The Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns knew that adjustments had to be made if they were to make a run at an NBA championship. Neither of their longshot trade experiments - the Mavs’ with Jason Kidd and the Suns’ with Shaquille O’Neal - panned out, as the Mavs were eliminated by the New Orleans Hornets and the Suns by the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night.

Forcing the action on the trade market, which the crowded Western Conference forced these two teams to do in February, is rarely a good move. It’s easy to say in retrospect that these were foolish deals to make, but they were foolish far before the two teams were bounced from the playoffs.

And here’s the reason why. Both teams could have contended for homecourt advantage in the first round if they simply stood pat at the Feb. 21 deadline, especially the Suns who owned the NBA’s second-best record at the time. They effectively punted away homecourt to buy time for new parts to come together, compromising both the short and long term health of their franchises in the process.

So, now it’s back to the drawing board, and both franchises are taking that thought to the extreme by cutting ties with their head coaches. After the Game 5 loss to San Antonio, SI.com reported that Suns coach Mike D’Antoni will not return to the bench in 2008-09.

D’Antoni never felt like he had the full confidence of owner Robert Sarver or general manager Steve Kerr, and he was right. If they whole-heartedly believed in D’Antoni’s up-tempo style, there never would have been a need to swing a deal for O’Neal. Now, what’s left in Phoenix is a fresh-faced GM, a new head coach, two aging superstars, and plenty of questions to answer.

My thought is that the Suns had a best-case scenario (an NBA championship) and a worst-case scenario (early playoff departure) outlined before sending swingman Shawn Marion to Miami for Shaq. Part of the worst-case scenario was replacing D’Antoni with a coach better equipped to maximize Shaq’s presence. After the trade was made, it was either a championship or unemployment for D’Antoni, who should quickly catch on with another club.

Johnson was a dead man walking in Dallas, as he first clashed with owner Mark Cuban, continued to make questionable decisions late in the year, then led the Mavs to a second consecutive first-round loss. He was fired on Tuesday after losing 13 of his final 15 playoff games.

More playoff talk …

The Rockets blasted the Jazz 95-69 on Tuesday night, avoiding elimination and pulling to within three-games-to-two in their first-round series. It’s going to take a similar effort to walk into Utah’s homecourt, the toughest place to play in the league during the regular season, and escape with a win. The teams get back to action on Friday night.

After some early series struggles, the Detroit Pistons are quickly dispatching of the upstart Philadelphia 76ers. The playoff-tough Pistons scored 35 points in the first quarter and never trailed in winning 98-81 on Tuesday night. The Pistons played a balanced game and shot 58.1 percent from the floor to hop into the driver’s seat for the first time in the series.

Hornets point guard Chris Paul, who Avery Johnson called a young Nate Archibald after Game 5, thoroughly controlled New Orleans’ series-clinching win. He posted a triple-double with 24 points, 11 rebounds and 15 assists and committed zero turnovers. For the series, Paul had 60 assists and just six turnovers in five games.

As the playoff lights get brighter and brighter, watch for Paul’s teammate, forward David West, to make a big name for himself. While Paul’s coming-out party began in November, West’s will begin in May.

Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas is done for the remainder of the season, all six hours of it the Wizards have left.

Other thoughts on the matter …

Maize & Blog points out that Johnson and D’Antoni weren’t the only coaches overmatched in the playoffs.

Cinematically Correct took a break from movie and television talk and tackled some NBA playoff drama.

Upside and Motor takes a look at the historical impact of young players in the NBA playoffs.

Dustin Hockensmith is editor of ImaginaryHardwood.com. He can be contacted at dhockensmith[at]fantasysports101.net.