Quote:
Originally Posted by mavs777
Mavs will win games 3,4 and 6 if Josh is mostly healthy and ready to go. They lose scoring, defense, rebounding, and lots of depth loss without Howard as Dallas does not get much from 9-10
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Josh will not be mostly healthy until next season. So forget that.
In fact, Josh will not be as healthy as he was in the San Antonio game even either, when he was maybe 85%.
The best you can possibly hope for is a 70% Josh... and a 70% Josh is almost no better than a healthy Josh since it means a Josh which stands around the arc and jacks up shots, because his ankles can't take the pounding.
That's not good enough to stop Denver.
I really would like to see more from Bass though. I don't expect him to shut Nene down, but he ought to be able to do SOMETHING against Nene. He's the only guy on this team that has the physical tools necessary to do anything against him either on the offensive or defensive end. He's the only one with any shot. I know Nene's bigger and stronger, but we've seen Bass take on Shaq and do well. Is it the combination of bigger, stronger AND just as fast as Bass that's killing him? Maybe. Usually he has either a speed advantage or a strength advantage against anyone he goes up against. He has neither against Nene and seems useless. Still, he and maybe Hollins are pretty much the Mavs only hope in the paint.
Maybe Damp might be of some use if he wasn't hobbling on one leg, I don't know. As it is now, they might as well sit him and start Bass or Hollins for all the good he's doing.
Of course Hollins can't stay out of foul trouble and Bass sucks as much as Damp, so it's not like they have any choice but to play Damp.
The Mavs just have no answers. None. Whether it's on the road or at home, it seems like the only way they can win is if Denver screws up.