Small Ball lineup

In the earlier post, I recommended a small-ball lineup that could create matchup hell for a lot of teams. In case you forgot:

PG- Kidd
SG- Terry
SF- Howard
PF- Bass
C- Dirk

For some reason, Carlisle hasn't thrown out Bass and Dirk on the floor very much. I think it would be a great combo.

Bass's athleticism and mid-range jumper can allow him to move away from the rack, while the combination of Dirk and Jo-Ho penetrating/shooting jumpers can help the Mavs get points, which they will need, especially if there D continues to have an on/off switch.

Bass and Howard are the Mavs' toughest guys on the boards. Plus, Kidd has been able to get his share of boards, something which is great from a point guard who is used to moving around the court.

With Dirk, Bass and Jo-Ho in your frontcourt ,you've got three tough rebounders, one over seven feet as well as three lights-out jump shooters.

You also have two and a half guys who can shoot the three-ball (the half is the shaky combo of Howard and Kidd.)

What this lineup gives you is a chance to be quick, lights out, with a little more toughness on the boards than your traditional small-ball team.

Why is small ball important?

Did you see the 2007 Mavs-Warriors series? Avery decided to go small against them when he hadn't gone small all year. The result? Me, ready eat a bullet.

What happens if they start rolling out this lineups against some younger teams? What happens if you can find Gerald Green a spot in a small-ball lineup, maybe instead of Terry?

All of a sudden, you've got an incredibly athletic core of Green, Howard and Bass, surrounded by two hall-of-famers in Dirk and J-Kidd.

Sounds pretty good huh?

The downside? Defense. While Jo-Ho is still not up to being a Kobe-stopper, he is quick, and combine him with Kidd, they could probably do a decent job of stopping a dynamic SG such as Kobe, T-Mac or Brandon Roy.

Besides, smallball isn't necessarily your crunch time lineup, just a way to mix things up when you feel like running.

If it's broke, fix it

Alright ladies, it's not time to sound the panic alarm yet. But there are some glaring questions, things that have gone wrong in the first three games that need to be fixed if this team is to make a deep run.

Thing no. 1: The bench. Seriously. If two out of Dirk, J-Kidd or Josh Howard are, the Mavericks are not scoring points. Barea is a turnover machine, Stack couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, Diop is getting abused, and so on. For a team that came into the season priding itself on it's bench, they have no dependable depth, save for Gerald Green, which brings me to my second point.

Thing no. 2: Antone Wright as a starter. Start Gerald Green already! He's provided a great spark off of the bench, and he's got the athleticism to run with Kidd and Josh Howard. Wright on the other hand, is slacking on D, can't make a shot, takes contested threes, can't hit open threes, and gets into foul trouble.

Thing no. 3: The tendency to take quarter(s) off. When they faltered down the stretch against Houston, that's forgivable. When they falter for the second quarter against the T-Wolves, that makes you notice. When you take a half off against the Cavs, including the times when Bron Bron is out of the game, then you've got problems. Dirk and Josh Howard cannot disappear, which they have been doing at key moments.

So what is the good news?

Jason Terry: the JET has been great, making jumpers at a good clip, running when filling in for Kidd, even doing a decent job on D.

Brandon Bass: He's doing good on D off the bench, and his mid-range jumper hasn;t lost a step from last year.

How do we fix it? Simple.


Make this your starting five:
PG- Jason Kidd
SG- Gerald Green
SF- Josh Howard
PF- The Dirkster
C- Erick Dampier

- Jason Terry as a backup PG, Antoine Wright and Stack splitting the other minutes at the 2.

- Small ball lineup of:
PG- Kidd
SG- Terry
SF- Howard
PF- Bass
C- Dirk

- Want to change things up? Put Dirk, Bass, and Dampier/Diop in at the same time. Dirk will create matchup hell with any small forward, and if you play Jo-Ho at the 2, and JET at the point, all of a sudden you've got a sharp shooting group out their, with bangers down low. Not a bad idea when you need to change up the pace.

Tonight: Dallas v. San Antonio, who is struggling out of the gate. We'll see if the Mavs can get their season back on track.

Game 1: Rockets at Mavericks

I' m not gonna lie to you, it felt great.

Dallas Mavericks. American Airlines Center. Home opener. I've been waiting for this day since April 29.

And there was lots to love, despite the loss. There was lots to improve on also. So let's take a look at what we learned.

The Good:

• Josh Howard - Simply a breathtaking performance in the first three quarters. Not only did he start 5-for-5, but he hustled his balls off, including a play when he outfought Yao, T-Mac and Artest for a rebound, his own rebound nonetheless. Not a bad way to come back after a long summer.
  
• The offense - No longer did it seem like three players on offense looked like they were confused. No longer did they run endless isos and live and die by the jump shot. Dirk, Josh Howard, even Kidd tried to penetrate, and got dividends.
  
• The Dirkster - Had a dynamite first half before going cold in the second. But he scored from three, he used his patented fade away, he got to the basket, and he got some boards.
  
• Jason Terry - Besides getting fired up at the beginning, and keeping the crowd fired up, he did a great job filling in for Kidd. It's nice to see players like him and Ginobili that will accept their role, as long as its whats best for the team.
  
• The smallball lineup - The lineup of Kidd, Terry, Jo-Ho, Bass, and Dirk could really do things. I wrote about that in my blog a few months ago that they should play with putting Dirk at the 5, and obviously Rick Carlisle is a fan of www.dirkismyhomeboy.blogspot.com. Not that I blame him

The Bad:

• Defense - Not that it's easy to control three All-Stars and potential Hall-of-famers, but they didn't do a great job of stopping the bleeding. Dampier did okay on Yao, but Diop might as well have been holding a red blanket, and just ole-iny Yao to the rack.
  
• Crunch time - A much publicized weakness of the Mavs of late has been their fourth quarter performance. Sometimes a breakout first quarter can put a team away for good, but not a playoff team like the Rockets. You can't expect to win Jo-Ho only gets one bucket, and Dirk only gets a technical free throw.
  
• The bench - Besides Jason Terry, the bench did zippy, except blow any lead the starters handed them. With a bench of young guys like Gerald Green and Diop, and vets like Stackhouse, they should be okay, but they didn't show it last night.
  
• Antoine Wright - After being pretty ineffective last year as a pawn in the Kidd trade, the rumors were that he had busted nuts during camp and the preseason, and earned himself a starter's job. Didn't look like it tonight. Besides shaky defense, a few airballs and some turnovers, his name wasn't called to much.
  

The Ugly:

Reggie Miller defending Ron Artest, and blatantly ignoring what was put in front of him. Look, I'm a big Artest fan, and I hate the negative publicity that outweighs his amazing skill at most areas of basketball.

But Artest clearly made first contact in that little skirmish between him, Yao and Howard.

If you didn't see it, here's what happened: Jo-Ho gave Yao a hard foul, which is a given in a close division game. Yao did the thing where he looks away from Howard, but walks into him shoulder first, which Howard did a good job by not responding.

Then Artest comes in and give Howard a shove, then he walks to usher Yao away from the whole group.

Do I think Artest should have been given a T? Probably not. But refs call by reputation in this league, for better or worse, and Artest did instigate contact.

What made me mad was that Reggie Miller kept insisting that, "Ron didn't do anything, he just came to help Yao get away."

Marv Albert was respectfully trying to point out how wrong Miller was, but he wouldn't listen to reason. Then, when the replays started pouring in, Miller stayed completely silent while Artest came in and shoved Howard, then as Artest went to Yao, Miller would scream, "See! He didn't do anything except help his teammate."

While I enjoyed the awkwardness of Marv trying to tell Reggie, "Look, you're wrong, and making yourself sound more ignorant by the second," in a professional way, Reggie Miller needs to shut his mouth, especially when confronted with the video.

For more coverage of the Dallas Mavericks, including more poignant insights on what's to come from this team, see my blog.

Pop

"I don't like you Gregg Popavich, but goddam I respect you."

That used to be my mantra when discussing the way too successful Gregg Popovich. He coaches my archrivals, and he's damn good at it.

I've always suspected he had a very dry sense of humor. I used to get a kick out of watching him grab Craig Sager's perfectly-matched handkerchief, and wipe his sweaty brow with it.

After last night, I actually kind of like him.

That hack-a-Shaq on the first play of the game is literally the funniest thing I have ever seen in a sports game.

It took balls. Who knows how Shaq would havw reacted. He could have easily punched Michael Finley (which would have been glorious), and started a brawl that ESPN could play in slo-mo for weeks, all the while talking about what a disgrace it is.

Instead he flashed Shaq that hesitant smile and thumbs up, and Shaq had no choice but to laugh right back.

In a world where far too many people take themselves and what they do much too seriously, it was a welcome break.

Today, we spell redemption M-A-V-S

It's almost here....

Can you hear it? The rhythmic thud of the roundball and the squeak of brand-new sneakers on the freshly polished hardwood?

Hoops season is upon us.

For basketball junkies such as myself, it's an exciting time. The Summer Olympics provided a brief respite from the basketball-less desert of the summer, but it was only a taste.

Speaking of Olympic basketball, their is one word that was used for the American men, and will be used for the Dallas Mavericks:

Redemption.

Redemption for the Jason Kidd Trade. Redemption for the Avery Johnson era. Redemption for the loss to the Warriors. Redemption for the loss to the Heat.

Redemption.

It's the theme of the Dallas Mavericks season, and more for reasons than I've stated above.

It's time for Dirk to show people that his MVP wasn't his peak. A Finals MVP will be. It's time for the people that says that Dallas' window has closed to have their eyes opened.

It's time for a one-time All-Star who has a a rough calendar year, with things within and beyond his control, to put himself back at the top of the game.

It's time for high-upside players like Antoine Wright and Gerald Green to make their mark on the NBA, and lend Dallas some much needed youth, swagger, and athleticism.

It's not going to be easy. With Dallas fighting for recognition in their own division, it won't come easy.

But you know what?

That's just how I like it. I've never bee comfortable with being the favorite. For the last few years, the Suns, Spurs and Mavs have entered the season as favorites to represent the West in the Finals.

Now? Seven Seconds or Less is gone, along with Nash and Shaq's youth.

Manu is out for the first few months, and besides signing Roger Mason Jr., the Spurs have done little to combat Father Time.

Instead we've got a Lakers team coming off a finals performance, and hungry for competition.

We've got a Hornets team with another year of experience, and the best playmaker in the game back for another year.

We've got a possibly rejuvenated Ron Artest trying to help the Rockets gets over the first-round hump for the first time in ten years, and for the first time since they've had two legitimate superstars.

You couldn't write it any better.

So what does Dallas have? A new coach, ready to take advantage of his weapons, even if it means relinquishing controls to his players.

Two hall-of-famers, one in the twilight, one in the afternoon, of their respective careers, both of whom want a title to complete their legacy.

Stay tuned for a more complete preview, of both the Mavericks, and the NBA season.

For now? Well, it just feels good to be writing about basketball again.

And it will feel pretty good to watch it again.

It's almost here...

Apologies to my legions of fans for not writing a lot this summer. You wouldn't believe the hate mail I've gotten:

"Hey faggot, why don't you update your website and stop being such a fucking prick? Love, Mom"

That's just a small example of the mail that has been pouring in as each day goes by without an update. But fear not, As basketball season rapidly approaches, so does my zeal for watching my second favorite German (after Hans Gruber of course) take the hardwood in search of a ring.

Stay tuned for many more updates, including thoughts on the preseason, Rick Carlisle, Josh Howard and much more. Until then...

Olympically Speaking

The time is here at last. The Summer Olympics.

The Dallas Mavericks have two players competing for gold, and I find myself conflcted when it comes to who to root for come August 17.

That's the day when the U.S. takes on Germany. Dirk v. Kidd. Nazis vs. Manifest Destiny.

But let us take a step back.

The Dirkster represented his country by carrying the flag in the opening ceremonies, the proceeded to lay the smack down on Angola, scoring 23 points, including 3-for-3 from 3.

They've lost since them, but that hasn't stopped me from ordering my brand-new #14 German Olympic Basketball jersey, Dirk's.

I also hope to use these Olympics to see how my blomssoming man love for Ricky Rubio will progress upon seeing him live.

If you haven't heard if Rubio, you will as the 2009 Draft approaches. If Mozart played basketball, he would be Ricky Rubio.

The clips on YouTube that I've seen of him are impressive enough, that I don't think I would complain if Dallas went 0-82 to get the first pick for him.