Quoteboard: Atlanta Hawks 105, Dallas Mavericks 101

Posted by Bryan Gutierrez on February 12, 2013 under Interviews | Be the First to Comment

The beards are going to be extremely itchy as the Dallas Mavericks suffered a heartbreaking 105-101 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. The loss put a wet blanket on the run the Mavericks were on as they had won three of their previous four games and three home games in a row. Josh Smith tallied a game-high 26 points to go along with a game-high 13 rebounds and six assists in 40 minutes for Atlanta in the win.

Dirk Nowitzki scored a team-high 24 points to go with seven rebounds, two steals and one block in 36 minutes. It his fourth game with 20-plus points this season, and his second-highest scoring game of the year (26 at Portland Jan. 29). One of Nowitzki’s team-high seven boards came on the offensive end. He is now tied with Mark Aguirre (1,259) for second place on the Mavericks’ all-time offensive rebounding list. James Donaldson is Dallas’ all-time leader with 1,296 offensive boards.

The game saw Atlanta start on a 10-0 run and lead the entire first half. The Mavericks continued to scratch and claw their way back into the game and even took their first lead of the game with just over 11 minutes to go in the game. With a chance to take the lead and less than a minute to go, O.J. Mayo raced down the floor in transition. As he was about to make his final approach to the rim, Devin Harris swatted the ball out of Mayo’s hands and caused a turnover. The Mavericks were still within 3 with less than 30 seconds to go and Mayo’s pass to a rolling Vince Carter went astray.

The Mavericks’ playoff chances took a major hit with the crippling loss to the Hawks. It also showed the late-game execution continues to haunt Dallas. According to TV play-by-play voice of the Mavericks Mark Followill, the loss to the Hawks dropped the Mavericks to 8-13 in games where the margin is within 3 points in the final minute of the fourth quarter.

Here are some notes before the quotes:

- Dirk went 3-of-4 from beyond the arc against Atlanta. His third trey of the game at the 6.4-second mark of the fourth quarter was the 1,300^th triple of his career. He became the 29^th player in NBA history with at least 1,300 triples (he’s shot 1,300-of-3,423, .380, from deep for his career).

- Brandan Wright 5-of-6 from the field and contributed 11 points off the bench. It was his 13^th double-digit scoring game of the season.

- The Hawks outshot the Mavericks 50 percent (22-of-44) to 45.7 percent (21-of-46) from the field in the first half. Atlanta outscored Dallas 14-2 in transition and 28-18 in the paint in the first half. But the Mavericks outshot the Hawks 41.7 percent (5-of-12) to 16.7 percent (2-of-12) from beyond the arc before intermission and trailed by only one (49-48) at the break.

Here’s the quoteboard for Dallas’ loss to Atlanta.

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The Difference: Dallas Mavericks 101, Atlanta Hawks 105

Posted by Kirk Henderson on under Recaps | 4 Comments to Read

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.

• After hitting a three at the 7:43 mark of the third quarter, Dirk Nowitzki played 8 minutes and 49 seconds without attempting a shot (he did attempt two free throws). This does not include the time he spent on the bench as his next shot came at the 7:33 mark in the fourth quarter. The lack of a Dirk-centric offense is really concerning. The argument has been made that Dirk’s still working himself back into form, but it’s hard for him to do so when he doesn’t get shot opportunities. Dirk took 14 shots and attempted six free throws. O.J. Mayo 20 attempted shots and no free throws. Who is (or should be) the number one option in this offense?
• The lackluster contributions from Shawn Marion (10 points, 3 of 10 shooting) really took a toll on Dallas’ offensive flow. The Mavericks rely on his easy buckets which come on the break or through ball movement, and Marion’s well-timed cuts are a valuable action in both contexts. Yet against the Hawks, Marion had trouble getting much of anything to fall, missing dunks, put-back attempts, and post-ups as he struggled to contribute.
• Maverick fans got a taste of the crest of the Josh Smith experience. 26 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, on 66% from the field and 4 of 5 from beyond the arc. He’s an impressive player, no doubt, but I also question the Maverick strategy of defending him. First, Dallas opted to have Dirk cover him defensively, which is bizarre considering Dirk’s lack of lateral quickness. Second, the Mavericks didn’t even try to challenge his outside shots. I understand giving him space, but he is a paid professional basketball player, and these guys can hit open shots given the opportunity. Even a late challenge might have affected his jumper a bit, and in the process earned the Mavs a more significant buffer.
• The O.J. Mayo experience is hard to quantify. He takes and makes tough shots, as he did in the first half, shooting 6 of 9 from the field and getting some friendly bounces on the rim. Then he follows that up with an atrocious second half, shooting 3 from 11, including six misses on long two point shots. His late game turnovers also effectively cost Dallas the game. The first, a fast break turnover when he did not have a numerical advantage is a somewhat understandable, if frustrating (he should have known a player was behind him). The second, where he passed it off of a defender’s back is inexcusable.  The quality of Mayo’s offensive decision making is often a key factor in a game’s final outcome.

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.

The Rundown, Volume XIV

Posted by Bryan Gutierrez on February 11, 2013 under Commentary, Recaps | 3 Comments to Read

The Rundown is back. Every Monday, The Rundown will chronicle the week that was for the Mavericks, as well as let you know what is coming up for the boys in blue, with a unique spin. Simply put, it is your Monday catch-up on all things with the Dallas Mavericks.

With the All-Star break rapidly approaching, the Mavericks have started their do-or-die homestand. Dallas is at 22-28 with 32 games to go. The approach will be to take things one game at a time, but the mindset should be to look at the remainder of the games in four-game chunks and win three of four the rest of the way out with each chunk. That will get them to 46-36. With how the rest of the bottom half of the West is trending, that should be enough to sneak in and take the 8th seed. It’s possible that they can do it, but we’ll have to see how things play out. With that in mind, it was another up and down week for the Mavericks. It was full of milestones, hammers being dropped and facial hair. Let’s take a look at the week for that was for Dallas.

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The Difference: Dallas Mavericks 116, Golden State Warriors 91

Posted by Connor Huchton on February 10, 2013 under Recaps | Be the First to Comment

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.

Quoteboard: Dallas 116, Golden State 91

Posted by Bryan Gutierrez on under Interviews | Be the First to Comment

The Dallas Mavericks hit the ground running and recorded a convincing 116-91 victory over the Golden State Warriors. Dallas took advantage of the fact that Golden State came in on the second night of a back-to-back and the fourth game in five nights. The Mavericks used an 11-0 run from the 5:32 mark of the first quarter through the 3:49 mark of the period to take a 20-10 lead. The Mavericks then led for the remainder of the contest. Darren Collison didn’t miss a shot in the first quarter. He went 4-for-4 from the field, 2-for-2 from beyond the arc and 3-for-3 from the line in the opening quarter. Collison led all players with 13 points in the first quarter. Collison finished with 18 points to go along with four rebounds and eight assists in 33 minutes.

Elton Brand posted his sixth double-double of the season (402^nd career) with 11 points, a game-high-tying 11 rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks in 29 minutes off the bench against Golden State. It was his 10^th double-digit rebounding effort of the season. Dallas improved to 7-3 when he pulls down 10-plus boards in a game.

The man of the night was Shawn Marion. The Matrix recorded his 12^th double-double of the season (fourth in his last five games) with a season-high 26 points to go along with a game-high-tying 11 rebounds and two steals in 30 minutes against the Warriors. His previous high scoring game was 23 points, which he recorded at Oklahoma City on Feb. 4. Marion scored 20-plus points for the second time in his last three games (fourth time this season). It was his second 20-point, 10-rebound game of the year (195^th career). He had 20 points and 10 boards at Orlando on Jan. 20. Prior to the game at Orlando, Marion hadn’t recorded a 20-point, 10-rebound game since Apr. 6, 2011 vs. Denver (21 points and 10 rebounds). Marion is averaging 18.8 points and 10.0 rebounds over his last five games.

Some notes before the quotes:

- With the first of two free throws at the 11:06 mark of the fourth quarter, Dirk Nowitzki passed Wilt Chamberlain (6,057) for 15^th place on the NBA’s all-time free throws made list. It was the 6,058^th free throw of Nowitzki’s career. He has shot 6,059-of-6,910 (.877) from the stripe for his career.

- Dallas topped 30 points in every quarter except for the second period (23 points).

- Dallas held Golden State to 36 points in the opening half (Dallas led 62-36 at the half), which marked a Mavericks’ opponent low for points in the first half this season (previous low: 39 in first half vs. Memphis Jan. 12).

- Dallas outscored Golden State 17-0 on the fast break in the first half and 29-8 in transition for the game.

Here is the quoteboard for the Dallas victory over Golden State.

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Thermodynamics: Week 15

Posted by Travis Wimberly on February 7, 2013 under Commentary, Recaps | Be the First to Comment

Thermodynamics (n.) – the science concerned with the relations between heat and mechanical energy

If you’re anything like me, this week for the Mavs didn’t “feel” very good. They got rocked by the Thunder (a team they have consistently played very close in years past, even when the Thunder are much more talented), which left a dark underscore on an otherwise successful week. And objectively speaking, it was a successful week: when you’re the 2012-2013 Mavs and you’re several games below .500, a 2-1 week is success. Relatively speaking, anyway.

FIRE

1) Shawn Marion

Since Dirk Nowitzki returned to the lineup, people have suggested that it’s very difficult for him, less than two years removed from an NBA title, to suddenly be surrounded by this current cast of Mavericks. That’s probably true. But if that’s true of Dirk, it’s also undoubtedly true of Shawn Marion, the other remaining rotation player from the Mavs’ 2011 title team. If Marion is carrying that disappointment, though, he’s not showing it on the court. Every night, the man affectionately known as The Matrix is playing his tail off for the blue and white, and his numbers this week show it. He started the week by dropping a double-double in his former stomping grounds in Phoenix (12 points, 11 rebounds); in Oklahoma City, he contributed 23 points on 10-of-14 (71%) shooting and also blocked two shots; finally, against Portland last night, he notched yet another double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds), his 11th of the season. And of course, all those stats accompany Marion’s usual, well-above-average individual defense. Glasses up to the Matrix — a true pro’s pro.

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Quoteboard: Dallas Mavericks 105, Portland Trail Blazers 99

Posted by Bryan Gutierrez on under Interviews | 2 Comments to Read

The Dallas Mavericks started their do-or-die homestand with a solid 105-99 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. In his return to the team after sitting out one game due to illness, Vince Carter hit a 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds left in the third quarter sparked an 18-4 run by the Mavericks that saw them turn a five-point deficit (82-77) into a nine-point advantage (95-86) with 4:41 to go in the game. He tallied 17 points in 25 minutes off the bench. Carter scored 17-plus points for the fifth time in his last eight games.

With the win, coach Rick Carlisle recorded his 500^th career win against the Blazers on Wednesday. He improved to 500-353, .586, all-time in the regular season. He became the 28^th coach in NBA history to reach the milestone. He is in his fifth season with Dallas and is now 219-142 (.607) all-time with the club. Carlisle, who recorded his 500^th victory in his 853^rd game, became the 11^th-fastest coach in NBA history to reach 500 wins. He also became the 16th coach with 500 wins and an NBA title.

Quick notes before the quotes:

- Dallas handed Portland just its second loss of the season when leading after three (Portland moved to 17-2 when leading going into the fourth quarter). Dallas improved to 4-22 this season in games they trailed at the end of the third quarter.

- Dallas moved to 9-23 in games where they fell behind by at least 10 points.

- Dallas held Portland to 38 points in the second half after giving up 61 in the first half. They also held Damian Lillard to only four points in the second half after he went off for 15 points in the first half.

- The Mavericks outshot the Blazers 6-of-10 (.600) to 1-of-14 (.071) from beyond the arc in the second half. Portland shot 9-of-16 (.563) from deep in the first half, while Dallas went 4-of-10 (.400) from beyond the arc before intermission.

- O.J. Mayo totaled 20-plus points for the third time in his last four games (20^th time this season). Dallas is now 13-7 this season when he scores at least 20 points. He led the Mavericks in scoring for the 23^rd time this year.

- Shawn Marion recorded his 11^th double-double of the season (415^th career) and his third in his last four games with 13 points and a game-high-tying 10 rebounds in 31 minutes.

- Dirk is working on a beard (explanation is coming later). #GoatfaceDrillah

Here is the quoteboard for the Dallas victory over Portland.

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What’s Left?

Posted by Brian Rubaie on February 6, 2013 under Commentary | 5 Comments to Read

The 2012-2013 NBA season is barely past the halfway mark, but the campaign has felt much longer for Dallas Mavericks fans. Heartbreaking overtime losses, a carousel of starting lineups and a steady spate of sloppy play have made this team difficult for fans to attach themselves to. With little hope of reaching the playoffs and a roster of tourist free agents, Mavericks fans may soon decide the team as constructed simply isn’t worth watching the rest of the way.

That view was discussed in a brief Twitter exchange between two insightful analysts, our own Kirk Henderson (@KirkSeriousFace) and CBS Sports’ Zach Harper (@talkhoops). Henderson asked if Harper’s lack of recent Mavericks coverage on the Pick and Troll podcast was due to the team being generally unremarkable, prompting Harper to reply: “There just isn’t anything there right now. Team in transition without their Hall of Famer? What’s there to say?”

Although Dallas is all but certain to miss the playoffs, there is still quite a bit for devoted Mavericks fans to discuss regarding the remainder of the season. No, the Mavs won’t soon replicate the high-flying, must-see moments of the Los Angeles Clippers or offer the same star-power-meets-train-wreck appeal of the Los Angeles Lakers. This season offers the Mavericks a glimpse at the twilight of the franchise’s best player, a great coach doing fine work, veterans trying to energize unlikely bids for the Hall of Fame and a likable, unselfish roster that still gives its all in good times and bad.

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The Difference: Dallas Mavericks 91, Oklahoma City Thunder 112

Posted by Kirk Henderson on February 5, 2013 under Recaps | Read the First Comment

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.

• I spent most of the game watching and rewatching plays that involved O.J. Mayo (eight points, six assists). His five turnovers were inexcusable. After a rough stretch in December and a horrible game against Miami to start the year, Mayo seemed to get his turnovers under control. Over this road trip, however, he managed to turn the ball over just under four times a game. He started this game with a turnover when he didn’t see Kevin Durant in the passing lane on the game’s second possession. His final turnover occurred when he lost the ball on an out of bounds play. These turnover are due to lack of focus and when Mayo isn’t focused he really hurts the Mavericks.
• There should be no question why Vince Carter was not traded recently to the Grizzlies during the Memphis-Toronto trade talks. He’s simply too important. Since Dallas does not seem to have a functional back up point guard, his passing ability is necessary to the Dallas bench. That he can get off a shot whenever he chooses is also vital. The offense bogged down with alarming regularity against the Thunder with no one able to get to the rim.
• Dirk is now 11 for 41 from the field in the three games he’s played against the Thunder. It’s easy to read into this, though. The first game he shot 3 for 11, which was one of his first games back from his surgery. The second game Dirk shot 4 for 19, and still looked to be missing his legs. This third game he was forced to take a number of low percentages looks late in the shot clock because Dallas was having trouble getting any sort of clean look at the basket.
• Bernard James set a new career high with four blocks to go along with his two points and six rebounds. His timing is really impressive.
• The quiet dominance of Kevin Durant was on full display against Dallas. 19 points on 11 shots, 10 rebounds, and four assists in only 28 minutes of action. That he’s only 24 is simply unfair.
• Not to continue to pick on Mayo, but his understanding of team defense is non-existent. In the second quarter he was guarding Kevin Martin (17 points) who was on the weak side wing. Kevin Durant was on the other wing, with the ball. Martin made a simple back cut and Durant found him wide open under the goal for a dunk. Mayo had no idea Martin had cut until it was way too late. A similar play happened a few possessions later when he got caught watching Durant. Thabo Sefolosha slipped behind Mayo and Durant found Sefolosha for a lay up which he missed. Mayo gets caught watching the ball a lot and as a result he’s often late on rotations, particularly when “helping the helper”. Helping the helper means rotating to a teammate’s defensive assignment when that teammate is forced to rotate elsewhere, often due to penetration.
• In the first two match ups Darren Collison played very well, scoring 32 and 15 points respectively. Midway through the second quarter the Thunder opted to go very small, with Durant playing power forward. Durant switched onto Collison repeatedly during the Dallas high pick and roll action and shut down Collison, blocking his shot aggressivley on one possession. Between this and Russell Westbrook’s challenging defense, Collison stopped probing the lane early and the Dallas offense suffered.
• Serge Ibaka (12 points, five rebounds) took and made his 8th three of the year. That’s a pretty good indication of how well the Thunder offense was clicking.
• Mayo’s not the only one who needs a course in defensive awareness. In the second quarter Nick Collison was on the left wing being guarded by Dirk. Jae Crowder was guarding Kevin Durant, who was close to the left corner a few feet away. For some reason Crowder decided to leave Durant briefly  acting as if he was going to trap Nick Collison with Dirk. This was a really, really poor decision as Durant recognized what Crowder was thinking and cut to the basket. Collison threw a simple bounce pass between Dirk and Crowder which Durant caught and dunked it with a foul from Wright. It’s usually a good idea to not leave a MVP candidate wide open for a cut on the baseline.
• Additionally, there was no way Brandan Wright was going to be able to block Durant as he slashed, mainly due to him being Durant, but also due to the angle Durant took to the basket. Wright has to be smarter than this. Either be in place earlier to challenge the shot better (unlikely since Wright seemed as surprised as everyone else that Durant was left open to cut) or just let the dunk go.
• It’s interesting to watch how Darren Collison plays with contact. Against the Suns, he went into a zone late, scoring often in the fourth quarter, including one shot where he absorbed contact to finish a touch jumper. Against the Thunder he seemed to shy away from it and he missed three of his four attempts in the lane. One instance in third stands out: a posted up Dirk found a cutting Collison, who actively avoided contact in the paint and blew the layup/jump shot attempt.
• Coach Carlisle opted to go with Mike James (two points, two turnovers) first when looking for back up point guard minutes. I cannot understand why. Mike James may offer value in a mentoring role, but I don’t see the downside of playing Roddy Beaubois (seven points, two assists). Carlisle tried James, then Dominique Jones (fifteen points) and finally gave Roddy a shot in the fourth.
• The wealth of riches that is the Thunder bench borders on absurd. Reggie Jackson and Eric Maynor are excellent back up point options. Former number two over all pick Hasheem Thabeet is effective in limited minutes. Perry Jones was initially projected as a number one over all pick. Jeremy Lamb, who isn’t even with the team at the moment, has lottery level talent, should he ever develop. Daniel Orton, a former University of Kentucky player with John Wall and Demarcus Cousins, isn’t even able to get on the floor.
• Dallas has an 8-19 record on the road. With 34 games yet to play this season, Dallas still has two extended road trips. Starting with the last game in February, the Mavericks play seven of eight on the road. They also have a four game during their last ten regular season games.
• Watching how Westbrook attacks the rim is at once exhilarating and terrifying. His shot chart shows that he made it a point to get to the rim against Dallas, taking 10 of his 16 shots at the rim.
• Outside of Bernard James, the main bright spot for Dallas was Shawn Marion’s 23 points on 10 of 14 shooting. He had everything working from the opening tip and even managed to hit a wing three, his third of the season. Strangely,  he’s hit all three of these shots in 2013 after not making any during the 2012 portion of the season.
• The shot selection of Jae Crowder continues to confuse. Against the Thunder he shot 3 for 11, which is a little below his usual road field goal percentage of 31%. Eight of his 11 shots were well outside the paint, mostly in the 15 to 18 foot range. Beyond 10 feet, Crowder is shooting 33% for the year. I didn’t follow Crowder in college, but the stats-based community was excited to see him land in Dallas. I cannot imagine the role of jump shooting wing was the vision for him.
• Strange that Dahntay Jones only saw eight minutes of action, all of it in garbage time. I assume Carlisle thought Crowder’s strength might have made a difference on Durant, but I would have liked to seen Jones get a crack at defending Durant. Jones comes with the added bonus that he doesn’t take as many maddening shots as Crowder does.
• Part of why Brandan Wright (four points, seven rebounds) is a marginal player on the Dallas bench is his inability to set screens consistently in the pick and roll. Its not that he doesn’t want to, but his frame is so slight he does not provide any sort of obstacle when the Dallas opponent has athletic defenders. This was illistrated in the second quarter when O.J. Mayo and Wright tried to run a pick and roll three or four times. The Thunder hedge man was able to deter Mayo and the man guarding Mayo was able to step over Wright’s screen in no time. Finally, Mayo picked up his dribble and made an errant pass which Kevin Martin picked off.
• There was technical assessed to Kendrick Perkins (seven points, seven rebounds) in the second quarter. Play had stopped due to a Dirk foul on Russell Westbrook. Perkins made a point to seek out and body up to Jae Crowder, who had apparently talked a little trash to Perkins after hitting a shot on the ensuing possession. Crowder talking trash was stupid itself, but for Perkins to decide it warranted him playing the tough guy and getting a technical foul is silly. Oklahoma City was up 25 at that point. I do understand not taking guff, but that was poor judgement.
• Oddly enough, Dallas still has a 19.3% chance of making the playoffs this year according to the Hollinger Playoff Odds predictor.

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

The Rundown, Volume XIII

Posted by Bryan Gutierrez on February 4, 2013 under Commentary, Recaps | Be the First to Comment

The Rundown is back. Every Monday, The Rundown will chronicle the week that was for the Mavericks, as well as let you know what is coming up for the boys in blue, with a unique spin. Simply put, it is your Monday catch-up on all things with the Dallas Mavericks.

Two weeks can change the course of any team. The Mavericks appeared to be in the thick of the playoff chase the last time there was a Rundown. Now things are looking extremely bleak. Dallas is likely happy that the calendar flips over to February. The team went 7-8 in January. They had seven of those losses come by six points or less. The other loss was an overtime loss at Miami. In addition, four of those losses came by three points or less including last two games. The Mavericks are now 7-12 in games when game is within three points with 30 seconds or less. Add it all up and the Mavericks’ chances of making the playoffs are on life support. Let’s take a look at the week for that was for Dallas.

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