GDT: Mavericks vs. Wizards 14/11/2012 7:30 PM CT

[CanadianMavsFan]

Dallas really needs this one so I decided to start my first game day thread! I hope I can bring some much needed mojo for the Mavs!



VS.

The Dallas Mavericks certainly are struggling, but their recent problems don't seem nearly as difficult to overcome as those facing the winless Washington Wizards.

Dallas looks to end a three-game skid by earning its fifth straight victory over visiting Washington on Wednesday night.

The Mavericks (4-4) won four of their first five games without Dirk Nowitzki, but they've lost their last three after falling 90-82 at home to Minnesota on Monday.

Darren Collison scored a game-high 21 points for Dallas, which shot a season-worst 36.3 percent.

"For one thing, on the offensive end, we're not making the shots that we normally make the last few games, and the result of all that is we're being too stagnant," Collison told the team's official website. "And then on the defensive end, we're just not buckled down and tied in like we need to be.

"We're not going to always win games shooting at a high percentage. Sometimes you're gonna have to win ugly games."

Coach Rick Carlisle was ejected after arguing a foul with roughly five minutes remaining Monday, and he wasn't pleased with what he saw before that.

"Our effort wasn't where it needed to be," Carlisle said. "I thought we tried hard in the second half and the results were still not good."

It's been hard to criticize O.J. Mayo much in his first eight games with the Mavericks. He scored 18 points against Minnesota and is averaging 24.5 over his last six, but knows his new team has room for improvement.

"It's not the end of the world," Mayo said. "But at the same time, we have to get back to getting better."

Shawn Marion will miss his fifth straight game Wednesday as he recovers from a left knee sprain, and Carlisle said there's a possibility he could alter his starting lineup to boost energy.

The most likely move would be replacing rookie Jae Crowder with Dahntay Jones.

"We've got to personalize our effort -- individually and as a team -- and right now, we've got to dig ourselves out of this losing streak," Carlisle said. "The way you do it is you start with a jump ball and you've got to dig in on every possession. Simple as that."

Washington (0-6) was more than lackluster during its 92-76 loss at Charlotte on Tuesday, shooting 29.8 percent -- an NBA single-game low this season.

Trevor Ariza scored 19 points and was the only player in double figures for the Wizards. Rookie Bradley Beal finished with eight points and hit one of 11 shots from the field.

"We can't lose focus, and (Tuesday) we weren't focused," Beal said. "We came in lackadaisical, like we were 5-0 instead of 0-5. We didn't come in with the edge that we usually do."

Washington, which started a franchise-worst 0-8 last season, has yet to play with former No. 1 overall pick John Wall (right knee) or Nene, who is recovering from a left foot injury.

Nevertheless, coach Randy Wittman has yet to make any excuses for a team he says needs to make better decisions on both ends of the court.

"When you stand around and watch a guy dribble and dribble and dribble and take a bad shot, it takes away that effect (on defense)," Wittman said.

The Mavericks have won four straight meetings with Washington, though each has been decided by 10 points or fewer. The Wizards won 102-91 in Dallas on Oct. 27, 2009, for their only victory in the last seven matchups.

Per ESPN.

[samoan-maverickII]

Sucks that we're losing but it is expected. Beal and Crowder should be fun to watch. Go Mavs.

[ChileanMavsFan]

Damn, Marion out tonight .

Anyway, let's go mavs!

[dude1394]

I would be surprised if Marion is back in less than a week. He is a freak but he's an older freak now.

[Underdog]

Easy loss.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Gotta win this one. I'm going to the game and can't bear what it will be like at the AAC if they lose to the winless Wizards.

[LSMF]

The Wizards are 0-6? Great, this is a perfect trap game.

[EricaLubarsky]

Well this is the Bizarro Mavs. The championship team broke lots of records. This team is breaking them in a different way.

record-breaker Mavs broke team's win streaks. Bizarro Mavs break their own win streaks or other teams' losing streaks.

record-breaker Mavs had a defensive center with almost no offense. Bizarro Mavs have an offensive center with almost no defense.

Record-breaker Mavs had a PG that couldn't drive and score but defended well. Bizarro Mavs have a PG that can drive and score but is playing toreador on defense.

Record-breaker Mavs had Dirk. Bizarro world Mavs have Bizarro Dirk-- alternate identity, Troy Murphy.

[Kante]

The Mavs really need this win!

[dirt_dobber]

Chris Kaman to start tonight; Cuban not panicking
by: Brad Townsend / Dallas Morning News
http://mavsblog.dallasnews.com/2012/...anicking.html/

Probably much to coach Rick Carlisle’s chagrin, center Chris Kaman spilled the beans this morning by confirming that he will start in tonight’s home game against 0-6 Washington.

That solves at least one riddle, after Carlisle promised unspecified lineup changes, with the Mavericks (4-4) having lost three straight games.

Meanwhile, owner Mark Cuban made a rare morning visit to the American Airlines Center _ although he stressed it wasn’t Mavericks-related. He happened to be in the neighborhood after attending a press conference at Dallas Children’s Medical Center with Ryan Seacrest and Selena Gomez.

Seacrest and Gomez will be involved in building a studio at the medical center, and the Mavericks will play a role in it, too, Cuban said.

As for his basketball team, Cuban doesn’t seem terribly concerned _ even though he said the Mavericks should be 7-1 right now, even with Dirk Nowitzki and Shawn Marion sidelined.

“I was just talking to Dirk and said, if someone said ‘4-4, a couple of disappointing losses without Dirk and Shawn Marion, would you take it?’ ” Cuban said. “Yeah, we’d take it. We’re not happy about it, but we’ve got a long way to go. There’s only one direction we can go, the way we’ve played over the last two games.”

Cuban said he was unaware of the news that Kaman will start. Cuban supported the decision, pointing out the Mavericks’ recent poor starts.

They fell behind Charlotte 17-4 and trailed Minnesota after one period, 25-17.

“I think it will get us off to a better start, and I think it will get (Kaman) into the rhythm of the game more,” Cuban said. “I think all of our guys, including Chris, are trying to do too much, particularly on the offensive end. We’ve seen that. Everybody comes in and immediately wants to score, immediately wants to have an impact on the game.”

[dirt_dobber]

Our Mavericks current NBA rankings
points per game..........4th at 101.9
rebounds per game....19th at 41.9
assists per game........11th at 22.1
points allowed.............21st at 99.1

2012-13 REGULAR SEASON TEAM LEADERS
rebounds.......S.Marion 9.0
assists...........D.Collison 6.9
steals.............V.Carter 1.4
blocks............B.Wright 1.3

[Kante]

Yup:

Chris Kaman breaks his own news and says he will start vs. Washington tonight.

Not surprised. With Wright i assume? Or Brand?

Also Jones to start for Crowder?

[rabbitproof]

Start or not, more minutes for Brand.

[sinsin]

wsh by 100 ; )

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Originally Posted by rabbitproof

Start or not, more minutes for Brand.

I'd be for more minutes if he proved it on the floor. He needs a big game.

[EricaLubarsky]

Kaman is ultimately the more valuable piece and he needs to show me that he can play defense. He's been the only guy that's been worse than Eddie Curry on defense. Perhaps it's his injury and he's not as agile as he will be, but he's been a black hole that has destroyed this team so far. Wright and Brand are great, but they should be backups. Kaman should show that Cuban was right and advanced statistics are wrong.

[ChileanMavsFan]

I would like to see less minutes from Carter tonight (he played 29 min monday night). He was bad offensively on monday and kept making dumb mistakes, like that awful foul right before halftime.

[fluid.forty.one]

Mavs by a lot.

[BGMaverick9]

Kaman AND Dahntay Jones starting. Wright and Crowder moving to the bench.

[fluid.forty.one]

link?

[rabbitproof]

Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart

I'd be for more minutes if he proved it on the floor. He needs a big game.

Brand is legit.

His shot won't stay in the low 30s. The alternatives aren't better.

[Skywalker]

http://www.thefirstrow.eu/watch/1530...n-wizards.html

[Spurred1]

Wiz are craptastic and at this point, so are the Mavs. A loss right now would disappoint and disgust me, but not shock me. Ugh.

[JimRed]

Our inability to rebound is very frustrating.

[JimRed]

Originally Posted by JimRed

Our inability to rebound is very frustrating.

And shortly thereafter, Elton gets a tough offensive rebound and scores.

[CanadianMavsFan]

Mavs look like absolute crap again. I don't care how handicapped they are there is no excuse for some of the sloppiness.

[JimRed]

Look a little less sloppy since the timeout.

[nowhereman]

Why does something bad happen nearly every time Roddy is running a fast break?

[Rick41]

Just checking in, I see Murphy already in.

[Dale4Saul2Red0]

That Michael Myers music is so dope

[nowhereman]

James showing some flashes - but also getting really outmanned physically on a lot of these plays. Also a bit of a mess defensively in the P&R.

Roddy's looking pretty good in the halfcourt - mostly making the right passes at the right time, doing a good job controlling the game. Really looks like he knows what he's doing for the most part.

[JimRed]

Murphy is rebounding very well tonight.

[sefant77]

Hello Brandan Wright, say hi to your doghouse

[JimRed]

Detroit looks like they are going to get their first win.

[nowhereman]

Crowder really making things happen out there.

And Mayo is unconscious right now.

Man, the Wizards are terrible.

[Rick41]

There we go!

[Skywalker]

everything going our way (finally)

[Rick41]

Lol, Brand's prayer answered.

[ChileanMavsFan]

this is more like it Mavs!

Brand and Crowder playing much better tonight.

[mavsfan1000]

Everyone having a good game except Collison. lol