ESPN: Johnson Fired as Mavericks Coach

ESPN.com reports that Avery Johnson is out as the Dallas Mavericks head coach.

This move isn't surprising. While Johnson is a good coach, he didn't win enough in the Playoffs. After holding a 2-0 lead over Miami in the 2006 NBA Finals, Dallas has gone 3-12 in postseason play. That can't happen, and Mark Cuban made a change.

To Johnson's credit, and once again, this is ESPN's information, to Johnson's credit, he had the highest regular-season winning percentage of any NBA coach with a minimum of 250 games. That's the highest in NBA history. Johnson will probably coach again in the League. Still, he has to win in the postseason. Like the Phoenix Suns' Mike D'Antoni who, as of right now is or isn't fired, Johnson must step it up. His teams need to play better down the stretch.

This outcome is rather unfortunate for Johnson, a devout Christian who is also devoted to a game he obviously loves. Perhaps he needs a better fit somewhere else. Maybe Dallas wasn't the best situation for him.