FoxPerez
03-25-2011, 06:51 PM
From The Daily Six Shooter (http://bit.ly/hYVeRj) at PlaymakerOnline.com (http://www.playmakeronline.com/):
With a week left in the month of March and 11 games left in the season, the Dallas Mavericks’ 50th win this year could not have been more underwhelming… because they’re the 5th team to do it this season and the Mavericks and their fans know that 50 wins over the last 11 years has produced first round playoff exits in three of the last four years, one NBA Finals appearance and only one other conference finals appearance.
Still, Dallas is trying to keep history in the past and concentrate on the bigger short-term goals of the next two months. And right now, they’re trying to keep pace with the Lakers for the #2 seed and hopefully over take LA for that 2nd spot and home court advantage in a possible 2nd round playoff matchup.
Mission accomplished against the Minnesota Timberwolves at home, although the game was surprisingly close considering that Minnesota was playing without Kevin Love. But among the reasons that the T-wolves were able to hang in was that Dirk Nowitzki didn’t shoot well. He needed 26 shots to get to his 30 points and shot only five free throws in a game where there weren’t many fouls called.
Luckily Shawn Marion, Peja Stojakovic, and Jason Terry picked up the pace, combining for 51 points on 58% shooting. And it was Terry that knocked down the big three-point dagger at the end of the game. Also among the reasons that Minnesota was able to hang around until late in the 4th quarter was that they’ve got size even with Love out. When you can throw that many big bodies at a valuable player like Tyson Chandler and keep him from impacting the game the way he’s capable of, then you’re going to be able to force Dallas to settle for jumpers all game and not shoot many free throws.
The question that I have to ask is one that may upset a lot of Mavs fans, but it’s worth asking: Why is Rodrigue Beaubois starting? He brings nothing to the table except the potential he’s shown in the past to maybe explode for a big game (and the occasional highlight (http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nba.com%2Fvideo%2Fgames%2 Fmavericks%2F2011%2F03%2F24%2F0021001066_min_dal_p lay1.nba&h=b1d47)). He’s only averaging 20 minutes per game and just 11 points per game. Jason Terry plays starters minutes anyway. Why not just start him? If you’re determined to have him come off the bench, then start Peja. Dallas hasn’t lost a game in which Peja has played well and it could help to have three players on the court from the beginning of the game who can knock down an open three-pointer.
While Beaubois has played well at times this season since he returned from his injury, he doesn’t bring enough to the table to warrant a spot in the starting lineup. And if he’s not going to be trusted come playoff time, when the Mavs could be facing a high-quality team in Round 1, then they should starting using players in the starting rotation that can bring more to the team than the occasional double digit performance.
For more NBA coverage, check out PlaymakerOnline.com (http://www.playmakeronline.com/)
Playmaker Magazine: The Source for Sports in Texas
With a week left in the month of March and 11 games left in the season, the Dallas Mavericks’ 50th win this year could not have been more underwhelming… because they’re the 5th team to do it this season and the Mavericks and their fans know that 50 wins over the last 11 years has produced first round playoff exits in three of the last four years, one NBA Finals appearance and only one other conference finals appearance.
Still, Dallas is trying to keep history in the past and concentrate on the bigger short-term goals of the next two months. And right now, they’re trying to keep pace with the Lakers for the #2 seed and hopefully over take LA for that 2nd spot and home court advantage in a possible 2nd round playoff matchup.
Mission accomplished against the Minnesota Timberwolves at home, although the game was surprisingly close considering that Minnesota was playing without Kevin Love. But among the reasons that the T-wolves were able to hang in was that Dirk Nowitzki didn’t shoot well. He needed 26 shots to get to his 30 points and shot only five free throws in a game where there weren’t many fouls called.
Luckily Shawn Marion, Peja Stojakovic, and Jason Terry picked up the pace, combining for 51 points on 58% shooting. And it was Terry that knocked down the big three-point dagger at the end of the game. Also among the reasons that Minnesota was able to hang around until late in the 4th quarter was that they’ve got size even with Love out. When you can throw that many big bodies at a valuable player like Tyson Chandler and keep him from impacting the game the way he’s capable of, then you’re going to be able to force Dallas to settle for jumpers all game and not shoot many free throws.
The question that I have to ask is one that may upset a lot of Mavs fans, but it’s worth asking: Why is Rodrigue Beaubois starting? He brings nothing to the table except the potential he’s shown in the past to maybe explode for a big game (and the occasional highlight (http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nba.com%2Fvideo%2Fgames%2 Fmavericks%2F2011%2F03%2F24%2F0021001066_min_dal_p lay1.nba&h=b1d47)). He’s only averaging 20 minutes per game and just 11 points per game. Jason Terry plays starters minutes anyway. Why not just start him? If you’re determined to have him come off the bench, then start Peja. Dallas hasn’t lost a game in which Peja has played well and it could help to have three players on the court from the beginning of the game who can knock down an open three-pointer.
While Beaubois has played well at times this season since he returned from his injury, he doesn’t bring enough to the table to warrant a spot in the starting lineup. And if he’s not going to be trusted come playoff time, when the Mavs could be facing a high-quality team in Round 1, then they should starting using players in the starting rotation that can bring more to the team than the occasional double digit performance.
For more NBA coverage, check out PlaymakerOnline.com (http://www.playmakeronline.com/)
Playmaker Magazine: The Source for Sports in Texas