What needs to happen to ensure we make it to the second round?

[rabbitproof]

purplefrog FTW.

Dallas has one of the biggest lineups in the league. Two legit 7 foot centers. A 7 foot PF. A big PG. Some size at SF with Peja and Marion. The backcourt is definitely undersized but hopefully Dallas plays to its size.

That means rebounding and stronger interior defense. That's what I want to see that I haven't been seeing.

[Thespiralgoeson]

Originally Posted by jthig32

How do you know we've never been close to getting one?

Let me rephrase: We've never had a player that comes even close to that. How do I know for sure that they haven't gone after such players over the years? Well, I don't know for sure, but I just don't believe that in six years there wasn't good deal to be made.

If this had just been a season or two I would dismiss it as bad luck. But this has gone one so many years that I've been led to the conclusion that having a shooting guard (or I guess these days we need a small forward even more) just isn't a high priority to Cuban or Donnie.

I never expected a superstar, but in six years you can get a Corey Maggette, a Mike Miller, or even a Stephen Jackson. But no, every year the Mavs just try to plug this gaping hole in our roster with some scrub who has virtually no offensive ability; Doug Christie, Adrian Griffin, Greg Buckner, Eddie Jones, Mo Ager, Gerald Green, Antoine Wright, Trenton Hassell, Quinton Ross. "Just put some duct tape on it, and it'll be fine!" I'm tempted to put Deshawn Stevenson on that list too, but at least he can hit an open three now and then.

Donnie is a smart guy and he can get a deal done when he needs to, and seemingly in relatively quick fashion. I just can't believe that in six years the Mavs were aggressively looking for a good shooting guard and couldn't find one.

[CadBane]

"I never expected a superstar, but in six years you can get a Corey Maggette, a Mike Miller, or even a Stephen Jackson. But no, every year the Mavs just try to plug this gaping hole in our roster with some scrub who has virtually no offensive ability; Doug Christie, Adrian Griffin, Greg Buckner, Eddie Jones, Mo Ager, Gerald Green, Antoine Wright, Trenton Hassell, Quinton Ross. "Just put some duct tape on it, and it'll be fine!" I'm tempted to put Deshawn Stevenson on that list too, but at least he can hit an open three now and then. "

This part rings all too true. Throughout the Dirk era, the Mavs have always relied WAY too much on guys like Greg Buckner, Trenton Hassell, etc.

[Underdog]

The worst part is that SG is one of the easiest positions to fill in the league (unlike, say, PG's or centers...)

[j0Shi]

Originally Posted by Underdog

The worst part is that SG is one of the easiest positions to fill in the league (unlike, say, PG's or centers...)

Chicago would disagree

[LonghornDub]

I am sick and tired of all the Doug Christie bashing. He was an integral part of this club for many days. This ends now.

[dude1394]

I think 3 and 4 are the keys. Channdler has to stay on the court. Jkiddo has to hit his threes. Everything opens up if he does. It takes a huge pressure off of jet and dirk. They can just move it to the open guy and take the shot.

[Thespiralgoeson]

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to LonghornDub again.

[Thespiralgoeson]

7000!

[Sportstudi]

Purplefrog with the goods. Couldn't agree more + rep well deserved.

[CadBane]

I will say, of all the scrubby 2s we had, Adrian Griffin was my favorite. He played good defense, and could actually knock down open jumpers (2s at least).

The Buckner, Newman, Marshall, Hassell, etc. wouldn't even hit their open jumpers.

[markus1234]

You forgot Antoine Rigadoeu

And how about our centers ?

Shawy Bradley, Wang Zi Zi, Evan Eschmeyer, Kevin Willis, Jamaal Magloire, Nick Fazekas, Ghana Diop....and the best of them Eric 8pts 8reb Dampier.

[JeffViggiano]

in 2006 we needed buy a ref!not a SG

[mav4ever]

to be honest, if we can avoid the playoff caliber teams in the 1st round i really like our chances.

[Windmill360]

Capture a bye. Oh wait.

[JayR]

honestly with the way we're playing now the only way we can make it through the first round is if the other team forfeits

[Thespiralgoeson]

Originally Posted by markus1234

You forgot Antoine Rigadoeu

And how about our centers ?

Shawy Bradley, Wang Zi Zi, Evan Eschmeyer, Kevin Willis, Jamaal Magloire, Nick Fazekas, Ghana Diop....and the best of them Eric 8pts 8reb Dampier.

Rigadaeu goes back farther than I went. I was only going back to the end of the '05 season when the Mavs cut Finley and shooting guard became a huge need.

And you're right about the centers. The mediocrity at that position is easily comparable, but I sort of give the Mavs a pass for that because good centers are extremely rare. I can believe that in all that time there simply wasn't someone better than Erick Dampier available to the Mavs. Damp was actually better than most of the other starting centers around the NBA during that entire time. The 2/3 positions OTOH are the deepest in the league. In all that time the Mavs could definitely gotten SOMEBODY with at least an iota of offensive ability.

[JHT]

The offense should go through Dirk almost every time he's out there. Dirk's touches need to double.

Barea and Stevenson must start, and Barea must play at the high level we've seen about 50% of the time, 100% of the time. Barea should get more minutes at PG unless Kidd is hitting 3s, then Kidd can get more minutes. Stevenson must hit at least one open 3 a game.

Corey Brewer must get situational playing time, energy player off the bench.

Haywood must be interested in actually putting forward some effort.

JET should get 2 minutes of playing time in the 4th guaranteed every game, if he doesn't have it going, he must be yanked.

Marion must play 35 minutes a game.

Brian Cardinal can't see the floor.

Roddy should watch tape of himself last year, to remind himself how to score, because they have no other option when JET sucks.

Rick Carlisle needs to actually have a plan. And that plan cannot include going small.

[41mvp]

yeah you have right.We need more Matrix on the floor.He is actually on fire.Dirk have been playing very well all season long.
We are going to fourth seed on the West Conf.I think is better spot for us.
I want play with Denver in first round.
So Mavericks guys OUR TIME IS NOW!!!
GO MAVS!!!

[Matador68]

Would love to see the Mavs making it very far in the playoffs but don't think it will happen.

Don't want to beat a dead horse but as long as we don't get a second star player, we will "just" remain a great regular season team, unfortunately nothing more.

Too much depends on Dirk, always has been, always will be.

Sorry for the negative first post but that's the way I see it.

[kenny_817]

Originally Posted by rabbitproof

purplefrog FTW.

Dallas has one of the biggest lineups in the league. Two legit 7 foot centers. A 7 foot PF. A big PG. Some size at SF with Peja and Marion. The backcourt is definitely undersized but hopefully Dallas plays to its size.

That means rebounding and stronger interior defense. That's what I want to see that I haven't been seeing.

THIS^ one of our MAIN problems! How we aren't outrebounding opponents almost every game by 6+ boggles my mind

[nowhereman]

Is it too late to call up Antonio Daniels from the Legends?

[Underdog]

A month ago we were only worried about getting past the Lakers, now we're worried about getting past the first round.

How the mighty have fallen...

[mavs777]

Originally Posted by nowhereman

Is it too late to call up Antonio Daniels from the Legends?

philly picked him up a couple days ago

[kenny_817]

Originally Posted by nowhereman

Is it too late to call up Antonio Daniels from the Legends?

He got called up by the 76ers earlier this week.

[kenny_817]

People please remember...Lakers were like 4-7 (if I recall correctly) going into the playoffs last year. We'll be okay

[GOMAVS41]

Dirk, Chandler, and Kidd need to average a double double during the series.

[Kidd Karma]

Originally Posted by rabbitproof

purplefrog FTW.

Dallas has one of the biggest lineups in the league. Two legit 7 foot centers. A 7 foot PF. A big PG. Some size at SF with Peja and Marion. The backcourt is definitely undersized but hopefully Dallas plays to its size.

That means rebounding and stronger interior defense. That's what I want to see that I haven't been seeing.

Size alone doesn't mean you rebound, and can defend...Eddy Curry for example. It's effort, heart, it's a mentality. This is hustle stats. At Arco they use to have a Hustle Board that put up these numbers, deflections, rebounds, steals, blocked shots. When you have a veteran group, effort comes and goes throughout the season, especially this group who has enjoyed success, they know rigors of the regular season, they know it counts in Mid April, they're just keeping some gas in the tank.

[CadBane]

Originally Posted by kenny_817

People please remember...Lakers were like 4-7 (if I recall correctly) going into the playoffs last year. We'll be okay

Stupid logic. LA has a much better team.

[markus1234]

FATALLY FLAWED

10. Dallas Mavericks
If players were forced to argue their own MVP cases, here's what I would write for Dirk to say (add your own German hip-hop accent):

"Um, have you ever watched us? We were playing 3 on 5 offensively in crunch-time when Caron Butler was healthy. In every close game, we run every play for me. No, really. Watch us some time. According to 82games.com, I'm the league's best clutch scorer: in crunch-time, I make 49.5% of my field goals, get to the line more than anyone else and make 89 percent of my free throws. I have chunks of Kobe's crunch-time prowess in my stool. And that's playing with Tyson Chandler and Shawn Marion (who couldn't create shot for themselves if they were posting up Yi Jianlian's old chair from the 2007 Draft) and Jason Kidd, who's only been decomposing since the All-Star Break. When I got injured in December, we went 2-8 while I was out, then 1-2 as I eased my way back into shape. We're 50-15 when I'm healthy even though Jason Terry is my second-best teammate -- he'd be the fifth-best Bull, fifth-best Celtic, sixth-best Laker and the fifth-best Blazer (a team that we're playing in Round One).

"I thought for sure we'd make a deadline deal to help me. We didn't have much to trade because everyone on our team is between 2 and 12 years past his prime except Roddy Beaubois. Our front office decided Roddy was untradeable, which sounded good on paper when he was injured, but then he came back and started playing, and now it's just plain awkward. So far he's looked like either a poor man's Tony Parker or a homeless man's Tony Parker. The Dallas employee who decided Roddy was untradeable must have been the same guy who guaranteed those 1400 temporary seats would be done for Super Bowl XLV. To be honest, I have no idea how we ended up with a 3-seed. We're going to lose in Round 1 or Round 2. Crap."


Bill Simmons

.................

This, my friends could not be more spot on.

And BTW, there is a man working really hard in his bakery now to spin this sad truth into a whole different rosy direction....

[fluid.forty.one]

wow..

[LonghornDub]

That's a pretty accurate take by Simmons, honestly. He's got a flair for the dramatic, but he's pretty spot on.

[fluid.forty.one]

I'm not so sure there are 4 Blazers that are better than Terry, but regardless it's interesting how doomsday that sounds when it's not like they dominate us at every position.

At the moment, Andre Miller has the advantage at point. They have the advantage at SG. I think our SF situation matches up well even with Wallace in there (Marion is really underrated IMO). Dirk is better than Aldridge. TC is better than Camby (who is there backup center anyway?) .

[Dtownsfinest]

Originally Posted by markus1234

FATALLY FLAWED

10. Dallas Mavericks
If players were forced to argue their own MVP cases, here's what I would write for Dirk to say (add your own German hip-hop accent):

"Um, have you ever watched us? We were playing 3 on 5 offensively in crunch-time when Caron Butler was healthy. In every close game, we run every play for me. No, really. Watch us some time. According to 82games.com, I'm the league's best clutch scorer: in crunch-time, I make 49.5% of my field goals, get to the line more than anyone else and make 89 percent of my free throws. I have chunks of Kobe's crunch-time prowess in my stool. And that's playing with Tyson Chandler and Shawn Marion (who couldn't create shot for themselves if they were posting up Yi Jianlian's old chair from the 2007 Draft) and Jason Kidd, who's only been decomposing since the All-Star Break. When I got injured in December, we went 2-8 while I was out, then 1-2 as I eased my way back into shape. We're 50-15 when I'm healthy even though Jason Terry is my second-best teammate -- he'd be the fifth-best Bull, fifth-best Celtic, sixth-best Laker and the fifth-best Blazer (a team that we're playing in Round One).

"I thought for sure we'd make a deadline deal to help me. We didn't have much to trade because everyone on our team is between 2 and 12 years past his prime except Roddy Beaubois. Our front office decided Roddy was untradeable, which sounded good on paper when he was injured, but then he came back and started playing, and now it's just plain awkward. So far he's looked like either a poor man's Tony Parker or a homeless man's Tony Parker. The Dallas employee who decided Roddy was untradeable must have been the same guy who guaranteed those 1400 temporary seats would be done for Super Bowl XLV. To be honest, I have no idea how we ended up with a 3-seed. We're going to lose in Round 1 or Round 2. Crap."


Bill Simmons

.................

This, my friends could not be more spot on.

And BTW, there is a man working really hard in his bakery now to spin this sad truth into a whole different rosy direction....

Bill Simmons has been watching the Mavs far too closely. Spot on. Especially the line about Roddy. I seriously hope he wasn't "untradeable" though.

[j0Shi]

I won't argue anything and agree that he is basically right. Only one thing: Where was Bill Simmons at the trade deadline suggesting to trade Roddy because he will end up as a poor man's Tony Parker?

[Thespiralgoeson]

God bless Bill Simmons.

[CadBane]

Aldridge
Andre Miller
Batum
Gerald Wallace

There you go. All four are all-around better players than Jet. Jet is a better scorer than Batum, maybe. But Batum is superior in every other aspect (better three point shooter these days, too.)

[LonghornDub]

I agree with Cad's list but I don't really think JET is the Mavs' second-best player. He's regarded as the #2 guy in crunch time, but overall I put Chandler, Marion, and a healthy Butler above JET at this point.

Maybe that doesn't change the list, but I think Simmons's comparison started off on a bad premise.

[CadBane]

Originally Posted by LonghornDub

I agree with Cad's list but I don't really think JET is the Mavs' second-best player. He's regarded as the #2 guy in crunch time, but overall I put Chandler, Marion, and a healthy Butler above JET at this point.

Maybe that doesn't change the list, but I think Simmons's comparison started off on a bad premise.

True, but I guess he's speaking more from an offensive help level (obviously discounting Butler, since he's hurt.)

Regardless, so spot on by Bill.

[Kidd Karma]

Originally Posted by CadBane

Aldridge
Andre Miller
Batum
Gerald Wallace

There you go. All four are all-around better players than Jet. Jet is a better scorer than Batum, maybe. But Batum is superior in every other aspect (better three point shooter these days, too.)

Yea, I'll take all 4.