Tracking the Mavs since the Kidd trade

[Dr.Zoidberg]

Originally Posted by sike

just to help your memory, ty, do you know this man?? http://funnyfunda.com/wp-content/upl...10/fattest.png

AAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!

Why are you doing this, my eyes are bleeding...

[DirkFTW]

Originally Posted by ty

OH, wtf. I thought that was freakin KG. Am I the only one that thinks he looks like KG? He has no hair in that pic.

I thought it was Stackhouse, the BAMF. And Kidd is in Jail for speeding up our fast breaks too much.

[kg_veteran]

Originally Posted by DirkFTW

I thought it was Stackhouse, the BAMF.

Nice.

[sike]

How is this for breaking Mavs news: The Mavs have the second longest current winning streak in the league!

[Dr.Zoidberg]

Kidd's Fave Five
Our Tips That Let Kidd Be Kidd
By Mike Fisher -- DB.com


Early in this season, coach Avery Johnson said he was “tinkering’’ and “experimenting’’ with ways to make his Mavs successful. Now it’s late in the season, Dirk is down, Kidd is the best player on the team – and unfortunately, it’s time for more “experimenting.’’ The good news: I offer five Kidd-related “experiments’’ that actually have a historical chance of succeeding.

1 The Princeton Offense. No, the Mavs cannot undo their existing playbook and replace it with the Byron Scott/Lawrence Frank playbook used so effectively to put Kidd in position to succeed in New Jersey. But Dallas can incorporate pages of the playbook.

Simply put, it’s a motion offense – remember Pete Carril’s Princeton teams occasionally making March Madness hay with all those little while guys moving without the ball? – that puts receivers in motion to the basket and frees them with screens.

Avery said the other day that he’d installed one new play just for Jason. It is presumed it is the singular play in Thursday’s loss to Boston that resulted in Josh Howard making a backdoor baseline cut to the hoop for an alley-oop.

And then on Sunday morning, the coach went further: “We've changed a lot of our offense to get him into a lot of the stuff he was doing with Byron when they went to the Finals.’’

Baby steps, I guess. But the point is, these sorts of sets are indeed in the Mavs playbook right now. It is simply a matter of the coach calling them with some frequency. Or rather, maybe simply a matter of letting the point guard call them.

It has been said that Mavs wings Josh Howard and Jerry Stackhouse are “not like’’ Kidd’s wingmen in New Jersey, Richard Jefferson and Vince Carter. With the exception of a few vertical-leap inches here or there, that is absolutely untrue. Howard is a solid mid-range shooter, Stack has a history of being a clutch perimeter shooter, both of them are fearless on the drive, and both of them are solid finishers at the rim.

This seems so logical a solution that it begs a question: Has Kidd played good soldier and not pushed for some more Princeton Offense stuff? Or has he pushed for it and been denied?

2 Run after all makes and misses. This is not new information from this space, and it is not a new concept at Mavs HQ. That exact sentence – “run after all makes and misses’’ is word-for-word part of Avery’s pregame instructions to his Mavs before the Tuesday meeting with the Lakers, and it was part of the plan against the Celtics (and, I assume, against the Spurs as well).

Here’s what Avery says he wants from Kidd in this department: “He has the ball in transition and he's running the basketball, nobody's stopping him. And when he sees something, go. I just think there are opportunities where we think he can push it even more and we see windows of opportunity that he sometimes passes up. And he has the freedom to take those
opportunities.’’

It sounds like the fellas are essentially on the same page here, and really, conceptually, this should be the easiest Dirk-less fall-back option of ‘em call: What Kidd does best is run the same sort of high-paced offense once favored here by Don Nelson. And that chapter of the “Mavericks Way’’ instructional manual, authored by Del Harris, remains a foundation piece of this organization’s success in the Cuban Era.

Avery played in it and Popeye played in it. Ro and Brad Davis coached it here. Paul Westphal knows it. It’s the approach Dirk and J-Ho were weaned on, Damp and Stack have done it, it milked successful campaigns out of the likes of Walt Williams, it helped turn guys like Raja Bell into headliners, and all it requires is for Kidd to run as Nash once ran.

Or really for Kidd-as-Mav to run as Kidd-as-Mav ran 14 years ago.

Does this not seem eminently do-able? And if the worst that comes of it is that we revert to questions of if “Nellie-style running teams will win a championship?’’, well, isn’t that better than the quicksand in which we presently seem stuck?

3 Kidd in the low post. My (“Poisonous Journalism’’) instincts are telling me that Avery does not think highly of Kidd as a half-court point guard. In fact, here’s what the coach said along those lines on Sunday morning: “We've had most of our problems in the half-court. … I think, in the half-court we haven't been able to execute as well as we have in the past.’’

There’s some truth there, in regard to the “execution’’ issue; this has somehow become a team that collapses in the late-going against elite teams. But the “in the past’’ part of Avery’s remarks seem like a dig at the Kidd Era Mavs as opposed to the pre-Kidd roster.

But Kidd is in fact a multi-faceted weapon in the half-court – even while not being a good shooter. And that is where Avery would be wrong to think of him as “only a PG-passer’’ in the half-court offense.

This tip comes courtesy of an NBA insider who is a long-time Kidd studier: Against smallish guards, set up Kidd in the low post. At 6-4, 210, he is a load inside against the likes of Tony Parker. He has historically dominated in there, passing from different angles and unexpected angles to open mates, sometimes making his oddball/knuckleball/shotput layups, sometimes missing a first shot but getting a rebound and a putback. He’s got a unique skill here, and I do not think I’m exaggerating when I say I don’t believe I’ve seen him used that way once in the 17 games during this tour of duty in Dallas.

4 Heavy minutes. This is the least complex notion of them all: With a dozen games left in the season, the whole thing on the line, tough opponents dotting the schedule, you ride your horses. Kidd is averaging 34 minutes per game in Dallas, about three fewer than was the case in New Jersey. In fact, check out Kidd’s minutes per in Nets years ’01 through ’08:

37.3, 37.4, 36.6, 36.9, 37.2, 36.7, 37.2.

You think that – almost exactly 37 mpg EVERY YEAR – is an accident? Or do you think it’s a purposely-designed plan intent on getting the very best production out of a franchise’s very best player?

It hasn’t worked that way in Dallas.

Of course, infamously, in the final 34 seconds of that early-Kidd-Era loss at San Antonio, Kidd didn’t play at all.

In Tuesday’s Lakers loss, Kidd played 27:49. Meanwhile, Kobe – the horse LA must ride -- played 43:32.

In Sunday’s Spurs loss, Kidd exited the game in the third quarter with 4:19 remaining and Dallas up 54-49. He sat out the rest of the period as the Spurs completely turned the game around, taking a 65-58 lead to enter the fourth.

What’s the difference between 37 mpg and 34 mpg? Well, maybe it’s the three or four minutes following Dirk’s injury when the Mavs essentially fell apart.

Kidd plays 38 or 40 or 42. Tyronn Lue caddies for him, and takes off his warm-ups only when Kidd needs a blow. The idea of Devean George as a PG is shelved, partly because he’s needed to pick up Dirk slack, and partly because it’s a failure. And JJB waves towels. Period.

If in the final dozen games, the Mavericks succeed, they will succeed because Kidd drives them to success. If they fail, it should be because Kidd failed. That befits his role, his salary, his talent, his attitude.

He’s the horse that must be ridden.

5 Jason Kidd simply must shoot better. And play better. Consider J-Kidd’s stats in the team’s eight losses during his stint here: Kidd's stats in the eight losses: 8.3 points, 35-percent shooting, 5.9 rebounds, 7.8 assists, 2.8 turnovers. (tip o' the cap to the DMNews.) That’s not just Jason being handcuffed by the system; that’s Jason going through a slump.

There are ways for the system to up Kidd’s assist numbers. His sheer will will take care of the rebounds. Which leaves the one remaining blemish:

Jason Kidd as a scorer.

I’ll give the entire stage here to Avery Johnson:

“When teams shut down some of his passing lanes, he's just going to have to try to go to
the basket and make something happen there. ... I don't want to ever see him hesitating. He's been in the league too long to hesitate and I told him, if you've got a wide-open shot, take it and we'll live with the results.’’

That is quite possibly the most brilliant comment Avery Johnson has made to the media in his time as a head coach. This team has a shot. The coach has a shot. And it’s all because Jason Kidd – who has in 10 different years exceeded 13 points per game, has five times exceeded 15.5, once averaged 18.7 ppg and had a career average of 14.2. … but who in Dallas is piddling along at 8.4 -- gives them a shot.

Kidd said, “We’ll all have to pick it up and do a little more.’’

And that is true. But the one Mavs best equipped to “do a little more is Kidd. And now, more than ever, Jason Kidd must be allowed to be Jason Kidd. … and however that works out, we’ll live with the results.

1129pm march 24 2008

Link

[ty]

Originally Posted by Dr.Zoidberg

Kidd plays 38 or 40 or 42. Tyronn Lue caddies for him, and takes off his warm-ups only when Kidd needs a blow. The idea of Devean George as a PG is shelved, partly because he’s needed to pick up Dirk slack, and partly because it’s a failure. And JJB waves towels. Period.

Dr.Zoidberg posts the best articles.

[Kidd Karma]

Great article Zoid, thanks.

Princeton offense was basically put in by Eddie Jordan. He was hired by WA the year after the Spurs-Nets finals. Coincidence that the Nets never made it back since? It played to Kidd's strengths, of finding the open man. VC does not do the Princeton justice. He basically ruined it, because he would/could not move in that offense, so the Nets basically went from running it 80% of the time to about 10%. I think you have to look at the best Nets team...that was 2001-02. KVH, KMart, MacCulloch, Kidd and Kittles were the starters. You need decent passing big men, a dead eye shooter and a couple of guys who can finish at the rims, they do not necessarily have to be creators....VC, but guys who can finish at the rim or with a jump shot. If I recall 01-02 was the year Kidd was supposed to win MVP, but lost out to Duncan in a close vote.

Post up, this is where we have a nice mismatch with SA, Houston, Lakers, post up in the block. Kidd has that skill and in the half court Johnson has to make it a weapon.

Heavy Minutes, never going to be an issue. Kidd seems to "save" himself if he knew his minutes would be close to 40 a night. You get him in the know that he'll only see 32 or so minutes, it becomes a 95% 32 minutes, rather than a 80% 40 minutes. He'll become more efficient, rebounds, assists, shots, etc.

Shooting, this is the key, he has to shoot the rock in the context of the offense. I grew frustrated with VC when he'd just pound the rock after Kidd got him a spot up. Kidd is doing this more and more his confidence is shot, but for the Mavs to go any where he has to at least shoot the ball within the offense.

[monty55555]

DALLAS -- The Dallas Mavericks' once-so-dreamy NBA season didn't die here Sunday.

But is there a doctor in the house?

The word from a grim, reality-slapped American Airlines Center crowd was that reigning league MVP Dirk Nowitzki is expected to be out at least two weeks following a third-quarter semi-collision with San Antonio's Ime Udoka. Nowitzki will be officially evaluated today, at which time the Mavericks might want to cancel that call for a doctor.

No doctor. They can just go straight to picking out the team casket.

For while the talk around the Mavericks' locker room still smacked of hope and adjustments immediately after the game -- there was no prognosis yet on Nowitzki -- the sobering news later about Dirk would appear to seal the fate of this season's team.

To paraphrase the great Jim Mora: Playoffs?! Playoffs?!! The Mavericks are just trying to make a basket and maybe win another game.

They didn't need San Antonio to tell them that Sunday, though, if it's bad news for the Mavericks, there's always a good chance that the Spurs are around.

San Antonio's 88-81 victory came despite the Spurs shooting only 33 percent (30 for 91) for the game and despite the Mavericks leading by 12 midway in the third quarter.

This was, stated simply, another victory over a pedigreed, playoff-bound team that the Mavericks allowed to slither from their grasps.

The Mavs had played playoffs-worthy, hip-to-hip defense most of the afternoon. The Spurs' backcourt of Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Michael Finley had a combined 10-for-43 shooting day. Jerry Stackhouse and Jason Terry, coming off the Mavericks' bench, had performed well.

In some ways, the Mavericks couldn't have played better.

And now, without Nowitzki for at least two weeks, they're about to play a lot worse.

An Avery Johnson offense that has looked confused and frustrated can add "punchless" to the list. Nowitzki seemed to be the only one capable of creating a shot for himself in this tightly reined offense.

"Obviously," Johnson said after the game, "81 points is not going to get it done for us."

Avery had already looked at the box score and seen the Spurs' shooting percentages.

"Do the math," he said. "Right now, we can't score at a high enough clip, and, obviously, we can't score at the right time."

Johnson's sobering observation: "Teams are playing five in the paint on us right now."

Defenses, in other words, are wagering that the Mavericks (a) won't shoot or (b) won't make it even if they do. Since the controversial trade for Jason Kidd on Feb. 19, the wisdom of that defensive strategy has become more and more apparent.

"It's a matter of getting in and getting a few more balls to fall," Avery assessed.

Oh, please, that's not a game plan. That's today's elementary basketball.

And on offense, the Mavericks appear to be stymied at Step One.

The Kidd trade has them tied in knots. But it doesn't seem to be so much Kidd's fault as it does Johnson's grip on the offense.

Somebody, please explain. At the trade deadline, the Mavericks dug deep and made the decision to acquire Jason Kidd. Common sense says that a team wouldn't make such a trade unless it was willing to let the 14-year veteran take control of its offense.

The whole Jason Kidd package -- that's what the trade was supposed to be about.

The age, the diminished quickness, the fickle shooting. Sure, that was expected to be part of it.

But Kidd also brings with him leadership, experience, court savvy and a veteran point guard's feel for tempo and momentum. And, right now, the Mavericks are benefiting from little of that.

Instead of the Jason Kidd Showtime Extravaganza, it's been The Avery Show, more than ever.

Owner Mark Cuban sported a T-shirt for Sunday's nationally televised game that read "Avery's Team," an apparent reference to his and the coach's Tuesday night spat.

Avery's Team, indeed. Was there a subtle, second meaning behind Cuban's T-shirt message?

Despite being prodded, Kidd didn't try to stir up trouble Sunday afternoon.

"They trust me, or they wouldn't have made the trade for me," he said.

As for his own role, he said, "I've just got to stop thinking and just react -- be more aggressive."

The Mavericks need to run more, Kidd assessed. They have to be more accountable. They are not, he said, "a walk-it-up team."

But Kidd laid none of the blame at the feet of the head coach.

"The beauty of this story will be when we've worked through all these things," he said.

That hopeful remark, alas, was uttered before the Mavericks knew they would be without Nowitzki for at least two weeks.

Playoffs?! Playoffs?!!

First things first.

Somebody, please introduce the head coach to Jason Kidd.

http://www.star-telegram.com/287/story/543950.html

[Murphy3]

Originally Posted by jthig32

I'm really sorry to hear that Murph. My thoughts and prayers to your family.

And they were and are appreciated. I don't know whether I should say unfortunately or fortunately... but, his battle ended last week.

[Dr.Zoidberg]

Originally Posted by Murphy3

And they were and are appreciated. I don't know whether I should say unfortunately or fortunately... but, his battle ended last week.

My deepest condolences. Must be a very hard and sad time for you, even if your brother probably was in big pain and it was an uphill battle. May he be in a better world now...

[Rick41]

Originally Posted by Murphy3

And they were and are appreciated. I don't know whether I should say unfortunately or fortunately... but, his battle ended last week.

My condolences to you brother... i went through a period like that about 2 years ago on the dot... lost my grandfather to cancer.

[Lor20]

Did the mavs mentally turn a corner last game or was is a "fluke". Don't get me wrong, 3 quarters the mavs didn't play well on defense and only stayed alive by the J against a dteam not known to really defend all that great (even with snack). But what we have lacked since kidd arrived(before that we were about 60/40 in close games) - Closing out close games.
Since the trade we lost 11 games.
5 were by 5 points or less.
2 more were 5-9 points.
We lost only 4 games by a significant margin (where we were cleary the worse team):
In NO on Kidd's day #1.
against houston, denver, gs - all without Dirk.
In every other of the 20 games we had the chance to win or even were dominant.
Of the 13 wins 9 were blowouts (11+ difference).

[kg_veteran]

Wanted to update the numbers:

Since the Kidd trade, the Mavs have posted the following stats:

Offensive efficiency: 112.6 pp100
Defensive efficiency: 106.2 pp100
Rebounding differential: +3.8

Here are the top 8 teams in the West, ranked by their current "golf" scores (using full season stats):

1. Dallas: 16 (7th in offense, 5th in defense, 4th in rebounding)
2. New Orleans: 19 (4th in offense, 6th in defense, 9th in rebounding)
3. Utah: 19 (1st in offense, 12th in defense, 6th in rebounding)
4. Houston: 20 (16th in offense, 2nd in defense, 2nd in rebounding)
5. LAL: 21 (3rd in offense, 7th in defense, 11th in rebounding)
6. San Antonio: 26 (13th in offense, 3rd in defense, 10th in rebounding)
7. Denver: 42 (11th in offense, 10th in defense, 21st in rebounding)
8. Phoenix: 43 (2nd in offense, 15th in defense, 26th in rebounding)

[endrity]

Numbers wise we are still there, we have to get better in those last two minutes though. That's what it comes down to it. Either Kidd or Avery have to find out what works best with this team down the stretch of a close game. I think both are at fault here.

[Eman]

It's all execution at the end.

Josh howard should never throw the inbounds pass &

Damp needs to be in to play defense.

We'll win a lot more games.

[dude1394]

Originally Posted by Lor20

Did the mavs mentally turn a corner last game or was is a "fluke". Don't get me wrong, 3 quarters the mavs didn't play well on defense and only stayed alive by the J against a dteam not known to really defend all that great (even with snack). But what we have lacked since kidd arrived(before that we were about 60/40 in close games) - Closing out close games.
Since the trade we lost 11 games.
5 were by 5 points or less.
2 more were 5-9 points.
We lost only 4 games by a significant margin (where we were cleary the worse team):
In NO on Kidd's day #1.
against houston, denver, gs - all without Dirk.
In every other of the 20 games we had the chance to win or even were dominant.
Of the 13 wins 9 were blowouts (11+ difference).

I think you are offbase with the "by the J" comment. the mavs were in the paint all day yesterday. Take a look at the shot chart.

[kg_veteran]

Originally Posted by dude1394

I think you are offbase with the "by the J" comment. the mavs were in the paint all day yesterday. Take a look at the shot chart.

Yeah, 46 points in the paint and only 10 3-pointers attempted.

[alexamenos]

Originally Posted by kg_veteran

Wanted to update the numbers:

Since the Kidd trade, the Mavs have posted the following stats:

Offensive efficiency: 112.6 pp100
Defensive efficiency: 106.2 pp100
Rebounding differential: +3.8

Here are the top 8 teams in the West, ranked by their current "golf" scores (using full season stats):

1. Dallas: 16 (7th in offense, 5th in defense, 4th in rebounding)
2. New Orleans: 19 (4th in offense, 6th in defense, 9th in rebounding)
3. Utah: 19 (1st in offense, 12th in defense, 6th in rebounding)
4. Houston: 20 (16th in offense, 2nd in defense, 2nd in rebounding)
5. LAL: 21 (3rd in offense, 7th in defense, 11th in rebounding)
6. San Antonio: 26 (13th in offense, 3rd in defense, 10th in rebounding)
7. Denver: 42 (11th in offense, 10th in defense, 21st in rebounding)
8. Phoenix: 43 (2nd in offense, 15th in defense, 26th in rebounding)

that's pretty interesting.

i've never been a big believer in the "close games are a matter of luck" school of thought, hence i don't think the mavs dismal record v. the top 6 of late is a fluke.

but, the margin between the mavs and the 1-6 team is pretty doggone small, at the most.

[Usually Lurkin]

Originally Posted by kg_veteran

Here are the top 8 teams in the West, ranked by their current "golf" scores (using full season stats)

very encouraging. I'm a big fan of these 3-component golf-scores you keep posting.
But a few of those teams are right now pretty different than what they were earlier in the season. Do you have scores for post all-star, or post Kidd trade (that was the most recent, right?)

[kg_veteran]

Originally Posted by Usually Lurkin

very encouraging. I'm a big fan of these 3-component golf-scores you keep posting.
But a few of those teams are right now pretty different than what they were earlier in the season. Do you have scores for post all-star, or post Kidd trade (that was the most recent, right?)

Here is the post All-Star data. I've indicated whether each team has improved or declined in each category vs. their season numbers, and I've thrown in MOV for the heck of it:

Dallas
Offense: 113.3 - improved
Defense: 106.9 - improved
Rebounding diff.: +3.83 - improved
MOV: +5.8 - improved

New Orleans
Offense: 117.2 - improved
Defense: 111.2 - declined
Rebounding diff.: -0.24 - declined
MOV: +4.7 - declined

San Antonio
Offense: 108.3 - declined
Defense: 102.5 - improved
Rebounding diff.: +0.50 - declined
MOV: +5.0 - improved

LA Lakers
Offense: 118.0 - improved
Defense: 109.9 - declined
Rebounding diff.: +0.52 - declined
MOV: +8.1 - improved

Houston
Offense: 112.0 - improved
Defense: 102.4 - improved
Rebounding diff.: +4.56 - improved
MOV: +8.0 - improved

Phoenix
Offense: 117.3 - improved
Defense: 112.6 - declined
Rebounding diff.: +2.92 - improved
MOV: +3.0 - declined

Utah
Offense: 122.7 - improved
Defense: 111.8 - declined
Rebounding diff.: +4.58 - improved
MOV: +9.6 - improved

Denver
Offense: 118.8 - improved
Defense: 113.4 - declined
Rebounding diff.: -2.00 - declined
MOV: +5.4 - improved


Only 2 teams have improved in every area: Houston and Dallas.

[FINtastic]

Wow, it's amazing that our record sucks so bad considering the fact that the numbers show across the board improvement. Must be from running the weak teams out of the gym. I'm not really expecting much, but who knows maybe they can surprise us. I guess this is also why Hollinger is relatively high on the Mavs (all things considered) despite that terrible looking record against above-.500 teams. I tended to disagree with his notion last year (and still do) that close games can come down to luck often at the end. I've always been on the "great teams make their own luck" bandwagon. I guess this Mavs team will put that to the test in this year's playoffs.

[ghazi]

If we were to rank our offensive/defensive efficiency and rebounding since the all-star break compared to the full season rankings, I believe we would be 3rd in rebounding, 4th in offense, 6th in defense, and 5th in margin of victory... I think lol.

The stats could be inflated from beating up on those eastern teams, but I think Hollinger makes a good point in stating that margin of victory is a good measure of quality of basketball. It is not as if we were running up the scores on those teams either, as the starters generally played less minutes... so the "quality" was still there.

That we are so strong statistically leads me to believe we're better than the 14-11 record we've posted since the Kidd trade (plus, we're 12-8 in games Dirk played).

We also have to consider the circumstances around some of the losses (game against NOH after Kidd had 1 practice with the team, the games Dirk didn't play in and the SA game where Dirk got injured... plus a lot of games going down to the wire).

The best 3 offensive games since the Kidd trade were against Charlotte (130.1), Los Angeles (recent meeting, 128.5), and Indiana (127.9)

The three worst offensive games were against the Celtics (94.1), the Spurs (96.0), and the Lakers (March 3rd, 101.2)

the best 3 defensive games were against Miami (84.3), New York (86.2), and Memphis (91.1) with the recent GS win a close 4th (92)

The three worst defensive games were against Los Angeles (recent meeting, 134), Houston (130.6), and Denver (130.4)... 2 of those games without Dirk and it's intriguing that the recent Laker game was one of our best offensive performances yet one of our worst defensive performances.

the 3 largest margins are +29 against New York and +25 against Miami, Charlotte, and Golden State

and the 3 best rebounding performances were the recent win against GS (+18), New York (+17), and Charlotte (+15)


just a bunch of random stats :P

[kg_veteran]

For those that are interested, I put together a spreadsheet and then pulled the data from http://www.hoopsstats.com. Here are the top 8 teams in the West, ranked by their current "golf" scores (using post All-Star break stats):

1. Utah: 15 (1st in offense, 11th in defense, 3rd in rebounding)
2. Houston: 20 (17th in offense, 1st in defense, 2nd in rebounding)
3. Dallas: 22 (12th in offense, 5th in defense, 5th in rebounding)
4. Phoenix: 25 (4th in offense, 13th in defense, 8th in rebounding)
5. LAL: 26 (3rd in offense, 10th in defense, 13th in rebounding)
6. New Orleans: 30 (5th in offense, 9th in defense, 16th in rebounding)
7. Denver: 41 (2nd in offense, 19th in defense, 20th in rebounding)
8. San Antonio: 43 (26th in offense, 3rd in defense, 14th in rebounding)

Several observations:

1. Utah might be the team to beat in the West. They have the best post All-Star MOV in the West (+9.64), and they are on quite a roll. The Mavs will have their hands full tonight.

2. Phoenix may have made the right move with the Shaq trade after all. While they are still a poor defensive team, they remain a great offensive club and are now a pretty good rebounding team. I don't think their defense is good enough to win a title, but their overall golf score has improved significantly and is above that of several other more highly regarded teams like the Lakers, Hornets, and Spurs.

3. San Antonio and New Orleans have both had a surprising fall-off in performance. New Orleans, in particular, may be very vulnerable in the first round of the playoffs.

4. Dallas is in a very good position to do some damage in the playoffs. As indicated by the numbers, Jason Kidd is right. This team is defending (and rebounding) well enough to win. They just have to shore things up a bit on the offensive side of the ball (where, notably, they have improved their efficiency post All-Star break), and they will be right up there with anybody else in the West.

[FINtastic]

I have a stats mini-project coming up, and for fun I think I am going to test the Mavs score as a function of Jason Kidd's assists numbers. I'll post the results after I turn it in next week. Not sure if it will really be indicative of much of anything, or if anyone is interested, but I'll put it up for the heck of it.

[kg_veteran]

Originally Posted by FINtastic

I have a stats mini-project coming up, and for fun I think I am going to test the Mavs score as a function of Jason Kidd's assists numbers. I'll post the results after I turn it in next week. Not sure if it will really be indicative of much of anything, or if anyone is interested, but I'll put it up for the heck of it.

Post it. It should be interesting.

[purplefrog]

Originally Posted by kg_veteran

2. Houston: 20 (17th in offense, 1st in defense, 2nd in rebounding)
.

Wow. This is post all-star break? Amazing that the Rockets are 2nd in rebounding without Yao. I find this shocking. I wonder who's getting all the boards? Scola?? Landry??

[kg_veteran]

Originally Posted by purplefrog

Wow. This is post all-star break? Amazing that the Rockets are 2nd in rebounding without Yao. I find this shocking. I wonder who's getting all the boards? Scola?? Landry??

Here are their post All-Star averages:

Ming 10.8 (played in 4 games)
Scola 8.1
Mutombo 6.5
Wells 6.0 (played in 1 game)
McGrady 5.6
Landry 5.4
Battier 5.3
Hayes 4.8
Alston 3.9
Harris 3.1
Jackson 2.5
Head 2.2

[G-Man]

Perhaps the best thing about the Mavs post Kidd trade is that they are still a work in progress, and have more room for improvement than the other teams that made trades, Korver and Gasol are well integrated into their team's schemes. But Howard has only shown a comfort level for about 2 weeks, and most of that was without Dirk.

The defense is starting to look pretty good. Now its time to settle down and tighten the rotations. Unfortunatly injuries are making this very difficult. Malik showed some flashes, but then he got hurt. Hope Howard's knee isn't serious. Dirk is still hobbling, even tho' his stats don't show it.

Get this team healthy, and anything is possible.