article about travis best

[superheadcat]

Travis Doesn't Know Best
Mavs Want New PG To Think 'Pass First'
By Mike Fisher -- DallasBasketball.com
Travis hasn’t been his Best. And privately, Mavs officials are expressing concern that he’d better get better.
‘Instead of looking for the tough shot for himself, we need him to make the easy pass to someone else,’ says one staffer. ‘We need him to get that message.’
Best is scoring just 2.9 points a game, on 24-percent shooting – both team lows. He believes his shot will come around. It might. But he’s missing the coaches’ point: They don’t care if his shot comes around. They care about his ability to manage the game in a way that gets the ball into the hands of the right people.
A bigger issue: Why Travis has 4.4 shots per game but just 2.3 assists per. Now, he’s only averaged 3.8 assists per game in his career, and he is only playing 16 minutes per here. But should a non-scoring point guard really be racking up twice as many shots as he’s assisting on?
For a comparison, look no further than Steve Nash, the player whose style Best should be emulating. Nash had to be urged by coach Don Nelson a few years ago to be more selfish, to be more shot-conscious. Yet Nash’s shots-to-assists ratio is 109-97. Best is 58-30, and Nash is 109-97. So yes, it can be done.
But even beyond the numbers, it’s noticeable and frustrating when Best finds a shot for himself rather than finding one for, say, Dirk Nowitzki. (No conspiracy theory there, by the way; Best isn’t doing a good job locating other high-scoring teammates, either.)
‘Everyone on this team, when we get the ball to them, can score, and can finish,’ Best says. ‘I can play way better than I’ve been playing. I know that. I’m concerned with nothing else – minutes, roles, whatever – nothing else than helping this team win.’
Coaches are willing to give Best some leeway here; we’re only a sliver of the way into the season, and Best, despite his nine seasons in the NBA, needs some time to make the adjustment to a new city, new teammates and a style of basketball that is nothing like the slow-it-down approach he’s been a part of in the past.
‘It is an adjustment,’ Best says, ‘but it’s an enjoyable adjustment. Nothing bad about it.’
There is another issue at work here, and it’s a positive one: Best is naturally being compared to Steve Nash, and the numbers Stevie is putting up – 13.7 points per on 46-percent shooting, with the second highest assist total in the league and 4.1 boards a game, too -- leave very few other NBA point guards able to carry his jock.
Still, Saturday’s return to health of another newcomer veteran capable of helping at the point, Tony Delk, drew deep, deep appreciation from the coaching staff. Delk, recovering from a hamstring problem, scored six points in eight minutes in the 115-107 home victory over Denver. He’s historically a much better scorer than Best, not a traditional distributing point guard, but clearly in more favor with the coaches than Best.
‘That’s not an issue for me,’ Best says of his healthy competition for time with Delk. ‘Tony’s been starting a lot, actually, so I still end up having a role coming off the bench, and it’s fine.’
Best says playing in Miami last year – where the Heat couldn’t score, couldn’t finish and couldn’t win – makes being in Dallas a special treat.
‘Last year, we won 25 games, and Pat Riley doesn’t take losing lightly,’ Best says. ‘It became a snowball effect, and things that were bad got worse.’
Here, Best says, the mood is positive, the atmosphere fun. And he’s right; he’s well-liked by his teammates and his coaches. But the mood and the atmosphere might be altered a bit if Best doesn’t get better

[Simon2]

I think at his price Best is a bargain. The Mavs need to give him more time before passing any judgement on him. Like, the article says, he's adjusting to a lot right now basketball or non-basketball related. I think the Mavs should give him a year.

[bogey]

I think Best will be an add on in a mid season trade.

[kg_veteran]

Best is a decent defender but otherwise is the worst player on the 12 man roster.

So if you can throw him into a midseason trade, by all means do so if it helps.

[Walkerforthree]

Gasp! Nellie telling a pg to actually PASS first. Im Savovic shocked.

[Jamisonite]

i dont know how much better daniels is than best:-/

[uberfan]

Originally posted by: Jamisonite
i dont know how much better daniels is than best:-/

At this moment in time, Daniels is not the better PG. I believe he can be.

[Mavs Rule]

I am glad to hear that the coaching staff is insisting he pass the ball more. It was very noticable in the last game against Denver. He only had one shot attempt and three assists in that game. Now if they would only insist that he push the ball up faster, then we might get some real production from the bench. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

[Captain Disaster]

Originally posted by: Jamisonite
i dont know how much better daniels is than best:-/

It wouldn't hurt to find out. When he's played, he's looked pretty good; let's see him against some better competition for a few minutes.

[Joey]

Part of me really feels like Travis is playing for a contract. What he doesn't get though is that if he plays TEAM ball then he will get paid. It is easy to bet that jacking up ill'advised shots isn't going to get him a big contract, especially if he keeps missing them. Mark takes care of those that take care of him. If he plays TEAM ball, then he can retire a Mav or at least up his value.