Is it really an issue of toughness? Or is it coaching? This is another question mark brought up in the media. I have read some comments that say Avery is in the “hot seat” this year. There are comparisons between Avery and Nelson, and Avery and Poppavich.
Avery obviously wants to emulate what the Spurs are doing. After all, the Spurs win championships. And they do it by playing fundamentally sound basketball.
Nellie-ball won’t take any team to the championship and neither will Steve Nash-ball. It’s a proven fact.
The coaching style is good, in my opinion. It’s quality strategy and approach learned from Pop and Nellie. Game and player management plus lack of experience, however, hinders the Mavs at times. Playing both point guards in the back court just doesn’t make sense. As deep as the Mavs are, they should let players play their true positions and not improvise with small ball mentality. Avery picked that up from Nellie.
This might be a stretch, or it might be elementary level logic for NBA strategists and coaches, but let’s break the game down into 8 minute segments. Let’s make two squads. Squad One plays the first 8 minutes and Squad 2 plays the second 8. We’ll do this for the first three quarters and then reverse the order for the fourth quarter.
Squad One
Devin Harris
Jerry Stackhouse
Josh Howard
Dirk Nowitzki
DeSagana Diop
Squad Two
Jason Terry
Eddie Jones
Devean George
Brandon Bass/P.J. Brown/Chris Webber
Eric Dampier
This just reeks of balance and consistency. The other guys can give the NBA’s elite players five hard fouls apiece. There’s the toughness that everybody is calling for.
Stackhouse versus Terry
(stats can be deceiving because Stack came off the bench these past three years)
Career Averages
Stackhouse – 19 pts. | 3.8 assists | 3.5 rebounds
Terry – 15.9 pts. | 5.3 assists | 2.9 rebounds
If you were the coach, which player would you rather have starting at the 2 spot? Jason Terry would be an excellent backup for Devin Harris. In order for the Mavericks to make it to the Finals, Devin Harris has to prove he is better than Tony Parker. This is not an option… it’s a necessity.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I watched J.J. Barea this summer, and he is MUCH more talented than Dallas fans give him credit for. The guy has a swagger and a style about him that conveys confidence, awareness, and ability. He also handles the ball better than ANYONE else on the team.
I think it’s crazy not to play Barea as the backup point guard. Jason Terry is not a trained point guard. He’s a shooting guard, regardless of his size and ability to defend Kobe or other premier guards in the league.
You may have a vote of no confidence in Barea, but that’s because you haven’t seen him shine. Devin Harris has had major minutes for several years now, and he’s still struggling to showcase all of his talent. Don’t rush to assume that Barea won’t set the world on fire.
As for shooting guard position, I would definitely like to see Stackhouse play more. He’s a definite asset, though I worry about his knees. He’s a limited player. You can’t give him more than 20 minutes a game on average without worrying about injury.
So the shooting guard position is still a weak spot, although between Terry, Jones, and Stackhouse, we should be able to do a “decent” job there.
Look for this to be the most important position to draft or trade for in the next 2 years.
I would love to see Barea thrive on the Mavericks – is the coaching staff really going to allow that? I doubt it. He is automatically black-balled or pigeon-holed at the the role of third string or back up at best. He’s 6′ tall and 175lbs – basically, my height and I out way him by 30lbs. Now there are 2 guys in the league that do pretty well and get some recognition that are similar to him in stature: Earl Watson – he’s 6’1″ and Boykins is 5’5″ and it looks like he hasn’t even been picked up by a team this year. Both of those guys probably a lot more athletic – You are correct when you say Barea is the truest point guard- and if they had a midget NBA he would be a superstar- Michael Jordan-like. But this is not summer league we are talking about. It’s the NBA and he is just not good enough or big enough to make it with legitimate playing time in this league. I hope I am wrong but i don’t think I am. My guess is he will be traded mid-season – definitely at the end of the season for a big or a SG- He will go to a team that doesn’t have a play-off chance and from that point he will become an NBA journeyman and switch teams for the next 5 years and then end up in Europe. Look at Dan Dickau and Travis Deiner. JJ Reddick is on that same path – he is taller and has more upside. I hope I am wrong. I really do.
Barea has shown an uncanny ability to overcome his size deficit on offense by burning help defenders with passes to open guys and using a really good finishing touch.
On defense, he is going to be a real problem. He harasses defending point guards with his quick hands (EVERY point guard he faced in the Summer league had a lot more turnovers facing him than other point guards), but I simply don’t think that is enough to stop him from being abused on strong pick and rolls and even simply post ups.
I watched Barea dominate in college at Northeastern and have been paying attention to him ever since. He is VERY strong for his size and plays a lot bigger than he is. He’s extremely quick, and when he gets hot he can go on big scoring binges very quickly. With that said, as you guys pointed out, his defense still leaves a lot to be desired, but that’s something that he can improve over time working with Avery. I think he could be a decent backup eventually, though maybe not this season. If Terry is relegated to back up point guard JJ might not see the floor hardly at all, but hopefully Terry plays more at the 2 this season so JJ can get some more playing time behind Devin.
I totally agree with you, Joe. Barea is highly underrated. I think he’s already a stellar backup point guard. Let’s be real – not many (if any) teams have both a killer starter and premium backup point guard. There are plenty of teams that don’t have either one.
Devin, Howard, Dirk, and Diop are the future of the franchise. Dallas is one stellar shooting guard away from unbeatable.
But JJ Barea is the real deal. He has more flash and style than Devin Harris, but lacks the height and speed. As far as shooting goes, though, I’d take Barea over Harris. Barea has room for improvement on defense, but he’s a solid backup. No need to go to Terry there. Terry can move over to that position as needed, but he should be given the opportunity to play how he plays best.
I would love to see Barea thrive on the Mavericks – is the coaching staff really going to allow that? I doubt it. He is automatically black-balled or pigeon-holed at the the role of third string or back up at best. He's 6' tall and 175lbs – basically, my height and I out way him by 30lbs. Now there are 2 guys in the league that do pretty well and get some recognition that are similar to him in stature: Earl Watson – he's 6'1″ and Boykins is 5'5″ and it looks like he hasn't even been picked up by a team this year. Both of those guys probably a lot more athletic – You are correct when you say Barea is the truest point guard- and if they had a midget NBA he would be a superstar- Michael Jordan-like. But this is not summer league we are talking about. It's the NBA and he is just not good enough or big enough to make it with legitimate playing time in this league. I hope I am wrong but i don't think I am. My guess is he will be traded mid-season – definitely at the end of the season for a big or a SG- He will go to a team that doesn't have a play-off chance and from that point he will become an NBA journeyman and switch teams for the next 5 years and then end up in Europe. Look at Dan Dickau and Travis Deiner. JJ Reddick is on that same path – he is taller and has more upside. I hope I am wrong. I really do.