[Mavinator]

arrrrrrrrrrrrggg

There were very bad things in this game, mostly in the first half.

Turnovers. That's obvious.

Dirk getting, what, 5 touches in the first half? That is pitiful for your primary offensive weapon, and I love Michael Finley, but it was Finley's fault. He only had 9 attempts in the first half, but he carried the ball nearly every possession, and turned it over countless times. Dirk got it a lot in the third, but then everyone forgot he existed again in the fourth. Give Dirk the damned ball. Dirk does not consistently miss shots or turn over the ball. Give Dirk the damned ball.

And finally- GIVE BRADLEY MORE MINUTES! Yes, I realize this outing was poor. That is because he only played in three or four-minute spurts on two occasions tonight. Booth is in no way a better player than Bradley, at all, period. He is a slightly better individual defender (very slightly) but he is so foul-prone that he erases all his good work by sending the opposing team to the line a thousand times a night. He is not as good a shotblocker as Bradley is, and he is not nearly the rebounder Bradley is. He has the EXACT SAME offensive game as Bradley- dunks and midrange jumpers. I mean, what, does Nellie think Officer Polynice is going to explode on us offensively or something? In the second half, where it's clear to any layman that the Mavs need defensive stops like crazy, does Nellie put in his single best defender, Bradley, or how about the Booth and Bradley combination that crushed the Jazz so badly last time we played? No, of course not, he plays his damned new toy Calvin Booth so he can come out and foul Malone two more times. Don't get me wrong, I love Calvin Booth, but Nellie is being ridiculous starting him and playing him twice as long as Shawn Bradley.