THE DALLAS MAVERICKS, mired in the misery of a four-game losing streak amid the chaos that had overwhelmed the franchise for the past nine months, sat on the tarmac at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C.
It was bad enough that the Mavs had been blown out hours earlier in Memphis in a matchup between two teams in early-season tailspins. Now, the buses scheduled to transport the traveling party to the hotel were delayed by red tape.
After almost an hour, the first of the team's two buses arrived. Weary players boarded for the ride to the Four Seasons in Georgetown, arriving after 3 a.