Finley's return to start - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

Mavs414 · 12-09-2004, 01:16 AM

Finley's return to start

However, Nelson expects guard to need time to play into form

10:09 PM CST on Wednesday, December 8, 2004

By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News

Michael Finley is expected to be back in uniform tonight against the surprising Seattle SuperSonics, his right ankle deemed healthy.

TONY GUTIERREZ/AP
Owner Mark Cuban can expect to see Michael Finley and Dirk Nowitzki in uniform against Seattle tonight. Now, if history holds true, phase two of his rehabilitation begins – and the on-court recovery can be almost as painful as the healing process.

Finley has been sidelined for extended periods the last three seasons. Each time he has returned to the court, he has needed several games to regain his form.

Coach Don Nelson expects nothing different this time.

"He's like a lot of players; they need to knock the rust off," Nelson said. "I'm assuming both he and Marquis [Daniels] will be available."

More Mavericks
Finley scrimmaged Wednesday with the group of Mavericks who did not play in Tuesday's victory at Minnesota. Heavy-minute players were given the day off.

Finley is expected to go through today's shootaround and probably will be activated before the game.

The Mavericks made two changes to the starting lineup Tuesday, and they responded with a big win in Minnesota. With Finley's impending return, plus Daniels likely to be back in uniform after missing Tuesday with an ankle sprain, juggling players could be challenging for Nelson.

Finley's return coincides with the hope that they can kick-start their level of play at home. They are 7-4 at American Airlines Center, and the Seattle SuperSonics come to town with a sparkling 15-3 record entering Wednesday's game at San Antonio.

Against winning teams, the Mavericks are 1-4 at home, the lone victory coming against Sacramento in the season opener.

"I think we've had some tough opponents come in so far, and we haven't had our full complement of players," Nelson said.

The run of tough competition doesn't stop tonight. Seattle has had a remarkable start and qualifies as the top surprise in the league thus far. The Sonics are built around Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis, 3-point shooting threats, and the strong play of second-year point guard Luke Ridnour.

Defense making the grade: The Mavericks have a goal of holding opponents under 42 percent shooting for the season.

They aren't quite there yet, giving up 42.7 percent through 20 games. But it's a major improvement on last season's 45.9 percent. And it's showing up in how the Mavericks are winning.

Last season, the Mavericks shot less than 40 percent 11 times, going 2-9. Through one-quarter of this season, they already are 3-5 when their percentage goes south of 40.

The message is that they can win that way if they have to. Maybe not all the time, but more frequently than they have in the past.

"I was really proud of our defense," said assistant coach Avery Johnson of the win at Minnesota on Tuesday. "That's the type of defense I know we can play."

The Wolves took notice, too. They saw Josh Howard tipping passes and keeping rebounds alive.

Briefly: NBA players can't be featured on U.S. postage stamps because such people must be deceased for 10 years. However, Dirk Nowitzki is one of several players who is on various stamps worldwide. Nowitzki's face graces a stamp in Micronesia. ... Though the level of competition wanes after tonight's game, the Mavericks will play five of their next seven games on the road. ... About 1,000 tickets remain for tonight. The tickets, starting at $10, can be purchased by calling 214-747-MAVS or going online at mavs.com

sike · 12-09-2004, 01:46 AM

yeaaaaa! I welcome that sweet jumper back! Just take Quis's shots or Stack's and not Dirk's....please.

Mandyahl · 12-09-2004, 01:49 AM

sweet! i just finished finals (like an hour ago) and i fly in tomorrow in time for the game. glad that fin will be back for me. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

DubOverdose · 12-09-2004, 07:42 AM

Hopefully Finley will be back to form by the 18th so when I get home I'll have some good BBall watching!

V2M · 12-09-2004, 10:22 AM

Good news. Hopefully he'd get into form right away. We need his 3s badly. We were one of the best in the league before he was hurt in 3pt shooting and hope we get back there soon.

Stack should be banned from taking any jumpers. He should just focus on driving in and drawing fouls to get the other team in foul trouble early.

FilthyFinMavs · 12-09-2004, 11:49 AM

I hope he continues to attack the rack aggressively.