Heard It Through the Grapevine

Posted by Rob Mahoney on November 11, 2009 under The Grapevine |

• Britt Robson has a great piece at SI.com focusing on the Mavs’ defense. There’s honestly too much to quote, but check it out.
• Erick Dampier’s excellent play has an interesting wrinkle, noted by Eddie Sefko: “The more games Dampier continues to pile up like Tuesday’s against Houston, the tougher it’s going to be to sit him. That said, there’s no way the franchise allows Dampier to get to the minutes-threshold incentive that would trigger the final year of his seven-year contract at a guarantee of more than $13 million. Ain’t gonna happen. But imagine the uncomfortable situation if Dampier keeps rolling up numbers like the 14 points, 20 rebounds and three blocks (with no missed shots) he had against the Rockets. How can you not keep that kind of production on the court when you really need it?”
• Tom Martin of The Dream Shake: “The thirteen turnovers hurt, but Dallas had fourteen.  The twenty-two fouls may seem a bit much, but Dallas had twenty-eight.  Look no further than the Mavericks‘ true shooting percentage of sixty-five percent to find a large chunk of why they were victorious.  Seven of twelve from three?  Twenty-two of twenty-three on free throws?  That’s called execution.”
• Surprise, surprise, Rick Carlisle wasn’t too happy with the way the Mavs played defense in the first quarter and a half. Luckily for the sake of Rick, his foot, and all laundry bins in the D/FW area, the Mavs locked down.