SB Nation - Shawn Marion

Mavericks Vs Hornets: Game 25 Preview

Phillip Baggett — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:04:51 -0000

THE MATCH UPS:

If Kidd was in his prime this would be an unbelievable match up, but in 2009 this is not much match up. Kidd is simply just too slow for Chris Paul. Oh by the way, Chris Paul IS the Hornets and without him they are worse than the Nets.

Edge: Hornets

The Mavericks continue to mix and match pieces here at this spot until Josh Howard can return to a full time starter. So far what they have found that the coaches seem to like is JJ Barea. Now I am not a huge fan of Barea's but in the last few games he has filled the spot nicely, but he has been streaky, it all depends on which end of the streak he is on. As for the Hornets they have relied quite a bit on Devin Brown the 31 year old journeyman to fill this roll. If your looking for "PTPers" well don't look here, cause there is not anything special going on here.

Edge: Even

Shawn Marion showed us a glimpse of the explosiveness that we used to see frequently from him in years past, was that a sign of things to come? I sure hope so, but much like his counterpart in tonight's game age has changed their games. Peja Stojakovic still has the ability to score in bunches, but both time and many nights with porn stars has limited his successes this year.

Edge: Mavericks

Dirk continues his push to change the "soft" label that has been placed upon him. For the first time in his career he is in position to be voted a starting forward for the West in the All-Star game. David West on the other hand much like his teammate Chris Paul continues to drown in the misery that is the New Orleans Hornets. David West has struggled this year, every major stat line is down for him this year. The Hornets are going nowhere fast, and it's two top players are unhappy.

Edge: Mavericks

Erick Dampier continues to impress, in his last two games he has averaged 17 points and 17 rebounds, where the hell has this player been the last 5 years? This is the guy the Mavs thought they were getting before the 2004-05 seasons began, amazing what money will do. Emeka Okafor the former second overall pick of the Charlotte Bobcats continues to be nothing more than an average NBA center. The Hornets thought they would be upgrading significantly over Tyson Chandler, unfortunately for them it just has not worked out so far.

Edge: Mavericks

Injuries/Suspensions

New Orleans Hornets

OUT - Ike Diogu

Dallas Mavericks

OUT - None

Prediction: The Hornets rank in the bottom half of the league in both PPG and PPG against, while the Mavericks rank in the top 10 in both categories. This game will be close for about 2 ½ to 3 quarters then the Mavs bench will take control.

Final Score:

Dallas Mavericks: 110

New Orleans Hornets: 97

Mavericks Vs Heat: Game 23 Preview

Phillip Baggett — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 21:39:21 -0000

Phil is out tonight so you have me (zdgmans) coming off the bench (don't get used to it). To his credit, he did write part of this post!

The Match-ups:

Point Guard

Jason Kidd: This is the situation that every Mavericks fan does not look forward to. A young stud point guard with something to prove. While Mario Chalmers is not a Chris Paul he is definitely someone who can score in bunches. Jason Kidd has shown that he can slow down these young bucks but he isn't a lock-down defender by any stretch of the imagination. Look for J Kidd to come out on top while getting some help defense from his friends.

vs.

Mario Chalmers: Mario has had a pretty shaky start this year, there have been a few spectacular nights along the way but for the most part he has struggled on the offensive end, and on several occasions on the defensive end as well. Good PG play is essential for the Heat, without it they must shift Wade to that spot causing their offense to go stagnate. Chalmers has been playing with a sore shoulder for a while now, and who knows how much that it is affecting his play.

Edge: Mavs

Shooting Guard

Jason Terry: JET gets another start in place of Josh Howard or Roddy. I would have been really interested to see Josh get the start to see what sort of defense he could play against Wade but I am sure that it is a bit too early for him to take on the task of guarding the top tier players just yet. This is a definite mismatch for the Mavericks as JET is not one of our best defenders and while he can score he is just no match for Wade's offensive potential.

vs.

Dwayne Wade: Okay I have been sitting here for 20 minutes trying to come up with something to say about D Wade, and well this is all I can come up with... FUCK YOU Wade!

Edge: Heat

Forward

Shawn Marion: Everyone including myself is waiting for Shawn to have a "big" game where he drops 30/10 and just push his defensive assignment around (like the old Matrix). It definitely could happen tonight if Marion decides that he wants to be aggressive with Richardson. Quentin is not a prolific scorer and is only a sub-par defender when it comes to matching up with a player of Marion's talent level. While I can't discount some of the good games he has had, this is a match-up in Marion's favor.

vs.

Quentin Richardson: Deadly in stints but definitely not someone that should be considered a true starting forward (who else do the Heat have though). Quentin has had some good games this year but he is basically at his maximum potential when it comes to this Heat team. Look for Quentin to host up a bunch of early jump shots to try and get himself going.

Edge: Mavs

Power Forward

Dirk Nowitzki: There isn't really much that hasn't already been said about Dirk. The Mavericks franchise player will do his part tonight against the Heat. It seems in Monday's game against the Suns Dirk got some of his scoring touch back (finally breaking the 30 pt barrier after a few bad starts). Look for a continued trend upwards as Dirk pours in a 30+ and 10 performance. Defense is no question here as Michael Beasley is a bit hard to slow when he gets in the zone. Fortunately, Dirk can quickly get the young Beasley in trouble if he is as aggressive with his play as Beasley is with his D.

vs.

Michael Beasley: Is Beasley really a forward? Only a few years removed from college, Beasley is definitely still a bit wet behind the ears. Make no mistake about it, Beasley is a very good basketball player who can score in bunches and defend with a passion but sometimes he lacks focus. This is definitely the year we start to see Beasley mature a bit (now with some of his problems behind him). Although we already know who the match-up goes to in this case, look for Beasley to still have a great game (if he doesn't get into foul trouble).

Edge: Mavs

Center

Drew Gooden: Drew isn't in the game to score but he is in there to bring energy and get the Mavs offensive rebounds. If Gooden decides to be active tonight on the boards he could make a killing (as long as O'Neal is definitely out). Here's to hoping Gooden doesn't decide he wants to take any 15 foot jump shots and instead takes everything close to the basket.

Vs.

Jamaal Magloire: Okay as a backup but definitely not someone you would enjoy starting. Do I really need to say anything more about Jamaal Magloire?

Edge: Mavs

Injuries/Suspensions

Miami Heat

OUT - Jermaine O'Neal (personal reasons)

Dallas Mavericks

OUT - Quinton Ross (back)

Prediction: As long as Wade doesn't explode the Mavericks should be able to keep the Heat on low (I made a cooking pun there).

Dallas Mavericks: 110

Miami Heat: 95

Game #21: Dallas Mavericks (15-7) vs. Miami Heat (11-9)

DolPhanDave — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 08:13:26 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

D-Wade was visibly upset when reminded of the Mavs win streak against Miami.

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After a nice refreshing week off, the Heat will finally return to action tonight back at home against the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavs are one of the best teams in the league and got even better in their last game when they welcomed back Josh Howard after the forward missed 13 games with a sore left ankle. The Mavs are playing back-to-back games tonight and tomorrow (@ Charlotte), and the Dallas Morning News is reporting that Howard will play in only one of the two games, but its unknown which he'll play and which he'll sit out.

On the Heat's side of things, they could be without two of their starters. Jermaine O'Neal could miss his second straight game while dealing with family issues in South Carolina. He attended the funeral of his uncle on Thursday and could be back in Miami in time to play tonight, but nobody is sure. Even if J-O does make it in time, his minutes could be limited due to him being away from working out with the team all week.

Another likely game-time decision will be Quentin Richardson, who strained his right hamstring at the end of the third quarter of the Heat's win in Sacramento on Sunday. While there is no tear, the Heat intend to keep it that way which is why they are treating Richardson with ‘kid gloves'. I can't say I disagree...I'd much rather be without Q for a game or two instead of a week or two.

A key matchup will be at the power forward position. Dirk Nowitzki is having another great season, averaging 27.0 points and 8.5 boards, and has been even hotter of late. He's cracked 30 points in his last two games (32, 33) and in one of those games had four blocks and a pair of treys. Guarding Dirk will be a great test for Michael Beasley, who has been showing lots of improvement on the defensive side of the floor but will certainly have his hands full with Nowitzki. Of course there is always Udonis Haslem on the bench as an insurance policy, but if we have to put U-D on Dirk it will seriously cut into Beasley's minutes.

GAME NOTES

Outside of the 06 NBA Finals, the Mavericks have really owned the Heat the past several years. Dallas has swept the 2-game season series with Miami in each of the past 5 years (10 straight wins), and have won 16 of 18 overall.

Doesn't it seem like a long time ago that Shawn Marion was playing for the Heat? Not quite; a year ago he was still playing for the Heat. Now...he starts for the Mavericks.

I can't remember ever thinking to myself the night before a Heat game ‘I can't wait to see what Dorell Wright does tonight', until now that is. I'm honestly quite anxious to see how the not so youngster responds after his best game in years.

Dallas has the 10^th ranked offense in the league averaging 101.7 ppg.

The Mavs are 8-4 on the road, averaging 101.1 ppg. The Heat are 6-5 at home and give up 93.3 ppg.

Tipoff from the AAA is set for 7:30 and that place should be rockin' on a Friday night. The Heat haven't played a home game in almost 2 weeks (12 days to be exact), so the fans should have a lot of built up cheering to let out. Lets Go Heat!!

Mavericks Vs Suns: Game 22 Preview

Phillip Baggett — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 23:09:11 -0000

Suns vs Mavericks preview

Bright Side Of The Sun

Suns vs Mavericks coverage

The Match-ups:

Point Guard

Jason Kidd: The Mavericks will need a little extra from Kidd tonight. The Mavs will have to call on Kidd to try and penetrate in order to create better shots for the slumping Mavericks shooters. Normally this is not a very profitable idea but tonight Kidd will have the leagues other ageless wonder covering him, and this should allow Kidd to at least be on equal ground as far as quickness. However for everything that goes up must come down. Kidd will draw a very tough cover in Steve Nash, and that beautiful teardrop shot of his. It is imperative for Kidd to keep a tight handle on Nash and not allow him to get on one of his shooting streaks.

vs.

Steve Nash: How on earth did Cuban ever allow this guy to leave Dallas? Even though he plays for the enemy I still love to watch Nash. As tough a cover as Kidd will have all year (yes that includes CP3, and Tony Parker) he has the uncanny ability to create just enough space for himself to get a good look at the basket, and a good look for Nash is most assuredly a shot that most others would not have a chance at. Nash will create shots not only for himself but is unbelievably good at getting open looks for his teammates.

Edge: Suns

Shooting Guard

Rodrigue Beaubois: This is simply a guess on my part as to who the starter will be, it is very possible that the JET will get his second consecutive start. The Mavericks and Coach Carlisle must start getting Beaubois more time on the floor, and his length and athleticism would surely help tonight. However whoever gets the nod will have their hands full with the Suns dead eye shooter Jason Richardson. I believe that Roddy B would give the Mavs their best chance against Richardson.

vs.

Jason Richardson: Richardson comes into the night averaging 16.4 ppg and 4.9 rpg but it his FG% and 3P% that are most shocking. Josh is shooting 49.6%FG and 42.3% from beyond the arc, this is one guy that the Mavs can not afford to let run free.

Edge: Suns

Forward

Shawn Marion: Continues to play very solid offense but the Mavs will need more from him tonight. Shawn's offensive game will need to be in full swing tonight for the Mavs to be able to compete.

vs.

Grant Hill: Did I mention my extreme hatred of anyone from Duke?

Edge: Mavs

Power Forward

Dirk Nowitzki: Continues to struggle somewhat from the field, the Mavs cannot stand for Dirk to continue to struggle from the field, and settle for jump shots. Dirk will also need to be on top of his defensive game as well, as Channing Frye poses serious problems with his length and shooting prowess.

vs.

Channing Frye: While not on the same level as Dirk he does pose some of the same issues that Dirk does. He is a tall forward with a nice 3point shooting touch.

Edge: Mavs

Center

Drew Gooden: Drew Gooden should get the nod tonight ahead of Dampier simply because he is the more athletic option and should be able to stay with Stoudemire with much more consistency than Dampier. Either way though they will need to make sure that he is accounted for on every possession.

Vs.

Amare Stoudemire: Even after major surgery he still has most of the same abilities he had before the surgery, and continues to be Phoenix #1 option each time down the floor. Stoudemire is at his best in the open court and running, an extremely proficient finish around the basket.

Edge:Suns

Injuries/Suspensions

Phoenix Suns

OUT - Leandro Barbosa

Dallas Mavericks

OUT - Josh Howard

Prediction: If the Mavs starting 5 can stay close to the Suns the second rotation should be able to do some damage. Look for this game to be very competitive the whole way through, but the strength of the Mavs bench will come through in the end.

Dallas Mavericks: 118

Phoenix Suns: 113

WWE RAW invades the AAC...

Brown@TheBigandTheBrown — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:34:11 -0000

More photos » by Garrett Ellwood - NBAE/Getty Images

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...and it was guest hosted by our very own Mark Cuban. Full disclosure, I've been a pro wrestling fan since I was a kid, and unlike most interests I had back then, this one hasn't waned. Needless to say, I was locked in to my television last night.

Cuban got to spend the evening doing what Cuban does best, and that was pander to a crowd and act the fool. He basically spent his evening getting crowd reaction by channeling his inner Chris Arnold. "Are there any Dallas Mavericks fans in the house tonight?"

He also spent his time interacting with wrestlers. Slapping hands, trading barbs and such. Strange...Mark Cuban doesn't seem the type who might interact with the stars of the show...right?

More after the jump...

Cuban made some groan inducing comments when he was going back and forth with another wrestler, Cody Rhodes, and said "we can settle this in June after the Dallas Mavericks win the NBA Finals." But his line of the night might have been when he said "it's no surprise that the WWE refs are just as bad as the NBA refs when it comes to missing things and being in the bag." ZING!

Shawn Marion and Tim Thomas were ringside with Cuban acting as his bodyguards. Seems like that'd be something that Damp could actually do well..

Oh...did I forget to mention that this happened?

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)

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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 Hawks: Game 21 Preview

Phillip Baggett — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 19:50:29 -0000

Hawks vs Mavericks coverage

Hawks vs Mavericks preview

Peachtree Hoops

The Match-ups:

Point Guard

Jason Kidd: Well here we are again the second game of a back to back, and so far this year this has been the game that this team has struggled with. However typically the Mavs have been very good in the first game and they were awful last night. There defensive rotations were slow and they became once again very one demensional, as they shot zero free throws in the second half. This is Kidds job to get this team to move and attack the basket, one night after the team shot 35% from the field Kidd must now try and find a way to inspire his team, because the same lack of effort as last night tonight and they will get blown off the court.

vs.

Mike Bibby: Outside of CP3 by far my favorite PG in the league. Mike is just a gamer and has been for his entire career. The Hawks have a very athletic team but make no mistake Bibby is the leader of the team. When Bibby is penetrating and passing and knocking down the occasional deep ball the Hawks are lethal. The Key to beating the Hawks begins and ends with Mike Bibby.

Edge: Hawks

Shooting Guard

Rodrigue Beaubois: Finally after weeks of pissing and moaning coach Carlisle finally gave Roddy B some extended minutes last night. Even though the Mavs as a whole were awful last night I think everyone finally was able to recognize the difference in the flow of the team between Roddy B and the annexation of Puerto Rico. The difference is undeniable, when JJ is the game for longer than a 4 minute stint the flow of the game goes hay wire, but with Roddy B things seems more fluent. Rodrigue Beaubois athleticism will be needed tonight.

vs.

Joe Johnson: Yes he is a tad bit older now and maybe just a little bit slower, there is no doubting his shot skills. His FG% and 3point % are a little low this year, but he continues to lead a deadly cast in scoring at 21ppg. Joe Johnson has the ability to explode for large chunks of points, and this is what makes him very scary and a major point of emphasis tonight for the Mavs.

Edge: Hawks

Forward

Shawn Marion: I read lots of comments from people being upset that Marion was on the bench in the 4th quarter while Barea was on the court, and while i would agree the majority of the time, I also understand why that decision was made. Shawn Marion will have to devote more energy tonight on defense than probably any other game all year. I would not be surprised at all to see Shawn play more minutes than he has all year tonight. He will have his hands full with Josh Smith and Marvin Williams.

vs.

Josh Smith: Josh has been unbelievable so far this year, he comes in to tonights contest shooting a gawdy 54% from the field. The Hawks play with essentially 2 small gaurds, and 2 gaurd/ forward combos, and a PF in Al Horford. Both Joe Smith and Marvin Williams will be on the court at the same time and this causes serious match up issues not only with the Mavs but just about every other team in the league. Josh is the cutting, driving, havoc creating forward. Josh can also get a little wild at times and this is the Josh that we want to see as Mavs fans.

Edge: Hawks

Power Forward

Dirk Nowitzki: As poorly as he shot last night and as poorly as the team played Dirk still managed double figures in both points and rebounds. Tonight however the Mavs will not survive very long without Dirk being on top of his game. Dirk and the Mavs will probably use a lot of zone defense tonight to try and keep the high flying Hawks from getting easy baskets, and it is the Mavs defense and most notable Dirk Nowitzki's defense that will dictate the final outcome of the game.

vs.

Marvin Williams: Marvin is long and athletic with above average quickness for a player of his size, and these are the types of players that genuinely give Dirk and the Mavs trouble. Marvin has been known however to fall in love with his jump shot even when it is not going down. The Mavs need to be ruthless in their defensive pursuit of Williams and the Hawks tonight, slow and lethargic pursuit will not get the job done.

Edge: Mavericks

Center

Erick Gooden: This will probably be one of those nights that the Gooden half of the center combination sees the most minutes simply due to the extreme athleticism needed to cover the Hawks. However do not be surprised if the Mavs do not just slow the tempo down to a crawl in an attempt to pound on the smaller Hawks.

Vs.

Al Horford: Another in a long line of long, quick, and athletic Hawks. The Hawks get the most out of Horford when they are running. Al is very athletic, he moves more like a small forward, but he can finish close to the basket. However if the Mavs can slow the pace down and spend alot of time posting up, I am not sure Horford and the rest of the Hawks can handle that kind of treatment. The problem is that the Hawks simply do not let teams do that to them.

Edge: Even

Injuries/Suspensions

Atlanta Hawks

OUT - None

Dallas Mavericks

OUT - Josh Howard (will you please get better and come back?)

Prediction: Well I have been wrog most of the year with my predictions, and hopefully I continue that again tonight. The Hawks are just far to athletic for this version of the Dallas Mavericks to compete. The Mavs are just to inconsistent right now for me to be able to say which Mavs team will show up, but the only chance they have is if the "A" Team shows up.

Dallas Mavericks: 95

Atlanta Hawks: 110

God I hope I am wrong...

Mavericks Vs Grizzlies:Game 20 Preview

Phillip Baggett — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 20:57:14 -0000

Mavericks vs Grizzlies preview

Mavericks vs Grizzlies coverage

Straight Outta Vancouver

The Match-ups:

Point Guard

Jason Kidd: Someone needs to go investigate Kidd's home and make sure he is not holding Dr. Emmitt Brown and his time traveling Delorean captive, because he is playing more like the 1997 version of himself.

vs.

Mike Conley: His points are down and his turnovers are up, a deadly combination not only for his career but his team as well, but then again when you have to play with the likes of O.J. Mayo, and Zach Randolph (two of the largest ball hogs in the league) what do you expect. Mike would be a solid point guard on just about any other team in the league, except the Nets of course.

Edge: Mavericks

Shooting Guard

Rodrigue Beaubois: Another game, another start, another 9 minutes of court time. When will we see more of Roddy B and less of the man with the tiniest arms in the league?

vs.

O.J. Mayo: Tons of talent, but no brains. If he would ever learn how to be a team player he could be deadly, but until then he will be just what he is... the +/- on a crappy team

Edge: Mavericks

Forward

Shawn Marion: The Mavs defense begins and ends with Shawn Marion, he has been the catalyst for this team. When Marion is on the floor the Mavs are +13.5, when he is not on the floor that number goes to +2, not only that but their opponents FG% jumps 5%.

vs.

Rudy Gay: If I could take one player from the Griz and bring him to Dallas it would be Rudy without any second thoughts. Rudy is an explosive player and shoots the ball unbelievable well, coming into tonight he is averaging 21ppg and shooting 50% from the field. Can you imagine a Mavs line up of Kidd, Gay, Marion, Dirk, and Erick Gooden, WOW

Edge: Memphis

Power Forward

Dirk Nowitzki: The Mavs will go just as far as Dirk takes them. Tonight could be a huge night for Dirk with Zach Randolph drawing the defensive assignment.

vs.

Zach Randolph: As great as he is on the offensive end, he is equalling terrible on defense. He will have his hands full tonight trying to guard Dirk Nowitzki.

Edge: Mavericks

Center

~~Drew Gooden Erick Dampier~~ Who knows: In my last preview I said that Drew Gooden deserved the start, but after Damps performance in that game my opinion has changed. Either player is capable of starting, so whomever gives the Mavs the best opportunity should be the one to start on any given night. Tonight I believe Gooden will be that man... but who knows

vs.

Marc Gasol: Is a legitimate 15 and 10 guy, however Marc seems to have some of the same disease that has plagued Tony Romo over the years, you know that thing that causes him to fall apart in clutch time.

Edge: Mavericks

Injuries/Suspensions

Memphis Grizzlies

OUT - Darrell Arthur

Dallas Mavericks

OUT - Josh Howard

Prediction: The Mavs take control early and never look back.

Dallas Mavericks: 114

Memphis Grizzlies: 101

Mavericks Vs Nets: Game 19 Preview

Phillip Baggett — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 22:23:41 -0000

Mavericks vs Nets coverage

Mavericks vs Nets preview

The Match-ups:

Point Guard

Jason Kidd: The time has come once again for the trade partners to face off against one another. In the previous battles Harris has won the match up with relative ease, does this one go to Harris as well? or does Kidd finally prove that the Mavs made a good trade? Who knows, what I will say is that Kidd has been excellent this year and Harris has been... well not to good.

vs.

Devin Harris: I think I can speak for most everyone when I say that I really like Devin Harris, and have wished that he was still here. However he has been just another mediocre player on an awful team this year. As bad as the Nets are I never would have suspected that of the TWO players on the team with a +/- above zero one of them would NOT be Devin Harris.

Edge: Mavericks (did I really just say that?)

Shooting Guard

Rodrigue Beaubois: Roddy gets the face time as being the starter, but the PT will surely go to JJ and JT. Not real sure what the Mavs plans are for Roddy but the guy should get more than 9 minutes a game, in my opinion, but then again who am I to decide what the Mavericks guard rotation should be? This is one game however that the guard rotation should be irrelevant (I said SHOULD BE)

vs.

Chris Douglas - Roberts: Well the first thing that I saw with Chris is that he has the worst +/- on the team (if he played for the Lakers this would not be such a big deal, but when you are the worst +/- on a hideous team it is a huge deal). However with that in mind he has been much more productive as the teams PG than at any other position. Chris does lead the Eastern Conference sophomore class in scoring at 16.4 per, he will turn the ball over though and the Mavs should be able to capitalize on his poor handling skills.

Edge: Even

Forward

Shawn Marion: Defense, Defense, Defense these are apparently the orders given to Shawn before every Mavs game. This has worked out pretty well so far but I would like to see the Mavs try to get him more involved on the offensive end rather than defering to the heavily over used three guard system.

vs.

Trenton Hassell: Since coming into the league in 2001 Trenton's production has neither gone up nor down, however when your production is less than 1 rebound per 10 minutes and 1 point every 5 minutes, does it really matter that you are consistent?

Edge: Mavericks

Power Forward

Dirk Nowitzki: The best Power Forward in the game. Nuff said

vs.

Josh Boone: Once again a former number one draft pick that has failed miserably for the Nets. Josh would be a decent offensive rebounder off the bench, anything past that is not going to be good. The Nets are asking a marginal player to be a starter in the NBA, no wonder this team has yet to win a game.

Edge:

Center

Drew Gooden: While Erick Dampier was sidelined with an unknown Vaginal disease, Drew was absolutely sensational but has now apparently lost his starting spot back to Dampier? This was a bad mistake by Carlisle and a move that may cost the Mavs later on. Erick Dampier is likely to start but should not, therefore he is not in my starting lineup.

vs.

Brook Lopez: He is the lone bright spot on a miserable team. All of Brook's numbers have improved over his rookie campaign. He is a solid scoring option for the Nets and does a nice job on the boards, the Nets offense should and will flow through Lopez.

Edge: Mavericks

Injuries/Suspensions

New Jersey Nets

OUT - Yi Jianlian

Dallas Mavericks

OUT - Josh Howard

Prediction: On paper this game is not even close. On paper the Mavs should win this game by 20. On paper this game should not even be played due to the shear destruction that the Mavs would bring upon the Nets. These games however are not played on paper, they are played on the court, and the Mavs have showed over the course of their first 18 games that they tend to play to the level of their competition (excluding the Cavs game), and frankly this game scares me. Since I have been well... not so good with the prediction this yearit will not matter if I am wrong because you are all used to that by now. So my prediction is (drum roll please)

Mavericks: 104

Nets: 86

Tip-In: Toronto Raptors Post-Game Report - Crash and Burn

RaptorsHQ - Franchise — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 13:32:49 -0000

More photos » by Chuck Burton - AP

Unfortunately this was only one of many dunks Toronto allowed last night in a disaster of an effort...

Browse more photos »

It's hard to know where to begin in terms of breaking down an abomination like last night's loss to the Bobcats...but unlike last night's incarnation of the Raptors, the HQ gives it their best...

I had to double check the final score.

Then triple check it.

Yes, the Toronto Raptors did indeed lose last night to the Charlotte Bobcats by 35.

The sad thing is I sat through the game, and yet still was in disbelief.

In the most lopsided victory in the history of their young franchise, the Bobcats ran a clinic in a 116 to 81 romp over the Raptors. The 'Cats took control for good in the game's second half, then never looked back, turning this one into a laugher before the fourth quarter even began.

So where to begin in terms of breaking this one down?

To be honest, I have no idea.

To put it simply, this was a game the Raps needed to get, with matches looming against the Celtics and Suns. A win would have at least ensured the club closed out November with an 8 and 10 record, respectable considering the team's schedule.

Now, things could look a lot closer to the 5 and 13 I predicted to open the season; dare we say 7 and 11 in fact? What really has to get you though as a fan is that there's no reason the Dinos couldn't have come out of the month at .500 or hovering right around that mark. Last night's loss was just another brick in the "this team has a long ways to go" wall.

Let's start with the defence, which again was non-existent.

The Raps gave up 116 points to a club that was averaging about 85 on the season and one of the least effecient offensive clubs in the league. Yes, Stephen Jackson helps sway that average, but it's not like the Bobcats were raining jumpers all night! The club shot only 45 per cent from the field and only 28 per cent from downtown so the majority of the damage was done either in the paint or on the fast break. The Raps simply allowed the 'Cats to do whatever they wanted offensively with virtually no resistance given. Andrea Bargnani and Chris Bosh were especially terrible in this regard; there might as well not have been any defenders on the interior for most of the night.

One sequence in particular stuck out as to the Raps ineffectiveness.

Raymond Felton drove the ball along the left baseline and after easily getting by Jose Calderon, looped a pass to Nazr Mohammed in the paint. The pass went right by Bargnani, Nazr's defender, because Andrea was turned the wrong way and had no chance of intercepting the dime. Mohammed missed the shot, but easily grabbed his miss for the put-back as Bosh and Andrea just sort of stood there, watching the ball.

Incomprehensible from a fan's perspective and probably to a coach's as well.

Speaking of coaching, you've got to tip your hat to the job Larry Brown did last night. His team locked in defensively and simply exposed each and every one of Toronto's weaknesses.

The best example of this in my books was Charlotte's play on the fast break. Yesterday I wrote that the 'Cats played at the league's second slowest pace but having watched the game last night, you never would have known. Knowing that Toronto's transition defence was particularly miserable, the Bobcats ran the ball down Toronto's throat all night, leading to a dizzying array of dunks and easy baskets. It was these plays that sucked out whatever little life the Raps had in them, and by the time there were about 3 minutes left in the third quarter, you got the feeling this one was over.

So now what?

Well, last night I was angry enough to go on a complete tirade about this club but having slept on the loss, I'm hoping instead that this becomes the proof in the pudding - not just to players but to the coaches and the team's management.

You simply can't rely on offense alone.

Toronto couldn't hit the broad side of a barn door, as my Dad used to say, last night and as a result had no other options in terms of trying to stay in the game. Toronto's "big 3" were particularly atrocious, relying far too often on jump shots and outside of Amir Johnson, the rest of the team seemed to follow suit.

There's one of the "big 3" though that I want to touch on in particular; Hedo Turkoglu.

One of our readers noted last night that up until very late in the game, Gerald Wallace had nary a foul. Considering Wallace's style of play at both ends of the court, this seemed absurd!

Then I remembered that he was guarding Hedo.

Hedo settled for J's all night, and failed to show any sort of "attack mode" against Wallace, or any of the other Bobcats for that matter, something simply not acceptable considering the expectations placed on him. It's games like last night's where Toronto needs a lift from guys like him and Bargs, in particular when Bosh too is struggling with his shot, so to essentially be invisible for 48 minutes ain't gonna cut it.

And to really rub salt in the wound, consider that most of the offensive damage last night was done by the very player Hedo was supposed to be guarding, a player with many of the Shawn Marion-esque intangibles that I was pining for this past off-season.

The Raptors of course went in another direction and I'm unfortunately we're seeing the results of the "all O/no D" philosophy.

Granted, this loss isn't the end of the world.

It's only game number 16 of 82, so maybe this is the kick in the ass the players and coaches need to really lock-in defensively in practice.

I hope so.

Because the joke of an effort last night wasn't fit for a junior high basketball squad, let alone an NBA one.

Last night's game should definitely have been a W but as I mentioned in the game-day preview yesterday, until this team figures out some D and more consistent O, I think as fans we can unfortunately expect a lot more matches like this to come.