Okay.... I'm worried

When was the last year both the Mavs and Stars missed the playoffs?

I knew it had a been awhile but the answer to the above question is 1996.

Now, I'm definitely not saying that both the Mavs and the Stars are going to miss the playoffs. In fact, I still think both teams will make it once it's all said and done. Right now, however, things are not very rosy for the Stars. The Mavs have only played two games (both on the road0, so it's tough to get a read on them this early. I think we have plenty of talent. While the West is very loaded, I fully expect the Mavs to make the playoffs with improved defense under Avery Johnson. I'm not 100% confident in Avery yet. In fact, his demeanor on the sidelines scares me. But I do like his approach in all other respects. And while I'm not completely convinced that he is going to put us over the top, he definitely will get maximum effort out of team full of young, hungry players and wily veterans. The main concern on the court is our point guard. I think JT is a nice player and have been a fan of Devin Harris since day one. You know Avery will be very hard on both guys and he will need maximum effort out of both for the Mavs to be able to compete in the West this year.

The Stars are in a much more tenuous predicament. They currently sit at 6-5-1 (4th out of 5 teams in the Pacific division), but they haven't looked even as good as that record would indicate. Their power play has been atrocius and worse their goaltending has been downright awful. Hedberg has been an upgrade over previous years as a backup, but Turco has looked nothing like the old regular season Turco of years past. His GAA Avg is a putrid 3.64 (31st in NHL) and a Save % of .872 (34th in NHL). Now, I'm no hockey expert, but that is downright terrible. Turco has almost always been rock solid during the regular season and terrible when the playoffs roll around. I hope this bad start is just a different approach and he won't peak early like years' past. Of course, that is the optimistic outlook. Realistically, this is a bad situation that needs to fix itself in a hurry. Something to look out for as this Stars season continues to roll along.

Picks should be out this afternoon or tomorrow....