SB Nation - Quinton Ross

Game Preview - Phoenix Suns vs. Dallas Mavericks

Mike Lisboa — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:07:04 -0000

More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

"Trade me for a Shaqtus, will you?" Former Sun Shawn Marion plots his revenge. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

So, after a creampuff of a schedule so far in terms opposition, the Suns finally get a chance to prove they belong in the discussion of Western Conference powers. Those 2 losses to the Lakers? Totally expected. It's going to be the rare team that gives that Laker squad a run for their money. Anyone who expected the Suns to do more than compete for 2 or 3 quarters in either of those games was probably a little delusional.

But the Mavericks? They're the proverbial "someone our own size." In addition to hoping for similar seeding in the Western Conference play-off picture, the Mavericks have even had some of the same early season challenges/knocks the Suns have:

The Mavericks have played 12 of their first 21 games on the road. The Suns have played 14 of 21 away from Phoenix.
The Mavericks have had an even softer schedule than the Suns. Opponents winning percentage is .457 vs. .487 for Phoenix.
The Mavs have only played 7 times against teams with a record better than .500. The Sun have only played 7 times against teams with a record better than .500.
The Mavericks are 5-2 in those games. The Suns are 3-4 in those games.

And that's where these two teams diverge in terms of early season success. The Mavericks even notched an early win over the Lakers (a 94-80 thumping at Staples Center) who have proved... how shall we say this... challenging to the Suns.

Let's go to the match-ups and see how else these teams stack up.

Guards

At the point, Steve Nash squares off against one-time benchmate Jason Kidd. Both long in the tooth and wizards with the ball in their hands, Nash is a better scorer and Kidd is a better defender. And according to a panel of basketball expert types, Kidd holds a slight edge in "basketball IQ." This is basically a push and should be a fun match-up to watch as the two veterans try to out-wile each other. Off the bench, it's J.J. Barea vs. Goran Dragic. Barea's been logging heavier minutes than Dragic, but serves the same role: holder of serve while the starting maestro catches his breath between virtuoso performances. Hopefully, confident Dragic shows up and can use his size and speed to over-match the smaller Barea. Again, there's no discernable advantage for either team here.

At shooting guard, the Mavs roll out French rookie Rodrigue Beaubois against Jason Richardson. Beaubois is fast as all get out and can leap tall guards in a single bound. Look for the Mavs to get him going early with their now-trademark alley-oop play they run for the little guy. Whatever. The real story at the 2 for the Mavs is Jason Terry, who notoriously lights it up against the Suns. J-Rich will have his hands full preventing Terry from getting his and better remember to pack his offense if he hopes to out-gun Terry. The Suns may miss Leandro Barbosa's scoring punch here.

Forwards

Well, well, well... if it isn't our old friend Shawn Marion. I expect to see a motivated Matrix against Grant Hill tonight. Off the bench, Jared Dudley versus Quinton Ross is fairly even match-up of hustle guys who trade on their defense.

At power forward, we have both teams big guns, men who, when playing at the tops of their games are virtually unguardable. Dirk Nowitzki is a one man wrecking crew from all over the court and while Amare Stoudmire doesn't have Dirk's range or ability to create off the dribble, he's a handful from 20 feet inwards. Slight edge to the Mavericks here. Off the bench, the Mavericks have Kris Humphries and former Sun Tim Thomas. Is tonight the night we finally see Lou Amundson back in the line-up? The Suns could probably use some of his energy on the road after a tough loss to the Lakers.

Center

True story: when Erick Dampier and Steve Nash were free agents a few years back, I wanted the Suns to throw gobs of money at Dampier after his career year at Golden State and nearly tore my hair out when they offered Nash his massive contract. Let's just say that was not my best basketball moment. That said, despite his tendency to mail it in from time to time, Dampier can do his damage down low. If he gets physical, Channing Frye could be in for another long game. While more athletically gifted, Robin Lopez needs to stay in control of himself and not pick up cheap fouls against Dampier or veteran back-up Drew Gooden. This is an opportunity for him to show his stuff against some veteran competition and a very manageable match-up if he can keep his wits about him.

Predictions

On paper, this is a good quality match-up for both teams and an opportunity to shed early season "soft" labels. As usual, the teams square up well against one another on a position by position basis. For the Mavs defensively, I expect we'll see a lot of Dampier and Gooden staying home down low with Amare while Dirk floats to the perimeter against Channing Frye.

Also, I expect the Mavs will continue the trend of switching longer defenders out on to Nash to disrupt his passing game. Nash will have to figure out how to shake his former partner-in-oop Shawn Marion to keep the Suns offense from stagnating.

It's at this time where I have to point out the one big discrepancy between the two teams. While the Suns hold the offensive edge, scoring 112.1 points per 100 possessions (1st in the NBA) versus 106.2 for the Mavericks (12th), Dallas is a much, much better defensive team, allowing only 99.9 points per 100 (5th) versus a whopping 107.6 (24th) for the Suns.

While the Suns can win this game if they can return to the terrifyingly efficient offensive game that tormented opposing teams earlier in the year, I see them struggling against the Mavs relatively strong defense and slow pace. The Suns haven't been able to push the tempo against quality opposition (Celtics game notwithstanding) and Steve Nash has yet to adjust his game to overcome bigger opposing defenders. Until the Suns improve their sieve-like porous matador thus far weak defense, they are reliant on an increasingly tenuous jump-shooting offense to pull them through.

It pains me to do it, but while the Suns should be much more competitive in this game than previous ones against quality teams, I see the Mavs pulling away on the strength of big games by Nowitzki and Terry and their superior defense. 107-96, Mavericks.

That said, it should be a fun game, and after a couple days of rest the Suns will be looking to prove me all kinds of wrong, so getcha popcorn ready! Head over to Mavs Moneyball to check out the view from the other side of the bleachers.

Game Day Links

Suns vs Mavericks coverage
Mavs Moneyball
HoopsHype.com NBA Blogs - Jorge Sierra » Most Valuable Tweeters
the former Bobcat is the clear Twitter MVP. His trade to a relevant team like Phoenix and his impressive activity with the social media website have made him a recognizable face for NBA fans – which wasn’t the case one year ago while still in Charlotte. Dudley reports news (calls himself JMZ), gives away tickets and interacts with fans, journalists, owners and fellow NBA players.
azcentral.com - members
They still might get there. But with the Lakers taking root in Los Angeles so far this season, the Suns playing a league-high 14 road games and "Phoenix at L.A. Lakers" coming up twice a night after a home game that was just a check-in from an East Trip, it's hard to make take any lasting impressions away other than that the Lakers are better.
Lakers rout Suns in LA again
"They bottle up everything you try to do," Suns coach Alvin Gentry said. "They switch, and they knock off. We could never really get anything going. We're not so much a fast-break team but a rhythm team and they just take you out of your rhythm."
Lakers 108, Phoenix 88: Second verse, same as the first | Lakers Blog | Los Angeles Times
I think we can all agree that if asked to create NBA kryptonite for this year's Suns squad, it would look a lot like the Lakers. Length, mobility, dominating post play, and so on. Generally speaking I like to avoid grand proclamations so early in the season, but I'm comfortable declaring that there is absolutely no earthly way Phoenix would beat a healthy Lakers team in a playoff series. None. Something under zero, really. But the Suns are 15-4 vs. the rest of the league. That's worth something, and Sunday night the Lakers beat them by 20. That's worth something, too.

This one is a must read. A true basketball poet lays the Suns bare

Hardwood Paroxysm » Blog Archive » What a Feeling, To Be Mortal
Maybe the hustle and the bustle of the Suns doesn’t quite fit your living style, but who could possibly claim that the exaggerated in-game highs and lows of the Suns — the 20-point lead built and swallowed by a 5-25 run, the 3-point barrages followed by defensive letdowns — aren’t basketball’s most fitting equivalent of life on the outside? It’s not about the 9-5 grind, and it’s not necessarily about winning all the time; the Suns’ existence is predicated on winning more than you lose, embracing who you are, playing by your own rules, learning to live through the ups and downs, and remembering that the line between work and play doesn’t have to be crystal clear. They work hard, they score points, and they play basketball like it’s a game worth playing. They may not have the talent of the Lakers or the convention of the Spurs, but this is a team of hard workers and ball players with a plan.
Suns hope to warm up in Dallas
Suns fans must yearn for those 14-3 NBA darlings they had a week ago - probably as much as the Suns now yearn to rediscover their offense. That Suns team had three four-game winning streaks, an unflappable road mentality and shot 50.7 percent from the field.
azcentral.com blogs - Coro's Suns dish - PaulCoro - A fair fight for the Suns
The Suns get some help with that tonight with Louis Amundson returning from his flu bout. His stomach still hurts but he going to play tonight and probably get to guard Nowitzki. Welcome back. His key is energy so we will see how much of it he has after a couple days in bed.

Mavericks Vs Kings: Game 13 Preview

Phillip Baggett — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:56:47 -0000

Kings vs Mavericks coverage

Sactown Royalty

The Match-ups:

Point Guard

Jason Kidd: Jason is obviously one of the best PG to ever play the game, but when you think of J Kidd one most certainly thinks of his passing abilities first and foremost. This season however he has made his mark on this team with his defense. The Mavs defense is a full 8.6 points better with Kidd on the floor, and in the West that is no easy task. Tonight should be one of the easier match ups for Kidd on both ends of the floor. Look for a possible triple/double from J Kidd tonight.

vs.

Beno Udrih: Udrih is being asked to carry more of the scoring load for the Kings with K Mart being side lined. Beno is more of a jump shooter than penetrator; he comes in averaging 13 ppg, shooting 51% from the field and 43% from 3. He has good ball skills as he carries a 2:1 assists to turnover ratio; he has shown the ability to get to the basket, but his shot gets blocked at a 17% clip, without K Mart this percentage probably increases.

Edge: Mavericks

Shooting Guard

Rodrigue Beaubois: Continues to help get the Mavs off to a quick start in the 1^st and 3^rd quarters, and the feel of the team just seems to be more energized with him on the floor. His speed and quickness will be great assets for him tonight going against a much bigger defender. This may be the game that Beaubois gets increased time on the floor. Look for the Mavs to work the Kidd/Beaubois/Nowitzki 3 man game a lot tonight.

vs.

Tyreke Evans: The Kings #1 draft pick from Memphis has got his NBA career off to a good start. Evans comes in averaging 17.1ppg. The Kings will run a lot of screens and backside picks to get him the ball while moving to the basket. Evans is a good finisher and with his length (6'6") at the 2 spot, could cause the Mavs defense problems. While Evans does not shoot the 3 ball well (26%) he has a decent 15-18 ft. jumper, but it is his finishing ability that Kings are in love with.

Edge: Even

Forward

Quinton Ross: Defense, Defense, Defense. I mean what else is there to say about The Q? Do not be surprised however if Kris Humphries does not get the nod due to the extreme height disadvantage the Mavs will be in.

vs.

Donte Greene: It appears as though the Kings coaching staff is becoming more, and more confident in Donte. Against Chicago on Tuesday Donte played his most minutes of the year and oh by the way led the team in scoring too. Donte will do most of his work inside the paint and his height could cause the Mavs problems.

Edge: Mavericks

Power Forward

Dirk Nowitzki: "He's not clutch", "He is too soft", "He is not a Leader" and those people that said these things are IDIOTS.

vs.

~~Does Not Matter~~ Jason Thompson: Another in a long list of former #1 draft picks on this Sacramento squad with a solid future in the NBA, just not tonight.

Edge: Mavericks

Center

Drew Gooden: Has been on an impressive run the last few games, averaging 17ppg and 10 rpg over his last 3 starts.

vs.

Spencer Hawes: You guessed it, another former #1 pick that makes the Kings a perfect 5 for 5 on former #1's starting tonight. Spencer may be the epitome of average, all it takes is one look at his +/- stat (+0.1) and that will tell you just about all you need to know about him, but an average center in the NBA can have a long career and make lots of money.

Edge: Mavericks

Injuries/Suspensions

Sacramento Kings

OUT - Kevin Martin (broken wrist)

Dallas Mavericks

OUT - Josh Howard (ankle)

Questionable - Shawn Marion (ankle)

Prediction: The Mavericks have been known to play to the level of their competition, and the Kings have been known to either win or get run off the floor. This game could go either way, but either way it goes the Mavs will walk away victorious.

Mavericks: 104

Kings: 97

The Monday Links

Wes Cox — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:13:42 -0000

More photos » by Tim Sharp - AP

about 1 month ago: Toronto Raptors forward Chris Bosh (4) is fouled by Dallas Mavericks center Erick Dampier, right, as he drives toward the basket during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tim Sharp)

Browse more photos »

Howard returns to Mavs, finds motivation from critics | Art Garcia
"No, if anything he needs to come say something to me," Howard said. "I heard Jeff Van Gundy tried to stick up for me. [Jackson] don't know what it's like in my shoes. I had two major surgeries. I don't give a [flip] if he was Mark Jackson back in the day. "Stuff like that is just extra motivation. I just go out and play ball. I guess he's trying to live through me."

Defense makes the difference for Dallas Mavericks this season | DMN
They addressed defense in the off-season, adding Marion and his far-reaching wingspan and SMU-ex Quinton Ross, whose strength is being a perimeter pest. "Just by adding those two players, we're already a better defensive team," Dirk Nowitzki said. "We've made a conscious effort to be better defensively. We're doing well defensively, and we're rotating for each other and scrambling and the defense has been fun to watch."

DB.com |Mavs Monday Donuts: J-Ho, Nellie & 'Balls'
We're not finished with The Josh Watch, you know. Dallas will have to monitor pain and swelling and the medical team will have to listen to J-Ho, who, remember, following his successful debut Saturday in the win over Toronto, said he still "isn't 100 percent."

Mavericks Vs Raptors: Game 6 Preview

Phillip Baggett — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 21:00:27 -0000

Is this the game that the Mavs finally start to get their shooting stroke back? We can only hope. This may be the perfect game for us and them to truly see what kind of team it is going to be. Do not get me wrong by no means are the Raptors a good basketball team, but they are a team that the Mavs "should" put away and put away early. The Mavericks have several areas of concern and tonight is as good a night as any to begin to get those issues cleaned up.

Point Guards:

Jason Kidd: The Mavericks continue to search for some sort of consistency on the offensive end, and so far Jason Kidd has been one of the only consistent players on the team. Kidd will never just light the world on fire but what he will do is play smart and that is more than I can say for several others on this team. Keep up the nice work J Kidd.

Jose Calderon: Through his first four seasons in the NBA Jose Calderon has averaged 9.5 points per game to go along with his 6.7 assists. Calderon has been known as a very good shooter, although this year he has been struggling with his shot. For his career he is a 50% shooter, this year though his percentage has dropped down to 41%. Last night in New Orleans Jose showed signs that his shot was coming back as he shot 54% from the field on his way to 16 points and 8 assists. Once again the Mavs are going to rely on Kidd's defense against another good point guard. Edge: Mavericks

Shooting Guards:

~~Quinton Ross~~ Rodrigue Beaubois: Last game I speculated that Carlisle may go with Matt Carroll at the 2 with Ross injured, and I was sorely mistaken. If Ross cannot go tonight hopefully Roddy B gets his second start of the season, and coach gives him just a wee bit more rope. It was upsetting to see him play so well in the first quarter then see a much reduced role later. Let's hope he gets a little more action tonight.

DeMar DeRozan: DeMar is another one of the kids who should have stayed in school and worked on his game at the college level for a little longer. Nothing against the young man but as with all but a handful of those that attempt to skip all or most of college to go pro, they are simply over matched and under prepared. He only averages about 19 minutes a game so we will see a good bit of Antoine Wright as well. Edge: Mavericks

Small Forwards:

Shawn Marion: The Mavericks must find a way to get Shawn Marion going, his ability to get to the basket and finish is very important to the success of this team. Shawn has continued to work hard even though things have not been going his way and that has been great to see. The time has come for Shawn to unleash "The Matrix" on the Raptors.

Hedo Turkoglu: He can and He do shoot very well. The Raptors like to run their offense through Hedo, lots of high pick and roll, lots of screening. The Raptors will do everything possible to get him good open looks. The object here is to make someone else beat them. Edge: Raptors

Power Forwards:

Dirk Nowitzki: Ummm can you please not foul out again?

Chris Bosh: Bosh is off to the best year of his career and he will need to be accounted for at all times. Life could get very tough if he gets it going early. Chris has started the year averaging a double double with 29.0 points per and 12 rebounds per game.

Centers:

Erick Dampier: I do not want to jinx us but is it me or has Dampier showed up ready to play for every game this year? The longer this streak continues the better this team can be.

Andrea Bargnani: Bargnani is a solid pro not going to see anything spectacular from him but he is going to be consistent in what he does. What he has done against the Mavericks in his career is 15 points and 5 rebounds. He can shoot the 3 ball so look for the Mavs to rotate defenders much like they did against Utah. Also look for Humphries to get plenty of playing time against him as well. Edge: Mavericks

Prediction: The time is now for this team to get their shooting touch back. Toronto never in this game Mavericks roll.

Mavericks: 105

Raptors: 90

11/7 Roundup

Wes Cox — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 17:12:05 -0000

Mavs Afternoon Drive: Another 'Flier' On Roddy?
More injury stuff: Drew Gooden (ribs) did not participate in full contact work for most of this week and should be considered questionable at best for Saturday’s game against Toronto. Tim Thomas (knee) worked out but is not ready to make his debut. Quinton Ross (lower back) also missed the workout. Which makes me want to bounce back to TAKE 1: If the Mavs are without Ross, Gooden, Thomas and Josh on Saturday night … wouldn’t it be wise to take another "flier’’?

Dallas Mavericks searching for offensive consistency
The consistency isn't there yet for a team that has added six new players, three of whom have already started. "Everybody hasn't clicked on all cylinders yet," said Marion, the 10th-year pro. "It's like one game it's one person and the next game it's somebody else. It's not all five or all 13 just yet. We're ready for that to start popping. Once that starts popping, it's going to be great."

DB.com's Saturday Mavs Donuts
I bet Dallas will look for Josh Howard to test his ankle at this morning’s shootaround and then make some evaluations from there.

Gina Miller's Twitter
wouldnt be surprised if josh howard suited up tomorrow vs raptors.

Mavericks at Hornets: Game 5 Preview

Phillip Baggett — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:16:37 -0000

The Mavericks will roll into New Orleans Arena tonight still riding high from the emotional come from behind win over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night. While the win over the Jazz was ugly for three quarters the last 8 minutes were simply amazing. Can the Mavs keep their 3 game winning streak going?

Point Guards:

Kidd: Kidds defense has been exceptional even when his shot has not been falling and he will need that defensive effort again tonight against the best the league has to offer. Jason broke out a little last night scoring a season high 19 points, it was good to see the "old man" knock them down. Jason's work in the two man game with Dirk last night was fabulous need to see more of it tonight.

Paul: What else can you say about this guy? He is the best point guard in the league in all facets. Even on an off night he causes serious problems for opposing teams. Look for the Hornets to try and get him going early to force the Mavs into the early double allowing Okafor and West to get open looks. Edge: Hornets

Shooting Guards:

Ross: Quinton suffered an injury early in last nights game and he did not return. If Quinton does not play tonight look for our old buddy Matt Carroll to get his first start of the season. Even if Ross starts it is probable that Carroll gets quite a few minutes tonight, due to his shooting ability and length.

Peterson: Morris is a big combo guard-forward. While he is not likely to pour in a bunch of points, he does a lot of the little things that coach Scott likes. However he is only averaging about 15 minutes per so expect to see a ton of Peja. Edge: Mavs

Small Forwards:

Marion: Shawn is continuing to grow on this team and looks to be a 15 and 8 guy. I would like to see Shawn (and the rest of the team for that matter) have more off the ball movement to allow Kidd to get him the ball in better scoring situations. Shawn continues to play excellent defense and is a key reason the Mavs are #2 in the league.

Wright: The 2007 first round selection from Kansas has not had much playing time in his short NBA career until now. He is a very talented player with a large upside, but he is young and this maybe the opportunity the Mavs have needed to get Marion going. Edge: Mavs

Power Forwards:

Nowitzki: I think he might have found his touch last night what do you think? 29 points in 8 minutes would suggest such a thing, and thank goodness he took the summer off because I am sure he is feeling the effects of the intense game last night. Dirk will be ready come 8:30 tonight though and more than his offense his defense will be very much needed tonight against David West.

West: Other than Dirk one of my favorite forwards in the league right now, teamed with Paul he can be down right deadly. Dirk will have his hands full with West tonight should be a great battle. Edge: Mavs

Centers:

Dampier: As much as we all have gotten on Erick over the years I must say that when the guy wants to play he can be... well good. Erick has been that way all year so far and let's hope it continues tonight in New Orleans.

Okafor: Okafor was all alone in Charlotte but now in New Orleans he is surrounded by a qaulity team, this could spell trouble for the rest of the league once he and Paul get on the same page. In the Hornets last game against the Knicks it appeared that the two got a little closer, as Okafor poured in 24 points on 69% shooting. The Mavs must keep him under wraps. Edge: Hornets

Prediction: The second game of these back to backs is always tough but even tougher the night after having to expend as much energy as they did last night. However I think the Mavs are just too strong for these Hornets right now. Look for Marion to get some good looks tonight to ease the work load on Dirk.

Mavericks - 105

Hornets - 97

Sorry for missing the preview last night, I will try to do better. GO MAVS

Monday Morning Roundup

Wes Cox — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:08:37 -0000

More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

Browse more photos »

DB.com's Morning Donuts
The Mavs are winning without shooting well. When was the last time that happened to coach Rick Carlisle's bunch? Never. The Mavs are shooting 40.9 percent this year (that's awful) and are ranked 25th in that department in the NBA. Dirk's six points below his career average, Jet hasn't yet found his range, J-Ho isn't playing yet but the Mavs are 2-1 despite all of it.

Even with LA-LA sweep, Dallas Mavericks have 'a long way to go' | Eddie Sefko
Thanks to LA, they have a running start on upping their road performance over the last two seasons, when they failed to play .500 ball away from home. The wins over the Lakers and Clippers not only revitalized the Mavericks, they proved that their defense can be pretty good for long stretches. The Mavericks put up some gaudy numbers in the two games and all of them were on defense. The two foes averaged just 82 points and shot a combined 41 percent.

Dallas Mavericks get second wind, second straight win in LA | Eddie Sefko
"We knew that the win against the Lakers doesn't mean anything if you turn around and lose the next day," said Dirk Nowitzki. "I think the best thing is that we didn't shoot the ball well. If you still find a way to win, that's what good teams do. "We got like 10 stops in a row, which was pretty impressive. It was definitely a good trip for us."

Shawn Marion Q&A - friends.mavs.com
ID: What do you have in your refrigerator right now? SM: Well, let's see...Gatorade, Water, Cranberry Juice, some leftover lasagna my mother made, and some really old grapes. In the freezer I have some ice cream. There is always some ice cream in there. Oh, and there are some Hot Pockets in there too.

Who is Quinton Ross? | TrueHoop
How does a guy with a career scoring average of 4.4 points per game and who has never made more than $900,000 per season crack the lineup of a 50-win team? "He's a really good system player," Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle said. "He knows his game, knows his strengths and plays to them."

Mavs Bounce Back: Beat Lakers 94-80

Wes Cox — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 06:31:56 -0000

More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

Browse more photos »

Dampier played good defense on Bynum all night - significantly better than Gooden.
I love how Matt Caroll rocks the headband while he's on the bench.
Shawn Marion played much better defense on Kobe Bryant than Quentin Ross.
Kris Humphries was very active all night, and he got rewarded with 20 minutes -- something he only did twice last season.
Rick Carlisle didn't go to the three guard lineup until the fourth quarter. Obviously they went to a zone at that point, and it worked pretty well. Dallas was +5 during that 8 minute stretch that effectively closed out the game.
The Lakers made 13 FG's in the second half.
Shawn Marion was a team worst -17 in game one, and team best +37 in game two.
Shannon Brown's dunk early in the fourth was sick. I was pretty surprised he didn't get a T for hanging on the rim, but I'm not going to complain since Dallas got the majority of the calls throughout the game.
James Singleton saw the court and made hist first shot of the season -- an open three (he was 13 of 40 from outside the arc last season)
I say this every time Dallas plays the Lakers at the Staples center, but I still love their stage lighting and would love to see it at the AAC.
After a win like that, they might have to wear those new blue unis more often. I thought they looked pretty good too.

Postgame Quotes Jason Terry

We owed our fans a better performance tonight, and we know they were all watching at home. The Lakers, we have huge confidence playing against them. Last year we let three games slip away that we thought we had an opportunity to win. Tonight our confidence was up, but everyone contributed. You look at what Humphries did off the bench, Shawn Marion. Those guys are just now getting acclimated to what we are doing, and we are learning how to utilize them offensively.

Postgame Quotes Shawn Marion

Not a lot of guys were talking about you before the season. Does this sort of victory put you on the map so to speak?

We're already on the map. Just because people didn't talk about us doesn't mean we're not on the map. Trust me, we're there. When you go look at the map you see Dallas right there.

Postgame Quotes Dirk Nowitzki

It was great. We haven't won in this building in what feels like forever. We played well, especially after losing the season opener at home which we took pretty hard. We played well together. We played well defensively. We competed. We kept them under 40% shooting.

AP Recap & Highlights | Box Score | GameFlow

Friday Link Roundup

Wes Cox — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:31:00 -0000

More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

Browse more photos »

Eddie Sefko anwers the first mailbag questions of the season.
What the Mavericks' terrible season opener did was give us hints about what this team is going to have to overcome. Mostly, they cannot rely on their shooting. And they cannot get by without a supreme effort every night. Such teams as Boston, the Lakers, Orlando and San Antonio know that you can't mail it in more than a handful of times each season, because those are going to be losses.

Dallas Mavericks face tough LA-LA weekend | Eddie Sefko
The Mavericks will rotate players on Bryant tonight, and Carlisle said it's a good bet that Quinton Ross will see a lot of time on the Lakers' star. "We're going to have to play good individual defense on him and have help ready to come," Carlisle said. "You want to take away the good, clean, wide-open looks. You got to try to put him under some duress. You don't want him to beat you single-handedly. He's as good as any player we have in the game."

Lakers' Pau Gasol to miss Friday's game | The Fabulous Forum | Los Angeles Times
Lakers forward Pau Gasol missed practice again today because of his strained right hamstring and the team said that Gasol also will not play in Friday night's game against the Dallas Mavericks at Staples Center.

DB.com's Morning Donuts
Again, if the Mavs start 0-2 this year, that'll be five straight seasons in which they�ve stumbled out of the gate. That no doubt bears examination. But not over-examination. Some of us sound like teenage girls in 1964 fainting over The Beatles. Starting 0-2 isn't the equivalent of seeing The Beatles. It's more like seeing The Monkees. So quit fainting over seeing The Monkees, OK?

Fisher has a must read story from yesterday's practice. See what I mean...
Assistant coach Darrell Armstrong was rooting on Dirk, and while the 7-footer was in the middle of setting up shots, he’d yell back, "You tell ‘em, ‘Black College!’

Dallas Mavericks vs Washington Wizards : Game 1 Preview

Phillip Baggett — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:45:48 -0000

Key Injuries:

Tonight at the AAC marks the beginning of the 2009-10 Dallas Mavericks season, is this the year the Mavericks put it all together and bring a title to Dallas?

Follow me after the jump as we preview game 1 of the season...

Point Gaurd: Jason Kidd vs Gilbert Arenas

Jason Kidd has his work cut out for him tonight Agent Zero can put the ball in the basket from anywhere on the floor. Kidd must make him work on both ends of the floor tonight. These two are at complete opposite ends of the spectrum as pertains to skill set. Kidd must find a way to slow down the much quicker Arenas, at the same time Kidd has the opportunity to make Arenas pay for his lack of defensive prowess. Edge: Wizards

Shooting Guard: Quinton Ross vs Mike Miller

Mike Miller is a jump shooting machine that should flourish in Washington alongside Arenas and Jamison. Tonight however is not going to be his night, the young energetic defensive stopper, Quinton Ross should make things very difficult on Mr. Miller. I am sure that Q will get his fair share of opportunities against Arenas, and Randy Foye throughout the night. Edge: Mavs

Small Forward: Shawn Marion vs Caron Butler

This may be the match up of the night; Butler comes straight from the Marion mold. These two are almost mirror images of each other (statistically speaking) both play with a lot of energy and explosiveness on both ends. Edge: Mavs (but only slightly)

Power Forward: Dirk Nowitzki vs ~~Antawn Jamison~~ Andray Blatche

No Jamison, No stopping Dirk tonight. Edge: Mavs

Center: Erick Dampier vs Brendan Haywood

This is a strange match up solely because when these guys really want to play both of them can do some very good things. The problem is you never know when they are going to show up. Both players have the ability to play solid defense and change some shots, but they have to do it with hustle. Edge: Even

Key Reserve: Jason Terry vs Randy Foye

Randy Foye is a solid young player with quite a bit of upside and has the size to cause some problems for the Mavs and Jason Terry. The great equalizer however is the shooting prowess of Jet, if he can get off to a good start the youngster will fold.

Edge: Mavs

The Mavericks will have to begin the season without Josh Howard and with an early trip to L.A. coming on Friday this will be a good way to get rid of those first game jitters.

Prediction: Mavs 105 Wizards 92