10/12 Camp Report from db.com

[grndmstr_c]

Some nice things in here re: Josh, Terry, and Damp.


Tuesday's Road
Practice Report On Way To N.O.

By David Lord -- DallasBasketball.com
Tuesday’s practice report as the Mavs prepare for a trip to New Orleans for the preseason opener:
# No, we’re not going to see a lot of Mavs preseason games on TV. Mavs owner Mark Cuban says the cost of doing so is prohibitive, though the final two exhibition games will be televised on Cuban’s HDNet.

# Marquis Daniels is not making the trip to New Orleans due to his ailing ankle. Mavs officials are still calling the action precautionary.

# In the meantime, Dirk Nowitzki says the best player in camp so far is Josh Howard, still wrongly written off by some as an “odd-man out.’’ It’s quite possible that Howard gets starts in Daniels’ absence, while Jerry Stackhouse gets accustomed to coming off the bench. Interesting to watch: If Fin and J-Ho both start, who gets what assignment?

# Jason Terry is drawing rave reviews from teammates for his quickness. And Cuban – the type of guy who wants to quantify such things – says JT’s agility drill scores put him among the quickest and fastest players in the NBA.

# Nellie says his mindset regarding the preseason is to not be experimental, but rather to develop the rotation as it will appear once the regular season starts. We endorse that plan. There is no time here to play around with, say, Doug Hood. Not with three of the White starters in Saturday’s scrimmage being newcomers. These guys still need to learn to play together.

# Nowitzki continues to rave about Erick Dampier’s inside force. So does assistant Paul Mokeski, who notes that previous centers like Raef LaFrentz were contributors in their own way, but that none of them were candidates to be a force inside as Damp is.

# That mess at the end of the bench – Dan Dickau wanting to play as a little man, Evan Eschmeyer being capable of playing in the NBA as a big backup, Tariq Abdul-Wahad hanging out in France or wherever – isn’t close to being cleared ups. Buyouts could be in the works, but the organization seems to be playing sort of a game of Chicken here.

[Bookit]

Thanks for posting. Good to hear that the last 2 games will be televised on HDnet!!

[Maringa]

"# That mess at the end of the bench – Dan Dickau wanting to play as a little man, Evan Eschmeyer being capable of playing in the NBA as a big backup, Tariq Abdul-Wahad hanging out in France or wherever – isn’t close to being cleared ups. Buyouts could be in the works, but the organization seems to be playing sort of a game of Chicken here. "


I'm dying to know what's going to happen here!!!!

Notable is Pavel's absence....I think something is up here regarding him. My feeling is that at the end of the day, Tariq will be with us for one more year....Insurance will pick up most of his salary...

Dickau will be gone, however I'm disappointed the Mavs haven't released him yet since it would allow him an opportunity to make it on another team.

Eschmeyer and Pavel....which one would be cheaper to buy out? Can Dallas figure out a way to create a roster exemption (health issue?) for Pavel since he had/or is having brain surgery? This would allow the Mavs to postpone one year as to what to do with Eschmeyer and Tariq...

[MavsFanFinley]

MAVERICKS CAMP REPORT

By Dwain Price
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

Day in camp

Coach Don Nelson finished putting in the game plan Tuesday in preparation for tonight's preseason opener in New Orleans.

The Mavs were superb with their defensive work, but looked poor trying to rebound. Nelson hopes they're able to establish both elements against the Hornets at 7 tonight.

"I don't care very much about winning or losing," Nelson said of the eight preseason games. "I just care about playing well, and if you play well you'll win your share of games.

"I want to get my rotation down. I want to get my top eight or nine guys playing together a lot as much as I can without tiring anybody out, and kind of see what we have. We think we have a really well-rounded team."

In order to establish some continuity, Nelson won't play some players some of the preseason games, but said he will play at least 10 or 11 in every game. The Mavs are eager to match wits against someone other than themselves.

"Practice is really what counts," said Jerry Stackhouse, destined to be the Mavs' sixth man. "The games are good because you're getting a little test of another NBA team defending that set that haven't defended your set.

"Maybe our defensive schemes aren't what somebody else does, so we may have to make some adjustments with some of the things we're doing. Otherwise preseason games are -- for a guy that's been around 10 years -- a big waste of time."

New wrinkle

Each Mavericks player used to shoot 100 free throws a day during practice, but now that total has been increased to 200 per day.

And the results have been phenomenal.

For instance, center Erick Dampier raised some eyebrows when he made 192 out of 200 free throws. But that was topped by forward Michael Finley, who drilled 196 out of 200.

Last year the Mavs led the NBA in free-throw shooting at 79.6 percent. However, they know that figure would have been over 80 percent if not for Antoine Walker, who was only 103-of-186 (55.4 percent).

Walker, who sometimes played center for the Mavs, has since been traded to the Atlanta Hawks.

[Drbio]

Pavel had pituitary surgery. He will make a full recovery.

TAW and Esch will likely be bought out.

[Simon2]

Is this serious about the free throws? Dampier making 192 out of 200!? Unbelievable. I hope the Mavs are tops again in the league in free throws. Can't wait for the season to start.

[EricaLubarsky]

There is no time here to play around with, say, Doug Hood.

Isnt it Derek Hood?

[sike]

#1 Jason Terry is drawing rave reviews from teammates for his quickness. And Cuban – the type of guy who wants to quantify such things – says JT’s agility drill scores put him among the quickest and fastest players in the NBA.

#2 Nellie says his mindset regarding the preseason is to not be experimental, but rather to develop the rotation as it will appear once the regular season starts. We endorse that plan. There is no time here to play around with, say, Doug Hood. Not with three of the White starters in Saturday’s scrimmage being newcomers. These guys still need to learn to play together.

#3 Nowitzki continues to rave about Erick Dampier’s inside force. So does assistant Paul Mokeski, who notes that previous centers like Raef LaFrentz were contributors in their own way, but that none of them were candidates to be a force inside as Damp is.

if true, these are great signs of the immediate and near future Mavs

[EricaLubarsky]

agreed. Of course we are hearing everything soaked in rose-color, but the rosey statements are the ones we want to hear.

[sike]

has since been traded to the Atlanta Hawks.

just wanted to make someone's day.

[Mavs Maniac]

Too funny EL! And doesn't he work for DALLASBASKETBALL? Oh well, I guess it's preseason for those guys too.

[endtroducing]

I think Dampier shooting 'free throws' is code for practicing 'three pointers'