PGT: Dirk passes Jerry West

[DevinHarriswillstart]

on the all-time scoring charts because he is awesome.

Oh and the Mavs won.

[sike]

Must beat all bad teams at home. Defend home court.

2 more solid performances from Dirk/Monta w strong support from cast and crew.

Blair is going nuts in this reserve role.

Go Mavs.

[LonghornDub]

105-95. That's a good final score. I like that final score a lot. What do you guys think about it?

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Blair is smart. Plain and simple. He uses his brain to make up for his small size at center.

[Thomas86]

I'll saw this game as a must win because thoes games at the Heat and Magic will not be a walk in the park at all.

[Melonhead]

Must win with philly and heat coming up. Build on this win mavs!

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by LonghornDub

105-95. That's a good final score. I like that final score a lot. What do you guys think about it?

Approved.

[FINtastic]

Originally Posted by LonghornDub

105-95. That's a good final score. I like that final score a lot. What do you guys think about it?

It could have been higher.

Just think about much more fulfilling this win would have been if it was a 106-95 final score.

[yahyes]

I credit the Wizards mostly cause they have established talent on their team now. They'll make playoff in their conference this season. Nice win to protect home.

[Cerberus]

Originally Posted by LonghornDub

105-95. That's a good final score. I like that final score a lot. What do you guys think about it?

I love that score. Hopefully that's the score for the next game too

[dirt_dobber]

Notebook: Mavericks 105, Wizards 95

Micah Powell for NBA.com
http://www.nba.com/games/20131112/WASDAL/gameinfo.html
Posted Wed Nov 13, 2013 12:04 AM - Updated Wed Nov 13, 2013 12:04 AM

THE FACT: Dirk Nowitzki scored 19 points to move into 16th place on the NBA all-time scoring list, passing Jerry West (25,192).

THE LEAD: Monta Ellis and Nowitzki each tallied 19 points, leading five Mavericks who scored in double figures, to power Dallas to a 105-95 victory over Washington Tuesday night at the American Airlines Center.

Dallas (5-3) held off a third-quarter rally by the Wizards (2-5) led by Trevor Ariza, who connected on four 3-pointers in the frame to cut a 15-point deficit all the way down to four. The Mavericks answered right back, rattling off a 10-2 run late in the period to push the lead back to double digits.

Washington once again closed the gap in the fourth, narrowing the Mavericks lead to five midway through the frame before Ellis notched eight points in a three minute span to put the game out of reach.

QUOTABLE: "Jerry [West] is the man, he is the logo and that says it all. It has been a great ride, this is my 16th season and hopefully I can pass a couple of more guys and win a couple more games and hopefully help this franchise make the playoffs."
--Dirk Nowitzki on passing West on the all-time scoring list

THE STAT: After connecting on 66.7 percent of its shots from the field and posting 34 points in the first quarter, Washington scored just 15 points in the second on 6-for-22 shooting.

TURNING POINT: The Mavericks managed to tally seven points in one possession in the first quarter. Jae Crowder converted a layup while drawing a foul and missed the free throw, but DeJuan Blair grabbed the board and chipped in two points while also being hacked. Blair missed the freebie which was chased down by Vince Carter who knocked down a 3-pointer. The feat erased a six-point deficit and put the Mavericks in front.

QUOTABLE II: "We are not playing any defense. We are last in the league in points, last in the league in field goal percentage ... I have to change up our bench. There are something that need to be done rotation-wise."
--Wizards coach Randy Wittman

HOT: Ariza was on fire from long range, hitting 5 of his 11 shots from deep to help him lead the Wizards in scoring with 27 points.

NOT: After setting a career-high on Sunday in Oklahoma City, Bradley Beal struggled to find his shot all night, going just 2-for-10 from the field and finishing with a season-low nine points.
FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Entering the game, only Chris Paul (12.4) and Jeff Teague (10.1) were averaging more assists per game than John Wall. He continued to distribute the rock at a fever pitch, doling out 10 helpers and amassing 14 points.

NOTABLE: After passing West with a 3-pointer in the third quarter, Nowitzki now trails Reggie Miller by just 83 points for 15th place on the scoring list. ... Dallas advanced to 4-0 at home to start a season for the time since 2007-08. ... Blair finished the night with 11 boards and nine points off the bench. He is the only player in the league to average more than seven rebounds per game that has yet to start. ... The Wizards held a 28-5 advantage over the Mavericks in fastbreak points. ... With the loss, Washington has now dropped seven consecutive games to the Mavericks.

UP NEXT: For the Mavericks, Friday @ Miami, Saturday @ Orlando, Monday vs. Philadelphia. For the Wizards, Wednesday @ San Antonio, Saturday vs. Cleveland, Tuesday vs. Minnesota

[G-Man]

best thing about this win, and several others, is the way the Mavs withstood the surge. We all know that, no matter how big the lead and how bad the opponent, NBA teams will make a run, often fueled by a series of bad jump shots. Last years Mavs blew a lot of leads to a lot of mediocre teams, and once knocked down, failed to get back up and fight. I am not seeing that this year. I think a lot of it comes from Blair's energy...you see his short but down there battling and it has to inspire you to try harder. Some credit also goes to Mekel for making smarter decisions than any of last years PG's. Injuries have boosted these guys minutes, and that is sure to pay off for us as the year goes on.


Last year, teams knew if they kept coming, the Mavs would eventually lay down. Not this bunch, at least not yet at home. We are good enough to beat teams likely to be seeded 6,7 or 8 at home. Next step is to start beating them on the road. We got the Bucks, an 8 seed. Its a good place to start building from. Hope we keep building

[Dirk's Knee]

Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart

Blair is smart. Plain and simple. He uses his brain to make up for his small size at center.

Blair has far surpassed my expectations. As far as I'm concerned, the only reason Dalembert is starting is for the jump. While Blair's height doesn't allow him to block quite as well as Dalembert, his hands are much quicker, his lateral movement is much quicker, his offensive awareness is better, and he fights harder under the rim.

[Vinsanity]

I had a bad dream where this game went into 8 overtimes and Trevor Ariza had 108 points. And the game was still going on when I woke up... Then I actually woke up and I immediately checked the score on my iPad and I was so happy. True story, it was terrifying.

[Melonhead]

“I love that moment of the game; born for it,” Ellis said, sounding like Terry. “But [Carlisle] still had the confidence in me to call those plays when I was having a bad shooting night. It let me know how much confidence he has in me.”

This is huge going forward with Ellis. We know he's a heart on his sleeve kind of emotional player. Which can be positive and negative at times. But hearing this so early into the season will help him. RC will still need to reel him in at times, but this is good news.

[Maringa]

What I like so far from the Mavs is that even though they have lost 3 games, they were only blown out in one game (against OKC). They started off rough in Houston, but almost recovered and fought it out with them in the last three quarters. Against Minnesota, we were close throughout the game but they simply were lucky with their shots at the end the game against the Mavs. Last year, when we lost, you knew the Mavs were going to lose the game after the 1st minute. The end of game IQ was simply pathetic.

There is so much more movement and placement of the ball that makes more sense. The only thing agravating so far, is that there have been some stupid turnovers by everyone...That needs to improve. Mekel, Ellis and Marion making passes to no one in particular when they are making a drive to the basket and the defense presents itself....those turnovers drive me nuts...

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by G-Man

best thing about this win, and several others, is the way the Mavs withstood the surge. We all know that, no matter how big the lead and how bad the opponent, NBA teams will make a run, often fueled by a series of bad jump shots. Last years Mavs blew a lot of leads to a lot of mediocre teams, and once knocked down, failed to get back up and fight. I am not seeing that this year. I think a lot of it comes from Blair's energy...you see his short but down there battling and it has to inspire you to try harder. Some credit also goes to Mekel for making smarter decisions than any of last years PG's. Injuries have boosted these guys minutes, and that is sure to pay off for us as the year goes on.


Last year, teams knew if they kept coming, the Mavs would eventually lay down. Not this bunch, at least not yet at home. We are good enough to beat teams likely to be seeded 6,7 or 8 at home. Next step is to start beating them on the road. We got the Bucks, an 8 seed. Its a good place to start building from. Hope we keep building

Great post, couldn't agree more... The Mavs have definitely been a lot better at securing leads so far this season.

As for Blair, I thought this was an interesting quote in the article that dirt_dobber posted above:

Blair finished the night with 11 boards and nine points off the bench. He is the only player in the league to average more than seven rebounds per game that has yet to start.

He's averaging 7.9 RPG in just 20.6 MPG so far... All hustle.

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by Maringa

There is so much more movement and placement of the ball that makes more sense. The only thing agravating so far, is that there have been some stupid turnovers by everyone...That needs to improve. Mekel, Ellis and Marion making passes to no one in particular when they are making a drive to the basket and the defense presents itself....those turnovers drive me nuts...

Well, the increased ball movement is the primary culprit for the turnovers, which is something that should probably improve as the team's chemistry continues to gel... Hopefully, anyway.

[Dirk's Knee]

Originally Posted by Underdog

Great post, couldn't agree more... The Mavs have definitely been a lot better at securing leads so far this season.

As for Blair, I thought this was an interesting quote in the article that dirt_dobber posted above:



He's averaging 7.9 RPG in just 20.6 MPG so far... All hustle.

Yep. Out-rebounding Dalembert so far in less minutes (though still trailing Marion). And his rebounding trend over the last 3 games looks very promising: 9 vs MIN, 11 vs MIL, & 11 vs WSH. He's putting up career best rebounding, steal, and FG% numbers right now.

[SMC0007]

Blair has been a massive surprise for me.

Gal has come around to start playing like I thought he would. He is capable and will continue to improve with confidence.

[LonghornDub]

I gotta say, while I'm very pleased with Blair's performance, I'm not at all surprised. A lot of NBA players, frankly, just don't work that hard on a possession-to-possession basis. Blair does. He is always going to produce well in limited minutes because he's consistently willing to play harder than most of the guys around him. That is the biggest reason why he frequently had terrific games against the Mavs, not because he's any better than most of the frontcourt guys on those Mavs teams.

His defense still needs some work, but it's not nearly as bad as some have made it out to be. I'll be curious to see what his on-court/off-court numbers look like after half the season or so. Perhaps there's something to the theory that he gives up as much or more as he provides, but watching him play, that's very, very hard to believe.

[EricaLubarsky]

We still have the same record as the Wolves, Rockets, Warriors, Clippers and Heat at the 10% point of the season

[Dirk's Knee]

Originally Posted by LonghornDub

I gotta say, while I'm very pleased with Blair's performance, I'm not at all surprised. A lot of NBA players, frankly, just don't work that hard on a possession-to-possession basis. Blair does. He is always going to produce well in limited minutes because he's consistently willing to play harder than most of the guys around him. That is the biggest reason why he frequently had terrific games against the Mavs, not because he's any better than most of the frontcourt guys on those Mavs teams.

His defense still needs some work, but it's not nearly as bad as some have made it out to be. I'll be curious to see what his on-court/off-court numbers look like after half the season or so. Perhaps there's something to the theory that he gives up as much or more as he provides, but watching him play, that's very, very hard to believe.

But he's not really playing limited minutes. He's played more minutes than Dalembert in 2 of the last 3 and is only averaging 3 minutes less than him overall. Also, I think he's putting up the type defensive performance which is hard to quantify through stats. Look at his positioning on the floor, watch his hands. He's pretty much the only Mav who's constantly trying to challenge shots and stopping passes into the paint. No question Dalembert has a blocking advantage but really that's where it ends IMHO. Last night I can't count the number of times I watched shots over a Mav defender that didn't even bother raising their hands. Seeing guards slash around Dalembert due to his slow lateral movement was also frustrating.

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

We still have the same record as the Wolves, Rockets, Warriors, Clippers and Heat at the 10% point of the season

Well, the next 4 games will be interesting: Heat, Magic, 76ers, and Rockets. If you believe the power rankings, we'll go 2 and 2. However, I think we can take the Rockets at home. Friday against the Heat will be a real test...

[grndmstr_c]

Originally Posted by Melonhead

“I love that moment of the game; born for it,” Ellis said, sounding like Terry. “But [Carlisle] still had the confidence in me to call those plays when I was having a bad shooting night. It let me know how much confidence he has in me.”

This is huge going forward with Ellis. We know he's a heart on his sleeve kind of emotional player. Which can be positive and negative at times. But hearing this so early into the season will help him. RC will still need to reel him in at times, but this is good news.

Agreed. I was hopeful before the season that Rick and Monta would get on well, primarily because, whatever else you think of Monta, I do believe he consistently brings his competitive drive to the game, and I think Rick is comfortable coaching guys like that. But hoping for that and seeing it play out that way are two different things, so I'm glad to see that those foundations for a constructive long-term coach/player relationship are being put in place.

[LonghornDub]

Originally Posted by Dirk's Knee

But he's not really playing limited minutes. He's played more minutes than Dalembert in 2 of the last 3 and is only averaging 3 minutes less than him overall. Also, I think he's putting up the type defensive performance which is hard to quantify through stats. Look at his positioning on the floor, watch his hands. He's pretty much the only Mav who's constantly trying to challenge shots and stopping passes into the paint. No question Dalembert has a blocking advantage but really that's where it ends IMHO. Last night I can't count the number of times I watched shots over a Mav defender that didn't even bother raising their hands. Seeing guards slash around Dalembert due to his slow lateral movement was also frustrating.

I consider anything short of 28-30mpg (maybe a bit less if you're an older guy) "limited." I'm really using that term to say, "To get a real idea of the player's production, you'd need to look at per/36 stats rather than per/game stats, because he's not playing enough minutes for the latter to be truly indicative."

I agree with most of the rest of what you said.

[Kante]

Good win and needed before the next games.

And let Blair come off the bench, why change that when he does play well so far?

[dude1394]

I was watching nba tv highlights. They were calling dirk the "German logo". Pretty funny stuff.

[Melonhead]

Philly is the real deal. Put away Houston in OT. Gonna be a good challenge for the mavs next week

[EricaLubarsky]

Originally Posted by Melonhead

Philly is the real deal. Put away Houston in OT. Gonna be a good challenge for the mavs next week

They beat the Harden-less Rockets? It's not to say that the Rockets aren't pretty good, but without their star player-- and Howard is NOT their best player-- it's a little less climatic.

[Murphy3]

It's going to be interesting to see how the injured guys impact the team when they come back.

[Dirk's Knee]

Originally Posted by LonghornDub

I consider anything short of 28-30mpg (maybe a bit less if you're an older guy) "limited." I'm really using that term to say, "To get a real idea of the player's production, you'd need to look at per/36 stats rather than per/game stats, because he's not playing enough minutes for the latter to be truly indicative."

I agree with most of the rest of what you said.

By your measure, the entire Mavs roster outside of Dirk, Marion, Calderson, and Ellis is playing limited minutes. So you have to judge Dalembert as playing limited minutes as well. And in that comparison, Blair is doing the better job IMHO.

[Kante]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

They beat the Harden-less Rockets? It's not to say that the Rockets aren't pretty good, but without their star player-- and Howard is NOT their best player-- it's a little less climatic.

To be fair, Carter-Williams was also out.

[LonghornDub]

Originally Posted by Dirk's Knee

By your measure, the entire Mavs roster outside of Dirk, Marion, Calderson, and Ellis is playing limited minutes.

Yes, that's correct.

Originally Posted by Dirk's Knee

So you have to judge Dalembert as playing limited minutes as well. And in that comparison, Blair is doing the better job IMHO.

I love me some Blair, but this remains to be seen. His on-court/off-court numbers are significantly worse than Dalembert's, and the Mavs' two most efficient five-man units both have Dalembert at the five, not Blair.

[Dirk's Knee]

Originally Posted by LonghornDub

Yes, that's correct.



I love me some Blair, but this remains to be seen. His on-court/off-court numbers are significantly worse than Dalembert's, and the Mavs' two most efficient five-man units both have Dalembert at the five, not Blair.

You can't use advance stats for much at this point in the season as a single game vastly changes things. For example, the numbers you are quoting are before the last game. Factor in the game against the Wizards and the numbers show Blair’s net rating 4.7 and +/- of 2.1 vs Dalembert’s of 3.7 and +/- of .5. Despite his early scoring, Dalembert had the biggest negative impact of the whole team at -7. Blair conversely +20. Watching the games, Blair's getting it done in a huge way. watch him on the floor, one of the only guys on the team with active hands trying to challange almost every shot. Dalembert is serviceable but I'd be fine trading him. I'd like Blair to stay beyond this season if he can keep his productivity together.

[LonghornDub]

Originally Posted by Dirk's Knee

You can't use advance stats for much at this point in the season as a single game vastly changes things. For example, the numbers you are quoting are before the last game. Factor in the game against the Wizards and the numbers show Blair’s net rating 4.7 and +/- of 2.1 vs Dalembert’s of 3.7 and +/- of .5. Despite his early scoring, Dalembert had the biggest negative impact of the whole team at -7. Blair conversely +20. Watching the games, Blair's getting it done in a huge way. watch him on the floor, one of the only guys on the team with active hands trying to challange almost every shot. Dalembert is serviceable but I'd be fine trading him. I'd like Blair to stay beyond this season if he can keep his productivity together.

Believe it or not, I do watch the games, which is why I said I love Blair. And while you're certainly right about small sample sizes, the exact same logic applies to eyeball testing guys so early in the year (see ex: OJ Mayo 2012).

In any event, they can't afford to trade Dalembert unless it's for another guy who is 6'10" plus. Not happening, nor should it.

[Dirk's Knee]

Originally Posted by LonghornDub

Believe it or not, I do watch the games, which is why I said I love Blair. And while you're certainly right about small sample sizes, the exact same logic applies to eyeball testing guys so early in the year (see ex: OJ Mayo 2012).

In any event, they can't afford to trade Dalembert unless it's for another guy who is 6'10" plus. Not happening, nor should it.

Spencer Hawes is off to a great start this season. Even if we can't trade for him he's unrestricted this coming offseason. Philly has 4 centers on their roster including Nerlens Noel who they have high hopes for (though he's likely out for the season). I think Hawes is probably the best center that's realistically attainable. But can't trade Dalembert until Dec 15th at the earliest anyway so not worth getting into yet.

[Melonhead]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

They beat the Harden-less Rockets? It's not to say that the Rockets aren't pretty good, but without their star player-- and Howard is NOT their best player-- it's a little less climatic.

It wasnt until this morning that I seen Harden had been out. Linsanity to the (almost) rescue.

[dude1394]

So the dirkster is a little less than 100 points behind Garnett and Garnett is stinking it up. When does he get passed?

[EricaLubarsky]

net points to pass each player

5 Wilt Chamberlain 6,194
6 Shaquille O'Neal 3,371
7 Moses Malone 2,184
8 Elvin Hayes 2,088
9 Hakeem Olajuwon 1,721
10 Oscar Robertson 1,485
11 Dominique Wilkins 1,443
12 John Havlicek 1,170
13 Alex English 388
14 KEVIN GARNETT 95*
15 Reggie Miller 54
16 DIRK NOWITZKI ---
-----------------------------------

Games at current pace (19.3ppg) to pass. (73 games left this season)
-----------possible, but unlikely--------------
6 Shaquille O'Neal 175 games
----------plausible next year if he plays 82 games and averages 19ppg this year and next--------------
7 Moses Malone 114 games
8 Elvin Hayes 109 games
9 Hakeem Olajuwon 108 games
10 Oscar Robertson 77 games
11 Dominique Wilkins 74 games
----------plausible this season at current pace---------------------
12 John Havlicek 61 games
13 Alex English 21 games
14 KEVIN GARNETT 5 games*
15 Reggie Miller 3 games
16 DIRK NOWITZKI ---

Barring injuries, it looks likely that he'll end up 11th-13th alltime by the end of this season and may end up 7-8 all time, before it's all over as long as he plays 2-3 more seasons.Then again, the knee is still a possible issue. He's already top-20 and will almost certainly crack the top 15 in the coming week.

[Lestat_1795]

Dirk always says, he doesn't care.
So let his fans care about the alltime scoring list.
My goal for him is to pass Shaq.