Heard It Through the Weekend Grapevine

Posted by Rob Mahoney on August 22, 2010 under The Grapevine | View Comments

• Neil Paine of Basketball-Reference.com used offensive and defensive ratings to determine team offensive performance relative to the league average. From there, he determined which players (with a 15,000 career minutes qualifier) have played in the best offenses throughout their careers. Steve Nash topped the list. Dirk Nowitzki came in at ninth. Those rankings may not mean much to the role players on the list (Raja Bell, for instance, is eighth) but for stars like Nash and Dirk? It’s a testament to just how incredible they are as offensive centerpieces, both together and apart.
• Kelly Dywer’s positional rankings continue, with Jason Terry coming in as no. 20 among shooting guards while Rodrigue Beaubois trails him slightly at no. 25. Pretty fair. Dwyer concedes to a conservative ranking on Beaubois in fear of a minutes mirage, and rightfully so. Plus, as Beaubois gets more and more playing time and is featured more and more prominently in the Mavs’ offense, he’ll face a series of increasingly difficult tests. We should all be pretty excited to see how Beaubois responds.
• Dwyer has also begun his small forward rankings, but there’s no sign of Shawn Marion in the first intallment.
• Maurice Ager is in serious discussions to sign with the Knicks. Color me curious.
• Bookmaker.com seems to think there’s a 15% chance of Dirk Nowitzki converting to Judaism during the 2010-2011 season. He trails Chris Bosh, Kobe Bryant, Rajon Rondo, Kevin Durant, Deron Williams, and Steve Nash in that regard. DIRK CAN’T GET NO RESPECT.
• Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk on Caron Butler giving back: “Caron Butler this summer did his annual ‘Bike Brigade’ in his hometown of Racine, Wisconsin, where he gave away hundreds of bicycles to area youth. He hosts annual back-to-school drives like he did in Washington DC last year, he has hosted numerous charity basketball games, he went to Johannesburg, South Africa, to conduct free basketball clinics. I could probably fill up the Internet with Butler’s charity endeavors. He’s quick to tell you that he does all this because he wants to, because he wants to give back to the community. He’s sincere and he cares. He isn’t organizing and attending events for  the publicity or to save some money come April 15. And he said there are a lot of players out there like him. ‘I think there are other guys out there doing it,’ Butler told PBT last week. ‘This is something I’ve been doing since day one, since I got into the league. I probably just had a camera crew out after four or five years of doing it… after a while people just started paying more attention to what I was doing and understand that what I did was from my heart and I was passionate about it. That wasn’t just a once a year thing, this was something I was committed to year in and year out. And I do believe there are other guys out there like that.’”
• Jeremy Lin does New York.

Heard It Through the Grapevine

Posted by Rob Mahoney on August 18, 2010 under The Grapevine | View Comments

• Kurt Helin, my fellow ProBasketballTalk-er, had a chance to interview Caron Butler. Here are Butler’s thoughts regarding what the Mavs’ areas for improvement in the coming year: “Controlling the glass, focusing on defense. Because we can score with the best of them. We have a great player, we have a Hall of Fame point guard and whole bunch of other guys that want to get it done and are willing to sacrifice whatever to win. We’ve just got to put it all together and we will.” Butler also noted that he’s been working with the needs-no-introduction Tim Grover.
• Kevin Arnovitz has a great interview with Texas Legends’ coach Nancy Lieberman, who is getting serious mileage out of her catchphrase (which you may remember from my interview with Lieberman earlier this summer): “Making the irregular regular.” Here’s Lieberman on her voice as a coach, and what the voice will mean to men who haven’t had all that many female basketball mentors: “I think the end message will be similar, but the methods and how they get the information could be different. I’m excited about it because I’m not going to be in practice f-bombing people. That won’t be me. I’ll be firm and I’ll be fair. We won’t tell people what to do. We’ll explain what we’d like them to do. We’ll show them what we want to do. Then, they’ll do it. I will work their tails off. Trust me. I’m not as nice as I’m faking it on this conversation. I will work them really hard, but I’ll love them on the other side. And they need to know they’re loved and cared for. But that doesn’t mean you can walk over me, through me. That won’t happen. But look, I’m going to kill my guys so I might as well be nice to them. I have high expectations. I haven’t made it in a man’s world for 35 years by being soft, scared or insecure.”
• Mike Krzyzewski on Tyson Chandler’s play for Team USA, via Chris Tomasson of FanHouse: “Tyson has been outstanding. We have a relationship from the 2007 qualifying team (and in 2008 when Chandler came close to making the Olympic team) … He doesn’t need the ball. He’s stronger. I bet he’s at least probably 15 pounds heavier and stronger than he was in 2007. He feels healthy.”
• Have $25 burning a hole in your wallet? Then do I have the deal for you. (H/T: Scott Schroeder)
• Josh Howard, infused with Devean George’s trade veto power.
• Caron Butler thinks the Heat could make it to 73 wins. The Bulls’ sacred 72-win mark is seemingly unbeatable, but next year’s Miami Heat have definite advantages those Bulls were never afforded. The ‘95-’96 Bulls are certainly one of the best teams to ever lace them up, but is Caron wrong? Isn’t the combination of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade — with Chris Bosh and a hell of a supporting cast — enough to at least bring the Heat into the discussion?
• Andre Miller and Chauncey Billups are two big, strong point guards that have made the most of their size by posting up smaller opposing guards. The Mavs have dabbled with using Jason Kidd in a similar capacity, but he just doesn’t have the scoring chops for it. Regardless, Sebastian Pruiti of NBA Playbook breaks down what it is that makes Miller and Billups so effective in the post.
• Kelly Dwyer is ranking the top 30 players in each of the five conventional positions, beginning with point guards. You can see the first installment (30-21) here, and the second (20-11) here. Jason Kidd comes in at #12, which may seem a bit harsh, but consider the 11 PGs likely to top Kidd in Dwyer’s rankings (in no particular order): Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Steve Nash, Jameer Nelson (already confirmed as #11), Rajon Rondo, Chauncey Billups, Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, Devin Harris, Tony Parker, and Tyreke Evans. Of those 11, which would you pick Kidd to best in the coming season?
• Jeff Fox of Hoops Manifesto takes a stab at listing the top 10 Mavericks of all-time.
• Rodrigue Beaubois’ surgery was successful.
• From Caron Butler’s blog on HoopsHype: “Aside from the Tyson Chandler trade, my team has had a pretty quiet offseason. I’m not surprised. We had a great roster already. The management looked at the team and thought change wasn’t needed.” Well…that’s certainly one interpretation of the summer’s events.

That Dreamers Often Lie

Posted by Rob Mahoney on June 2, 2010 under Commentary, Rumors | View Comments

Mostly thanks to Bill Simmons, NBA junkies now have a new rumor du jour: a Dirk Nowitzki-Steve Nash reunion on the Phoenix Suns, in which the two former MVP pals could coexist in something of a basketball nirvana. Nash was never really given the full opportunity to explore his game while with the Mavericks, but now that each player has seen the full extent of their basketball talents, a reunion would be absolutely fantastic for NBA fans.

Not so much for Mavs fans, but that’s just the way it goes. Player movement, even of the hypothetical variety, has to leave somebody out in the cold. So sorry, MFFLs, but in alternate reality #184612823412734, Dirk goes the way of Nash and leaves the Mavs high and dry. Condolences.

Look, I understand the appeal. I really do. We all love to explore realms of fantasy, whether they exist solely in free agent rumors, in movies or video games, or in poorly-written, contrived vampire novels. But they’re enjoyable precisely because they’re unlikely, and that’s the thing everyone needs to keep in mind before they even consider discussing a Nash-Nowitzki reunion. It would take an incredible series of twists and turns for the mere option to even be on the table, and given Nowitzki’s import to Dallas and Phoenix’s extended playoff run, neither team would be particularly interested in accommodating the process. That’s especially important on the Suns’ side, as not only would Phoenix have to abandon the prospect of re-signing Amar’e Stoudemire in order to make a pass at Dirk, but they’d have to shed some pretty significant salary (in addition to Nowitzki agreeing to a suboptimal deal) by trading away quality players for nothing.

It’s fun, but this is all no better than the most ridiculous rumor mongering. There isn’t even the illusion of reported interest from either party aside from the obvious (the obvious being that Dirk wants to sign a new contract and I’m sure the Suns wouldn’t mind having him around), and the fact that this rumor is getting so much play is more a tribute to how fun the Nash-Nowitzki pairing could be rather than a representation of even a remote likelihood. Maybe this is the bias of a Dallas-centric writer talking, but I see all the possible landing spots for Dirk — the Suns, the Knicks, the Nets, etc. — being so unlikely, that there are essentially two outcomes: he stays with the Mavs or he doesn’t. Grouping all of those destinations together is the only way their chances even cause a blip on our radar, as the probability that Nowitzki re-signs with the Mavs is so, incredibly high.

Again, Dirk is an unrestricted free agent, so we all need to respect the possibility of him bolting this summer, even if it seems unlikely. That said, having a friend in Phoenix really doesn’t make this outcome very plausible. Feel free to daydream of Nash-Dirk pick-and-rolls, but the reality is that the beauty of their pairing will have to be confined to the All-Star game.

Heard It Through the Weekend Grapevine

Posted by Rob Mahoney on May 23, 2010 under The Grapevine | View Comments

• Those six players the Mavs worked out? Not only will they not be invites for training camp filler, they won’t even be asked to compete on the Mavs’ summer league team.
• In the same update, Eddie Sefko also notes that Nick Calathes, one of the Mavs’ second rounders last year, will play professionally in Greece again next season and thus is not allowed to compete with Dallas in summer league.
• Kelly Dwyer assembled a list of the top playoff performers this season, with Dirk getting his due at #6: “Had the Mavericks played a little longer, with Dirk no doubt approximating his averages of 26.7 points per game on 55 percent shooting, 8.2 rebounds and just 1.7 turnovers a contest, Nowitzki would probably be duking it out with Pau and Rondo at the top. As it is, the Mavs were out in the first round, and though Dirk had some chances to aid his Mavericks down the stretch of a few of their losses to San Antonio, the biggest reason they were in those losses to begin with was because of Nowitzki’s superb play.”
• Tom Ziller and Bethlehem Shoals compiled a number of free agency outcomes, most of which involve Dirk staying a Mav, but two that involve Nowitzki signing with the Knicks (one alongside LeBron, the other alongside Joe Johnson). It’s more exploratory than predictive, but one line should stick out to Mavs fans: “LeBron’s not coming Dallas, no matter how catchy its Autotune-d siren song; it’s Dirk and little else.” The last phrase is something that most MFFLs have noted following Dallas’ loss in the first round of the playoffs, but the argument is somehow flipped when the topic of free agency comes up. I agree that Dallas has the most complete team for a star that wants to contend immediately (supposing they retain both Dirk and Brendan Haywood, of course), but the logical shift is still very interesting. Even LeBron wouldn’t solve all of the Mavs problems.
• Steve Nash’s top 10 career assists, with #10 coming while he was in a Maverick uniform. Plenty of gems in the bunch, but disappointingly unrepresentative of Steve’s entire career. It’s not just a Mavs thing, either; Nash’s first few years with the Suns seem a tad neglected as well. Then again, all of the assists chosen are awesome, so what’s the use in complaining? (Link via Ball Don’t Lie)
• LeBron James apparently doesn’t care about the ability to select his own coach. That’s a win for the Mavs…I guess? Rick Carlisle isn’t going anywhere, so I guess that means teams with coaching vacancies (or soon-to-be vacancies) wouldn’t have an edge on the Mavs in the LeBron sweepstakes on the basis of coaching flexibility. Hooray?
• Avery Johnson is killing his chance to coach either the Hornets or the Hawks by insisting on a managerial role as well. No one is all that surprised.

Heard It Through the Grapevine

Posted by Rob Mahoney on April 27, 2010 under The Grapevine | View Comments

• Mark Cuban, when asked by Howard Beck of the New York Times if being willing to go above and beyond as an owner (in terms of spending) can be beneficial in the NBA: “Yes. Not because he/she can spend more on players, or even facilities, but rather because of the opportunity to invest in analytics and other nontraditional means that give a team an edge. Other nontraditional means could be something like a free-throw shooting coach. Right now, I think the Mavs are the only team with a full-time free-throw coach, because of the expense. I think we are the only team with a full-time team psychologist. Those are things that don’t show up on rosters but are very expensive and can impact a team significantly.”
• Andrew McNeil of 48 Minutes of Hell on the fate of the series and the rivalry: “It’s not far-fetched to think that this could be the last time the Spurs and Mavericks meet as rivals. If the Spurs win tonight, no one knows what Mark Cuban might do to his roster. And the possibility that these two franchises might not meet in the playoffs in the near future is a very real possibility.So enjoy it. Enjoy the passion of both fan bases and the (hopefully) respectful hatred directed at one another. Enjoy the greatness of Dirk Nowitzki, no matter how much you may like to insult him. And if the Mavericks win tonight? Well, we’ll do it all over again on Thursday night.”
• A few lasting images from Game 4, courtesy of Kyle Weidie (normally of Truth About It) writing at Hardwood Paroxysm, as well as a Mark Cuban GIF that I hope I don’t need to re-use here later tonight, and this memorable line: “If Dallas was looking for Butler to be a maverick from his past inept wizardry, they should look somewhere else.”
• Jamal Crawford was named the Sixth Man of the Year today, but Jason Terry came second in voting. Not bad, JET.
• Skeets and Tas name Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash as honorable mentions (well, at least mentions) for The Basketball Jones All-Headband team.
• Ben Rogers of The Ben and Skin Show/ESPN Dallas: “Bottom line: The Mavs are no defensive juggernaut. Anyone expecting them to ride their sometimes shaky defense to a title is delusional.”
• Gregg Popovich finds the presumption of pep talks with these two teams to be a bit ridiculous (via Art Garcia writing for Sekou Smith’s Hangtime Blog): “These guys are grown. The Mavs guys are grown. Jason and Dirk don’t need speeches. Timmy and Manu and Tony, they don’t need speeches. We’d probably put them to sleep if we said, ‘Now guys, this is a big game. Guys, it’s going to be loud.’ That’s a little silly to do with grown men.”
• Caron Butler still views his trade to Dallas as a “blessing,” even after going down 1-3 to the Spurs and being benched for the entirety of Game 3’s second half. Michael Lee of the Washington Post: Butler said Pollin’s widow, Irene, called to inform him a week before the trade that the organization planned to move him and Antawn Jamison and would place them in good situations. ‘They could’ve just sent me anywhere, but obviously, Mr. Pollin was still working and it’s a blessing. The Pollin family really took care of me. But, you know, Washington was really home for me. Coming to a new city and having to invent yourself all over again, it’s mind-boggling to think about that on the fly, but at the same time I understand the nature of the business. Players get recycled in this game all the time.’”
• Eight teams have come back from a 1-3 deficit to win a playoff series.
• Eduardo Najera was not suspended for his flagrant foul on Manu Ginobili.

The Futile Case of Dirk Nowitzki for MVP

Posted by Rob Mahoney on April 15, 2010 under Commentary | View Comments

Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images.

This year’s MVP Award is about as open-and-shut as it gets. It’s not so much a ‘race’ as it is an ordaining, with LeBron James securing the second of what should be many MVP honors with another absolutely dominant season. Other names are thrown around to artificially generate some conversation where there should be none, and as something of a consolation prize to every NBA superstar not named LeBron.

As far as individual accolades go, that’s what these guys have to play for: second place, runner-up, honorable mention. James has reached such a stellar level of individual production that claiming to be his equal is as foolish as it is false, and thus the highest individual honor another player can receive is simply to have a place at his table.

That’s essentially what the MVP “conversation” has devolved to this season, and in the name of giving Dirk Nowitzki his due among the next tier of stars, I’ll simply point you toward Dirk’s body of work this season.

Nowitzki is truly elite. His numbers compare favorably to even the best in the league. However, while the metrics are fairly kind to Dirk, there is yet another divide that exists between Nowitzki and some of his contemporaries. At the absolute pinnacle of the game is James, who should start clearing out a shelf or six in his trophy case. On the second tier are Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade, and Kevin Durant, three spectacular talents that are somehow only getting better. Below them sits Nowitzki, as well as Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, and Deron Williams, as well as a few other stars that either aren’t performing quite up to their usual levels of excellence or haven’t experienced enough team success to be considered viable MVP candidates.

Dirk lies at the impressive intersection of those criteria, and his individual ability to impact a basketball game is obviously directly related to the Mavs’ 54-win mark. He is Dallas’ unquestioned offensive anchor, and though Jason Kidd also has a profound influence on how Dallas operates on that end, this is Dirk’s show. His ability to operate out of the high post is unmatched, and he’s a far more accomplished low post scorer than many are willing to admit. He’s ultimately a more productive player than Nash (which is partially attributable to their different roles), both more productive and more efficient than Williams, and posted a better overall season than Bryant.

I would argue that Nowitzki warrants prime placement on MVP ballots among that third group of stars. I’ve always interpreted the MVP as an award for the player with the most outstanding season, and with that as the basis for selection, I fail to see how you could choose any other third tier candidate. It’s not that Nash, Williams, or Bryant are inherently flawed choices; each is having a fine season and is near the top of their profession. Dirk has just been a bit better this year.

Steve Nash is an absolute wizard when it comes to running an offense, and he’s one of the most efficient shooters in the game. But he’s also one of the league’s worst defenders (not an exaggeration) and most of Nash’s edge in scoring efficiency can be chalked up to his notably low usage. Once that’s accounted for, Steve’s alarming turnover rate (21.3%!) starts to hedge his offensive value, if only a bit. Nowitzki, on the other hand, is positively stingy in his protection of the ball; Dirk’s turnover rate is about a third of Nash’s, despite a significantly higher usage rate.   I think it would be difficult to argue that Nash was more productive this season on offense than Nowitzki to begin with, but Dirk’s added scoring volume, defensive edge (Nowitzki may not be great, but he’s still far better than Nash), and rebounding push him well over the top.

The nature of Dirk’s comparison to Deron Williams is quite similar, though with a few exceptions: Nash is a far more efficient scorer than Deron and a slightly more prolific passer, but Williams is a significantly better defender and less prone to turn the ball over. The net result of a comparison between Dirk and Deron is thus more of the same: Nowitzki’s impressive combination of high volume and high efficiency (despite his high usage) just makes too convincing of a case.

As for Kobe Bryant, I’m going to put this in a way that’s sure to inspire some reactionary commenters: where is it exactly that Kobe is supposed to have the advantage over Dirk? Bryant’s points per minute edge over Nowitzki is negligible. Kobe doesn’t get to the free throw line more often, he too turns the ball over more than Nowitzki, and faces a sizable deficit in shooting percentage (despite having superior teammates, a legendary offensive system, and a masterful coach). He creates for his teammates more often than Dirk does, but not to a particularly dominant degree (23.8 assist rate vs. 12.8). The only significant advantage that Bryant has over Nowitzki is his defense, but he also has a few things working against him:

• The Lakers are struggling badly, and team leaders — like Bryant — are held accountable for those struggles. There’s no excuse for L.A. not to put fear in the hearts of men, and yet they only seem particularly intimidating on paper. Los Angeles is still the favorite to win the West, as they should be, but the fact that their conference supremacy is even slightly in question is a blemish.
• Clutch play, typically regarded as a Bryant strength, is actually advantage: Dirk. And this is one of Kobe’s most impressive clutch seasons ever.
• Efficiency matters. It really, really does. Basketball isn’t so much a game of how much you score but how you go about doing it, and the fact that Nowitzki can nearly match Bryant’s scoring production by using less of his teams possessions means quite a bit.

Just take a little glance up at the chart that’s posted above. Go ahead, I’ll wait. Even looking at the metrics where defense is accounted for (adjusted +/-, win shares, wins above replacement player), Bryant claims no advantage. His biggest victory among those four measures is a +0.6 edge in APM, while Dirk’s win shares are notably higher and his PER marginally higher.

It’s likely that if you consider Bryant to be an All-NBA defender, he makes your hypothetical MVP ballot. I don’t. He’s a good defender and a great one when he’s interested, but the Lakers’ troubles this season didn’t exclude Kobe and they weren’t solely restricted to the offensive end of the floor. The lack of focus and effort applied to Bryant as well. I’m sure part of that was natural letdown, part of it frustration, part of it having Ron Artest around to lock down on the perimeter, and plenty of it injury. All understandable, but they don’t reconcile the drop-off even if they do excuse it.

If you ask me who is the better player between the two, I’ll tell you it’s Kobe. If you ask me which of the two has had a better season, I’ll tell you it’s Dirk. The MVP rewards a player for having the most outstanding season, not necessarily for being the best player. That’s why things like games missed due to injury and consistency aren’t just arbitrary criteria. They legitimately matter because the award goes to the player with the greatest performance rather than the greatest potential to perform.

That player is LeBron James. But a few pegs down is Dirk Nowitzki, and he’s not too bad, either.

For kicks, my MVP ballot, if you haven’t discerned it already:

1. LeBron James
2. Dwight Howard
3. Dwyane Wade
4. Kevin Durant
5. Dirk Nowitzki

Thanks to Basketball-Reference, Basketball Prospectus, and Basketball Value for stats and metrics used for this post.

Heard It Through the Grapevine

Posted by Rob Mahoney on February 16, 2010 under The Grapevine | View Comments

• Doug Smith of the Toronto Star’s Raptors Blog: “Because of a bit of miscommunication, got to the media availability about 90 minutes early Saturday morning and was lucky – and by lucky I mean doomed – to get there in time for some fashion show on the practice court at the Jam Session. And that’s when we saw the sight that kind of made the day. After guys like Robert Horry and Bruce Bowen went, along with a couple of “real” models, here comes the last guy: The Hump! For real. Sporting a rather nifty fedora, this thin tie and sweater combo and looking entirely jaunty as a matter of fact. And when you go to a basketball practice and find a fashion show and get to see Kris Humphries in it, you’ve had a good day.”
• Dirk, Shakira. Shakira, Dirk.
• If somehow you missed out on The Basketball Jones’ All-Star coverage, you should probably get out of here and go watch. Now. Seriously, beat it, kid. Dirk steals the show in two of their vids, but even without Nowitzki it’s quality entertainment.
• Per Mark Followill (@mfollowill), Caron Butler will wear #4, Brendan Haywood will wear #33, and DeShawn Stevenson will wear #92.
• Mike Fisher of DallasBasketball.com: “The media and the Mavs are so caught up in Jason Terry’s team-first generosity – he graciously volunteered to sacrifice his starting 2-guard spot for newcomer Caron Butler before he could be asked to do so – that ignored in the excitement of the three-player package coming to Dallas from Washington is the likely replacement of another fixture in the Mavs’ starting lineup. Or have you forgotten about Erick Dampier? ‘You mean have I spoken to Damp about this?’ Carlisle said to me when I posed the question of the ‘other’ starter who might be benched. …’Well. …’ Carlisle continued after Monday’s practice, which introduced not only starting candidate Butler to his new team but also center Brendan Haywood, already tabbed by Mavs owner Mark Cuban as a ‘top-five center’ in the NBA. ‘Um. … you mean, have I spoken to Damp in the same way (that he’s spoken to Jet)? Well. … that’s a question that represents something we keep within the team. So I’m not going to answer that question.’ I think, though, that Rick just answered the question.”
• How cute. (via Steve Nash, @the_real_nash)
• On Ben & Skin, Josh Howard says he’s already looking forward to playing the Mavs in Dallas, and has an opportunity to say goodbye to ESPN Dallas “hater” Tim MacMahon.
• Is Dirk really a great NBA defender? One metric says so, but Bradford Doolittle admits it’s not “any sort of end-all/be-all of individual defensive metrics.” It probably should go without saying at this point, but I’m sure someone would take Basketball Prospectus’ list as definitive rankings.
• Rick Carlisle on Erick Dampier’s availability for tonight (via Eddie Sefko): “We’ll hold our breath.”
  

Phoenix Suns 112, Dallas Mavericks 106

Posted by Rob Mahoney on January 29, 2010 under Recaps | View Comments

Photo by P.A. Molumby/NBAE via Getty Images.

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

“To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; credible we must be truthful.”
-Edward R. Murrow

For the purposes of this recap, the fact that the Mavericks lost is almost certainly a good thing.

I find it a bit difficult to rail on a team for winning. The explicit goal of playing in the NBA is to win games, and though there are millions of ways to accomplish that feat, the end result reads the same in the standings. All wins are obviously not created equal, but in a game where the Mavs are the victors, their weaknesses and limitations are easily disguised. The shoddy defense, the offensive impotence, the poor rebounding, the lack of consistent execution — all shoved into boxes in the corner of the garage, covered with a sheet, and forgotten.

Until a night like tonight. The defense we’ve come to expect from the Mavs’ strong start has been nonexistent in their last two contests, and any offensive momentum the Mavs have built in the past week was exhausted in the first three quarters against the Phoenix Suns. By the time the fourth came around, Dallas’ offense could do little other than sputter.

I have no intention of denying the Suns their due. They were relentless in their activity and ball movement, and were a huge part of the Mavs’ offensive collapse in the final quarter. They held the Mavs to just 16 points in the fourth on 6-21 shooting. Grant Hill (seven points, five rebounds) played terrific defense on Dirk (19 points, 5-11 FG, five rebounds) throughout, but of course he didn’t do it alone. The Suns’ ability to deny Dirk the ball late in the fourth quarter was absolutely tremendous, and that’s a team-wide effort. That’s Channing Frye cheating over a bit to help in the post. That’s Jared Dudley denying a pass. That’s Steve Nash (yes, that Steve Nash) making the entry pass just a little bit more difficult. This is how you phase your opponent’s best player out of the game, and the result speaks for itself.

Of course it didn’t exactly help matters that Phoenix was getting to the basket at will. The Suns had 22 attempts at the rim compared to the Mavs’ 12, mostly due to poor rotations in the paint; Erick Dampier’s (12 points, four rebounds) minutes and mobility were limited and Drew Gooden (eight points, three rebounds) looked suspiciously like Drew Gooden. And on the perimeter? The Mavs were lost, doubling Amar’e Stoudemire (22 points, one rebound, five turnovers) in the post at the wrong moments and scrambling to account for Steve Nash (19 points, 11 assists). The mayhem left plenty of shooters open from behind the arc, where the Suns’ collection of marksmen nailed nine of their 15 attempts. 38 of Phoenix’s 73 attempts came from highly efficient spots on the floor, and they added 31 free throw attempts just for the hell of it. That’s three very efficient ways of scoring for the Suns, contributing a total of 82 points on 51 estimated possessions.

Needless to say, that’s not exactly championship caliber defense. And the offense that scored just eight points in the final seven minutes? Well, that’s not even quasi-contender quality. The Mavs are past the point where they “need to figure these things out,” and on to “they really should have figured these things out by now.” Things should be getting easier on the offensive end, and the defensive game plan should be second nature. That hasn’t happened. And though it seems like centuries between now and the playoffs, the post-All-Star stretch will fly by. The Mavs are far from a lost cause, but if they’re to peak at the right time, they should probably get started with their marked improvement relatively soon.

Closing thoughts:

• Jason Terry (21 points, 8-15 FG, five assists) looks to be in an offensive rhythm. One can only hope that this is more than a mirage, and that the productive, efficient JET is here to stay.
• Josh Howard’s (seven points, 3-10 FG, six rebounds, two turnovers) presence on the court was pretty damning. I so badly want to defend Josh’s play because I think he’s putting in the effort, but his performance is hardly worthy of significant floor time. He’s losing his man on defense, he can’t convert on jumpers or in the lane, and he’s stopping the ball. Rick Carlisle’s in a tough place in managing Howard’s ego, playing time, and trade value, but something has to give.
• The Mavs looked great working against the zone, as they moved the ball to the open area of the floor, drew in the D, and kicked it out. The Suns tried their hand at zoning up for just two possessions early in the game, and two Jason Kidd jumpers later (one two-pointer and one three-pointer), they were back to man-to-man.
• Amar’e Stoudemire had a weird game. He grabbed just one rebound in 27 minutes. He sat out the entire fourth quarter. He floated. He scored .0.84 points per minute. He could get moved, and after the game he was all smiles. If you can make any sense of those events, then by all means.
• Dirk Nowitzki’s last field goal attempt came with 6:15 left in the fourth quarter. Yikes. To steal a line from Hedo Turkoglu on what could have helped Dirk contribute more down the stretch: Ball.
• I’m convinced that Jared Dudley may be the perfect role player. He works hard, he rebounds, and he completely overcomes his limitations by playing smart defense, limiting his shots to where’s he’s most effective, and moving without the ball.
• Goran Dragic (13 points, 4-6 FG) isn’t a “completely different player” from last year, but he’s skipped a step in his evolutionary process and become an instant contributor. He was much more of a scorer than a playmaker last night, but Dragic is capable of doing both playing either guard position. He continues to find ways to make himself more and more useful.
• Obligatory mention to Louis Amundson (12 points, 5-7 FG, two blocks), whose play kept Amar’e off the floor.
• The Mavs shot .500 from the field, Marion chipped in 15 points and 8 rebounds, Dampier added 12 points, Jason Kidd notched 13 points and six assists and J.J. Barea scored eight points on just five shots to go along with four assists. Combined with Terry’s production, that’s about all you can ask from the supporting cast. Makes you wonder what could have been offensively if the Mavs hadn’t completely fallen apart in the fourth quarter, doesn’t it?
• Black eye on Shawn Marion’s game: Marion missed a fairly basic look from short range with the Mavs down three and under a minute remaining. Dallas then gives up a layup to Steve Nash (not Marion’s fault), and is forced to go into fouling mode (only kind of Marion’s fault).
• Just for fun, look at the contrast between this picture from Tuesday and this picture from last night.

Shot distribution data courtesy of HoopData.

Ladders Are Made to Fall

Posted by Rob Mahoney on December 25, 2009 under Commentary | View Comments

The ESPNDallas crew put together a list of the top 10 Mavericks of the decade, and here are their rankings:

1. Dirk Nowitzki
2. Steve Nash
3. Michael Finley
4. Jason Terry
5. Josh Howard
6. Nick Van Exel
7. Jason Kidd
8. Devin Harris
9. Jerry Stackhouse
10. Erick Dampier

I’m a bit lost as to the criteria used, though. If it’s the out-and-out best players (talent and production-wise) to play for the Mavs in the 2000s, Jason Kidd seems slighted. If it’s based on production in a Maverick uniform this decade, Jason Terry may not be getting the respect he deserves. And if it’s based on…well, whatever metric puts Nick Van Exel (who make no mistake is one of my personal favorites in team history) ahead of Jason Kidd, Devin Harris, and Erick Dampier, then that explains that. This just seems like an exercise where you need to take talent, production, and Maverick tenure all into account, and with that in mind the order seems a bit scrambled.

It’s not an easy list to compile. We can all agree that Dirk stands at the top of the list, with Steve Nash a perfectly acceptable second fiddle. But where do you go from there? Michael Finley is the best scorer of the bunch, Jason Terry kept the Mavs afloat sans Nash and has a Finals appearance under his belt, and Jason Kidd is probably the best of the remaining crop despite his short tenure. After that, you’ve got some combination of Josh Howard, Devin Harris, and Erick Dampier, three Mavs that were absolutely instrumental to the team’s success during the most successful stretch this decade, and each contributing in unique ways that only sometimes show up on the stat sheet (scoring balance, change-of-pace potential, interior defense). Only then do I get to Jerry Stackhouse and Nick Van Exel, but with DeSagana Diop, Antawn Jamison, and MARQUIS DANIELS getting some consideration.

Sound off in the comments, because I’m curious to hear everyone’s take on this. What’s the best way to go about ranking the decade’s Mavs? And given those criteria, who’veyagot?

Hometown Heroes

Posted by Rob Mahoney on December 10, 2009 under xOther | View Comments

The first all-star balloting returns are in, and there’s plenty of good news for the Mavs. Here are the Western Conference tallies by position:

Vote counts via NBA.com.

Shawn Marion actually ranks 7th among forwards, not that it matters all that much. But the strong showings by Marion, Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, and Jason Terry are indicative of not only the Mavs’ solid start, but the nice voting bump given to players of the hometown team. Not that Dirk and Kidd don’t deserve their respective places in the polls, but the precedent just isn’t there to expect such fan support for Terry or Marion.

Tracy McGrady, who hasn’t played a NBA game since the early 1800s, is the big surprise. And the good news is that supposing the voters come to their senses (as they typically do by the second or third returns), Jason Kidd has a legit shot at a reserve spot. Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul figure to be the starters when all is said and done, and Steve Nash is well-deserving of a reserve selection. But aside from those three, which guard is more deserving than Kidd? The other elite guards of the West have struggled in one way or another, and though there’s a solid list of candidates (Ginobili, Williams, Roy, Parker), there’s no clear front-runner. Kidd’s Dallas affiliation would also win him a bit of favor as a reserve selection, as the coaches tend to do the hometown players a solid (a la David West in New Orleans). If that’s the case, it would be the first time the Mavs have had two players in the All-Star Game since 2007, when Josh Howard was chosen by the coaches.