The Dallas Mavericks fought for a win Thursday night they didn't really need. And falling short, 108-101, to the Houston Rockets on the second night of a back-to-back might be the best thing in the long run.
The Mavs won't admit it publicly, but the Rockets are a much more favorable first-round playoff matchup than the bruising Memphis Grizzlies. Dallas needs the Rockets to finish with the No. 2 seed to make that happen.
A Rockets series would stir up memories of some of the shots Mark Cuban and Rockets GM Daryl Morey have taken at each other. But on Thursday, Morey was mostly complimentary of his occasional nemesis while joining "The Afternoon Show with Cowlishaw & Mosley."
"I don't know what he thinks; you'd have to ask him," Morey said of Cuban. "He's been a friend of the (Sloan analytics) conference. He's obviously a great owner, really changed the NBA in a lot of ways with not only winning, but game presentation.
"So I'm a big fan. I think the only time we've ever gotten sideways was when I got a little bothered when he said we had all this turnover and stuff -- when we have less than they do. The factual thing I'll get out there and correct it, but otherwise I'm a big fan of Mark's and hope he is (of me) as well.
Morey was also extremely complimentary of former Rockets forward Chandler Parsons. When I asked him what Parsons' ceiling was as a player, he said one didn't exist. Morey said Parsons could become one of the better players in the league. The Rockets GM received a lot of criticism for allowing Parsons to become a restricted free agent a year earlier than necessary. Reports suggested this was part of a concession Morey made to Chandler's agent Dan Fegen when the Rockets were trying to land another Fegen client, Dwight Howard. Asked if those reports were true, Morey dodged the question and said he's moved on.
His fallback option after losing Parsons and missing out on Chris Bosh was to sign Trevor Ariza. That's actually worked out pretty well for the Rockets. But what helps the most is having a true MVP candidate in James Harden. Morey called Harden's season "astonishing."
For now, Morey isn't fanning the flames with Cuban. I'd expect Cuban to get things started if the two teams meet in the playoffs.
"I've learned a lot from Mark, talking about the CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement)," Morey said. "Obviously Mark's been pretty out there on sort of zigging when others zag and I agree with that. I mean, if everyone's doing the same thing it's a bad thing. So he's very smart. I try to learn something every time I get together with him."
Look for this basketball ceasefire to end in a couple weeks.
