Ben’s Suns Blog is quickly becoming an establishment in the Phoenix Suns blogging community, and rightfully so. That might be why I was a little surprised when I caught this post, outlining the pros and…well, just pros, of an Amar’e Stoudemire for Dirk Nowitzki swap.
From a Suns perspective, I can see the intrigue. Dirk could potentially open up the middle for Shaq, provide Nash with an old friend and a new pick-and-roll partner, and give Phoenix another shooter to space the floor. Still, that kind of thinking obviously ignores the fact that Dirk needs an offense specifically tailored to him in order to be the hyper-efficient beast that we see before us today. Yes, he can be a very good player in a supporting role in another system. Just don’t expect the numbers you’re seeing now (or that you’ve seen post-Nash) if you aren’t expecting an overhaul of your entire offensive scheme. I’m just sayin’.
From the Mavs side of things, I don’t know of a bigger “wolf in sheep’s clothing” trade option. Dallas would seem to get back a young, hyperathletic, All-Star caliber big man, but what they may in fact get is an under-motivated, defenseless power forward whose primary strengths tend to come and go with his level of focus. There was a time where Amar’e put the fear of death in my heart. When he took one step in the paint, my throat would close up, my eyes would go to the back of my head, and I’d speak in tongues. While he’s still capable of throwing down a mighty fine slammajamma, has the occasional statline that makes you do a double-take, and has an offensive skill-set that’s interesting to say the least, he’s not that player anymore. He’s just a very good power forward. Is he better than Dirk? Hell no. I have serious doubts about what will come of Amar’e’s career when he’s finally able to be “the man,” and that is exactly what he would need to be in Dallas. I don’t think he has good enough decision-making to be that kind of player nor the ability to create shots independently and consistently, and I don’t think I want the Mavs to be the team that finds that out. In a trade, why would you give up the player who is unquestionably a harder worker, better scorer, better defender, more efficient with the ball, less temperamental, and outright dominant/a match-up nightmare? Dirk has the edge in almost all of the significant per minute stats over our good friend Mr. Stoudemire (and holds a similar stranglehold on their head to head match-up). I can go on and on. The tiniest of tiny problems, and I mean this is just nit-picking really, is that the entire Mavericks’ offense would sputter, curl up in a ball, and die. I wish I was exaggerating; that’s how much Dirk means to the way the Mavs play on that end of the court.
A move like this would definitely make the Mavs younger, at least in terms of one player. But a move for move’s sake? Nuh-uh. I want no part of it. Ben, if you’re out there: don’t take it personally. The Mavs may have plenty of problems, but this one just doesn’t work from our end.
Mike Fisher of DallasBasketball.com gave a glowing review of Josh Howard’s game against the Pistons: “Really, all we’ve ever asked of Josh Howard – and let’s forget that season-opening campaign from coach Rick Carlisle to proclaim J-Ho “our most important player’’ because while it seemed simply inaccurate then, it now looks like a velvet-gloved attempt to mollycoddle the guy – is to be Dallas’ second-best player. With 22 points, five rebounds, two steals, a blocked shot and an assist – oh, and with his opposite number Tayshaun Prince making just one basket — mission accomplished for Josh.”It was certainly a great night for Josh, and hopefully a step in the right direction. It only gets harder today against the Celtics, and the Mavs are definitely going to need Howard’s best.
Brandon Bass can be a bit confusing. Only not in the way you’d think; Bass is confusing because I’m pretty sure that we know exactly who he is, and yet there are games where he appears as a Dampier-esque shade of his true self that lacks the assertiveness and confidence we see with the real Brandon Bass. Maybe Bass really is taking a page from Damp’s book, sometimes appearing unintrested or otherwise unmotivated. But the idea that he’s trying to infuse this team with more energy from his first step on the court (a la Jason Maxiell) is certainly a step towards giving the real Bass full-time status. From Jan Hubbard of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: ” “I wanted to match Maxiell’s energy because every time you watch him, there’s lot of energy and he goes out there and rebounds,” Bass said. “Coming off the [34-point] loss we had against the Bucks, we knew we had to come in and get stops. Being lackadaisical, we can’t get stops. We need tons of energy, so that’s what I tried to come with.” “
Mavs Moneyball tackles a classic blunder among criticisms of Dirk’s game: the idea that he doesn’t get to the foul line enough. I remember scoffing at the comment during the game, and Wes Cox did a great job fleshing out the rebuttal: “And you know what else he’s doing? He’s getting to the free throw line. He always has. He’s 15th in the league this year at FTA per game. Last year he was 11th. He’s finished top 15 in that category since the 04/05 season when he was fifth. For a better a perspective on where he stands compared the league “greats”, coming into the Detroit game, Dirk had attempted just 16 less free throws on the season than Kobe and done so in one less game. On the list of things Dallas could improve to most help their chances, Dirk shooting more free throws isn’t even top 20. Thing like playing defense and “showing up” are slightly more important to this team. Dirk can keep being Dirk.”
Dirk seems to be an absolute lock as an All-Star reserve, and rightfully so. ESPN’s Marc Stein offers the first of what is to be many “ballots” for Dirk to be in Phoenix come All-Star Weekend in the most recent Weekend Dime: “Nowitzki suckered in his critics with a so-so November after turning 30 over the summer. Now? He’s producing at a rate reminiscent of his MVP season in 2006-07 season. Let’s face it: If the coaches were selecting the starters, Dirk would be a unanimous selection at forward alongside Tim Duncan.”It’s worth mentioning that Stein ranks Dirk as having first priority among the Western reserves (meaning he is the #1 snub), and listed Jason Terry as a notable ommission. Smart man, that Marc Stein.
Stein’s Weekend Dime also discusses “Bird rights,” a notable exception to the salary cap that allows teams over the cap to re-sign players who meet specific contract provisions. But, as Mavs fans found out the hard way in last season’s botched trade attempt for Jason Kidd, those with Bird rights can ultimately veto trades that they are involved in. “Ryan Hollins was such a character, but in making the move to Dallas he ultimately had to void his Bird rights. The athletic-but-unpolished Hollins was one of 13 such players in the club this season … as is George yet again. But Hollins — unlike his new teammate last February — had zero hesitation when asked to sanction this deal. Knowing that the Mavs, after shedding Diop, had no true backup center behind Erick Dampier, Hollins was eager to come to the Western Conference to try to kick-start his career with the athletically challenged Mavs after two-plus seasons of limited opportunities with the Bobs. The 24-year-old had to forfeit his Bird rights as a result, which means George remains the only Mav who falls under this classification….Players on the following list lose their Bird rights and become a non-Bird free agent at season’s end if, like Hollins, they give consent to be traded in these circumstances.”If I’m not mistaken, this ultimately means that even if the Mavs fall in love with Hollins’ raw rawness and jump-out-the-gym acrobatics, they could be stuck in a tough situation in terms of re-signing him. Something to keep an eye on as the off-season approaches, especially if Hollins does some good in the near future.
Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News weighs in with the gravitas, or maybe lack thereof, in Sunday’s game: “The Mavericks are playing with house money. They can’t afford to think that way, of course, but then again, free-wheeling sometimes produces the best basketball. With a 2-1 record on this, the longest road trip of the season, they go to Boston knowing they will return home Sunday night no worse than 2-2. Not many teams go into the defending champion’s house and come away with a win. A loss would be nothing to be ashamed of. And a win would mean a 3-1 trip and would show a national audience the Mavericks are not to be overlooked in the NBA’s big picture.”The NBA is all about drama, folks: WIN, OR…SUFFER ABSOLUTELY NO UNIQUE CONSEQUENCES BECAUSE NO ONE THINKS YOU’RE WORTH A DAMN ANYWAY. You could cut the tension with a knife!
Tim MacMahon of The Dallas Morning News Mavs blog is re-living this KG vs. Dirk debate from last season. Both are exceptional players, and very few would argue against that. But exactly how much weight does that damn giant ring bring into the equation? Dirk does things on the offensive end that Garnett could only dream of doing, and many of his less informed advocates refuse to acknowledge that like Dirk, he too is a jumpshooter. Only Garnett is a jumpshooter who couldn’t make it out of the first round for most of his career, only made it out when pared with two premier scoring talents, and only made it to the Finals with two other established superstars. What Dirk has been able to do with, what has been at times, an incredibly pedestrian cast of talent around him is incredible. But on the flipside, Garnett’s defensive prowess is unparalleled, he’s an excellent motivator and leader, and a better rebounder. Those skills are great, but I just don’t think they match-up all that favorably to Dirk’s ability to single-handedly turn a group of misfits, “veterans” (read: old guys), scorers who can’t score, and former lockdown defenders who can’t defend into at the least, a playoff contender. I don’t know that I’m anywhere near coming to a conclusion myself, but the fact that KG has a ring isn’t nearly enough to close the book on a pretty entertaining discussion. MacMahon provides one especiall interesting thought: “If Paul Pierce played for the ‘05-06 Mavs, wouldn’t Dirk have a ring?”
Marc J. Spears of The Boston Globe has a wonderful feature piece on J.J. Barea, everyone’s favorite Mav under six feet who just so happens to be a product of Northeastern University in Boston: “The prolonged absence of Josh Howard has forced the Mavericks, especially starved for shooters, to continue searching. They traded for swingman Matt Carroll last week. But Barea, an undersized point guard from Puerto Rico via Northeastern, continues to show that he is somehow part of the solution. “He’s fearless,” Mavs captain Dirk Nowitzki said of Barea. “He gets in there. He’s small, but for some reason he’s a great finisher. He always finds the seams and gets to the cup. I just really like that he’s in attack mode.”…And, as the Mavericks have found out, imperfections shouldn’t always be confused with impediments. “We realized a while ago that this guy has brains and (guts),” said Nelson. “He’s a little undersized, but shoot, there are no perfect point guards.” “
Just two seasons ago, Boston was a franchise in turmoil, fighting off calls of tanking, Paul Pierce trade rumors, and Bostonites flooding the streets with pitchforks demanding Doc Rivers’ head. Things haven’t quite gotten to that point in Dallas, but if a team that was that bad can turn its fortune around on a dime, why can’t the Mavs? Jan Hubbard of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram continues: “Two years ago, the Celtics were in the process of winning 24 games andPaul Pierce was nearing 30 years old. It seemed to be an ideal time to trade Pierce for young players, draft picks and begin rebuilding, and Cuban was one of many who was interested in helping that process. “Everybody and their brother called up when Boston was struggling about trying to get Paul Pierce,” Cuban said. “Everybody. We offered to try and take his contract and they said, ‘You know what? He’s part of our fabric, our culture.’…You look at how things turned out for Boston.” “Well said, Cubes.
Marc J. Spears of The Boston Globe paints the Mavericks as more sleeping giant that say, something more reminiscent of a comatose cyclops. And from Doc Rivers’ comments, it’s clear that the Celtics respect their enemy and what the Mavs are capable of on a good day. Still, what I took away from Spears’ preview above all was a quote from Dirk. Y’know, just another one of those quotes that makes you thankful to be a Mavs fan, and thankful for a superstar that is as responsible and humble as he is talented: ” “I always put a lot of pressure on myself,” Nowitzki said. “If we win, that’s great. If we lose, I always feel like I didn’t do my job. Even if I have a decent game in a loss, I feel like I should’ve done more, hit one more shot, got one more stop, one more rebound, or whatever…That’s how I’ve always looked at it and that’s how it’s been the last four years since Steve [Nash] and Mike [Finley] left. I was the face of the franchise. You got to take the highs with the lows. Sometimes I do get down [after] tough losses like I did in the last couple years in the playoffs. All you can do is take the blame and work out in the summer to become a better player the next [season].” “
“The word ‘happiness’ would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness.”
-Carl Jung
Sweet, sweet demolition. There’s nothing like the smell of Piston carcass in the morning, y’know?
Jason Kidd made one hell of a case for himself last night with a double-double and a +21 overall on the night, and had at least three of those full-court bounce passes to Josh Howard that you know no other Maverick would be capable of. If for whatever reason the Mavs do decide to let Kidd go this off-season, or trade him sometime in the near future, those types of plays will be missed. Getting torched by Chris Paul…ehhhh, not so much.
Speaking of Josh, my friend Kevin brought up an interesting point this morning when we were talking Mavs: Howard only really pushes himself/tries in the first quarter and in situations where the Mavs already have the game in hand. In his defense, he wasn’t on the floor much when the Pistons made their second quarter run (maybe that should attest to just how much a positive showing from Howard can help this team), but the time he did log in the 2nd was far more uninvolved and uneventful than the pivotal role he played in the first and third quarters. He wasn’t always making or taking shots, but he was getting to the line and actually keeping his thumb on the game’s pulse, rather than drifting in and out of focus on both ends.
It’s worth noting, though, that although Dallas was holding Detroit at arm’s length for almost the entire night, Josh and Dirk still logged major minutes. This is a game where you’d prefer to let your big guns get some rest (especially ones that have been fighting injury for the entire season), but I can’t exactly blame Carlisle for not trusting his team to close out strong without the starters on-board.
Amir Johnson poked holes early in the Mavs’ rebounding front, and showed early that a little hustle, speed, and positioning can go a long way. Amir’s definitely got a bright future, and as much as I hate to watch him pick up offensive rebounds under Damp’s apparently not-so-watchful eye, I do love watching him play. The icing on the cake was the fact that the Pistons really folded under the Maverick onslaught when they reverted to ’small ball’, the very system that has been holding Amir out of the starting lineup and denying consistent minutes to Jason Maxiell.
I think last night was the first time I’ve ever seen Bass throw down a one-handed dunk. And yes, in case you were curious, it was just as fearsome as his two-handed throw-downs.
But this game shouldn’t be about nit-picking; this may have been one of the most complete efforts by the Mavs on the season. They kept a capable offensive squad under their thumb, and churned out white hot offensive production for stretches. Criticize the Pistons all you’d like, but this was a quality win over a quality opponent, and after the egg the Mavs laid against Milwaukee, they sure as hell needed one. But of course we can’t be caught smiling too much — those Boston Celtics are hitting the floor against the Mavs for the nooner. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
And a whisper of a shout-out for Dirk, who woke up, drank his coffee, went to work, went to the game, dropped 26 and 7, showered, and went to sleep. You could set your watch by it. Or something like that.
GOLD STAR OF THE NIGHT: Jason Kidd, who not only got the Mavs off on the break before the Pistons had a chance to recover, but led the Maverick half-court attack to the tune of a team-wide 54% that was fueled by Kidd’s 10 assists. Oh, and he also happened to drain a pretty crazy double clutch layup (Video anybody? I’m sure it’s in the highlight packages). Prettay, prettay, prettay, prettay good.
I’m always down for reminiscing. Especially when I’m still losing sleep because I have Charlie Villanueva nightmares.
So I was pretty excited when I saw an excellent post by Neil Paine of the Basketball-Reference.com Blog that broke down the best teams of the decade, and guess what — your very own Dallas Mavericks came in at number two, behind only the Spurs. For those of you counting at home, the Mavs of the decade were marked statistically more impressive than a team that reigned in three championships during that time. Round of applause, everybody. Who we are is who we’ve been, and we’ve been awfully good.
But Marc Stein writes that Avery Johnson gave the ol’ “Thanks, but no thanks,” routine to the Memphis Grizzlies, who yesterday fired their head coach, Marc Iavaroni.
Not that I want to get all up in another team’s biznass, but if there was a type of coach that the Grizzlies were trying to avoid at this point, wouldn’t it be Avery? He’s dictatorial, extremely vocal, and uncreative on the offensive end. Yes, Avery once threw Devin Harris into the thick of things and completely mucked up the gameplans of the Spurs and a few other teams. But this is also the guy who decided to mess with a winning formula against Golden State, forces his point guards into depressions, and could only watch powerlessly against New Orleans because his team had tuned him out. In spite of all this, I’m not trying to rip on the guy; he’s a great man, classy as anyone in the biz, and a good coach. He does a lot of things well. But there is a laundry list of reasons why he shouldn’t be coaching a young, inexperienced team, and the Grizz are certainly closer to school socials and mallratting than they are to Early Bird specials and bingo night.
They apparently also approached Jeff Van Gundy, who declined and apparently is entertaining the idea of never coaching again. So, they went and rounded up Lionel Hollins. Yeah. Great idea.
The Dallas Mavericks visit the Detroit Pistons
6:00 CST, ESPN
Or at least I hope it does.
The Mavs need to somehow rebound from their worst loss of the season against a Detroit team that might be just as depressed as they are. The two teams are stuck in a whirlpool of halted progress, seemingly bounced fromrecent “surges” that are quickly fading memories. Each is significantly complicated by their aging stars, be it Kidd’s loss of a step on perimeter defense or Iverson’s noble attempt to integrate himself into the Detroit system only to find lukewarm success. In a way, though, Iverson’s struggles with Detroit represent an amplified visage of Kidd’s current stint with Dallas. Both traded away their starting point guards for a force of basketball past, but the story really begins to hit its stride with with the inability to succeed in the team’s intended role (Kidd as a run-and-gun floor general and AI as a reinvented point guard). Both provide interesting salary cap flexibility with their expiring deals, an interesting flipside to the “inject star power straight into the jugular and hope for the best” storyline.
But of course it’s not always about them. While the Mavericks are watching Gerald Green and Brandon Bass like a pot of water and waiting for a boil, the Pistons have their young stallions chomping at the bit. One of the biggest issues has been the lack of minutes to go round for their capable frontcourt. As in, they have essentially four good big men, and can’t find the time to play them all. Should we all be so lucky, especially considering two of those bigs are the baby-eating Jason Maxiell and enigmatic cult hero Amir Johnson. Beyond that, Rodney Stuckey is a stud who began penning his tale during last season’s playoffs, and Arron Afflalo may be the best young player that nobody knows about.
It’s impossible to argue that both teams have fallen off from their expected levels of success. But both are filled with capable veterans with experience aplenty, and things seem as though they would have to get better. Both in terms of their in-season success and in terms of their potential beyond. The question remains, though: is “better” enough to appease fans that have tasted the late rounds of the playoffs and a team that’s accustomed to identification with the elite?
If it wasn’t painfully obvious, I hate All-Star fan voting. The idea that Allen Iverson is now guaranteed a spot and could deny one to the likes of Jameer Nelson puts a bad taste in my mouth. About a week ago I tackled the topic at Hardwood Paroxysm in regards to the influx of fan voting for Yi Jianlian, but last night’s final returns had an unexpected wrinkle. Check out the vote totals, and take note of the Western Conference forwards. You may notice that a certain individual named Bruce Bowen is kind of listed at number 3 in votes among Western forwards.
Now while in principle I hate the idea of Bowen as an All-Star, it represents another squandered opportunity to force the hand of the league in regards to All-Star reform. If whatever superhuman grassroots movement Bowen had going for him had wrangled together about 70,000 more votes, we could be looking at a brand new day. Instead, we’re still staring down a potential wasted spot year after year, with players banking on reputation or the patriotic fervor of their homelands. Ugh.
For related reading, check out Tim Varner’s post at 48 Minutes of Hell.
As spectators and fans, we often assume that hundreds of thousands/millions of dollars is enough to keep a group of guys constantly motivated. It just doesn’t happen. Still, having the Milwaukee Bucks spit in your face and kick you in the shins might be a place to draw the line. Rick Carlisle is convinced that the Mavs’ woes are an issue of effort (from Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News): ““Hard play is the biggest key to winning in this league, other than having enough talent,” Carlisle said. “I love the talent on our team, but we don’t have the kind of talent to win on talent alone. That’s a fact. And most teams in the league are in the same position. We got to fight every night for wins. It’s just never easy.”"
After watching Wednesday’s curb stomp, it’s hard to argue otherwise. But I have some food for thought: if Carlisle is willing to place the blame on “not playing hard enough,” (and believe me, that could be quite the red herring here), is it possible that the basketball mantra against the “jump-shooting team” may not be so accurate after all? Is it really a matter of execution rather than approach? Madness instead of method?
Former NBA coach Eric Musselman runs one of the best coaching blogs on the planet, and he supplements a quote from Carlisle with the following quote from the legendary Pete Carril’s book: ”
“Defense is not a variable. It’s a constant. Shooting is a variable. Contesting a shot is not a variable. Skill is a variable. Work is not a variable, not a skill; it’s an attitude. Defense has to be deeply embedded in your attitude.” ” (Emphasis his)
Jan Hubbard of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has another article on Maverick duality: “Jason Kidd describes the Mavericks as “a little Jekyll and Hyde right now.” A little? And only right now? Kidd’s view is an accurate summary of the Mavericks not only because of their recent play, but also for the way they’ve played for much of the season. To put it another way, they seem to have an aversion to prosperity.”
One of the big topics after acquiring Ryan Hollins was lack of defensive discipline. We’ve seen it a few times already. But Hollins is saying all the right things to the media, and it sounds like it’s already a point of emphasis for him in terms of improving his game. In the meantime, just keep your fingers crossed that Damp doesn’t get injured. From Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News: “Hollins, a 7-foot center, has played more minutes than Carroll and has exhibited his athleticism. But Hollins said he has to concentrate on reining in his boundless enthusiasm for blocking shots. “You got to use some discretion,” he said. “The one I went after [against the Bucks] was a little out of frustration. But other than that, I try to go after everything. I’d rather err on the side of aggression than laying back and being timid.” “
Gerald Green is one of my favorite Mavericks. In terms of raw promise, he gives the Mavs a potential star they haven’t had since 2004 at the latests. He’s got a helluva lot to work on at this point, but I’m glad to see that he keeps his ‘mates as entertained as he keeps me. From Jan Hubbard of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Green outlines a possible plan for the 2010 dunk contest in Dallas: ” “He does it about twice a week,” Antoine Wright said of Green’s dunk show. “He hasn’t blown out the candle yet. But he said if he is in the dunk contest and it’s in Dallas, he wants to get a pass from a quarterback full court — full court from Tony Romo. I said, ‘You might get a 50 [perfect score] with that one.’ ” “
The moment we’ve all been waiting for, in which Dirk Nowitzki is denied yet another shot to start in February’s All-Star Game. For the longest time it was Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett, but now the story has completely changed: the last known poll results placed Dirk at 5th behind Duncan, Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire, and Ron Artest. Yikes. I’ve got no qualms with Duncan making the game (other than the fact that, y’know, the Spurs are the antithesis of all that is good in the world), and Anthony has had a stellar season for a good Nuggets team. But seeing Dirk trailing Stoudemire’s self-promoted voting campaign that oozed arrogance while missing out on the charm of the similar campaign a year ago by Chris Bosh…it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Artest plays for the Rockets, so that’s that.
(Addendum: Word is that Stoudemire’s got it. Oh, but nevermind the fact that he’s been relaxing and putting his feet up on D and somehow actually looks disinterested on offense. Besides those things, he’s been awesome.)
But at least two prominent voices in the internet basketball world gave Dirk his due; J.E. Skeets and Tas Melas of The Basketball Jones both chose Dirk for one of the two starting forward positions, and Skeets even selected Jason Terry as a reserve. Respect.
The moral of the story is: don’t hold your breath for tonight’s announcement. I’m not saying Dirk doesn’t deserve it (hell, I’d pick him), but ze German hardly wins any popularity contests.
During those second and third quarters, the Bucks got hot. I’m not sure that those guys shoot any better in the practice gym. But what separates good teams from mediocre teams and mediocre teams from bad teams is their ability to weather substantial runs by an opponent by either going blow-for-blow, or countering with their own run. The Mavs did no such thing last night, and that’s why they got punked. Simple as that. Still, Milwaukee Bucks coach Scott Skiles recognized the special effort his team put up on the offensive end. From Tom Enlund of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: ” “Sometimes you have like three of these a year,” said coach Scott Skiles. “You don’t have that many where, especially where for 14 straight minutes it seemed like - it didn’t happen this way but it seemed like - every shot we took went in the basket. So you have to take those nights…It’s not a fluke because all these guys are talented, but it just doesn’t happen that much. Or defensive game plan, the guys were sharp with that and we found the bottom of the basket. We have to take it.” “
Sometimes a stat just jumps out at you from the box score, and last night that stat was Maverick turnovers, which were much lower than you’d anticipate based on the final score. If anything, it goes to show just how terrible the defense was. Our offense may have been shooting blanks, but still piled up 99 because Dallas took care of the ball. Alex Boeder of the absolutely dynamite Bucks blog, BrewHoop: “7.You might think it’s odd to single out the number of Maverick turnovers when there are so many pretty Milwaukee-only numbers to pick from. But how truly incredible is it that the Bucks scored 133 points in 48 minutes without Bogut and against a good team that only turned the ball over seven times? The number seven also represents the number of assists that three Bucks (Jefferson/Ridnour/Sessions) reached or passed.”
Three great quotes from Eddie Sefko’s game recap this morning from The Dallas Morning News. The first of which is a “true dat” assessment from the franchise player himself: ” “We get waken up every other game it seems like,” [Nowitzki] said. “At some point, there’s no more waking up to do. You got to get it, or not. At some point, we got to play together and be who you are.” ”
The second is another “mmmhmmm” from Jason Kidd: ” “We’re a Jekyll and Hyde right now,” [Kidd] said. “That’s the personality of this team. We show and sometimes we don’t show. We have to find out how to be consistent. When we don’t show, we’re not going to beat anybody.” “
And finally, Mark Cuban’s doing his best to cheer you up with this last gem. Cuban describes a conversation he had with Matt Carroll concerning his role with the team: ” “I went up to him yesterday and I said, ‘If you don’t shoot when you get the ball and you’re even a little bit open, I’m going to run on the court and tear your arms off,’ ” Cuban said. “And then I’m going to make you clean up the blood.” “
If you haven’t already, the Mavs community needs to come to terms with the fact that this team is entirely mediocre. And, furthermore, that things are probably going to have to get worse before they get better. Jennifer Floyd Engel of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram elaborates: “I am guessing, by now, Carlisle has had a few sobering moments since then, a feeling only furthered by some Mavs types insistent on clinging to this belief that they are better and closer than they really are. The harsh reality is the Mavs are OK, not bad, not great, OK and probably on the downside of OK. And once teams are in a downward cycle, they don’t just suddenly get better. They are fooling themselves to think otherwise.”
Cuban apparently left his subtlety at home last night. He offered the following quote to quiet the trade speculation. From the inimitable Mike “Fish” Fisher at DallasBasketball.com: “”You can quote me on this,” Mavs owner Mark Cuban said on Wednesday. “I’m not trading Josh Howard.” “ Fish goes on to begin the most comprehensive trade talk I’ve seen to date, and makes a wise note of the fact that at one point, Mark Cuban advised a SportingNews writer to “Step away from [his] crack dealer,” when asked about a rumor that involved trading Devin Harris and Jerry Stackhouse for Jason Kidd. Funny how these things work.
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