Training Day 3

[jayC]

A New Fort?
Day 3 In Camp: Danny Rebuilds His Rep

By Mike Fisher -- DallasBasketball.com
During a practice break, Danny Fortson is marching toward Tariq Adbdul-Wahad, his huge fists curled up, his bulk menacing enough even without his reputation for mayhem.
Sounds ominous, eh? Fortson is, after all, carrying a rep: He’s been called a ‘malingerer,’ he’s been called ‘trouble,’ he’s been called ‘cancerous.’ That’s a lot of junk to carry around. ... yet at this moment, all Danny is carrying is a second cup of water.
That’s right: Big bad Danny Fortson took a break from free-throw shooting at practice to fetch some water for himself. ... and was thoughtful enough to grab a second cup to hand to Abdul-Wahad.
‘Sometimes, a change in culture means everything to a change in a person,’ Mavs boss Donnie Nelson says. ‘You heard all the things about Danny in Golden State. Maybe there were too sides to that bad relationship. With us, he’s been terrific.’
We decided to continue monitoring Fortson’s interaction with teammates. It was interesting that he chose Tariq, who is sort of a loner on this team. Maybe that’s where Danny feels most confortable, hanging on the outside, we think, but no, because moments later, he’s chasing down popular kid Eduardo Najera to exchange a series of handshakes with him and talk a little basketball.
We don’t want to make too much of this; it was, after all, only a couple of fist bumps and a cup of water. Maybe those fist bumps were intended for Eddie’s jaw. Maybe the water was laced with arsenic.
But we can report for the record that so far, Danny Fortson has not murdered anyone in this training camp.
Elsewhere at Day 3 of Mavs camp:
OFFBEAT BEAT
Second-year man Jiri Welsch is, after one season in Golden State, fairly acclimated to life in these United States. But the kid from the Czech Republic still recognizes his roots.
Jiri lists his three favorite movie stars as:
Samuel L. Jackson
Will Smith
Rudolf Hrusinsky
Rudolf Hrusinsky?
Oh, that’s right. Who didn’t love Hrusinsky in ‘Murder Czech Style’ and ‘Spalovac Mrtvol’?
MURDER CZECH STYLE’


STARTING EDDIE
We can’t yet be certain where Eduardo Najera fits into the minutes mix for the regular season (though Don Nelson did say that between Dirk Nowitzki and Eddie as 4's, the position is strong). But we do know where Najera will be to begin this weekend’s preseason opener against Utah in Mexico City. ‘What, do you think I’m stupid?’ said Nellie, acknowledging the no-brainer of letting the Chihuahua native please the crowd from the start.
WHO’S HOT
Despite last year’s rookie numbers in Golden State, the Mavs came into camp believing Jiri Welsch might be capable of shooting the lights out. Don Nelson says he’s seen that and more in the first three days of workouts.

WHO’S NOT
As has too often been the case as summer turns to fall, Shawn Bradley. No, it’s not that he’s been especially awful in workouts. Nor is it that his rehab might have been a little slower than the organization would prefer. It’s just that, well, expectations for him are now soooooo loooooow. The idea that the 6-8 Fortson is going to compete for time at center with the 7-6 Bradley should be insulting to him.
come to think of it, maybe that’s the idea.
QUOTABLE


‘I can get better.’ – Michael Finley
NOTABLE
Steve Nash’s agent, ,b> Bill Duffy, is laying the groundwork for Nash’s new deal next summer by arguing now that Nash is one of the top three point guards in basketball. It seems like a solid position – but an unnecessary one at this time. Nash and Mark Cuban seem to be on the same page here; politicking to the media can only hurt. ... My boy Lang Whitaker at SLAM magazine thinks the Mavs will win the Midwest and loves Dirk. But, he writes, ‘Dallas keeps adding scorers and they can definitely out-point people from night to night. But that act don't play in the playoffs. I still think Dirk is the second-most dominant offensive player in the League (behind Shaq), and we know all about the other guys. I've heard from an NBA coach that used to work with Antawn Jamison that he's not exactly the toughest player in the NBA -- OK, I heard he was the softest player in the NBA. And the one player that saved them last year in the playoffs (Nick Van Exel) is gone. Look at every champ over the last few years -- they've all had a defensive player in the middle that's capable of being dominant. And until the Mavs have that elusive piece, they'll keep banging their heads against the wall.’

Good stuff. I think that guy could be theo ratliff.

[Murphy3]

And the one player that saved them last year in the playoffs (Nick Van Exel) is gone.

when will this end?

[Voronwe]

It sounds like Nájera will play relatively heavy minutes for the first preseason game as a concession to the fans. We should see how well his knee has healed. If he's not ready, then Fortson may not need to lace his water with arsenic to get minutes.

[Murphy3]

well, there's not alot of minutes to go around at the backup PF spot to begin with. They might be fighting over 10 minutes a game..



and JayC, thanks for posting the article

[Murphy3]

Voronwe, in your opinion, what should the mavs rotation look like going into the season?

[Voronwe]

I'm afraid that Jamison will slide over to the 4 too often this year to make room for either Nájera or which ever of the swingmen is Nellie's favorite at the time. I still expect Dirk to get his 40+ minutes a game, but I'm not sure we'll see enough of him alongside a real center - either he will be the center or Fortson.

Edit: I don't expect Raef and Bradley to not play, but (especially early) I expect either Nellie or fouls to limit them to under the 35-40 minutes that ought to be available to them.

[Murphy3]

I hope your fears do not come into fruition...but, many of us have discussed the same thing.
just go big. have a legitimate center in the game with a legit PF and SF. It's not that difficult of a concept to grasp..
allow your team to rebound the ball..give them a shot to be competitive on defense...please

[Voronwe]

Unfortunately, some people may see Jamison as a legitimate PF. Let's hope that Nellie isn't one of them.

[Nash13]

The only person that considers Jamison a PF is Jamison. He has the post game of a Power Forward, but he would get eaten alive in the playoffs.

[dirno2000]

Look at every champ over the last few years -- they've all had a defensive player in the middle that's capable of being dominant. And until the Mavs have that elusive piece, they'll keep banging their heads against the wall.

Of course....... who can forget the defensive dominance of Luc Longley.

[jayC]

I know. The defensive guys on those teams were on the first three championships Horace Grant the next three Dennis Rodman.

[MFFL]

Originally posted by: Murphy3

when will this end?

Probably the day after the Mavs win a championship

[MavsFanFinley]

[Drbio]

Originally posted by: MavsFanFinley

Kelly from the Bad News Bears visits the Mavs Training Camp.

[MavsFanFinley]

A bit taken from Josh Howard's daily diary.

Veterans pulling pranks:

Usually, when rookies come into a league, the veterans make them do crazy things like get donuts for the team or carry their bags. So far, I've been lucky and nobody's asked me to do anything. But I am waiting for it to happen. Finley does give us rookies a hard time every once and a while, but other than that they've been pretty cool.

[BASKETBALL 101]

Originally posted by: Drbio

Kelly from the Bad News Bears visits the Mavs Training Camp.

What's up w/Steve? he is looking EXTREMELY SKINNY!!

[MFFL]

Stevie is looking super-model skinny

[MavsFanFinley]

Dallas Morning News Friday Training Camp report...

NEWS OF THE DAY

t season, defense was the theme for the Mavericks. That hasn't changed. But there is another focus. Rebounding has leaped to the center of attention. For that reason, the play of Danny Fortson has been impressive in the first few days of training camp.

"He's been grabbing everything," Steve Nash said. "It's great to see."

Rebounding was one of the Mavericks' biggest problems last season and was particularly troubling in the playoffs, when they were out-rebounded by nearly five per game.

Also, it didn't take the Mavericks long to make their first roster move of training camp. They waived Rod Gregoire, a 6-7 forward who has played in China, Mexico, Brazil and England during his pro career, but apparently still won't be able to add the United States to that list. The roster stands at 16.

LOOKING AHEAD

Mavericks will leave some players in Dallas when they leave Saturday afternoon for Mexico City, where they will open the preseason against Utah on Sunday (5 p.m. tip). Coach Don Nelson said he wasn't sure which players would be left behind, but Michael Finley is a possible exclusion. On Friday, Finley sat out his second day of workouts.

"He's got a sore groin, and we're just not going to take any chances," Nelson said.

Steve Nash also took Friday off as the team went through a lighter workout in the morning, then scrimmaged in the evening. As for starting the season in a foreign land, Nelson said: "We're looking forward to it. Those trips to Japan to start the [regular] season, those are tough ones, but this is nothing."

GUEST APPEARANCE

of the NBA's best and funniest talkers will be making a speaking appearance next week in Dallas. Orlando Magic senior vice president Pat Williams will delve into the topic "Seven Keys to Effective Leadership" on Tuesday at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano.

Williams has written numerous books, including Winning With One-Liners and his newest effort How to Be Like Women of Influence, a collaboration with his wife Ruth about 20 women who have impacted the world. It includes Texans Babe Didrikson Zaharias and Mary Kay Ash.

QUOTABLE

"I like reggae, but mostly I just got tired of barbers messing up my hair."

– Danny Fortson, on why he wears dreadlocks

[mmmfast]

Was Steve excersising over the summer or smoking crack?