Random Mavs News & Articles

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by ReDirkulous Tyme

Love this article. And I'd agree with ^^ dirk definitely loves the Peja. I think people around here really have the wrong idea of what he brings to the table for this team. I can't even believe people are expecting him to fill the 15-17ppg provided by Butler, not to mention all of the intangibles and defensive prowess. However, Peja WILL be extremely valuable to this team. The fact is, whether he is 1-10 or 10-10, when he is on the court, the opposing team is forced to keep a man close, which, in turn, makes everyone's job easier. Stevenson, despite his drastically improved overall 3pt percentage, is still not, and will never be a respected 3 point shooter in this league. It doesn't matter how many games he has hitting 3-4 3's, teams will still leave him to double Dirk. With Peja, that is not the case. There is a reason he is #4 (about to be #3) on the tall time list, the man can straight up wet the 3.

As far as I'm concerned, as long as he is healthy enough to step on the court and make somewhat athletic moves, he is doing his job. He is spacing the floor, making his open shots, and playing within himself. As long as Roddy does what I expect him to do, that will be all we need from Peja.

I mentioned this in another thread, but I think Peja is less of a Caron Butler replacement and more of a Tim Thomas replacement (someone we would have missed a LOT this season if Butler and Stevenson didn't have those amazing 3-point shooting stretches...)

[ReDirkulous Tyme]

Originally Posted by Underdog

I mentioned this in another thread, but I think Peja is less of a Caron Butler replacement and more of a Tim Thomas replacement (someone we would have missed a LOT this season if Butler and Stevenson didn't have those amazing 3-point shooting stretches...)

I'd say he's an offensive improvement over ole TT, but defensively he's prolly more of a liability. And I still say we miss Stevenson. In all reality, I our bench is at it's best when Marion is playing the 3 instead of the 4. I know the numbers may show the contrary, but I think Marion is somewhat of a defensive liability against teams with big PF's, and if we could just keep him at the 3 we would be a lot better off. But alas, Thomas isn't gonna be here, so we're gonna have to make do.

People need to see this team for what it is, a damn good one, but very different from the beginning of the season. The swap of Peja for TT, and Roddy for CB is fairly significant, especially since it looks like they will both be starting (Peja and Roddy, that is). As of now - and I'm sure this will change with Roddy's return - we look much more balanced than we did early in the season, we just don't have the defensive end of the court down yet. Give Roddy and Peja a few weeks to get integrated into the system, and I think we will have a better gauge for how the FO did. In my mind, at this point, I think our FO has done EXACTLY what it should have done so far, and I LOVE the Peja signing/sighting.