Official pre-season countdown thread

[EricaLubarsky]

20 days and counting until the first pre-season game.
15 days till media day
16 days till training camp

[Rick41]

I'm excited.

It's been too long without some Mavs basketball!!

[adonis]

Most anticipated Mavs season since 2004-05.

[chumdawg]

I endorse this message!

More excited about this year than I have been in a long time.

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by chumdawg

I endorse this message!

More excited about this year than I have been in a long time.

New blood definitely makes for a more interesting season... The squad that we'd grown to love finally won a ring, so it's nice to see something fresh going forward.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Certainly the deepest team in a long time. I worry a bit about passing and rebounding, but otherwise a stout roster that should be lightyears better offensively.

Go Mavs!

[markus1234]

Passing is Kaman's weakness. Once he gets the ball he will score or lose it (he tends to panic when double teamed under the basket). But it's his only weakness ...and with Dirk on the court, nobody should double team Kaman.

[LonghornDub]

Originally Posted by chumdawg

I endorse this message!

More excited about this year than I have been in a long time.

Probably been since preseason 2006-2007 for me (which was, of course, immediately tempered by starting 0-4 and getting destroyed by the Rockets, which was then untempered by winning 67 out of 78 games, which was then tempered again by.....you know).

[BGMaverick9]

I think your math is off, Media Day is on the 28th

[bernardos70]

This has felt like the longest offseason ever. How long has it been since we last played? It feels like a year/year and a half.

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by bernardos70

This has felt like the longest offseason ever. How long has it been since we last played? It feels like a year/year and a half.

That's the second-biggest downside to getting swept in the first round...

[nowhereman]

This is going to be about as long an offseason as last for us. Except, last year, we were locked out to Christmas. Feels like an eternity, just like last year.

[markus1234]

I think it feels that way because last reg.season was so short. Definitely not enough MAVS ball since June 2011.

[markus1234]

Dirk was on TV and gave an interview.

http://www.br.de/fernsehen/bayerisch...itzki-100.html (part about his charity stuff)

- feels great
- feels hungry
- knees feel great
- stayed in shape during the summer
- thinks about olympic games in brasil
- maybe european championship next yr, too
- 2nd NBA title would be great
- will end his BB career in DAL (won't play in europe)
- will play 2more yrs and then maybe an other season or two

(i did not watch the whole interview...)

Interview should be here later

http://www.br.de/fernsehen/bayerisch...-sport110.html

If you ask me, Dirk's last game will be in Rio 2016

[CanadianMavsFan]

I really feel Dirk is going to have a great season. Wonderful to hear that he's feeling very good. Look for him to establish himself as the best power forward in the league once again (it was debatable with Love and maybe some others during last season).

Agree with everyone else as well, I'm so damn excited for this season. Guys like Kaman and Brand are going to be hungry as all hell, and hoping RC can bring out the best in Collison and Mayo (who I'm sure are also extremely hungry).

It's gonna be a fun one!

[helmsclam]

summary of the interview...somebody may translate...my english isn't that good...

http://de.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/n...124840228.html

Frankfurt/Main (dpa) - Gut erholt, gut gelaunt und in guter körperlicher Verfassung - für Dirk Nowitzki kann die neue NBA-Saison kommen.

«Nach drei Wochen Einzeltraining fühle ich mich schon wieder richtig fit und freue mich, dass es bald drüben losgeht», sagte Nowitzki mit Blick auf die Ende Oktober beginnende Spielzeit in der nordamerikanischen Basketball-Profiliga. In zwei Wochen startet der 34-Jährige mit den Dallas Mavericks in die Vorbereitung, in der der Grundstein für eine erfolgreiche Runde gelegt werden soll.

Nowitzki und die «Mavs» haben einiges gutzumachen, schließlich verlief die vergangenen Saison für die Texaner enttäuschend. Als Titelverteidiger gestartet, scheiterte Dallas bereits in der ersten Playoff-Runde und schaffte es danach auch nicht, wie geplant einen zweiten Superstar zu verpflichten. «Anfangs war ich da schon sehr frustriert», gestand Nowitzki, der sich mit seiner Frau Jessica Olsson gerade in Kenia befand, als in Dallas ein Transfer nach dem anderen scheiterte.

«Klar, Anfang Juni, als dann auch Deron Williams abgesagt hatte, war es schon eine schwere Phase», sagte Nowitzki. Der Spielmacher von den Brooklyn Nets (ehemals New Jersey Nets) stand ganz oben auf der Wunschliste der Mavericks, entschied sich jedoch gegen einen Wechsel. «Aber dann haben wir uns als Organisation gut erholt und interessante Leute geholt. Da muss man Donnie Nelson und Mark Cuban wieder ein großes Kompliment machen», meinte Nowitzki zufrieden. «Wir haben uns verjüngt, vor allem im Aufbau und auf den Flügeln.»

In Chris Kaman, Darren Collison, Dahntay Jones, Elton Brand und O.J. Mayo holte der NBA-Champion von 2011 fünf Profis aus der zweiten Reihe, die Nowitzki aber dennoch optimistisch in die Zukunft schauen lassen. «Dass ein O.J. Mayo auf der Liste stand, hatte glaube ich keiner auf dem Plan», sagte Nowitzki. Zudem verspricht er sich viel von seinem Nationalmannschafts-Kollegen Kaman. «Chris ist offensiv der beste Center, mit dem ich bislang in Dallas zusammengespielt habe.»

Wohin der Weg der «Mavs» letztendlich führt, bleibt abzuwarten. «In Dallas spielt man immer um den Titel, so einfach ist das», sagte Coach Chris Carlisle. Ganz so weit aus dem Fenster lehnen will sich Nowitzki nicht. «Ich denke, wir haben wieder eine schlagkräftige Mannschaft zusammengestellt, mit der wir die Playoffs erreichen sollten», sagte der Würzburger.

Fest steht für ihn, dass er seine Karriere in Dallas beenden wird. Nur wenn es mit der Meisterschaft bis zum Ende seines Kontraktes 2014 nicht geklappt hätte, «hätte man überlegen können, ob ich danach noch ein bisschen durch die Gegend tingele und gucke, wo ist das beste Team», sagte Nowitzki. Mit der Erfüllung seines Lebenstraums im vergangenen Jahr sind diese Überlegungen ad acta gelegt.

Der Ehrgeiz ist aber geblieben, weshalb er sich mit seinem Privatcoach Holger Geschwindner schon wieder seit rund drei Wochen in den Turnhallen rund um Würzburg quält. «Ich bin fit, habe keine Knieprobleme, und das ist schon einmal die halbe Miete», sagte Nowitzki, der am 6. Oktober mit den neuen «Mavs» in Berlin gastiert. «Das wir das erste Highligt mit einer einzigartigen Atmosphäre.»

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by helmsclam

summary of the interview...somebody may translate...my english isn't that good...

http://de.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/n...124840228.html

Frankfurt/Main (dpa) - Gut erholt, gut gelaunt und in guter körperlicher Verfassung - für Dirk Nowitzki kann die neue NBA-Saison kommen.

«Nach drei Wochen Einzeltraining fühle ich mich schon wieder richtig fit und freue mich, dass es bald drüben losgeht», sagte Nowitzki mit Blick auf die Ende Oktober beginnende Spielzeit in der nordamerikanischen Basketball-Profiliga. In zwei Wochen startet der 34-Jährige mit den Dallas Mavericks in die Vorbereitung, in der der Grundstein für eine erfolgreiche Runde gelegt werden soll.

Nowitzki und die «Mavs» haben einiges gutzumachen, schließlich verlief die vergangenen Saison für die Texaner enttäuschend. Als Titelverteidiger gestartet, scheiterte Dallas bereits in der ersten Playoff-Runde und schaffte es danach auch nicht, wie geplant einen zweiten Superstar zu verpflichten. «Anfangs war ich da schon sehr frustriert», gestand Nowitzki, der sich mit seiner Frau Jessica Olsson gerade in Kenia befand, als in Dallas ein Transfer nach dem anderen scheiterte.

«Klar, Anfang Juni, als dann auch Deron Williams abgesagt hatte, war es schon eine schwere Phase», sagte Nowitzki. Der Spielmacher von den Brooklyn Nets (ehemals New Jersey Nets) stand ganz oben auf der Wunschliste der Mavericks, entschied sich jedoch gegen einen Wechsel. «Aber dann haben wir uns als Organisation gut erholt und interessante Leute geholt. Da muss man Donnie Nelson und Mark Cuban wieder ein großes Kompliment machen», meinte Nowitzki zufrieden. «Wir haben uns verjüngt, vor allem im Aufbau und auf den Flügeln.»

In Chris Kaman, Darren Collison, Dahntay Jones, Elton Brand und O.J. Mayo holte der NBA-Champion von 2011 fünf Profis aus der zweiten Reihe, die Nowitzki aber dennoch optimistisch in die Zukunft schauen lassen. «Dass ein O.J. Mayo auf der Liste stand, hatte glaube ich keiner auf dem Plan», sagte Nowitzki. Zudem verspricht er sich viel von seinem Nationalmannschafts-Kollegen Kaman. «Chris ist offensiv der beste Center, mit dem ich bislang in Dallas zusammengespielt habe.»

Wohin der Weg der «Mavs» letztendlich führt, bleibt abzuwarten. «In Dallas spielt man immer um den Titel, so einfach ist das», sagte Coach Chris Carlisle. Ganz so weit aus dem Fenster lehnen will sich Nowitzki nicht. «Ich denke, wir haben wieder eine schlagkräftige Mannschaft zusammengestellt, mit der wir die Playoffs erreichen sollten», sagte der Würzburger.

Fest steht für ihn, dass er seine Karriere in Dallas beenden wird. Nur wenn es mit der Meisterschaft bis zum Ende seines Kontraktes 2014 nicht geklappt hätte, «hätte man überlegen können, ob ich danach noch ein bisschen durch die Gegend tingele und gucke, wo ist das beste Team», sagte Nowitzki. Mit der Erfüllung seines Lebenstraums im vergangenen Jahr sind diese Überlegungen ad acta gelegt.

Der Ehrgeiz ist aber geblieben, weshalb er sich mit seinem Privatcoach Holger Geschwindner schon wieder seit rund drei Wochen in den Turnhallen rund um Würzburg quält. «Ich bin fit, habe keine Knieprobleme, und das ist schon einmal die halbe Miete», sagte Nowitzki, der am 6. Oktober mit den neuen «Mavs» in Berlin gastiert. «Das wir das erste Highligt mit einer einzigartigen Atmosphäre.»

Per Google Translate (which is really spotty):

After much frustration Nowitzki is hot on new Mavs

Frankfurt / Main (dpa) - Well rested, happy and in good physical condition - for Dirk Nowitzki can get the new NBA season.

"After three weeks of individual training, I feel really fit again and I am glad that it soon goes off over there," Nowitzki said, referring to the end of October, beginning of the season in North American professional basketball league. In two weeks, the 34-year with the Dallas Mavericks start in the preparation, in which the foundations for a successful round is to be placed.

Nowitzki and the Mavs have to make up something, finally, the last season was a disappointment for the Texans. Started as defending champion, Dallas failed in the first playoff round and then managed not to commit to plan a second superstar. "At first I was very frustrated because" confessed Nowitzki, who with his wife Jessica Olsson was just in Kenya, as in Dallas, a transfer after another failed.

"Sure, in early June, when then Deron Williams had canceled, it was a difficult period," said Nowitzki. The playmaker of the Brooklyn Nets (formerly the New Jersey Nets) was high on the wish list of the Mavericks, but decided against a change. "But then we have recovered well as organization and brought interesting people. You have to make Donnie Nelson and Mark Cuban again a great compliment, "Nowitzki said contentedly. "We have rejuvenated us, especially in the building and on the wings."

In Chris Kaman, Darren Collison, Dahntay Jones, Elton Brand and OJ Mayo of the NBA champion from 2011 took five professionals from the second row that can Nowitzki but look optimistically into the future. "The fact that an OJ Mayo was on the list was, I think no one on the schedule," said Nowitzki. He also expects a lot from his national team colleagues Kaman. "Chris is the best offensive center, with whom I had previously played together in Dallas."

Where the path of the "Mavs" ultimately remains to be seen. "In Dallas, we always play for the title, it's that simple," said coach Chris Carlisle. Quite as far out on a limb to do not want Nowitzki. "I think we have put together a strong team, with which we should reach the playoffs," said the Würzburg.

One thing is for him that he will end his career in Dallas. Only if it had missed the championship is not until the end of his contract in 2014, "would think you can, then if I have a bit over the place tingele and watch, where is the best team," said Nowitzki. With the fulfillment of his ambitions in the past year these considerations are shelved.

The ambition has remained, which is why he and his private coach, Holger Geschwindner again tormented for about three weeks in the gyms around Würzburg. "I am fit and have no knee problems, and that is already half the battle," said Nowitzki, on the 6th October guest performance with the new "Mavs" in Berlin. "This was our first Highligt with a unique atmosphere."

[EricaLubarsky]

My predictions

Team averages 98.8ppg
Dirk averages 19ppg, 6.2reb, 3.8apg, 52%FG, 41%3pt, 89% FT (career lows in ppt/rpg, career high apg)
Kaman averages 10ppg, 6reb
Brand 8ppg, 7reb
Marion 12pts, 7reb
Mayo 20pts, 4.2reb, 1.8steals
Roddy 12pts, 3ast (both career highs)
Collison 11pts, 7.5ast (high in assists)

Carter underperforms a bit but is a strong role player
Crowder plays at least 30 games and averages 8mpg
Cunningham has an 18pt game and a 5steal game but doesnt play much
Dahntay plays only 13mpg, but again averages 40%+ in 3pt shooting

[markus1234]

Dirk's 20ppg streak must continue.

Dirk 21ppg
Mayo 16
Collisson 11
Kaman 11
Marion 9
Brand 8
West 8
Roddy 8
Carter 6

[sinsin]

dirk will definetly have a better season than last year
also almost 4 apg is a bold prediciton imho
to think that he ll stop being the no. 1 option and that mayo will overtake the spot is complete nonsense

[spreedom]

I think Dirk will get back to business and get his scoring back up to the 22-24 PPG range.

[markus1234]

I think Dirk will play less minutes this season. We should temper our expectations.

~21ppg 5.5rpg 2apg on 49% 38% 89% in 31min.

[SMC0007]

Dirk 19 ppg
Mayo 15
Collisson 13
Kaman 12
Brand 12
Roddy 10
Carter 5
Marion 8
Crowder 6.5
West 4
Dahntay 3
Cunningham 3

Crowder takes Carters backup role fairly quickly. Maybe starts by end of season?

[Eman]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

My predictions

Team averages 98.8ppg
Dirk averages 19ppg, 6.2reb, 3.8apg, 52%FG, 41%3pt, 89% FT (career lows in ppt/rpg, career high apg)
Kaman averages 10ppg, 6reb
Brand 8ppg, 7reb
Marion 12pts, 7reb
Mayo 20pts, 4.2reb, 1.8steals
Roddy 12pts, 3ast (both career highs)
Collison 11pts, 7.5ast (high in assists)

Carter underperforms a bit but is a strong role player
Crowder plays at least 30 games and averages 8mpg
Cunningham has an 18pt game and a 5steal game but doesnt play much
Dahntay plays only 13mpg, but again averages 40%+ in 3pt shooting

Erica,l NO WAY Kaman scores less than Marion. In fact, I expect Marion to focus more on defens and rebounding since there are many more scorers on the floor for the Mav's.

[Rick41]

Originally Posted by spreedom

I think Dirk will get back to business and get his scoring back up to the 22-24 PPG range.

I'm with this one as well.

With Dirk saying he feels great and all it should be cake for him to score 22-24 ppg.

[SMC0007]

Originally Posted by Rick41

I'm with this one as well.

With Dirk saying he feels great and all it should be cake for him to score 22-24 ppg.

HE surely has the capability, but when you mix in:

Kaman, who is not shy about taking shots and looking for scoring opportunities.

Collison, who is not like Kidd. He is going to score.

Brand, will be consuming big man minutes, and scoring too.

Mayo.

I don't see Dirk breaking 20ppg.

I'll be interested to see who picks up Kidds 3pt shooting.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Well I certainly don't think we need to "temper expectations" with regards to Dirk's season. He had ONE off year shared with half the league because of a joke of a lockout. Uber shall return to form.

[EricaLubarsky]

Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart

Well I certainly don't think we need to "temper expectations" with regards to Dirk's season. He had ONE off year shared with half the league because of a joke of a lockout. Uber shall return to form.

Temper expectations? I expect he'll have his lowest PPG and RPG simply because he'll have the the best frontcourt he's ever had in his entire career and more options than he's had in a while. His numbers won't be there but his efficiency will be the best of his career.

Honestly, if Dirk takes less than 1,000 FGA this year before the playoffs start, I will be thrilled because it'll mean Dirk will be rested for super-saiyan-beast-mode in the playoffs.

[sefant77]

If you need to kill some time: Kamans twitter. Pure gold.

[grndmstr_c]

I don't see anything less than 20 per for Dirk, who remains head-and-shoulders above everyone else on the team when it comes to putting the ball in the basket. And I don't see anything like 20 for Mayo: the team's not hurting for scoring depth, and what they really need from OJ is for him to raise the level of his all-around game and his decision-making to facilitate the offensive flow.

Definitely looking forward to the season, though. I'd be lying if I said I felt particularly good about this team's chances of beating out the Lakers or Heat for the title, but I like the potential of this group to play some high-quality, fun-to-watch basketball, and I've missed seeing that from the Mavs.

[GhostFace]

Glad to see I am not the only one who has been fiending for some Maverick basketball.

[EricaLubarsky]

honestly think this offense will be as smooth as we've seen in a long time and Dirk's burden will be the smallest its been in years.

We've got two guys very capable of driving and challenging offenses (Mayo and Collison), a hall-of-famer that has the offensive versatility to both threaten a score from anywhere on the court and to drive with purpose, and we have a douple of guys that can play in the low and mid post (Brand in the right post, Kaman in the left post).

That will make the game incredibly fluid and open for other guys to succeed.

Teams can't leave the middle like they did last year without Chandler because we now have Brand, Kaman and Wright.

Teams also can't pack the mid-post and dare us to shoot it because we have a number of competent shooters (Dirk 37%, Collison 36%, Mayo 36%, Carter 36%, Dahntay 43%, West 36%) and a few guys like Roddy, Marion (in the low 30s) that can shoot just well enough to keep the defense honest.

Either they double the superstar and we take advantage of it, or they defend Dirk 1-on-1, but they can't cheat off the inside or outside to swarm the middle, which will be an underrated improvement this team made and I fully expect the eFG% to go up a lot and the PPG to be up a bit too. I can't tell you how many times in the last few years that Dirk was neutralized because there was a swarm of 3-4 players that were lined up around the key, waiting for anyone (Dirk) to penetrate. There were also a lot of times last year where the weak side defender could leave his man to double Dirk because there just wasn't a low-post player that could catch and finish down low.

[markus1234]

Dirk will get his points because he is simply the most consistent one. Other guys will have great scoring nights, but at the end of the day we will rely on Dirk and his ~20pts night in night out.

[SMC0007]

Originally Posted by markus1234

Dirk will get his points because he is simply the most consistent one. Other guys will have great scoring nights, but at the end of the day we will rely on Dirk and his ~20pts night in night out.

This was the old formula. Fortunately we don't have to rely on it anymore, unless several of the others can't step up.

[Spurred1]

You should want Dirk's minutes and as a result, scoring to lessen because he's got some scoring help...assuming everyone does their part.
Dirk shouldn't be playing huge minutes or trying to break 20 or more points unless it is absolutely vital, but with the offensive minded players added this year...it shouldn't be required of him.
You don't want him chucking endlessly and needlessly like Kobe, do you?

[Lor20]

I do look forward to our offense this year for sure. Last year we had Kidd and Haywood that you could cheat off of because they were so slow that it was easy to recover against them. This wont be the case this year. I do expect us to get a good number of better looks this year.
The real question will be how our D will work. I'm quite curious there - on paper we didnt get worse there but we'll have to see.

[markus1234]

Originally Posted by Spurred1

Dirk shouldn't be playing huge minutes or trying to break 20 or more points unless it is absolutely vital,

You want Dirk to have worse stats than Timmy, don't you ?

Dirk is first and foremost a scorer. If he does not score ~20, he should retire.

[Rick41]

The team leaves for Europe on October 3rd by the way.

[grndmstr_c]

Originally Posted by Spurred1

You should want Dirk's minutes and as a result, scoring to lessen because he's got some scoring help...assuming everyone does their part.
Dirk shouldn't be playing huge minutes or trying to break 20 or more points unless it is absolutely vital, but with the offensive minded players added this year...it shouldn't be required of him.
You don't want him chucking endlessly and needlessly like Kobe, do you?

Dirk's probably going to get something close to, maybe a little under, 34 mpg. If he's healthy and averaging less than 20 in that kind of PT, then he's not shooting enough.

And of course we don't want him chucking endlessly and needlessly like Kobe. But he's never done that, so why should that even be a concern?

[sinsin]

"You don't want him chucking endlessly and needlessly like Kobe, do you?"

First i was irritated, then i thought about eFG% of kobe, then i thought about eFG% of dirk, then i laughed