DMN Notebook: Najera, Jamison, Finley

[MavsFanFinley]

Notebook: Najera defends his actions
Mavs forward says Adelman, Kings out of line in crying foul

By CHUCK CARLTON / The Dallas Morning News

The Mavericks' Eduardo Najera described himself as an honorable man in a demanding role.

"I do the dirty work," Najera said. "I'm not dirty, though."

The Sacramento Kings offered a different opinion after Game 2 with the Mavericks. Kings coach Rick Adelman criticized Najera's aggressive defense against Chris Webber. The subplot is likely to continue into Saturday's Game 3.

"It's totally unfair," Mavericks guard Steve Nash said, switching from outrage to sarcasm. "Everybody knows we're all thugs here."

If anything, the Mavericks are the anti-Bad Boys, the physical persona adopted by the 1980s Detroit Pistons.

Najera took the complaints as a sign he's doing his job well. His goal: force Webber away from the post and to the perimeter, where Najera can use his quickness.

"I don't know if they're trying to make a statement to the refs," Na- jera said. "I'm just going to keep on going with what I'm doing. I couldn't care less what they say."

Najera pointed to his track record, which is clean except for a one-game suspension after improper contact with referee Jack Nies last season.

"If they're saying I'm trying to hurt somebody, I don't think that's what I'm showing out there," Najera said.

Mavericks coach Don Nelson called the fuss "silly really. You need to isolate what you're talking about and send it to the league."

Finley would change:

Guard Michael Finley said he should have used a different move in the final seconds of Game 2 against Sacramento's Peja Stojakovic.

With the Mavericks trailing by two points, Finley lost the ball and never got a shot in an 83-79 loss.

"As far as the last play, I know what I did wrong," said Finley, who was 8-of-25 from the field in Games 1 and 2. "I know what I should have done. If I had an opportunity again, I would do it completely different, but this is the playoffs. You make mistakes and learn from them. Unlike college, it's not a one-and-you're-done."

Coach Don Nelson targeted Finley in Thursday's practice and was pleased with the result.

"We need Mike to play at a high level for our small team to be at its best," Nelson said. "He defended well, he followed his game plan but just struggled on the offensive end. So we need to do some offensive things to help him."

Jamison values award:

Antawn Jamison said winning the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Award will carry special meaning.

"If it were to happen, it would definitely be kind of a feel-good story knowing that the sacrifices and accepting the role justifies itself a little bit," Jamison said. "It would be a pretty good thing to happen, if it were to happen."

Jamison need not worry.

Word leaked Wednesday and the Mavericks have scheduled a news conference today.

Briefly:

The Mavericks rallied from a 2-0 deficit to beat Utah in five games in 2001. ... Antawn Jamison doesn't expect a repeat of the hamstring tightness that limited him in Game 2. While Jamison will try to stay loose on the sideline, he has his limits. "That riding the bike, that's for Dennis Rodman or somebody," he said.

[Chiwas]

"I don't know if they're trying to make a statement to the refs," Na jera said.

Intended or not, it already is a call for the refs. I wouldn't be surprised if Eddie gets too many whistles early in the next game, doing the same work.

[jayC]

I want to see. nash, finley, jamison, najera and Dirk that's the mavs best starting five. One banger hustle guy, one guy that doesn't need the ball to score and the big three. This team needs a halftime lead.

[dalmations202]

Originally posted by: jayC
I want to see. nash, finley, jamison, najera and Dirk that's the mavs best starting five. One banger hustle guy, one guy that doesn't need the ball to score and the big three. This team needs a halftime lead.

I would like to put in Bradley (shut down the layup line up front) for Najera in your starting lineup, and allow Najera to come off the bench, and change the tempo of the game. Then Daniels, Howard, and Walker would also play roles.

[Chelette]

I agree with you...is not that I don't like Najera, but he is better coming from the bench..but also...coming from the bench, not at the 2nd half..but as soon as he is needed to create a diference......as for the refs....Eddie will keep himself out of trouble,, you'll see.....but still he will make an excellent job on crywebb and on Miller too, if he ask for trouble...hehehe

(A cooment: if you saw the game between the spurs and grizzlies yesterday, they were pounding each other..but still the ref. let it go...thats the way...unlees is a hard foul...let them play....do not call stupid fouls or just because the other coach does not like a player....keep an eye on that player all night........let them play, let them have fun and of course, let Us (fans) enjoy the game and the Victory........

GGooooooooooooooooo Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaavs

[jayC]

Bradley is not very physical, Najera is, and finally he is getting healthy.

[FilthyFinMavs]

I don't know what it is about Najera but this team is on another level when he is in the game. I agree with your lineup Jayc. I want to see how this team reacts when Najera starts. I wouldn't mind Walker starting as long as Najera is in there. You have Dirk and Walker's rebounding along with Najera's hustle and you have something special. I saw the injured Webber when Najera came in the game on Tuesday.

[dude1394]

My best 5 is shawn, dirk, jamison, finely, stevie. jho, najera, marquis off the bench. Good grief that just leaves no time for walker. What a waste.

[FilthyFinMavs]

Originally posted by: dude1394
My best 5 is shawn, dirk, jamison, finely, stevie. jho, najera, marquis off the bench. Good grief that just leaves no time for walker. What a waste.

That's your best 5. Not the teams so how is it a waste?

[Chiwas]

I think Najera's main impact is closing the first and third quarters with some two or three minutes each one, and starting the second and fourth with some 7 minutes each quarter.

I don't like him starting cause his main contribution, I think, is to change the momentum of a game, and that only can be made coming from the bench. Often he helps a lot when the team is playing with no hungry, or when the other team is overwhelming the defense.

Also, when a specific player, not very quick but effective, usually big players who like to finish the plays, is dominating too much offensively

Some times he can be used to close games when more defense is needed.

[grndmstr_c]

Originally posted by: FilthyFinMavs

That's your best 5. Not the teams so how is it a waste?

Uh, that is the team's best 5. I do feel Walker deserves minutes off the bench, though.

[Murphy3]

Najera is extremely inconsistent. He had a great game last game but the game before he was one of the very worst players on the court. Najera has had more than his fair share of poor games over the last couple of seasons. People fall in love with him when he has a great game but simply don't notice when he's a non-contributor.

I hope that he can consistently provide solid minutes throughout the series. However, I see no reason to expect that he can.

[Shooter]

People fall in love with him when he has a great game but simply don't notice when he's a non-contributor.

Good point.

I have noticed that people do this even more when it comes to Shawn Bradley. Maybe the reality is that the inconsistent play is what makes these guys good but not great players. We probably shouldn't expect more than that from them. That is what makes Don Nelson's job so hard. He has to figure out when you are getting what from game to game.

[Murphy3]

Shawn Bradley has been much more consistent than Najera the past couple of years. At the very least, Shawn still has his height. You can't teach height.

[4cwebb]

I'd imagine that Nellie won't start Najera, if for no other reason than to let the game get into some sort of flow from an officiating standpoint. I think there is a small danger in having Najera start and picking up a couple of cheap fouls quickly (since attention has been called to his play), and then he will be lost for the remainder of the first quarter and most of the first half.

However, as once the game gets going, Najera can observe how the officials are calling the game, and adjust his play accordingly. Plus, as Kings' fans would easily remind the Mavs' fans, CWebb has had trouble putting together a string of consistent games since returning from injury, so who is to say that he will continue to play the way he did for the first game and a half, regardless of whether Najera is defending him or not.

The other bad thing about Najera is that it allows one of the Kings big guys to slack off of him on defense, and I think that Nelson values (for better or worse) making Vlade and CWebb each chase a player around the court (Dirk and Walker) because those players can and will shoot the ball from the outside, and in the AAC, I think the chance of Walker having a good game are increased since he is playing in the familiar confines of home.

[mavsman55]

It doesn't matter who starts IMO, I just think we'll be fine as long as Bradley and Najera get at least 20-30 minutes apiece. A defensive-minded strategy will be the key to winning in this playoff series... as long as Nowitzki stays hot and Nash/Finley can pick up their play just a little bit, we won't have any problems on offense. All that Webber's complaints prove is that Najera is doing his job very well. People never play up to par when they're aggravated. And Najera was not aggravating CWebb with cheap play, he was aggravating CWebb with great D. Keep up the good work, Eddie.

[grndmstr_c]

20-30 each is a bit much, but the default should probably be to play Shawn in 6-8 minute stints until he fouls out. Eddie, (like Walker) should be given some time to see how he's playing that day, and given as many of the remaining minutes as he/they can be productive in.

[FilthyFinMavs]

Originally posted by: Murphy3
Shawn Bradley has been much more consistent than Najera the past couple of years. At the very least, Shawn still has his height. You can't teach height.

Bradley can't run with guys in transistion on both offense and defense and he can't guard on the perimeter. When Najera is in the game everyone turns there game up on both ends of the court.