Defense Wins Championships But Not Play-Ins | The Mavericks Disaster

On February 1st, I thought the internet had successfully fooled the mainstream media. When I first read about Luka Doncic being traded to the Lakers, I assumed it was just another troll job that had tricked the entire sports news cycle. But it wasn’t.

Luka was actually traded to the Lakers — in a deal nobody saw coming, and only a few ever thought possible.

The man behind the trade, Nico Harrison, instantly became the most talked-about name in basketball. History will either make him famous or infamous for this decision.

Yesterday, I watched the Mavericks get blown out in the Play-In game against the Grizzlies. A complete disaster. The season is over for Dallas — a team that made the Finals just last year.

Sure, Kyrie was injured. Anthony Davis wasn’t fully healthy. And the Mavs dealt with role player injuries all season long. But even if everyone had stayed healthy, this team wouldn’t have been a legitimate championship contender.

Next season will be make-or-break for Nico Harrison as GM. If this trade turns out to be the disaster most people believe it is, he might never work in the NBA again — and rightfully so.

And even if the Mavericks do become a contender next year, it will still carry a bitter aftertaste. Because Luka Doncic wasn’t just a great player — he was that kind of player. The kind you associate with one team. Like Tim Duncan. Dirk Nowitzki. Stephen Curry. Kobe Bryant. A player you simply can’t picture in a different jersey.

Nico Harrison made the unimaginable a reality — and forced it onto millions of fans.

Some say the league wanted Luka in a Lakers jersey to boost declining ratings. Others claim the Mavericks’ owners want to tank the franchise and move it to Las Vegas. Harrison himself says Luka’s defense and work ethic weren’t championship material. One of his key quotes was: “Defense wins championships.”

Well, I guess we’ll never know what really drove the trade.

But one thing is clear: defense doesn’t win Play-In games — at least not for Dallas.

Let’s see what next season brings, while the NBA and Luka move own to play for the championship 2025… without the Mavericks. And without Nico Harrison.

I’ve Added a Search Bar to My Archives Page

This site runs with WordPress which is a content management system for blogs like mine. If you want to have your own site, I’d recommend checking it out. It’s easy to use and offers so-called plug-ins that you can add to your site easily.

Yesterday, I added a search function to my archives page with a plug-in called “Search in Place”. It can be used to search my website easily and I think it’ll help with accessibility of my content – especially in the future, when there are hundreds (maybe thousands) of posts on this site.

The search bar can be placed on any page or post and it looks like this:

If you run a blog (or think about running one) check out the plug-in, you can find it here: WordPress Search in Place

Creating A Resources Page

I used to run a bigger website. One of its main features was a collection of resource links — a personal roadmap to the internet filled with videos, articles, websites, books, and courses I found helpful.

It wasn’t just about writing. It covered all kinds of interests: from writing to graphic design, video editing, fitness training, philosophy, and more.

People found it useful. So now, I’m thinking about rebuilding it here on my current site. It’ll be a work in progress, expanding over time. Whenever I come across something valuable, I’ll add it.

What will be part of it?

  • Writing
    Author blogs, helpful tools, books, and YouTube channels about writing better books — and marketing them.
  • Graphic Design
    I used to make most of my income as a graphic designer. These days, I’m transitioning to teaching design tools on YouTube. I’ll share links to my own courses and other great resources for anyone wanting to learn design for personal projects or to start freelancing.
  • Video Editing
    One of my mid-term goals is to start vlogging. I already have a good handle on Premiere Pro and CapCut. After Effects is a different beast — still working on that one.
  • AI
    I use AI tools for editing and creative work. I’m familiar with Midjourney, and the long-term goal is to create AI-generated comics and films.
  • Social Media
    I’ve learned quite a bit about YouTube over the years. Twitter/X and Instagram still confuse me, but maybe that’ll change. I’ll document the biggest lessons I learn as I figure out how to grow on each platform.
  • Fitness
    I used to work as a personal trainer, so I know what I’m talking about. My health isn’t what it used to be, but I still train regularly to stay in shape. I believe everyone should. I’ll share the tools and routines for it.
  • Religion / Philosophy / Politics
    The older I get, the more I realize these three are deeply connected. My current perspective falls somewhere between Ayn Rand’s Objectivism, libertarianism, and Christianity.
  • Advice to My Son
    My father was a hardworking man, but apart from instilling a strong work ethic, he didn’t teach me much. I don’t want to repeat that mistake. This section will collect the most valuable life lessons I’d want to pass on to my son(s).
  • Making Money
    Everyone wants to make money — especially those who say they don’t. I’ve worked many jobs. I failed at many, succeeded at enough to live a good life. Here I’ll share what I’ve learned from making a living online, investing, and the corporate life.
  • Entertainment
    All a man needs is danger and play, Nietzsche said. Life without play and entertainment is dull. I love James Bond, Reacher, Star Trek, (non-Disney) Star Wars, Game of Thrones, Kill Tony, Anthony Jeselnik’s comedy, and more. I’m a casual gamer and still enjoy watching the NBA Playoffs, NFL, Formula 1, and football. I’ll share my favorite books, movies, shows, comics, anime, YouTube channels — all the things that entertain me.
  • International Living
    I was born in Germany, but I don’t want to die here. One of my mid-term goals is to leave this overtaxed, bureaucratic mess for a better life elsewhere. Once I start this chapter, I’ll share everything I learn: living abroad, multiple passports, driver’s licenses, foreign bank accounts, and more.
  • Other Hobbies
    I’m currently learning Spanish for fun. In the short term, I want to get into motorcycle riding. I’d like to try canoeing. One of my bolder dreams is to become a pilot and build a homestead on my own farm. I don’t know which of these goals will become reality, but once they do, I’ll share what I learn.

As I said, this will be a lifelong project — constantly changing, always expanding. I plan to blog for the rest of my life. So this resources page will grow along with me. Let’s see what it becomes.

For now, you can check out the (almost) empty resources page right here.

First Objective: Do More (Becoming an Author #2)

I recently looked through Stephen King’s bibliography. So far, he has published 65 novels—which is actually fewer than I would have guessed. He started in 1974 with Carrie and scored a hit right out of the gate. Lots of bestsellers followed. It’s 50 years of writing. Impressive—not just because of the hits, but because of the consistency.

King’s Twitter is a mess, his politics a joke. But I still admire him. I want to get there too.

My goal is four books a year. One every three months. It’s possible. But to get there I need to do more.

Last year, I wrote a lot. I started a simple experiment: write 1,000 words a day. I stuck with it for almost all 365 days. The result? Four finished books—and several more that never made it past the halfway point. The main issue: I didn’t take the time to edit any of them. I treated it more like a writing exercise than an author’s workflow.

But being an author isn’t just about writing—it’s about writing something you’re confident putting out into the world. That’s where plotting and editing come in. Two things I haven’t really focused on yet.

To consistently release a new book every three months, I need to work on both, establish a working process, optimize it, and invest the effort. Simply put: I need to do more.

I’ll continue using the 1K-a-day method for writing. But on top of that, I’ll dedicate at least one hour a day to plotting and editing. Will that be enough to fully prep a book for release every three months? I’m not sure yet. The next few months will tell. I’ll report here on the tools I use, the time it takes, possible adjustments, and the final results.

So stay tuned…

Daily Blogging to Promote Books (Becoming an Author #1)

I like to think I have good ideas. I also believe I can write fairly well. Not everyone will agree, of course, but there have been moments in my life when friends, family, and even complete strangers have complimented me on both.

There’s definitely a lot to learn about writing—it’s one of those skills where the learning never really ends. By writing more, writing regularly, and publishing my work, I should improve over time. Practice makes perfect, they say. And until perfection is achieved, there’s still improvement.

That said, the writing itself has never really been my weak point. My struggle is with marketing.

I’m terrible at self-promotion. And since nobody else is promoting me as a self-published author, my writing isn’t getting the attention I’d like it to get.

If you want to become a successful author, writing books isn’t enough. You have to figure out how to sell them—otherwise, you’re just another office drone or factory worker with an unfulfilled dream of being an author.

Over the past few days, I’ve been trying to figure out how to actually reach readers. I don’t expect to sell millions of books overnight, but over the course of months and years, I’d like to see some growth. So far, that hasn’t happened. The first two books I’ve published aren’t really selling—I get a small handful of readers each month, mostly through Kindle Unlimited. It’s been that way since the beginning, and more than a year later, nothing has changed.

Just putting my work out there wasn’t enough. If I don’t spread the word, nobody will find my work.

I once read that around 7,500 new books are published on Kindle—every single day. It’s certainly even more now. And with AI improving rapidly, that number will only increase.

That makes my books feel like a single raindrop in an ocean of new releases. It’s my job to make that raindrop stand out and get readers interested in what I’ve created.

One way I might do that is through blogging—preferably daily blogging.

These days, most people consume content on social media only. But if there are people who still read blogs, they should also be book readers. So daily blogging might be a good way to find an audience for my writing.

It’s a long-term strategy. It might take years to grow a blog—if I can grow one at all. But it’s a cost-effective promotional tool, and one I actually enjoy using. I like writing fiction for a reason. For the same reason, I should enjoy blogging too.

So, this blog will be one of the tools I use to promote my work. I’ll keep you posted on how effective it turns out to be.


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