Tag Archives: Shawn Marion

Our Hero

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www.dallasnews.com

Dirk Nowitzki lead the Mavericks out of their early season hole back to the .500 mark, shaved his horrible beard and scored the 25,000th point of his career in one night as the Mavs beat the Hornets,107-89.

Dirk had a pedestrian 19 points while once again as has happened to often this season, failing to take the most shots on his team. That honor went to Shawn Marion, who scored 21 on his 16 shots, while having another Shawn Marion stat stuffing night.

The Mavs finally broke through the .500 glass ceiling mostly because they had another shot against a sub-par team in the New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans. Their were plenty of flaws on display, as the main distribution still came from Vince Carter, OJ Mayo and Marion. The nicest piece of offense came from the ball movement of Nowitzki who caught a ball on a back cut and moved it immediately to Chris Kaman seeing the help defense had reacted, allowing Kaman the easy basket.

Brandan Wright had another highly efficient game and I began to wonder, while surely Dallas will want him to return, has his second half driven him out of their price range?

Other than that, tonight’s performances just highlighted what we already knew, Shawn Marion, and Vince Carter are keepers. Mayo is a good player, but not a viable scoring option going forward. Kaman is talented but doesn’t complement Dirk defensively.

The 2013 Mavs couldn’t keep the 12 year playoff streak going, but they showed that a team could both lose 13 out of 15 and get back to .500. No one will talk about this version of the Mavs a decade from now, but they were good enough to provide entertainment.

Here is a look back at those hideous Mavericks beards:

www.sportsgrid.com

www.mavsblog.dallasnews.com

www.mavsmoneyball.com

www.espn.go.com

Sidebar: The sweetest part of the night in the Kvaal house was my beautiful wife asking why it took so long for the Mavs to reach .500. When I asked what she meant she asked if it meant they had to just score 500 points or if they had to have a 500 point differential. I then stammered through laughter explaining that it meant winning at least half their games, which included a quick argument about why they do winning percentage on the one thousand scale instead of the one hundred scale. It was a classic.

 

 

Mavs Find Time Machine, Beat Jazz

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(www.sbnation.com)

The Dallas Mavericks found new life in some old legs to pull away from the Utah Jazz to win 113-108. While the younger players on the Mavs found the game to be tough sledding, Elton Brand and Mike James found new life and lead the Mavericks to a much needed victory.

I made the point that a few games ago Mike James was taking shots like it was 2005, well tonight he was making shots like it was 2005. James scored a team high 19 points on just 10 shots and handed out 5 assists. It was by far the most efficient game of James’ Mavericks career.

Dirk added 17 points and 6 rebounds, but his most important stat, he did it in 26 minutes. Nowitzki should benefit from the rest he was able to take tonight.

Elton Brand certainly benefited from the rest Rick Carlisle gave him in the last contest, and was the biggest reason for this win. The game was tied at 69 all midway through the 3rd quarter, when Brand made a couple big stops spurring the Mavs to start a 20 to 2 run and take control. Brand played possibly the most impressive 18 minutes of basketball we have seen this season.

Shawn Marion put a big shift in as well. 15 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals is the type of all around effort that Mavs fans have come to expect. When the defense tightened up for Dallas in the middle of the 3rd, it was Marion and Brand doing the heavy lifting.

Vince Carter, not to be outdone by the other past their prime Mavericks, had a couple of show stopping buckets during the run. With both a hanging tough lay in and a double clutch pausing in air floater, Carter showed he is still at least half-amazing.

My favorite Mavericks off-season target – Al Jefferson- struggled against the Mavs tonight, but his play this season has been out standing. Hopefully this is the game the Jazz use if they have to decide between Jefferson and Paul Millsap.

This was a great win for Dallas. They are running out of rope but they have gotten into a tie for 9th with the victory. Mike James may have put it best when interviewed on the Mavs Fox Sports network post game show, “we have a small heartbeat, but we still have a heartbeat.”

 

Mavs Regroup, Beat Boston in Jet Terry’s Return to Dallas

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(www.usatoday.com)

Rick Carlisle is one of the best basketball coach in the world. If it weren’t for Greg Popovich didn’t exist I would be making the case he is the greatest coach on the planet. Two days ago, the inmates had taken over the asylum, Mike James, Chris Kaman, and others were forcing up shots in attempt to increase their attractiveness to other teams, not  to increase the Mavs chances to win.

Last night though, maybe not surprisingly in conjunction with the return of Shawn Marion, the Mavericks remembered they are an NBA team and not a group of mercenaries. Marion was the catalysist, grabbing rebounds and taking only 7 shots. Marions unselfish play rubbed off on the rest of the team and the Mavericks looked whole for the first time in a week beating Boston 104-94.

Carlisle also had a pregame talk with the team about shot selection and who the offense should run through. His offense allows for players to make their own plays, and in Carlisle own words, when Jason Kidd and Jason Terry were handling the ball, the ball found Dirk. While the coach refuses to make excuses, he was essentially saying his guard play was at fault for Dirk not getting shots during his recent hot streak.

The team didn’t overreact to Carlisle suggestions though, Dirk didn’t get 25 shots. In fact two Mavericks had more shots that Nowitzki. But the type of shots that Brandan Wright and Vince Carter took were in the offense. Wright scored 23 points by slipping screens and finding the holes in the paint created by Boston’s shifting their defense to Dirk. Vince Carter may have over-shot a bit on route to 17 shots, but that is his role on the team. Dirk took a more reasonable 15 shots, scoring 22 points while being hounded by former defensive player of the year Kevin Garnett.

Dallas dominated this game, leading wire to wire, with each player playing his role for the most part. If this continues, and Carlisle can continue to persuade players to play for the shirt, then Dallas at just 2 1/2 games back of the 8 spot, still have a shot at continuing the 12 year playoff streak.

Jason Terry

Jet got the reception he deserved upon entering the game in his first game back in Dallas. Twenty thousand Mavs fans rose from their seats to applaud him. Terry is clearly not the player he was in 2011, but it didn’t matter to Dallas faithful who knew how much he had meant to the most successful period in their history. Rick Carlisle, who is close to the Terry family, called Jason “Mavericks royalty” and couldn’t have been more correct.

Terry had flaws, and his poorest performances often paralleled the Mavericks failures, but his greatest moments where epic. Jet has a two finals appearances and one championship to show for his stay with the Mavs. Terry stared down the dominate force in the league, LeBron James, and outplayed him allowing Dallas to win it’s only title. Jason’s blend of three point acumen  solid ball handling, smart play making and pure bravado made him the perfect complement to Dirk. It is a combination the Mavs have missed dearly this season.

How many times have we belabored the Mavericks late game failures this season? Jason Terry was a clutch players who alongside Nowtizki, finished close games off for Dallas for the better part of a decade. You can’t write the book on the Mavs without several chapters about Jason Terry, and that is why before long, the number 31 will hang from the rafters at the AAC.

Mavs down Magic 111-96

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(www.examiner.com)

Your Dallas Mavericks, by far the worst team in the NBA at starting games, came roaring out of the gate scoring 42 first quarter points. Elton Brand certainly assisted in that hot start hitting his first 5 shots.Brand scored 15 of his 17 points in the first half. They led 42-30 after one and that should have been enough to put away Orlando who have only won 3 of their last 28 games.

Ugly second quarter offense for the Mavs along with Dirk going cold from some normally automatic spots led to Dallas only scoring 17 points in the quarter. Dirk played ok, looking like he had spent some time in the gym as his stroke was more confident. The results didn’t come for him as he scored only 12 points on 4 of 14 shooting. He did hit all 4 of his free throws, and added 9 rebounds, 4 assists a block and a steal. He needs to get some more shots falling but is light years ahead of where he was when he returned from knee surgery.

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500: Carlisle gets 500th career win against Blazers

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(www.bleacherreport.com)

The Dallas Mavericks beat the Portland Trailblazers 105-99.  The American Airlines Center proved a sanctuary as the Mavs returned home from a disheartening road trip. Rick Carlisle collected his 500th career win, becoming the 28th coach and 11th fastest in league history to do so. He also stated that this and every other game this season is the team’s “Super Bowl”.

That sense of urgency showed up against the Blazers with OJ Mayo making 4 out of his 5 1st quarter shots. Mayo had 20 of his game high 28 points at the half, and he had to, with Damian Lillard scoring 15 for the Blazers at the halfway mark. The Blazers shot the ball better in the first half, and lead the Mavericks 61-57 at halftime.  Continue reading →

Turn out the Lights

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(www.espn.go.com)

Tonight, Dallas dropped their second straight game, losing 100-97 to the Golden State Warriors. Dirk Nowitzki could not go for the Mavericks as he had some sort of issue with a muscle near his thigh.

OJ Mayo and Vince Carter played well, scoring 25 and 22 respectively Shawn Marion filled the stat sheet as always with 18 points and 17 rebounds.

The Mavericks had two big runs in the 2nd half, including a 13-0 run in the 4th to tie the game at 92. They failed to ever get a lead in this game and could only manage a spinning Vince Carter 3 point attempt at the end of regulation to tie the game at 100. Carter missed, and the Mavericks lost a game they deserved to lose.

More telling than the game-ending play however, was the Mavs’ possession before, when OJ Mayo dribbled around, kicked to Collison who found Brendan Wright under the basket, who was then blocked by Andrew Bogut. The Mavs were down 2, needed a bucket, and the ball ended up in the hands of Brendan Wright. Mayo has to be decisive and either get a shot up, or create a shot for someone willing to take it. That’s what big time players do, and that’s what Mayo needs to do if he wants to eventually get paid as a big time player.

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Recap: Mavs defeat Suns 110-95

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www.texarkanagazette.com

 

The Dallas Mavericks bounced back again to beat the Phoenix Suns 110-95. An overall performance by the Mavs saw 5 Mavericks in double figures including the surprising Dahntay Jones. Dallas was helped by the fact that Phoenix has played four games in the last five nights, building a lead early in the game that the Suns were never able to recover from.

Dahntay Jones scored 11 points on 4 of 5 shooting in just 17 minutes and gave the Mavs the energy needed to power past the Suns’ surge in the third quarter. The Suns had cut Dallas’ 17 point lead to 6, and Jones’ pesky play made sure the Suns offense didn’t keep rolling. His aggressiveness going to the basket gave the Mavs an added element from a bench player they have rarely possessed this season.

Vince Carter went 5 for 8 for 15 points and was the Mavs’ best player tonight. Elton Brand scored 12 in his 900th NBA game. In his 1,000th NBA game, Shawn Marion scored 18 points on 9 for 19 shooting. He filled the stat sheet as always with 9 rebounds and 5 assists, proving that even in his advanced age he is still a complete player.

Dirk looked better again, making some shots and moves that he hasn’t been making this season, but only took 14 shots. He made 7 of those, matching Marion for the team lead with 18 points.
Dirk only played 30 minutes tonight as the game wasn’t ever in doubt late, but he really needs to find a way to get more shots in these games. Dallas needs to see he is still capable of going for big numbers to build their confidence for a playoff push. 18 was still enough to put him past Allen Iverson in NBA history for scoring. He sits in 18th place with 24,375 points and should pass Patrick Ewing for 17th late this season.

The downside of Rick Carlise’s flow offense is that if you don’t have a heady point guard, the ball doesn’t go where it needs to. Dirk is not getting enough looks, and to that end, OJ Mayo’s shots are too inconsistent. Those two guys need to be the focus of your offense and as is, the ball is ending up with Marion, Brand, and Collison on too many occasions late in the clock.  Collison is doing a better job running the offense, but Dirk’s shots are still suffering.

The Mavericks pick up another win and are only 4 games back of Houston for the final playoff spot in the West. They probably need 44 or 45 games to get there. A record of 25 and 13 the rest of the way is feasible, but not likely unless Collison, or Roddy B figure out how to get Nowitzki more shots in places he likes.

Back on Track

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Vernon Bryant/dallasnews.com

The Dallas Mavericks got back to their winning ways after a tough overtime loss Friday night by handing Orlando a 111-105 defeat. Darren Collison hit a giant 3 in the closing minute and Dirk and OJ Mayo hit big free throws down the stretch.

Dirk still didn’t look himself with only 6 points through the first 3 quarters. He equalled that amount in the 4th despite sitting out a large chunk in the middle of the 4th as it looked like Rick Carlise was trying to avoid putting him back in the game. Dirk’s search for a big game continues as the Mavs return home against the Spurs on Friday.

Shawn Marion led the Mavs in a game in which seven Mavs were in double figures. Marion had a monster night with 20 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals. Matrix had a vintage game and has been playing exceptionally well in the Mavs’ recent change of fortunes.

All five Mavericks starters played well after a slow start which found them down 14 points in the 1st.  The starters were accompanied well by Vince Carter and Elton Brand, who have also been major catalysts in the Mavs’ season revival.

Mike James is starting to show the reasons he was out of the NBA. He shoots slightly more than he should and isn’t quite as stable as Derrick Fisher was running the offense. Darren Collison has done a good job capitalizing on this, and may win his closing point guard role back.

This Mavericks team is playing well, and may be on the cusp of a playoff push. However, that 13 of 15 losing streak to end 2012 and begin 2013 may be too big a mountain to climb. It feels like if they can get to .500, then Dirk will get well and carry them back to the playoffs. Perhaps you can’t keep a good franchise down.

Blowout

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Dirk Nowitzki Big 3

(photo by Streetball.com

The Dallas Mavericks have put two wins together for the first time in 2013. With a 104-83 victory that wasn’t even that close, the Mavs dominated this game almost from start to finish. The Grizzlies seemed sluggish from the start and Dallas pulled away at the end of the first quarter despite Dirk Nowitzki only taking one shot in the quarter.

The game would pick up for Dirk who had an incredibly efficient game with 17 points on 5 of 8 shooting in just 28 minutes. Add to that 6 rebounds and 3 assists, Dirk is really beginning to look like himself. His effort and energy on the defensive end is picking up as well. One assist in particular was impressive, as he got switched on a smaller defender, pump faked, spun, and spotted Shawn Marion all by himself as Marion’s defender had reacted to Dirk getting in the lane.

Marion had 20 points on 13 shots, and played maybe his most productive offensive game of the year. Chris Kaman also had a great offensive game. After starting off slowly making only 1 of his first 5 shots, he had a stretch in the 3rd quarter where he scored 8 straight points and completely dominated Zach Randolph. Kaman finished with 10 points and was 1 of 6 Mavericks in double figures.

Also making an appearance in this game for the first time was a sustained period of great ball movement within the Mavs’ flow offense. Still, too often the ball was pounded in the hands of Darren Collison and O.J. Mayo, but it seems they are slowly realizing that offense is easier if they allow their offensively blessed teammates to touch the ball. It also seems that Collison and Mayo are learning that it’s their responsibility to get to the rim since the older guys are less eager to risk their bodies.

It would be nice to get carried away and say that maybe after 38 games this team has figured out what it needs to do to win. Prudently, though, we should remember that Memphis was on the second night of a back-to-back and they have struggled in that situation at 3-4. This was a good win for the Mavericks, but much more is needed before we can afford to believe in this basketball team.

Travis Kvaal