Game 26, Dallas Mavericks visit Washington Wizards

Theme: Grendel, "Void Malign"
Game Info: Use da Force, dumbass

After the truly ugly gang-rape in Jersey (Garden State my ass!), a trip to the capital was just what the boys needed. To be fair, the Wiz made it a fight almost down to the wire. The folks in the arena got their money's worth as far as the game goes.

- I don't want to have to get ugly, gentlemen, so let's work on those long-range shots. 'Kay?

- Free-throws attempted by Wizards -- 25. Free-throws attempted by Mavs -- 14. Haven't seen the video so I'm not going to scream "home cooking," I'm-not-I'm-not-I'm-not.

- Well there goes the Triple-Double Threat. Our Mr. Kidd was zero-for-seven, a big fucking donut-hole for seven. On the other hand, I'm not going to say No to four rebounds and eleven assists.

- Antawan Jamison. Actually worth a damn. On this team, any road.

- No we did not hurt Arenas on purpose.

- The end of the game we've got our Three Jacks And A Pair lineup -- the three-point-guard setup of Kidd, Barea, and Terry, with an interchangeable couple of bigish guys. According to Cooperstein, Jason Kidd was able to read the Wizards well enough to catch them in panic-mode in crunch time, so the Mavs kept throwing alley-oops. Dirk was out for a few minutes that just kept going.

- Josh Howard's back, but not really sure of his place in the lineup. The team managed all right in his absence, even learned some shit that'll come in handy later. Josh's adaptability is now what's really in question. Can he accept any variation in his role, either increased or decreased? He'd better. We need him. Or what we can get for him.

- James Singleton is now Jimz. Just so you know.

In The Wash: Another game that's closer than I'd like. On the other hand, the guys got a Win after a truly unmanning loss. So yay. Meantime they're back home on Tuesday for a layover at the AAC before hitting Portland for Christmas. Which I'm here to tell you, if you're a kid, that blows. My heart goes out to the Kidd littleuns, Jet's girls, and the rest of the Mavs kids. It fucking sucks to have your kin away on Christmas for something so meaningless as work.

Final: 97-86, Mavericks
-BJ

Game 23, Dallas Mavericks host Denver Nuggets

Theme: Pink Floyd, "Is There Anybody Out There?"
Game Info: Is there anybody out there?

Quiet arena? Don't hang it on me, I was doing my part. To the point of embarassment. Hey, you try doing your face while in a moving car/in a parked car/on board a light rail train.

- How bad did we need this. Denver is second in the conference, playing like a team possessed since they got rid of Iverson. In retrospect, that's looking like a what-were-you-assholes-thinking? move on Detroit's part.

- Okay, can we declare the Viva Barea! period over? I am not slighting JJ. God no. But he's not a Plan A when he's competently defended (no one is). And Denver did that. He served up nine assists, so he knows what to do when that happens. The rest of the team? Not so much.

- Oh shit, Kidd's no longer money from the arc. We've got a problem.

- Back off, Carmelo. It's not anybody's fault yo mama named you for a dessert topping.

- I'm really trying not to play the Blind And Brain Damaged Ref card when it comes to the Mavs. I really am. But it's hard when the Nugs decide their best way to defend Dirk is by putting him in a half-nelson.

- And while we're at it, I could really learn to dislike the Nuggets. I don't remember who it was (I should start bringing a notebook), but on offense, I saw the guy with the ball hook a foot at JJ's ankle. It didn't connect, but if JJ had been about half a step closer he would've tripped.

- What has me mad is this game was winnable. The Nuggets had a stretch late in the game where they weren't shooting for shit. The Mavs could have, and should have, beaten them bloody. They didn't.

- I. Still. Don't. Understand. Why. Devean. George. Is. Getting. Playing. Time.

- Welcome back, J-Ho! We missed you! Just . . . please don't go 1-5 and expect me to not cry. I'll accept that its because you're on restricted minutes and you need time to get back in rhythm. For now.

- We only scored how many points in the paint?!?!?

- Due diligence from the big guy; 27 points and 10 rebounds. A solid night's work from Jason Terry; 19 points. Not enough.

- Richard Carlisle, quote machine; "We couldn't hit a bull in the ass with a bass fiddle. When you're not guarding them and not making shots, you're going to suck." Thank you, Captain Obvious. Extra points for both alliteration and assonance in a single statement.

In The Wash: Well that's it for the homestand. Thank God; I don't think my heart could take much more of this. We did what we were supposed to do; got back to a winning record, officially we're in the playoff picture. We even managed to beat a contending team, nuking Phoenix into the Dark Ages.

However, that doesn't feel true to my heart. On the checklist of Things To Do was a victory that definitively says the Mavs can play with the superheros. And we didn't do that. One can dismiss the Phoenix game as a victory over a team that's busy coming apart at the seams. It took two overtimes for San Antonio to do it, but they kicked our butts. And the Nuggets didn't even need that. Coach waved the white and emptied the bench in the last minute of play.

In perfect frankness I will say that I am not as hopeful for this team as I once was.

Final: 98-88, Nuggets
-BJ

Game 22, Dallas Mavericks host Oklahoma City Thunder

Theme: Shiny Toy Guns, "Le Disko"
Game Info: Hello little boys little toys

Argh! The sad sacks of the NBA; why were they allowed to lead for three fucking quarters?!? Why were they not beaten to within an inch of their lives? Guys . . .

- We won all right. Took some moderate to serious heroics from certain parties to do it though.

- The Viva Barea! period's lost a little of the shine. Only six points, but five assists. DLord, aka The Good King of Numbers, runs down some stats and concludes that JJ isn't nearly the defensive liability one would think. To be honest, the math behind Efficiency Ratings is over my head. I'm going to have to reread The Arbitrarian's columns over at HP, this time with a couple of Algebra and Statistics texts close to hand.

- Dampier had four free throws in the first quarter and bricked all four. It's getting so I'm covering my eyes whenever Damp or Diop go to the line. Please don't make me hate you, guys. I don't like hating you.

- For Four-String, I sing from Sgt. Pepper -- It's getting better all the time . . .

- Seats for Soldiers was cool. The courtside lower bowl seats were all full of vets, either wounded in combat or currently on active duty. The really nifty thing? The Organization extended the invitation to some servicepeople from Oklahoma City, so the Thunder got to play for their guys too.

- Kevin Durant has either climbed over the rookie wall or he got cut a break from the Basketball Gods at the expense of my Mavs (again).

- The Thunder aren't on pace for Worst Record Ever, Durant and Jeff Green look like they're comers, and to be completely fair it's not like the expectations are high for them this year. I think they'll finish the year . . . well under .500 but with a base to build upon. I feel most sorry for Seattle basketball fans. It's not their fault their franchise got shipped out of town via Pony Express.

- We got outrebounded again. Considering the schedule and considering the lack of consistent hustle (God I hate that word!) I'm worried.

- We need J-Ho back. Sooner, not later. I don't know if he was present last night. Given his tasteless remarks regarding the anthem over the summer, his absence wouldn't've been a shock. I hope he was present though, hat off, head down, mouth shut, ready to take whatever disrespect the soldiers had to give.

- Our Jet decided to turn it loose. 28 points, six assists. Hold onto me, pretty baby, if you wanna fly . . .

In The Wash: Oh yeah, Dirk. Well he got a hero's exit from the game in the fourth, with 39 points to tie his season high so far. Given how everyone else looked, I didn't think he'd be out long. Sure enough the Thunder, to their credit, refused to die. So back he came about twenty seconds later. Poor guy, operating under the delusion that he'd only have to play thirty minutes per. The Mavericks, where Hop On Dirk And Hang On happens.

He took thirty shots, and I am perfectly okay with that. His line from the game looks a little something like this:

46 points. 17-30 shooting, including 2-4 three-point shots. 10-10 free-throws. 8 rebounds. 4 assists. 2 blocked shots.

You spell that M-V-P, guys.

Final: 103-99, Mavericks
-BJ

Game 21, Dallas Mavericks host Charlotte Bobcats

Theme: The Aristocats OST, "Everybody Wants To Be A Cat"
Game Info: 'Cause everybody wants to be a cat

Maybe it's because of the slugfest with San Antone or the guys are getting too settled into a routine with being home for a long stretch . . . but is it possible to get pissed off when you win? Because I'm . . . well I wouldn't say pissed off, but I'm not happy.

- The Bobc--ts aren't quite the sad sacks of the NBA, but this is the same team upon whom the Mavs opened a keg of whupazz about a month ago. On top of that, they were shorthanded. A major trade with the Phoenix Suns was announced yesterday and the players traded were not available (the trades weren't final).

- Dirk did a lot of the heavy lifting again, on admittedly subpar 9-21 shooting. I think that's double double 10 so far this season; 23 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists.

- JJ got another start, but that concept is bumping up against its limitations. He was only 3-7 from the floor. Not exactly an offensive ball of fire. Now I'm not hating on the guy. He's earned his stripes. But he needs to come off the bench, either as a Kidd Alternate or swingman spark plug. And he's the first one to say so.

- Outrebounded? By Charlotte? Guys!

- Leave aside Coach's ranting about how the 'Cats are the hardest working team in the league. A cynic -- and I am one -- might think the Mavs were trying to coast through the game. Bad idea.

- Kidd's shooting percentages have fallen off a bit. Not good.

- All credit to Emeka Okafor for putting the screws on Dirk. Die in your sleep you bastard.

- Come back, J-Ho! Come back!

- Still not moved to hysterics over Devean George. Still not entirely sure why he's getting the start. I'll have to dig into the boxscores, but I think Shawne Williams has made better use of his minutes. Or we could've switched Dirk over to the three and started Bass (who had a fairly decent game). Come on, we've stretched so far as to have three points on the floor at once; is Dirk as a small forward really so great a leap?

- Desagana Diop. Time for Coach to use some coachly magic.

- Gerald Green, working on his fourth or fifth DNP-CD. See above and square it.

- The Mavs Dancers are fucking beautiful. Just FYI.

In The Wash: Dirk's said it a couple of times already; we're not good enough to coast. With anyone. No mercy fucks, gentlemen. I know The Win is all that matters . . . but why are these teams -- Clips, Hawks, Bobcats etc, being allowed to leave the Metroplex with their dignity intact? Quoth My Lord, "Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of their women." Take the opportunity; break them over your knees.

On the other hand, this is December. Time for fine-tuning, procedural evolution, et cetera et cetera et cetera. The goals here are two; rack up wins and don't get injured.

And as to the absurd idea that the team's playing better without Josh Howard? Look, you don't not miss twenty points and eight rebounds per. If one takes the lineups over the last few games as indicators, the best we've got for backup at small forward is . . . Devean George. Oh dear.

Well the Thunder is in town on Saturday, who actually are the sad sacks of the league right now. It's also Seats for Soldiers night, when floor seat season ticket holders donate their seats to wounded veterans. Should be a nifty night. I'll be there with the Stars'n'Stripes on my cheek. After, the Nuggets visit for the last game of this at-home stretch. They've been playing very decently since they traded Iverson for Billups. As of this morning they're second in the conference. Should be fun.

Final: 95-90, Mavericks
-BJ

Game 19, Dallas Mavericks host Atlanta Hawks

Theme: Victor/Victoria, "Crazy World"
Game Info: I love this . . . crazy world

I'm with Coach. This is a Win, against a Hawks team that's sucking much less than it should . . . but the second half could be taken as a tissue sample of everything that's wrong with the Mavs so far this season.

- Outscored by how much in the fourth? Nervous breakdown imminent.

- Another start from JJ, more hardcore hero shit. That layup in the fourth? Fucking awesome. I hereby take back every bad thing I said about the man's mightiness. He's earned the right to be taken seriously by the fanbase, after a season of being called a pet rock and worse. What's nice is he plugs some critical holes in Jason Kidd's game; what's less nice is he's guardable.

- Memo to Dirk; Take More Shots! I trust you! Coach trusts you. The guys trust you. Take more shots!

- This goes back to what everyone calls -- for lack of a better word -- mental toughness. Our Mavs have a bad habit of not responding to fourth-quarter crunch. Part of this is on Nowitzki; so far this year his fourth-quarter production isn't what it should be. Nobody knows this better than the man himself; that should improve.

- The folks that are hating on Jason Kidd . . . they've got grounds, with Devin Harris putting together an All-Star season. What they're overlooking is Jason Kidd's putting together a very respectable body of work. And they're overlooking something; we didn't trade for Kidd to get a capital-S Star. We got one of those. We got him because he makes capital-S Stars play better.

- The bench production continues to be unbe-fuckin-lieveable. However, Diop needs work. Serious work.

- Still no J-Ho. And the constant questions about when he's going to suit up again are starting to bug Coach. Carlisle basically told the press to get off Howard's back about it. Bad vibes, guys.

In The Wash: I'm sorry to be so brief. My main Internet access from work is monitored now; I can't post from the office. I procrastinated in writing this, et cetera et cetera et cetera. Once again, it wasn't as elegant as the Mavs would've liked, but we've taken care of business. It'll remain to be seen if JJ can keep up this level of play. I'm glad his folks were in town to see those games.

Second night of Yours Truly making an ass of herself. This time there was a stage involved. I got pictures; need to get them developed. That's right, until I can find a digital for cheap I'm kickin' it old school. Word.

Final: 100-98, Mavericks
-BJ

Game 17, Dallas Mavericks host Los Angeles Clippers

Theme: Covenant, "We Want Revolution"
Game Info: Constant evolution

At the time, I was bloody ecstatic. Came yea close to blowing my voice out whilst riding the escalator. Upon reflection though, I'm worried.

- If one looks at the first forty minutes of playing time, the Clips should've won this game. The Mavs weren't getting shit done defensively, weren't attacking the basket, and the jump shots weren't falling.

- Dirk scored 29 points . . . on 10-27 (!) shooting.

- Okay, anybody else want to ask how bad we need Josh Howard? He was in civvies last night. According to the Morning News, his ankle swelled up on him on Tuesday morning and the team's opting to give it time. I'm crossing my fingers for Thursday.

- Maybe it's because I don't know what to look for, but I still fail to see why Devean George is getting the playing time that he's getting.

- I spent most of the second half in a state of nervous collapse. The Clips were outshooting us and beating us on rebounds. I hate booing, but gentlemen, you had it coming. Guys!

- I haven't seen the Golden State series (don't want to, can't make me!), but just by what I was seeing Baron Davis's reputation as a chronic pain in the Mavs' collective ass is deserved. Fucker.

- According to the Morning News, as a Plan Z the Mavs went to zone in the fourth quarter. They also played probably the smallest lineup possible -- Kidd at the point, JJ, Jet, Dirk, and Bass. Hey, it worked. The Clips went dry for the last three minutes.

- And then, thank you God, the threes started landing. Jet started with the bacon-salvation with four minutes left. 26 points on 9-17 shooting, plus three boards and three assists.

- The rest of the bench not too shabby, neither. Bass had a great night, and JJ . . . I hereby repent every time the words "pet rock" crossed my mind over the preseason. Read on.

- So we're down by one, having clawed our way back after three quarters of truly disgusting basketball. Down by fifteen, to the fucking Clippers! Clips take a timeout and the folks break out the flags. We in the audience who had stuck it out (and let me admit this, I was tempted to leave) were getting ready to go nuts.

- It's down to the final minute. Eric Gordon missed a jumper, Kidd came away with the rebound. And he passed it to . . . JJ. Our JJ. My heart shivered as JJ caught, set, and shot. OhmyGodnowayhe'sgonnamakeit-- BINGO!!! Up by two!

- Clips take a shortie, Kidd steals the ball, gets it to Dirk who misses the three. My heart stopped as Al Thornton got the rebound and the Clips moved it up the floor. Terry fouled and the Clips took it out of bounds with six seconds left. Three point shot would've won the game. Baron Davis jacked it . . . and it bounced off the rim. They tried for the second-chance field goal. No good. Dirk grabbed the ball and the clock turned red. Game over! Cue manlovish pig-pile and fans yelling all the way home.

In The Wash: I'm terribly worried by a lot of what I saw. The Mavs are, like it or not, a team the lives or dies by the jump shot. Jump shots are defensible, shut-downable. The Clips collapsed in the fourth quarter, and we were able to take advantage of that.

Of course that's the sober reflection. The shameless homer says, it's like the Mavs woke up in the fourth quarter said, "Hey, this is a sub-.200 team," and proceeded to swat them like flies. The Mavs can now call themselves a winning team with a straight face -- and hey, check it out, we're eighth in the conference right now. The fanbase has a reason to shout "How 'bout those Mavs!" Mainline the hope everybody. We're gonna need it.

Other lessons? We are clutch, we can play small when we need to, you won't like Dirk when he's angry, our bench is a lot deeper than the early season has indicated, Gerald Green is unfortunately not ready to be a major part of the game plan at this stage, but JJ Barea is.

Well that's in the books. Time to gear up for a more honest test of where we are as a team; the Suns are in town tomorrow. I will be representing B3 in the Rowdy Proud and Loud zone, with a pair of goggles in my hair and a flag around my shoulders.

Final: 100-98, Mavericks!
-BJ

Game 16, Dallas Mavericks visit Sacramento Kings

Theme: Metallica, "Motorbreath"
Game Info: Full speed or nothing

The NBA equivalent of two Advil and a piece of chocolate cake. Well, kinda.

- Oh fuck. Antoine Wright, who's made a decent rise in the pecking order, is out with a groin strain.

- No J-Ho. Again. He's day-to-day, but he's been D-to-D since he rolled that ankle. One of three things happening; his foot was hurt worse than the team let on and he's physically incapable of playing, his foot is better but the Mavs are being gentle with it, or he's being kept out for other nondisclosed reasons. Option one is possible, option three less so. Option two is most likely. In any event, I'm doubting him for the Clips game.

- Hack-a-Shaq only works when the hackee is crap from the line. Since none of our guys are crap from the line (with the problematic exception of Diop and please dear God Coach is working with him on that), hacking is not a real good defensive strategy against the Mavericks.

- Dirk! Jabbed the ball away, raced John Salmons for it, flipped it back to Devean George who slammed it home.

- Jet had 24 points, which puts his season-so-far average at 20.1 points per. Sixth Man of the Year, anyone?

- Okay, that downchecks Gerald Green somewhat. Coach is keeping him on a short leash. Coach Ortegel on the Mavs commentating team is at pains to point out the rationale behind that; it's a matter of the kid's poor decision-making under fire (he's more than two years younger than me, I get to call him kid). Red Bull's brain has got to catch up with the rest of him if he's going to make a difference on this team or any other.

- I hope for the sake of the Sactown fanbase the Kings're in rebuild mode. God forbid they have to watch this as a Plan A.

- Define shit job; photographer just past the baseline in a NBA game. JJ was going in for a layup, went out of bounds, and landed butt-first on one of the camera guys. And JJ's a little guy by NBA standards. I mean, you're there, doing the work, not bothering nobody, and BANG! two-hundred plus pounds of power forward lands on you.

- Garbage time; JJ tosses it to Shawne Williams, Bobby Brown knocks it off-path, James Singleton grabs it back and takes it in.

In The Wash: So we split the roadie and the boys're back in town for the next couple weeks. Best case scenario calls for a sweep before we're back out in the world. We could use one. We're at ninth place as things sit right now, and that shit just won't do. We've also got a fanbase that's in need of some serious firing up.

I would go ahead and pencil the Clips game as an automatic Win . . . but the last time I did that the Mavs got their heinies paddled.

Musical Shooting Guard continues. The players seem to be okay with it, for the time being. No rumblings from the locker room, no loaded comments to the sports guys, and if there are any dissenters they're being very careful to keep their sulking private. I wish I could get into the locker room and behind the cliches . . . never happen, of course.

Final: 101-78, Mavericks
-BJ

On An Overcast Day, Four Guys Took Their Act Up On A Roof . . .

One of my favorite Beatles songs . . . and the Mavs gleefully ripped it off for an All-Star Music Video. In the backcourt we've got Jason Kidd and Jet Terry on the ballot, and in the frontcourt we've got J-Ho and Dirk. No center, poor Dampier. Not that he'd get it anyway, with Yao Ming's 1,500,000,000 cheering section. But still.

The Organization hosted a little party at Victory Park and handed out hardcopy ballots. Punch the little holes out. 200 ballots for the first 500 people. And the reward for subverting the democratic process? Oh, nothing much . . . just a chance to get Dirk's autograph.

So Yours Truly swung by the fanshop and shelled out thirty bucks she couldn't afford for an awesome thing. Not a jersey; the damn things don't fit and I wouldn't dishonor the man's colors that way anyway.

I have got to get a digital camera. Attendance was sparse, but hell we were having fun. I love the ManiAACs; they're fun and at watching parties and so on they've always been approachable and very kind. In order to use my awesome thing properly I need a length of half-inch PVC pipe and some pull-ties, which of course I totally didn't think to get on Saturday when I was out and about. One of the ManiAACs suggested I just carry it draped over my shoulders a la the Brazil Nut way back when (long story). Win! Thank you!

I didn't realize this, but there's a balcony over the doors that lead out to AT&T Plaza, probably accessible from the Platinum level. There were some folks horsing around on some guitars and a drum kit that had been set up there -- PSA, don't sing Pink Floyd's "Run" when you can't hold the high note and don't know the lyrics, and if you don't know the lyrics, rent The Wall and put on the subtitling. Simple, neh?

So the four potential All-Stars came out post-practise and the video got done. I'm not sure who tore it up on the drums before things got rolling, but they weren't bad. You'll see my awesome thing in the back row. I'm behind it. They left out the best part though, Ringo in the back deadpanning, "Thank you very much, hope we passed the audition." Which would've been perfect, actually.

Lined up and went through the metal detector. Took a picture on behalf of the guy in front of me -- I hope it turns out, my hands were shaking. Then it was my turn.

Um, yeah. Very tall. Built like a reed. Big smile. Very courteous to everyone, even though he had to be tired. Signed the awesome thing. Shook my hand. Hands not as big as I expected, not pawlike at all. Harper's hands. Hid under my hat. Ran before I could embarass myself. You see Shaq, you know the Earth shifts in its orbit when he jumps; Dirk you have to stand beside before you get that he's a foot taller than everybody. And dude please, for the love of whatever you hold holy, grow the hair back.

So that's the first signature on the Awesome Thing. Over the course of the season, I'm planning on getting it signed by everybody I can. It's got room. I'll post pictures when I get a camera.

It's a flag, by the way. Full-size, not one of those dorky little car window things. You'll see it on TV sometime. You know, Phoenix is coming to town on December 4, which is also a Thursday . . . hmm . . . free Mavs game plus (via dogtag) cover-charge-free night at The Church? Potential win-win. Gothalicious with cheese. Can't get the image of Steve Nash in Goth gear out of my head. Blame Jake. (He'd make a good Goth, though . . . so would Dirk for that matter.)
-BJ

Game 11, Dallas Mavericks visit Charlotte Bobcats

Theme: Rob Zombie, "Superbeast"
Game Info: Ragged they come

My day yesterday included a broken bed, a long field trip out to a landfill, a flat tire that needed professional help to change (gorram garage put the nuts on too tight), a long wait in the cold I was assured Texas didn't get (lie!), a miniature nervous breakdown from my roommate and new-minted MFFL (I call her Mom) . . . and, thank you Jesus and St. Jude, a Mavs blowout.

- Sure was nice of the 'Cats to kind of show up and get their butts kicked. Mavs fans, please take note. This is what a bad team looks like. We do not look like that. God forbid we ever look like that. Not with this lineup.

- Less than half the house sold and the guys who were there estimated less than 5000 souls in the building. Yowza. Say what you want about Mark Cuban, his organization knows how to put butts in the seats.

- Fifteen-to-zilch six minutes in? I didn't say it, for fear of invoking the Stat Curse -- and the way the Bobcats were playing, the only way a Stat Curse could've materialized was with an injury. God forbid.

- Our big guns got some decent rests, for once. That'll help against Houston tonight. Last I heard the Rockets were playing without T-Mac.

- Hi Shawne! Williams with first significant playing time was solid. Only four points, but seven rebounds.

- For the second game 'Gana Diop was DNP-CD. Considering how solid we were playing, it makes you wonder if the "doghouse" thing last year, where 'Gana was pretty much buried for no reason anybody could see, didn't have some factual basis. I don't think so though; the matchups just favored a smaller lineup. Coach please tell me you're working with him on those free-throws . . .

- I'm still fretting about turnovers -- this game the ball flipped away from us 17 times. The 'Cats couldn't do shit with them, but as we've seen several times already this season that's not true of most of the teams we're going to touch blades with.

- Paul Pierce is The Truth, I won't deny that . . . but our J-Ho's a plausible story. Some really tasty work . . . but I don't like the turnovers.

- Dirk outscoring an entire starting lineup? And nailing a buzzer-beating three? All is right with the world.

In The Wash: And so we have our first winning streak of the season. I'm not so much fired up as relieved. I know it doesn't prove much, blowing out a team that is or should be in the process of rebuilding. I don't care about what it proves or doesn't prove; I care about the effect it's having on the team's morale. It's easier to perform above and beyond the call if your heart insists that good things will happen when you do.

Anyway, the roadside guy Farmer's Insurance sent out was cool, the person in whose driveway we were stuck was kind enough to offer coffee, we got home okay, and the Mavs are on their way.

Final: 100-83, Mavericks!
-BJ

Game 9, Dallas Mavericks host Orlando Magic

Theme: Beck, "Loser" (God I hate that song)
Game Info: Over here

First words coming out of the arena? "I must have a drink this instant!"

- Same shit, different day. It was like watching a babysitter try and get a kid to take their medicine; try whatever you might, make whatever noises you want, it's not going to go down. And the Mavs were minus that spoonful of sugar. (Ack! Enough with the musicals, Beej.)

- Superman? Not impressed.

- I don't understand. Or maybe I just don't want to understand. The game tends to go better when one ditches the jump shot for the last ten minutes or so and battles in for points in the paint. So why aren't we doing that? Why is it I could chill a can of Dew when the game hits about the eight-minute mark?

- This was a down-to-the-wire rip-your-heart-in-quarters type of loss. We were up by one with less than a minute to go, they'd dusted off our friend Gary Glitter and cracked out the flags for the first time this season. Then, at the last possible moment . . . Jet Terry lost the ball. Jason Kidd fouled. Got booted out of the game. Gave the Magic free-throws. Posession back to Dallas. J-Ho inbounded it . . . right back at the Magic. They were fouled again. Made another free-throw. Last possession of the game. Jet got the shot, little short-range jumper. And. It. Rimmed. Out.

In The Wash: We beat the shit out of the Magic, except in the one place it counts. This game was ours, baby, and we pissed it away with another outscored-by-ten fourth quarter.

I got no analysis here, nothing that hasn't been talked about already. Do what you have to do to snap out of this, guys. Just don't do it with your shooting hands, 'kay?

For the record, I didn't get that drink. Ice cream is cheaper.

Final: 102-100, Magic
-BJ

Game 4, Dallas Mavericks visit San Antonio Spurs

Theme: Metallica, "Creeping Death"
Game Info: So let it be written

When I saw the SA on the docket for the Mavs on Election Day, I said to myself, "Self, if [insert canadite's name] loses and the Spurs win, fuck this shit, we're hauling ass to Panama. For the End is pretty seriously Nigh."

Politics are private so never mind that. Let's focus on the game:

- Wow, I didn't realize things between the Mavs and the Spurs were that intense. Some of the blurbs TXA-21 threw up look like borderline riots. And correct me if I'm wrong on this, but aren't our Mavs normally peaceable guys?

- Ter-ree! The Jet is up as a starting two-guard and, you should pardon the expression, rose to the challenge in fine style. When Terry's on, he's a joy to watch. I'm not sure what Coach's ultimate Plan is at the shooting guard position. Jet's most valuable as a sixth man and bench riders spark plug. But damned if he didn't look tasty.

- Good grief. Duncan-face lives. I now understand why basketball guys have problems rooting for the Spurs -- a cynic (and I am one) might suspect that abuse of the rules when it comes to fouls is a calculated part of their game plan. A lot of the sports guys I follow (Matt at Hardwood Paroyxsm, Basketbawful, Mike Fisher, etc) insist that that is so; I haven't wanted to believe it because that's cheating. In this game, the Spurs got 20 free throws to Dallas's 5. I'm a believer now. And shame on them.

- Of course the Spurs can write this off. They're playing without Ginobli, who went down with a bad ankle in the Olympics semi-finals. To which I say, phooie-karblooey. The Spurs outclass the Mavs in many categories; this game was theirs to lose.

- Oh the tasty assist. Kidd Pony-Expressed the ball to Dampier on a bounce-pass, in traffic, Damp puts it in.

- Fourth-quarter execution? Put the stress on that last word. The Spurs tried to rally, they really did. But then . . . Howard puts up a bad shot that clangs off the rim, Dampier reaches over a sea of Spurs hands, tics the ball once-twice, bats it to Jason Kidd hanging out just past the top of the arc, Kidd flips it over to Dirk, Dirk cans it. Three points. Die, by my hand . . .

- Given how poorly he performed in the Cavs game, I'd wondered if Dirk might've caught a bug -- he lacked his usual sparkle. Winning might or might not be good deodorant (Jason Kidd, quote machine), but it's a pretty good antibiotic too. Thirty points, on 13 of 24 shooting, including a couple of threes. There's the Dirk we know and love.

- J-Ho. Double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds. Stretch it out through the post-season and you will be a god, man.

- And speaking of, Kidd's still flirting with triple-double 101. The threat is there, don't doubt it.

In The Wash: God how bad did we need this! With a performance this solid it gets easier to chalk up the Mavs's stumbling about to growing pains. Coach's indecisiveness when it comes to a shooting guard concerns me; I don't think Stackhouse is capable of being an effective part of the rotation, Antoine Wright's too inconsistant, Green's too . . . green, and Williams hasn't played at all yet. Few things tear the heart out worse than realizing you're working for a boss that can't make up their mind.

I'm not sure who put the hammer down on the subject of rebounding, but the players took it to heart; 45 boards. Good things happen when you get posessive of the ball.

Onward and upward, literally. The Mavs have a couple days off then it's off to Denver for our first game against the Billups-era Nuggets. I'm going to keep half an eye on the Pistons from here on out; Iverson needs to be kept on a checkrein to be effective and I don't doubt 'Sheed and Company are up to the challenge. Paddles might be needed.

Final: 98-81, Mavericks
-BJ

Game 1, Dallas Mavericks host Houston Rockets

Theme: Mindless Self Indulgence, "Straight to Video"
Game Info: Click it. Click it good.

First of all, thank you Mr. Ory of the Mavs' marketing department. My free tickets were in the lower bowl, section 124, behind the Visiting basket. So I was able to show DFW's newest liberal menace -- my mother -- a terrific time.

Now we get to the game. Oh dear God somebody shoot me.

- Fish and others were right. With Crazy Pills (blame Matt at HP), the Rockets can kick our asses. That said, I hope I can get video of the game off of somebody, figure out what the hell Artest did to warrant a technical.

- I'm converted, halleluijah. Stack needs to be buried. Entombed.

- Guys, what the hell happened to the D? It was there in the first three and we were hanging pretty tough. Then it all went to shit. There weren't as many opportunities for defensive heroics as there were in the Pacers game, but they were there. Rebounding wins games, especially with this team.

- Seeing Yao Ming in person is a bit of a shock. For obvious reasons. And if I were a Rox fan, I'd be thanking God in my prayers every night he's on my side.

- What happened to the depth? It's there. Teams have drowned in it. Huge night from Dirk, great stuff from J-Ho, the triple-double threat lives . . . and it's all to cock if they can't step out and catch their breaths for ten minutes or so.

- Why didn't Green play? Has he not been shooting well? Was Stack that much better a choice?

- Manah Manah starring Desagana Diop? Genius!

- Please tell me that's not an indication of things to come; Coach over by the sidelines looking like a goddamn Rockette when things get tight.

In The Wash: Seeing as how this is Only One Game, I'm going to give my Mavs the benefit of the doubt in this; surrendering when Bad Guys are on a roll. I didn't see any evidence of it, other than Dirk walking off the court at 00:01.3, but I'll grant I was not an astute observer right that second.

Aforementioned walking-off? No I'm not okay with that. Dude!

(Unless you're walking to me; those of the reading audience with smutty minds can fill in the rest.)

It's. Just. One. Game. So, I'm calm. Perfectly calm.

Course right that second-- I was the fat lady in blue moaning "Oh my God please say this isn't happening!" as she exited the arena.

Final: 112-102, Rockets
-BJ

Preseason Game 6, Dallas Mavericks host Sacramento Kings

Theme: Skinny Puppy, "Pro-Test"
Game Info: Make with the clicky.

Underrate this, you lazy-minded schlubs.

- Slow start again . . . a widening of focus is needed; whenever Dirk misses a shot I panic inside.

- To Reggie Theus, Head Coach of the Sacramento Kings. Simmer down Coach. And remember it isn't kosher for a coach to jump in and play the D his team's failing at.

- I think the Org is starting with the weeding-out process. The team's moving into more regular-season rotation, with the starters playing heavy minutes. (UPDATE: Confirmed. Charles Rhodes has been waived and Keith McLeod's contract's been restructured to "non-guaranteed." Not clear on the implications of that last bit. Will parse it out later.)

- By the way, Gerald Green. 29 points. One truly righteous slam. We got him; you didn't. Eat it, bitches.

- Sooner or later the Bad Guys'll take away those extra three or four seconds Jason Kidd needs to make those long shots, and there goes the triple-double threat.

- Turnovers still a major problem. Sticky fingers, gentlemen.

- Defensively, I can't make judgement calls. Offensively, I like our young Mr. Red Bull. I saw no evidence of ball-hoggery or bad judgement. If he tanks with the Mavs it won't be for lack of trying on the organization's part. I see Coach taking him aside a lot in games and the media guys've been impressed by his 'tude. Give it a year or so and he's got the opportunity to make some major noise.

- Depth at the 1 is a problem. Much as the organization likes JJ Barea, he's not a player of the calibur this team needs. Jet's decent at the point but is most useful when he can be the Sixth Man Everydude. The Mavs need a decent player at the point to relieve Kidd for ten to twenty minutes per game if Kidd's going to be useful all up through the Finals. I hate to say it, because JJ strikes me as being a good guy, but he's trade bait.

- At the 2 it looks like we've got something of an embarassment of riches. Williams, so far, not impressed. Antoine Wright, however, looks downright tasty. He's gotta be careful though; fouls are only a good thing if making them gives you an edge over and above the extra scoring opportunity they give the bad guys.

- There were some boo-birds up in my section trying to heckle J-Ho at various points in the game. They shut up shortly after the half.

In The Wash: Oh my God, the regular season can't get started soon enough. The Bulls are in town for another tushie-paddling tomorrow and the Pacers swing by on Thursday. In other NBA news, Deron Williams is down with a twisted ankle, no word yet on how long he'll be non-operational.

Final: 124-109, Mavericks
-BJ

The Dallas Mavericks and sponsors present Fan Jam 2008!

I hate Dallas traffic. I hate it with every cell in my body, with every beat of my heart. Why? Because of a traffic jam on 35E, the inability to find Victory Ave coming from the east side of town, two wrong turns and the longest stoplight in Dallas county, I didn't get to the AAC until ten to six. At which time, the line for autographs for J-Ho and Dirk had already been cut off. I begged. No dice.

Oh well, the item I really want signed -- a full-sized jacket patch of the MFFL vanity plate -- is still on the drawing board. And there'll be other chances for autographs. I hope.

So fuck it, I went into the lower bowl and sat down. Section 107; wasn't quite the smell-'em-sweat seats, but close. To my surprise, the seats down there are just as uncomfortable as the seats up in Section Never-Mind. The comfy folding seats are on the floor and were barricaded off. Pretty sure those're the ones that cost roughly two months of my take-home pay. Definetely something to add to the When I Become Rich'n'Famous list.

As the place filled up, Champ came out and started, pardon the expression, horsing around. The O on Champ's uni is a closed-off horseshoe. I never noticed that before. He got some kids out of the audience, played some shooting games, got a little one-on-one going, got some two-on-two started. That was fun to watch; one kid, looked about thirteen, was pretty good. Coach Carlisle made an appearance and got a round of applause.

The players hit the floor around sevenish and started warming up. That's gotta feel weird for the guys, having a studio audience for your basic work-out. Jog, sprint, high-kicks. Also some scandalous-looking floor stretches. In related news, Dirk's got a butt, it's just a small one in relation to his height.

The team was split into three squads for practise drills, White Blue and Gold. Coach welcomed everyone and took a second to introduce Assistant Head Coach TJ Kidd. On first brush I like Coach Carlisle. He looked comfortable as emcee without being hammy about it.

Practise drills. Like most things, it looks simple and silly when broken down into details. I can also see where dance training would be an advantage when it comes to developing foot and ankle strength. The highlight of drilling was something Coach called the 4:15 drill. I'm taking this from the Morning News; "With 4:15 on the clock, the Mavericks start a three-on-zero fast break for a layup, then the two wing players who didn't get the layup are fed passes for jump shots." The team tries to score 115 to 120 baskets; they got 107. Faster feet, gentlemen. And I now know why the earliest games were played in cages. If someone's hands had been a half-second slower I'd've spent the night pulling my glasses out of my face.

My respect for pro-ballers trakes a dramatic uptick after watching all that. As I remember -- painfully -- from middle school, this shit's harder than it looks. As a for instance, the court. Because the players are all big guys and because they all look absolutely at ease in what they're doing, the court looks smaller than it actually is. A three-point arc is 23 ft from the basket. To somebody like Dirk, who does this for a living and for pleasure, it's not that far at all. To me, it looks like a fuckin' light year. And one has to do all this while mind-melding with a constantly rotating cast of four other guys. And doing all that with five other lunatics trying to fuck your shit up. It's like playing full-contact chess at mach 3 with your hair on fire.

As drills wrapped up Coach called up and introduced the staff. When one face didn't turn up -- I think it was their strength guy -- Coach asked if anybody'd seen him. Dirk yelled from the floor, "Golfing!" Another guy's an Olympic gold medalist from a seventies-vintage Team USA; Jet started with some I'm-not-worthy! schtick.

Then we got to the players. Jet Terry got the mic. He's going to make ESPN very happy in a few years; the man's a showman. Jet called the rookies front and center. Jujuan Smith took us through the power circle; "Let's say we're playing," Jet thought a moment, "the Spurs." Took some coaxing, but we gave some solid boos. What's a Spur to a Maverick? Nothing. Nothing.

Introductions. JJ was there but didn't participate. Poor guy, I saw that knee hit. Yowch. If there were any boos for J-Ho I didn't hear them. Gerald Green is now Red Bull for instant energy. I think I can work with that. Desagana Diop welcomed back with cheers. Kidd was up second to last and Jet kind of skated over his name. All grins and taken in stride. And if I have to tell you who was last -- and got the screaming ovation -- you haven't been paying attention.

Scrimmage itself was somewhat more abbreviated than I'd been led to expect. Mavs win, naturally. The more I watch the team when Kidd's on his game, the more excited I get about the possibilities this season. And this is the Kidd past his prime? Jesus Christ. Dirk . . . I can see why he's not someone a casual fan would get wowed about. But the more I watch him, the more I love what he does and how he does it. I mean, have you seriously looked at that fadeaway jump shot? Watching him handle the ball's like watching the goddamn Jedi Mind Trick.

After scrimmage the players shucked their shoes and tossed them into the audience. Dirk went them one better and added his jersey. I started yelling the beat to The Strip, hoping he'd go barechested or (gulp) down to his drawers. Nope. Wah.

In any event, I had a great time. The lower bowl was mostly full-up and everyone was ready to go a little bit nuts. It's little things like that -- like keeping the cheapseat ticket prices low and cutting deals with DART and the T-line so you don't have to drive -- that build a loyal fanbase. And -- thank God -- the Organization knows it. I do wish it'd been on Saturday, but that would've been impossible because of the Stars game.
-BJ

Preseason Game 1, Dallas Mavericks host Washington Wizards

Theme Song: Mortal Kombat OST, "A Taste of Things To Come"
Game Info: From NBA.com

That was fun!

- Oh that's why the organization ponied up their immortal souls to get Jason Kidd. The triple-double threat lives.

- Kidd and Dirk only played for, maybe, twenty minutes. Good stuff to be had from them, but not needed. Why drag out the .50 cal when the M16's getting it done? Honest to God, official garbage time came with four and a half minutes left in the fourth; you probably could've declared it after halftime.

- Hihi! This is the first time I've seen Desagana Diop on the floor, and I think I like him. Splitting time between Dampier and Diop at the 5 makes sense to me, especially if he keeps playing good defense.

- I wasn't focused on the bench so I might've missed it, but it's something of a relief to not see Coach damn near drop dead of a heart attack eight or nine times. His huddles look like Story Time; "Come in close boys and girls, come on."

- JJ Barea . . . Fish characterizes him as the Mavs's pet rock, and I'm sorry but I didn't see much to refute the claim. Which makes Kidd's long-term endurance a worry again. Preseason, the eighty-two, plus post-season, and we need hardcore hero shit from him on a regular basis.

- I'm not a huge fan of the player parody vids, but making fun of Mark Cuban's a giggle. Diop's Welcome Back video was cute too.

- Antoine Wright. If he turns into a serious rotation player, the Kidd trade looks like much less of an overpayment.

- Ladies and gentlemen, Brandon Bass!

- The fanbase will forgive Josh Howard for behaving like an idiot this summer if this performance is an omen for the season. Though to be fair there were a few plays that probably reflect less on J-Ho's excellence and more on the Wizard's total breakdown on both ends of the floor. Serious, J-Ho got two or three fast-break layups in a row from some snatch-it-and-pass-it steals. Hey Wizards, wanna try for another one or do we see a pattern developing here?

- I love watching Jet Terry play. Lands neatly on his toes while catching a feed from Dirk, turns around, two points. Tasty.

In The Wash:
One thing the Mavs haven't lacked for me is The Potential. We can be really fucking awesome . . . which last year led to a few months of tantilizing glimpses of greatness bracketed by games in which the rest of the conference sharpened their claws on us. Lots of standing around looking confused. I saw that here too . . . but this time I have the hope of answers forthcoming. The preseason's for hammering out the rotation and game plans in real-game situations. In one sense, this game solves nothing. The Wizards didn't provide enough of a challenge. In another, the fans who've been hanging onto the wait-and-see perspective have gotten some returns -- a dominating win. And some good-looking basketball.

Bandwagon Bumper Sticker: Get in. Sit down. Hang on. Start yelling.

Final: 108-82, Mavs
-BJ

Media Day!

The Fish isn't as much of a sunshine pumper as some folks on The Boards make him out to be, and I trust his analysis of what's really going on. On Media Day, all appears well . . . or as well as can be for a team that's been more or less written off (serious, check the power rankings on ESPN).

I'm clinging to the signs of hope. As a fan, what other approach should I take? I've lived without hope or expectation before. This is better.

Things I Like:
- Josh Howard finally acting like a grownup. Thanks in part to the Mavs's PR guys, who made sure the atmosphere stayed cordial, and thanks to J-Ho's sincere apology, I feel much easier in my mind regarding his judgement. A strong preseason and some good regular season games and this entire mess goes back to being yesterday's news. Nobody'd hate another All-Star season, either.

- On the question of how he would handle J-Ho, Coach replied, “I don’t handle people. If I worked in a zoo, helping with the giraffes and the lions and the horses, I’d handle. Here, you work with men.’’ Touche.

- Having a specific plan of action . . . or at least the appearance of one. One of the things I didn't like about last year is the vagueness from some of the leadership, generalities about what was wrong and no real plan on how to fix it -- yes I'm looking at you Mr. Johnson. Say this about Coach Carlisle; for the moment he seems to know what the hell he's doing and he's being concrete about how he's going to do it. After two months of generalities about execution and lack thereof, that's a relief.

- The mental image of Jerry Stackhouse high-fiving Champ. It makes me smile.

Things I'm Not Crazy About
- Mark Cuban badmouthing Avery Johnson. We already know he'd lost the players' allegience. Rehashing it now seems . . . counterproductive. And I don't like the idea that a third of the roster had, either directly or through their representatives, presented Mr. Cuban with get-me-out-of-here ultamaitums. That begs the question of which players, and I don't like where those thoughts go. Further, if the team discord was that bad, how seriously should we take the MBT's (Mavs Brain Trust) assurances that everything's fine now?

- The buzzcut. No, I'm not okay with it, I'm never going to be okay with it. So there. Myah! Grow it back, man! Please!

I can't wait. Seven more days!
-BJ

The Subtle Taste Of Sneaker

Wah!

Dude. Please. For the love of God, I am begging you.

Shut up!!!
-BJ

Like I Needed Another Reason To Stress!

With our team captains in Beijing and the Organization ominously quiet on the talent-acquisition front, one would think the average MFFL has enough to worry about, right?

Basketball Gods must not think so:

Josh Howard arrested for street racing in North Carolina.

I requested permission to PANIC! and didn't get it. So I'm not. Panicking.

But my God, man, if you're on thin ice it's not a good idea to take up tapdancing. "You idiot!" about covers it. "Where are your brains, in your ass?" would do as well.

Mr. Howard, in the win-the-lottery chance you'll ever read this blog, I have something to say.

First of all, I'm not mad that you like driving fast. I like to drive fast. I'd love a chance to take my friend's Miata out for a stroll against whatever sportster his bosses have him driving that week. On a track. With an emergency team nearby. And no necks at risk other than my friend's and my own.

Secondly, I'll assume that you've stayed clean for this offseason since a drug test is SOP for this situation. Good for you.

The issue isn't the moral problems of drug use and public endangerment (although those are thorny enough). That's for the law to sort out. From a Mavs fan perspecive, the issue is you're acting like boy half your age when your credibility is at low tide. And if we can't trust you to obey the law, how are we supposed to trust you'll deliver the best you have when the team has to have it? I'm sorry, but you're performance hasn't been consistant enough to make that an irrelevent concern.

Spend time at home with the folks. Talk to your preacher. Tour the Carribean. Take a trip to Disneyworld if that's what it takes. But please, for the love of God, get your shit together. You're not fourteen any more. Behave like it.
-BJ

Job Hunting In The Show

Yesterday kicked off free agency, when franchise and player representatives can come to the table and talk business. How much does your guy want, how much ya got, how much is he worth, et cetera et cetera et cetera.

According to the rules of the draft (see June 25th entry), a first-round draftee gets a minimum two year contract with the franchise that selected him, with a team option for two more years. Second rounders aren't guaranteed contracts, but the drafting franchise still own the rights to that player for three years.

But not to put too fine a point on it, the NBA only drafts sixty players a year. I'd have to work it out by hand, but just going by the NBAs list the odds on getting drafted this year were about . . . one in three, one in four. What do you do if you're #61 in terms of potential awesomeness? Or if the scouts caught you in a slumpy phase or while you were sick or hurt? Or your game's still maturing? Or the NBA just doesn't like you?

A lot of the leftover players let it drop right there and pursue other ambitions. The ones who feel they've got a shot become free agents.

Free Agency, or Taking The Scenic Route to the NBA:
According to the Great Yet Flawed God Wikipedia (so if on any point I'm factually incorrect, say so), a "free agent" is a ballplayer with the right to seek their own employment. Once a player signs a contract, they're no longer in control of their employment and may be traded to another team at the franchise's discretion so long as the other team matches the terms of that contract.

Free agents come in two breeds; unrestricted and restricted. Unrestricted free agents are players without a team -- those whose contracts have expired without re-upping, those who've been released from their contracts, and those who were not drafted by the league. They are free to offer their services to any franchise, and to accept any offers made. Restricted free agents are players still signed with a team but are free to solicit and accept offers from other teams. However, if the player's currently signed team matches the prospective team's offer the player remains with their current team.

What this means to the Mavs is we've got several blank roster slots, some critical vacancies in terms of gameplay (David Lord did a magnificent analysis of those needs over at Dallas Basketball dot com), and not a lot of spending cash to work with. However, the field of free agents is good. Of the list of free agents currently on the roster, I haven't heard anything yet about the Mavs making offers.

The word just came down via the Morning News that a deal's been worked out for center DeSagana Diop (please not for the whole mid-level exception). There's also a new guy by the name of Gerald Green -- they're talking a one-year deal. Right now, the Mavs have eight contracted players -- Eddie Jones (exercised his player option), Kidd, Dirk, J-Ho, Jet Terry, Dampier, Jerry Stackhouse, and Brandon Bass. Just-waiting-for-a-starting-time deals in place for Diop and Green . . . five more guys and we have ourselves a team.

An editorial note; Brandon Bass will at times be referred to as the Four-String Motherfucker. It's a nod to my favorite metal band's nickname for their bass guitar. My kingdom for the AAC to quit playing Enter Sandman and start playing For Whom The Bell Tolls.
-BJ

Drawing Straws and Here Come The Rookies

Tomorrow is Draft Day, so in the spirit of Higher Learning, we're going to have a brief lesson on how the NBA circulates the talent pool:

The Draft, or Oh Shit Here Come The FNGs:
The deadline for declaring eligibility is 60 days prior to Draft Day, with potential draftees given until 10 days before the draft to back out if they change their minds. They must be at least nineteen years old and/or one year out of high school, and if they are not drafted run the risk of losing their college eligibility. That may change in the next year or so; the league is considering raising the minimum age to 22.

The talent pool is evaluated, the NBA processes the data gathered, and the Draft is announced listing players in order of their potential awesomeness. Quick hits; Jason Kidd was a #2 pick in 1994, Stackhouse was #3 in 1995, Dirk was #9 in 1998, Jet Terry was #10 in 1999, Dampier was #10 in 1996, J-Ho was #29 in 2003, and Brandon Bass was #33 in 2005. Teams then get to select from that list, with a lottery system determining who gets first dibs -- see below. The draft is conducted in two rounds of thirty (one pick per team per round), for a total of sixty brand-spandy-new NBA rookies.

List of prospective draftees here.

The Lottery, or Fate as a Bingo Tank:
How it works is the 14 teams who didn't make the NBA playoffs are each given a list of four number codes. The team with the worst record gets the most codes (250), therefore has the best chance of scoring a number one pick (odds are about one in four).

On Lotto Day, a group of NBA officials, team representatives, and some media guys acting as witnesses (check this out for an eyewitness account) enter a room. Cell phones, laptops, and PDAs are left outside. The door is locked. A set of ping-pong balls numbered 1 to 14 are dropped into a lotto randomizer, left to cook for exactly twenty seconds, and four are drawn. The team holding those four numbers (doesn't matter what order they're drawn in) gets the #1 draft pick. Process repeated for picks 2 and 3. Picks 4 through 30 are handed out in inverse order of win-loss ratio.

This year's lottery was held on May 20. The Chicago Bulls (33-49) came away with the #1 pick, the Miami Heat (15-67) #2, and the Minnesota Timberwolves (22-60) got #3. Click for the full list of picks.

A side-effect of the lottery that wasn't anticipated (correct me if I'm wrong on this) is the incentive for teams that aren't doing well in the regular season to delibrately run their record down in the hopes of scoring one of the first three picks. Hence the pissing and moaning in Dallas about how the team should've quit trying to even make the playoffs this year and just taken our chances with the lottery.

Fuck that shit, says I. If there isn't nobility in trying, why bother competing at all? Boring rant for another day.

A more in-depth look at talent rotation, free agency, what about the undrafted, and so on later. Right now Dallas only has one draft pick, #51. The first round pick (#21) went to the New Jersey Nets as part of the trade for Jason Kidd. Word around the campfire is the Organization is going to try and buy our way back into Round One.
-BJ

Sources:
http://www.nba.com/draft2008/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_Draft
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_Draft_Lottery
http://www.nba.com/history/draft_evolution.html