Mavs Practice 16-Oct 2004

[V]

Went to the practice ... several things to note:

Avery Johnson opened practice with defensive drills. I'd say two-thirds of the practice was dedicated to defense.

Nelly ran break drills: 1 on 1; 2 on 2; 3 on 2; 5 on 5 (Stack can fly)

Offensive sets ran through the center ... and included the triangle.

Dampier is obviously hobbled. I doubt it's serious because he ran full contact for most of the day ... only taking off shooting drill to close. It looked like a hamstring. Danny Wheat streched him out several times ... and he was iced before leaving the floor.

Dirk was a ham. So was Terry.

Howard is fine ... he almost jumped out of the gym on several occasions.

In the 5 on 5 drill Dirk drove to the hole & left a nice over the shoulder drop pass for Dampier... but Damp had already turned to get rebounding position. Turnover. .... After yelling several (loud) F bombs Dirk punted the basketball into the rafters. ... Dirk can be a clown, but he was plenty serious when he needed to be.

Stack was nursing a hammy and also took off shooting drills.

Daniels watched.

Lots of "nice play, Damp." comments from the coaching staff. He gets great position ... Mavs need to learn how toget him the ball. (The PGs worked on the post-entry pass while the Swings shot threes and the big men took 8 - 12 foooters.)

Finley made Harris & M'Benga come into the seats to meet the fans. Terry joined them & gave his shirt to a kid. Some woman asked for his shorts too. No luck.

More to come ...

[dirk2003]

When did Dampier get hurt? Did I miss something? What was Dampier's reaction to Dirk getting pissed at him?

thanks for the update

[cheesestar]

dirk seems to be more vocal than i thought he would be... lets see it on the court

[dirno2000]

Thanks for the update.

How many people showed up?

[V]

dirk2003: I have no idea about Damp's injury. It didn't seem to limit him on the court .... but I saw him clutch at it several times. Probably just a nagging pain. ... And when Dirk got pissed I don't think it was AT Damp ... it was more at the lack of execution. He & Damp slapped hands sort of like, "We miss connected but we'll get it right next time..."

Doctor No: prolly 300 people in and out throughout. Maybe 75 or 100 stayed for the whole practice. I was near the front so there could've been more I didn't see. It was a good crowd. Quiet so the coaches could coach & if you were careful you could listen. For example, at one point Terry cut to the bucket off a nice screen from Dampier and he had an open look for a runner from about 10 feet .... but he dished awkwardly to Dirk. Turnover. After that play Nelly said to Terry something like "I don't know if I can take it ... you had an open shot & you fired it back away from the play etc etc." The were also quite a few times when Nelly explained certain reads to look for based on how the defense is playing. Interesting stuff.

Avery was also easy to hear ... he ran through multiple situations that got the Mavs in trouble defensively against New Orleans.

[rabbitproof]

Avery sounds like as big of a free agent coup as anybody else we've added this offseason and I'm fairly high on all the new additions (the rooks to the trade-ins).

[chumdawg]

Great stuff, V. Thanks for filling us in. Post more as you remember!

[EricaLubarsky]

Thanks for the update, V.

I'm so ready for this season to start, I've programmed my Tivo to record the NY/Dal, Dal/SA, and Dal/Sac games, and I actually watched the NY/SA game this morning. Im really desperate.

[sike]

Did you hear nellie give props to anyone on a good play or only negative comments on bad ones, V?

[madape]

The triangle?? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Nightmare flashbacks of Jim Clemmons! Make it go away! Aaaaargh!

[V]

Sike: Nelly complemented Damp several times ... once he even stopped practice & showed everyone else what Damp did.

And he complemented the whole team on some outstanding ball movement, at times. On one occasion in particular Stack rotated the ball from the wing to Terry back up top ... while Damp set a down pick for Finley who was freed up in the corner. Terry to Fin ... THREE?... clank.

Fin missed ... but Nelly remarked that he doesn't expect them to be making those shots just yet. He said they'll need another week to get their legs before the shots will fall consistently. He said that he is really please at what the team is doing to get good shots.

Harris made some impressive dishes on the break that drew some ooo's. Terry set up Damp for a monster alley-oop ... lots of positives to go around. I can't say Nelly lambasted anyone but Terry & it was done in the context of coaching, not yelling.

The practice seems to start slowly ... but it got competitive quickly. The coaches corrected mistakes ... but above all they simply coached. It was a good practice.

[sike]

I can't say Nelly lambasted anyone but Terry & it was done in the context of coaching, not yelling.

thanks for the insight, V, good stuff to hear.

[chumdawg]

How did Benga look? Was he banging on Damp?

[EricaLubarsky]

He said they'll need another week to get their legs before the shots will fall consistently.

I think I can say without much doubt that the Knicks/Mavs game is going to be some fun.

[V]

A few more notes:

Suprisingly Dampier seemed comfortable & strong on the wing & side pick and roll.

Booth made a nice block defending the break ... but he looked uncomfortable with the ball in his hands.

Henderson is exactly as advertised. Fundamentally sound but I dont remember him doing much ... I guess that can be both good and bad.

Benga is an athletic freak but he very mechanical & quite lost. He has the softest shot of all the big men. Damp's shot spins really fast.

Fin vs. Stack was something to see ... they have a nice competition going & I think they make each other better. Stack definately goes to the hole with authority. I've always considered Fin a tough player but Stack makes Fin's play look graceful. Stack is an effin bull dog.

At center it was usually Bradley v. Dampier. Big Shawn had one nice block but Damp overpowered him on several occasions.

Harris v. Terry was fun to watch but I'm not sure who played better since Terry ran mostly with the starters. Harris shot lights out today. Dickau got lots of burn ... but he did nothing spectacular. The coaches don't pay much attention to him. Same can be said for Hood.

[sike]

here are some of Bob "I'm the biggest Mavs homer" Ortegel's opinions...I still tend to like the guy though...find contentment here

Bob Ortegel – who begins his 17th season as the color analyst for Mavs telecasts and his fourth season as a contributor to DB.com – plays Q-and-A on a variety of subjects, including Damp’s fit, early turnovers, Dirk’s chin being up and the nauseating idea of 3-point availability only in a game’s final five minutes:
DB.COM BOARDS
FISH ON RADIO: LISTEN!

On Erick Dampier
Coach O: "I’m seeing a lot of progress. I really think Nellie is enthused about having the big guy down low. He does get position, he is capable of finishing. He is not going to get the number of opportunities of Dirk or Fin, and shouldn’t, but he does present a different challenge for opponents. I do look at some of the numbers from that first preseason game and I am somewhat disappointed, but it was only a preseason opener.
“More than anything is the strength factor. He moves people around the basket when his body makes contact. Damp has to make sure when the shot goes up that he gets to the front of the rim, that he gets big when he gets there by spreading out, and then make the catch before trying to put it back. Go to the front, widen out, make the catch, and then the finish.’’

On point guard turnovers
Coach O: “The Mavs have led the NBA in fewest turnovers per minute in the last two years. Last year, it was 12.2 per, so 23 in one game is way over. Are they forced turnovers or bad decisions?
“The youngster, Devin Harris, has a tendency to get out of control a bit. The first time I saw Devin was against the Chinese National Team in Fort Worth, and he had five quick turnovers, four of them because he was playing out of control. In terms of speed and quickness, Devin and Jason Terry are impressive. I think Devin might be quicker than Jason, but Jason is faster endline to endline. … he’s unbelievable.
“Both these guys will have to learn what Nellie wants: for them to understand that the most important thing they can bring to the table is sound decision-making.’’

On a “no-excuses’’ approach
Coach O: “You need to come together. This is a team with talent, and it is veteran talent. These guys have been in the league. It’s Fin’s 10th year, it’s Henderson’s 10th year, it’s Dirk’s sixth year, it’s Dampier’s ninth year. … I mean, c’mon, there are no excuses. So I think this team needs to come together quickly, and should do so.’’

On Dirk’s mood
Coach O: “I have seen exactly the opposite (from a hang-dog mood). He’s really working hard at practice. He wears his practice uniform over sweatpants and a couple of long-sleeve shirts, and he gets wringing wet. I don’t see any hangover at all about buddy Steve Nash not being here.’’

On Josh Howard’s role
Coach O: “I’m with you in not understanding all the odd-man out talk. Josh is a starter right now! In New Orleans, he was staring and played 39 minutes! He is as fearless as anybody on the team, he doesn’t even think about getting hurt. He does some crazy things sometimes, but I love how he plays every minute with enthusiasm and passion. A guy with that, plus with his skills, you don’t want him just on your bench.’’
“Josh will get minutes. He’s flexible, he can guard a big or a small, he can be a 2, a 3 or a 4. The Mavs need a lot of the things he can do.’’

On his reaction to NBA gossip regarding a rule change that would have the 3-pointer used only in games’ final 5 minutes
Coach O: “I cringe.’’

[V]

Another quick note ... while the rest of the team warmed up Damp shot free throws ... I saw him sink about 15 in a row before Parker blew the whistle to restart practice ... And the last one was a high arching bankshot. Is Damp getting so comfortable at the line that he was showing off? I read somewhere that he sank 192 of 200 in a recent free throw session. He's a stoic fellow so you would never know.

... By the way ... please be prepared for Dampier demeanor on the court. He DOES look disinterested at times ... and he DOES look lazy at times. He has a tendancy to wander ... and he was the last player to the huddle several times ... but I think it was only because he was the last player to REALIZE there was a huddle. ... That said - if you watch him carefully - he does go all-out when the ball is in play. Just be aware & don't expect him to have the court presence of a KG, Shaq, JO, Miller, Dirk or even Tim Duncan. The important thing is Damp's presence will likely be FELT by the opposing center before it's noticed on camera.

[Bayliss]

Thanks V. Those reports are better than anything I've seen on any newspaper or website. Personally I wish Cuban would allow it more often so Mav fans can know what is going on because the newspaper pieces are so general in scope.

Out of the players, who was the "leader" of the group on defense? Who was helping out, correcting, etc?

(But this practice session makes me have to go watch the Germany/USA game again. I have watched it a least 15 times since it happened a couple of months ago.)

[V]

Fin did the most talking defensively: "I got ball" ... "I got shot" ... "pick left, pic left" etc... Bradley was also vocal on the break drills.

Against the half court sets mostly it was Avery talking. They worked on defending the pick & roll quite a bit & they want the big men to show agressively. When the play started all you could hear was the squeak of tennis shoes & AJ's voice yelling for Dampier to get after the guard "BLITZ BLITZ BLITZ!!" ... Damp's job was to show and get back to defend the passing lane while switching.

In another drill to focus was on creating a weak side help situation & Dirk was complimented for doing a good job. Again Avery was the only person you could hear saying "NO MIDDLE, NO MIDDLE"

The funniest moment came when a switch forced Bradley to defend Dirk from the top of the key. Dirk put his head in Big Shawn's belly & then stepped around him for a quick dunk. Everyone including Bradley got a laugh ... Fin asked what should they do if something like that happens in a game situation so Avery asked Dell who asked Nelly who said it's impossible to provide help left AND right. Shawn had no chance.

[Mavs Rule]

Excellent commentary V. Thanks for keeping us posted.

[EricaLubarsky]

Thanks V. Those reports are better than anything I've seen on any newspaper or website

Agreed. Are you a city-league coach or do you have some other experience with strategy and/or reporting?

[aexchange]

great stuff, thanks V!

[MavsFanFinley]

Thanks for the report V. Good stuff and more than anything the media has given us to date.

[bernardos70]

Very insightful posts, V! All that info is appreciated.

[vinnieponte]

I was there! Stackhouse looked great. I got dirks, finley's, dj's, shawns, and mark cubans autograph and mark took a picture with me, it was great, but i can't say the same about our game yesterday.

[MavsFanFinley]

I'll stick these here instead of starting a new thread. Some pictures from practices.

















On Friday the Mavs had a short practice. They played golf with Mavs sponsors. Dirk is a goof.

[dirk2003]

LOL @ Dirk

nice pics

[The Miles]

LOL @ Dirk.

[sike]

Fin looks like a serious golfer...dirk just looks like a goober [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]