The Dallas Mavericks Cut Ties with Avery Johnson

Great Regular Seasons Fail to Provide Deep Playoff Runs

Mike Spain
Avery Johnson was a great coach for the Dallas Mavericks during the regular season. Unfortunately, his success during the regular season did not carry over into the the post season. Having a great regular season sets higher expectations in the post season. Failing to get out of the first round of the playoffs two years in a row is a major disappointment. The type of disappointment which gets you relieved of your duties.

Taking over the head coach role for the Dallas Mavericks during the 204-2005 season Avery Johnson coached the Mavs to a 16-2 regular season. The Mavericks lost in the second round. The following season Avery Johnson's Dallas Mavericks went 60-22 and lost in the NBA Finals. Johnson's Mavericks came back the following year to go 67-15. The bar had been set. However, instead of a return to the finals the Mavericks lost in the first round. This past season Dallas had a good season 51-31 and again they were eliminated in the first round. Avery Johnson has a record of 194-70 record during the regular season, an NBA Coach of the Year Award, and a 23-24 record in the playoffs.

Avery Johnson is a good coach. However, the Dallas Mavericks finished the season 16 games worse than the previous years. In two consecutive years the Dallas Mavericks made early exits in the NBA playoff. The combination made it easy for the Dallas Mavericks to fire Avery Johnson. Avery Johnson will land on his feat. He should be able to find another coaching job in the NBA with relative ease. Mark Cuban has the resources to go after a top tier coach to replace Avery Johnson. The Dallas Mavericks have turned themselves into consistent winners and would be an attractive team to a lot of coaches. Winning in the post season will be important to whoever replaces Avery as the Dallas Mavericks head coach.

Foxsports.com for stats and records

Published by Mike Spain

I am the skiing channel manager at Helium. I am a contributing writer for Rockstar Weekly. I am an entertainment columnist and writer for DC Metro Theater Arts, where I cover concerts and theater production...  View profile

7 Comments

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  • Gators6/24/2010

    So where have the amazing post season runs been since you got rid of the problem? The problem was the Mavs, not Avery.

  • Tyler Mills6/26/2008

    I just don't think Rick Carlisle will be the best fit here, but who knows? I like both Avery and Carlisle, but I don't think Mark Cuban made the right decision here.

  • A.M. Morgan5/3/2008

    Well written and very insightful.

  • PenPress5/1/2008

    thanks for the info.................................

  • Sheri Fresonke Harper5/1/2008

    :) Sheri

  • robsmom5/1/2008

    great article thanks

  • Kristi Patrice Carter5/1/2008

    Great reporting.

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