Enough with the preseason

[mcsluggo]

A week from today your Mavs open the season hosting my Kings.

(the preseason game between the two teams is meaningless)



Who is gonna win this game? Who is gonna be better overall? why?

Both teams are going to limp into the season this year. I know y'all are missing Dainiels and prob Finley (anyone else significant?) Kings will be missing Christie and Ostertag, and Courtney Alexander, who I had penciled in to back-up Christie, is out as well. Webber's status is unclear, he's missed games here and there throughout the preseason, bt then he has looked much more mobile than he did last year when hes been in. Webber and Peja supposedly are in each other's shithouse, and Vlade isn't there to smooth things over any more.

For the first time in a while, depth is a real problem for the King's. Whoever they have after the top 8 is going to be a real question. Dallas on the other hand seems to be three deep at every position.



My questions/criticisms of the Mavs:

You're gonna miss little stevie bad hair more than most of you seem willing to admit, at least early on. He really was the computer that was at the hreart of your system. You have so many potential scorers, but I don't know who is going to be the fulcrum of it all. Almost every shot that any one but Dirk takes is a minus for your team, but nash was the one that got him the ball where and when he needed it. Is Terry a gunner? will he be able to keep the other dogs happy?

I hate stackhouse. It seems like every team he leaves miraculously gets much better simply by his subtraction. I think he is going to fill the role that (in my opinion) NVE used to admirably hold for the MAVS, keeping the team down. Lets keep an eye on the Wiz, and see what they do this year.

Too much of a logjam. Other than Dirk, too many of Dallas' players are just about on par with each other. When you are sitting behind MJ or Shaq, its hard for even talented players to gripe too much about minutes they think they "earned". When you have 10 players that are all about as good as each other... well we'll see. Obviously Depth is a huge asset in many regards, so we'll see which effect dominates in the end.

Dampier: I'm not convinced. He is a step up, no matter what. But lets see what he does this year. I used to live in No-Cal, and he always struck me as a chump. The most irritating kind of chump: the kind that gives you periodic glimpses of "what could be", but that is all. Frustrating periodic glimpses, as he habitually underperforms. I think of Derick Coleman and Billy Owens.

Finally: Defense. The Mavs have players that can D now. But it takes more. Will Nellie ever give more than lip-service to D?



Anyway, Fire away.
I'd like answers. Or denials. Or counterattacks at the King's glaring weaknesses. Or glaring Mavs holes that I missed. Or obvious mav super-powers that I ignored. Whatever.


(Oh yeah, the game. I think both teams are going to sputter and cough into the season this year. So this game will be decided by whichever team is less awful. The monumental: Clash Of The Weenies.)
(but being the homer I am, I say Kings by 2 in a sloppy pathetic game. Both teams are under .500 after 5 games)

[FineCubanCigar]

Dude, NVE never kept this team down first of all.... Dirk is obviously the go to guy. I didn't realize u guys signed Courtny Alexandre, the man has potential still, it pains me to see the Kings with him. Your Nellie question about D will determine his Job security in my opinion. Are top 7 players are clearly better than the rest of the team, i dont know where u get 10 semi equal players from. Your right about Nash, its gonna take awhile to adjust, but surely you dont really believe "any one but Dirk (shooting) is a minus" to the mavs. Look at Terry's fg%, Damp's fg%, Findawgs fg and 3pt % ect. ect.

[grndmstr_c]

You're gonna miss little stevie bad hair more than most of you seem willing to admit, at least early on. He really was the computer that was at the hreart of your system. You have so many potential scorers, but I don't know who is going to be the fulcrum of it all. Almost every shot that any one but Dirk takes is a minus for your team, but nash was the one that got him the ball where and when he needed it. Is Terry a gunner? will he be able to keep the other dogs happy?

.I can't speak for everyone else but personally I fully expect to miss Steve on the offensive end for a while. I'm confident that the defense we'll be getting at pg will moderate, though not overcome that loss early on, however, and hopeful that over time the players will find that fulcrum you talk about. As for every shot Dirk doesn't take being a minus, I can't say I agree with that. It's not realistic to have Dirk take every shot, and while the other players in the team aren't as efficient as Dirk or Steve, it's still the case that Terry, Fin, Stack, Marquis and Damp have all distinguished themselves as considerably more efficient scorers than, for example, Walker or Webber, who are the guys that I would consider shooting minuses.

Finally: Defense. The Mavs have players that can D now. But it takes more. Will Nellie ever give more than lip-service to D?

Clearly you don't follow the local media reports. As was the case in 2002-03 when the Mavs improved to be a middle-of-the-road defensive team, D has been the main focus of camp.

(Oh yeah, the game. I think both teams are going to sputter and cough into the season this year. So this game will be decided by whichever team is less awful. The monumental: Clash Of The Weenies.)

Unfortunately, with the injury troubles both teams have faced in the preseason I can't argue with this.

[mcsluggo]

Originally posted by: FineCubanCigar
Dude, NVE never kept this team down first of all....

I just really disagree here.

When NVE was hot, he almost always got his stats at the expense of this team-mates. You would see quotes after games like,
"NVE was the only one trying out there, he ALMOST was able to pull the whole thing out himself, but no-one else was doing anything..."
Well, he was the point guard, usually he was the only one doing anything because it became nick versus the world. No one else was doing anything because they had become superflous. When he got hot, he got selfish, so as a result he had to be SOOOO HOT to be able to counteract the air he took out of his teammates sails. that rarely happened. (It DID hapen in the playoffs for 2 games when the Mavs eliminated the Kings after Webber was hurt).

When NVE was NOT hot he either continued to jack up shots regardless, or he completely disapeared in every single aspect of the game.

So when NVE was hot, he sucked the air out of his team-mates, and when he wasn't hot he contributed almost nothing. He was not a very complimentary player.

I KNOW this view doesn't jibe with the way most of you saw things, hell most KING'S fans disagreed with my view. But its the way I felt, just the same. Too damn many teams traded him away after statistically successful years, and the Mavs were the ONLY team to EVER get anything back in return for him.

Dirk is obviously the go to guy. I didn't realize u guys signed Courtny Alexandre, the man has potential still, it pains me to see the Kings with him. Your Nellie question about D will determine his Job security in my opinion. Are top 7 players are clearly better than the rest of the team, i dont know where u get 10 semi equal players from.

Your right about Nash, its gonna take awhile to adjust, but surely you dont really believe "any one but Dirk (shooting) is a minus" to the mavs. Look at Terry's fg%, Damp's fg%, Findawgs fg and 3pt % ect. ect.

Iwas talking in hyperbole there.
Simplified question: Will Dirk get as much support from his guards as he should?

[fifteenth man]

This is absolutely amazing that a Kings fan thinks that NVE hurt the Mavs. The team that he hurt more than any other was the Kings in the playoffs. The Sac series was easily Nick's finest moment as a Mav. He was the MVP of that series.

The truth about his tenure here is that he was o.k. but not great for most of his games, but he was great against the Kings. His legend here in Dallas is based on that series.

[mcsluggo]

Originally posted by: grndmstr_c

.I can't speak for everyone else but personally I fully expect to miss Steve on the offensive end for a while. I'm confident that the defense we'll be getting at pg will moderate, though not overcome that loss early on, however, and hopeful that over time the players will find that fulcrum you talk about. As for every shot Dirk doesn't take being a minus, I can't say I agree with that. It's not realistic to have Dirk take every shot, and while the other players in the team aren't as efficient as Dirk or Steve, it's still the case that Terry, Fin, Stack, Marquis and Damp have all distinguished themselves as considerably more efficient scorers than, for example, Walker or Webber, who are the guys that I would consider shooting minuses.

but will dirk remain enough of a focus without a dedicated playmaker?

as far as Webber: most people seem to think of him as an ineficient shooter, I just don't know why. before last year's ugly return from injury he was a 50% shooter for his carreer. This in spite of the fact that he is in love with that 16foot elbow shot (and not just an under the basket power-forward)

Clearly you don't follow the local media reports. As was the case in 2002-03 when the Mavs improved to be a middle-of-the-road defensive team, D has been the main focus of camp.

The mavs D improved immensly statistically that season. But it was the zone play, which was fairly clearly shown not to be too effective in playoff style play.

Unfortunately, with the injury troubles both teams have faced in the preseason I can't argue with this.

[EricaLubarsky]

I hope we have a good game tonight. This board is definitely in a bad mood as a whole.

[Murphy3]

McSluggo, you're right about NVE. He basically had a great playoff run, but other than he was a disappointment as a Mav.

Anyways, on to Dirk. The high pick and pop/pick and roll could definitely take a hit with no Nash. We'll have to wait and see how he and Terry work out with that play. As for getting the ball down to him in the post or in the paint, I honestly felt that Nash wasn't good at this. Nash was surprisingly poor at throwing the ball to the post. He often threw it to the wrong hand or simply didn't make the entry pass when it needed to be made. That being said, sure, the Mavs are going to miss Nash. They'll miss him all year.

[mcsluggo]

Originally posted by: fifteenth man
This is absolutely amazing that a Kings fan thinks that NVE hurt the Mavs. The team that he hurt more than any other was the Kings in the playoffs. The Sac series was easily Nick's finest moment as a Mav. He was the MVP of that series.

The truth about his tenure here is that he was o.k. but not great for most of his games, but he was great against the Kings. His legend here in Dallas is based on that series.

I agreed that in that one case he really was hot enough to counteract the negatives. He truly was in a super-zone.

Was there even ONE other playoffs series where he could generally be considered a positive?

[fifteenth man]

I saw a quote the other day where, (was it Nellie?) a coach was giving props to the JT/Dirk two man game in practice. That sure is good to hear.

[grndmstr_c]

as far as Webber: most people seem to think of him as an ineficient shooter, I just don't know why

Inefficient scorer would be the more accurate way of putting it from my perspective. And it wasn't just last year. His 02/03 numbers were pretty poor also. His true shooting percentage for that year was 48.5%. If you're not familiar with true shooting percentage (which takes into account the value of a three pointer and a free throw productivity), that's not good. To put it in perspective, Walker's career ts% is 48.4%.

The mavs D improved immensly statistically that season. But it was the zone play, which was fairly clearly shown not to be too effective in playoff style play.

Rebounding was the Mavs' true achilles heel in the postseason. And yes the zone deserves some of the blame for that. And no, that really doesn't have much of a bearing on this year. The Mavs will not be using nearly as much zone with the defensive personnel they have this season.

[FineCubanCigar]

mcsluggo, NBA FACT: shooters shoot wether they fall or not, ask Reggie Miller.