10 Takes - Fish Goes Inside Mavs Weekend

[Dr.Zoidberg]

From DallasBasketball.com: http://www.dallasbasketball.com/mainArticle.asp

10 Takes
Fish Goes Inside Mavs Weekend
By Mike Fisher - DB.com

Mavs 86, Blazers 74, a launching pad for Top 10 Takes:

1) 'FLATTENING OUT': Have the Mavs taken a dip in efficiency? Yes. Is this a good time for it? Well, better than taking a dip two weeks ago. Or worse, two weeks from now.

The Mavs admit they haven't quite been the same since finishing up that recent six-game road trip, and why? It was during that trip when they put a significant distance between them and the competition for the top seed. It was during that trip when they achieved a crazy-good 6-0 mark. And it was during that trip when they got about as high as they can get.

So naturally, inevitably, what comes next is a low, right?

We really haven't played well since that road trip," coach Avery Johnson said. "We all know that. Maybe there were a lot of things that contributed to that, but we'll keep working on it."

Keep in mind that even during this post-six-game-roadie "slump,'' the working-on-it Mavs are 4-2. That's not a bad performance during a hangover. And keep in mind that this team is marvelous at correcting its cosmetic problems while maintaining its solid foundation. Example: They shot terribly in the Friday loss at Denver, but bounced back to shoot 51 percent here. Meanwhile, they allowed the Nuggets just 35.5-percent shooting and 75 points -- and somewhat astoundingly did almost the exact same defensive work here (38-percent shooting and 74 points for the Blazers).

They might have "flattened out,'' but they're still bouncing. You can't go an entire season with one loss on the second night of back-to-backs (!) and not be bouncy.

2) THE MVP RACE: It kills me that two players can perform similiar feats on the same exact day, but if one does it on local TV and the other does it on national TV, the latter player suddenly vaults ahead because lazy voters don't want to use their remotes. (Or don't have DirecTV. Or don't want to miss "Grey's Anatomy.'')But no matter. I've made my arguments. Nash is not the greatest point guard of all time. Kobe had a great month. And Dirk plays even bigger in "big games'' than he does in regular games -- and in regular games he's better than he's ever been.
It's Dirk.

3) PLAYOFF MATCHUPS: I cannot believe MavsWorld has become so arrogant that people are "hoping for a Round 1 series against Nellie and Golden State because they'll make it interesting.'' I don't want Round 1 to be "interesting'' or "entertaining'' or "challenging.'' I want the Mavs to be the boot and the opponent -- Golden State or the Clippers or whomever -- to be the discarded cigarette butt.

Would The Black Mamba in the No. 8 spot also "make it interesting''? Sure, but he's not going to score 60 points per game in four-of-seven games. (Is he?) Would the Nuggets also "make it interesting''? (David Moore's DMNews piece on potential foes is here)

No, truly "interesting'' comes in Round 2 against Houston or Utah (though both teams are suddenly nagged by injuries, T-Mac, Yao, AK-47 and Deron Williams among this weekend's ailing). And then waaaay down the line comes the WCF and the Spurs or the Suns.

But let's not be arrogant enough to worry about the WCF opponent yet. And let's not be arrogant enough to bite off more than we can chew in Round 1, either.

4) GOING FOR 70: Clinching the No. 1 seed in all of the NBA is the only important goal, and it's now one win (or Phoenix loss) away.

Some have suggested that the Mavs never did care about 70 -- with Saturday's win they extend their franchise record to 63 wins and still have a mathematical shot at 69 -- and I simply don't believe that to be true.

Our man David Lord offered up a great non-linear thought when he recently noted that maybe 70 is important because it becomes a matter of NBA history, an etched-in-stone accomplishment, a cemented-in-mind memory. But whether this team ends up with 65 or 68 or whatever, we're talking about one of the greatest regular seasons in NBA history.

I'll always remember it -- regardless of what the exact number turns out to be.

Having said that, two more points about 70:

1) One reason not to want it: It does add pressure. Win 70 and then don't win a title and you are forever remembered as a non-winner.

2) Win 70 and you sell a lot of commemorative T-shirts. You get on highlight reels. You get endorsement offers. So don't believe nobody cared.

5) COACH OF THE YEAR: If you want to make a case for Jerry Sloan in Utah, it's easy -- just don't bring up the fact that he's never won it before and therefore deserves some sort of 'lifetime achievement' award. So is a case for Sam Mitchell in Toronto -- though is anybody in the East good enough to win anything? So is a case for Jeff Van Grumpy in Houston -- but look how far back the Rockets are from the you-know-whos?

Yeah, I guess I'm a homer. Give me Avery Johnson. The Colangelo kid in Toronto can have Exec of the Year. LB can have the Sixth Man. Most Improved? Kevin Martin, maybe? I just know that can't be a Mav because they were all already so great before. (haha.) But for COY, give me Avery.

And I'll slip you just one immediate example of how he steers this ship:

On Friday in Denver, he railed on and on about the reason for the loss. Shot selection. Falling in love with perimeter launches. Unwillingness to drive to the hole. Lack of free-throw attempts.

Would the hint of a problem on Friday become an avalanche of one on Saturday?

Hardly. Dallas shot 11 free throws in the entire game -- the same number of free throws the Mavs shot in the first quarter 24 hours later. For the game, Dallas shot 28 free throws. And totaled 44 points in the paint. And scored a terrific 30 points on the break.

Problem fixed. Flat repaired.

Said Avery: "That's one thing about this team: They know when I'm pretty much hot under the collar. They have done a good job responding."

Bottom line: On the rare occasion when something around here is broke, Avery Johnson fixes it. Pronto.

6) DEVIN'S DEVELOPMENT: The recent workmanlike X's-and-O's article in Sports Illustrated by Jack McCallum walked the reader through Mavs-vs.-Suns tendencies, and to close Mavs watchers, it didn't reveal any great secrets. But it did reinforce something we laymen already know: The NBA believes Devin Harris can't shoot.

As I've said before, the record shows that last summer Devin took 700 shots a day.
What we don't know is how many of the 700 he made.

Dallas' best lineup -- it's most explosive offensively, it's most dynamic defensively, it's most competent in terms of ball-handling and pace -- includes Devin. To have him, Howard, George and either Diop or Damp on the floor together for defense, or to have an offensive lineup that includes him, Terry, Howard and Dirk. ... that's powerful stuff.

This would be a lovely time for Devin Harris to become the Tony Parker, the Leandro Barbosa, the Deron Williams, that the Mavs have always believed he can be. And maybe that time is here: Note this boxscore and add it up: In the span of two games in 24 hours, Devin is 12-of-15 shooting, with seven rebounds, nine assists and 28 points.

7) REST FOR THE WEARY: To me, Dirk has recently looked tired -- like, end-of-two-Presidential-terms tired, you know? One set of numbers indicates that: In the eight games previous to Friday, he was averaging just five boards per game. That's a sign.

Nothing wrong with giving a guy a day off. Nowitzki's bout in Sacto with food poisoning -- "It was coming out of every hole,'' said Dr. Dirk -- was unpleasant, no doubt. But it also meant five straight days for him without a game, without a threat to his ankles, without anything but 7-Up and chicken noodle soup. (I'm guessing at the diet part.) He's looked slightly more energetic in the last two games, but still. ...

I believe the Mavs will not sleepwalk through the final week, I believe they will approach these games as if they are playoff tuneups, and I expect they will win most of them. As GM Donnie Nelson told me recently, "You don't want to change your habits, your regimen or your focus. You can cut down on guys' minutes some, you can rest guys, but you really need to keep trying to win games. That's still what it's all about.''

But. ...

Smartly, Croshere got some work early and late on Saturday (he grabbed 10 boards while opposing doppleganger ex-Mav Raef LaFrentz). Moe Ager looked explosive in his extended time (eight points in 25 minutes). JJB got a late opportunity to get his uniform a little sweaty. And newcomer/old-timer Kevin Willis? He received one minute of burn on Saturday, frankly performing just as you might expect the second-oldest player in NBA history to perform after two years of retirement. I mean, he's fit. And the elbow pads still menace. But if we really expect the re-born 44-year-old to eventually contribute a bit against a Yao or an Amare, we might as well get him some more prepatory work.

Meanwhile, Damp's knees and shoulders need time off. (He played hard Friday and Saturday.) Stack's knees need time off. (He sat Saturday. Good. Give him another one.) Devean George looks right -- but why push it? And you saw on Friday what Josh Howard needs: He twisted his ankle again, the sort of injury threat that makes Dallas' future so precarious. Tape it, ice it, raise it, stim it, kid. But I say don't bother playing on it until the games matter again.

Said Dirk: "We want to be fresh going into the playoffs. It's been a long season so far, so anytime you can get everybody some time, keep the bench players sharp, it's a good night.''

8) IS AGER A BUST?: It's a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately sort of business, and rookie first-rounder Moe Ager not only hasn't done anything lately. ... previous to Saturday he hadn't done anything for me at all.

So, naturally, fans ponder the question: Is Moe Ager a bust?

That's premature, of course; even if Moe's game was more polished and his head was screwed on tighter, there haven't been many spots over the course of this season when I would've handed him the keys. Still it was encouraging to see Ager -- who we all remember as a friggin' gunner earlier in the year when he got a chance to play -- perform under control against Portland. He looked comfortable in the middle of a break a couple of times. He moved the ball unselfishly. And when the time was right, he flew aggressively toward the hole for a dunk.

An Avery quote keeps the lid on the excitement, however: "I've been looking for that fire," Johnson said. "I haven't really seen it in practice."

And now I'm free to tell you an anecdote:

Recent home game. Hours before tipoff. Buckner is on the floor (I believe despite just having broken his nose). Assistants Ro Blackman and Popeye Jones are out on the floor. Here comes Diop. He's out there. Here comes Barea. He's out there.

And the whole time, Moe Ager is also out. But not on the floor. He's sitting in the front-row seats, basically tying and untying his shoes. For, like, 30 minutes. Thirty minutes of NOT taking advantage of the opportunity to be on an NBA floor, to show coaches how much you want it, to be tutored by Ro, to be big-brothered by Buck. ...

It was discouraging. I feel only a little better after Saturday.

9) THE FUTURE OF STACK: My educated guess? Enjoy Jerry Stackhouse while he lasts. Because he's getting ready to showcase himself, for the good of the Mavs and for the good of himself.

Avery's respect for Stackhouse, 32, could cause him to re-sign here this summer. But I would tend to think management will wisely not fall in love with a player so far on the back end of his career, and will wisely not overpay even if that veteran helps the team to a title.

It's hard to imagine it now, but there will be other sixth-man pieces available if Stackhouse -- maybe seeking one last run at a featured-player role -- departs Dallas. Eddie Sefko of the DMNews has floated the interesting name of unrestricted-free agent-to-be Desmond Mason, the Waxahachie native. I might suggest that the perfect sixth man is already in Dallas, in the form of Devean George.

Or hell, how about a productive Summer of Fire from Moe? And Moe as an important piece off the bench? As soon as he gets done tying his shoes, that is.

10) THE FUTURE OF CUBAN: Speculation that Mavs owner Mark Cuban is interested in buying the Chicago Cubs is rampant (he's neither strongly confirming or denying). Also rampant, then: Panic from Mavs fans who assume that either a) he won't have time to properly manage his Mavs, or b) the lure of baseball and the conflict with Chancellor Stern will cause Tony Cubes to divorce the Mavs entirely.

I have no information from the horse's mouth, here, just educated guesses from having known the man for 13 years: The last time I checked, Mark is the overseer of 42 companies, a contributor to endless charities and a doting patriarch to a growing family. When Cuban became involved in movie production, did he dump his involvement in HDNet?

I frankly do not know how the man finds time to does all he does. But his resume says that whenever he takes on a 43rd company, he simply finds more hours in his day.
It's been written that Mark Cuban will dump the Mavs and the NBA because, after all, he's a "businessman.'' And that's not quite right. In 2000, there were far smarter things to do with $280 million than to invest it in a crappy basketball team. He did it, at least in part, because of his passion for the sport, the league and the Mavs.

He's a businessman, sure. But at least as much, he's a sportsman.
Besides, the fun around here is just starting!

650am April 8 2007

[Dtownsfinest]

What's the market out there for Jerry Stackhouse? Would a team give him the full exception?

[StackAttack]

Don't see why not. Once you get past the knees, he's still an incredibly capable player.

[nashtymavsfan13]

Some team is going to overpay for him a lot, and I hope it's not us. I want him to stay, but it needs to be for the right price.

[Dtownsfinest]

If he gets offered the exception from a team than I don't expect to see him return to the Mavs next season. I don't see Cuban giving him around the 5 million range unless its a 1 year deal.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

It's interesting because a lot of people on these boards hate the "what have you done for me lately" type of attitude but I agree with Fish that that is just the way it is. Ager is a rookie, but he went through many years of playing in college. His old coach wouldn't be too happy hearing about him tying his shoes for 30 minutes in preparation for a game. His new one probably doesn't like it either.

[left texas]

I love the Fish. He must have looked at all the treads here and wrote his column. He addresses so many of them. I still like his stance and substantiation of why Dirk is the MVP.
quote:2) THE MVP RACE: It kills me that two players can perform similiar feats on the same exact day, but if one does it on local TV and the other does it on national TV, the latter player suddenly vaults ahead because lazy voters don't want to use their remotes. (Or don't have DirecTV. Or don't want to miss "Grey's Anatomy.'')But no matter. I've made my arguments. Nash is not the greatest point guard of all time. Kobe had a great month. And Dirk plays even bigger in "big games'' than he does in regular games -- and in regular games he's better than he's ever been.
It's Dirk.