Random Mavs News & Articles

[sefant77]

God, the D-League blows...

[dirt_dobber]

Marion and Ellis mention.....

Today in a Grantland article titled....
"Breaking down the most watchable players in the league"

BY ZACH LOWE
http://grantland.com/features/the-marc-gasol-all-stars/

Shawn Marion: You can learn a lot about basketball watching the long-armed Marion, even in his twilight. Teams don’t guard him on the perimeter, even though he’s hoisting those T-Rex 3-pointers again. That cramps Dallas’s spacing, but Marion has found ways to compensate — cutting backdoor from the corner when his defender ignores him, flashing into the middle of the paint for goofy floaters, and just moving around the court in smart ways.

He’s lost a step on defense, but he still has that massive wingspan, and the Mavs use him to guard four positions. He’ll go chest-to-chest with quicker wings on the perimeter, often swatting annoyingly at the ball like a cat going after yarn. He plays angles brilliantly.

He is one of the league’s most interesting and versatile players, and his ability to play power forward has freed Rick Carlisle to juggle Nowitzki’s rest periods in optimal ways.3 We’re going to miss Marion when he’s gone. And by the way: He’s built a fascinating Hall of Fame case.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~AND~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~

The Majestic Monta Finger Roll
Hypothesis: Monta Ellis has the best finger roll in the league today:

There is something majestic about the way he holds the ball so far from his body, even in traffic, and keeps his arm extended while he’s airborne. He also picks up his dribble on the move with just one hand, never even using his left hand to balance the ball for a split second. Ellis has always been a stylish player, but this is his coup de grâce.

[mavErika]

Originally Posted by dirt_dobber

BY ZACH LOWE
http://grantland.com/features/the-marc-gasol-all-stars/

Shawn Marion: You can learn a lot about basketball watching the long-armed Marion[...]

I felt this fits in here nicely:

The Matrix Training System

[dude1394]

Originally Posted by mavErika

I felt this fits in here nicely:

The Matrix Training System

Greatness!

[j0Shi]

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/pos...ference-system

Shouldn't the playoffs be as competitive as possible? The NBA is operating as though this isn’t the plan.

The Dallas Mavericks are currently out of the playoffs with a 43-30 record. The Atlanta Hawks are on track to make the playoffs with a 31-40 record. The offensively thrilling Mavs are second in attendance. The mediocre Hawks are 28th. This can’t really be what the league intended, can it?

2nd in attendance! Good job locals

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Originally Posted by j0Shi

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/pos...ference-system



2nd in attendance! Good job locals

Great little tidbit. Does suck to feel like failures if we don't make the playoffs with such a winning record.

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by j0Shi

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/pos...ference-system

I wonder how much the East-West disparity affects free agency these days? I mean, superstars gotta see that the East is the quicker, easier path to the Finals... You've got a two-horse race between Indy and Miami this season, with a bunch of lottery-quality teams lining up to get slaughtered in the first round (remember, their W-L records are even more inflated since they mostly get to play crappy EC teams.)

In the West, you're going to have teams MISS the playoffs who could likely give the Pacers or Heat a run for their money in the ECF... It's a mess.

[j0Shi]

Originally Posted by Underdog

I wonder how much the East-West disparity affects free agency these days? I mean, superstars gotta see that the East is the quicker, easier path to the Finals... You've got a two-horse race between Indy and Miami this season, with a bunch of lottery-quality teams lining up to get slaughtered in the first round (remember, their W-L records are even more inflated since they mostly get to play crappy EC teams.)

In the West, you're going to have teams MISS the playoffs who could likely give the Pacers or Heat a run for their money in the ECF... It's a mess.

Time will tell. In theory, Brooklyn and the Knicks should be able to be competitive. Chicago is a major market. And there's Boston with its rich and proud history, so I would assume this year is just a very bad outlier. But I wouldn't rule out a general trend as well. As ESS noted correctly, teams that should get and would need a lottery pick don't receive one in the current system.

The superstar thing it sure intriguing, right now it looks super-easy to form the third best team or so.

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by j0Shi

Time will tell. In theory, Brooklyn and the Knicks should be able to be competitive. Chicago is a major market. And there's Boston with its rich and proud history, so I would assume this year is just a very bad outlier. But I wouldn't rule out a general trend as well. As ESS noted correctly, teams that should get and would need a lottery pick don't receive one in the current system.

This paragraph from Strauss's article touches on that:

But this is a particularly bad season in the Eastern Conference, you might say. True, but at least one East team has made the playoffs at or below .500 in seven of the past eight postseasons; no West team can claim that since the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season. The NBA can say it all eventually balances out, that these things are cyclical, but it’s quite possible that Eastern Conference misery will continue indefinitely if unchecked.

[HopeIsAlwaysThere]

What you guys think about Ellington actually?
I do believe he got some defense and a pretty good shooter.
I am not saying he is the type of (DeShawn Stevenson, Greg Buckner, Adrian Griffin or Quinton Ross), but he should be fitting in the Rick's formation, a 2 who can guard and drill threes, Matt Carroll and Anthony Morrow didn't work out mostly because they can't defend, that's why I think last season, the Anthony Morrow/Danthay Jones trade is a bad one, Rick simply won't use that type of player.

[marc9211]

He's definitely better than Jae Crowder.

[Melonhead]

Crowder has stepped up recently which is keeping Ellington on the bench. Hate it cause he seems like a piece that fits this team

[HopeIsAlwaysThere]

For some reason, when we need to make a shot down the stretch, I do think Ellington deserve to have the chance. The heartbreaking loss against Clippers on January, he knocked down two triples in limited action. Those good look threes, he is as good as Jose.

[marc9211]

Originally Posted by HopeIsAlwaysThere

For some reason, when we need to make a shot down the stretch, I do think Ellington deserve to have the chance. The heartbreaking loss against Clippers on January, he knocked down two triples in limited action. Those good look threes, he is as good as Jose.

He cannot shoot as well as Jose

[DirkFTW]

Uhoh... Cuban, hgh, and aids in same sentence...

[Underdog]

Mavs PA man Sean Heath suspended for tweets

[spreedom]

Rick Carlisle: Dirk one of 12 best

[HopeIsAlwaysThere]

Originally Posted by Underdog

Mavs PA man Sean Heath suspended for tweets

I really like him, I don't understand why NBA can suspend him, he can't say things?

[dirt_dobber]

Sean Heath = ultimate homer.... makes Sean Elliot look unbiased.
but I still like him.

[dirt_dobber]

Unsafe at home? Mavericks' inability to 'figure it out' at AAC has Dirk Nowitzki fretting
http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/dal...i-fretting.ece

by Eddie Sefo - Dallas Morning News

Dirk Nowitzki is the first to admit he has a Debbie-Downer streak in him. A big, fat, wide streak, at that.

Even so, he had to set some sort of buzz-kill speed record when he started talking about the Mavericks’ Game 2 win that evened the first-round series against San Antonio.

It took him just 1 minute, 24 seconds before he started sounding alarm bells.

“I like our intensity right now, but it’s a little dangerous going home,” Nowitzki said. “We’ve been a decent road team all year. But at home, we haven’t figured it out yet.”

He hopes the key word in that analysis is “yet.”

The Mavericks’ road record was darn near as good as their home record in the regular season. They won 26 times at home and 23 times away. That lack of dominance at American Airlines Center is why they were a No. 8 seed and why they are locked in what is setting up as an epic battle with the top-seeded Spurs in the first round.
It’s also why Nowitzki is fretting.

“I’m a little worried going home,” he said. “I’d rather play Game 3 here [in San Antonio], I guess. We’ve got to figure it out at home. We can’t relax. That’s the main thing.”

That said, Nowitzki knows the Mavericks have shown to themselves, the Spurs and everybody else that this series is, indeed, a series. Anybody who thought it would be a walkover knows better now.

The Mavericks were clearly the better team in Game 2. The argument could be made they were better in Game 1, also, except for the first seven minutes and the last seven minutes. Owner Mark Cuban called it “fixing the bookends.”

On Wednesday, the Mavericks were so good in the meat of the game, nothing mattered in the last seven minutes except to determine just how badly the Spurs would be beaten.

The 21-point deficit was exceeded only once in the Spurs’ 20 losses during the regular season, and the last time they had lost that badly in the playoffs was a 22-point setback in the 2010 postseason — to the Mavericks in Game 5 of their first-round series.

While ending a 10-game losing streak against the Spurs in Game 2 was important, Nowitzki said the loss in Game 1 probably did more for the morale than anything.

“We deserved this win,” he said. “Game 1 actually helped a lot more than today. We were down after Game 1. But to be up 10 with seven minutes left, that gave us a lot of confidence.”

Now comes the hard part: surviving in the friendly confines of AAC.

“We lost some big games the last couple months and we just can’t take our foot off the gas,” he said. “We got to keep competing the same way; then I like our chances going home.”

What the Mavericks have done best in this series is keep everybody working at next-level capacity. The players have worked hard. The coaches have worked hard — although to hear Rick Carlisle tell it, San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich has overwhelmed him in the coaching department.

“The coaching matchup is a wipeout,” Carlisle said.

That was his self-deprecating manner showing through. Nobody believes this is anything less than two of the best basketball minds going at it.

That’s what makes the upcoming set of games at AAC so riveting.

“This kind of thing, you’re playing the No. 1 seed, you got to dig as deep as you can,” Carlisle said. “They’re going to come up with some things up their sleeve.”

And so will the Mavericks. The big question is whether they can have as sharp an edge with a friendly home crowd as they did in the hostile environment in San Antonio.

[MFFL]

I didn't see this anywhere and I thought it was interesting

http://www.mavsoutsider.com/2014/03/...k-touchyfeely/

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by MFFL

I didn't see this anywhere and I thought it was interesting

http://www.mavsoutsider.com/2014/03/...k-touchyfeely/

Wow, excellent find... Thanks for posting!

[BGMaverick9]

Parsons Podcast

http://www.mavsoutsider.com/2014/10/...ons-interview/

[BGMaverick9]

http://www.mavsoutsider.com/2014/10/...rival-outlook/

[G-Man]

Originally Posted by BGMaverick9

http://www.mavsoutsider.com/2014/10/...rival-outlook/

Damn, that is a great article.

Its very interesting to see how the various writers take the quotes from media day and weave them into a better story, based on other reporting they have done. This is the best job of that I have seen this off-season.

Keep up the good work.

[BGMaverick9]

http://www.mavsoutsider.com/2014/11/...dmc-backstory/

[Twenty4sevenn]

Originally Posted by BGMaverick9

http://www.mavsoutsider.com/2014/11/...dmc-backstory/

No quote board for the Pels game?

[BGMaverick9]

http://www.mavsoutsider.com/2014/11/...-not-november/

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Originally Posted by BGMaverick9

http://www.mavsoutsider.com/2014/11/...-not-november/

You can clearly see Ellis not forcing jump shots. In fact, he really looks like he doesn't even care to take them most of the time...more often trying to get his teammates involved.

[bilease]

http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/maver...espnapi_public

Raymond Felton '92 percent' after live practice action (...)
Once Felton is declared healthy enough to play, which should happen over the next week, he must start serving a four-game suspension that stemmed from his guilty plea to gun charges in New York last season.

I'm not sure if this is the right topic for that, but it says "random articles" and I guess this is as random as it gets. My question is: Why dont the Mavs just say hes healthy (hes practicing afterall) and let him sit out the suspension? Why didnt they just do it 1-2 games ago if it looks like he will be ready to play next week? I really doubt the NBA is actually checking how healthy he is, and since hes back in practice anyway, how exactly could they say "no, hes not healthy enough to sit out his suspension"? Just doesnt make sense to let him practice but not put him as available player.

[dude1394]

Originally Posted by bilease

http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/maver...espnapi_public



I'm not sure if this is the right topic for that, but it says "random articles" and I guess this is as random as it gets. My question is: Why dont the Mavs just say hes healthy (hes practicing afterall) and let him sit out the suspension? Why didnt they just do it 1-2 games ago if it looks like he will be ready to play next week? I really doubt the NBA is actually checking how healthy he is, and since hes back in practice anyway, how exactly could they say "no, hes not healthy enough to sit out his suspension"? Just doesnt make sense to let him practice but not put him as available player.

Excellent use of the random article thread.

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by bilease

My question is: Why dont the Mavs just say hes healthy (hes practicing afterall) and let him sit out the suspension? Why didnt they just do it 1-2 games ago if it looks like he will be ready to play next week? I really doubt the NBA is actually checking how healthy he is, and since hes back in practice anyway, how exactly could they say "no, hes not healthy enough to sit out his suspension"? Just doesnt make sense to let him practice but not put him as available player.

Good question... Maybe the NBA actually does check player health? Or maybe the Mavs are in no hurry to throw another player into our 10-man rotation?

[jthig32]

Originally Posted by bilease

http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/maver...espnapi_public



I'm not sure if this is the right topic for that, but it says "random articles" and I guess this is as random as it gets. My question is: Why dont the Mavs just say hes healthy (hes practicing afterall) and let him sit out the suspension? Why didnt they just do it 1-2 games ago if it looks like he will be ready to play next week? I really doubt the NBA is actually checking how healthy he is, and since hes back in practice anyway, how exactly could they say "no, hes not healthy enough to sit out his suspension"? Just doesnt make sense to let him practice but not put him as available player.

Why do you not think the NBA would be checking? Do you think they're ok with teams circumventing NBA mandated suspensions?

What happens if they pull the trigger early and then he's not healthy and ready to play when the suspension ends?

[iella]

I remember reading about the touchiness during the 2011 run. It was suggested that the Mavs' propensity to touch each other was an indication of their great chemistry.

A quick search turned up this article - Dallas's Secret Weapon: High Fives

EDIT: After a re-read, apparently Tyson was the most frequent instigator. Glad our Chief High Fiver is back. May the chemistry this year be glorious.

[BPo001]

Pretty good read about Monta:

http://www.slamonline.com/the-magazi...erview-dallas/

[dude1394]

Originally Posted by BPo001

Pretty good read about Monta:

http://www.slamonline.com/the-magazi...erview-dallas/

Very nice. Good for Monta.

[Julius]

Originally Posted by BPo001

Pretty good read about Monta:

http://www.slamonline.com/the-magazi...erview-dallas/

There are also the nba top 50
Ellis is nr. 48 and if you scroll down you find parsons at nr. 50

http://www.slamonline.com/nba/slamon...onta-ellis-48/

[EricaLubarsky]

Neat.

[tsar]

Jefferson seems like a pretty cool dude. I think he'll mesh quite well with the guys.

http://www.mavs.com/sharpshooter-ric...n=bobby_093014

[LSMF]

One of my favorite RJ highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CB9_DhyBB6U