Heard It Through the Grapevine 2-24-09

Posted by Rob Mahoney on February 24, 2009 under The Grapevine | Read the First Comment

  • A wild, wild night in the lig.  Devin Harris hit what many are calling “the shot of the year,” and I don’t think I can disagree.  Nate Robinson scored 41 points off the bench, made a game-clinching layup, and has my head spinning.  Carlos Boozer returned for the Jazz, and scored 2 points (technically he didn’t make a basket; it was a Josh Smith goaltend) to go with 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 2 turnovers.  Tyson Chandler returned for the Hornets, and notched 15 points and 10 rebounds (albeit along with 5 turnovers).  The Nuggets were absolutely punked by the Celtics sans Kevin Garnett.  Wacky.
  • Jerry Stackhouse is down already…just as I was planning to publish a “What Should We Really Expect From Stack?” post.  Oh, bother.  I wasn’t terribly optimistic about his potential to return to his former self, and maybe these type of delays are a blessing in disguise to help us temper our expectations.  Or maybe we’re just delaying the inevitable, and Stack’s eventual return will be accompanied by his blinders-on offensive mentality, only without the usual production.  Fun.  I’m hoping that Carlisle keeps his cool and does the same thing he’s done all season: refuse to accept the ‘given.’  It was given that Stack was going to be a contributor on this team, but he has to prove himself just as every other player on the roster did.  He didn’t seem all that pleased with Stack’s play early in the season, and one can only hope that he makes stack earn his way into the game rather than handing it to him.
  • Jake of Mavs Moneyball compares the Mavs’ defense to the Spurs’.  For most of the season, the Mavs matched up more favorably than you’d think.  Part of that can be attributed to the fact that the Spurs defense isn’t quite what it once was.  It does show that the Mavs have been subtly improving on that end since their midseason meltdown, but Jake is certainly right in assessing that the D doesn’t deserve the benefit of the doubt.
  • David Moore, with a friendly reminder on the DMN Mavs Blog: The trend extends even further. The Mavericks are 4-13 on the road against the best in the West since Jason Kidd’s arrival last February.
  • Tom Ziller warns you to “discount the Jazz at your own peril.”
  • Moore’s article for the Dallas Morning News continues with the same basic message, but goes further.  Could the loss to the Rockets actually prove to be a stepping stone for Dallas’ road success to come?:”‘The formula has got to be there. You’ve got to play consistently on defense and rebound. Offensively, you’ve got to be efficient and you’ve got to score enough points.’ [Carlisle said.] That’s the problem. The Mavericks haven’t been consistent on defense on the road. Their offense has been sporadic. Their bench has been erratic. But there are signs of improvement, such as Friday’s 93-86 loss in Houston. ‘Well, look at that game,’ Kidd said. ‘We put ourselves in position coming down the stretch, but didn’t execute and turned the ball over…It’s there. We’re right there. It’s a matter of staying with it.’”

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  • wacc_attack

    i might be alone here, but of all the teams in the west, i am most scared of the jazz. wait, let me rephrase that. i am terrified of the jazz. more so than the lakers, the spurs, or the nuggets.

    with the lakers, every single game we have played the past 2 years have been very close and very winnable games. imo, we should’ve won both of our meetings this year – especially the one at home.

    the spurs are the spurs, nothing new here. we always up our game against them, and the tide is finally turning our way. save “the series” where we finally knocked that gorilla off our back, the script used to be this: close game for 3 quarters, then the spurs break our hearts last 5 min of game. now, its different. we cleaned their clock at SA (yes manu was hurt, but so was j-ho if im not mistaken), and the heartbreaker at home was just that…a very unlucky loss in a game we threw away back when the 4th quarter was the deadzone for us.

    the nuggets are definitely very solid, but theyre on or theyre off. very beatable team, if we play good ball. if chauncey is off, we can take them – barring another circus-shot festival from the birdman.

    the jazz though..make me want to vommit. we cant touch them on the road, they constantly play to our weaknesses (its like a layup clinic when theyre around), and dirk despises them. they get to his head. as beatable as they are in dallas, we cant handle them one bit in utah. the crowd, the ejection history…..make me cringe.

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