http://www.mavscentral.com MavsCentral.com - Your #1 Independent News Source For The Dallas Mavericks en-us http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=261 There really isn't much to say about Game 2. The Mavs were out-hustled, out-classed and out-everthinged by the Hornets on Tuesday. Game 3 is a MUST win and hopefully Dallas shows some pride. I am headed to Chicago for some fun, so I don't know how much time I will have to update the site, but I will try my best. Fri, 25 Apr 2008 01:18:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=260 It was not a pretty one. I like waiting 12-24 hours before posting my thoughts. More to come tomorrow. Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:43:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=259 I could rehash everything that happened in Game 1 that has been written on about every other site, but I will spare your time. New Orleans is up 1-0, Chris Paul is good and the Mavs need to find a way to win Game 2 (playing like they did in the first half of Game 1 might be a start). Tue, 22 Apr 2008 01:24:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=258 Just some random stats regarding the Mavs in Game 2's and such in the Mark Cuban-era (since 1999-00). Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:32:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=257 It is no surprise that Dallas lost the game in the second half, but the numbers are just nasty. Chris Paul also turned it on in the second half, scoring 24 of 35 points while shooting 66.7 percent from the field and 80.0 percent from three-point range. He also dished out seven assists in the second half. Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:17:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=256 Ever have one of those days where nothing seems to be going right or as planned? I am having one of those days. Anyways, here are some random links and stories about the series. Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:58:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=255 So Game 1 did not go as well as the Mavs wanted. The first half was great, but they disappeared in the second half. One stat Mav fans can hold their hat on before I dive into some thoughts: Dallas is now 5-11 in Game 1's in the Mark Cuban-era. Of those 10 losses prior to this year, they have come back to win five of those series. So it is not like they haven't been down 0-1 before and come back to win. Sun, 20 Apr 2008 22:56:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=254 Not so much in the second half. More on this tomorrow. Sat, 19 Apr 2008 22:07:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=253 I had this long winded, position-by-position breakdown somewhat done last night and of course my computer decides it doesn't want to work. Boo technology. Anyways, the playoffs are finally here. I am giddy as a school girl for today's game, so here is a very short version of the preview I tried to do last night. Sat, 19 Apr 2008 08:45:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=252 I always love doing these Q/A with fellow bloggers to get an idea on what people on the "other side" have to say about things. So I got in touch with Ron over at Hornets247.com to get a feel on what his thoughts were on this series. I also answered some questions which should be up on his site tomorrow. I will link it up once it gets posted. But check out his site, pretty good stuff. Sat, 19 Apr 2008 00:17:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=251 I have about 2-3 more updates coming tonight as I enjoy this Fat Tire (good beer I tell you), but here are some random links and other chatter before I dive in. Fri, 18 Apr 2008 23:23:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=250 It is finally here. After a disappointing outcome last year, I am sure Dirk and Co are ready to redeem themselves this time around. With that said, here are some various links and quotes after the first day after the regular season ended. Don't forget to vote in the poll below. Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:24:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=249 Pretty basic poll. Who do you think will win the series and in how many games? Thu, 17 Apr 2008 13:14:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=248 Giddy up. I will add this to the schedule page tomorrow, I need sleep. Thu, 17 Apr 2008 02:53:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=247 The Mavericks played some frustrating basketball during the month of February and March. The same can't be said for tonight. Tonight felt like a playoff game and the Mavs delivered. They also sent the first "message" to a team they will be meeting in the first round this weekend. Wed, 16 Apr 2008 21:53:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=246 This has been a very strange year, many ups and downs, plus tons of confusion, but the playoffs are almost here. Hopefully they last a little bit longer than last year. Dallas ends the regular season at home against the Hornets. After winning 70 billion games in a row against the Hornets heading into this season, Dallas is only 1-2 against New Orleans in 2007-08. They are a tad bit better. Chris Paul is also looking to become the first player to lead the league in assists and steals in the same season since John Stockton in 1991-92. Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:48:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=245 I go away this weekend for a mini-vacation and return to the Mavs losing two games up in the Northwest. Not cool. Dallas needs a win tomorrow night against the Hornets (or a Nuggets loss to the Grizzlies) to clinch the 7th spot in the West. If Dallas loses AND Denver wins, the Mavs will be the 8th seed. Tue, 15 Apr 2008 18:48:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=244 Talk about a great game. The Mavs went from looking to lock up the game, to frustration as Deron Williams banked in the three to tie it, to hysteria as Dirk Nowitzki drained the three with 0.9 seconds to win it. Best of all, Dallas officially clinched a playoff spot, have now won 50+ games in eight consecutive seasons and seem to be peaking at the right time. Fri, 11 Apr 2008 08:03:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=243 The Mavericks host the Jazz on Thursday and are looking for their 50th win of the season. With a win, Dallas will have recorded 50+ wins in each of its last seven seasons after accomplishing the feat only two times in the previous 20 seasons. But more importantly, it would inch Dallas a tad bit closer to officially clinching a playoff spot. Thu, 10 Apr 2008 12:32:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=242 Coming off a big win on Sunday, Dallas came out a tad bit slow on Tuesday night, before pulling away in the second half and winning against the Sonics. With the win, Dallas is now 2.0 games ahead of Denver and Golden State. Wed, 9 Apr 2008 00:11:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=241 This should be an easy win, right? Seattle did knock off the Nuggets in double overtime this past weekend, but the Mavs have won the last 12 games between these two teams, including a 2-0 record this season with both wins coming by 15+ points. Dirk Nowitzki is also a stud, despite playing on one good leg. The Dirkanator is averaging 25.7 points while shooting 52.6 percent since coming back from his high ankle injury, not too shabby. Tue, 8 Apr 2008 01:43:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=240 The usual . . . Mon, 7 Apr 2008 16:04:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=239 More on this tomorrow (actually today). Mon, 7 Apr 2008 00:17:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=238 Well, that sucked. Sat, 5 Apr 2008 00:48:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=237 After a tremendous performance on Wednesday, the Mavericks head to Los Angeles to play a basketball game for me. Actually, they will be playing the Lakers in a tough road test while trying to hang onto a playoff spot, but I will be there. The Lakers are 6-4 in their last 10 games, winning their last two games and will have Pau Gasol in the lineup after Mr. Gasol missed nine games with his own ankle issues. I guess he is not the healer that Dirk Nowitzki is: Dirk 1, Pau 0. Fri, 4 Apr 2008 07:52:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=236 That was not the same team we have been watching over the past month. Now THAT was the Dallas Mavericks we have come to know and love over the past three seasons. Dallas came out of the gate on a mission and proceeded to win by 25 points, played a complete game and outscored the Warriors in each quarter. Oh yeah, Dirk Nowitzki pulled a Willis Reed and started tonight after it was announced earlier in the day he was not ready to play just yet. Thu, 3 Apr 2008 01:13:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=235 It looks like Dirk Nowitzki tried out his ankle/knee/leg at the team shootaround today and it was determined he is not ready yet. It also looks like Jerry Stackhouse is out for a week. Wed, 2 Apr 2008 14:03:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=234 Dallas got a much needed victory against the Clippers and return home to take on the Warriors in the most important game until the next game on the schedule. The biggest news of the days: Dirk Nowitzki could play. Who knows if it is too soon or not, but we will find out. Another good sign, Jason Kidd found his offense and scored 27 points against the Clippers. The Warriors come to town after losing to the Spurs last night. Yay San Antonio (I just threw up in my mouth a little bit). Wed, 2 Apr 2008 01:10:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=233 Dallas needs W's in these last nine games and lucky for them, they play the Clippers tonight. From a friend of mine who does some work for the Clippers, aside from Al Thornton, this team has basically packed things up this year. Dallas needs to capitalize on this. Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:38:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=232 In a matter of 48 hours, three teams are now tied for 7th place in the Western Conference, and the Mavericks seem to be on the downward slope. Dallas went to Oakland today looking to extend its lead on the 7th slot in the West and came away losing, 114-104. Sun, 30 Mar 2008 22:35:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=231 What can I really say? Tonight's game against the Warriors is important times infinity. The Mavericks need any form of a win right now, against a team that has recorded the only winning record versus the Mavericks since Avery took over. Throw in the fact that these two teams are battling for one of the last playoff spots and you have a slightly important game. Oh yeah, this is the same Warriors team (sans Jason Richardson) that knocked the Mavs out of the playoffs last year. Fun. Sun, 30 Mar 2008 01:22:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=230 And that is a close race, one game difference between three teams that are fighting for two spots who have nearly the same strength of schedule remaining. The next 2-3 weeks should be interesting, and the Mavericks better find a way to win some of these games if they want to hold onto their playoff spot. Dirk's injury came a pretty bad time for a team already struggling against good teams with the German in the lineup. Here is a closer look at what each team has left. Sat, 29 Mar 2008 02:25:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=229 While all these last games are important, tonight's game is pretty huge with the Nuggets 2.0 games back of Dallas and in the ninth place of the Western Conference. They enter tonight's game 6-4 in their last 10 games and on a 3-game winning streak. The Mavs will get their first tough test without Dirk Nowitzki. Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:50:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=228 The now Dirk-less Mavs have to battle on the next few weeks without their top scorer and hold onto a playoff spot. Luckily for Dallas, the 21-48 Clippers are coming to town. Look for Brandon Bass to be inserted into the starting lineup in replace of Dirk Nowitzki. Tue, 25 Mar 2008 00:45:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=227 Cuban's two weeks sounds about right according to Art Garcia. Mon, 24 Mar 2008 11:12:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=226 Sounds like two weeks. Sun, 23 Mar 2008 15:40:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=225 March Madness is keeping me ample busy at work and mix in two people staying in my little apartment this week and all that equals hardly any time for this wonderful site. I didn't even get to watch Thursday's game . . . which isn't necessarily a bad thing at this point. Sat, 22 Mar 2008 23:55:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=224 If you just look at the first half, the Lakers won 59-38. If you just look at the second half, Dallas won 62-43. The problem for Dallas, when you add those two halves up, Los Angeles won 102-100. Wed, 19 Mar 2008 02:30:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=223 After a nice five-game winning streak versus some below average teams against the Eastern Conference (which was much needed), the Mavs start their second major test (the first being a couple weeks ago and they went winless) with the Lakers coming to town. The last meeting between these two teams was a great overtime thriller on ABC on a Sunday afternoon which saw Kobe Bryant take over and score 52 points on his way to a 108-104 victory. The Lakers should be without Pau Gasol who turned his ankle a couple days ago. Tue, 18 Mar 2008 00:15:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=222 Hey, I am alive and here are the power rankings. Mon, 17 Mar 2008 15:35:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=221 Work is super crazy this weekend with Selection Sunday, so I have about 0.00003 seconds available to blog about the Mavs. But I will try to fit in some time before this is all over and I can celebrate St. Paddy's Day. Oh yeah, the Mavericks won their fourth straight tonight against the Pacers. Sat, 15 Mar 2008 00:42:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=220 Dallas won 118-93. Thu, 13 Mar 2008 01:26:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=219 The streaking Bobcats come into town looking for their sixth straight victory while Dallas is looking to extend its newly found win streak to three games. Dallas is 7-0 all-time against Charlotte, including a 102-95 win against the Bobcats in January. The Mavs had three different players score 20+ points during that mid-January meeting. Tyronn Lue will be in uniform tonight with the goal of giving him 10 to 15 minutes once he finds himself in the rotation. Devean George (sore back) tried to work out yesterday, but it did not work out and is still listed as day-to-day. Tue, 11 Mar 2008 23:48:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=218 I took a quick look at some stats today to see what has changed the most since Jason Kidd was traded to the Mavericks. Here are the things that changed the most in my opinion. Tue, 11 Mar 2008 18:48:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=217 Art Garcia has been on a roll with e-mails to me, I feel somewhat important now even though I will never be able to go into the locker room in the future. Anyways, I also agreed to do this post since the dancers are good looking. Mavs Man, not so much. Tue, 11 Mar 2008 18:43:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=216 Insert some witty comment about the power rankings. Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:25:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=215 Dallas, looking for its first two-game winning streak in about two weeks, hosted the Knicks on Monday. It was exactly what the doctor ordered as the Mavs won, 108-79. After the first quarter, the score was 32-15 with the rest of the game pretty much following the same trend. The win gave the Mavericks their fifth straight win against the Knicks and eighth straight against the Knicks in Dallas. Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:21:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=214 Art Garcia e-mailed me this link, it a video done by Mavs.com honoring Dirk Nowitzki on his new franchise scoring record. Check it out. Mon, 10 Mar 2008 13:43:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=213 More on this game tomorrow, but congrats to Dirk Nowitzki who is now #1 on the Mavs' all-time scoring list, edging out Rolando Blackman by one point. Sun, 9 Mar 2008 00:01:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=212 Anyone else frustrated while watching the Mavs? After a brutal schedule the last couple games, Dallas gets a nice five-game stretch against teams with losing records to hopefully get some form of momentum going before facing the Lakers again. Oh yeah, the first game is against the Nets and those guys they shipped to New Jersey for Jason Kidd. Dallas has won 13 of the last 15 games between these two teams and all eyes should be on who wins the point guard battle between Kidd and Devin Harris. Sat, 8 Mar 2008 14:05:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=211 One team is very hot (Houston has won its last 16 games), the other is not (Dallas has lost three of its last four games). Dallas is 3-0 against the Rockets this season, but will be without Dirk Nowitzki who was suspended on Wednesday for his flagrant foul in the Mavs loss to the Jazz on Monday. New signee Tyronn Lue practiced for the first time on Wednesday, but will not be in uniform tonight. Thu, 6 Mar 2008 00:26:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=210 That's what David Moore is reporting. Wed, 5 Mar 2008 14:58:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=209 Work has been super crazy lately due to March Madness starting up so I haven't been able to do much on here recently, although all I have missed is the Mavs failing the test I mentioned last week. They need to learn how to defend the pick and roll or they will get killed in the playoffs when the second half becomes a game of "Who can pick and roll better?" for 24 consecutive minutes. Wed, 5 Mar 2008 01:39:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=208 I recently exchanged some e-mails with our good friends over at My Utah Jazz. As usual, some pretty good answers to questions regarding their team as well as tomorrow's game. Also, I answered some questions for their site and you can see the comedy that ensued right here. Sun, 2 Mar 2008 22:49:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=207 After a nice little win over the Kings, the Mavs head to Los Angeles to take "Test #2" against the Lakers (The Spurs were "Test #1" with the Jazz being "Test #3" in this mini post-trade Test to see where the team stands against good teams). The Mavericks won the first and only meeting so far between these two teams this season, 112-105, back on January 25. Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard each scored 26 points while Kobe Bryant scored 40 points. Sun, 2 Mar 2008 01:54:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=206 Currently 3.0 games back in the West and 2.0 games back in the Southwest Division, the Mavs return home on Friday to take on the Kings. The Mavs are 1-1 against the Kings this season and are averaging 121.5 points in the two meetings. The last time these two teams met in Dallas, the Mavs won, 123-102. Josh Howard led the Mavs with 27 points while JJ Barea added 25 and Dirk Nowitzki scored 24 points. I doubt JJ will be scoring that many this time around. Thu, 28 Feb 2008 23:04:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=205 The Spurs edged out Dallas tonight, 97-94, but the real confusion came with 30 seconds left in the game and Dallas down two points. Avery Johnson benched Jason Kidd in favor of Jerry Stackhouse. While I agree Stackhouse is a much better shooter than Kidd, why make the trade to get Kidd and talk about how he was brought in to win games at the end, yet he sits on the bench when they need a basket. Just confused. Thu, 28 Feb 2008 21:45:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=204 Dallas will get its first big test on Thursday as the new-look Mavs head down to San Antonio to take on the Spurs. Since the beginning of the 2005-06 season, Dallas is 10-7 in the regular season and postseason when facing the Spurs, including a 5-4 mark in San Antonio. Dirk Nowitzki has been bringing his "A" game as of late, averaging 31.5 points while shooting 52.9% from the field and 53.3% from three-point range in his last six games. Meanwhile, Josh Howard has been bringing his "C-" game, averaging 14.5 points while shooting 29.3% from the field and 26.7% from three-point range since coming back from his back injury. Thu, 28 Feb 2008 00:01:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=203 This makes me laugh . . . a lot. Wed, 27 Feb 2008 20:28:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=202 Looks like the Mavs found their new back-up center as Jamaal Magloire signed with Dallas today. Magloire won't wow you, but should be a decent back-up to Erick Dampier, especially when going against other centers in the West. The 6'11" center was waived by New Jersey last week and will practice tomorrow with the team and should be available to play on Thursday. Tue, 26 Feb 2008 22:13:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=201 Erick Dampier must have watched the Under Armour commercial over and over again before Monday's game as the center came away with seven blocks and 16 rebounds in Dallas' 102-94 victory over the Bulls. Dirk Nowitzki recorded a double double, notching 29 points and 10 rebounds. Jerry Stackhouse scored 23 points while coming off the bench. Mon, 25 Feb 2008 21:50:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=200 I have a buddy named Dorzy who lives in Chicago. He is a Bulls fan and he watches most, if not, all their games. So he has become my "expert" in today's version of "Getting To Know". Mon, 25 Feb 2008 14:57:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=199 After winning its last two games on the road, Dallas returns home to AAC to take on the Chicago Bulls. Dallas beat Chicago, 103-98, back in early December. Josh Howard scored 27 points while Dirk Nowitzki added 25 points. Andres Nocioni scored 30 points for Chicago while coming off the bench. The Mavs have won 17 of the last 19 meetings between these two teams and are 6-6 this season in the second game of a back-to-back. Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:53:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=198 Avery Johnson and Mark Cuban said Jason Kidd was brought to Dallas to help the Mavs finish games. They also used a bunch of weird football/quarterback comparisons and other lingo like red zones and such to say Jason Kidd could be like Tony Romo sans-Jessica Simpson. Well, Jason Kidd and his 17 assists helped Dallas outscore the T'Wolves 28-12 in the fourth quarter on its way to a 99-83 victory. Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:36:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=197 Dallas will be looking for a little thing called a road winning streak when they take on the Timberwolves in Minnesota on Sunday. Dallas is 2-0 against the T'Wolves this season and have won the last seven meetings between these two teams. Dirk Nowitzki has been on a scoring tear in his last four games. Nowitzki is averaging 32.8 points per game while shooting 50.6% in his last four games. Sun, 24 Feb 2008 02:36:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=196 Hopefully I will get to do this more often in the future with other sites, but here are some questions (I asked) and some great answers (they answered) about the Minnesota Timberwolves from our good friends over at TwolvesBlog.com. Their link is also on the left side under the "Other Links" section on every page. Sat, 23 Feb 2008 13:04:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=195 Dallas ended its road woes by beating the Grizzlies, 98-83, in Memphis. Dallas got out to an early lead before they feel asleep in the third quarter, allowing Memphis a glimmer of hope to come back into the game, before seizing control in the fourth quarter. Fri, 22 Feb 2008 22:23:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=194 Dallas is 1-6 in its last seven road games, including losses in each of the last four. The Mavericks have struggled on the road this season and what better way to cure this problem then by playing the Memphis Grizzlies. Dallas is 3-0 against the Grizzlies this season and have won each of its last nine trips to Memphis (regular season and postseason) to take on the Grizzlies. Jason Kidd will be looking to fit in more smoothly after committing six turnovers in his debut down in New Orleans. Fri, 22 Feb 2008 01:09:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=193 After 18 years of trade talks, Jason Kidd finally laced up his sneakers while wearing the blue and white of the Mavericks. Only there was minor problem, no one wanted to stop Chris Paul. Chris Paul (along with Dwight Howard) is slowly becoming my favorite non-Mav to watch play. He is very good. Paul scored 31 points while dishing out 11 assists and recording nine steals in New Orleans' 104-93 victory over Dallas. Thu, 21 Feb 2008 01:00:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=192 Hey look, it is a Mavs game, I forgot about these things the last couple weeks. After a couple weeks of speculation, Jason Kidd finds himself back in New Orleans, but this time he is sporting a Mavs' uniform. While some might not agree with the trade, I do agree with Mark Cuban on one thing. This trade has brought a buzz about this team and it could bring some much needed energy to a team that has been moping around for a while. Oh yeah, the Hornets are good now. These two teams are 1-1 against each other this season, each winning the game on their home court. Sounds like Josh Howard should be back in the starting lineup, while Jerry Stackhouse has been changed from out to questionable (hamstring). Wed, 20 Feb 2008 03:10:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=191 The trade is finally official. The official press conference is set for 3 PM CDT, I will post any more links, stories, pictures and such when I can find it. Tue, 19 Feb 2008 11:45:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=190 I have been sort of working on this mini-statistical look at the Mavs this past week or so, but this whole trade fiasco sort of got me sidetracked. So I wanted to get this down tonight, before the craziness that is tomorrow happens once the trade gets final approval from the league (or the league steps in and says no, which would only add more fun). If you have been paying attention to the team this season, you have probably noticed that the Mavs have struggled on the road this year. They have also struggled against the teams from the East, which is very surprising since Dallas went 27-3 against the East last season. Mon, 18 Feb 2008 23:21:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=189 Dave D'Alessandro is reporting the following. Looks like the last thing left is getting the final O.K. from the league tomorrow. Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:02:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=188 Just when we thought things were finally done and lined up in this trade that will never die, we might have found our latest snag in the deal. Keith Van Horn's agent told a reporter for the New Jersey Star-Ledger that his client needs some "quiet time" to think things over. Oh great. Mon, 18 Feb 2008 16:00:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=187 It is that time again. We want to hear from you, Dallas or other NBA fans, with your thoughts on the proposed trade that is supposed to be submitted to the league on Monday. Does this push Dallas over the edge? Did Dallas give up too much or too little? Did Dallas mortgage the future? Does Dallas have another move or someone else they want to pick-up to replace Diop? Mon, 18 Feb 2008 02:13:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=186 That's what Jeff Caplan of the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram is reporting. Sun, 17 Feb 2008 18:35:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=185 I'm just sayin'. Dirk Nowitzki finished third in the three-point competition, scoring 17 points in the first round and 14 points in the second round. Toronto's Jason Kapono's scored a record-matching 25 points in the final round to win. Sun, 17 Feb 2008 14:33:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=184 I hope this is the only news I have to report, but it sounds like this trade got botched so badly on multiple ends that it could be going away. First off, Nets president Rod Thorn is claiming no side deals with Jerry Stackhouse ever took place. Is he trying to save face to let this trade go through or he is telling the truth, you decide. Sat, 16 Feb 2008 11:51:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=183 I (via Chris Broussard of ESPN.com) posted about two hours ago on this new report that a league source said that Jerry Stackhouse could be traded to New Jersey, but he could not be bought out and return back to Dallas. NOW, Jeff Caplan of the FWST is saying this is not 100% true. Fri, 15 Feb 2008 16:41:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=182 Chris Broussard updated his story that I posted below, and he is now hearing that Jerry Stackhouse can be part of the trade, BUT he can't be bought out and end up back in Dallas. Fri, 15 Feb 2008 14:31:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=181 Apparently the NBA did not like Jerry Stackhouse's comments the other day about him being bought out and returning to Dallas. Fri, 15 Feb 2008 08:47:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=180 While reading various blogs and sites, I really can't get a feel to whether fans like this possible trade or not. So I decided to put a poll up and see what you guys think. Do you like the current trade for Jason Kidd? Fri, 15 Feb 2008 08:03:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=179 The All-Star break could not come any sooner. Dallas looked very sluggish and distracted as the Mavs lost to the Suns, 109-97, in Phoenix tonight. Here are some video highlights. Fri, 15 Feb 2008 00:27:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=178 Marc Stein is now reporting that the deal in place yesterday could still be intact, but replace Devean George with Keith Van Horn. Thu, 14 Feb 2008 19:40:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=177 I decided to take a mini-breather today with all the Jason Kidd madness as yesterday was pretty crazy and really nothing has been said today. If you want to know what other media outlets are saying, Henry Abbott over at True Hoop has a nice round-up of links going. Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:35:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=176 February 13th was a very up and down day in Mavs-land. Dallas was looking to rebound against the Blazers after a couple horrible losses when news broke out that the Kidd-to-Dallas talks were heating up again. Thu, 14 Feb 2008 00:28:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=175 The Kidd-less Mavericks travel to Phoenix to take on the Shaq-less Suns. While Shaquille O'Neal is with the Suns, he is not expected to play until after the All-Star break. Dallas won the first game between these two teams this season, 108-105, in Dallas. Dirk Nowitzki scored 31 points while Jason Terry scored 23 points and some guy named Devin Harris added 21 points. Wed, 13 Feb 2008 23:28:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=174 Today was an interesting day and when it was all said and done, Dallas found a way to beat the Blazers, 96-76, despite one big distraction. All the talk today was whether the Mavericks traded for Jason Kidd or not and when the game started tonight, all signs pointed to yes. Wed, 13 Feb 2008 22:04:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=173 That's right, Devean George decided to use his no-trade clause and block the Jason Kidd-to-Dallas trade. Wed, 13 Feb 2008 18:35:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=172 So if the deal does go down and the Mavs give up Devin Harris, Jerry Stackhouse, DeSagana Diop, Devean George, Maurice Ager, cash and two first-round picks to New Jersey for Kidd, Antoine Wright, Malik Allen and a second-rounder, this could be the new depth chart we are looking at. Wed, 13 Feb 2008 14:55:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=171 That's right, after a week or two of silence, the Jason Kidd-to-Dallas trade rumors are back and loud. ESPN is reporting that the deal is very close to being done. Wed, 13 Feb 2008 12:39:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=170 Dallas has not been playing good basketball recently. Throw in some injuries and I am guessing they are wanting the All-Star break to come so they can get some rest. Dallas is 1-1 against the Blazers this season. Portland won the first game at home with the Mavs winning the second game at AAC. Wed, 13 Feb 2008 00:38:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=169 Dallas lost another disgusting game last night and the injuries continue to add up. To go along with Erick Dampier, Jerry Stackhouse and Devin Harris, you can now add Josh Howard to that list. Even Dirk Nowitzki's back is starting to act up. Tue, 12 Feb 2008 17:09:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=168 After a horrible loss in New Jersey, the Mavs travel to Philadelphia to play the Sixers. Dallas has won the last four games against the 76ers, including a 99-84 victory on November 13. Jason Terry led all scorers with 25 points while Dirk Nowitzki added 21 and Josh Howard scored 18. Mon, 11 Feb 2008 01:43:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=167 You are not going to win many games when you give up a 21-0 run to your opponent. The Mavs did this on Sunday and lost to New Jersey, 101-82. You are also not going to win many games shooting 36.5% from the field. Mon, 11 Feb 2008 01:30:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=166 Many of you have asked for it and the Mavs are finally getting Jason Kidd. Actually, they are just playing against the Nets who still own Jason Kidd, but you get my point. I am so sly. Dallas is 13-1 in its last 14 games against the Nets. The last time these two teams met up last season, seven different Mavs scored 10 or more points. Sun, 10 Feb 2008 01:10:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=165 We asked you, the fans of this site, on your opinion on what Dallas should do next with all the "big" trades taking place in the Western Conference and here is what you guys had to say. Sat, 9 Feb 2008 14:57:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=164 The Mavs beat the Bucks on Wednesday by 11 points, although the game was much closer than the score indicated. Tonight, Dallas beat the Grizzlies by 11 points, but this time around, the game was not as close as the score. Fri, 8 Feb 2008 21:54:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=163 The Western Conference has seen some changes in the last week. First, there was the trade of Pau Gasol to the Lakers for Kwame Brown and some spare parts. Then, the Suns shipped Shawn Marion to the Heat for Shaquille O'Neal. That is where we want to hear from you, all three of you that read this site. Use the contact page linked above and let us know what you think Dallas should do next. If I get some good responses, I will put them up on the site. Fri, 8 Feb 2008 10:36:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=162 Dallas gets another shot at Memphis tonight as the now Gasol-less Grizzles come to town after being beat by the Mavs, 103-84, last week. Dallas is 2-0 against Memphis this season and has won 26 of the last 29 regular season meetings between these two teams. Dirk Nowitzki will be looking for his second career triple double after recording his first on Wednesday night. Of the 66 active players who have recorded at least one in their career, it took Dirk the longest (729 games). Fri, 8 Feb 2008 00:23:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=161 It took Dirk Nowitzki 729 games, but he finally recorded his first triple double in the NBA. Nowitzki has been so close on many different occasions, but the big German was able to register 29 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists, but more importantly, a 107-96 victory. Wed, 6 Feb 2008 23:24:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=160 Milwaukee comes to AAC after beating the Grizzlies, 102-97, last night in Memphis. The Mavs won the earlier meeting between these two teams, 97-95, on November 11. Michael Redd led all scorers with 27 points while Dallas had a trio of players (Josh Howard - 24, Jason Terry - 21, Dirk Nowitzki - 20) each scoring 20+ points. Wed, 6 Feb 2008 00:35:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=159 So I am sitting here delayed in Phoenix, patiently waiting for my plane to get in so I can fly back home. It looks like a good thing I missed Sunday's game against the Pistons, seeing Super Bowl XLII in person was "slightly" better than the effort Dallas put up. With that said, Dallas is getting a slight beating the weekly power rankings. Mon, 4 Feb 2008 15:44:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=157 The Mavs faced the team with the best record in the league on Thursday and came away the loser, 96-90, despite the Celtics missing Kevin Garnett and playing with a sick Ray Allen. Dallas did not play their best game of the season, but were still in the game till the end. Thu, 31 Jan 2008 23:18:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=156 The NBA announced All-Star reserves today. Dirk Nowitzki will be making his seventh appearance in the All-Star game while Josh Howard missed out on a potential second year in the game. Thu, 31 Jan 2008 17:20:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=155 I really am. . . even though I have blogged about it too many times in the past 48 hours, but hopefully this is the final one. . . until the next stupid rumors come out. Anyways, Avery Johnson wants everyone to know the trade is not going to happen. Thu, 31 Jan 2008 12:15:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=154 Dallas travels to Boston on Thursday to take on the Celtics, the team with the best record in the NBA right now. They could be facing a Celtics team missing two-thirds of the "Boston Three Party" (blame Scott Van Pelt, not me), although Kevin Garnett might try to come back for tonight's game. Even without Garnett and Ray Allen, Boston still beat the Heat by 30 on Tuesday led by some talented "superstars" such as Leon Powe, Tony Allen and Eddie House. Thu, 31 Jan 2008 00:33:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=153 Slow news day so lets take a look at some more interweb rumors involving the Mavs and Jason Kidd that probably won't happen. Wed, 30 Jan 2008 15:43:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=152 John Hollinger did a free insider preview today where he selected an all-sleeper team for this season based on his many ridiculous formulas. One Maverick made his team: Devin Harris. In his write-up of Harris, he breaks down how Devin Harris could be a better fit for Dallas than Kidd. Tue, 29 Jan 2008 14:33:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=151 It is time for everyone's favorite thing in the world, a totally opinionated listing of all the teams in the league, done to prompt chatter amongst angry and bitter fan bases. It is time for the weekly power rankings. Tue, 29 Jan 2008 01:38:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=150 Dallas traveled to Memphis tonight to take on the Grizzlies. After the first quarter, the score was 33-19 with the Mavs on top, and the rest of the game was pretty much the same. Mon, 28 Jan 2008 23:08:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=149 Devin Harris' left ankle seems to be worse than a sprain which originally took place during Friday's game against the Lakers. Reports in Dallas today are that Harris will miss 2-3 weeks due to a bruised bone on his left ankle. Not cool. Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:30:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=148 Dallas next heads to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies in the second game of a back-to-back. The Mavs won the only other meeting between these teams this season, 108-105, on November 17. Josh Howard lead all scorers with 27 points, while Mike Miller scored 23 points for the Grizzlies. Mon, 28 Jan 2008 00:17:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=147 The first game between these two teams was basically a glorified lay-up line. Today's game, a tad bit different. The score was 45-34 at half with Dallas in the lead and the third quarter saw Dallas continue to lead by double-digits, but a Melo-less Denver team hung around. Sun, 27 Jan 2008 19:12:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=146 Dallas will host the Nuggets today on ESPN. The Mavericks lost to Denver in their only other meeting this season when the Nuggets won at AAC on December 6 by the score 122-109. Here are various links and previews from across the interweb to get you ready for the game. Sun, 27 Jan 2008 00:14:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=145 We have basically reached the halfway point of the season (actually, we are one game past the halfway point), but I thought I would ramble off some surprises/disappoints and other thoughts with the Mavs and the rest of the league so far in 2007-08. Sat, 26 Jan 2008 15:51:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=144 No, I am not quoting Kelly Clarkson. I have been super busy with work and life in the past week and really have not had time to properly run this site. I might have to look into getting some help, but more on that later. As for tonight, Dallas beat the Lakers, 112-105. Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard each recorded double doubles while Devin Harris came up big down the stretch and added 18 points. Fri, 25 Jan 2008 23:00:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=142 Yeah, so I am a little late on commenting on this loss to the Kings. Dallas lost to Sacramento, 122-120, in a pretty exciting one which saw the Mavs score 40 points in the fourth quarter and still lose. Wed, 16 Jan 2008 01:30:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=141 A few things to start the week and get ready for tonight's game against the Kings. FYI, Dallas is now tied with the Suns for first place in the West. Giddy up. Now onto the power rankings for this week. Mon, 14 Jan 2008 17:16:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=140 The Mavs came into Los Angeles slightly sluggish, hung around, then after a bonehead move by Tim Thomas, got one last chance to tie or win with Jerry Stackhouse hitting a three at the buzzer to win. Sun, 13 Jan 2008 14:45:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=139 Like I mentioned in last night's quick recap, Dirk Nowitzki is slowly returning to his 2006-07 form in recent weeks. After kicking around some numbers, I have found it all started on December 15. Nowitzki was held to seven points against the Hornets on December 14 and apparently the German decided to start playing some very good basketball. Thu, 10 Jan 2008 19:05:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=138 I wish I could do that. Thu, 10 Jan 2008 14:03:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=137 Led by 23 points by Dirk Nowitzki and 19 points by Devin Harris, the Mavericks defeated a slumping Pistons team, 102-86. The team in general had the "hot hand", shooting 56.8% from the field and 62.5% from three-point range while holding the Pistons to 40.5% shooting. Thu, 10 Jan 2008 02:32:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=136 Dallas was down by 8 at half to a Miami Heat squad that was missing Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal but they came around in the second half to win by 5. Sat, 5 Jan 2008 11:45:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=135 I finally got to see the highlights of last night's win. A great game all-around with my favorite stat being that Baron Davis was held to 10 points on 2-for-14 shooting. Nice. It is also nice to see Josh Howard AND Brandon Bass recording double doubles. Dirk Nowitzki with a big 29-8-6 game. Thu, 3 Jan 2008 08:10:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=134 Dallas gets another shot at beating up on the Warriors tonight. I am currently on the road for the BCS so I am unable to do much the site this week. Sorry. Wed, 2 Jan 2008 10:05:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=133 I am about to head to the airport, so you can read up about the game here. The best part about the game: The national anthem was a guitar solo performed by Nowitzki's brother-in-law. Sun, 30 Dec 2007 03:05:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=132 Just when Dallas got out of their little funk and win five straight, they end up losing two games in a somewhat pathetic manner. Yet another sluggish performance last night as the Cavs defeated the Mavs, 88-81, with Dallas shooting a horrible 36.5% from the field. Fri, 28 Dec 2007 18:14:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=131 The Mavericks fell behind 16-0 in the first quarter before coming back to take a one-point lead before going on to lose by nine points, ending their five-game winning streak. Wed, 26 Dec 2007 23:08:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=130 And we are back. After a little too much egg nog and other holiday fun, the Mavs will take on the Jazz tonight in Utah. The Jazz are currently 15-14 and 2-8 in their last 10 games. Utah starts and stops with Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams. Beyond that, they have a bunch of players who are either hot or very cold. Mehmet Okur (left knee) is listed as day-to-day. Wed, 26 Dec 2007 11:58:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=127 Yes, I wanted some cheesy title and use other cliches like "battle it out" and "OK Corral", but more importantly, I was going to show you the cheesy picture of Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash with the horrible cowboy hats from ten years ago, but I went with this picture instead. Tue, 18 Dec 2007 23:54:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=126 After a couple of weeks of blah, the Mavs have now started a three-game winning streak after their 111-108 victory over the Magic. While the spotlight has been on Dwight Howard this year with his impressive play, Dirk Nowitzki decided he wanted to remind people he is the reigning MVP. Nowitzki led the way with 31 points and 11 rebounds. It was Nowitzki's third game with 30+ points in his last seven games. Tue, 18 Dec 2007 03:00:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=125 Yes, I am finally back after a mini-hiatus. And during that time, Dallas started playing some good basketball again. NBA.com is the only site with updated power rankings and they have the Mavs fourth, behind the Celtics, Spurs and Pistons. Mon, 17 Dec 2007 12:03:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=124 Tonight's game was ugly. Dallas lost to the Raptors, 92-76, in a game which saw the Mavs shoot 38.5% from the field, 28.6% from three-point range, and 60.0% from the free-throw line. There really was nothing positive to take from the game. Thu, 13 Dec 2007 00:46:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=123 Dallas takes on the Raptors tonight in a rematch of a game from three weeks ago which saw Dallas win by 6. Dirk Nowitzki led all scorers in that game with 32 points while Chris Bosh added 31 points for Toronto. Wed, 12 Dec 2007 13:30:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=122 I bet Dirk Nowitzki sang that to Josh Howard after tonight's win over the Knicks. A game after Dirk took the backseat to Josh's 47 points, Dirk put up 36 points of his own against New York. Tue, 11 Dec 2007 01:15:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=121 A big thanks to Josh Howard for his huge performance tonight against the Jazz, but more importantly, for making me look like a genius for saying he could lead this team in scoring this year earlier today (just look at the entry below). Sun, 9 Dec 2007 00:41:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=120 The 12-8 Mavs host the 13-7 Jazz tonight in Dallas. The Mavs went 1-2 against the Jazz last season, losing the only game which was in Dallas. Dallas is in some kind of rut, yet the team does not seem that worried based on the quotes said by both Avery Johnson and the players. Sat, 8 Dec 2007 14:00:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=120 Another day, another loss. This team has been frustrating to watch lately and finally when it looked like the offense was clicking (109 points) and Dirk Nowitzki was on his game, the defense was no where to be found (allowing 122 points). Fri, 7 Dec 2007 09:03:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=118 So I was all ready to go last night on some post game thoughts and my internet didn't want to work. Now I am stuck here at work with a bunch of stuff on plate so here is the DMN preview again for tonight's game against the Nuggets. Thu, 6 Dec 2007 11:37:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=117 Dallas plays the Spurs tonight down in SA. I have been busy lately so here is the DMN preview. This will be the second meeting between these two teams with the "good guys" winning the last game. Wed, 5 Dec 2007 12:47:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=116 You know the drill. Dallas heads to Chicago tonight to take on the Bulls. The Mavs lost by 11 last year in their game against the Bulls in Chicago. Mon, 3 Dec 2007 15:06:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=115 Dallas had a three-point lead with five seconds left before Peja Stojakovic hit a three at the buzzer to send the game to overtime. The Hornets went on to win and end Dallas' 21-game winning streak over the Hornets. Sun, 2 Dec 2007 00:48:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=114 Dallas shot 45% from the field, Dirk Nowitzki shot 33% from the field and scored only 11 points . . . yet the Mavs won by 11 points. Josh Howard was easily the player of the game, recording 24 points and 12 rebounds. Jason Terry started again and scored 17 points. Dallas next travels to New Orleans to take on the Hornets, a team they have beaten in 21 consecutive games. The last time Dallas lost to the Hornets, it was 1999, the game was in Charlotte, and Robert Pack led all scorers in the game with 27 points. Fri, 30 Nov 2007 22:48:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=113 After finally ending their three-game losing streak on Wednesday, Dallas now hosts the Blazers. Portland beat up on the Mavs, 91-82, earlier this month, although Dallas was without Devin Harris and started JJ Barea and Trenton Hassell. Dallas also shot 35.4% from the field compared to Portland's 50.0%. Fri, 30 Nov 2007 00:17:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=112 Dallas beat the T'Wolves tonight, 109-103. I guess we should be happy they won and ended their three-game winning streak but they only beat a 2-11 team by six points at home and let them linger around for a long time. But for now, I will enjoy the win and ask questions later. Thu, 29 Nov 2007 01:40:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=111 After another tough loss, Dallas will look to rebound on Wednesday when they host the Timberwolves. Dallas has won the last five meetings between these two teams, holding Minnesota to 82.4 points per game during the five games. Minnesota returns to Dallas a slightly different team compared to past seasons, including a 2-10 record. The main difference: no more Kevin Garnett. The T'Wolves are now led by Al Jefferson and Rashasd McCants. Tue, 27 Nov 2007 23:47:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=110 Dallas has not played its best basketball in recent days and I decided to look at the first 14 games of last season compared to this year to see if there any major differences. Off the top of my head, I would say this year has been slightly worse than last year, but after further examination, this year has been generally better than last year's first 14 games. Tue, 27 Nov 2007 23:10:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=109 Since everyone loves them . . . Mon, 26 Nov 2007 15:47:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=108 I did not get to see either game this weekend so I am playing catch up right now. What do we know? Dallas lost two games on the road. Mon, 26 Nov 2007 00:04:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=107 I have said in the past that Baron Davis likes to flop to loose ball contact but this is horrible. Sat, 24 Nov 2007 09:35:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=106 Dallas lost tonight. Boo. Dallas next travels to Milwaukee. I am busy so here is the DMN Preview. Fri, 23 Nov 2007 23:30:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=105 Happy Thanksgiving to all. Dallas takes their comeback show on the road some more as they head to Indiana to take on the Pacers. Dallas has won its last four games against the Pacers, including a 105-103 overtime victory in Indiana the last time these two teams met. Dirk Nowitzki had 43 points in that game while Jason Terry chipped in another 30 points. Thu, 22 Nov 2007 21:02:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=104 I think Dallas likes playing from behind or something. After coming back from 24 points the night before, Dallas trailed by as many as 17 points in the third quarter tonight against the Rockets before Devin Harris sparked another run which propelled the Mavs to victory. Wed, 21 Nov 2007 23:24:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=103 After a nice little comeback victory over the Raptors, Dallas heads to Houston to take on the Rockets. Dallas already hosted the Rockets back on November 5, beating Houston 107-98. Tracy McGrady led all scorers in that game with 35 points while Jason Terry scored 31 points coming off the bench. Wed, 21 Nov 2007 00:20:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=102 Dallas decided to spot the Raptors 24 points before coming back to win by six. Yet again, Dallas used the third quarter to mount their come back, outscoring Toronto 38-17. Dirk Nowitzki finally had a "break out" game shooting the ball, scoring 32 points, including four straight 3-pointers in the final 1:41 of the third quarter. Tue, 20 Nov 2007 23:48:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=101 Dallas heads north to Canada to take on the Raptors. The Mavs have won their last three games against the Raptors in Toronto, including last season's 97-96 victory. Some might remember that as the game where Dirk Nowitzki was used a decoy on the final play and Josh Howard scored on an easy lay-up underneath. For those that forget. Mon, 19 Nov 2007 22:57:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=100 We (everyone and their mother) love power rankings and yet they are stupid. People just like lists. Anyways, here a bunch of power rankings from across the interweb from the past couple days (a couple are from last week). Mon, 19 Nov 2007 22:20:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=99 This much we know, Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard and Devin Harris are starters. DeSagana Diop should be starting at center, but if he is ever hurt or not playing well, Erick Dampier is beyond capable of starting. That leaves one spot in the starting five. Mon, 19 Nov 2007 15:30:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=98 Sorry for the lack of updates, been pretty busy lately between work and watching my Hawkeyes lose to Western Michigan, ugh. But the Mavs got the win despite allowing Memphis to stick around and got the victory by Josh Howard and his season-high 27 points. Dirk Nowitzki also made some clutch free-throws at the end on his way to 21 points and something I love to see when I am looking at the box score: Devin Harris had 19 points and went to the free-throw line 12 times, got to love that aggression towards the hoop. Sun, 18 Nov 2007 09:10:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=97 There are about 4-5 teams in the league that when Dallas wins, I may or may not do a little victory dance to myself. The Spurs are one of those teams. Dallas has been outplaying teams in the second half all season in their wins and they flipped things around tonight, jumping on San Antonio and getting a 15-point lead after the first quarter. Devin Harris must enjoy playing against the Spurs as he had a great game, running all around San Antonio and helped hold Tony Parker to seven points. Thu, 15 Nov 2007 23:04:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=96 The defending champions will be coming into town tomorrow with their rings on their fingers ready to take on the Mavs, a team that beat them in three of the four meetings last season. I am pretty sure San Antonio is happier with their trophy than winning the season series with Dallas, but I am sure they will want to seek a little revenge in this intra-state rivalry. Thu, 15 Nov 2007 00:18:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=95 Dallas started its four-game homestand with a 99-84 victory over the Sixers. The Mavs were slightly sluggish in the first half but outscored Philly 33-18 in the third quarter and 23-16 in the fourth to help secure the W. Tue, 13 Nov 2007 22:35:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=94 After going 1-1 on their mini-West Coast road trip, Dallas returns home to AAC to take on the Sixers. Philadelphia comes to town with a 2-4 record and have lost four of its last five trips to Dallas. In the last meeting in Dallas, the Mavs won by 14 points and six different players scored in double-digits for Dallas. Mon, 12 Nov 2007 22:29:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=93 It's not really that much fun when you lose to the Blazers the night before and shoot 35%, but we will make the best of it by looking at some links. I have felt Dallas has been shorthanded in the frontcourt so far this season with Erick Dampier out of the lineup. Don't get me wrong, DeSegana Diop has been playing well and Brandon Bass has been a nice addition, but having Dampier back would be a big plus. With that said, it sounds like he could be coming back sooner than originally thought. Mon, 12 Nov 2007 00:23:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=92 Dallas lost in Portland tonight, 91-82. Portland shot 50.0% from the field while Dallas shot 35.4%. Not good. Sun, 11 Nov 2007 01:10:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=91 After I had a day to take in this win, I decided I was semi-harsh on Dallas. I wanted a perfect victory and I should just be happy with the "W". This game is just one of 82 games and while a nice "statement" could have been made, Dallas has a LONG season ahead of them and many more games against the Warriors to make a statement. Upon further review of the stats, I came across with two main things. Fri, 9 Nov 2007 17:28:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=90 After many months with a bad taste in their mouth, the Mavs had a chance to make a statement and prove they are the superior to the Warriors. About the only thing they got right was the win. Don't get me wrong, a win is a win but Dallas had the chance to really get over that mental hump as well as send a message to the rest of the league. But all they came away was a close victory which was almost sent to overtime when Baron Davis missed a wide open three-point attempt. Fri, 9 Nov 2007 00:10:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=89 Dallas gets their first shot at "revenge" when they travel to Oakland to take on the Golden State Warriors. For those living in a cave for the past year or so, Dallas lost to the Warriors in the biggest "upset" in NBA history based on regular season wins (67 - 42 = 25) last year. If there is one team that gives the Mavs trouble, it is the Warriors. Since Avery Johnson took over as head coach on March 19, 2005, Golden State is the only team with a winning record against the Mavs (10-4 between regular season and postseason). Thu, 8 Nov 2007 00:40:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=88 So Dallas has been hit by the injury bug lately. A bunch of updates on who is hurt, who is no longer hurt and other stuff. Thu, 8 Nov 2007 00:20:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=87 Dallas beat the Rockets tonight in a back-and-forth affair which saw Jason Terry go on a 10-0 run by himself in the second half and lead the team with 31 points. Devin Harris missed another game while Brandon Bass also sat out the game due to a sprained ankle. Tue, 6 Nov 2007 00:05:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=86 Dallas will get its first "tough" game of the season when the Rockets come into town on Monday. Houston is 3-0 this season with wins over the Lakers, Jazz, and Blazers. This should be an interesting game as many "experts" picked Houston to win the Southwest Division or finish second and ahead of Dallas. The Mavs are 9-1 in their last 10 home games against the Rockets. Sun, 4 Nov 2007 00:08:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=85 Dallas beat Sacramento tonight, 123-102. They scored 73 points by halftime. Devin Harris sat tonight out because of a bruise on his thigh so JJ Barea got the start and made the most of it, scoring 25 points. Dirk Nowitzki scored 24 points while Josh Howard made his debut and added 27 points. Sat, 3 Nov 2007 22:21:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=84 The Mavericks return home to Dallas on Saturday for the home opener after losing to the Hawks in a disappointing fashion on Friday. The Mavs are 13-3 in their last 16 games against Sacramento, including wins in their last seven home games versus the Kings. Dallas will also be playing their first second game of a back-to-back after going 15-1 in such games last year. The other big news will be the return of Josh Howard to the lineup after being suspended two games for pushing Brad Miller in the preseason. Oh the storylines in this one. Fri, 2 Nov 2007 22:36:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=83 I know Hot-lanta sounds so stupid, so I am going to keep using it. As for the game tonight, it wasn't pretty. Dallas fell behind 29-19 after the first period, were behind by as many as 16 at one point, fought back, but just ran out of gas. That lack of gas was also helped by poor defense and 43.8% shooting from the field. Fri, 2 Nov 2007 21:07:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=82 After an impressive season opening win against the Cavs, Dallas now travels to Hot-lanta to take on the Hawks. This will be Atlanta's first game of the season and the Hawks have lost their last eight season openers. Dallas also boasts a 13-3 record against the Hawks since the beginning of the 1999-00 season. Thu, 1 Nov 2007 23:18:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=81 Well, yesterday's game felt good. I wish the 81 other games are the same, but I highly doubt the will be the case. You can check out my thoughts from the game in the post below but now it is time for some links. Thu, 1 Nov 2007 22:10:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=80 Dallas opened up the season with a 92-74 victory over the Cavs. They held LeBron James to 10 total points, including none in the first half. Jason Terry led the way with a game-high 24 points while starting the game on the bench. Jerry Stackhouse added 17 points while Dirk Nowitzki had 15 points and Devin Harris chipped in for 13 points. Wed, 31 Oct 2007 22:39:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=79 Normally the day before the season starts is usually calm as everyone is focusing on the first game, not so fast my friend. Dallas decided to make a couple roster moves. The biggest news of the day, Dallas released DJ Mbenga in order to make room for Juwan Howard. The Mavs reached to an agreement on Tuesday but can not sign him until Wednesday once Howard clears waivers. Wed, 31 Oct 2007 02:19:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=78 After many, many months, we are finally here. The first game of the season. Dallas will open up the season on the road against the Cavs. The Mavs have won 11 of their last 13 games against the Cavs, winning both games last season. LeBron James scored 39 and 31 in two games last season and has averaged 31.5 points in eight career games against Dallas. Wed, 31 Oct 2007 01:52:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=77 Now that I got my Western Conference predictions out of the way, lets move onto the Mavs who I have selected as the second best team in the West. Wed, 31 Oct 2007 01:24:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=76 So the season has started and I haven't made any predictions on the season so here we go (this is based on my own personal "power" rankings, not on how the actual playoff seedings are determined). Wed, 31 Oct 2007 00:24:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=75 Dallas waived DJ Mbenga today and it looks like they will be signing Juwan Howard. Tue, 30 Oct 2007 13:39:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=74 I am still working on my season preview, should hopefully have it up later tonight or tomorrow. With that said, here are some links from the weekend. Jeff Caplan looks at the mental state of Dirk Nowitzki after the past two seasons. Mon, 29 Oct 2007 13:03:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=73 Not a lot of new stuff going on so here are some links from over the past two days. Fri, 26 Oct 2007 08:36:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=72 I really haven't had a lot of time to sit down and do an actual preview of the team and what I actually expect from them this season. For that, I apologize. But for now, here is something I remember talking about briefly last season and looked at some more a couple weeks ago but haven't put it up here until now. The Mavs were raved as the team that can play any style for majority of last year. Especially after playing "small ball" and running San Antonio off the court followed by slowing it down and beating the Suns in the 2005-06 Western Conference Finals. Dallas even tinkered with the roster, adding players like Devean George and Greg Buckner, who were supposed to make this team even better. Thu, 25 Oct 2007 01:30:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=71 The MRI that Josh Howard had today on his wrist revealed that he has a "moderate sprain". He will be re-evaluated in about a week. Wed, 24 Oct 2007 12:00:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=70 First the suspension and now Josh Howard hurts his wrist in last night's final preseason game. Sounds like the x-rays were negative but he will have an MRI today. He should hopefully be back for Game #3 after serving his two-game suspension. Wed, 24 Oct 2007 09:55:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=69 Another couple days pass and Kobe is still not a Maverick. Dallas did beat the Hornets on Sunday. Josh Howard led the way with 22 points while Devin Harris scored 19 of his own. JET did not play (healthy scratch) and Dallas has one more preseason game on Tuesday against Chicago before opening up the season on Halloween against the Cavs. Mon, 22 Oct 2007 16:10:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=68 So the Mavs have played games in back-to-back nights and you could honestly say they were two completely different games. Fri, 19 Oct 2007 21:45:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=67 I am swamped with work but Josh Howard was suspended for the first two games of the season. Josh's first game back will be Dallas' home opener against . . . the Kings. Fri, 19 Oct 2007 14:45:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=66 Yes, the Mavs are rumored to be one of the few teams who might be interested in Kobe's services. Will it happen? In my opinion and for the 37th time, no. Thu, 18 Oct 2007 11:50:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=65 I am guessing majority of you have already have seen video of Josh Howard defending Devin Harris from Tuesday's game. If not, here you go. If you have, I am just testing this new ESPN youtube-like video stuff. Thu, 18 Oct 2007 01:55:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=64 Dallas defeated the Kings, 101-99, tonight on a three-pointer by Jason Terry with four seconds left . . . but that is not the main story from the game. So what's the main story you ask? Josh Howard was ejected. Wed, 17 Oct 2007 01:30:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=63 The Mavs take on the Kings tonight in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Nothing more to really say (well, there are injury updates, but those will be below), so onto the links. Tue, 16 Oct 2007 12:10:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=62 Aside from the "who will be the starting shooting guard?" stories, the biggest thing I have noticed and read in the past two weeks is how much Avery is really pushing Devin Harris to take control of the offense. Sun, 14 Oct 2007 16:46:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=61 Further proving that preseason wins and losses mean nothing, Dallas trotted out a starting lineup of Devin Harris, Eddie Jones, Josh Howard, Brandon Bass and DeSagana Diop. Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry and Jerry Stackhouse did not even play. With that said, they lost to the Wizards, 90-86. Sun, 14 Oct 2007 15:30:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=60 After a one-game winning streak to start off the meaningful preseason schedule, Dallas lost to the Bulls tonight, 100-92, in Chicago. Sat, 13 Oct 2007 00:20:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=59 Nothing too exciting happened in the past two days but here are some links. In the latest injury report, Eddie Jones returned to practice after straining his hamstring. DJ Mbenga also saw his first 5-on-5 action since his ACL surgery on Wednesday. Mbenga will be joined by Erick Dampier and Devean George for a sleepover since none of the three will be going to Chicago or Washington. Thu, 11 Oct 2007 21:33:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=58 And the 2007-08 season has finally begun (sort of). Dallas defeated the Spurs in the first preseason game of the year, 88-67. I did not get to see the game, but after reading the recap and skimming through the box score, here are some things I noticed or read Wed, 10 Oct 2007 00:55:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=57 Dallas finally takes the court tonight when they battle the Spurs in a somewhat meaningless game. Lets check out some links. Tue, 9 Oct 2007 11:59:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=56 Don't be expecting much in Tuesday's preseason game against the Spurs. From the sound of it, many Mavs will be sitting this one out.Sampson also tweaked his ankle on Friday so this game should be interesting (non-interesting since it is a preseason game). Trenton Hassell feels the transition to the Mavs will be an easy one. This is usually the case when you go from a 32-50 team to a team that boasted a 67-15 record last season. Mon, 8 Oct 2007 19:40:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=55 It just became Friday and I am awake so you are getting some links from the past couple days. Devean George headed to Indianapolis yesterday to get an MRI done on his left foot. Apparently he has a little bit of a stress fracture. This is not the greatest news as I think he is a valuable part of this team. When he was playing his best basketball last year, Dallas was also playing some of its best basketball. Fri, 5 Oct 2007 00:40:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=54 Since I got a late start earlier today posting on Media Day stuff from Monday, I missed out on some things plus some other things that came out today (it is still Tuesday here on the West Coast). In a great honor, Avery Johnson will have has number retired by the Spurs. The ceremony will take place on December 22 when the Spurs take on the Clippers. Tue, 2 Oct 2007 23:45:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=53 So the 2007-08 season officially kicked off yesterday at the annual Media Day. Here are tidbits from the random stories and blogs. Tue, 2 Oct 2007 11:52:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=52 I am still flip-flopping in my mind over this Hassell trade. It really doesn't wow me, but I could see where it benefits the Mavs slightly more. It is not like Buckner made a huge dent in how the Mavs played last year so if they can get anything more out of Hassell than what they got out of Buckner, it doesn't hurt. Plus, if he flops, they have enough guys on the bench to make up the difference. Art Garcia of FWST fame is now working for the Mavs on Mavs.com and has an interview up with Avery Johnson. Mavs.com should have some more interesting content now that Art is aboard. Sun, 30 Sep 2007 14:40:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=51 So that "random rumor" seems to be true. Dallas has traded Greg Buckner to Minnesota for Trenton Hassell. Here is a release on the Mavs site by Art Garcia. Fri, 28 Sep 2007 20:59:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=50 Charley Waters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press has this little nugget in his column today (it's more just a bunch of random thoughts). Fri, 28 Sep 2007 14:01:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=49 Dallas invited three new players to camp today. The lucky trio which more than likely will not make the final roster consist of Jamal Sampson (Ralph Sampson's cousin), ex-Texas Tech player Darvin Ham and Jared Newson who played on the summer league team this past summer. Fri, 28 Sep 2007 00:01:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=48 Training Camp is coming soon, but in the mean time, here are some more random tidbits with the team. Jan Hubbard has a story up with the main theme being that you don't mess with something that won 67 games during the regular season. Everyone's favorite ex-Mav Roy Tarpley is suing the Mavs and the league over violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act by refusing to reinstate him to the league. Thu, 27 Sep 2007 00:02:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=47 Just some little tidbits for those bored on a Friday evening and don't want to watch Oklahoma destroy Tulsa on ESPN2. Mike Wells over on Pacers Insider (Indy Star Blog) is suggesting that Dallas might be in running for Darrell Armstrong's services, along with Golden State. Fri, 21 Sep 2007 17:00:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=46 Since not a lot is going on, I thought I would update you on two ex-Mavs who signed with new teams in the past couple weeks. Pops Mensah-Bonsu signed with Benotton Treviso of the Italian Serie A League last week. Wed, 19 Sep 2007 00:35:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=45 Well, this somewhat slow and boring off-season just picked up this week once the Mavs announced they had extended Devin Harris' contract for another five years and $42 million. That is a lot of money. Fri, 14 Sep 2007 00:15:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=44 I had a good weekend while our tall German friend named Dirk Nowitkzi did not. Germany lost their first game of the second round pool play to Tony Parker and France, 78-66. Dirk lead all scorers in the game with 28 points while also pulling down six rebounds. Mon, 10 Sep 2007 15:24:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=43 Dirk Nowitzki was the leading scorer, rebounder and led Germany in assists, but it was not enough as Germany lost to Lithuania, 84-80, on Wednesday. Nowitzki ended up with 28 points, nine rebounds and two assists. Thu, 6 Sep 2007 00:20:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=42 Germany won its second game of the EuroBasket with some ease on Tuesday over Turkey, 79-49. Dirk Nowitzki lead all scorers with 24 points and also grabbed six rebounds. Tue, 4 Sep 2007 20:58:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=41 Germany had their first game of the EuroBasket tournament today with the Germans beating the Czech Republic, 83-78. Dirk Nowitzki lead the way with a game-high 35 points and 11 rebounds. His 35 points are also the most scored by anyone so far in the tournament. Mon, 3 Sep 2007 17:25:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=40 Marc Stein of ESPN.com has a great interview up with Dirk Nowitzki. Not surprising, Dirk took the loss in the playoffs pretty hard and spent some time in Australia getting away from everything. Mon, 3 Sep 2007 15:08:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=39 Yesterday we found out that Reyshawn Terry would be headed to Europe this season due to the large roster of the Mavs and today we find out that the Mavs will not be extending Pops Mensah-Bonsu's contract for the 2007-08 season. Fri, 31 Aug 2007 13:38:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=38 Germany lost to Italy in the last game of the Supercup that took place in Germany last weekend. Russia won the whole thing but Dirk Nowitzki scored 18 points in Germany's loss to Italy. Germany finished in second place during the EuroBasket tune-up with Nowitzki also recording his 100th game with the German National Team. Thu, 30 Aug 2007 22:48:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=37 Dirk Nowitzki and Germany lost to Spain, 77-61, in an exhibition game on Wednesday in front of 12,000 fans at the Fonteta de San Luis in Valencia. Spain, last year's World Champions, were led by Juan Carlos Navarro and his 18 points. Pau Gasol added 13 points while Dirk scored 14 points for Germany. Thu, 23 Aug 2007 16:09:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=36 Since we are still pretty slow on news, here are some tidbits on Dirk Nowitkzi and Devin Harris as they both help out their National teams in one way or another. Tue, 21 Aug 2007 01:23:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=35 We are at that point in the summer where the free agent market has cooled down and preseason camps haven't even come close to starting up. With that said, not a whole lot going on right now. Thu, 16 Aug 2007 00:19:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=34 The only exciting thing I can see from preseason will be if Avery benches his main guys like last year allow his team to start out slow or will he let Dirk and Josh and Co build some chemistry? Wed, 8 Aug 2007 14:13:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=33 Nothing really brewing anymore in the Chris Webber to the Mavs stuff so it probably was a rumor just thrown out there since he has expressed some interest in Dallas, but he is not close to signing anytime soon. Not surprising, but the reason Eddie Jones signed with Dallas: To win an NBA Championship. Don't we all Eddie, don't we all. Tue, 7 Aug 2007 17:48:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=32 Rumors are floating around tonight that Dallas and Chris Webber are in talks and close to agreeing to a one-year deal that would either be worth the full $5.3 million mid-level exception or somewhere in the neighborhood of $3.5 million with the rest going to add another player. Sun, 5 Aug 2007 23:24:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=31 Jeff Caplan is reporting that the Mavs have reached a two-year deal with 13-year veteran Eddie Jones. The Mavs are expected to use their $1.83 bi-annual exception for the first year of the deal. Fri, 3 Aug 2007 15:45:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=30 The Mavs schedule for the 2007-08 season was released today. I will look more in-depth at it later but the highlights consist of: Thu, 2 Aug 2007 11:59:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=29 The Mavs had until today to either release J.J. Barea or his contract became extended through the season. With that said, J.J. is still on the roster and should be through the rest of the season. Barea will make $687,456, the league minimum for a second-year player. Wed, 1 Aug 2007 10:01:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=28 Nick Fazekas signed a two-year deal today, financial terms were not disclosed. With this signing, plus the assumed signings/extensions of JJ Barea and Brandon Bass, that leaves one roster spot for Pops Mensah-Bonus, Reshawn Terry, or a possible free agent (Chris Webber?). Thu, 26 Jul 2007 15:35:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=27 The biggest news for the Mavs is that they agreed to a contract with power forward Brandon Bass. As some of you may remember, he was the only invitee on the Mavs Summer League team in Vegas that impressed me when I watched them play a couple of their games. Thu, 26 Jul 2007 01:40:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=26 Not a whole lot going on right now with the Mavs and that is my excuse for not blogging in the last couple days (totally ignoring the fact that NCAA 2008 came out this week). Fri, 20 Jul 2007 11:55:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=25 A tad bit late on this recap of this weekend, but this will do since I have zero energy from my own basketball game tonight and haven't moved from this chair in the last three hours. Go me. So the Mavs didn't carry their regular season success into the playoffs but apparently they did into their summer league as they became only the fifth team to go undefeated in the NBA Summer League in Vegas. Success! Tue, 17 Jul 2007 01:30:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=24 Mark Cuban took another step towards buying the Cubs on Thursday. Not saying he will, but he made another step in that direction. Thu, 12 Jul 2007 23:13:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=23 I decided to check out the Mavs today on NBATV as they took on the Nuggets in some summer league action while I took some notes on the various players who will more than likely make the team plus any other tidbits on players that impressed me. This is also taken from one game that I sort of watched while working and it is coming from me so take it with a grain of salt. Wed, 11 Jul 2007 01:49:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=22 I like alliteration and apparently Devean George enjoyed his stay with the Mavs last season so much that he has agreed to a one-year contract worth around $2.5 million. A slight increase over his old contract that he opted out of last week ($2 million). Mon, 9 Jul 2007 01:27:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=21 Eddie Sefko is reporting that Jerry Stackhouse has agreed to a new three-year contract today. Free agents can not sign until July 15, but Stackhouse is looking at roughly $6 million a year. Thu, 5 Jul 2007 16:18:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=20 I hope everyone is enjoying their Fourth of July celebrations while I am sitting here at work. Nothing gets the American juices flowing like eating Chinese food at work while watching hot dog eating competitions and a replay of an English Premier League soccer game on TV. USA! USA! USA! The Mavs Summer League team kicked off its summer full of games with a game against the Chinese National Team at Moody Coliseum last night. The "good guys" (that would be the Mavericks) won 105-100. Wed, 4 Jul 2007 17:26:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=19 I decided to be somewhat productive tonight and take a closer look at the free agent names we have heard the Mavs associated with so far. Below are their 2006-07 stats plus some other tidbits I threw in with my own personal opinion on the player. Tue, 3 Jul 2007 00:22:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=18 The DMN blog has the summer league rosters and schedule up for the Mavs. Dallas will be playing in both Las Vegas and the Rocky Mountain Revue. Mon, 2 Jul 2007 13:25:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=17 With the NBA Draft now over, everyone's attention now goes to all the free agents out on the market. Lots and lots of little stories in the DMN and FWST in the past couple days regarding the Mavs. Sun, 1 Jul 2007 21:42:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=16 We had the Eric Montross Era. Then there was the Shawn Bradley Era. Then there was the Raef LaFrentz Era. Then there was the Keith Van Horn Era. Then there was the Austin Croshere Era. Dallas, get ready for the Nick Fazekas Era. Thu, 28 Jun 2007 22:42:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=15 Jeff Caplan of the FWST put together a nice little sampling of the different players who participated in a pre-draft workout for the Mavs. This is the first listing of players that I have seen that is more than the two or three names you see mentioned here or there in various articles online. Wed, 27 Jun 2007 16:42:00 PDT http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=14 So Monday was about some crazy four team trade between the Lakers-Wolves-Celtics-Pacers which saw Kevin Garnett ending up in Los Angeles. As of tonight, the new rumor is that the Suns-Wolves-Celtics are now talking with Garnett ending up in Phoenix. Somewhere in between all of this, Dallas apparently contacted Minnesota with some ideas according to Mike Fisher over at DallasBasketball.com. Wed, 27 Jun 2007 00:02:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=13 With Jason Terry getting all the headlines in Dallas in the last week regarding trade rumors, a new name has emerged: Greg Buckner. Tue, 26 Jun 2007 15:30:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=12 The NBA Draft is on Thursday and it is pretty quiet in Mavs-land and I am sure it is going to stay like that as well. Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:57:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=11 DraftExpress.com has the latest Dallas Mavericks rumor and it involves Jason Terry and the upcoming draft. In other news, Houston has been linked to Dallas as the Rockets want one of the Mavs' three second-round draft picks in exchange for back-up guard Vassilis Spanoulis. Fri, 22 Jun 2007 14:17:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=10 Now that we have paid the rent on time and are back, lots of little tidbits going on in the league and with the Mavs. But nothing major happened. Erick Dampier went under the knife to repair the tear in his shoulder. It sounds like he will not miss much, if any time once the season comes around. Tue, 19 Jun 2007 13:35:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=8 Petteri Koponen was first brought to my attention about three months ago when a fan of this site e-mailed me about him and hoped Dallas would draft him. I didn't put too much thought into it as the second round is a crap shoot and I have no clue about this foreign guy. Fri, 15 Jun 2007 10:59:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=7 With Sam Vincent's departure to the Bobcats and Del Harris getting a new gig with the Mavs away from the sidelines ("team consultant"), Dallas needs some assistant coaches. I have yet to receive any calls but some names are slowly trickling out as possible replacements for Vincent and Harris. Thu, 14 Jun 2007 15:08:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=6 Things are starting to heat up this off-season, not really, but the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram is reporting that the Mavs will hold a 18 player minicamp looking for possible free agents. Also, at least one name has been mentioned so far as working out with Dallas in a pre-draft workout. Finally, it looks like the Ft. Worth Flyers have played their last game at the Convention Center in Ft. Worth. Wed, 13 Jun 2007 15:08:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=5 Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News met up with Devin Harris last week while he was dedicating the new gymnasium at the Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Program in west Dallas County. Basically Harris wants to increase his role even more on the team and become a full-time player like Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard. Sun, 10 Jun 2007 18:50:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=4 John Hollinger is at it again with his abacus and has come up with some "zany" formula that ranks teams who have played in the NBA Finals from best to worst since NBA/ABA merger 30 years ago. Wed, 6 Jun 2007 12:40:00 PST http://www.mavscentral.com/showblog.php?id=3 And we are back and with a new design. I decided to change things up plus make the site more blog-like while also doing some changes internally which makes updating this site a lot easier and a lot less time consuming. So everyone is a winner. With all that said, it looks like Stackhouse will be staying in Dallas. Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld.com is reporting that Dallas was telling people down in Orlando at the Pre-Draft workouts that they plan to re-sign him and have no interest trading him. Tue, 5 Jun 2007 01:10:00 PST