Mavericks eager to get out of their road funk - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

MavsFanFinley · 03-06-2005, 12:57 AM

Mavericks eager to get out of their road funk
Last stop on short trip is opportunity to avoid a three-game slide

By DAVID MOORE / The Dallas Morning News

Jerry Stackhouse knows the symptoms. Point-blank shots refuse to fall, players grow uncertain and nothing the team does seems to turn out right. The Mavericks have come down with this malaise.

"It's one of those stretches," Stackhouse said as the team prepared to face the Houston Rockets today at the Toyota Center. "We've been fortunate in that we haven't really had one this year. All teams have them, a block of games that you hope you can win but you're not playing your best basketball.

"We just have to stick together."

This is the worst stretch the Mavericks have endured in more than three months. The team enters today's nationally televised contest with three losses in the last four games and an 0-for-Los Angeles start to its three-game road trip.

"I thought this was going to be a good trip for us," Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki said after the team lost to the Clippers and Lakers in a span of 72 hours. "Now all we have left is the Houston game.

"We've got to stop the bleeding."

Keith Van Horn isn't bleeding, but he did tear a ligament in the ring finger of his right (shooting) hand in Friday's loss to the Lakers. Michael Finley missed the game with a left calf contusion. Van Horn will play against the Rockets, but Finley is expected to miss the game.

The Rockets are one of three teams chasing the Mavericks for the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference. It's not much of a chase at the moment. The Mavericks can nudge the Rockets even further back and take the season series with a win today.

"We did our work early to help us be in this position," Stackhouse said. "We're thankful for that. At the same time, we can't get complacent because we're in the fourth seed and it doesn't look like anyone is going to catch us.

"Definitely, we've got to look at the teams behind us. We don't want those teams to start making up any ground on us."

So far, they haven't. Despite their struggles, the Mavericks have actually gained ground in the loss column over the current No. 5 seed (Sacramento) since the All-Star break.

"We can't be satisfied with that," Nowitzki said. "We're struggling ourselves. We should have won the Phoenix game. There's no way we should have come out as flat as we did against the Clippers. I mean, we barely beat New Orleans at home, to be honest.

"The record is OK overall if you look at it. But we've got to get a lot better, especially as we are looking forward to the playoffs."

Rough start:

Keith Van Horn has struggled to find his niche. The forward has averaged nine points and gone 13-of-35 from the field (37.1 percent) in the four games since the Mavericks acquired him from the Milwaukee Bucks.

"I don't know all the plays, and trying to mix in right away in this system has been difficult," Van Horn said. "But I'm confident."

It didn't help that Van Horn dislocated the ring finger on his shooting hand twice in Friday's loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. It popped out in the third quarter when he jammed it against the backboard and came out again later when he swiped at a ball.

"Hopefully I can contain the swelling and it won't bother me too much," said Van Horn, who practiced Saturday.

dude1394 · 03-06-2005, 01:20 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by: MavsFanFinley
Mavericks eager to get out of their road funk
Last stop on short trip is opportunity to avoid a three-game slide

By DAVID MOORE / The Dallas Morning News

Jerry Stackhouse knows the symptoms. Point-blank shots refuse to fall, players grow uncertain and nothing the team does seems to turn out right. The Mavericks have come down with this malaise.

And message boards knee-jerk all over the place. Hah...

dude1394 · 03-06-2005, 01:21 AM

I also like a lot of what stack brings. I wish he'd shoot less, but he's a fearless sob..

Drbio · 03-06-2005, 03:19 AM

And he drives relentlessly. The Mavs need all of that they can get.

V2M · 03-06-2005, 03:30 AM

How could a guy dislocate a finger on his shooting hand, twice in one game, and he continues to play without the media catch on to it, during the game? How could he not miss a minute or a game for that injury? How could anyone that calls him "soft" could ever be taken serious again?

Drbio · 03-06-2005, 03:32 AM

The only concern I have with it popping out twice is that a major ligament injury is indicated. It is something that may be able to be addressed with support (i.e. trainers tape, etc) or it may require off season (or sooner) surgery. It is something to keep an eye on, but calling him soft? This is just another piece of the overwhelming factual evidence that suggests otherwise.

dude1394 · 03-06-2005, 11:19 AM

Oh we all know what that's about. Ask NVE.