'Dear Avery'

[kriD]

'Dear Avery'

AJ Blasts Mavs; We Pitch In

By David Lord -- DallasBasketball.com

Dear Avery,

Enclosed is a review of Tuesday's 93-87 win over lowly Portland, and some advice for you and the fellas:

The Mavs squeezed by Portland in a game in which they were sluggish until the fourth quarter. Even though playing at home against the worst team in the Western Conference (the Blazers are so pathetic that they have only won six road games all year), the Mavs never led 'til the fourth quarter and the game was in doubt until the final buzzer.

In the press conference after the game, coach Avery Johnson expressed extreme displeasure in what he had seen. Instead of taking his usual tack of pointing out the positives from his team, he strayed far from the norm, essentially delivering a 5-minute monologue about his team's lackluster play lately.

"I don't know what I am going to have to do to get this team charged up, but I am willing to do anything. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get us going. I am open for any ideas."

He continued: "Are they tired? Of what? What have we done? It's a hundred days to the finals right now. This is what the NBA season is about. .. Injuries? Nobody cares about injuries. Nobody gives a ... care about injuries. Other teams have injuries - some have had them all year and they still go on. And it's not the schedule - the schedule is not no problem. The schedule is not the problem. The schedule is not the problem. Everybody's got schedules."

AJ then issued some wry comments about bizarre actions he might have to use to get his team's attention, such as coloring his hair gray. (A subconscious expression of the view he's too young for the job?) He noted (as has been pointed out here previously) that this team really hasn't played well since the All-Star break. He then left without waiting for the typical questions.

So what's going on here? Let's start with a few pertinent facts, then offer some suggestions that might not even be needed.

Fact - This combination of coach and players is capable of far better than we've seen lately.

We have seen the Mavs this year pile up win after win. Since the Spurs and Pistons are doing the same thing, it becomes easy to just consider this to be a top-level team that's in contention, and nothing more. But, if we do that, we are failing to recognize the level at which the Mavs have been playing.

So here are a couple of points to consider.

- Avery Johnson has been the head coach for 78 games, since taking over for Don Nelson in March of last year. In those 78 games, the Mavs are 63-15. No coach in NBA story, in his first 82 games (one full season) on the job, has ever won more than 62 games, prior to Avery breaking that record with the win Tuesday. With 4 more games left in that "first full season" the record could be extended to as high as 67, a remarkable number of wins in any year.

- If the Mavs become a 66-win team or better this season, they will put themselves in very select company. Since the NBA-ABA merger 30 years ago, only 5 teams have won as many as 66 games in a season. (Three of those were by Jordan and the Bulls.) All 5 squads won NBA titles. If the Mavs win 66, NBA history says they are a special team.

- For the 2005/06 season, based on their current pace, the Pistons would win 67 and the Mavs and Spurs would each win 64. The fact that there are multiple teams this year within reach of doing something special makes it harder to realize at what a high level these teams have been playing.

So based on what history tells us, the Mavs are an incredible team in their demonstrated ability, and their play should reflect that. Lately, with far too much regularity, it just hasn't.

Fact - This team has united in following the lead of their coach wholeheartedly.

When I talk to players in the locker room or at practices, some general themes seem to reappear continuously. I hear them talk about how they are looking to win a title - a concept never heard under Don Nelson but often espoused publicly by Avery. I hear them talk about buying into Avery's vision of this team and what needs to be done. I hear talk about commitment, effort, defense, intensity, and so on. If nothing else, this team has a clear grasp of where they want to go and what they need to do to get there.

As a side note, there is an interesting twist in the way I hear the players refer to Avery these days, that may be reflective of the team's point of view. Originally his nickname here was The Little General, a combination reflecting his relatively short stature and his strong passionate leadership. However, now when you hear him referred to by nickname, all you hear is The General. It seems his approach has made him too huge in the eyes of his players to be referred to as "Little" in any way.

You also see and sense a unity in this team, a commonality of commitment. In the shuffle of minutes and roles, I have yet to encounter any whispers of discontent by anyone. Though they all want to play and contribute, they all seem to be willingly submitting their desires to the common goal of a title.

So if everything is great, what's missing lately? Three suggestions . . .

Based on everything observed above, I have great faith in Avery's ability to lead and the team's ability to follow, in getting things back on track. A record-setting coach would be the best one to have plenty of answers to get a team running smoothly again. Nevertheless, from what I have been seeing lately, let's mention a few cracks that have been showing and that might be in need of some attention.

1. This team has allowed success to alter their game formula a bit and get them out of focus.

Avery's system emphasizes attacking the basket on offense. Once that becomes ingrained and starts to blossom, it opens up the perimeter for wide open shots on a drive-and-kick, as the defense is forced to collapse to protect the basket.

As the Mavs began to roll, the defenses collapsed more and more and the perimeter began to offer better and better shots. Unfortunately, as the perimeter shots got easier, from my viewpoint the team's focus on driving to the basket began to wane, and they started to look for the easy jumper instead.

This has several negative directions that follow. First, once the team falls in love with the jumper, it stops attacking. It becomes passive and starts off slowly when the outside shots dont fall. Gradually, the jumpers became harder, because the defense is better able to contest them since the "atack the rim" danger has lessened greatly.

This team, in creating their pattern for success, built an intense attacking style as the season went along. Lately it seems that their aggressiveness has turned to passivity. An emphasis on getting to the rim, on a continuous basis, might do wonders to heal the slow starts and hard-to-find open looks.

But the passivity at times now extends to the defensive end as well. This team seems to have lots of usable players. They should work their rear ends off on both ends of the floor, and sap the other team's energy. Run on offense, then grind the halfcourt offense to find an opening to the basket. Then make the other team work for 90 feet to find a shot. If someone gets tired, get a substitute. Playing passive basketball wastes the depth that should be such an advantage to this team.

So suggestion number one is "Get back to attacking basketball." This team wins by being aggressive.

2. There has become too much emphasis on role players and one-way players, and it stunts the team on both ends.

To maximize success, this team needs players who can excel on both ends of the floor, not just on one end. Unfortunately, as the year has gone along and this team has done good things, it seems to have gradually pigeonholed players into specific areas of strength and weakness, essentially limiting each player's usefulness.

The solution? Everyone has to be a 2-way player and expand their flexibility, and they must find a way to maximize themselves on both ends of the floor. Adrian Griffin? When he is on the floor he can't be a defense-only guy, he has to find those open spots on the floor and hit those mid-range jumpers like he first did when getting a place in the lineup. Jason Terry? He cant wait for the open spot-up jumper, he has to attack the basket when the defense crowds him, and he has to defend by keeping the opponent away from the basket. Darrell Armstrong? He has to attack the basket, and force the defense to play him honest. Dirk Nowitzki? He has to be a low post guy and dunk on the small guys, and play defense with as much intensity as offense. The centers can't just be defensive guys. They have to get involved - and get the ball when open - on offense. And so on.

Offense can't be laid on the shoulders of Dirk and Stack and Jet, while the others stand around as decoys. Defense can't be left to Damp/Diop and Griffin and JHo while the others hope someone else does it. Everyone has to be EXPECTED to be a factor on both ends of the floor, no matter who they are on the floor with. Once that happens, the opponent will have a much harder time stopping the offense, and will have a much bigger task scoring.

This of course doesnt mean that Griffin and Armstrong are jacking up 30-footers every time they touch the ball. But the old rules still apply - if the defense doesn't honor you, find the open spots, and go to the front of the rim. Dont play 4-on-5 or 3-on-5 ball.

The 2-way player emphasis has to start at the top, of course. As the coach, it's easy to ask Griffin or Diop or Damp to carry a bit more of the load on defense, for example, but you can't slip into the mindset of allowing a player to ONLY contribute their strength into the equation. You have to expect players to be 2-way players and play with that approach.

Obviously at times the team needs an offensive lift or a defensive lift, and inserting the proper "type" of player might be beneficial. But that has to be used only as a crutch and not as a major feature - because when they all become specialty players, the team just limps and never gets rid of the crutches. Dirk and Jet settle for becoming the shooters, Stack and JHo become the slashers, Diop/Damp and Griffin become the defenders, Armstrong and Harris become the energy guys, and no one plays an all-round game any longer.

So suggestion number two is "Play two-way players and two-way basketball, at every position." This team is far more effective when challenging the other team at 5 positions.

3. This team needs immediate goals rather than long-term ones, and each player needs personal goals as well as inter-team goals that will improve their ability to contribute.

When this team hit the All-Star break with the top record in the Western Conference, the applause began to ring down, and people began to talk about the Mavs as a possible factor for a title. With the goal being a championship, and the team in first place, they reached their goal (the top) with nothing left to do but maintain the status quo. There was nothing left to strive for, other than to pass the time 'til the playoffs.

Unfortunately, if you aren't striving for goals to reach for, you tend to go backwards rather than forwards. If you reach a milestone earlier than expected (in this case, first place), new goals have to immediately be created, in order to keep the team hungry and fighting. Instead, by all appearances they began to go into maintenance mode, and as a result lost their edge and momentum.

How do you get back on track? Set new goals that can become a focus for the here and now. Players need to develop new skills and use them in the games. The team needs to work on new sets. How about that full court press or a half-court trap? The goal can't be about keeping up with the record of the Spurs or the Pistons - it has to become a focus on getting better. This team lately has all the look of a team whose only goal each day has been to survive a game without a loss.

So suggestion number three is "Create goals that focus on future improvement rather than on maintaining past success." The status quo is the enemy - and I believe this team has plenty of talent to take things to an even higher level if they try.

[kriD]

MAVERICKS NOTES

Mavs want a happy coach

By DWAIN PRICE
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

DALLAS -- The team that brought the wrath of coach Avery Johnson is the same team the Mavericks will face tonight.

The Mavs start a three-game road trip at 9 tonight at the Rose Garden in Portland against a Trail Blazers squad they struggled to defeat 93-87 on Tuesday night at American Airlines Center.

The Mavs fell behind the Blazers 16-3 and struggled against the worst team in the Western Conference, angering Johnson.

In the previous three games, the Mavs lost to San Antonio, struggled to beat Charlotte and lost to Phoenix.

"Obviously we're not playing as well as we want to," forward Dirk Nowitzki said. "I thought we played a good game for three quarters against Phoenix and just had a breakdown in the fourth, and played well against San Antonio for two quarters, and played well [Tuesday] for two quarters in the second half.

"More than anything, we know the last couple of weeks what we're working on is to get more consistency, and get longer stretches where we play well."

Although the Mavs are 2-2 in their past four games, guard Jerry Stackhouse admitted that they're experiencing a little bit of a lull.

"It's great when you can experience a low when you lost two games to two of the three top teams in the West," Stackhouse said. "We don't feel good about that because we felt we should have won those games.

"But we've played good basketball for a much longer stretch than we have played not-so-great basketball, so obviously we feel we can get back to that. It's just a matter of holding each other accountable and going out and taking the onus upon yourself to do things more on the defensive end."

Stackhouse said if Mavs fans are upset with the way the team has played lately, they have a right to be.

"They pay for the tickets," he said. "But just like they go to work every day, we're coming to work every day.

"And we're human, so stuff happens."

What happens now for the Mavs is that they've given the Blazers some confidence they hope to take back tonight. Or else, Johnson might rant and rave again.

"It's always a little weird in the regular season to face somebody back-to-back," Nowitzki said. "It should be a fun atmosphere up there.

"They're a young team, very athletic, and they showed they're very good. We got to come out from the start way better."

Howard still out

Josh Howard, who is out with a hamstring injury, isn't expected back anytime soon, and the team will be extra careful before it plays him.

"A hamstring is something that we don't want to play with," Avery Johnson said.

"That's one of the injuries that as I move along in my coaching career that I'm going to be a little bit more cautious with than some of the other injuries."

[Murphy3]

A bit of a simplish article by DLord.