Dallas sports fans always have high hopes and expectations for their hometown teams, yet they are often left disappointed with the season results year after year. And many are laughing about it, including ESPN analyst and TV personality Stephen A. Smith.
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The Dallas Mavericks are currently playing in the 2024 NBA Finals, but are trailing 3-0 to the Boston Celtics. On the other hand, after being one of the most dominant NFL regular season teams, the Cowboys lost 48-32 in the NFC Wild Card round to end their 2023 title run.
Many fans are comparing the Mavs choking in the Finals, to the Cowboys providing many years of false hope.
That is to say, Stephen A. Smith, who is a known disparager of the Dallas NFL franchise, is now calling the city's NBA team an even bigger 'letdown.'
To note, the host of First Take previously predicted that the Mavs will win the series 4-2. However, now it appears he was ever so wrong, which is not too uncommon for the highest paid worker at ESPN.
"I would have to say, the Mavs are more disappointing. First of all, I don't enjoy watching the Mavs suffer. I have no problems watching Cowboys fans suffer, so that's number one, let's get that out of the way. Number two, I had expectations for the Dallas Mavericks. I have very little expectations for the Dallas Cowboys."
To mention, in the minds of critics, confidence in the Cowboys has been shaken, as many have cited the fact that quarterback Dak Prescott, who is paid $60 million per year, has a 2-5 playoff record throughout his career.
(Reddit: r/cowboys)
On that same note, despite the Mavs being the underdogs heading into the Finals, Smith's third point was that the NBA team somewhat recently won a championship in 2011. Whereas, the last time the Cowboys won a Super Bowl was 1996.
Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and the fifth-seeded Mavs, will hope to avoid a sweep against the No.1 seeded Celtics, as the two teams will face off for Game 4 on Friday, June 14 at 8:30 pm ET.
Notably, in the history of the NBA, there has never been a team to overcome a 3-0 deficit in the playoffs, teams have an all-time 0-156 record. To add, only four of the teams have even been able to force a Game 7 after being three games down.
Although the odds are stacked against the Mavs, they have still shown heart. To point out, they were trailing by as much as 21 points late in Game 3 (91-70), but were able to cut the deficit all the way down to one point, after fighting back to go on a 22-2 run (93-92).
Doncic, who for the series is averaging 29.7 points, 9.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 2.3 steals, is not ready to give up.
"We've just got to believe," the 25-year-old from Slovenia said after fouling out in Game 3. "We talk about it in the locker room. I know we can do it, and we're going to believe until the end."
Related: Stephen A. Smith Outfit, Strut Gets NBA Finals Started With Some Buzz
