Posted by Bryan Gutierrez on April 14, 2013 under Previews | 
The Dallas Mavericks (39-40) will once again be in a shave game as they head to the bayou to take on the New Orleans Hornets (27-53). Since their game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Mar. 26, Dallas has had three opportunities to get back to .500 and have failed miserably in each attempt. On Mar. 28, they suffered a 103-78 loss to the Pacers. In the biggest game of the year, the Mavericks brought a dud to their game against the Los Angeles Lakers, suffering a 101-81 loss on Apr. 2. The most embarrassing of the previous three attempts came against the Phoenix Suns as they fell asleep in a 102-91 loss on Apr. 10.
Their fourth opportunity sends them to an unfriendly location. Dallas is looking to hit the .500 mark since they were 11-11 on Dec. 12. Pride and beards are on the line.
Here are the notes for the game between the Mavericks and the Hornets.
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Posted by Bryan Gutierrez on April 13, 2013 under Interviews |
The Dallas Mavericks played for pride and found a way to squeak out a 108-105 overtime victory over the playoff-bound Denver Nuggets. Dallas used a 19-2 run (from the 8:22 mark of the third quarter through the 3:53 mark of the period) to turn an 11-point deficit (61-50) into a six-point advantage (69-63) en route to their victory. Dirk Nowitzki recorded his sixth double-double of the season (375th career) with a game-high-tying 22 points to go along with 10 rebounds and four assists in 40 minutes against Denver. He scored 20-plus points for the second straight game (18th time this season).
Another veteran helped lead the charge for the Mavericks as Vince Carter posted his first double-double of the season (89th career) with a game-high-tying 22 points to go along with a season-high 12 rebounds, seven assists and two blocks in 34 minutes against Denver (previous high: nine rebounds on three occasions).
O.J. Mayo went 5-of-7 from beyond the arc and scored 20 points to go along with three rebounds, six assists, two steals and one block in 42 minutes. Shawn Marion totaled 15 points to go along with eight rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block in 30 minutes against the Nuggets. Marion is averaging 20.5 points and 9.0 rebounds over his last four games.
Some notes before the quotes:
- Dirk Nowitzki now has 24,990 career points and needs 10 points for 25,000. He will become the 17th player in NBA history with at least 25,000 points.
- Vince Carter had his first double-double since Apr. 16, 2012 at Utah (18 points and 12 rebounds). It also marked just the second time in his career that he totaled at least 22 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and two blocks in the same game (46 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists and 3 blocks in 47 minutes vs. Washington Apr. 7, 2007. With the win, the Mavericks improved to 9-2 this season when Carter scores 20-plus points, and 12-3 when he scores 20-plus points over the last two seasons. He also tied his career high with eight offensive rebounds. He pulled down eight offensive boards as a member of the New Jersey Nets against the Chicago Bulls on Nov. 5, 2005.
- With the win, the Mavericks improved to 6-1 this season when O.J. Mayo makes at least five triples in a game. He recorded his 22nd 20-point game of the season (15-7 record), but his first since Mar. 8 at Detroit (22 points).
- With the victory, the Mavericks snapped the Nuggets’ five-game winning streak.
- The Mavericks played their 11th overtime game of the season against the Nuggets on Friday. Prior to the 2012-13 campaign, the franchise record for the most overtime games in a season was eight (in 1995-96, 1997-98 and 2009-10).
Here is the quoteboard for Dallas’ prideful win over Denver.
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Posted by Connor Huchton on under Recaps |
Box Score — Play-By-Play — Shot Chart — Game Flow
You know the drill. The Difference is a reflection on the game that was, with one bullet for every point in the final margin.
- Mark Cuban may love Vince Carter (9-19 FG, 22 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists) more than I do, but I too admire the aging guard’s resolve. Carter had regressed a bit over the last month or so, but tonight reminded me why I was so enamored with his vitalized play in late-February and early-March. His performance was one of immense substance and resolve for a team no longer fighting for the playoffs, no longer fighting for much of anything other than a .500+ record and a lower lottery pick. Thank you for a season of stalwart professionalism, Vince Carter, and I hope to say the same as next season ends.
- When Corey Brewer (6-20 FG, 18 points, five steals) scored off a steal as regulation dwindled to a close, I did not expect the Mavericks to rise up and control the overtime period. But so they did, mostly thanks to O.J. Mayo (7-13 FG, 5-7 3PT, 20 points, six assists, two turnovers), who made a late bid for changing Mavericks’ fans perceptions with a commendable scoring performance. Mayo’s ability to find rhythm and function as a key offensive weapon in the Carlisle offense seems largely dependent on his ability to limit turnovers. With an offseason and another season in Carlisle’s system, it’s a problem Mayo may be able to address and quell to some extent. There’s no guarantee of that essential improvement, but Mayo is still only 25 years old.
- Though he tired a bit down the stretch, Dirk Nowitzki (9-17 FG, 22 points, 10 rebounds, four assists) provided a very resilient and potent 40 minutes tonight. He’s not the Dirk of old – he’s the old Dirk – but he’s still capable of charging an offense and bringing rebounds down with the most tenacious of elbows. Time has been the Mavericks’ bane for the last two years, and while it may be presumptuous of me, I’d like to ask time to freeze until next season, and allow this basketball Dirk to begin and end the 2013-2014 campaign in the same impressive form of recent months.
Posted by Bryan Gutierrez on April 12, 2013 under Previews |
It has come to this as the Dallas Mavericks (38-40) are now playing the string out as they host the Denver Nuggets (54-24). Coupling the loss to Phoenix and Los Angeles’ win in Portland, Dallas is officially out of the running for the playoffs.The streak of 12 consecutive trips to the postseason was the longest in franchise history and the second-longest in the NBA (San Antonio will be making its 16th straight postseason appearance in 2013). The Nuggets, who will be making their 10th consecutive postseason appearance in 2013 (2004-2013), now own the second-longest active playoff streak. During their 12-year streak, the Mavericks made three Western Conference Finals appearances (2003, 2006, 2011) and advanced to the NBA Finals twice (2006 and 2011). They captured their first NBA championship in 2011.
It will be interesting to see how the players react in playing a game that really has no major significance. There’s a mix of veterans who have a lot of pride with young players who might not be sure how to react to this situation.
Despite the Mavericks being out of the playoff mix, there are still things to play for and those will be covered at the end.
Here are the notes for the game between the Mavericks and the Nuggets.
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Posted by Travis Wimberly on April 11, 2013 under Commentary, Recaps |
Thermodynamics (n.) – the science concerned with the relations between heat and mechanical energy
The Mavs have been officially eliminated from playoff contention, but they say they won’t quit on the season. In that case, neither will we. We’ve got about one more week before most of our regular columns here at The Two Man Game go into offseason hiatus, so let’s make it count.
Week 24 (@Nuggets, @Kings, @Blazers, Suns)
FIRE
1) The Matrix
The 2012-13 Mavs have a handful of younger players whose grit and tenacity are sometimes easy to question. Meanwhile, they have a few older players for whom those traits are indisputable and unwavering. Shawn Marion is one of those guys in the latter category, and this week was the quintessential example. With the Mavs’ playoff hopes dwindling further and further, the Matrix rose to the occasion. After a respectable 10-point night in Denver, he produced 25 points against Sacramento, 20 against Portland, and 22 against Phoenix. It was the first time since 2007 that Marion has scored 20-plus points in three consecutive games. Not only that, he scored very efficiently — 34-of-58 (59%) shooting on the week — and contributed 8.5 rebounds per game to boot. I’m not going to say the Mavs have quitters on their roster, because I don’t think that’s true. But I will say this: Shawn Marion is the polar opposite of a quitter.
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Posted by Bryan Gutierrez on under Interviews |
Wednesday night ended up being the final jab into the collective jaw of the Dallas Mavericks. They suffered a devastating 102-91 loss to the Phoenix Suns. On top of that, the Los Angeles Lakers were able to secure a 113-106 loss in Portland to the Trail Blazers. The combination of the Dallas loss and Los Angeles win sealed the fate for the Mavericks. Dallas is now officially eliminated from playoff contention, ending their 12 year streak of consecutive trips to the postseason.
The loss to Phoenix put an end to the Suns’ 10-game losing streak. Before securing the victory, the Suns had not defeated the Mavericks at American Airlines Center since Mar. 14, 2007, when they recorded a 129-127 double-overtime win. The Mavericks had won 10 straight and 22 of the last 27 matchups with the Suns in Dallas before the loss.
Goran Dragic (21 points and a game-high 13 assists) and Luis Scola (11 points and a game-high 15 rebounds) both recorded double-doubles for Phoenix in the win.
Shawn Marion tallied a game-high 22 points to go along with a team-high nine rebounds and three steals in 34 minutes. He scored 20-plus points for the third straight game (eighth time this season).
Some notes before the quotes:
- Marion’s game marked the first time since February 2007 that he scored 20-plus points in three consecutive games (27 at Minnesota Feb. 23, 2007, 21 at Atlanta Feb. 25, 2007, 22 at Indiana Feb. 27, 2007). Marion is averaging 22.3 points and 9.3 rebounds over his last three games.
- Dirk Nowitzki totaled 21 points to go along with eight rebounds and three assists in 34 minutes. It was his 17th game with 20-plus points this season.
- The streak of 12 consecutive trips to the postseason was longest in franchise history and was the second-longest in the NBA. At 10 years, the Denver Nuggets now hold the second-longest active streak in the league. San Antonio (16 consecutive playoff appearances) is the only team with a longer active streak.
- Before this run of 12 straight playoff appearances, Dallas longest streak was five, from 1983-88.
- Dallas’ 12 straight playoff appearances ties for 13th-longest in NBA history. Syracuse/Philadelphia holds record of 22 straight (1960-81)
Here is the quoteboard for Dallas’ death blow of a loss to Phoenix.
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Posted by Kirk Henderson on April 10, 2013 under Recaps |
Box Score — Play-by-Play — Shot Chart — Game Flow
You know the drill. The Difference is a reflection on the game that was, with one bullet for every point in the final margin.
- How a playoff hopeful like Dallas gets blown out by a team like Phoenix, who had lost their previous ten games, is beyond understanding. The final score may not indicate a game which one team dominated, but there were signs early on, like the Mavericks trailing 28-14 after a mere ten minutes of action.
- I believe it’s time to issue a verdict on O.J. Mayo: despite his early season play, I feel that the Dallas Mavericks front office should let him go or use him as an asset in a sign and trade deal. Consider his stat line against the Suns: six points on 2 of 10 shooting, six assists and four turnovers. Compare that to his counter part, former University of Texas product and journeyman P.J. Tucker: 17 points on 6 of 9 shooting, 10 rebounds, one turnover. It would be one thing if Mayo had a bad game, but simply look at his game log; he’s not had a truly game altering performance since the March 3rd victory over the Rockets. To be fair, he often hasn’t hurt the team, but the role of a second option should be that of a catalyst, a player who can spark the team during an off night from the superstar. Mayo has not been that player and I cannot see him developing in that direction.
- The veteran pride of Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Marion, and Vince Carter is something to behold. The team looked flat and disinterested from the opening tip, yet these three players willed Dallas into the game despite it feeling rather hopeless. The Vince Carter run to end the first and start the second was rather inspiring. He finished a missed Dirk three with a monsterous tip dunk then closed out the quarter with a transition three. He then opened the second with another big three pointer to push Dallas back within four points.
- Watching the Dallas guards get abused by Goran Dragic (21 points, 13 assists) was at once maddening and fascinating Working with a talent-depleted team, Dragic set up his defender perfectly on a number of pick and roll opportunities. Considering how often Dallas guards improperly set up defenders when attempting to use a screen, seeing Dragic lull his defender into complacency before exploding past a pick was exciting to watch. His early penetration resulted in easy baskets for Phoenix which would put the team onto a path for success in the paint throughout the game.
- As the season has wound down Mayo’s seemingly complete aversion to contact has come to light. Against the Suns he took two shots in the paint: a fast break floater from 7 feet over Dragic (when a lay up was possible) and a fourth quarter lay in attempt during his one man fast break. He missed both and looked to avoid contact on both. In the past month, Dallas has played 17 games with Mayo playing every one. He’s averaged .88 free throws attempted per game despite playing an average of 35 minutes and being the primary ball handler for large stretches.
- During the game, Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas tweeted “Jermaine O’Neal just hit a jumper and patted Rick Carlisle on the butt. Carlisle, who coached O’Neal in Indy, didn’t seem amused.” O’Neal finished the game with a strange line; four points on 2 of 12 shooting and six rebounds. However, he punished Dallas on the offensive glass, awarding the Suns two or three extra possessions late in the game as the Mavericks were attempting a comeback. He also managed a whopping six blocks.
- The joy in watching Shawn Marion (22 points, nine rebounds) is challenging to put into perspective. Though Dirk Nowitzki is the engine, Marion may very well be the steering wheel. Without his constant movement on offense, rebounding and energy on defense, the Mavericks could very easily have been 15 games under .500 this season. Though Dirk has the patented shot for Dallas, watching a Marion floater has become a delight. In the first quarter, he kept the Mavericks afloat early with a number of nifty moves including a 12 foot runner from the right elbow that most players would have a problem converting more than one try in ten in a game situation.
- Surely the Maverick front office has grown weary of Darren Collison’s inability to stay in front of stationary objects. Perhaps if he’s willing to be a change of pace back up Dallas should consider re-signing him (his qualifying offer is rather low), but he’s so atrocious defensively that it’s impossible to hide his short comings without a solid paint protector. I’m sure I sound like a broken record, but he runs into each screen like it is his first and his defensive recovery angles are that of someone who is very, very bad at Brick Breaker.
- We can log the Brandan Wright to Jae Crowder back door lay up as one of the few evening bright spots. Dirk set a pick along the left wing three point line for Crowder who cut to the basket. Wright, who held the ball at the top of the key, threw an on point pass to Crowder, who finished despite the Phoenix presence at the rim.
- Wesley Johnson (14 points, three rebounds) shot 54% against Dallas. Some games, a team just runs into the Johnson buzz saw (he’s shooting under 40% in the 2012-2013 season).
- The Mavericks have just four games remaining to rid themselves of their beards. Two of the four games come against playoff bound squads in Denver and Memphis. The other two games are against the New Orleans Hornets, a team which has fought Dallas hard in each of the prior match ups. Dallas faces a real possibility of finishing under .500 for the first time since the 1999-2000 season. With the Laker win in Portland, Dallas is officially out of the playoffs.
Kirk is a member of the Two Man Game family. Follow him on Twitter @KirkSeriousFace for ranting about Dallas basketball, TV, movies, video games, and his dog.
Posted by Bryan Gutierrez on under Previews |
The Dallas Mavericks (38-39) are clinging to playoff hope as they host the Phoenix Suns (23-55). Dallas comes off a split of their four-game road trip in hopes of getting back to .500 for the first time since they were 11-11 after a loss to the Boston Celtics on Dec. 12. They look to get back to .500 against the worst team in the Western Conference. In a very odd finish to a very good game, the Suns lost on a goaltending call at the buzzer, 101-98, to the Rockets in Houston. Phoenix dropped its 10th consecutive game on a buzzer-beating three-point attempt by James Harden that was taken off the rim by a Suns player and ruled interference, making the basket good and giving Houston the three-point win. Phoenix has lost their last 10 by an average of 11.4 points.
Dallas is still mathematically alive to make the playoffs, but the odds are looking slim. The anti magic number for the Mavericks is two. That means between themselves, the Utah Jazz and the Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas needs to avoid any combination of their own losses and wins by Utah and wins by Los Angeles equaling out to the number two. Ultimately, Dallas needs to win out and hope that those two teams win no more than one game on their respective remaining schedules. It’s going to take a lot, starting with the game against the Phoenix Suns.
In an injury update, the team believes that Dirk Nowitzki (left foot) will play vs Phoenix. They are also optimistic that Elton Brand (right calf) will be in uniform. Brand has missed the last three games with his injury.
Here are the notes for the game between the Mavericks and the Suns.
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Posted by Brian Rubaie on under Commentary, Roster Moves |
Encapsulating a team’s essence in one word is difficult, particularly when that team is the 2012-2013 Dallas Mavericks and one isn’t supposed to curse. Those conditions standing, however, the word which best describes both the current and future outlook of these Dallas Mavericks is “unpredictable.” The instability which characterized the Mavs this season will become the new normal as Dallas prepares to enter another hyperactive off-season.
As the primary topics of discussion shift away from the playoffs and beards, talk of free agency will ramp up. A rush of predictions, rumors and opinion pieces will attempt to assign a method to the ongoing Mavericks madness. It is a void into which I will willingly plunge as an analyst, but I wish to first beg your forgiveness. The task of predicting Dallas’ moves this offseason, or offering reasonable advice to its ownership, is a tall task, and potentially a fool’s errand. Anyone searching for a definitive answer would be wise to remember that little in this Mavericks era can be anticipated; most everything has yet to be determined.
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Posted by David Hopkins on April 9, 2013 under Commentary |
“Know me… and know fear.” – Galactus, Devourer of Worlds
This offseason, Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson will need to look at the current roster and evaluate which players are a priority. It’s difficult to decide if a good game represents a glimpse of greatness or a fleeting moment. In other words: should we expect more from them or are these anomalies, outliers, from subpar players? Of course, consistency would be nice, but so few of the new players this season were consistent.
To help Cuban and Nelson, I offer my rundown of “best games” from the players who had their first season in Dallas (thus, no Brandan Wright, but I already covered him last week). I also limited my list to players who had significant minutes this season (no Anthony Morrow or Jared Cunningham).
Elton Brand
Best game: December 1st vs. Detroit, Mavs win 92 to 77
Stats of note: 17 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 blocks
From the game recap, Kirk Henderson wrote: “A healthy round of applause for Elton Brand (17 points, 12 rebounds) is in order. While its exciting to see Mayo shoot well, seeing Brand hit those 10 to 15 foot jump shots was such a relief. Last season Brand shot a fantastic 45% clip from that section of the floor and was a big reason many were initially so excited to pair him with Dirk who would, in theory, open up the floor for Brand the way he has for so many others. Prior to tonight’s game though, Brand has shot an absurd 23% from that range. Tonight Brand hit three shots in that area and it forced the Detroit defense to close out on him, thus opening the floor for his five makes at the rim.” “Brand’s confidence on offense bled over into his defense; his four blocks helped keep the momentum in favor of the Mavericks. Pairing him with Bernard James (six points, 3 rebounds) was a different look for Dallas in the second quarter. It’s probably a rare sight though, both Brand and James are around 6’9″ and Carlisle was looking to steal minutes while Chris Kaman was in foul trouble.”
My thoughts: Elton Brand averages a double-double per 36 minutes, but he’s not going to get 36 minutes from the Mavericks. While he may be the most balanced (offensive and defensive) player on the Mavs—with Shawn Marion certainly in that mix—Brand isn’t going to be a high priority in the off season.
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