Dallas... In My Own Words
One of my old teachers at Towson (damn that seems years ago, huh?) used to have a requirement for graded blogs. He used to make it a requirement to link at least one article in each post with an encouragement for more than that. As an opinionated writer, I used to really hate it. Sure, I love to react to sports news and such, but I think sometimes links can bog down an article.
Anyway, here's your one link: the Dallas Mavericks, my beloved Dallas Mavericks, looked absolutely listless last night in their 88-81 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. I guess I can take some solace in the fact that they looked listless and still had plenty of opportunities to win, but that's not the point.
The Mavericks lost 15 games all of last season. So far this season they've lost 12. In 29 games.
One could make the case that it's good for the NBA, that the league has far more parity than it has had in previous seasons. After all, they're only a game and a half in back of the Spurs right now (who are going through their own issues but I'm not a San Antone guy so...). But, I'm not going to give them a pass.
The defensive intensity is way down compared to last year. I don't have last year's stats right in front of me, but I believe they're giving up about five more points a game, which of course directly effects their scoring margin, which I think is cut in half. I've only watched a couple of their games this year, and in every game I've seen they get beat down the court. In transition defensively they look like one of the slowest teams in the league, which should not be.
Dirk Nowitzki is the main culprit. In every game I've seen him play on television this year I've seen him get abused, and usually he can off-set that with solid offense. And, in all honesty, his numbers are down on that end, too.
Charles Barkley made an interesting point at half-time. He said that the Mavs should make a trade to get Jason Kidd, and that--outside of Nowitzki--they should use any means neccesary to get him. At first, I dismissed it, taking his comment as just Barkley being Barkley. But, then I thought about it. As unconventional as the Mavericks' offense is in functioning well without a true lead guard, Kidd would make things crisper and would give them some diversity in their offense. Yeah, he can't beat some middle schoolers in a three-point contest, but he would create easier opportunities for the Mavs. The question is, who would you give up, and would the Nets take him/them?
Best case scenario would be that the Nets take Jason Terry and maybe an expiring contract, but the Nets are smart. Having just turned 30, Terry I think is in the early decline in his career. The Nets are going to want either Devin Harris or Josh Howard and someone like Brandon Bass. Is that really worth an aging Kidd, who would be extremely valuable in the short term but maybe not as valuable long-term as Howard or especially Harris?
Now that I've had a chance to calm down from last night's debacle, my opinion is keep everybody... for now. I said it a couple posts back: it's too early for that panic button. But, a couple more weeks of teeter-tottering and... hey, interesting closing thought: assuming Howard stayed, do you think he's give up #5?
Anyway, here's your one link: the Dallas Mavericks, my beloved Dallas Mavericks, looked absolutely listless last night in their 88-81 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. I guess I can take some solace in the fact that they looked listless and still had plenty of opportunities to win, but that's not the point.
The Mavericks lost 15 games all of last season. So far this season they've lost 12. In 29 games.
One could make the case that it's good for the NBA, that the league has far more parity than it has had in previous seasons. After all, they're only a game and a half in back of the Spurs right now (who are going through their own issues but I'm not a San Antone guy so...). But, I'm not going to give them a pass.
The defensive intensity is way down compared to last year. I don't have last year's stats right in front of me, but I believe they're giving up about five more points a game, which of course directly effects their scoring margin, which I think is cut in half. I've only watched a couple of their games this year, and in every game I've seen they get beat down the court. In transition defensively they look like one of the slowest teams in the league, which should not be.
Dirk Nowitzki is the main culprit. In every game I've seen him play on television this year I've seen him get abused, and usually he can off-set that with solid offense. And, in all honesty, his numbers are down on that end, too.
Charles Barkley made an interesting point at half-time. He said that the Mavs should make a trade to get Jason Kidd, and that--outside of Nowitzki--they should use any means neccesary to get him. At first, I dismissed it, taking his comment as just Barkley being Barkley. But, then I thought about it. As unconventional as the Mavericks' offense is in functioning well without a true lead guard, Kidd would make things crisper and would give them some diversity in their offense. Yeah, he can't beat some middle schoolers in a three-point contest, but he would create easier opportunities for the Mavs. The question is, who would you give up, and would the Nets take him/them?
Best case scenario would be that the Nets take Jason Terry and maybe an expiring contract, but the Nets are smart. Having just turned 30, Terry I think is in the early decline in his career. The Nets are going to want either Devin Harris or Josh Howard and someone like Brandon Bass. Is that really worth an aging Kidd, who would be extremely valuable in the short term but maybe not as valuable long-term as Howard or especially Harris?
Now that I've had a chance to calm down from last night's debacle, my opinion is keep everybody... for now. I said it a couple posts back: it's too early for that panic button. But, a couple more weeks of teeter-tottering and... hey, interesting closing thought: assuming Howard stayed, do you think he's give up #5?
posted by Justin Cherot @ 1:02 AM
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