Mavs v. Kings

[Murphy3]

Originally posted by: JLEEHASMUCHGAME
I don't remember who, maybe murph, but someone said that Dirk's assist totals should go up now that he finally has someone to dump (no pun intended) it to down low. Maybe we got a little glimpse of that tonight with that assist dirk had on the dampier dunk towards the end of the game. I only followed the last quarter so I don't know if the rest of his assists were of the same variety or not.

Yes, I've mentioned that for the past several years. Dirk needs someone cutting to the bucket and someone that can place close to the rim. With that, he'll put up decent assist numbers. It's common sense. People have been whining for years about Dirk's passing. Well, when you only have people to throw it to around the perimeter when you're doubled, many times it takes an extra swing pass out of the double team to hit the open man. That doesn't exactly lead to alot of assists for the original player that's doubled.

Dirk's passing has been fine the past couple of years. He'll be able to dish to Dampier some near the bucket, and he'll be able to hit guys that will cut to the basket such as Howard and hopefully Stack.

[SeriousSummer]

I went to the game last night, and the Mavs dominated the Kings. Some quick comments on the players:

Dirk--He dunked, he drove, he hit the three-pointer, he hit the fade away, he got to the line, he passed, rebounded, blocked and guarded everybody from centers to shooting guards. He made all his free throws. I thought his best play of the night was when Kelvin Martin tried to take Dirk one on one and got forced into a travel. Maurice Evans, though, was too quick for Dirk. So, in summary, I'd say the only weakness Dirk showed was he can't guard the quicker shooting guards.

Harris--Outplayed Bibby and Jackson. Quick, good on defense, good on the dribble and OK in the set offense (knows enough to throw it to Dirk). Only thing I didn't like was he didn't run the delayed break (or quick hitter if you like) as well as he should. A couple of times Dirk needed the ball early and Harris held it for the entire team to set up. I think Harris will start by the all star break.

Howard--Like Stacey Augmon with more offense, or maybe Dennis Rodman without the antics. If he plays along with Dampier, Dirk is going to find it hard to get rebounds.

Dampier--Strong and tough. Dunks with authority. He's going to make it hard for the post defender to help on Dirk and he's going to take a lot of the demands of physical play off Dirk. He isn't graceful, but he's what we need at center.

Bradley, Booth, Henderson, MBenga--none of these guys did much of anything, but they're big and it's nice to see the Mavs playing big. MBenga didn't get in until the fourth quarter--and it took him almost five minutes to pick up three fouls. Very athletic looking, but don't expect more the ten minutes a game from him.

Dickau, Sasser--Dickau must have something, or the Mavs wouldn't have made a roster spot for him by retiring AJ. Except for one nice touch shot on a drive, he didn't show it last night. Sasser should find a place to play in Europe.

A few notes on the Kings: Webber looked terrible. Anybody who thinks he's better than Dirk (and yes, those people are around) should be sentenced to watching an entire season of the Atlanta Hawks. Peja and Miller can shoot, but Howard gave Peja fits--he had a tough time getting his shots off. Miller hit some jumpers on Dampier, but had trouble holding his own inside. Bibby was very mediocre, Jackson played pretty well, Songaila looked like an adequate reserve. I don't know what the Kings are thinking, but if Christie doesn't get back soon, then the rookie shooting guards are going to get embarrassed, although Evans can certainly score and dunk.

[Blonde Bomber]

WOW!! Dirk looks a little more ripped this year..


Throw it down, Dirk...Throw it down!!

[sike]

I'd say the only weakness Dirk showed was he can't guard the quicker shooting guards.

If Dirk could keep up with the "quicker" guards, or any guard for that matter, that guard should probably not be playing in the NBA.

Dampier--Strong and tough. Dunks with authority. He's going to make it hard for the post defender to help on Dirk and he's going to take a lot of the demands of physical play off Dirk. He isn't graceful, but he's what we need at center.

dont care about grace from my center...just be tough and active.

thanks for the review SS.

[Dooby]

Dooby's rambling scouting report:

2 caveats: (i) It is preseason; and (ii) I haven't seen a live Mavs game in over a year so maybe my perspective is a little off.

First, my DJ report: He only got 5 minutes? That bites because that was all I wanted to see. He's much leaner than I expected. He needs to learn how to play basketball. One of his three fouls was BS, but I suppose he is a rookie and he better get used to that. This may sound odd, but I think it is in his best interests if someone in the season opener punches him in the face. He needs to know that he is going to face a lot of contact and he has the ability to deal with it. He might be proclaimed the backup, but he is still a project as far as I can see. Plus all his minutes came with another center on the floor and I think that hurt him.

Devin Harris: What a cute little kid. Did his mom take him for a snow cone after the game? Speaking of game, he's got game. He is gonna be a great player some day. Wish I could have seen Terry play.

Pavel: Very tall for his age.

Dampier: OK, with all do respect to the Bradley fans out there, and I was one of those that thought Bradley should have gotten more minutes last year, but Damp is lightyears ahead of Bradley. He was consistently where he needs to be on the floor; he blocked out; he wanted boards and junk baskets. He missed one great pass from Henderson that would have led to an easy dunk. If that is the way he plays all year, we are going to get our money's worth. Knew enough that when he was gonna get a foul not to let the player score the basket. Anyone that thinks he is "the dump" is mistaken. But overall, I was disappointed he only had 2 fouls. He was also visibly tired in the third quarter. He and Dirk will play well together eventually-you can see it.

Henderson: We are going to find minutes for this guy right? He busted his tail off. I was surprised by his stats this morning. He had a better game then that.

Dickau=Adam Harrington.

Booth=Didn't do much. Again, always seemed on the floor with another center. I guess Nellie is just seeing what works.

Sasser: Hope somebody gives him a job.

Returning players:
Josh Howard: There is no doubt in my mind that there are 15 teams in the 2003 NBA draft that wish they had a do-over for not taking Josh Howard.

Dirk: Dirk's rebounding will be down this year, but his points and assists will be up. Dirk will overall have a better year than last year.

Bradley: Didn't do much. Again, always seemed on the floor with another center. There are 5 centers on this 15 man roster. Too many. Just saying. If I had to pick one.... Just saying.

Overall thoughts:

The major lineup on the floor was Damp, Dirk, Henderson, Howard and Harris. That is a fun lineup and when that 5 was on the floor, it could do whatever it wanted to offensively. Defensively, it was better than anything we saw last year.

Yeah, they are better defensively. I thought Dirk was playing better defense, but he still ain't great.

They may need to raise the roof at the AAC, this team was jumping out of the gym.

This is a playoff team, for those of you who doubted.

I don't envy Don Nelson at all. He's got a lot of players that are going to fight for minutes. Maybe I need to cut Nelson some slack....nah.

I like this team. I like it a lot. I was really disappointed last year beginning with the day Walker walked onto the court, but those days are gone now. I am excited. I hope you are too.

[Dirkenstien]

absolutely rediculous~ [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]

Sorry Isaac, it's time to rewrite the laws of motion

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]



...oh yeah, ..is it just me, or does Dirk's facial expression look strikingly similar to my avatar? [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

[seal614]

yeah Dirk is throwing it down pretty belligerantly there... nice to see. I bet he could get his head to the rim if he wasn't worried about throwing it down.

- Brian

[bernardos70]

Someone asked, but I'm too lazy to look up who, but if I remember correctly, that was not a standing still dunk, Dirk pump faked, Songalia bit and he blew his doors off and finished with that slam.

[ocelot_ark]

that's correct bernardos

[mary]

From today's SacBee

Any player can get beat on any possession, but a team is not supposed to allow that type of offensive aggression without a response. A team is supposed to try to score on the other end. A team has to help, even take a hard foul before allowing layups and dunks as if they were treats at a Halloween party.

[grndmstr_c]

Originally posted by: mary
From today's SacBee

What irony. I'm just hoping for some carryover into the season.

[EricaLubarsky]

Great game. I just got home from work and I finally watched it. The Dirk slam and the Bradley pass for the Howard Alley Oop were highlight material all the way. Dirk should watch out- Pollard messed up his hand on much less. That was one severe dunk.

Anyway, Im archiving all games on DVD. Shout (PM) if you saw the game and want a copy.

[akaarod03]

Originally posted by: sike
I'll go on record now as suggesting that Dooby should start the Thread for the season opener.

Sorry to bring up an old thread...but I totally agree with Sike. Dooby...you need to start the thread for tomorrow's game.