Finley out at least five games

[HexNBA]

Mavs' Finley out at least five games

Sprained ankle may shelve forward longer; Dickau to be activated


10:42 PM CST on Wednesday, November 10, 2004


By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News



MIAMI – Michael Finley will miss at least the next five games and probably longer because of the sprained right ankle he suffered Tuesday at Orlando.

Finley will be placed on the injured list today, and point guard Dan Dickau will be activated before the Miami game.

"He's pretty sore, and he's going to miss some time," coach Don Nelson said. "I'd say a lot more than a little."

Finley saw a doctor in Miami on Wednesday and is scheduled to fly to Dallas today, where he will be re-examined by Mavericks physician Dr. T.O. Souryal.

Not all the news concerning ankle problems was bad.

Dirk Nowitzki was moving around better on his right ankle, in which bone spurs caused inflammation during games Monday and Tuesday.

Also, Josh Howard was able to practice despite tweaking his left ankle in the first quarter of Tuesday's game.

Nelson said he has not decided on a starter in place of Finley, although it probably will be either Marquis Daniels or Jerry Stackhouse. Nelson said he hasn't ruled out the possibility of starting point guards Devin Harris and Jason Terry.

Dealing with Shaq: Stan Van Gundy knows how the other half lives. He was part of the other half last year.

But now that he has Shaquille O'Neal on his side, he knows what Phil Jackson was whining about all those seasons when he felt the 7-1, 330-pound O'Neal was getting no respect from referees.

"If you really enforce the rulebook on Shaq, he'll have you posted under the rim every time," Van Gundy said. "I know last year we would do all we could to move him out of the post. They [referees] let people do a lot of pushing and shoving that they don't allow on other people."

Don Nelson said that's the only way to deal with O'Neal.

"We can't guard him," he said. "We have to give him fouls. It's a tribute to him that you have to foul the guy to stop him."

Nelson said if the timing is right, he won't hesitate to use the Hack-a-Shaq strategy and put the poor foul-shooting O'Neal on the line.

Hard to identify: The list of established contenders in the NBA is short, according to Stan Van Gundy. That's because there are a lot of unproven teams, including the Mavericks and Heat, he said.

"I don't know who's a playoff team and who's not," he said. "I don't think anybody knows about us. I don't think you know about Dallas. That's not the same Dallas team you had last year.

"San Antonio? OK, there's a true contender. But most of us are unknown quantities at this point."

[EricaLubarsky]

Sprained ankle may shelve forward longer; Dickau to be activated

good prediction by grndmstr_c

Originally posted by: grndmstr_c
I wonder if we might activate Dickau and send Fin to the IL for a stretch?

I hope Im not right on this one.

Nelson said he hasn't ruled out the possibility of starting point guards Devin Harris and Jason Terry.

Originally posted by: EricaLubarsky
Back to NVE-style small-ball! Harris/Dick at point, Daniels and Terry at the two.

[grndmstr_c]

Figured that might happen. I'll be interested to see how Nellie tweaks the starting lineup in Fin's absence.

[akaarod03]

I didn't want to create another thread...but this was also in the DMN. Eddie Sefko should be ashamed of himself. Memo to Sefko: Josh Howard is a SF...not a SG. Also...the last time I checked...Caron Butler was in LA...yet he has him in the starting lineup. It should be Rasual Butler. What a doofus.

-----------------------------------------
Mavericks at Miami Heat preview

7 p.m. today, American Airlines Arena, TNT; ESPN-FM (103.3), KFLC-AM (1270, Spanish)


09:50 PM CST on Wednesday, November 10, 2004


By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News




The teams split two meetings last season.


Key Matchup


Erick Dampier vs. Shaquille O'Neal: Nobody gets a fair fight against O'Neal, but at least the Mavericks don't have to rely on Eduardo Najera against the big brute anymore. Dampier had some successful nights against O'Neal last season, and his presence should provide some resistance against O'Neal. O'Neal averaged 22 points and 14 rebounds in three games against the Mavs with LA last season. O'Neal has had double-figure rebounds in two of the last three games.


Inside the Mavericks

Good memory: Maybe it's a good thing Marquis Daniels is making his first start of the season tonight. Last March, Daniels poured in 31 points in Miami. Daniels is coming off a 30-minute, 16-point showing at Orlando and could be poised to put his sprained ankle behind him.

Not so good memory: This was the site of one of the Mavericks' bleakest moments last season. They got beat in overtime at the buzzer on a 3-pointer by Rafer Alston. After the game, Dirk Nowitzki launched criticism at the entire organization for not being on the same page.


Inside the Heat

Now the hard part: The Heat is undefeated, but two of the victories have come against Washington, with Cleveland and New Jersey the other victims. Not exactly the toughest competition around. After the Mavericks tonight, they play at San Antonio on Friday.

The supporting cast: Shaquille O'Neal doesn't do it all. He just makes it easier for everybody else to do whatever he can't. The Heat got 18 points (on 8-of-9 shooting) and 10 rebounds from power forward Udonis Haslem on Tuesday night against Washington.


PROBABLE STARTERS
Mavericks Pos. Heat
Dirk Nowitzki F Udonis Haslem
Marquis Daniels F Caron Butler
Erick Dampier C Shaquille O'Neal
Josh Howard G Eddie Jones
Devin Harris G Dwyane Wade

[ddh33]

I'm guessing that Marquis goes into the starting lineup. I think Nellie is going to handle Stack the way he did Jamison. Stack won't start unless it's an absolute emergency. It isn't yet. I think he continues to try to get Stack acclimated - unless Jerry comes forward and asks to start...

[grndmstr_c]

I hope Im not right on this one.

Quote
Nelson said he hasn't ruled out the possibility of starting point guards Devin Harris and Jason Terry.


Quote
Originally posted by: EricaLubarsky
Back to NVE-style small-ball! Harris/Dick at point, Daniels and Terry at the two.

Yeah. I'm not big on small to start the game. Plus, Terry's been doing a good job off the bench. I'd rather not see him jerked around. The question in my eyes is, do you go with Quis to avoid jerking Stackhouse around, or do you go with Stack to see if a trip to the starting lineup will help him lift his play? I don't have a strong feeling either way, but at the moment I'd lean towards starting Stack. Between today's radio interview (which I didn't hear and recognize has been interpreted in a number of different ways) and his lackluster play off the bench it seems to me it might not be a bad idea to try to change something up.

[MavsFanFinley]

This sucks but at least it's in the beginning of the season and not the end. I'm happy they're placing him on the injured list so it forces him to sit the mandatory 5 games.

Looking at the schedule he'll miss games against Miami, New Jersey, Washington, Phoenix, and New York. Assuming he misses 2 weeks and that time starts today, he'll miss games against Denver, Minnesota, and San Antonio. 3 games remain in November after all those and they're against Portland, Memphis, and San Antonio.

Nelson better pick Daniels or Stackhouse and not toy with starting Terry alongside Harris. I wouldn't be surprised to see Dickau get some minutes if the ball movement doesn't improve.

[akaarod03]

Originally posted by: MavsFanFinley
This sucks but at least it's in the beginning of the season and not the end. I'm happy they're placing him on the injured list so it forces him to sit the mandatory 5 games.

Looking at the schedule he'll miss games against Miami, New Jersey, Washington, Phoenix, and New York. Assuming he misses 2 weeks and that time starts today, he'll miss games against Denver, Minnesota, and San Antonio. 3 games remain in November after all those and they're against Portland, Memphis, and San Antonio.

Nelson better pick Daniels or Stackhouse and not toy with starting Terry alongside Harris. I wouldn't be surprised to see Dickau get some minutes if the ball movement doesn't improve.

Hopefully Fin can play in 2 weeks against San Antonio...that's a huge game...even if it's early in the season. That would mean he would miss 7 games (Miami, NJ, Wash, Phoe, NY, Den, and Min). If we could go 5-2 in that stretch...I would be ecstatic.

[The Miles]

Blessing in disguise for the Mavs, Quis will be able to get big minutes and find his rhythm again. When Fin comes back everyone will be rolling, Fin should be fine, he is a vet.

[sike]

they will miss the sweet jumper...

[EricaLubarsky]

Originally posted by: sike
they will miss the sweet jumper...

Unless the G-man returns.

and by G, I mean Gonzaga

Dickau will surely return and continue his 70% shooting from beyond the arc. Threes will drop like hailstones in Oklahoma
[img]http://rds.yahoo.com/S=96062883/K=Dan+Dickau/v=2/SID=w/l=IVI/SIG=12420t7rp/*-http%3A//images.salon.com/news/sports/2001/03/22/upsets/story.jpg[/img]

[dalmations202]

Nelson better pick Daniels or Stackhouse and not toy with starting Terry alongside Harris. I wouldn't be surprised to see Dickau get some minutes if the ball movement doesn't improve.

I am guessing that Nellie will start Daniels, but I hope he starts Stack. If he can show Stack that he is a part of the "team" and that whether he starts or not, and can get him going --- watch out. Stack can be a force. IMO, with Fin on the bench with injury, all 96 min of the swingmen should be split between the three. Get all three up to speed.

[MavsFanFinley]

Finley's injury gives Daniels, Howard a chance

By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News

MIAMI – Nobody is excited about Michael Finley's sprained ankle, but there is a bright side to him being sidelined.

It's going to accelerate the growing-up process for second-year swingmen Marquis Daniels and Josh Howard. And by Thursday night's showing against the Miami Heat, they are ready for the next step.

Daniels made his first start of the season, stepping into Finley's spot, and responded with 22 points, five rebounds and three assists in the Mavericks' runaway win over Miami. Howard chipped in nine points and eight rebounds in the 113-93 win.

But none of those numbers is what has the Mavericks excited. It's the defense of both players that helped keep the Heat under wraps. Miami shot just 37.2 percent and was held to just 36 points in the second half, 11 in the fourth quarter.

"They're our two best defenders," coach Don Nelson said. "They do things that my other guys can't. And they're turning into nice offensive players, too."

Howard and Daniels are considered cornerstones to the Mavericks' future. They also know that defense is going to have to be their ticket to playing time now.

"We're like the same player," Howard said. "You double your pleasure with us. We're going to try not to let anybody score."

Their play was augmented by Erick Dampier, who limited Shaquille O'Neal to 1-of-5 shooting in the first quarter, setting a defensive tone.

"This is not your daddy's Mavericks," owner Mark Cuban said.

They did bear some resemblance to former Mavericks teams, however, because Nelson resorted to the Hack-a-Shaq defense on several occasions. O'Neal responded by missing eight of 14 free throws.

It did not faze him.

"It's not annoying, because in my career, he's never beaten me," O'Neal said. "He'll never beat me. When it's all said and done, I'll have five [rings] and he'll have none."

On Thursday, the Mavericks had one win and the Heat had none.