Posted by Rob Mahoney on August 31, 2009 under The Grapevine | 
- Creeping into my list from Friday: Dwyer’s ranking of the top ten defenders of the decade, which includes Jason Kidd at number 8. Kidd’s not that defender anymore, and he probably wasn’t during his first stint with the Mavs, either. Still, give the guy his due.
- It’s hardly news by now, but Stephen Jackson wants out of Golden State…and back in to Texas. Jax is a Port Arthur native looking to come home, and also a quality two-way shooting guard with a big contract and apparently a distaste for the current climate in the Bay area. More to come on Jackson’s potential place in Dallas, but on paper it would make the wings awfully crowded.
- More on Jackson here, here, here, and here.
- Tracy McGrady could be back sooner than initially thought.
- The Mavs apparently talked trade with the Jazz about Carlos Boozer, but I’m almost thankful we were spared from that headache.
Posted by Rob Mahoney on August 27, 2009 under Commentary |
Erick Dampier’s contract is all the rage these days, but needless to say it wasn’t always so. It’s bad. Really bad. But before you let all those zeroes haunt your dreams, keep in mind that it’s not the worst — much less one of the top five — contract of the decade. Seven ain’t so bad, eh?
Posted by Rob Mahoney on August 26, 2009 under Commentary |
Let’s get specific. You don’t just climb into the league’s elite with broad strokes to cover all problems; the Mavs need to hone in on the specifics that limited them last year in order to go forward. We’ve already painted what should be the Mavs’ team goals, and the same policy goes for this set of attainable standards: comment away with anything you guys feel is missing, and we’ll see if we can’t start up the ol’ amendment process.
Without further ado:
- Prove that someone on the roster is capable of guarding quick point guards. J.J. Barea proved that he’s capable of at least making Tony Parker’s life difficult, but Rodrigue Beaubois, Quinton Ross, and even Shawn Marion and Josh Howard will likely get a stab at manning up on those speedy 1s. That lack of perimeter quickness proved to be a real shortcoming of last year’s Mavs, and this team will need to do a better job of both keeping up man-on-man and funneling opposing players into the help D.
- Improve the three point shooting margin. The Mavs have three point shooters. Dirk Nowitzki made his name in the league with that very shot, Jason Terry kills at that range, Jason Kidd is an old dog with a new trick, and a number of other players on the roster shoot at a good clip. And yet the team shot just 35% from three last season, good (bad?) for 25th in the league. Youch. That mark is made even more painful b the 37% shooting that the Mavs allowed from three, a simply unacceptable mark for a team with such lofty aspirations. On paper, the Mavs have helped their cause by adding Tim Thomas, Shawn Marion, and Quinton Ross into the rotation, while losing Antoine Wright. That should at least boost the Mavs’ three point attempts, but can they capitalize on the attempts given to them in the system? Or will we see shades of Matt Carroll, a shooter looking more and more like a man defeated by himself? Of course the margin doesn’t stop there. The Mavs’ perimeter D will need to boast quicker and more effective rotations in order to contest those open looks outside. Easy as pie, right?
- Mind the children. It’s important that the Mavs are competitive now, but perhaps equally so that they maintain some semblance of competitiveness when the bottom falls out. Dirk can’t be this team’s safety net forever, and finding suitable rotation players would at least pad the pit of spikes and lottery balls below with pillows. Beaubois is the key, but J.J. Barea and Quinton Ross (though he’s a bit old for this bunch) could also play important roles in the Mavs’ future at affordable prices.
- Ch-ch-ch-changes. Josh Howard will likely start at the 2, and his success in that transition will likely coincide with any larger gains the Mavs benefit from. Shooting guard and small forward aren’t startlingly different positions in today’s NBA or the Mavs’ offensive system, but a position change does pose a new set of unique problems.
- No concessions, if you please. Last season, the Mavs faced a bit of a problem. Playing Jason Kidd and Jason Terry together meant a potent offense, but a lacking defense. Playing Jason Kidd and Antoine Wright together brought a limited offense but a marginally superior defense. When faced with those two ‘evils’, what’s a head coach to do? Ideally, the Mavs should be able to field a backcourt that’s competitive on both ends, without clear concessions through weakness alone.
Posted by Rob Mahoney on under The Grapevine |
- A compelling look at the office dynamics of an NBA team. Among other things, the suggestion that when one player scores the whole team doesn’t score, and a breakdown of the effectiveness of two-person tandems versus three-man task forces.
- Nathan Jawai, man of intrigue.
- Shawn Marion received three votes for “Best Newcomer” in a poll among the ESPN experts. For what it’s worth, he also one vote for “Worst Newcomer” (even if the poll seems to be more “most overstated” or “least beneficial” than “worst.”)
- Rodrigue Beaubois’ mental training regiment, as per Mavs’ assistant Monte Mathis (via Earl K. Sneed): “I think [watching film is] just a tool to prepare Roddy to learn the system…To learn Rick’s system, offensively and defensively, to add onto all of the stuff that he learned through Summer League. And he’ll get his body and mind ready for training camp…A lot of the film work and diagram stuff we do prior to on-the-court work has to do with the mind and being consistent on the court,” Mathis said. “Being vocal on the court with his teammates, and things of that nature, where he stays consistent whether it’s offense or defense…Today we had a session where I made him be the coach. I made him tell me and call out what our next drill was going to be. It’s just a tool of getting him to be more vocal, getting him to be a leader, and getting him to take charge. He has to be constantly communicating out there if he’s going to be the point guard.”
- The Mavs come in at #9 on Chris Mannix’s off-season power rankings for SI.com. That I can live with, but being ranked behind the Wiz at 8? Please.
- Tim MacMahon will play host for a Q&A with Mark Cuban scheduled for September 15th. Mark your calendars.
Posted by Rob Mahoney on August 21, 2009 under Commentary |
Everyone has their dark secrets, but I harbor within me a Dark Passenger. It has an insatiable and unspeakable hunger, one that when spoken aloud, is tantamount to sacrilege. Its desires have led me to an unthinkable resolution: I am a fan of two NBA teams. The Mavs will forever be my love, my life, but now and again, I escape away into the embrace of the Charlotte Bobcats.
That said, I can’t help but feel that my relationship with the ‘Cats is bittersweet, if not tragic. For whatever the reasons, this team has always courted the turgid romantic inside of me. The whole ordeal has been rooted in contradiction, a betrayal of logic: I love the Bobcats because no one loves the Bobcats. And for what? A talented forward with so much energy, it keeps him off the court. A departed face of the franchise, shipped out after he failed to measure up to Dwight Howard’s considerable shadow. A point guard who has forgotten how to pass and shoot, but still finds ways to be effective. Roster moves that ‘make sense’ but rarely do, and head-scratching trades that come up roses. O brawling love! O loving hate! O anything of nothing first create! O heavy lightness, serious vanity! Misshapen chaos of well-seeming forms!
This love I feel, that feel no love in this.
Perhaps it’s that force, that contradiction, which has kept me a Bobcat fan through five…interesting years. Even though the wins column has yet to top 35, even though their orange unis are unspeakably awful, and even though ownership and management are inept enough to be considered villainous. This team, through all its incarnations, has been enigmatic and lovable enough to keep me coming back for more. The Bobcats may not love me, but there’s a special nook in my heart that glows that miserable shade of fluorescent orange.
Do you have a Dark Passenger?
Posted by Rob Mahoney on August 20, 2009 under Rumors |
Doug Smith of The Star’s Raptors Blog:
According to a couple of league sources and I can’t corroborate this with any of my most trusted Toronto folks, Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo’s got another deal bubbling, one that would send guard Marcus Banks to the Dallas Mavericks for Matt Carroll…I’m warned — and therefore so are you — that the proposed transaction remains in its relative infancy and if this summer’s proven anything it’s that nothing’s done until it’s done…Banks? Well, Banks never really worked out after being obtained in the Shawn Marion trade last season. He hardly played, was mediocre when he did and then got hurt and missed about the last month of the season. He didn’t take the team’s suggestion and play in the summer league last month – although he was in Las Vegas to meet with the staff and work out – and the GM’s been trying to deal him for months.
The Mavs intentions seem purely financial, as Carroll’s deal extends two years longer (and $7.4 million over that span) than Banks’. That I don’t mind, especially with the way Mark Cuban was willing to tack on extra payroll earlier in the summer. I am a bit concerned by bringing in the illusion of a point guard, though; I have a history of being more confident in Banks than most, and I’ll still be the first to tell you that he isn’t worthy of a rotation spot. He’s failed to live up to his potential at almost every turn in his career, and could muck up the point guard rotation by denying minutes to Rodrigue Beaubois. Even if Banks is marginally better than Beaubois, the kid needs to get his reps. I’ve got no qualms with Marcus Banks provided he doesn’t squeeze into the point guard rotation, but I’m still harboring the sneaking suspicion that he might.
Posted by Rob Mahoney on August 17, 2009 under Commentary |
A simple question with varied, complicated answers: what needs to happen for the Mavs’ 2009-2010 season to be considered a success? Given the roster assembled, is winning the championship the only way to declare the campaign a successful one? Or, in light of relative expectations, is it enough to merely challenge the natural order?
That’s where you guys come in. I’m going to list some goals for the team at large, but this is by no means a solo enterprise. Sound off in the comments with your ideas. As the week goes on, we’ll narrow the focus to more specific goals (coaching, backcourt, frontcourt, etc.), so for now let’s keep it team-wide:
- 50+ wins. The number 50 isn’t terribly significant, but those nice, round numbers are nice. Plus, ‘09-’10 would mark the tenth consecutive season of 50 wins or more. Shiny.
- Top three in offensive efficiency. The Mavs have enough weapons to be a remarkable offensive team, and anything less than an elite offense would have to be considered a disappointment. Anchoring high-level offenses happens to be a Dirk specialty, so I fully expect him, along with JET and Kidd, to enjoy playing with the new toys.
- Top ten in defensive efficiency. If the Mavs want to pose a serious threat on the contending scene, they’ll need a defense that can maintain some semblance of respectability. The D last season was mediocre/average, which is either not good enough or not so bad. The addition of Shawn Marion and hopefully a healthier Josh Howard should shore up the defense, and a top ten mark would quantify that improvement nicely.
- Improve over the course of the regular season. I don’t expect linear improvement from the get-go, but I’d like to see a Mavs team that’s much improved after game 82 than they were before game 1. The ups and downs in between are expected, but having a team on the up and up going into the playoffs will do wonders for the squad’s confidence.
- Don’t roll over and die. Even though the Mavs lost in five games to the Nuggets, I never got the vibe that they had given up. They clawed and fought, and even though that only resulted in one measly win and a pat on the back, it’s worth plenty in pride points. That’s the currency of champions right there, kids. I can deal with losses, but giving up is another thing entirely.
- Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. That includes, but is certainly not limited to: listening to country music, carrying an unregistered firearm, eating any combination of seafood and Tex-Mex (fish tacos are the devil’s food), drag racing, praising the use of Auto-Tune, being involved in any variety of sex crimes, wearing a V-neck, driving under the influence, enjoying Zoolander, murdering people, attempting to murder people, conspiring to murder people, conspiring to attempt to murder people, etc., etc., etc.
- Remember who you are. This team will have an identity. What that identity will entail exactly…well, beats me. But it’s important that the Mavs play their game, and no one else’s. I’m not saying that the Mavs shouldn’t try to compensate for their weaknesses, but they should do so by bolstering their strengths. So what if the roster lacks a true scorer at center? So what if Jason Terry will play minutes as an undersized two? If those types of problems can’t be fixed through transactions, then don’t try to fix them by hedging losses. Use some creativity, eh? No need to try to run straight through a wall when you can walk around it, climb over it, dig under it, or blow it up with C4.
- First round flame-outs are not acceptable, regardless of match-ups. No coulda, shoulda, wouldas. Mark Cuban’s wallet has taken a considerable beating to field a competitive team, and if the team isn’t competitive, the season can hardly be considered successful. The Mavs need to fight for seeding in the regular season, and execute in the postseason. You know, take care of business. Everyday. And working overtime. WORK OUT!
Sound off, twomangamites. What are your priorities for ‘09-’10, and what will it take for the Mavs to have a 2010 summer light on the criticism?
Posted by Rob Mahoney on under xOther |
Photo by Scott Council, from SLAM.
Josh Howard does a mean relaxed pose.
Posted by Rob Mahoney on under xOther |
Kevin Arnovitz, who was recently dubbed “Dr. Arnovitz” by Ball Don’t Lie’s Kelly Dwyer (a moniker I completely endorse), offered a bright prognosis for the Mavs as one of the season’s big sleepers:
Dirk Nowitzki, at 31, is the same age as Kobe Bryant. While Nowitzki is unlikely to reproduce his 2006-07 exploits, he remains one of the league’s best players. Jason Terry has been a model of consistency for Dallas and had arguably the most efficient season of his career as the Mavs’ super sub in 2008-09. Josh Howard is only 29. When healthy, he’s still one of the more flexible swingmen in the game and a lockdown defender. In 2006-07, J.J. Barea logged fewer than 200 minutes, but he’s become a spark plug for the Mavs’ quality second unit ever since.
With Jason Kidd settling nicely into the role of veteran facilitator (and surprisingly efficient shooter), the franchise doubled down on the bet that their solid core could maximize what’s left of Dirk Nowitzki’s prime. They landed Shawn Marion.
Like Howard, Marion is versatile, freakish, and mercurial. Defensively, he can stay in front of speedy point guards, bother face-up power forwards, chase spot-up shooters, and clean up on the boards. Offensively, Marion’s downward trajectory the past season and a half began the moment he left Phoenix. Coincidence — or evidence that his talents demand the care of a veteran, pass-first point guard?
When you consider those assets, then throw in sensible additions like Drew Gooden and Kris Humphries to bolster Erick Dampier on the block, defensive stopper Quinton Ross, and a pair of intriguing rookies, and the Mavs appear … stacked.
There is no shortage of nightmarish scenarios by which Dallas’ gamble can implode. Nowitzki, Kidd, Marion, Terry, and Dampier are all on the wrong side of 30. Howard is accustomed to missing about 15 games a year, and being less than 100 percent for long stretches. Dallas’ best offensive lineup (Kidd-Terry-Howard-Marion-Nowitzki) won’t give them much interior defense, and the loss of Brandon Bass makes them a less energetic bunch.
But with Kidd at the point, and a roster of flexible guys who can each serve multiple functions on the floor, Dallas has the potential to develop into a grizzled, selfless squad with the kind of mental edge that just might have been the missing ingredient 28 months ago.
Posted by Rob Mahoney on August 16, 2009 under The Grapevine |
- Marc Stein is all over the news that Dirk won’t be playing for the German national team, and managed to nab several quotes that every Mavs fan should read. From the top, Dirk’s take on the whole situationt: “”I’m not mad at Cubes at all,” Nowitzki said in a phone interview. “He’s been great to me these last 10, 11 years. He always let me chase my dream. And we always agreed that if I made the Olympics, it would be [time] to take a break…This time he basically told me, ‘I’d prefer if you not play.’ He kind of left it up to me. I think if I would have really kept harping on it, then he wouldn’t have tried to stop me. But I think it’s the right decision…I’m happy I’m keeping my word to him, because he kept his word to me for the last 10, 11 years.”
- Stein notes the following on the goings-on of pro basketball: The NBA’s agreement with FIBA — basketball’s international governing body — stipulates that NBA teams cannot prevent their players from participating in international competition in the offseason as long as the players’ respective national federations can afford the requisite insurance. The exception to that rule is when a player is injured or still recovering from a documented injury, as evidenced earlier this week when the Mavericks did invoke their right to prevent reserve guard J.J. Barea from joining Puerto Rico’s national team because Barea is still recovering from shoulder surgery in late May.”
- Dirk, on the acquisition of Shawn Marion et al this summer: “I like where we’re at. I think we made some good moves this summer. Now we’ve just got to give it some time so we can grow together.”
- Mark Cuban, on if this issue has strained his relationship with Dirk: “Dirk and I are good with everything.”
Marc Stein, ladies and gentlemen.
- Our friend Marcin Gortat has reportedly injured his back while playing for the Polish national team, the third injury to a notable NBA player (Tony Parker, Pau Gasol) that has happened overseas this summer. It looks like Dirk picked the right summer to sit out. (via mavsnews)
- Drew Gooden is a strange dude. (via ShareBro Wyn)
- Art Garcia talks shop with Shawn Marion, and there’s one particular item of note aside from the “guy on a new team” pleasantries: “Touches shouldn’t be a problem in Big D, where Marion is reunited with point guard Jason Kidd, whom he played with during his first two seasons in Phoenix. Coach Rick Carlisle has already promised that the Mavs will run as never before this season and added that Marion, more than anyone else, is the reason, likening the addition to ‘putting methane in the gas tank.’”
- An good, honest debate among ball folk on who is better at this stage in their careers: Steve Nash or Jason Kidd? (via Fish at DallasBasketball.com)