[nowhereman]

A few points:

1) Brand looked great. Good job all night taking Howard out of his rhythm, and really helping the Mavs control the tempo of the game.

2) Wright showed a lot of offensive versatility, including two great drives from the free throw line-extended for five points at important points. That's a great complement to a low post presence, and this guy does seem like a better fit at PF than at C.

3) OJ and Darren really seemd to play a controlled game, and play very efficiently. No one did anything out of their element, and really

4) Defensively, this team looked amazing out there. Roddy, Brand, Wright, Marion, Jones, Mayo, Crowder all seemed very effective out there.

5) Roddy demonstrated some maddeningly low basketball IQ there at times, including a floater from behind the backboard while Curry was iso'd against Howard who had 3 fouls, and a badly bricked 3 early in the clock with only a 12 point lead with 6 minutes left (which the Mavs fortunately rebounded). Solid backup PG at this point with great defensive abilities. Nothing more though. I don't trust this guy to close games.

6) Curry can be an effective change of pace guy offensively. But he's a huge defensive liability, especially against a team featuring Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard.

7) LA really can't shoot free throws. They also don't know how to feature Steve Nash yet. When Pau got less involved moving the ball in the second half, the Mavs were able to seize control.

8) Jae Crowder looks ready to play. Spacing, headfakes, hesitation, rotation - just knows where to be and has a solid head for the game. He's ready to play now, and the more he plays, the more good things will happen.