SBNation.com User Blog: anthony.d.anderson2

Mark Cuban Reassures MFFLs!

anthony.d.anderson2 — Fri, 17 May 2013 23:00:16 -0000

Today, Mark Cuban posted on his Facebook (not sure about Twitter because I don't have one) this:

His caption said: "In case Mavs fans are wondering where my focus is this summer #MFFL"

This is why I love Cuban and why I will continue to be a MFFL until the day Dirk retires. After that, we'll see...

Here's hoping some good free agents come to Dallas! I'm so excited that both Dirk AND Cuban will be on the recruiting team this year...

Today, Mark Cuban posted on his Facebook (not sure about Twitter because I don't have one) this:

His caption said: "In case Mavs fans are wondering where my focus is this summer #MFFL"

This is why I love Cuban and why I will continue to be a MFFL until the day Dirk retires. After that, we'll see...

Here's hoping some good free agents come to Dallas! I'm so excited that both Dirk AND Cuban will be on the recruiting team this year...

The Value of Anthony Morrow

anthony.d.anderson2 — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 06:23:26 -0000

Say hello to Anthony Morrow, the latest addition to your 2013 Dallas Mavericks. From Eddy Curry to Derrick Fisher and even some tall white dude from the YMCA , we've picked up our share of role players this year. Morrow is by far the best acquisition we've had in a while.

Despite the fact that we traded our second best perimeter defender, this pickup does indeed make us better. Morrow will do wonders for our half court offense, giving Dirk more room to operate in the post and Collison and Mayo more room to attack the rim. Think Peja Stojakovic, only with more defense and a better ability to drive. I'm quite sure we will also see a higher number of PUJIT's from him. The way Collison and Mayo get out on the break, Morrow can keep up with them but instead of running to the rim he'll stop at the 3. My gut feeling is, he'll make quite a few of those. Not only does he shoot great, but he's extremely consistent(which is more than I can say for someone with the last name of a condiment). As shown by him being only rookie to ever lead the NBA in 3 point percentage. Teams simply have to respect his shot, that in itself makes him more effective than Dhantay Jones was at least on the offensive end. I'm sure we've all gone to Youtube to see what this kid is made of, but in case you haven't, check it out:

We're all wondering where his minutes will come from, since the guy he got traded for played very sparingly. I believe the answer will be none other than Jae Crowder. Typically Jae comes in around the middle of the first quarter to relive Shawn Marion. The first row is what our second unit typically looks like, the second row is what the new second unit will most likely look like.

Brand, Wright, Crowder, Carter, James

Kaman, Brand, Carter, Morrow, James

It's certainly not fun to see one of our best rookies' development slowed down, but winning now has to be the #1 priority in the midst of this playoff push. This is not to say that Crowder won't see minutes here and there. I'm sure he won't be shut out of the rotation, but it's he who will feel the biggest hit in minutes.

As Ian Mahinmi would say... LETSSSS GOOOOOOOOOOOOO

BTW Morrow might be the only guy in the league who can out shoot Kyle Korver in a 3 point shootout:

Brand, Wright, Crowder, Carter, James

Kaman, Brand, Carter, Morrow, James

As Ian Mahinmi would say... LETSSSS GOOOOOOOOOOOOO

BTW Morrow might be the only guy in the league who can out shoot Kyle Korver in a 3 point shootout:

How I became a MFFL

anthony.d.anderson2 — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 07:41:15 -0000

via img.fanbase.com

When I first started watching basketball, circa 2002 I had no favorite team. I did however have favorite players: Tracy McGrady and Dirk Nowitzki. Naturally I followed the Magic and the Mavericks for the next couple of years. Many times I listened to my Dad say "You can't have 2 favorites, you gotta choose one and ride with them!" So I began trying to decide which path to follow. I began leaning towards Dirk mostly due to my body type and playing style. I wasn't very strong or athletic but I had heart and I could see the passion Dirk had inside of him as well. Nonetheless, I was still on the fence. Until that one fateful day that shaped my NBA fandom for life:

It was decided, I'm riding with Dirk. Win or lose, I was sticking with him. The ensuing years were very up and down. Full of great moments and terrible ones. Riddled with lines such as "choker", "soft" among other things. Lets face it, being African American with a nonathletic German guy as your favorite player isn't easy growing up! But it made our bond even stronger. I wanted so badly for him to succeed and shut everyone up.

Here's the kicker. I live in Oakland, California.... Suffice it to say 2 little words ruined an entire year of my life: WE BELIEVE. For some reason nothing could go right that series, Dirk couldn't buy a bucket and really there wasn't much else that could be counted on. I attended game 3 in Oakland hoping we could regain control of the series, but as you all know we ended up losing that game. In blowout fashion I might add. The Dirk haters were on full blast, try as I might, there was really nothing I could say to shut them up. Although I'd like to point out that Dirk's father was undergoing major surgery in Germany during that series (how could that not bum you out).

Lets see so we lost in the finals in which Dirk missed a huge free throw (the choker lines) then we got beat by a less talented group of small thugs (the soft lines) and yet, I still couldn't detach myself from this tall uncoordinated German guy. I won't bother describing the other playoff defeats because they could stink in comparison to this. Written by the incomparable andytobo. But I can assure you, I was there, for every aching bit of it. EVERY SECOND! To prove it, during that New Orleans series which we lost in 5 games I remember having to go out to my grandmother's birthday dinner that night. Although we were losing I couldn't turn off the game until I was certain it was over. The Hornets were only up by 3 and if we could get a stop we could have had a chance to tie with a few seconds left.... We got the stop! All that needed to happen was to secure the defensive rebound, but of course, we couldn't. The ball was tapped back to Chris Paul at half court by none other than Tyson Chandler. It's little things like this that haunted me until 2011 that is.

Dirk's legacy is set, and the monkey is off the back of all Dirk fans everywhere. But we can't get complacent. I think we all need one or two more rides. I say this, get Dirk into the playoffs and anything is possible. Screw tanking seasons for draft picks. I'm a fan, a fan roots for their team until it is mathematically impossible for them to win it all. And even then, we continue to cheer and hope for success. It's our duty as fans. If the Warriors could sneak into the playoffs and knock off a team with one of the best record in NBA history, the I KNOW my team led by one of the greatest Power Forwards in NBA history can do it. Whose with me? As Ian Mahinmi would say "LETSSS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"!

via img.fanbase.com

The "Big" Question

anthony.d.anderson2 — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 07:06:06 -0000

It seems that us fans were spot on with our "start Sarge with Dirk" rants. They seem to do well together, the problem is Carlisle only trusts him to play the opening 4 to 5 minutes of each half. This leaves the other 20 or so minutes Dirk plays to be next to one of our other big men, typically Brand. But guess what? Brendan Wright has been playing really good basketball lately!

So the burning question is who get's left out? Obviously Brand and Dirk are the no brainers here, based on skill alone. And as great as Wright has been, paying Kaman 8 million this year to put an ice pack on his forehead doesn't make much sense either. When it comes down to it, Wright is the odd man out of our rotation. Though he's shows glimpses of extreme athleticism and even the ability to protect the rim at times, he's really just not suited for Carlisle's system.

So what I propose is this, trade Wright to a team that will give him big minutes at his natural position, Power Forward. Try to get a pick for him or a serviceable backup point guard (Oh wait never mind I forgot we have the one and only MIKE JAMES). Alas, I guess having an anorexic big man isn't the worst thing in the world when a headache keeps your highest paid center out for weeks. (Just kidding concussions are serious but comeee onnn Chris!)

It's been pretty disappointing to me that the best offensive center in Mavericks history hasn't been able to lock down the starting position. Remember how when Haywood or Dampier would make a bucket it was a big deal? Now Kaman makes a bucket and we're all wondering how many points he's going to give up on the other end. I really hope he can get it together and come get his spot in the rotation set. To make the playoffs, we need more consistent lineups and more scoring, because I can't be the only one wondering how long Carter can keep up these age defying performances.

Here's to Chris coming back strong with a little more D, and to Dirk getting his stroke back.