Sight Beyond Sight

Posted by Rob Mahoney on March 4, 2010 under News | 2 Comments to Read

In the third quarter of last night’s game, Corey Brewer’s elbow became better acquainted with Jason Terry’s face last night. It was an incidental play that couldn’t be classified as a cheap shot or anything even more sinister, but it did take JET to the ground and gave trainer Casey Smith quite a challenge in stopping the bleeding. But Terry finished the game, helped to ice a win despite some pain and an eye that was slowly being swollen shut.

But this morning, we have a more precise diagnosis of exactly what ailed Terry in the third and fourth quarters last night: a broken orbital bone. According to the team, JET will undergo surgery tomorrow, but there’s no official timetable for his return as of yet.

Hedo Turkoglu suffered a similar injury earlier this season, but only missed two games with a fractured, non-displaced orbital bone. That said, Hedo’s injury wasn’t serious enough that it required surgery, meaning Terry’s could be significantly more serious. But having said that said, JET, when asked how long he might be sidelined, responded “Not long.” So we have a point of comparison, even if it’s one that could be fundamentally different due to magnitude, a prognosis from a hopeful patient, and no official timetable from a team that won’t release further details until Terry’s surgery tomorrow at the very least. Gotta love the wealth of information in the modern age, right?

Terry will certainly be missing some time, though, even if the exact length is undetermined at this point. Rodrigue Beaubois, J.J. Barea, DeShawn Stevenson, and Von Wafer are all candidates to see an increase in opportunity, but also don’t count out the option of Carlisle bumping the minutes of Caron Butler and Shawn Marion. Each could see a slight uptick both in terms of their overall minutes and their minutes on the floor together, as no JET at the 2 could mean more of Butler. Beaubois is the clear fan favorite to leap into Terry’s role, and he’d appear to have a leg up after his big night against the Wolves. But if Roddy doesn’t see an increase in minutes over JET’s absence, it wouldn’t be the first time that Carlisle has surprised.

Dallas Mavericks 112, Minnesota Timberwolves 109

Posted by Rob Mahoney on under Recaps | 2 Comments to Read

Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images.

Box Score — Play-By-Play — Shot Chart — GameFlow

“It’s not what I do, but the way I do it. It’s not what I say, but the way I say it.”
-Mae West

I know that a win is a win is a win, but the Mavs sure love to make games like this so much more difficult than they have to be. First of all, these are the Minnesota Timberwolves. Second of all, these are the Timberwolves without Al Jefferson. And third…these are the Minnesota Timberwolves. I don’t expect every contending team to go about their usual business night-in and night-out, but the Mavs’ inability to put away lesser teams missing their top players is at least a bit troubling.

In some cases, it’s tolerable. The Miami Heat performed admirably against the Mavs because Jermaine O’Neal and Daequan Cook hit tough shot after tough shot, despite some pretty decent defense. But last night’s near-miss against the Wolves represents a bit of a darker side. The Mavs were absolutely miserable in defending the fast break for most of the game, and though their defensive execution late in the fourth quarter was enough to pull out the win, it doesn’t excuse the layup line. The transition opportunities came entirely too easily for Minnesota in the second half, and what should have been an easy win (even without Jason Kidd) was a drag-out affair that was competitive until the final buzzer.

Nobody needs to be called out or pulled aside, but the Mavs could certainly stand to play better defense. They could stand to box out a bit more, and not surrender a 19-rebound advantage to Minny. Or a 6-offensive rebound advantage that helped to offset the Wolves’ bevy of turnovers. You expect Kevin Love to pull in some serious boards, but Ryan Hollins grabbing five on the offensive end alone? Corey Brewer and Ryan Gomes with seven each? Not cool, Mavs. Not when you’ve got Dirk Nowitzki, Brendan Haywood, and Shawn Marion playing some serious minutes. Minnesota is actually a superior rebounding team by the numbers, but I expect the Mavs to perform better on the glass without Jefferson in the lineup. A slight disadvantage is something you can work with. But 19 rebounds is a bit much.

That said, let’s not let the game’s overall complexion completely blot out the night’s positives. Rodrigue Beaubois may not have been named the starter in place of Kidd (that honor went to J.J. Barea), but he might as well have been; Roddy played over 28 minutes, mostly at the point, and closed the game for the Mavs at the 1. He put up a season-high 17 points while shooting 3-of-5 from three and 6-of-9 overall along with four assists. I don’t know that this is anything of a coming out party for Beaubois, who has typically been dynamic and effective when given substantial playing time this season, but it was a terrific chance for Roddy to do more than succeed on an individual level. That he did. Though the Mavs didn’t exactly pull away in the fourth, Beaubois combined his usual flair and exciting plays with a calming effect on the offense. Nothing went quite as smoothly as it does with Jason Kidd at the helm (he sat out of the game strictly for rest), but the more experience Beaubois can get at point guard, the better. A pressure situation to boot? Gravy.

Jason Terry (26 points, 9-18 FG, five assists) continues to impress, and continued his penchant for fourth quarter heroics in keying the Dallas offense late. We’ve seen JET step back into the role he was born for: provide balance to the offense, hit big shots, posture for the crowd. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Terry is the heart of the Mavs, and though he may not be the first player you think of when it comes to Dallas’ leadership, he’s very much the emotional leader of this team. And as important as Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood have been to the Mavs’ current win streak, Terry has been equally pivotal. When JET is hitting his shots, this team can go places. But without that scoring, the Mavs are likely to struggle against the league’s better squads.

That Dirk Nowitzki guy (22 points, five rebounds, three assists) was alright, but looked pretty mortal. Just not as crisp as you’d like, though when an “off” player still drops 22 points on just 14 shots…well, it’s something. No one will remember this performance months from now much less years form now, but a quiet 22 is still 22. You can’t disregard Dirk’s 10 free throw attempts, despite the fact that the team wasn’t carried by his jump shot.

Quite a night for Shawn Marion. 17 points is pretty notable output for him these days, especially without Kidd in the mix. He was creating in the half-court, hit his second three of the season (!), and is getting more and more reliable finishing around the basket. Plus, when he gets up, he gets up. Marion may not have the ridiculous hangtime that was his trademark earlier in his career, but his finishes can still be every bit of the staccato brilliance that they were five years ago.

The Mavs are good. Very good. So good that even wins like these can appear a bit discolored, if only because we know that they’re capable of doing much, much better. The streak rolls on.

Closing thoughts:

• For as well as Beaubois played, J.J. Barea (eight points, 4-8 FG, three assists, one turnover) wasn’t all that bad. The Mavs struggled with Barea at the point early in the first, but score six straight for Dallas in the third when nothing else was going right for the offense. And at this point, he’s still more of a sure thing than Beaubois, who for all of his strengths, still has moments where it’s clear that he’s a rookie. That’s just what happens when a first year player is handling the ball so much, and while the Mavs’ offense isn’t a drive-and-kick scheme and even the two man game rarely goes through Beaubois when he’s on the floor, upping his usage rate is, in some cases, asking for trouble. Roddy is a terrific contributor and a mesmerizing player, and as long as the Mavs can live with his occasional turnovers (which are not absurd in volume by any means, don’t misunderstand my meaning here), he should be playing as much point guard as possible. But that’s just it. Sometimes the Mavs do need to buckle down, and while Barea may not be the prototypical conservative point guard, he’s familiar enough with this team that he still has clear value. More to come on this later.
• Caron Butler (14 points, 6-15 FG, five rebounds, four assists, two steals) and Brendan Haywood were both relatively nondescript. Not a terrific night for either by any means, though to Caron’s credit, he did put up a decent, well-rounded line. His shot selection can be a bit iffy (a double-teamed, long, mid-range jumper from the corner when Dirk stands more or less unguarded comes to mind), and in that way he’s almost the opposite of Haywood; Butler’s damage comes when he’s making his presence felt a bit too much, while Haywood’s comes when he’s more or less invisible.
• Kevin Love (14 points, 5-9 FG, 14 rebounds, four turnovers) is a very good basketballer. So when Al Jefferson is out, naturally, Kurt Rambis starts Dark Milicic. Everything is becoming clear.
• Corey Brewer (24 points, 6-16 FG, seven rebounds, four assists, six turnovers) is a very infuriating basketballer. He can’t shoot, but he can shoot. He can’t score, but he can score. He turns the ball over a lot, but…well, he does turn the ball over a lot. But Brewer is such a confusing player these days, not because everything I thought I knew about him was proven false, but because it’s all still true. And yet he accomplishes things I never thought he would as an NBA player, and he’s a more important part of this Wolves team, for better or worse, than many will give him credit for.

Dallas Mavericks 89, Charlotte Bobcats 84

Posted by Rob Mahoney on March 2, 2010 under Recaps | 5 Comments to Read

Photo by Kent Smith/NBAE via Getty Images.

Box Score — Play-By-Play — Shot Chart — GameFlow

“I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today.”
-William Allen White

This game was not beautiful. It wasn’t a sight to behold, aesthetically pleasing, or even “ehhh, kinda cute.” This was an ugly affair in which neither team could perform at any competent level offensively, and though the final margin was relatively tight, there wasn’t a photo finish of any kind. The defenses just mucked up the game in every regard, and any chance at having a good game was slashed with each forced turnover.

And it was absolutely glorious.

There are contests where both teams just can’t buy a bucket, and the Bobcats have been a part of plenty of them. But this was simply a triumph of defense, as the Bobcats held down the Mavs for nearly the entire game, and Dallas managed a defensive exhibition all its own. It wasn’t a clinic; neither team’s performance in this game will be flagged in the annals of the NBA, because despite how grand the defense was at times, it simply didn’t meet historical levels of greatness. But as far as ugly, early March games go, this one was surprisingly fulfilling.

Part of that is because while last night’s affair wasn’t necessarily a good game, it was certainly a good win. The Mavs only led for two minutes and 10 seconds prior to the fourth quarter, and they again overcame a double-digit lead in the second half to pull out the victory. Their own inability to stop Charlotte’s limited offense in the first half had a lot to do with that lead, but the Mavs holding the Bobcats to a 31-point second half was far more impressive than allowing them a 53-point first half was distressing. It’d be nice to see Dallas thoroughly dominate teams for 48 minutes, but asking that is pretty unrealistic. Instead, take pride in the fact that the Mavs refuse to cede significant ground to their opponents even during their worst stretches, and there’s absolutely no disputing their fourth-quarter effectiveness. This is a team that was built to endure, and while the first three quarters consist of some feeling out and ‘guess and check’ work, the final twelve minutes is where these Mavs shine.

The spotlight was on Jason Terry (20 points, 8-17 FG, four assists, two turnovers), who played an absolutely stellar fourth quarter. JET dropped 13 in the fourth quarter, and 11 of those points came over a four-minute span in which he personally outscored the Bobcats 11-4. Terry hasn’t been dropping in points in tremendous volume lately, but he’s been incredibly efficient; this was actually the first game that he’s shot less than 50% (and it’s 47.5%, which is damn near close enough for me) since the 0-for-10 debacle against Miami on February 20th. This is only the second time he’s registered 20 points over that same stretch (with the other being his 30-point night against L.A.), but JET’s shooting has been wonderfully efficient of late.

Dirk Nowitzki (27 points, 12-23 FG, 13 rebounds, two blocks, one turnover) is one of the most effective isolation weapons in the game, and most opponents’ best defense on him in late-game situations is to double aggressively (leaving them vulnerable to the kick-out) or pray that he misses. Charlotte is a beast of a team on the defensive end, but even with their group of talented, athletic defenders, the Bobcats had no means of halting Dirk’s high post game. Tyrus Thomas (16 points, 12 rebounds, two blocks) was matched up with Nowitzki in the fourth, and though he’s one of the more physically gifted defenders in the league much less in Charlotte, Dirk pump faked and spun his way to a few crucial buckets.

One of Josh Howard’s most publicized shortcomings was his inability to provide stable scoring behind Nowitzki and Terry. It’s something he struggled with throughout his injury-plagued campaigns, and though Howard would occasionally show flashes of what could have been (had he been healthy and comfortable in the rotation), he clearly wasn’t able to provide in that capacity this season. Caron Butler (22 points, 10-16 FG, three steals) on the other hand, is looking more and more like a perfect option as a third scorer. Caron’s averaged 20.5 points on 55.9% shooting since sitting out two games due to complications with a medication, along with 1.0 turnovers and 3.5 steals per night. Two games is an incredibly small sample size, but Butler really does look more comfortable in the Mavs’ sets and, just as importantly, his teammates are more aware of where and when Caron wants the ball.

Everything is still not perfect, as evidenced by a mere five-point win and only 89 points on the board. But the things the Mavs have improved since the trade — defense, balanced scoring, activity level — are more than enough reason to keep looking up.

Closing thoughts:

• This win pushed the Mavs up to 2nd place in the Western Conference, which is even more important than the fact that it was Dallas’ eighth straight victory.
• Stephen Jackson (20 points, seven rebounds, four assists, six turnovers) looked to be a big problem early in the game. Rick Carlisle clearly has tremendous respect for Gerald Wallace’s (11 points, eight rebounds, three blocks) game, and matched Crash with Shawn Marion. That left Caron Butler and Jason Kidd to defend the lanky, streak-shooting Jackson, who had 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting and three assists in the first quarter. Letting a shooter like Jax build confidence early in a game can be particularly dangerous. To some extent he was, as his 20 points are pretty significant in such a low-possession, low-scoring game. But those six turnovers were ruinous. Three of them came in just over three minutes in the second quarter, and by the time Jax had reeled in the TOs in the fourth, his shooting had gone cold. This is kinda what you get with Stephen Jackson.
• Brendan Haywood (seven points, six rebounds) had an incredibly quiet night, but at least picked the right time to do so. Some scoring would’ve surely helped, but Haywood’s defense wouldn’t be especially helpful against the monster that is Theo Ratliff (four points, two rebounds). Theo is a force that you can only hope to contain.
• I have no way of explaining what has happened to D.J. Augustin (two points, 0-3 FG, three turnovers). Last year he looked like a legitimate option at point guard moving forward. But this season? A mirage of his former self, accurate only when he’s shooting himself in the foot. I’ve always thought of Augustin as a scoring point guard first and foremost, and that’s where he found his biggest successes at Texas. The scoring’s stopped — as a matter of failure to execute, not a change in approach — and Augustin’s play makes Raymond Felton, even on a night where 4-of-14 from the field, rather indispensable.
• 1-for-9 shooting for Jason Kidd. Blech. Seven assists to three turnovers. Meh.
• Still no playing time for Von Wafer, and I don’t suspect we’ll see him play until the Mavs can create some fourth quarter separation. If you didn’t have another reason to cheer for a blowout, here you go. No DeShawn Stevenson or Rodrigue Beaubois either, which made for a rather short bench that did little to produce aside from JET. Eddie Najera and J.J. Barea combined for two points (1-4 FG), three rebounds, two assists, two turnovers, two steals, and two blocks in 25 minutes. Nothing to write a bullet point about.
• The Bobcats really miss Nazr Mohammed.
• As impressive as Caron Butler was, he wasn’t even on the floor for the critical moments in the fourth quarter. Rick Carlisle rolled with Kidd-Terry-Marion-Nowitzki-Haywood, leaving Butler’s big scoring night sitting on the bench in favor of Marion’s defense and rebounding. And it paid off. Marion may not have had incredibly visible box score contributions, but he still was a crucial part of Dallas’ fourth quarter surge.
• This was the second straight game that the Mavs gave up the advantage at the free throw line (15 attempts to Charlotte’s 28) and the offensive boards (five to Charlotte’s eight) to the Bobcats. Not a good habit to get into, although in this case it wasn’t the difference between a win and a loss.

Dallas Mavericks 108, New Orleans Hornets 100

Posted by Rob Mahoney on March 1, 2010 under Recaps | 2 Comments to Read

Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images.

Box Score — Play-by-Play — Shot Chart — GameFlow

“All good things arrive unto them that wait - and don’t die in the meantime.”
-Mark Twain

If it wasn’t crystal clear that easy baskets are the Mavs’ best friend, take note. Write it in red, underline it, and trace over it over and over again until it makes an etching in the rest of your notepad, the desk below it, the foundation of  the building you’re in, and the molten core of the planet Earth. Dallas may not need a ton of transition buckets to win games, but the Mavs’ running game plays enough of a role that it can be the demonstrative difference between a dominant win and a nail-biter.

Not to lean too heavily on the “tale of two halves” platitude, but…well, it was a tale of two halves. The game’s first 24 minutes was about as dominant as Maverick basketball gets. The defense was creating turnovers (which as we well know, is not usually a strength) to ignite the break in the second quarter, and some great ball movement (23 of the Mavs’ 31 assists came in the first half) and fast breaking opportunities allowed the Mavs to put up 69 points in two quarters. Dallas led New Orleans by 19 at halftime, had created clear separation thanks to some explosive offense, and seemed set for a second-half snoozer with some late-game rest for Jason Kidd (13 points, nine assists, five rebounds, seven turnovers) and Dirk Nowitzki (36 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, no turnovers).

Not so. Jeff Bower had the Hornets making some serious defensive adjustments in the second half, and the Mavs’ pass-happy ways that had led to so many easy buckets in the first half turned on them completely. Jason Kidd had five turnovers in the third quarter alone, and though Darren Collison did a nice job of pressuring the ball, the real credit goes to an assortment of Hornets playing the passing lanes and picking off Kidd’s would-be assists. The game slowed down and the Mavs broke down, giving Collison (a career high 35 points, three assists, five turnovers) and Marcus Thornton (21 points, five rebounds) ample opportunity to carve into Dallas’ early lead. Both took full advantage as the Mavs’ defense focused on stopping David West, and on that front they were wholly successful; West with just 10 points on 20% shooting with four turnovers, though with eight rebounds and six assists.

The Mavs’ biggest problems weren’t on the defensive end, though I’d hardly call New Orleans’ 106.4 points per 100 possessions any kind of success. The primary troubles came with the Mavs inability to execute in half-court sets, though it was largely due to Dallas swinging for home runs rather than the steady single. Jason Kidd in particular wasn’t settling the Mavs into the offense, and a sequence of passes by Kidd and Terry compounded with a few missed jumpers keyed a 10-0 third quarter run for the Hornets. It’s hard to get too upset considering the Mavs were ultimately just trying to do too much, and especially because when they badly needed buckets late in the fourth quarter, they isolated Dirk Nowitzki and let him go to work. The results in those situations typically speak for themselves, and this was no exception. James Posey may have, at some point, been the prototypical defender for Dirk: skilled, hard-working, smart, athletic, long. But Nowitzki dropped 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting in the fourth, which was enough to give the Mavs a late surge and a sure victory.

Closing thoughts:

• Caron Butler (19 points, five rebounds, four steals) isn’t known for his defense, despite his reputation as a tough player. But his steal with 51 seconds remaining of the game was crucial to preserving the Mavs’ lead…even if Brendan Haywood’s subsequent uncalled offensive basket interference should have turned the tide.
• I understand the need for bench depth, but the more minutes and shot attempts the Hornets give to Morris Peterson instead of Marcus Thornton, the worse they’ll be. There was a time where Mo Pete was a solid option as a shooting guard, and though he’s never been a gold standard for the position, he was more than capable of being a quality shooter and scorer for a good team. No longer, as each jump shot is more a shot in the dark, and all of his insubstantial production comes at a direct cost to a younger, better player that could stand to play even more. It’s not an issue right now, with Chris Paul out and Darren Collison logging major minutes in his place. But I worry that with the priority on Collison’s development as a point guard prospect (for either a 6th man role or to use as trade bait), Chris Paul’s return to the lineup will inevitably cut into Thornton’s production/opportunities just because of some ridiculous notion that Mo Pete deserves his due.
• Brendan Haywood may have played his worst game as a Maverick on Sunday night…and he had 12 points, nine rebounds (five offensive), two blocks, two steals, and no turnovers. Makes you wonder if Carlisle, Nelson, and Cuban are happy with the trade returns on Josh Howard.
• J.J. Barea didn’t have a high-scoring night, but he ran the offense to perfection for the entirety of the second quarter. He had eight assists and just one turnover in the frame, and for how brilliant Rodrigue Beaubois has been at times this season, I’m not sure he’s had a sustained performance that could fully match how J.J. fueled the team’s surge in the second quarter. The few Barea supporters left in MavsLand: here is your 12-minute long piece of video evidence.
• Caron Butler is looking more and more comfortable in the offense. He’s hitting his jumpers from his comfort zones along the baseline, and though he’s not quite a force in attacking the basket, he’s remaining assertive.
• Eddie Najera is starting to worry me a little bit. He’s not in the game for long enough stretches to make any kind of significant negative impact (and part of the drop-off is negated by his hustle), but I can’t wait to see how this rotation functions with Dampier back in the mix.

Heard It Through the Grapevine

Posted by Rob Mahoney on February 25, 2010 under The Grapevine | 3 Comments to Read

• Shawn Marion gives Kobe Bryant a hell of a view. (via Steven Ligatsa)
• As Mike Fisher of DallasBasketball.com reported last night, Caron Butler will no longer be allowed to chew straws while on the court. The NBA has decided that the practice is dangerous, and they’re not wrong. But as Skeets notes at BDL, the resonant question of the ban is not “Why?” but “Why now?” It’s not as if Butler picked up the habit on the plane from Washington to Dallas, and The Washington Post’s Dan Steinberg had a feature on Butler’s habit back in 2007. That’s mainstream awareness of a dangerous habit…and here the league is taking action nearly three years later. Butler likely cares more than you or I will, but come on, league office. Come on.
• @mavstats: “Mavs have allowed 91.7 pts/game since All-Star break - 2nd best in NBA (MIA 87.4).”
• Just in case you still thought it was up in the air: Drew Gooden will not be bought out of his contract with the Clippers
• Kelly Dwyer on last night’s game: “Marion was fantastic. So was Dirk Nowitzki, and Jason Terry. The Mavs haven’t been a knockout offensive team this year, but for some reason I still expect those shots to go in. What got me was the defense, the defense that then allowed Dallas to run its screen and roll attack in delayed transition and put Los Angeles away. The Mavs always look like a 60-win team to me, and though I shouldn’t let my own expectations cloud an accurate appraisal of this lot, it was good to see the Mavs play this well. Beating Los Angeles, by five. At home. On the second night of a back-to-back for El Lay. Nevermind.”
• My HP compatriot, Matt Moore, is rather high on the Mavs: “Jason Kidd, Caron Butler, Shawn Marion, Dirk Nowitzki, Brendan Haywood. Are you serious? With Terry, Beaubois, and Dampier off the bench? Are you serious? Why is this not a bigger deal? The Mavericks have to be the most under-the-radar made-the-playoffs-every-year-for-a-decade, loaded-with-All-Stars, holy-crap-they-match-up-with-anyone, division-leading team in the league. The fact that they won that game tonight without Butler is phenomenal to me. Butler is exactly the kind of guy you want to guard Bryant. He’s not going to shut him down, no one can. But it would allow Marion to guard Odom, Dirk to guard Pau, and so on…They’ve got something considerable there. The Western Conference playoffs are going to brutal, and good. Even if LA still comes out on top, the field looks much tougher than it did at the start of the season.”
• Sebastian Pruiti breaks down why the ending of Lakers-Mavs last night was different than the ending of Lakers-Grizzlies the night before.
• Darius, of Forum Blue and Gold: “I continue to be impressed with Jason Kidd.  Has he lost a step?  Yes.  He is 36.  But his control over a game – especially offensively – and ability to run a team remains the highest level.  Combine that with his not-so-fluky-anymore improvement shooting the long ball and you’ve got a player that hurts you when you double off him and can dissect you with passes for his mates when you pay too much attention to Dirk or Terry.”
• C.A. Clark of Silver Screen and Roll: “Jason Terry must have a cloaking device.  He must be able to press a button and become invisible, only re-appearing when he has the ball behind the 3 point arc.  That’s the only explanation I can come up with for how ridiculously open he was for most of tonight’s game.  Terry took 8 three pointers, and I think 6 of them were taken without a Laker within 5 feet of him.  Some of those open shots were because Derek Fisher can’t keep up with Terry around screens, but more of them were due to the Lakers simply forgetting to guard him.  In this, the entire Laker back-court was accountable.  Kobe let JET have open looks.  So did Shannon Brown.  Farmar didn’t slow him down, and Fish can’t slow anybody down.  Terry ended with 30 points on 20 shots, and the Mavs took what could have been a very winnable game for the Los Angeles Lakers, 101-96″

Dallas Mavericks 101, Los Angeles Lakers 96

Posted by Rob Mahoney on under Recaps | 13 Comments to Read

Photo by Danny Bollinger/NBAE via Getty Images.

Box Score — Play-By-Play — Shot Chart — GameFlow

“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.”
-Buddha

Beating the Lakers on a Wednesday night in February doesn’t exactly equate to winning the championship, but the Mavs’ 101-96 victory should go a long way in instilling this team with confidence. Caron Butler didn’t even play (thanks to a negative reaction to a medication he was taking), but Mavericks new and old were locked in on the opportunity to defeat the defending champs. And, needless to say at this point, that they did.

In a quite impressive fashion, I might add. The game ended up more or less going down to the wire, but Dallas continues to hang with teams in the first half before taking over in the second. The first two quarters were about matching the Lakers’ offense point for point, but once that offensive rhythm had been established, the Mavs stepped up their defensive game. DeShawn Stevenson got the start in Butler’s place, and in the first half he played excellent man defense on Kobe Bryant. Defending Kobe has historically been a black eye for an otherwise successful franchise (Hey, remember that time he scored 63 points in three quarters against the Mavs? Remember that? Good times!), largely because Dallas has consistently fielded unimpressive defenders or just unimpressive players at the 2. Nellie, Avery, and now Rick Carlisle have tried almost every trick in the book to cut down Kobe’s dominance to manageable levels, but there’s no substitute for great on-ball defense and tremendous help.

That’s where Shawn Marion and Brendan Haywood come in. Stevenson may have put in the work against Kobe early, but Marion was matched up with Bryant for most of the second half. Kobe did go 6-for-12 (with two turnovers) in the second half, but holding him to just six points in the final quarter with the game on the line is an accomplishment in itself. Kobe Bryant lives for that. He’s spent his whole life practicing and preparing for those moments. When he conjures up images of a future fourth quarter in his head, it’s not of him sitting on the bench as the Lakers roll on a 30-point lead. It’s isolation at the three-point line, with Kobe staring down his defender like a predator would its prey.

Kind of like what happened when Kobe took the ball up court with the Lakers down three and just 25 seconds remaining. But when Bryant pulled up for the three-pointer that everyone knew he wanted to take, Marion was there. There was no block and no deflection, but Shawn was there. It’s impossible to say whether his presence was enough to alter Kobe’s shot even by a matter of centimeters, or if Kobe simply missed because the finally honed and prepared tools of an assassin just weren’t sharp enough on this particular night.

Either way, the Mavs’ defense put in the work early and late to make sure Kobe couldn’t put his team over the top. Every screen was met with a Kobe double team, often one that chased him back toward the half-court line with pressure. Every jumper was met with a hand in his face or on the ball, as each Maverick defender was careful to contest without fouling (Kobe shot just two free throws). Kobe’s drives to the basket were funneled to the ready and waiting Brendan Haywood (two of his five blocks were on #24). The Lakers’ best player finished with 20 points on 23 shots, as many turnovers as assists, and all of this despite being hidden on defense on the likes of Stevenson and Marion. If the victory for the Mavs wasn’t in the final margin, it was certainly in their defense on Kobe Bryant.

Oh yeah, and the offense wasn’t so bad either. Dirk Nowitzki (31 points, 10-19 FG, nine rebounds) and Jason Terry (30 points, 10-20 FG, three assists) absolutely scorched what is really a top-notch Laker defense. Terry was brutally effective spotting up along the perimeter, and off the dribble he was cognizant of the need to attack the rim (JET went 4-of-5 from deep in the paint).

The Mavs may be the most effective team in the league at shooting two-point jumpers, but that doesn’t mean they can’t put added pressure on a defense by showing some versatility, and by hopefully putting L.A.’s bigs in foul trouble. The latter wasn’t really the case last night, but the Lakers on the whole did rack up the fouls, and the Mavs were rewarded for their aggressive offense with 26 free throws. Dallas fans have always been blessed in that free throws have never been a concern. There are few players in the Mavs’ rotation that create fan anxiety when they step to the line, and giving Dallas 26 opportunities for free points is going to translate to a lot of free wins…especially when the opponent only shoots 16.

There were times where the offense fell off for minutes at a time, but Dirk and JET were there to right the ship. And then in the back-and-forth fourth, Dirk took over. I wouldn’t call the play calling imaginative per se, but it takes a certain courage for a coach to go through nearly identical sets time and time again. In principle, the plan was this: get Dirk the ball and get out of the way. It was incredibly effective, and on the night, Dirk scored 1.78 points per possession in isolation (16 points on nine isos). For comparison’s sake, Kobe scored just 0.88 points per isolation possession (14 points on 16 isos), a tick below his .98 season average. Dirk made tough shots and he made easy ones, as Dirk goaded Lamar Odom and others into a handful of shooting fouls to complement his assortment of leaners and fadeaways.

The Mavs on the whole only shot 43.8% from the field, but two superhuman performances and a parade to the free throw line were more than enough, thanks to the shackles put on the Lakers’ offense. That will, and should, be the story today. Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry are elite offensive players who can have these kinds of performances. While impressive and noteworthy considering the circumstances, it shouldn’t be completely unexpected. But the effectiveness of the Mavs’ defense against Kobe Bryant not only represents a clear evolution in the greater context of the Mavs vs. Kobe saga, but also the very attribute the Mavs hope will take them deep into the playoffs. Since the Mavs acquired Butler, Haywood, and Stevenson, they’ve played like a quality defensive team. Some of that play has even come without familiarity with the system or the team’s defensive principles. And though the things Caron Butler can do for the Mavs on offense are certainly valuable, it’s the addition of Brendan Haywood and the energy generated by making a trade of this caliber that has translated into wins.

Closing thoughts:

• PG watch: Rodrigue Beaubois and J.J. Barea split minutes backup up Jason Kidd, but neither offered much in the way of help aside from a monstrous block from Roddy (video forthcoming). Barea had two points and two rebounds in five minutes, but went 1-for-5 from the field and missed some embarrassingly easy looks. Beaubois had two steals and a block, but balanced that defensive production with zero points or assists and three turnovers. Due to the play of Barea/Beaubois and the nature of the game, Kidd played 40 minutes.
• The Lakers actually shot 48.8% from the field as a team, and if you take out Kobe’s 9-for-23 night, the rest of the team shot 53.3%.
• Lamar Odom (21 points, seven rebounds, five assists, two steals) was the closest thing to a Maverick-killer, and his timely baskets were the real reason why L.A. was in the game late in the fourth quarter. He’s so hard to match up with when he’s rolling, as power forwards like Dirk are often too slow to handle Odom’s handle and driving ability, and smaller wings are vulnerable to Lamar’s post game. If he were on another, less-stacked squad, I’d say to sick Marion on him. But considering that Marion was focused on stopping Kobe, that wasn’t really an option.
• Jason Kidd. 14 points and 13 assists. 4-of-9 three-pointers. No big.
• Andrew Bynum started the game with an eight-point, 4-for-4 first quarter. But Brendan Haywood limited him over the rest of the game to just two points on 1-for-4 shooting, and only three rebounds. It’s actually not all that uncommon based on what we’ve seen of Haywood so far; opposing centers typically get some points in early, but as the game wears on, Brendan’s defense gets better and better. The fact that the Mavs have been playing better second-half defense than first-half defense is obviously not unrelated.
• I’m still not quite sure how the Mavs get away with playing a smaller lineup against the Lakers, but they did. When L.A. is fielding Fisher-Bryant-Artest-Odom-Gasol, and Dallas is using Kidd-Terry-Marion-Nowitzki-Haywood, how is there not a clear match-up advantage for the bad guys? Shawn Marion, the most natural defender for Ron Artest because of his combination of size, speed, and strength, is on Kobe. That leaves Terry and Kidd to guard Fisher and Artest, which would seem to be a pretty obvious disadvantage for Dallas…especially since it was JET on Artest a surprising amount of the time. But too often the Lakers’ sets would have Ron parked in the corner rather than down on the block, allowing the Mavs to get away with a significantly smaller guard rotation.
• 13 offensive rebounds for Dallas to just seven for Los Angeles. If you’re looking for where all of the Mavs’ extra free throw attempts came from (both teams finished with 17 turnovers and the Mavs actually attempted two more field goals than the Lakers did), I’d start there.
• I mentioned Brendan Haywood’s (11 points, nine rebounds, five blocks) defense, but didn’t get a chance to mention his offense. He did an excellent job of creating shots in the post, whereas Erick Dampier traditionally only finishes baskets spoon-fed to him by Jason Kidd. But Brendan showed some consistency and some nice range on his hook shot, and while that’s not going to be a focal point of the offense anytime soon, it’s a welcome addition to a multi-faceted Maverick attack.
• Pau Gasol (11 points, six rebounds, three assists) was pretty much a non-factor, though that’s mainly a product of the Lakers’ inability to execute than it was a spectacular defensive feat on the Mavericks’ part. Doesn’t the Dirk vs. Pau debate seem silly after a game like this:

GOLD STAR OF THE NIGHT: This one’s a toughie. So many guys played well for the Mavs, but this time around the Gold Star of the Night goes to Shawn Marion. We’ve seen Shawn play some incredible defense against all kinds of scorers this season, but last night’s showing was one of his best performances of the season. More on this to come later (hopefully in video form), but Shawn’s work in the second half was beyond impressive.

Heard It Through the Grapevine

Posted by Rob Mahoney on February 24, 2010 under The Grapevine | 2 Comments to Read

• Brendan Haywood on the delicate balance between aggressive defense and avoiding foul trouble in tonight’s match-up with Andrew Bynum and the Lakers (via Todd Archer of the Dallas Morning News): “It’s tough matching up with Big Drew down there because he’s talented, he’s skilled, he’s athletic and he’s a load down there when they give him the ball,” Haywood said. “On the offensive end, I just try to be in constant motion, don’t let him rest. Quick duck-ins, post-ups, go to the offensive glass every play, working the baseline and trying to get open, not letting him just key on Dirk’s post-up, things of that nature. I have to be smart, but I can’t play scared. I can’t take a silly foul early on, because they’re too big for our back-ups. But at the same time, I can’t just give up layups and inside position because that’ll hurt us, as well.”
• 48 Minutes of Hell recently started up a Spurs podcast, and I joined Graydon Gordian and Andrew McNeil on the most recent episode with to discuss the Mavs latest moves, Mavs-Spurs, how Dallas matches up with L.A., and NBA players participating in international competition.
• This isn’t the first time that Dwayne Jones’ stay in the NBA was short-lived or over before it began, and Ridiculous Upside’s Scott Schroeder is a bit baffled as to why.
• If somehow you haven’t heard, EA Sports is releasing a new version of NBA Jam for the Wii that will reboot the series with current players while staying true to the style of the original. I tell you this not only because it looks to be awesome (and it will be), but because EA is selecting the three-man rosters for every team through online voting. They’ve cycled through teams over the last few months, and finally come to the Mavs. So go here, and vote between Nowitzki, Kidd, Terry, Marion, Butler, and Haywood for who you’d like to see represent the Mavs in the new Jam.
• A very happy birthday to Rodrigue Beaubois, who turns 22 today. ‘Day’ is a vestigial mode of time measurement based on solar cycles. It’s not applicable…I didn’t get you anything.
• Looking back at Caron Butler, the Wizard, in 2009-2010.
• Kevin Pelton’s SCHOENE projection system isn’t kind in predicting Dirk Nowitzki’s statistical production in 2010-2011 and beyond; it ranks him below Manu Ginobili, Joe Johnson, David Lee, and Rudy Gay (not to mention the obvious: LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh) among the 2010 free agent class in terms of three-year production. Pelton qualifies the projections: “SCHOENE is also especially pessimistic about the group of Carlos Boozer, Dirk Nowitzki and Paul Pierce (who is fairly unlikely to opt out of the last year of his contract and become a free agent). Boozer and Nowitzki are similar in that their projections for 2010-11 are pretty solid, but things go downhill quickly from there. In these cases, I’m somewhat less inclined to believe the projections. It should be noted, though, that Nowitzki has taken a clear step back the last couple of seasons, in large part because he is no longer a contributor on the glass. As recently as three years ago, Nowitzki was grabbing 14.7 percent of all available rebounds. This year, that’s down to 11.6 percent. The gradual drop can’t entirely be blamed on the Mavericks adding Shawn Marion to compete for rebounds with Nowitzki.”
• Via Mavs’ play-by-play man Mark Followill (@MFollowill), Dallas has only signed four players to a 10-day contract over the last decade: Charlie Bell, Mamadou N’Diaye, Kevin Willis, and now, Von Wafer.
• Caron Butler on playing alongside Kobe Bryant in 2004-2005 (via Todd Archer of the Dallas Morning News): “I say that’s the best thing that ever could have happened for me personally for my career. To play alongside a guy like that, see his preparation, see what it takes to get to that level, that’s why I was able to be so good in Washington because I took everything I learned from him under his wing.”
• For those still keeping tabs on such things, Kris Humphries has come back down to Earth.
• The bright side of Josh Howard’s injury? The Wizards won’t be tempted to pick up his option for next season.
• Howard’s history certainly makes him a nice fit in the greater context of the Wizards franchise over the last season.

Dallas Mavericks 91, Indiana Pacers 82

Posted by Rob Mahoney on February 23, 2010 under Recaps | 6 Comments to Read

Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images.

Box Score — Play-By-Play — Shot Chart — GameFlow

“There is a sort of charm in ugliness.”
-Josh Billings

Well, at least the Mavs won. Otherwise, they’d be mere participants in a sloppy, ugly contest in which neither team could accomplish much of anything. Whatever specter follows around the Pacers to groan ghoulishly, move around furniture, and haunt Indy’s shooters was apparently bored with only making one team painful to watch. So not only did the Pacers shoot a characteristically bad 36.9% from the field, the Mavs shot 38.6%. Dallas’ offensive performance can really only be positively skewed by saying that it was bad, but not as bad as Indiana’s.

The Mavs did play impressive defense, though it’s hard to gauge numerically based on Indiana’s general ineptitude. This team is pretty miserable offensively night-in and night-out, and if you take Danny Granger out of the lineup (he missed the game due to personal reasons), then they find new ways to redefine misery. So yeah, the Mavs held the Pacers to some poor shooting numbers, including just three makes out of 23 three-point attempts. But the Pacers gave them plenty of help by missing open looks and exhibiting rather poor shot selection.

But if you feel compelled to hand out plaques for nice defensive play, they’d go to Jason Terry (14 points, 5-10 FG, two assists) and Brendan Haywood (13 points, 3-6 FG, 20 rebounds, three blocks). JET played a particularly active brand of perimeter defense, in which he took advantage of Indiana’s lazy passing by not only grabbing three steals, but by deflecting a good deal of the passes and loose balls that were in his midst. Haywood did as Haywood does, challenging shots from deep in the post or just deep in the paint, and though he’s still figuring out how best to work with his new teammates in pick-and-roll situations, his shot-blocking and rebounding abilities were fairly elite in this contest. I know it doesn’t take a legendary defender to hold Roy Hibbert to eight points, but that doesn’t make Brendan’s work clogging the paint and cleaning the defensive glass any less impressive.

But the Mavs offense. Yeah. Okay. Well, hrm. No one shot or scored particularly well at all, though Dirk Nowitzki (23 points, seven rebounds, two turnovers) did settle into his stroke late in the game. Dirk started the game with a 1-for-4 first quarter, and closed it with a 3-for-3 stint in the fourth. Caron Butler (eight points, five rebounds, three assists, four turnovers, two steals, and a block) started with a 2-for-8 first quarter, and at least had the decency to cut down his field goal attempts. Butler put up just two more shots in his final 18.5 minutes of playing time, and while that doesn’t translate to a productive scoring night, it’s his Maverick-low in attempts. Caron has averaged 14.6 attempts on 37% shooting as a Mav. To be fair, Butler has missed lot of looks around the rim over the last five games trying to draw fouls, which is why it’s much easier to tolerate than having him hoist jumper after jumper.

But his deference was enough. The Mavs found a way to scrape together enough points to put up a respectable total, with 10 from Kidd (seven assists, two turnovers) here, eight from Marion (six rebounds, three assists, three turnovers) there, and a Maverick-high seven for DeShawn Stevenson (four rebounds, two assists). DeShawn looked like a real rotation player in 23 minutes, and his play was unlike much of what we saw from him in Washington. The defense was back, and though DeShawn wasn’t quite a lockdown guy, he made smart plays when playing on-ball defense and worked that end of the court. On offense, he didn’t stop the ball or play outside himself; Stevenson hit a shot off the catch or a few dribbles if he had space, or else he simply continued to swing the ball. No indecision. It was nothing flashy — just a wing stepping off the bench to knock down a few jumpers (he was 3-of-5 before garbage time) and get a hand in a shooter’s face — but on some nights that type of play is exactly what the Mavs could use coming off the bench.

The Mavs probably took too long to really put the Pacers out of their misery, as the game wasn’t decided until the beginning of the fourth quarter. Indiana was right there by halftime, though a 15-5 and a 13-3 run to start the third and fourth quarters, respectively, put an end to that nonsense. The result never seemed to be in doubt, but I can understand why some would find the lack of separation (especially in the final score) troubling. But the Mavs did build the lead up to 22 before emptying the bench, and while they weren’t impressive overall, they did manage to muck up a game that wasn’t going their way. Not every win has to be an impressive win, and the more important thing for this team right now is to build confidence in their altered core.

Closing thoughts:

• After J.J. Barea (0-3 FG) received the initial minutes as the back-up point guard, Rodrigue Beaubois (six points, 2-8 FG, three rebounds, two assists) emerged for the first time since the All-Star break. The results were mixed, and the low-light (for me, at least) was Roddy’s defense. He looked awful against the pick-and-roll; Marion would buy Beaubois time by flashing out on picks, but when Marion was forced to recover, Roddy was hardly in a position to defend the ball. I’m not sure whether it was some unusually effective picking by the Pacers, Beaubois’ lithe frame keeping him unable to fight back to his man, or simply an effort thing, but that has to change. With that length and athleticism, Beaubois’ calling card should be his defense, and you can’t defend the point guard position right now without great chemistry in your pick-and-roll defense.
• Jason Kidd and Brendan Haywood - still a work in progress, but they’re syncing up.
• What I couldn’t understand, for the life of me, was how T.J. Ford was able to bait Beaubois and Barea into biting on his pump fakes. I respect the intent to play good honest defense on a shooter, but come on. He’s T.J. Ford. If he wants to take turnaround, fadeaway jumpers, then you shake his hand and be on your merry.
• Shawn Marion was doing entirely too much off the dribble, which probably isn’t a good thing. There are nights where Shawn can do that and get away with it, but Indiana stripped him repeatedly, and three of those strips ended up as turnovers.
• I’m liking what Eddie Najera brings to the table more and more. He’s not exactly Erick Dampier, and that’s because he’s nothing like Erick Dampier; Najera still thrives based on a high energy level, despite being a spry 33 years old. But he’s holding down the center position with his hustle, and what matters is that he can relieve Brendan for 15 minutes a game or so until Damp’s return.
• Pacers’ coach Jim O’Brien was given a technical foul 58 seconds into the game. Dirk’s free throw gave the Mavericks a commanding 1-0 lead.
• Remember when Mike Dunleavy used to be good? He was fantastic for the Pacers in 2007-2008, but injuries seem to have completely derailed his post-Golden State renaissance. A pity, honestly - I’ve always hoped that MDJr would have a chance to redeem himself for all the grief he got while he was with the Warriors, and he was becoming quite the complementary player before he went down.
• JOSH MCROBERTS HAD AN ALLEY-OOP DUNK ON A FAST BREAK. THAT IS ALL.

GOLD STAR OF THE NIGHT: The Gold Star of the Night goes to Brendan Haywood. Speaking of, we should probably be on nickname alert for this guy. Caron Butler already has “Tough/Tuff Juice,” but Haywood needs something aside from the semi-infamous “Brenda.” Get on it, Mavs Nation, because if a 20-rebound night doesn’t deserve a moniker, then I don’t know what does anymore.

Dallas Mavericks 97, Miami Heat 91: Abridged

Posted by Rob Mahoney on February 21, 2010 under Recaps | Read the First Comment

Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images.

Box Score — Play-By-Play — Shot Chart — GameFlow

“Only in growth, reform, and change, paradoxically enough, is true security to be found.”
-Anne Morrow Lindbergh

• Just a lovely win. You’d like to see the Mavs really take advantage of a Miami team that’s missing Dwyane Wade, but a quality win is a quality win. After all, these are NBA players. Sometimes all that separates a benchwarmer from a contributor is opportunity, and with Wade out of the picture, the Heat’s lesser talents got a chance to strut their stuff. So what appears to be a clear victory is often hardly so simple. Case in point: Daequan Cook. Cook is averaging 5.6 PPG this season on 32.5% shooting. So naturally, with double the minutes and over double the shots, Cook caught fire and dropped a season-high 22 on the Mavs while shooting 50% from the field. Is part of that poor defense and open opportunities? Most certainly. But to throw away Cook’s performance merely on the basis of the Mavs’ faults is a bit misguided. Yes, Daequan has had a pretty miserable year, and his night definitely qualifies as a bit of a fluke; expecting 22 points from him on a nightly basis would be downright foolish. But that doesn’t mean that every once in awhile the man can’t catch fire, and on this night he did just that and had the freedom to cash in.
• If the first half of the season was predicated on the Mavs building early leads and holding on for close wins, the post-trade Mavs’ success has been based on staying competitive and winning late with lock-down defense. Dallas used a 9-0 run late in the third quarter and a 7-0 run late in the fourth to keep the Heat at bay, and each wasn’t so much an offensive explosion as an exercise in staying in position, being patient on defense, and forcing turnovers or misses.
• Jason Kidd was particularly effective defensively, and he’s playing with an incredible amount of energy on both ends right now. Kidd finished with 21 points (5-8 FG, 3-5 3FG), 11 assists, five rebounds, and three steals in what turned out to be a perfect cap for his impressive week. Player of the game, player of the week, and the player most essential to making Brendan Haywood and Caron Butler more comfortable in the offense.
• Speaking of Haywood and Butler: it the Mavs had played this game pre-trade, there’s no way they would’ve escaped with a victory. With Drew Gooden guarding Jermaine O’Neal (18 points, 9-15 FG, 13 rebounds, four turnovers)? Jermaine drops 25 or 30. With the Mavs having to rely heavily on Josh Howard, considering Jason Terry’s 0-for-10 night? Josh may have scored a bit and played reasonably well, but to say that his offense has come and gone this season would be a gross understatement. Instead, Butler put together his best offensive performance as a Maverick in scoring 20 points on just 13 shots (with 54% shooting to boot!) while rounding out his line with four rebounds and three assists, and Haywood had his first double-double as a Maverick with 11 points and 11 boards. Kidd may have stolen the show, but those two were absolutely crucial to the victory.
• I don’t know what else to say about Dirk Nowitzki (28 points, 10-21 FG, five rebounds, two assists), aside from the fact that it was one of those nights. Aside from a cold fourth quarter, Dirk was draining jumper after jumper, primarily due to Dirk finding holes in Miami’s defense and Dirk’s teammates (particularly Kidd) finding him at exactly the right moment. The chemistry is already there for those who have been Mavs all season long, and it will get there between Mavs new and old. Those feeds from Butler to Dirk will start getting crisper and crisper, and soon enough, these guys will seem like a part of the family.
• The Dallas bench scored just six points. That kind of showing makes miserable look good, appalling look appetizing, and insufferable seem, well, sufferable. Dallas isn’t going to win many games with that type of showing from the bench, regardless of who is coming off the pine.
• Defense is a headache from reading and re-reading scouting reports. It’s a sweet TV spot. It’s technique, athleticism, anticipation, and blind luck all rolled into one. It’s holding a team to 12 points in the third quarter on 5-of-13 shooting with six turnovers.
• If nothing else, the trade and the All-Star break have given the Mavs a youthful exuberance. Oklahoma City may have trumped Dallas with their energy out of the gate, but since then, the Mavs have been anything but lethargic. Kidd is all over the court and swinging the ball, and Shawn Marion (11 points, 5-6 FG, five rebounds) is running the break as well as he has all season.
• I’m greatly anticipating the first successful Jason Kidd-Brendan Haywood pick-and-roll lob. It’s coming.
• I don’t know whether his production trumps what Kris Humphries would have been able to bring to the table, but Eddie Najera is providing some solid minutes at center for a Dallas team with few alternatives. With Dampier out (he’s still sidelined with that nasty open dislocation), the Mavs are leaning heavily on Haywood and Najera to man the middle. Both are doing a terrific job thus far.

Dallas Mavericks 95, Orlando Magic 85: Abridged

Posted by Rob Mahoney on February 20, 2010 under Recaps | Read the First Comment

Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images.

Box Score — Play-By-Play — Shot Chart — GameFlow

“I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning how to sail my ship.”
-Louisa May Alcott

• In light of everything that’s happened over the last two months (the Josh Howard Witch Trials, The Depression of 2010, and Tradeapalooza, in particular), this win should give Mavs fans a greater sense of optimism than any other this season. We’re starting to see how Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood fit in with this Maverick team, and the early returns are definitely promising.
• The story of the game is, without a doubt, the Mavs’ 19-0 run that spanned the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth. Even more impressive: the last 12 points of that run came without Dirk Nowitzki on the floor, as a lineup of Kidd-Terry-Butler-Marion-Haywood rattled off 12 uncontested in a little over three minutes. It was also an incredibly balanced run, as JET, Kidd, and Haywood chipped in five apiece and Dirk added four.
• Without such a terrific team-wide performance late in the game, the Mavs would’ve been doomed to a loss. Orlando put the pressure on the Dallas early by dropping 33 points in the first quarter (on 65% shooting) to the Mavs’ 23, including 20 points in the paint based on Howard’s strong start.
• Dwight Howard (29 points, 11-16 FG, 16 rebounds, five blocks) was incredible, but Brendan Haywood’s defense was nothing to scoff at. Dwight did a lot of damage in the first quarter against the Mavs’ inferior post defenders, and though Howard ended up with some pretty incredible totals, Haywood really did bother him with his length and strength. Howard had 10 touches against the rest of the Mavs, and either scored or drew a foul on eight of those possessions. But against Haywood? On 26 touches, Howard only scored or drew a foul on 11 possessions. I know it’s not rocket science to declare Haywood the Mavs’ best post defender, especially with Dampier absent, but those numbers are indicative of not only how well Brendan plays on-ball defense in the post, but also how well he denies position and the ball to opposing centers.
• J.J. Barea played just eight minutes, all of which came in the second quarter. But in those eight minutes, he did a surprisingly effective job of buoying the Maverick offense at a time where it looked to be in peril. The Mavs were doing a much better job defensively in the second quarter than they did in the first, holding the Magic to just 14 points in the quarter. The only problem? Dallas couldn’t score. Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry combined for five straight misses over the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, and aside from an Eddie Najera three with 7:03 on the clock, Barea had the only points of the first five minutes. Never underestimate the impact of a couple of buckets when a team is completely unable to score.
• Another game with a short rotation for the Mavs — only seven players played 10 minutes or more, and only eight played at all. For contrast, the Magic played ten players overall, nine of which played 10+ minutes. This could change when Erick Dampier comes back from injury or as Rick Carlisle sees more situational opportunities for Rodrigue Beaubois, but given the personnel the Mavs now have, I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see Carlisle run a tight rotation from this point forward.
• The key for Dallas was, again, balance; five Mavericks finished in double-figures, including 15 points on 10 shots for Haywood, 16 points on meh shooting from Butler, and a tidy 16 points, seven rebounds, and four assists from Terry.
• Caron Butler has not shot well in any of his first three games as a Maverick, but he is showing improvement. Right now he’s showing some skill in creating in one-on-one situations, but that’s where most of his looks are coming from. Butler’s having some trouble finishing around the basket (per HoopData’s Tom Haberstroh, “Caron Butler is a crisp 3-14 on layups since he joined the Mavericks.”) and is taking too many long jumpers (six of his eighteen attempts came between 16-23 feet away from the basket, and three of his attempts were threes), but as he gets more and more comfortable with the offense, his teammates will find him in positions more conducive to scoring efficiently. Think about the way Dirk plays. He gets the ball in most efficient spots on the floor, and then capitalizes by using his height and footwork and by relying on optimal court spacing. Right now, Butler’s left to pump fakes and crossovers, and while it’s getting him some points, he isn’t nearly as efficient as he could be.
  
• Re: above, it’s essentially the same for Brendan Haywood and defense. He’s playing well in one-on-one contests right now, but he clearly gets a bit lost in the rotations and in more complex coverages. It’s not a hole in Haywood’s game, just lack of familiarity with a defensive system he stumbled into barely a week ago (if that).
• The Magic, who are 8th in the league in three-point shooting percentage at 36.3%, shot a miserable 16% (4-25) from beyond the arc. Part of that is good shooters going cold, but the Mavs also appeared to be chasing the Magic off of the three-point line by design. Many of Orlando’s shooters, however, simply refused to be chased. Credit them for their perseverance, I guess, but the result was a lot of tough, contested jumpers.
  

Shot distribution data from HoopData.com.