When is it appropriate to start thinking playoffs? The first game of the season. Getting to the playoffs is the goal of every team, or at least should be. So judging the competition and evaluating performance of your team in terms of the playoff picture makes sense. How is the conference playing out? Who are the key teams? Who’s for real? Who’s a fake? What are our chances once we’re there?
If only there was another team in Dallas that could come back from a large deficit to win the game. Hmm.
The game against Minnesota showed me 3 things:
Dallas (4-7) 96 at Houston (7-4) 86
Yes, 3 wins in a row is a winning streak. Although the first two may have seemed like gimmes against the Knicks and Bobcats, Dallas traveled to Houston and beat the best team defense on their own court. Sure the Rockets were without Yao Ming and have an ailing Ron Artest and Tracy McGrady (of course) but a win is a win. And a streak is a streak. And like Kevin Costner said in Bull Durham ‘You don’t f*** with a winning streak.’
Dallas (3-7) 100 at Charlotte (3-6) 83
The Mavericks won their second game in a row by overwhelming advantage of talent emphasised by the Bobcats being without Jason Richardson (day-to-day with an ankle injury). Charlotte, without an inside presense, was dominated inside losing the rebounding battle 50 to 34. Erick Dampier played less than 20 mins still pulled down 11 rebounds and had 3 blocks, while Josh Howard put up 21 pts in wonderful play within 17 feet. In a game that Dallas never trailed they were able to manage the tempo well except for one blemish – 17 turnovers. Luckily Charlotte couldn’t advantage and the Mavs coasted to a win.
There’s been two major trades effecting top Western Conference teams… and Jason Kidd has yet to leave New Jersey. Pau Gasol was traded to the LA Lakers in an apparent fire sale, and Shaq will join the Pheonix Suns (and probably immediately miss 24 games due to injury). The trades say a lot about the state of the Lakers and Suns.
Just like the Mavs finished up the Grizz in quick fashion, I’ll be knocking down some Quick Shots of my own:
– Eddie Jones appears to be the definition of ‘fouls in bunches’. He can’t stay on the floor long enough to contribute amassing fouls 2-3 at a time, it seems. Not that the savvy vet needs playing time to stay effective, but b-ball is a team game. He needs to learn game trends and tendencies of the players around him just as much as he needs to know his own game. Let’s hope he can get through this tough patch.
Over his 13 year career Jerry Stackhouse has proven himself a consistent offensive presence in the NBA tallying over 15,000 points and an 18.8 points per game average. He’s been the Dallas Mavericks 6th Man going on 4 years providing immediate scoring off the bench, and lockerroom leadership. He’s a valuable member of a squad that went to the 2006 NBA Finals and the team that won 67 games last year. He continues his offensive production mainly in isolation plays where he uses his experience and great jump shot against subpar defenders.
The Dallas Mavericks have started their season in a less than spectacular fashion, but it’s far from worrisome. The team is comprised of All-Star quality performers, and roll players that are devoted to team play. They are capable of explosive offense and shut down defense, and have one of the most intense coaches in NBA history.
The negatives this season have consisted mostly of inconsistent scoring and terrible defense. Inconsistent scoring can come and go. There will be times when teams seem to find themselves in a rut. That obviously didn’t happen much at all last year, until the playoffs. There have been a couple reasons for this particular problem.
