? Probably not. Especially Mavs fan. Heck, they’d be thrilled to be just in the playoffs this often.

Now though, it’s not enough. The pressure is different. The expectations have become off the charts. And two coaches who led their team to unprecendented success in such a short span are now looking for jobs.

I don’t know about you, but its hard to think two coaches who’ve sustained this type of consistency should get fired. But that’s sports. When there are no expectations and you succeed you’re great. And then the expectations rise, and all of a sudden everything you do becomes not enough. Kind of like Scott Skiles when he got fired just months after leading his young Bulls to the second round.

It’s a tough pill to swallow, and it’s hard to be confident these teams will find better coaches then Johnson and D’Antoni. But that’s how sports is. When you get too good, you leave yourself in an unenviable position. Win or we’ll find someone else.

So mark it down folks. April 30, 2008, the day the Phoenix-Dallas superpowers officially hit rock bottom.

Their windows may have finally closed shut.

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