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Old 09-08-2002, 11:14 PM   #1
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The Mavericks Report
by "Maven" Dawn Santoianni
HOOPSWORLD.com
Sep 8, 2002, 10:43am

The World Championships: Signs of Things to Come – Should Mavericks Fans Worry?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past week and a half, you know how the United States fared in the World Championships in Indianapolis. I’ll leave the prognosticating about what this means to USA basketball and how to fix it for others. Personally, I’ve heard and read enough about it by now thanks to media saturation. But with 3 of their top 4 players participating in the event, the FIBA games are a glimpse of what to expect this season from the Mavericks, and provide some important lessons.

The U.S. team had so many problems on so many levels, but what was Michael Finley’s role? While he was on the floor more than any other American for 25.1 minutes per game (yes, even more than Paul Pierce), his raw stats don’t give you that warm, fuzzy feeling: 13.0 points per game, 2.8 assists per game, 3 rebounds per game, hitting on only 42% of field goals, and 39.3% from behind the arc. Okay, since Fin is not a mere mortal, and plays closer to 40 minutes a game during the NBA season, what do those numbers equate to? 20.5 ppg, 4.3 apg, and 4.7 rpg. Last season he averaged 20.6 ppg/3.3 apg/5.2 rpg. Very similar. And while his field goal hit rate was substantially lower than what he averaged last season in Dallas (46.3%), his three-point accuracy was much higher (39.3% in WCs vs. 33.9% ’01-’02 season). Of course the three point line in international competition is 6.25 meters or 20 feet 6 inches, much closer than in the NBA. His hit rate behind the arc in the FIBA games was higher than any of his seasons in the NBA (which gives you a clue as to where he should take his perimeter shots). And there you get to the heart of his performance. Finley attempted 50% more threes than two-point baskets, and made more treys than twos. Compare that with his usual Dallas showing, where typically only 20% of his attempts come from behind the arc.

Take a look at the US roster and you see why. Besides Paul Pierce, Baron Davis and the injured Reggie Miller, the US squad was devoid of three point sharpshooters. Andre Miller hardly attempts any, nor should he. Shawn Marion hit nearly 40% of his threes last year, but has yet to consistently show his range extends that far. And Raef LaFrentz never got on the hardwood (we’ll get to that in a minute). The US team, while seeming dominant in the paint with the likes of defensive muscleman Ben Wallace, Elton Brand, Jermaine O’Neal and Antonio Davis, couldn’t get their post players involved in the offense and resorted to heaving the long shots. Finley, Pierce, Miller and Davis all took more and made more three point shots than two point field goals. Half of the US team’s offense came from behind the arc. Whether that was by design or a result of playing international ball with the ability of the other team to legally zone the lane is irrelevant. The US had a difficult time getting penetration, their spacing was horrible, they had little movement off the ball, and as a result the majority of shots open to Finley were of the three-point variety. In addition, you can't discount the possibility that Finley was purposely taking shots from the perimeter to avoid driving into traffic and possibly being injured, thus making Mark Cuban's worst nightmares come true.

So is that good or bad for Dallas? Its good, and here’s why. Finley shot well from 20 feet out, and if he keeps up that marksmanship, the Mavs are that much better off (unfortunately there is no statistic that can compare his NBA accurancy from that range). But if you are worried that will be his only offense, consider that Finley did not have the benefit of excellent floor spacing as he does with the Mavs, nor an offense that involves good screens and crisp passing. And hopefully Finley also takes a painful lesson away from the games in Indy – that three steps in from NBA three range makes a big difference, and you can’t long range bomb your way to victory.

While Raef LaFrentz was listed on the US roster, I don’t quite believe it. He averaged only 10.5 mpg and played in only 6 games. He had a combined total of 31 shot attempts. While George Karl seemed to be infatuated with Finley, did he not like Raef for some reason? Whatever the cause, LaFrentz spent his time riding the pine instead of playing. That is bad news for Dallas on several levels. First off, Raef was looking forward to the WCs, and was admittedly rusty coming into the games. He hasn’t had any opportunity to shake off that rust. In addition, not being played while the Americans are doing so poorly can only shake his confidence, which has never been fully healthy since joining Dallas. He was played less than any other teammate except rookie Jay Williams. The Mavericks will need to do a lot of work with Raef in training camp to get him back into playing shape, both physically and mentally.

The dominating player in the World Championships has been without question Dirk Nowitzki. Germany goes as he goes. As of the time of writing this column, Dirk and his teammates were poised to bring home a bronze medal for their country. Nowitzki has averaged 23.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks in 32 minutes per game. Those are astounding numbers considering he is the focus of the opposition’s defensive strategy. But every silver lining is hiding a cloud, so here is Dirk’s: he hit only 8 of 38 from behind the arc (21%) and had over 2 turnovers per game.

While Finley has found his long range shooting touch, has Dirk lost his? Not exactly. After the conclusion of the Germany-New Zealand game today, Dirk will have played 9 games in 10 days. Not only has he had to work extremely hard to get position amidst double and even triple teams, he has been challenged on every shot. Most of Dirk’s misses were front-rimmed and flat, a sign he had lost his legs due to fatigue. His dominating performances came at the beginning of the tournament, and were followed with 3 of 17 and 8 of 26 shooting performances after playing hard every day for a week. If anything, this tournament, and Germany’s possible medal are a testament to Dirk’s resiliency and the health of his surgically repaired ankle.

Some other encouraging news is Dirk’s newfound energy on defense, where he has done rather well in the tournament. A particularly good showing on the defensive end came against Spain, as he one-on-one defended Pau Gasol, holding him to 3-10 shooting. Dirk has improved his footwork on defense, his ability to body up to his man and hold his position, and even appears to be developing a shot-blocking sense (averaged nearly 2 per game). In fact the aspects where Dirk did not do well (field goal percentage, turnovers) are directly related to him not having the team support structure as he does in Dallas, with multiple scoring threats and an all-star point guard who can feed him perfectly timed passes and recognize when he’s open.

But before we all go off with our happy Mav-colored glasses on, there is one aspect of his game that Dirk has not improved, and that is passing. Part of his trouble is undoubtedly the extra defensive attention he received, but for a rising superstar like Dirk, he will need to develop the ability to pass out of double teams and side court traps (most of his turnovers came trying to pass). If the Mavericks coaching staff spend extra time with Dirk on passing (after all, doesn’t Nellie love slick passing big men?), then he could very well become the best forward in the NBA. The FIBA World Championship tournament has given Mavericks fans a glimpse of what is to come. His name is Dirk Nowitzki and he will be leading Dallas to a championship.
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