Tuesday, December 29, 2009

What Is A Valuable Player?

First of all, with victories over Cleveland and Denver, the Mavericks gave me everything I wanted for Christmas. I love my guys. :-D

It's interesting, though. If you tuned in on Sunday looking for an epic duel between two top ten scorers and MVP canadites, I do apologize. The 'Melo versus Dirk matchup could be in the dictionary under 'anticlimax,' both performing under their scoring averages.

Carmelo Anthony: 16 points, 5-19 for 26% FGP, 12 rebounds (5 offensive), 4 assists
Averages: 30 points, 47% FGP, 6.4 rebounds (2.1 offensive), 3.3 assists

Dirk Nowitzki: 13 points, 6-15 for 40% FGP, 11 rebounds (zero offensive), 2 assists
Averages: 25.5 points, 48.5% FGP, 8.1 rebounds (0.9 offensive), 2.6 assists

Last week, Chauncey Billups went down with a strained groin muscle, and as of Sunday the Nuggets were 1-3 without him. Situation for Denver; at home, second night of a back-to-back for the Mavericks, the go-to guy not putting up his usual numbers. This should have been an opportunity for Anthony to rally the Nuggets around him, settling his teammates down when the Mavericks went on runs, kibitzing with Billups and Coach Karl on how to stop the Dallas centers -- Drew and Damp lit up Nene and the Birdman like cigarettes -- not letting his frustration getting the better of him when the calls weren't going Denver's way. A chance to set his seal on the Nuggets, to announce to the world that Billups might call the plays but he is their heart and spirit and best hope for excellence.

Instead, Anthony played faces with the refs, failed to inspire his teammates into performing above and beyond, spent key stretches of the game on the bench in foul trouble, and finally got himself disqualified in the fourth after knocking Josh Howard off his feet. Anthony got pissed and added some arm-action to body-ing up Josh. (BTW, JR Smith's foul on Jason Terry in the third was a flagrant.)

In short, because Anthony couldn't control his temper he was not on the floor to help the Nuggets capitalize on several late mistakes by the Mavericks and take back control of the game. At the risk of being called a homer, Carmelo Anthony does not mean a tenth so much to the Nuggets as Dirk does to the Mavericks (or Kobe does to the Lakers, LeBron to the Cavaliers, Nash to the Suns, etc). In the last six games Denver has demonstrated who their leader is, and 'Melo ain't it. He does not belong in the MVP discussion, I don't care where his averages are.

I'll go even further. Here's Billups's postgame thoughts:

"I thought we fought hard at different spurts at the game, but we didn’t fight very smart," Billups said. "So much of this game, especially when you are playing against good teams, is being smart, not making the same mistakes over and over again during the course of the game. Knowing what they are going to do throughout the game and try to take certain things away. We just didn’t do a very good job of that."

I'm going to do a little guesswork and give you a prediction. Denver is an passionate, yet immature bunch of guys who require a certain amount of management to be most effective. That manager has just publicly called them morons. Now if I'm a hypercompetative fourteen year old boy, how do I take that? Billups hasn't lost the team, but I think their confidence in him's gonna take a hit.

The Nuggets will finish in the top eight, of course -- they're too talented not to. But they have very little depth and might be coming to a crisis of leadership. MavsMonkey says . . . upper-four seed, out in the second round.
-BJ

Friday, December 25, 2009

Let The Record Reflect

I was not dreaming of a white Christmas.

For analysis of the first 29 games this season, the Good King of Numbers David Lord is on the case.

When it comes to the Mavericks, our two biggest weaknesses are the same as they usually are; unreliable depth at the center position (with apologies to Dampier who's playing like an All-Star and fuck you NBA for not putting him on the ballot), and no pure scoring shooting guard. Jason Terry's shooting slump has gone from being annoying to being downright terrifying and JJ Barea's tragically undersized with all the problems that go along with that. Howard's coming off the bench in what I think is Coach's attempt at carrot-and-stick (and might be on the verge of blowing up in the team's face).

So, a center and a good two guard. Too bad that's what everybody else needs too. Price is determined by demand, and good God there's a lot of demand.

Some other general notes --

- If Rasheed Wallace isn't careful he's going to get a free sick day, courtesy of the league. After sixteen technical fouls a player is automatically suspended for one game. Look, I appreciate passion, outspokeness, and a certain amount of chutzpah in people. But a player that can't play is no good to me. Situation in the playoffs couple years ago; yes I would've loved watching Dirk coldcock that asshole-that-walks-like-a-man into the floor. Which would've earned him an ejection and a suspension during a playoff series the Mavericks were still thinking they could win. Learn when to put your pride in your pocket.

- I hereby waive my right to bitch any more than necessary about injuries. Why? Look at Portland. Greg Odem is out for the season (again) with a fractured kneecap, and in the game with the Mavericks on Tuesday their other center, Joel Przybilla, went down with a ruptured patella tendon. Don't look too close at his knee if you're queasy about joint injuries. On top of that, their leader, floor general, and all-around good egg Brandon Roy's got a sprained shoulder. And yet-- they're in the playoff picture and are playing their guts out.

- So much for our hope that the Lakers would hit the wall when they started hitting the road. The word came down that Pau Gasol's signed a 3 year extension to his contract. Motherfucker.

- Good God, teams can fall fast. From taking the Celtics to a damned exciting seven games in the first round last postseason, the Bulls have lost to the Nets, watched helplessly as Lebron danced on their grave (as he was digging it), and blew a home game earlier this week to the Sacremento Kings. How big of a lead? Wellll . . . put on your protective eyewear. The Kings were down by 35 points before Tyreke Evans went Nova. I think the bronze of His Holiness The Jordan retched when nobody was looking. Hasn't happened yet, but Coach Del Negro's got a barbeque waiting to grill his ass. Incidentaly, Del Harris -- friend of the Mavs and basektball priest -- was an advisor and assistant to Del Negro last year when the Bulls were going above and beyond. He's not there now; he's in New Jersey trying to save their souls. No Del Harris = trip to Basketball Hell. Coincidence?

- Christmas presents from the league this year include Miami at New York (meh), Phoenix hosting the LA junior varsity squad (Sideshow Bob shudder), and Denver at Portland (Roy and Billups probably not playing) on ESPN. Stocking stuffers. But look at what's under the tree (on ABC) -- Los Angeles hosts Cleveland and Boston goes to Orlando. Should be fun.

- By the way, open presents Christmas morning, not Christmas eve. Bloody savage.

Merry Christmas and have a joyous and blessed New Year. :-D
-BJ

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Phew!

Word around the knitting circle is Nowitzki has avoided an infection and is a game-time decision for tonight against the Trailblazers.

Bear in mind -- I adore Dirk, love watching him play, and want him back soonest. But. In my judgement, he should sit this one out. The next game isn't until Saturday against Memphis. The extra three days of letting the wound sit easy will help. Also, I'm not okay with even the slightest chance of anything ripping, tearing, or splitting back open -- the odds of which are quite high if he takes contact with that arm.

And in the final wash, a victory or a loss against the Blazers is just a checkmark. Memphis -- along with San Antonio, Houston, and New Orleans -- is another story because they're in our division. Divisional record is a tiebreaker in determining playoff seeding. I like being second in the conference. The #2 seed is one we can work with.

So, Coach, Mr. Smith. Spike his Gatorade and lock him in a spare office. Better yet, let me do it. ;-)
-BJ

Monday, December 21, 2009

Out Of The Frying Pan And Into The Smelting Furnace

The Imps of Injury aren't done with us yet.

Game against Houston on Friday night. Whilst contesting a shot, Carl Landry and Dirk Nowitzki collided. Dirk's arm slammed into Landry's mouth. The impact punched Landry's incisors through his mouth guard and broke them off in Dirk's arm just below the elbow. Landry lost five teeth and went to the hospital to have his mouth rebuilt. Dirk dashed back to the locker room after splitting free throws. He sat out on Saturday's game versus Cleveland.

Tim Thomas got the call to start at power forward. You show me anybody who seriously though Dallas would win this one, I'll show you a good liar. Everybody wrote this one off. Tactical retreat -- Cleveland's not in our division, nobody's going to blame the guys for losing to LeBron and Company without Dirk.

Um . . . yeah. LeBron might be the best player in the league, heir apparent to His Holiness The Jordan, and well on the road to becoming A Global Brand (his words, not mine). On Sunday night, he wasn't good enough -- 25 points, 9-23 shooting. And he couldn't make his team good enough -- three rebounds, six assists, two turnovers, zero clutch plays.

I couldn't watch this game because I had to be in McKinney. All I caught was the last ninety seconds. The enduring image is Shawn Marion driving to the basket, and Anderson Varejao hitting the deck at Marion's feet doing his best impersonation of a speed bump. Marion hopped up and over Varejao's body, put the ball in the basket, and landed neatly on the floor on Varejao's other side. Love it.

Mavericks, with cunning, cuteness, slump-busting (team should throw a Welcome Back party for Jason Terry's jump shot), good team defense, and a little bit of luck, kicked the shit out of the Cleveland Cavaliers. And we did it without our big guy.

Basketbawful's taking his usual potshots at Dirk's physical toughness. I enjoy his blog and I value his opinions . . . but BTFU. A bite wound is not the same as cutting yourself while peeling an apple in bed, particularly when the doctor spends half an hour fishing around making sure there aren't any other toothy bits embedded in the tissue. The biggest concern isn't the actual trauma; it's infection.

If he had to, Dirk would play through anything. His will over pain is beyond question. The Mavericks do not want, and cannot afford, having the big guy in the hospital dealing with a case of septic shock. Remember NYPD Blue? Bobby Simone dying because of an infection he got from a knife cut? That's not bullshit, and bites are dirtier.

Right now Dirk's on painkillers and a shitload of antibiotics and has probably been instructed not to move his arm around much. If he fucks with it it won't heal right, and that's his shooting arm.

The Cloudy Crystal Ball says he'll probably sit out Tuesday's game against Portland and be back (knock on wood) on Saturday.

Not saying it yet. Still too much we don't know.

But--

How can a Mavs fan be anything but optimistic after last night?

Check back with me the morning of January 4th. That's after an Away game at Denver on December 27th, another game in Houston, and an Away game against the (presumably) Gasol-centered Lakers.
-BJ

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Crickets, A Ribbit Here And There

I was watching the game against the Heat last night. Know what struck me most? Wasn't Dampier playing like some sort of deep sea fangly fish, wasn't D-Wade straining his back trying to carry his team (okay, fair cop, Dirk always strikes me).

What struck me was how empty American Airlines Arena was. The box lists attendence at 18,703. That, my friends, is a damn lie. If actual asses-in-chairs attendence was over twelve thousand, I will eat my nightie.

There are things I don't like about Mark Cuban. He's an arrogant, melodramatic, loudmouthed schnook -- just can't trust a man who likes pro wrestling. What his organization has done, though, for going on ten years, is put butts in the seats. Even with a promotion-shy star, even existing in the same catch-basin as the Dallas Cowboys, the Mavericks do a good job of filling the house. Mr. Cuban's said that if he had to, he'd drive through town hollering on a megaphone if that's what it took to sell tickets.

By contrast, Miami -- and Jake's told me the situation's similar in Orlando -- has two of the most famous players in pro sports in Dewayne Wade and Dwight Howard. They're both entertaining from a layperson's standpoint; plenty of panache and slamming around. So why hasn't their individual celebrity translated into sold-out arenas? I mean, don't those fans know how bloody lucky they are?

The question-within-a-question, I guess, would be why aren't those organizations making their citizens aware of how lucky they are. And if they're trying, what's not working? We live in a capitalist society; everything's gotta generate profit for somebody.
-BJ

Monday, December 7, 2009

Reality Checks Are In

And they are bouncing.

Defensively, this edition of the Mavericks are an improvement over previous issues. Offensively . . . it's not gone well. In the last two games Dallas has not shot the ball over 40%. It's chiseled on the tombstone of almost every single Dallas team -- We Took Too Many Jumpshots. Especially the game against the Grizzlies, who are near the bottom of the league in defensive execution. And who, by the way, are in our division. Divisional record's a tiebreaker. That loss is gonna bite us twice.

What can we take away from our first bone fide losing streak?

Look. The reality of the situation hasn't changed. We need Josh back. Without him, and with Marion still on a sore leg, we go right back to where we were last year. I wish I knew more about what's going on with Howard (me and everybody else). The Organization's committed to him. We like him. And I'm fine with that, to a point. His production, however, is an absolute necessity and if he can't provide it, the Organization needs to find someone who can.

Are they in the process of doing so and just haven't told us? Your guess is as good as mine. The usual suspects haven't heard anything.
-BJ

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Scientifc Wild-Ass Guess Incorrect

Erick Dampier did a quickie interview with Chuck Cooperstein and Brad Davis last night after the game. Coop asked him about his absence and Dampier said that it wasn't just faintness that came over him right before the Pistons game; he had numbness in one arm.

No details on what, if anything, the doctors found. But he's been cleared medically to play.

That explains a lot, about why he was scratched literally at the last second, and why he's been out for a while. Let me tell you a story. About fifteen years ago, a figure skating pairs team were rehearshing for an exhibition tour and the gentleman -- fella by the name of Sergei Grinkov, twenty-eight years old, perfect condition -- collapsed on the ice. An autopsy revealed two blocked arteries in his heart. He was probably dead before he hit the ground. Come to find out he'd been having angina attacks for weeks, but they were misdiagnosed as a backache.

Point is, when someone says they're experiencing something that might be a heart attack, you do not fuck around.

I'd still like to know what exactly was the matter. That's my starting center; I'd really rather he not, y'know, die on me or anything. But even the remotest possibility-- the team responded appropriately. Here's hoping everything's okay, and stays that way.
-BJ

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

The Mavs M*A*S*H Unit

The injury woes continue. Erick Dampier came down with something real sudden-like before the Pistons game a couple weeks ago and is just now coming back to play limited minutes.

If the opportunity came, I'd ask if he has a family history of adult onset diabetes. Sudden feelings of faintness are a symptom of hypoglycemia and adjusting to medication or a radical change in diet could account for his extended absence. If it were food poisioning or dehydration he wouldn't've been out for so long and the press was assured after a few days that the doctors had ruled out anything health or career threatening.

That's just a guess. H1N1 was ruled out immediately but that's not the only virus that can knock you on your ass and leave you there awhile.

J-Ho's been shelved . . . again. Once again, not enough information to make judgement calls. Fisher says it was a minor ankle repair; I'd like that confirmed. Saying it was an arthroscopic surgery doesn't tell me the extent of the repairs, nor the rehab needed, nor the recovery time. Turns out there's a lot that can go wrong with ankle joints.

I don't want to believe that Josh -- after rolling on two bad legs in the playoffs last year -- would do anything to jepordize his ability to get back on the floor and play. I really don't want to believe that.

The Matrix -- after a slow start to the season, frankly, I was hoping for more -- came down onto some moron's foot at the Milwaukee game and twisted an ankle. He's back in the lineup but hurting. Tim Thomas turned in an I Am Man And You Will Fear Me game against the Rockets, but tweaked his back and sat out yesterday. Quinton Ross, our Plan B starting two guard's been in and out with back problems. And Drew Gooden sat a few games with a chest muscle injury. When will the fun ever stop?

And with all that . . . 13-5 as of December 1. Actions speak louder, so here's some good stuff:

Kris Humphries's atom smasher:


Assist #10,335, along with some other awesomeness (that T was bogus, by the way):


And . . .:


I could watch that forever.
-BJ

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Take A Firm Grip

On your heart, that is. Because if you care about anything, it's a given that your heart will be broken several times in your life.

I was expecting that, last night. I mean, first in the division and second in the conference and the opposition is a team specifically designed to shatter hearts; the reality check was in the mail. Sixty percent of the starting lineup is out for the count -- as a side note, I'm really worried about Dampier, if all it was was food poisoning or stomach flu, he'd be back in uniform by now.

I expected to have my heart torn out and ground into powder.

And it was torn out . . . but my guys picked it up, dusted it off, and gave it back.

:-D
-BJ

Monday, November 16, 2009

Hotsie Babba!

And now it's time for the news.

To the shock of nobody, Allen Iverson and the Memphis Grizzlies have parted ways. They've had a conversation and have agreed to terminate Iverson's contract. Buh-bye, Mr. Nobody Asked Anyway. Your memory is missed. Your presence will not be.

Stephen Jackson, Captain Jax, whose major claim to fame is being there when the Mavericks crash-landed in '07, has been traded to the Charlotte Bobcats for Raja Bell and Vladimir Radmanovic. Pity. I think Don Nelson as he is today -- making bad tactical decisions, unwilling to part from any organization on good terms (see Milwaukee and Dallas), alienating his players and his front office -- and Stephen Jackson -- a ball-hogging attention whore who's due $35 million in salary to be paid over the next four years (his agent must be able to sell black sausage to vegans) -- richly deserve one another.

It'd be even better if the angle Ball Don't Lie's guys have is true; that Charlotte is a way station for Jackson to beef up his stats and his ultimate destination by the deadline is Cleveland. I mean, Lebron, Shaq, and Capt. Jax on the same team? Aren't there laws? Conventions?

If there's a fanbase I do not envy in this NBA, it's the New Orleans Hornets folk. Their franchise went from the Dawn Of The New NBA to a team that might or might not even make the postseason, period. Their erstwhile Coach Of The Year's been pinked, with the GM taking over in the interum. There's a communication breakdown between Chris Paul -- you know, the poster child for tomorrow's NBA, possibly the finest point guard walking the Earth, the prime cause number one people come to see the Hornets play -- and Hornets management; the coaching change apparently came as a real blow to the boy. I'm not too fond of Paul because I think he's coming to a crisis of ego and I'd hoped he'd be a good enough man to avoid that, but he deserves a front office that appreciates what they have in him.

Now that Paul's out for at least a few weeks with a sprained ankle, the Hornets organization might learn. Then again, they probably won't.

In happier news, Dirk's got the Western Conference Player of the Week. The Eastern Conference Player of the Week is a young fella name of Brandon Jennings. Who, by the way, dropped 55 points in a game against the Warriors last week. And, by another way, plays for the Milwaukee Bucks. And guess who the Mavs are playing tonight.
-BJ

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Start of Week 4: The Fuck?

Naturally it's too early to make definitive judgement calls. I mean, this shit's just too weird:

In the East; it's not Cleveland, it's not Boston, it's not even Miami. Oh no. Number one in the Eastern Conference as of close of business 11/15/09 is . . . the Atlanta Hawks. 8-2 and have won their last four.

Huh?

In the West, it's even crazier. The Phoenix Suns, pegged by just about everybody to quietly slide out of contention this year, lead the conference at 9-2. And wherefore art the regal Lakers? In a three-way tie for third, sharing a 7-3 record with Dallas and Denver. For that matter, where's San Antonio? Not even in the picture (!) as their 4-4 puts them in ninth, behind the Oklahoma City Thunder (!!!).

No situation is static and those numbers will change as things settle down. The Spurs in particular will improve as the season goes on; they always do. What's going to happen in LA is up in air. I don't know if that Organization's got what it takes to make the three-ring circus atmosphere work to their advantage. They've done it before, true . . . but they didn't have Crazy Pills Artest to cope with then.

As to the Mavericks, I think our standing is going to drop quite a bit by midseason. Josh Howard's ankle's paining him and the Organization's taken him out indefinetely. My guess (and that's all that it is) is we'll see him again at the All-Star Break. Why? Because by then most of the back-to-back games will be out of the way. I counted 21 total, and 15 of those are before the break.
-BJ

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

The Ultimate Question Is A Joke, Guys

When it comes to fresh grist for the rumor mill, this one's a doozy. Allen "The Answer" Iverson has taken an indefinite leave of absence from the Memphis Grizzles. He's returned to his home in Atlanta to attend to a family situation (details unspecified).

Obviously I hope any family issues are resolved quickly and I hope he and his kinfolk are all okay. The vicious streak comes out whilst speculating on Iverson's future as a player in the NBA. He's signed a one-year deal for considerably less than what a former MVP should be worth, he's played 13 years, last season he was a ruinous nonfactor -- whoever on the Pistons' end signed off on the Billups-for-Iverson deal should be drug out into the street and shot -- and the general consensus is there's been, well, a failure to communicate between Iverson and Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins. Iverson still thinks of himself as a starter, Coach disagreed, Iverson got pouty, Coach got testy. Fail on both ends, gentlemen. (There's something to be said for Coach Carlisle's poker face; unrest stays behind closed doors where it belongs.)

He's given the Grizzlies no reason to miss him while he's gone and no reason to welcome him back if and when he returns. Congratulations, Mr. Iverson, you've just FUBAR'ed your NBA career. After this season, nobody's going to want to touch you. There are no suitors waiting for your agent's call, nobody's going to take you on as a mentor to an up-and-coming young team, there are no veteran squads that view you as a missing piece, there is no market so starved for attention and revenue that they'll take you for the ticket sales. You've systematically screwed up each of those scenarios over the past few years. You, sir, are just not worth it.
-BJ

Sunday, November 8, 2009

I Love It When Life Hands Me Animaniacs Riffs

All right, game last night against Toronto. More detailed analysis later, after I've had a chance to watch the vid. What's going through my mind right now is a 30 second blurb shown on one of my favorite cartoon shows as a kid.

(smooth Narrator Voice) It's time for another Good Idea, Bad Idea.

Good Idea
Double-teaming Dirk Nowitzki.

Bad Idea
Double-teaming JJ Barea.
-BJ

PS: Welcome back, Josh! We missed you.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Game 5, Dallas Mavericks visit New Orleans Hornets

Theme: Concrete Blonde, "Bloodletting"
Game Info: Baby, I'm the walking dead.

I really didn't need to see that.

One of those missed free throws at the end -- just one -- would've done it.

Instead, we come down to earth with a resounding crash. Dirk followed last night's I Am A Scoring God performance--

Well. I'm too shocked to be mad. Gimme a couple hours. Suffice it to say, even when his shot's not dropping -- and God knows it wasn't tonight -- you want him on the floor at crunch time. Instead, he was politely invited to leave the floor with two and a half minutes left in regulation.

If there's anybody who should be owed an apology for effort wasted, it's Dampier. My hand to God, he did everything short of walking on water to help the Mavericks win. Second double-double of the season, all of the Mavs' second chance points.

There's pride salve to be had in all of this, of course. Second night of a back-to-back, Chris Paul's a hard player to bottle up, et cetera et cetera et cetera. If it helps get the collective shit together, use what's needed. But that's all it is, is salve. We blew it.

Borrowing from Kay; by such achingly small things are lives made.

One free throw.

Final: 114-107, Hornets
-BJ

PS: Chris Paul's an asshole. It hasn't come totally to the fore yet, but it will. Seriously, he's a veteran player in a man's league. Why is he taking his complaints to all the refs like a kid trying to get a Yes out of Daddy when he got a No out of Mommy?

Still Enjoying The Moment . . .

The Organization put a recording of ESPN's radio broadcast of last night's fourth quarter on the website. Chuck Cooperstein and Brad Davis have the call.

Savoring the moment . . . aaaaaand . . . moment's over.

The team flew straight from the game to New Orleans last night. According to Followill they got to the hotel about 4 AM EST. I can only imagine what the wakeup calls must be like. "Okay, so what do I do if the seven foot maniac doesn't respond to a light tapping on the door?!?"
-BJ

Game 4, Dallas Mavericks host Utah Jazz

Theme: Noisuf-X, "Hit Me Hard"
Game Info: Hit me hard, hit me fast.

Let me paraphrase an actual exchange between me and Rick the A-Man (he's the fella that tallies up Kidd's assists in back of Section 113):

Me: (groaning after Dirk misses a shot)
Rick: Yeah.
Me: The boy's starting to worry me.

At the end of the third we were down by sixteen. Offensive breakdown, nobody could hit anything. I think Dirk's total by then was eleven. There goes the Longest Active +20 Streak In The NBA (if you discount the postseason, where his PPG dipped a bit during the San Antonio series). "This is what going mad feels like," I said.

Then the fourth quarter happened. It started with an and-one, and . . .

Really, Matt Moore over at Hardwood P says it best -- the boy went Nova.

I was there. I saw the whole thing.

He had eleven going in. He had 40 coming out. The 29 points scored in the interim -- most of those coming in the final seven minutes -- are a Dallas Mavericks record for points in a quarter. Seriously, this is his stat line just for that quarter:

29 points, 7-8 shooting, 14-14 free throws, 5 rebounds, 2 assists (one of those was to Kidd for his fifth wide-open three), 1 block, 1 steal, zero turnovers.

Re that exchange . . . bad me. Bad, bad me.

Final: 96-85, Mavericks
-BJ

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Games 3 and 4, Dallas Mavericks visit Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers

Theme: God Module, "The Source"
Game Info: Lakers here, Clippers here.

I did not hold a whole lotta hope for this roadie. First of all, the Lakers -- defending champions, damn near unbeatable at home. True, they didn't have Gasol; the Mavericks are still doing without Josh Howard (and will continue to do so for at least another few weeks) and Tim Thomas. Then, the Clippers -- they were 0-6 when the Mavericks visited them for the first time last year . . . Dallas handed them their first victory for the season.

So, after some scrambling to get the A/V setup squared away, I started taping on Friday night. I expected that, couple hours later, I'd just have a game I needed to tape over -- I love my guys, but I'm not so self-abusive that I want to watch losses more than once. The worst case scenario had the Mavs crawling back to Dallas in the wee hours of All Saint's Day, with a 0-3 record and glowing tushies from two Staples Center paddlings.

Not even being up at the half helped -- we were up at the half all three losses last year. The Lakers were getting a shit-ton of offensive boards, I kept waiting for Kobe to start hitting shots, the Mavs weren't shooting it terribly well, the officiating was a mite ragged (to be fair, it was in our favor at least twice).

It wasn't until the last three minutes, when the Mavs had stayed in front for two full quarters and Coach Jackson was purging the bench, that I started to taste the hope. Reaction shots from the Laker bench -- Jackson looked like he was changing a diaper. Bryant scored 20 points on 6-19, and turned it over three times. Artest demonstrated, beautifully, why taking him on was a gamble; 1-4 from the floor, missed his free throws, five fouls plus a T, four turnovers.

Given that it was past midnight when the game went final, I had to do it quietly . . . but I was ecstatic. Still am, actually.

On the other end of the spectrum, we have the Clippers. Their first-round pick is out until Thanksgiving or so with a broken kneecap and they're winless as yet. But, I learned the hard way last year never to take certain things for granted. So I accepted being late to The Church's Halloween party and stayed put in front of the TV.

Chris Kaman . . . if things wind up not working out with Drew Gooden, can we leverage his contract into getting Kaman to Dallas? He looked great on Saturday night -- tough, creative, a leader. He tried, I give him that. And the Clips were denied by our own Dampier. Wait, what? Damp was good for a double-double; 6-10 from the floor for 12 points, ten boards, three blocks and an assist. Chalk it up to Contract Year Phenomenon if you wish, but I'll take it.

All in all, an ugly game. Second night of a back-to-back for the Mavericks, fourth game in five nights for the Clippers; everybody looked a mite ragged. The Clippers staged a rally late in the third and stretching to the fourth to tie the game and keep it close. They had an opportunity, they did. Some strategic errors (why did Baron Davis only play 24 minutes?) and some good basketball from the Mavs (ten stops in a row!) killed it.

I'm very encouraged. It isn't just that we won the games; we won on the road, in a back-to-back, when we weren't shooting well and are still missing a starter. Everybody's starting to get with it defensively, meaning it's not a death sentence if Dirk and Terry aren't hitting lights out.

Final: 94-80, Mavericks!
Final: 93-84, Mavericks
-BJ

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Burning The Blindfold

(deep breath)

MAVS WIN!!! MAVS WIN!!! MAVS WIN!!! MAVS WIN!!! MAVS WIN!!! MAVS WIN!!! MAVS WIN!!! MAVS WIN!!! MAVS WIN!!! MAVS WIN!!! MAVS WIN!!! MAVS WIN!!! MAVS WIN!!! MAVS WIN!!! MAVS WIN!!! MAVS WIN!!! MAVS WIN!!! MAVS WIN!!!
-BJ

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Game 1, Dallas Mavericks host Washington Wizards

Theme: Combichrist, "Shut Up and Swallow"
Game Info: Vomit.

Murphy's Law, Squared (or The Unwritten Law of Supreme Inconvience) -- to wit, if it can go wrong, it will make a specific point of going wrong, simply to ruin your day.

The day, it is ruined.

I can sum this game up in three words; total defensive collapse. The Wizards did whatever they wanted to, whenever they wanted to do it. Three point shooting? They did that. Midrange? That too. Points in the paint? Stop before I spew. Interior defense -- Coach was a little like Canute ordering the tide to stop. Dampier was ineffective, Gooden was worse, Kris Humphries had a crack at it, the Three Jacks lineup had a try . . . bupkis.

On the offensive end, other than Dirk -- not rain nor sleet nor snow, he's like the postal service that way -- nobody was worth smeg for points. JJ had a couple of thrilling moments, Marion was decent. That's it.

This was disheartening on several levels. Flashbacks to last year's slow start, a disturbing resemblence to some low moments, realization that by the third the team had fallen back on Mavs Plan A (grab Dirk's jersey and hope he sprouts wings), dismay that maybe the upgrades we made weren't nearly as performance-enhancing as we'd hoped (yes there's a dick joke in there and yes it's delibrate). What I took away from this is simple; defense was a specific point of emphasis for everything the Organization's done since losing the Nuggets series. And this game was about as poor a defensive display as I've ever seen out of them.

Lakers on Thursday, and quite frankly, I'm terrified.

Final: 102-91, Wizards
-BJ

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

To The Advancement Of Friends

Awlright, to the folks who read this blog (take off your coats, stay awhile, watch out for the leopard pit), I have some news to pass along.

JakeN's blog, NBA on the Brain, is going website. The new digs will be partitioned off -- reality based coverage on the main page and his Real Person Fic twists given their own pages named NBA Dramatique. I recommend both. Even if he is a Spurs fan.

Here's the new link: http://www.nbaonthebrain.com/
-BJ

Monday, October 26, 2009

'Tis The Eve Of The Regular Season

And thank God for that.

As usual, the immortals on my shoulders are each making their cases. The angel on my right says we've upgraded and then some, with the addition of Shawn Marion. Drew Gooden showed some good things in the preseason. The keystone pair -- Dirk and Kidd -- took the summer off, meaning they're fresh and rested. Roadrunner Beaubois looks like he could be a contender (and one of the nice things about having Kidd is he speeds up learning curves, particularly for points).

The devil on my right isn't nearly so eloquent. His arguement against the Mavs going anywhere or doing anything this year can be summed up in two words; Josh Howard.

He's our most versitile player, our best defensive guy, and when he's on he's an All-Star, full stop. For a variety of reasons, he hasn't been on nearly enough the past couple of years. Some of it is factors beyond his control -- nobody plans on losing kinfolk or rolling an ankle -- and some of it is self-inflicted.

The situation with J-Ho is simply this; he had arthroscopic repair surgery on his injured ankle about a week after the season ended. That was six months ago. Coach Carlisle is being extremely vague about his recovery timetable, and that's starting to scare me.

The devil doesn't have to say anything else. I know the rest of the list of Things That Can Go Wrong -- (insert player name) is past it, somebody gets hurt, things just don't gel.

Things will unfold the way they will unfold. Do I think this is a championship team? I can't answer that, it's too early. Being frank, in order for that to happen, we're going to need a significant chunk of luck.

But why be glum? It's basketball season! See you tomorrow. If all goes according to plan I'll be there with E. Honda face paint and a song in my heart. Mavericks!
-BJ

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Off The Beaten Path A Bit

NBA.com is running a series of columns about offbeat places that're hosting preseason games. One of them being my own hometown, Grand Rapids, Michigan. I was up there this weekend, visiting family (couldn't stay long enough to catch the game, dammit).

Everybody's struggling, these days. In the Midwest, and in Michigan particularly, the economy's been in depression mode for almost as long as I've been alive. Grand Rapids is holding on a little better than the Detroit metro region because what's left of the furniture industry is still viable and the Van Andel Institute is getting some serious backing -- the news came down just a little while ago that MSU is basing a major research study there.

As a whole, though, it's getting so that the only people left in the region are those who can't or won't leave -- and the won't contingent is shrinking. A friend of mine is a Detroiter down to his fingernails, and even he's packed up for an extended leave of absence.

Sports are a luxury, except when they're not. Sport can make life, even for one day, worthwhile. For one day, it does not suck that you are a part of that time and place. And that matters. Here's hoping the Pistons' new owners recognize that, and are both clever and lucky.

Even with clever and lucky, I think, one by one, the major franchises are going to find a way to leave. Check back in 2020 and see who's left, in a city that was once beautiful and alive. The Paris of the Midwest.
-BJ

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

God I'm Tired Of This

According to a columnist -- the column, for reasons that pass understanding, is featured on NBA.com -- there's a difference between a "franchise player" and a "foundation player." "Franchise players" are the divine accidents, the acolytes to the holy alter upon which the names of Russell, Chamberlain, Bird, Magic, Jordan et al are enshrined. They are seething cauldrons of Manliness in a sport crammed with Men. "Foundation players" are Men, but not on the same level.

And of course and as usual, guess who's not quite Good Enough.

This man's logic escapes me. I'll grant that Chris Paul is something special . . . but in terms of the postseason his teams have gone nowhere. By this author's own rules -- players that can win, No Matter What -- Chris Paul would not qualify. Neither would Dewayne Wade -- did Miami even make it out of the first round last spring? And just to nitpick, if Kevin Garnett were truly a Franchise player by Vince Thomas's definition of the term, wouldn't he have won a title with Minnesota?

Where our Dirk is concerned, Mr. Thomas is no better than the ESPN "analysts" who only watch the Mavs when forced by contract to do so. Dirk's averages have remained otherworldly for going on ten years. How does that disqualify him from Franchise status? As far as the Finals faceplants, how much blame can be totally assigned to Dirk is debateable. God knows he's never tried to duck any of it.

Mr. Thomas's column is nothing more than an NBA version of Top Gear's Cool Wall. Fun for arguing purposes and good for absolutely nothing else.
-BJ

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Preseason, Dallas Mavericks host Orlando Magic

Theme: Neuroticfish's cover, "They're Coming To Take Me Away"
Game Info: Click.

Overall, not the most auspicious debut. Field goal percentage just this side of bloody disgusting, our newest and most exciting FNG didn't play because of a calf injury, Dirk couldn't hit the broadside of a barn (to be fair, he got to the line plenty), Superman got an invitation to get the fuck out partway through the third, said invitation extended to Dampier shortly thereafter, an activity that normally takes a couple of hours took nearly three due to 62 (!) total fouls, and because of a miscommunication between me and a DART guy I missed my train and didn't get home until after midnight.

Welcome to exhibition basketball.

And tomorrow the debate begins -- which hurts more? Getting kicked in the Gortats or pounded in the Bass?

Final: 110-105, Magic
-BJ

Sunday, October 4, 2009

The Dallas Mavericks and Sponsors Present Fan Jam 2009!

After a week of getting their asses kicked in training camp, the Mavericks presented themselves for a Blue-White scrimmage in front of a few thousand of their fans. I missed a connection and got there just as they were announced. Smeg.

It wasn't like last year. There were more people, for one thing -- the lower bowl was mostly full. According to the AAC, the headcount was right around 7700. The guys did some stretching while the TronCam focused on individuals by turn. Everybody looks good -- tanned, fit, rested, ready. I'll admit, though, I could've lived without a closeup of Nathan Jawai's armpit. Tim Thomas and J-Ho were there, but didn't participate in scrimmage. They're both rehabbing from surgery. JJ did participate and looked pretty damn good. Instead of drill demonstrations and a *very* abbreviated scrimmage, the players warmed up, did a quick layup drill, and went straight to game time. By the way, I'd give a kidney to play Doom on that JumboTron.

Coach Carlisle greeted everyone and introduced the coaching and team support staff to applause. He passed the mic over to Jet Terry, who went through the player introductions. Cheerfully coaxing a hearty round of boos aimed at (who else?) the Spurs, mangling Roddy Beaubois's name, labelling JJ "the whitest Puerto Rican I know," and likening the unshorn Dirk to Hulk Hogan. It a few years, Jason Terry's going to make some sports show very happy. He's got a good voice, great presence, and a lovely knack for the work.

Of the FNGs, Shawn Marion got the loudest applause. The Dallas sports media, who -- let's face it -- have to drag personality bits out of Dirk with pliers, are ecstatic. He's a fun guy. Don't know how much credence to lend rumors of douchbaggery with former teams. As a Maverick, he gets rave reviews from everybody. And during scrimmage . . . if this is a preview of coming attractions, getting Marion was the smartest decision the Organization's made in a long time. It's early days, but I'm hopeful.

The news came down last week that Humble Billy Haynes, the Mavericks' arena announcer for donkey's years, has left his post because of an illness in the family. It's going to punch a hole in game time fun. How big that hole's going to be remains to be seen, but if the fill-in fella's an indication, it's going to be an abyss. It's a little awkward to chant DE-fense when you're not really rooting for or against anybody. (I was still recovering from screaming through the Metallica concert last Tuesday; I should have my voice back in time for the preseason opener.)

Scrimmage was two ten-minute halves, with a two-minute interval between. And right away, the Kidd led Blues took a lead based on some aerial work from Marion and a Matt Carroll three. Coach is calling for some slack to get cut Carroll's way -- midseason trade, no chance to get a working rythum going, etc. Okay, slack can be cut, but there's still the matter of too many men on too small a roster.

Roddy B's got legs. Looooong legs. And like the song says, he knows how to use them. There's a lot of promise there. Few beanheaded moves I could see, but hell, he's young yet. In Prof. Kidd's Point Guard Grad School, he should come along quickly. Quickly enough? Well . . . that's a dice roll. He's a roadrunner, though. Faster than hell.

The quest for a quality big man meanders onward, through. Damp and Gooden are scrapping for starter's rights and priviledges. The word around the campfire is they've hit it off interpersonal-wise, which is good news. One hopes for a good season from the two of them.

All in all, everybody had fun. I was laughing the whole way through. It's such a delight to see my guys after months away. The only disappointment was, at the buzzer the score was a dead tie, 42-all. Would two minutes OT have been so much to ask? I mean really . . .
-BJ

Monday, September 21, 2009

Procrastination Is Bad, Must Quit

I'd make a lousy reporter. By the time I got to the arena the presser was already wrapped. I spent most of my time wandering around the arena. Could I afford a season package in seats that'll fit my happy fat ass (I can't), does my new toy work to specifications (it does), are the new vid screens the schiznit (they are), what's up with the new alternate unis (the P.Diddy typeface, number on upper left, color is about a shade lighter than powder blue, I approve). Got tickets to the preseason game with Cleveland -- tee-riff, watch LeBron and Shaquille sit for forty-eight minutes -- so I could take my mom out to a game.

It happened though. As I was walking out of the upper bowl, satisfied with the successful field test of my new digital camera, a shiver went up through me. Not quite yet . . . but the time is coming round.

Soon.
-BJ

Let The Basketball Year Begin, Already!

Good morning, hepcats and cool kitties! Sorry I haven't been around much the last few weeks; I've been preoccupied.

Today, I go to meet The Matrix. Well, not really, but close. The Organization's holding an introductory press conference for our three FNGs -- Beaubois, Marion, Thomas -- that's open to the public. Cross-purposed to selling more season passes, naturally, with the AAC open until seven tonight.

With my spandy-new digital camera, I'm there.
-BJ

Thursday, September 3, 2009

The Scary Call

The news just came down a couple hours ago -- Dirk's ex is not expecting. A test conducted on August 31 by the State of Missouri -- she's been extradited and sentenced there for probation violation -- came up "HCG negative." HCG is the hormone produced by the placenta and shows up in a pregnant woman's urine.

The specific circumstances surrounding what's been going on, we of the uninvolved and shamefully curious are never going to know for sure. Miscarriage? Possible. A false positive tripped by long-term birth control? Less likely, but possible.

The most likely scenario, of course, is Ms. Taylor lied through her teeth about the whole damn thing. I think there's going to be some held breaths until January or so, but that's pretty much where the scenario ends, if you're a Mavs fan.
-BJ

PS: Retraction and apology from the Huffington Post? I wouldn't bet on it.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Not Even The Suitcase From Fargo

Few days ago, a deal was signed that made it official -- Ricky Rubio won't be in the league this year. The contract with his Euroleague team had a buyout clause the Timberwolves were not able to meet.

Who, pray tell, is the idiot that told him to declare for the draft with the possibility that he wouldn't be able to come? I don't get it, frankly. Rubio was -- is -- a hot prospect, but what would've been the harm in him playing another year or two in the Euroleagues? Now everybody involved looks like a pack of morons and there's always the possibility he'll get hurt and never play a second in the NBA.

Minnesota retains his player rights and the contract with FC Barcelona has an escape clause that becomes active in 2011. I wonder . . . is there a way the Mavs could get in on that?

Pie in the sky, but it's a thought to dream on.
-BJ

Monday, August 31, 2009

Question Of The Day

Saw this as a sidebar when I read that Ricky Rubio's spending the next two years in the Euroleagues. I'll get to that in another entry.

Here is the Question of the Day; Are stories about a player's struggles with emotional and/or substance issues news?

Answer: Yes.

Because substance abuse issues directly impact a player's performance, and a player's performance is always news. I don't assign addicts any moral stigma -- I've got family that're in recovery. However, athletes with drug and alcohol problems have a duty -- to their organizations, coaches, teammates, fans, family, friends, and selves -- to seek help for their illness, to treat it by whatever means necessary, to recognize that recovery is a lifetime process (addiction never goes away), to recognize signs of a relapse, and to repeat all of the above when relapses happen. The same goes for emotional problems. An athlete is responsible for keeping him/herself functioning at the highest possible level. That's their job.

Yes, I'm looking at you, Josh Hamilton.
-BJ

Sunday, August 30, 2009

I'm Guessing They Rock-Paper-Scissors

Fresh grist for the rumor mill; Fisher knows a guy who says the Warriors and the Mavericks are talking business. Several of the Warriors -- including Captain Jack his ownself -- have gone public with a desire to be Elsewhere and the front office is looking to downsize payroll. Which the Mavericks can help them do.

I think Stephen Jackson's a dick, to be honest. But he's a dick I'd want on my side. Trouble is his contract is a vat of sick with a basketball floating in it -- four years, $36 million. Monta Ellis is also wishing for a Get Out Of San Francisco Bay Free card, he can probably be had for reasonable, and his stats aren't bad.

When everything the Mavs have been doing this offseason has been about having plus eating, how willing is the Organization to take long-term deals? Last year's talent acquisition . . . didn't go well. To put it mildly, the state of affairs these days is rather more uncertain, in every imaginable respect.
-BJ

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Go You (gulp!) Lions!

Why is Iverson still unemployed?

If you've read Kitchen Confidential, you know the answer to that. In production-driven environments, one can get away with being unpleasant, rude, crude, filthy, psychotic, possibly homicidal . . . if and only if you can bring something to the table no one else can. Allen Iverson is Adam Real Last Name Unknown if Adam ever lost the power to make the magic bread. I might be reading this wrong, but in a system that made him pay for behaving like an asshole, he blew away like a bad fart smell.

Football season tuning up. Don't really give a shit. Bracing for unwelcome Cowboys overload in the coming months. I am not a Cowboys fan and watching them fuck up last year was a source of amusement, bemusement, and exasperation. By the way, the guy that called into the radio show comparing Tony Romo to Dirk Nowitzki should've had his talking priviledges revoked.

In other news, Nowitzki and Barea will not be playing for their respective national teams this summer -- Dirk because he promised Mr. Cuban that if Germany made the Olympics last year he'd take this year off, JJ because he hasn't recovered enough from an operation on his shoulder right after the season ended. My first loyalty is to the Mavericks, so cutting down any injury risk is a good thing. It still sucks they're not able to play.

About ten more weeks . . .
-BJ

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Beat The Check To The Bank

For those who do business mostly by debit cards and don't remember when delays in bank processing worked as much in your favor as for the banks', let me explain:

In the days of yore, when one wrote a paper check, one could count on a delay of at least one full business day before the funds were actually subtracted from your balance. This is because checks had to be physically shipped to a processing center, have the information on them encoded by a data entry person, and go through a special machine. Meaning, you could write a check to pay your phone bill at AT&T's office on Thursday, make a deposit on Friday, and the odds were in your favor the check wouldn't bounce. These days, with Check 21 making electronic presentment legal, a check can clear the same day it's written. You can still try and play the game, but the window of opportunity is much smaller -- for the record no bank I know of honors postdated checks, the check is legal the day it clears, not the day you dated it.

The breaking news of the day is the Organization et al are pulling another Sign And Trade Holy Shit with Drew Gooden's contract. The details are still being researched by the Good King Of Numbers over on DallasBasketball (David Lord, folks, let's give him a hand). The figures we all of the great unwashed were given said Gooden was signed for most of the MLE -- about four and a half miles. Which is what it is and that's what'll be reported for cap purposes.

But . . . there's a window, from December 15 to January 10, when the Mavs can trade him, the receiving team can waive him, and a grand total of $5.725 million falls off their books. If I'm reading it right (and I'm not saying I am, cap rules confuse me), all the Mavs would be out in such a scenario is $1.9 million.

What this means is, between Greg Buckner (similar situation, his contract becomes guaranteed in November), Drew Gooden, and Erick Dampier (next summer), the Mavs are finding a way to create a little player-mobility wiggle room while still forking over almost $82 millions in payroll.

In other news, the schedule for the regular season was released last week.

Whelt, it's official, sports fans, the Mavs are no longer media darlings. No ABC Sunday matinees this year. Understandable, but it sucks. We've got back-to-backs coming out the wazoo, with twenty in all. Season opener is against the Wizards at home, first road game is against the Lakers. The Nuggets aren't coming to town until the end of March -- I've got a bullwhip saved just for them. And the Spurs are in town for the regular season finale.

Is the offseason over yet?
-BJ

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Saying Goodbye

Up until recently, a traditional center was a necessity for a Western Conference team because most of the traditional centers played in the West. With Yao out for the duration and Shaq in Cleveland fucking up their way of life, has the Organization rethought that?

I ask because word's come down that Minnesota's made young Mr. Hollins an offer that the Mavs have no interest in matching -- capped with a Best Wishes tweet from The Boss.

I'm unsure of the wisdom of letting go an athletic young center who plays his guts out -- you will always have a soft spot in my heart for posterizing Timmy Duncan, man. On the other hand, I see a rationale -- young Mr. Hollins is practically an infant in NBA terms and he's going to cost time and money more efficiently utilitzed elsewhere.

All that's by the way. Fare well, Ryan Hollins, and go in peace.
-BJ

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

New Guy Number Two

Drew Gooden is coming to Dallas.

Add a dash of Katherine Hepburn to this sentence; and that's to be the savior of my Mavericks.

I see a couple of potential problems. First has to do with, for lack of a better word, player-taming. Word around the coffee pot is he's got no discipline and is a wee bit of a knucklehead. The teams he's been on haven't seemed motivated to keep him. Second has to do with position. Gooden's a rebounder, but not a banger. Can he realistically back up Dampier, or supplant him as starter?

Not enthusiastic. A news bit on DB.com has me wondering who's screwing who here.

For a little pick-me-up, the good folks at Basketball Reference have picked their All-Decade team for the Years Zero. It's a team I'd trust against the Forces of Evil, no problem. Guess who starts at forward alongside Tim Duncan?

Hint: It ain't Garnett.
-BJ

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

News Flash!

According to TMZ, they've got cameraphone video of The Dunk That Never Happened -- a high school kid attending a skills camp dunking on The Baby James. According to rumor, shortly after it went down, Lebron called over a guy and next thing you know all the reporters onsite were asked to turn over any video recordings.

Dear Person Who Authorized The Confiscation,

I'll be blunt. Where are your brains, in your ass?

Do you have any idea the positive press you could have gotten from this? Offhand, I can think of three or four different ways this could've turned out to be manna from Heaven as far as James's personal image goes. He could've embraced the kid and called him brother. He could've offered the kid's folks courtside seats for the next season. At the very least, he could've gotten a lot of positive mileage just by shaking his hand and congratulating him on a lucky shot.

Instead, you did something that drips with superdickery. On top of walking away from the handshake at the conference finals, it adds up to make Lebron James -- the poster boy for tomorrow's NBA -- look like a dick. And if it was you, sir, who asked the reporters to do this, you are a dick.

You idiot.
-BJ

Let's Be Real Here

Odom's going back to LA. You know it. I know it. Ceiling Cat knows it. Basement Cat (secretly a Lakers fan) knows it. This is an arguement over the NBA equivalent of a sawbuck; surely somebody with common sense will put it back on a strictly business level. Nice to dream. Never gonna happen.

I hate the offseason. Is it October yet?
-BJ

PS: Hi Angry Trey! :-D

Monday, July 13, 2009

You Gotta Be Fuckin' Kidding Me!!!!!

According to the man's agent, the Orlando Magic have matched the Mavericks' offer to Marcin Gortat. Putting them over the salary cap, flushing any chance of making any moves next offseason, overfilling their team with oversized players (and screwing Brandon Bass back onto the bench like as not). And by the way, fucking us out of a near as make no nevermind essential upgrade.

Fuck(8*10^3)!

Well let's hope Messrs. Cuban and Nelson have another miracle up their sleeves. Is there anyone else in free agency right now that'll work for midlevel money and can play decent Big-Ass Center?
-BJ

Friday, July 10, 2009

J . . . K . . . L . . . M . . . Mate. Matrix.

Okay, so we're saying goodbye to Wright, George, and Stackhouse. Bass too, probably, because his position's been filled and he's looking for more minutes and money anyway. (UPDATE: Confirmed, the Magic have made him an offer, 4 years, $18 million.) Between them, some pretty good ballplayers, with yards of heart and guts.

That's what we're losing (so far). What're we gaining?

It's the talk of the town (behind the Rangers looking better than they have any right to). Shawn Marion, called The Matrix for reasons that pass understanding, is coming to Dallas.

Paraphrasing Bugs Bunny; "I don't even know what a Matrix is. I'd better find out more about 'em."

Shawn Marion
Birthdate: May 7, 1978
Height/Weight: 6'7", 230 lbs
Position: Forward
Seasons in league: 10, first round draft pick (#9, Phoenix) in 1999
Career averages:
17.8 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.8 steals, 1.3 blocks, on an average of 37.6 minutes per game (regular season)
Assorted honors and stuff: 4-time All Star, 2004 Olympic bronze medalist
Notes: Marion's spent most of his career with the Phoenix Suns. By and large he thrived there, until he grew unhappy with his compensation and asked for a trade. He was one of the players that went to the Heat when the Suns traded for Shaq in 2008. The Heat traded him to Toronto at the trade deadline earlier this year for Jermaine O'Neal and Jamario Moon. We got him in a four-team swap party that's over my head to analyze, quite frankly -- whatever, we got him.
In The Wash: Fast, tough, terrific offensive player, and somebody who can defend the league's best professional headaches. Can start as a small forward, back up Dirk as a power forward, or play power forward while Dirk plays center. In the basketball sense I like the move. However, a happy locker room is essential to this team's success. And Marion's got a history of whining if he doesn't feel appreciated.

Marcin Gortat's offer sheet has been signed, and Orlando has one week to match. Latest update from the Morning News says the big guy is hearing they might, which would throw a very large monkeywrench into the Mavs machine.
-BJ

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Give My Regards To Lake Huron

The beast is beginning its metamorphisis. I'll address acquisitions later; Jerry Stackhouse is going to Memphis, and Antoine Wright and Devean George are going to Toronto.

Fare well gentlemen. And we thank you.
-BJ

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

We've Gone Through The Rehersal Dinner . . .

Nothing's final until Wendsday. According to the league, nothing goes on paper until July 8. Marriages aren't final until the preacher says I pronounce you, divorces aren't final until the judge signs the decree, and contracts aren't final until they're signed and witnessed.

So for now, it's understood that Jason Kidd has accepted the Organization's offer of a three-year contract, all three years guaranteed.

Phew! It can be argued that the intangibles we gain by having Kidd on the team do not compensate for the tangibles we lose . . . but who would we get as a replacement? Nash's unfeasible, Chris Paul's not going anywhere, Magic's out of conditioning, and Marovich is dead.

And what about the big Pole? Well first of all, the dirty joke was not (entirely) delibrate. Secondly, according to the numbers, he's an upgrade over Dampier, considerably younger, and quite a bit cheaper. I like him already.

Dampier's situation next season's going to be worth keeping track of. The concept of "contract year phenomenon" might've been coined with him in mind, and his is up next year. So, knowing that he is probably going to be more valuable gone than here, does he play his brains out to prove his worth and thus get a new contract, or does he go from being a guy who vanishes at bad times to a flat-out liability?
-BJ

Thursday, July 2, 2009

HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!

That's an exact quote.

Crazy Pills his ownself, Ron Artest, says he's going to LA . . . and it's not to go to Disneyland. According to him, he's going to talk to the Lakers about a deal.

I'm evil for hoping he goes postal next season if this happens, aren't I?
-BJ

Personnel Schtick

Avery Johnson coaching in Detroit? Now that's funny.

Midnight Tuesday night (EST) kicked off free agency. Now comes the fun part, if you're really into financial hypermathematics and lots of rumor sifting.

The latter, sure. The former, not so much. So let's go rumor-diving.

- The Boss was in New York Tuesday night. Camped out on Jason Kidd's front doorstep, one hopes. Resigning Kidd is Prime Cause No. 1 this offseason. Everything depends on which way he jumps. If he's of the purely mercenary persuasion, Dallas has the edge. If his ambitions lie in other directions, we have a problem. (Update: New York's talking a multi-year deal; no concrete offers have been made.)

- Oh, the problem of the Bass. He's free now, the league knows he's a big tough guy who can give you solid minutes. Looking at the characteristics of the classic power forward, he suits all the way down. We can offer him up to the mid-level exception amount and still have the exception itself to work with. Is that going to be enough? Word around the campfire is he wasn't thrilled with being a sometime bench guy the way he was this past season.

- Rasheed Wallace as a Mav? Tempting . . .

- There's been a major climate change in the Chicken Fried State -- Yao Ming's broken foot isn't healing. Rumor has it the MDs might insist he take a season off. The horrifying words "career ending" are floating around. Houston minus Ming and with a perpetually injured Tracy McGrady . . . suddenly Ron Artest is back in the bank. And the Mavs want.

- According to the Morning News, the Mavs have made an offer to Marcin Gortat. He played for Orlando last season, backing up Dwight Howard. In a game where Howard didn't play, Gortat managed 11 points and 15 boards. Assuming he's starter material this would fill any Dampier-shaped holes left by a trade. However, the Magic have the opportunity to match the offer and Howard's gotta sit down sometime. (UPDATE: Fisher says he's onto something interesting there, involving multiteam swaps, getting Gortat, and keeping the MLE. Something to keep an eye on.)

That's all the news I got right this second. I'll check back later. Happy 4th and have a good weekend.
-BJ

Friday, June 26, 2009

Commish Looks Like A Guy Who Hangs Out In Front Of Schools Wearing A Trenchcoat

I was flipping channels yesterday evening and tuned it to ESPN to check up on the Tigers. All else was back-burnered, though; draft coverage.

It's a lot more interesting than I though it would be. Clippers get the No. 1, a former Sooner named Blake Griffin. If he is who I think he is, he's the Really Really Big Man from a Texas-OU game I caught one afternoon, and the Clips are lucky, lucky bastards (they will fuck it up, here's hoping the guy survives). Rubio went to the Timberwolves. Or did he? From what I understand, there's a massive financial fuckarow needs clearing up before he can come to the NBA.

What we got was another BJ, who magically transformed into a Frenchman the Mavs have had their eye on for a while now named Rodrigue Beaubois, a fella that spent a year in the Euroleagues named Nick Calathes, and a power forward named Ahmad Nivins. Aforementioned BJ went to the Thunder.

Beaubois has a standing invite to the preseason and so far as I know that's all. I'm all for adding another point guard to the mix so long as we have Jason Kidd. JJ Barea's development's been speeded up by years just by virtue of having Kidd as the head of the Dallas Graduate School of Basketball. Here's hoping the young man has anything like JJ's work ethic. The Word is the other two are going to be put on ice.

I hate agreeing with Jean Jacques Taylor, but I nod at his headline. None of these guys address any of the Mavs' specific Now needs -- a better inside guy, all-around defensive upgrades, another scorer. I have to remind myself that one doesn't get those things straight out of the draft and it's up to the Organization to get those things through free agency. It's hard to stay patient at the news of the trades going on just lately -- Shaq to the Cavaliers, Carter to the Magic . . . somebody asked the Nets' GM what the reaction was to losing Vince Carter, and I flashed to a scene of an office full of men in suits singing "ding-dong, the witch is dead, the mean old witch, the wicked witch . . ."

And by the way, if Kidd goes to the Cavaliers, I think I will stab myself in the throat.
-BJ

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Drafty, Isn't It?

If you detect a marked lack of enthusiasm for the Thrilling Climax Of Our Basketball Year, you're a perceptive sort. Superman and Co sacrificed on the alter of Laker dominance, arguements in MavsLand about whether the 'choker' label will stick to Dwight Howard the way it continues to stick to Dirk (it won't), whining about how history would've been different if the Organization had pulled the trigger on a trade discussed a couple years ago which would've netted us Kobe but lost us Dirk

For the record. Yeah right, you're going to take a top ten player with no ego, put him in the organization that can get anybody for anything, and into a stable run by Phil Jackson -- the guy who somehow convinced Scottie Pippin to live in Jordan's shadow. We'd be in the entertaining but losing position of putting up with Bryant's bullshit while watching Dirk win a ring with another team. And maize is so not his color. I'm just saying.

On our end, what do the Mavs need? Well . . . little bits of everything, really. The most glaring need I can see is an upgrade at starting center -- now I like Dampier, and I'm sure he's a helluva nice guy, but the Mavs have lost an awful lot of games because of weakness inside. Damp's basketball IQ isn't great, his hands aren't great, his defensive skills are good but not great. We have Ryan Hollins, and I hope we hang onto him through next year, but in NBA terms he's practically an infant.

Point guard is going to become an issue. Jason Kidd's not going anywhere for the simple reason the Mavs can throw the most money at him. For the short term, I'm okay with that. JJ can handle the backup duties, plus I'm-faster-than-you swingman. In the long term, the team needs to have someone lined up for the post-Kidd years. I'm one of the ones who's sold on the potential wow factor of Ricky Rubio. Sadly, we're not getting him. At least not this year, she said with a dreamy look in her eyes.

On top of that, we need a two-guard. Preferably one who can play defense. I love Jason Terry down to his knee socks, but his D is not a reason why.

Draft night tonight, and if I told you I've fathomed the thinking and strategies of our Head Babies In Charge, I'd be lying.

Peace.
-BJ

Friday, June 19, 2009

Cue Up The Combichrist

Raise a few of the refreshing beverage of your choice, MFsFL. The .50 Cal, UberMan, our Dirk, turns 31 today.

(raises bottle)

Happy days, a satisfied mind, and may you never suffer another strain sprain break pull ouchie ever in your life.

(drink!)
-BJ

Breathing Again

I've had a month to cool off. Surely I can approach the subject rationally now.

Now that the (bloop) have won the championship, the basketball world takes a deep breath and enters the regeneration phase -- re-evaluating established talent, bringing in the FNGs, copping feels around the wallet region. The fans -- the ones who find aforementioned talent eval, new guy bringing, and cash feeling-up-ing boring -- are left to their own devices.

Everybody's got their preferred coping mechanism. An alternate obsession helps. Mine's Top Gear. I'm not sure why. Though I will say the thought of Shaq trying to fold himself into the world's smallest car is worth a chuckle. (And that's literally what he would have to do.) That'll hold me until October, when the season gets rolling again. I hope. Ignore the glimmer of tears in my eyes as football season starts, the tremble to my hands as I watch snippets of pick-up games, or the touch of mania to the cussing I toss at the engorged SUV flying the (bloop) colors.
-BJ

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Oooh, New Toys!

We got a D-League! We got a D-League!

The news came down the pike this morning -- there's a D-League franchise opening up in Frisco! Already home to the AirHogs of AAA baseball and the Tornado of whatever the NHL call their minor leagues.

Ahh, a less expensive way to get your basketball on. Nothing but a good thing.
-BJ

Sunday, May 10, 2009

@#*^&$*!!!!!!!!!

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Saturday, May 9, 2009

Who Invited Marilyn Manson?

If you own a copy of Golden Age of Grotesque, take a second and cue up Para-Noir.

So if you follow the Mavs or read the local papers, you've heard there was a fracus at Casa Nowitzki that ended with an arrest. The accused is a lady name of Cristal Taylor, Dirk's girlfriend and intended.

The Morning News, which loves sports scandal more than just about anything, is on it. Drooling.

My sympathies lie with Dirk-- hold it a second, it's not because of that. My housemate and best friend happened across a con artist and professional bastard some years back. By the time the dust settled, I no longer had a best friend (last I knew she'd moved back with her kin in Chicago). Long story, buy me many drinks and I'll detail. Benefit of the doubt tends to go to the folks who've had the bad luck to draw jokers when they Go Fish for mates. Show me proof of bastard behavior on his part and believe me, I'll be first in line at the stoning party. No such proof has been offered and I doubt like hell any exists.

I think the final wash rinses out something like this. The best case scenario is Ms. Taylor is a woman with a checkered past whose major sins when it comes to Dirk are lies of omission. Those are fatally easy when you care about someone and know that saying something's going to hurt them. The worst-case scenario, and of course it's the one the news is shining up and holding out for everyone to look at, is Dirk's former POSSLQ is a con artist whose mark got wise before rings changed hands.

For the sake of his peace of mind, I hope it's best case. And for everyone's sake, please dear Jesus she's not pregnant by him. That elevates a particularly gross relationship crash to the kind of stuff that ruins lives.
-BJ

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

NBA Playoffs, Round One: #3 San Antonio Spurs versus #6 Dallas Mavericks#

Soundtrack: Led Zeppelin, "Rock'n'Roll"

The enemy has been met and destroyed.

We did it!
-BJ

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

First Round Thoughts

First of all, whoever in Detroit signed off on the Billups-Iverson trade should present themselves to the true-blue Pistons fans and humbly beg to commit seppuku.

The fans should refuse and drown them in Lake St. Clair.

Secondly, I really thought the Jazz were the best canadites in the Conference to make the Lakers have to work for their first round. Sadly, that did not happen. The league is dry-chafing its collective erection, trying not to make a mess before the NBA Finals Starring LeBron James and Kobe Bryant gets rolling.

Thirdly, I'm not at all happy that the Hornets got dismembered by the Nuggets. Not really. Those Nuggets are probably going to be facing my Mavs in the conference semis. I disagree with M. Moore's assertion that Chris Paul's going to get cut slack for this, though. This was supposed to be the year the Hornets swept out the Old Order of Suns, Mavs, and Spurs, leading the Western Conference to a happy place. Instead, led by CP3, they faceplanted. Fail.

I feel sorry for New Orleans, though, for the same reason my heart cries for Detroit. The mental and fiscal health of a major metro area is tied to sport. The respective failures of the Pistons and the Hornets drains hope and hard coin from cities that badly need both.

And finally, a little closer to home . . .

I'm not going to jinx it. I'm not. Suffice it to say, playoff time at the AAC is crazy. And no wonder Tim Duncan overacts fouls; when he's not overacting, he looks insane.
-BJ

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Just In Time For The Playoffs . . . Kinda

Ahh . . . home internets!

No, I did not bail through the second half of the season then come back on board when the Mavs started to be worth a damn. And I got the ticket stubs to prove it, bitches.

So we're leading the series 3-1. I'm calling this as a Mavs in six -- I do not think the Spurs will allow themselves to be humiliated on their own floor -- with the confidence of having history on my side. However, the Mavs have been on the wrong side of the numbers before. Examples to cite are numerous and painful.

In one way, we're lucking out. Dirk's scoring is being effectively neutralized by San Antonio's defense and Jason Terry's (Sixth Man of the Motherfucking Year!!! congratulations Mr. Terry!) slumping . . . and we're winning anyway. Because other than the awesomeness that is Tony Parker and the Big Fundamental, the Spurs don't have much.

That's not going to be true going forward. I take nothing away from Josh Howard's might and majesty when I say he's not going to be enough as the Mavs try to make a serious push.
-BJ

Friday, April 24, 2009

Oh That's What A Total Meltdown Looks Like

Coach Popovich: Have mercy!
Mavs Nation: Um . . . nope.

-BJ

Monday, April 20, 2009

Hol-ee Shit

Yep, I'm still alive. Improbable as it seems.

Postseason = made. Fifty wins in nine straight years = done. Everybody healthy = more or less.

Playoff win on the road = mission accomplished.
-BJ

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Drive-By Update

Hey guys.

Nope, I’m not dead. I’m not employed yet, either.

Thankfully, I’ve got a roommate that is working, so I have the luxury of a place to stay and reliable transportation. Dear Economy; you do not scare me. I grew up in a state that’s been in a perpetual recession since 1987. This too shall pass.

But anyway. Thumbnail update on my guys.

After some truly disgusting losses – I haven’t even looked at Basketbawful’s take on the Thunder game, and I have no intention of ever doing so, ever – The Boss comes out with some choice words. And the Mavs responded. Ho boy, they responded. My heart lay panting on the floor for most of the game.

One hopes the effect sticks. The leadership corps of the team has had choice words regarding effort and heart throughout this season. It’s got to be different when it comes from the guy who signs the paychecks. Because if that’s not enough of a fire under the balls, I have a hard time imagining what would work. A rebuke from God? Please it doesn’t come to that.

Hornets tonight. Kick ass, boys.
-BJ

Friday, January 23, 2009

On Temporary Hiatus

In the parking lot of the Tom Thumb on Greenville and Lover's Lane, almost exactly a week ago, I put time on my cell. I called up my voicemail and there was a message from work.

My current assignment has ended. For the nonce, I'm out of a job.

Internet time these days is via public access only. That access must be used to find another job.

So Basketball for Beginners will be going on a temporary hiatus, until the work situation is sorted. I'm still there for my Mavs, still loving the game, still cussing out the Basketball Gods in every language I can think of.

Catch y'all on the flip-flop,
-BJ

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

From The Bucktails To The CO

Up until recently, whenever the question "Why isn't Gerald Green getting playing time?" came up, I'd look at the record and answer, "Because when he was getting playing time we weren't winning games. Next question."

As usual, Mike Fisher is forcing me to re-evaluate.

We had been winning ballgames with G-Money (that's the officially sanctioned locker room name, he nicked it from his little brother) vacuum-sealed. However, way back at the beginning of December I was noticing the trend of playing down to the wire in very winnable games. The encouraging trends -- JJ finally shutting up the doubters, roleplayers like Jimz showing they can step up when called upon to do so -- have been outweighed by the discouraging ones -- Josh Howard's inconsistency, the fact that Kidd cannot be counted on as a scoring threat, Dirk and Jet's shooting slumps, none of the potential 2-starters making a strong case for their candidacy.

What I think is happening, with G-Money's instance being a symptom of a general problem, is that Coach's constant rotation tinkering is starting to backfire. Green's defensive weaknesses and low basketball IQ are well-documented. However, his screw-ups aren't any more or less glaring than those of the other players not named Nowitzki, Terry, or Kidd. It's tempting to rely upon guys like Devean George because they're "defensive minded," because they can be relied upon to do their jobs without hot-dogging, heat checks, impromptu bullshit shot creation, because they're known factors that don't fuck with the master plan. Fine, I get it. With this team that is a recipe for disaster. The veteran roleplayers are simply not that mighty.

Which brings us back to our Mr. Green. To his credit, he's behaving like a professional, putting in the time, saying the right things. Unless he was benched for reasons the Organization hasn't disclosed to the public -- health reasons, he needs an attitude adjustment, he didn't refill the coffee pot, whatever -- it might be time to pull him out of the space bag, fluff him up, and throw him back on the couch.

And what if that really is the problem, Coach's rotation tinkering causing locker room unrest that's manifesting itself in games?

Ah, yes. Well.

(mumbles a quick prayer to God for forgiveness, amen)

That one is on Dirk.

Mike Fisher's metaphor for last season's ongoing meltdown was the movie, "The Caine Mutiny." I haven't seen the movie . . . but I've read the original novel. Here's a user review from Amazon.com:

"I recently read quite a few online reviews, and they reflect a much more contemporary viewpoint -- the original context of the novel is lost in time. One reviewer thought the mood and point of the book were 'Faschistic'; others concluded that the point was 'it's okay to buck the system.' I was reminded of a colleague on the faculty at West Point who was teaching a cadet elective in psychology of abnormal behavior who used a clip of Bogart's performance on the stand at the court-martial as an example of disordered paranoid ideation. Sometimes I wonder what book all these people read!

"This is a novel of war, seen through the eyes of a nonprofessional officer of incisive intelligence, one both inside and outside the Navy system and possessed of ability to look beyond the moment. Many readers (or movie fans) somehow completely miss the story's central issue and the critical turn of plot. Captain Queeg was not crazy; he was overwhelmed by the burdens of command, but would probably have muddled through if his officers had managed to put aside petulant resentment and work to compensate for the captain's flaws. Instead, they put a combat vessel out of action during a critical period in the Pacific campaign."
-Ltc Timothy R. O'Neill


If that is what happened -- if Avery Johnson's eventual crash and burn was because of Dirk's actions as team captain and platoon leader -- then that's a big black mark (yellow stain?) on Dirk. And if it's happening again -- Dirk undermining Coach Carlisle's authority, consciously or unconsciously, deliberately or inadvertently -- somebody please call Mr. Geschwinder and have him kick Dirk's ass.

However, I do not think that's what's happened then, and I don't think it's happening now. Avery Johnson shot himself in the nads just fine; he didn't need help aiming. For the nonce, the players have to trust that Coach knows what he's doing. You don't have to like your boss. To do your best work, you do have to trust and believe in them. Fostering that trust and belief is in the team leader's job description. It's in Dirk's job description.

There are two things I wish I knew for facts. One is the look on Dirk's face when he answered Sports Illustrated's question about whether or not any of the Mavs had bothered to learn German ("Nothing except geshunteit"). The other is who called the players-only practise the day after Game 4 last year . . . and who showed up for it.

For the record. This is the bullshitting of a fan who doesn't want to believe her team is getting legitimately outplayed. Take your grain of iodized salt and I'll see you at the AAC tomorrow. The Hornets are in town. I'll be waving the colors.
-BJ

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Game 36, Dallas Mavericks visit Phoenix Suns

Theme: Stromkern, "Melt"
Game Info: Just another fantasy, let it slip away

Stabbing my eyes out.

Swallowing a grenade.

Driving home to throw myself off the Mackinac Bridge.

I think I'm going to get busy forgetting this game ever happened. Grieve for the death of an illusion.

As constructed, based on the performace so far this season, this group of men is not capable of postseason success, much less a title.

Instead . . . moops.

Final: 128-100, Suns
-BJ

Game 35, Dallas Mavericks host New York Knicks

Theme: The distant screams of about ten thousand fans.
Game Info: Clickity.

Halfway through the first, the audio in the AAC quit. No Humble, no Chris Arnold, no Ally D, no chant-guides (it's funny how you're a little lost without Humble Billy Hayes hollering in your ear), no amplified swish to let everyone know the shot dropped. The Drumline did what they could to provide us a backbeat. By the way, if you're going to a Mavs game and can afford lower bowl seats, get them as close to the back rows of Section 112 as you can. The Drumline alone is worth ticket price.

The audio's not the only thing that needed some jury-rigging.

- I went home mad from this one. Why? Because these are the Knicks. The marquee Defense Later team in the league . . . and they somehow managed to hold Dirk to ten points (only three field goals for God's sake!) and Jet Terry to ten points.

- However, I saw on the Morning News that Dirk's fighting a headcold. If it's the same virus I caught over Christmas, that explains a lot.

- It became clear fairly early that it was going to be another one of those nights. The charge that the Mavs don't move well without the ball is a fair cop just lately.

- Rebounding. Rebounding, rebounding, rebounding. Good things happen when you get greedy with the ball.

- I don't know if it's a referee blind spot when it comes to the Mavs or if it's bad decisions on Dallas's part, but why is it whenever the Mavs commit a foul it's almost always "in the act of shooting" but when we get fouled it isn't?

- Wright stuff! Antoine got the start and comported himself as a man. 13 points, two assists, and a steal. Coach's demands for the starting shooting guard slot are not extreme (I get the feeling he's downchecked his expectations somewhat); keep the spot warm for Terry and sub in for Jet when he needs a breather.

- Devean George, DNP. After the boneheaded Mega-Mario appearance in the Clips game (0.8 seconds of play time, committed one foul which resulted in four enemy points), all I can say is thank God and pass the Cheetos.

- There's the Bass we know and love. He was taking it in, getting fouled, making his free throws (mostly), rebounding, and blocking. He's the only Mav with double-digit boards this game. Also a couple of steals. Please say this is a harbinger and not a fluke.

- Interesting shakeup. Dampier came out with a couple of fouls in the second, and instead of getting spelled by Diop like he usually is, Singleton came in as the sub. I saw a couple of bad moves on Jimz's part, but by and large he did his duty. Coach going with a forward-center? Or another wake-up call for our 'Gana?

- J-Ho continues to tease. After kind of being there in the first half, he came alive in the second. Nineteen points, four boards, three assists, three steals. I wish I knew why he's being so inconsistent. I want to like Josh, I really do. There's a lot riding on him being able to get those twenty points and eight rebounds per night, every night. He can't restrict his superheroics to nights when Dirk is either out or present-but-not-there.

In The Wash: Like I said, I came away mad from this one. Because of what I saw as a lack of effort on the defensive end -- lots of uncontested shots. Reading DB.com and the Morning News, though, makes me wish I could get the video and rewatch it without a section full of lunatics at my side. Accepting that Dirk and Jet only combined for twenty points and we won anyway . . . I mean, that's not a bad thing. Right? Especially when I saw the Knicks stick a couple guys on Dirk like a set of bookends.

We can chalk this up to a Trust Your Defense win. When the other team struggles making shots, they start doing stupid shit. San Antonio's made that their raison d'etre; keep making it hard to score points and with not-as-good teams, their will dies.

Note the qualifier -- not-as-good teams. We're fresh out of those on the schedule. Other than a trip to Sacramento on Sunday, the next week's grueling. Phoenix tomorrow, then a nasty back-to-back in Denver against the Nuggets then straight back home against the Hornets. The Western Conference playoff picture boils down to the Lakers . . . and eight other teams. Right now Phoenix is the odd one out. I don't count on that lasting.

Final: 99-94, Mavericks
-BJ

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Game 34, Dallas Mavericks host Los Angeles Clippers

Theme: The shitty Satisfaction song
Game Info: Hurt me, oh please kill me, so I don't have to hear, Satisfaction

I really can't turn my back on you guys for a minute.

In The Wash: There's two ways you can look at this game. One is of course we're going to have a rough time of it when Jet only scores in single digits. Bad hair day, so to speak. The other is that the starters decided to use defense as a time to slack off and catch their breaths.

I'm tending towards the latter. Mostly because of a possession in the fourth -- I think the guys were expecting a whistle -- the Clips brought it up totally uncontested and laid it in, part of a second and third which saw them come from fifteen behind to five or six ahead. The extreme example of what went on for most of the game; the Clips pulling together like pros (and half their roster is out with injuries!) and the Mavs only waking up for the last three minutes or so.

Letting up on defense because one is winded is a Big Basketball No-No. One asks the coach to put in a sub so's one can come out for a rest.

Which suggests to me two thing, both terrifying. One, the starters (and yes, Dirk is Prime Cause Number One here) have developed some very bad habits, and two, our Bench Guys Other Than Jason Terry are not up to the challenge of making sure the starters can get the rest they need. Dirk was under the assumption that his minutes would drop somewhat this season (thirty per was the figure quoted). Hasn't been happening. Not going to happen.

Oh well. Thank God, that's the last game we've got with the Clips and they can continue their business of wrecking on the nearest reef. Thursday the Knicks are in town, and then the guys hit the road to Phoenix, Sacramento, and Denver. After Denver they fly straight home and take on the Hornets for the first time this season, have a couple days off, then the Jazz come to town. We've also got our first meet-and-greets with the Celtics, the Pistons, and the Heat in January (all Away games too). I think by the beginning of February we'll have a clear idea of what we are. Early indications are not promising.

As a nice birthday present to me, could you guys see fit to beat the everloving snot out of the Warriors? (makes big seal eyes)

Final: 107-102, Mavericks
-BJ

Monday, January 5, 2009

Game 33, Dallas Mavericks visit Memphis Grizzlies

Theme: Bash and Pop, "Making Me Sick"
Game Info: Disturbing my repression

I had to follow this game piecemeal, splitting time between the library's Internet access terminals and feeding my mother. The library closed at five, it's the fourth quarter and I think all's well because we're only down a few and look how the guys've been doing in fourth quarters lately.

Ten minutes later I get aboveground and turn the radio on.

I can't turn my back on you boys for a minute, can I?

- Explain to me how we only scored 14 in the fourth quarter. Use small words, please, my basketball IQ is still a work in progress.

- Well there goes the triple-double threat. Jason Kidd's knuckleball's quit dropping.

- I. Am. Not. Going. To. Bitch. About. The. Refs. So there!

- Good thing; Dirk scored 28 points. Bad thing; 22 of those were in the first half. Dude!

- Defensive breakdown. Dampier got into early foul trouble and Diop couldn't cope. Okay, so Donnie Nelson gets to answer for that one too. Diop's not playing up to par and hasn't been all season long. And don't get me started about Devean George.

- Seeking a reliable shooting guard. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

- Will the real Josh Howard -- the slasher, the rebounder, the bad mother who fears nothing -- please stand up?

- We're the number one rebounding team in the league right now! Honest! How in the name of all that is holy and a lot that isn't did we get outrebounded by the fucking Grizzlies?!?!?

- OJ Mayo. Marc Gasol. May you slam into the rookie wall hard enough to shatter your skulls like eggshells. Seriously.

In The Wash: Slow starts have been an issue for several weeks now, and it's starting to catch up with us. The question is why are we starting slow? Where is the breakdown in effort occuring? I refuse to accept it's due to a lack of talent; I don't buy it. Why aren't the Mavs playing with any greed?

One of two things has to happen, and soon. Either one of the bench guys who've been tapped for shooting guard stakes out that starting spot and hangs on, or the Organization makes a trade for someone who can. The way Brandon Bass has been playing, he's trade bait. So are most of the other roleplayers -- Wright, Jimz, Williams, et al. Jet's playing really really well and would be an attractive trade piece, but who could we get for him?

For that matter, the Kidd deal is still unfolding. His contract is up this year. If Dallas doesn't make noises about extending it . . . I don't like to think any player would do this, but this is a guy with a history of front-office based temper tantrums. He pulls that kind of shit, I hope Dirk and Jet's good nature doesn't preclude some wall-to-wall counseling.

Bitter? Irrational? Abso-fuckin-lutely.

Final: 102-82, Grizzlies
-BJ