Just speaking the truth as reinforced by the Mavs inability to record not a single championship in their entire 28 year history. Why would any contender take them seriously? Especially Lakers fans whose team OWNS them.
When I log on, I don't even have the slightest thought to see any posts by dirk4mvp as they are irrelevent and most often ignorant. But thanks for keeping me in mind.
I think every poster who frequents the nba forum has the threads cobbler posts in bookmarked so as to not miss some of his wisdom he lets us know of. Cuz I mean it's not like cobbler is the only poster in the nba forum who manages to get owned by tlong or anything.
Is that really the best you can come up with? Really?
Pathetic.
So you're saying tlong hasn't had his way with you, even when it's clear he has?
My post obviously got to you seeing as how you decided to start quoting my posts in other threads trying to make lame crayon funnies.
Is that really the best you can come up with? Really?
Pathetic.
You're pathetic you made Laker guzzler. All you ever post is how awesome the Lakers are and how the other teams aren't relevant. Try to contribute a little bit pussy.
Only interaction i have ever had with Tlong was offering a bet that the Lakers would go further than the Blazers and having him puss out on it. I would love for you to show me where he owned me or had his way.
Well, the Laker ARE awesome. And other than the Celts, Spurs, Cav's, and possibly the Magic... the other are irrelevent. Go figure.
I certainly don't have to call a person a and guzzler to be noticed. I can just call you a moron and get your dander up.
Damn how stupid are you? I spell out the word irrelevant and you still spell it wrong.
Ouuuuuuch.... the ole spelling diss with the obligatory " " distinction. I'm so hurt. Maybe you should make the font larger insted of just bolding for more emphasis.
gettin pissed off, child please.
Yeah, this guy is a Laker fan.Just speaking the truth as reinforced by the Mavs inability to record not a single championship in their entire 28 year history. Why would any contender take them seriously? Especially Lakers fans whose team OWNS them.
When I log on, I don't even have the slightest thought to see any posts by dirk4mvp as they are irrelevent and most often ignorant. But thanks for keeping me in mind.
George Brett has a story to tell:
http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/The...llas_mavericks
Leading into the Oct. 27 season openers, Sporting News will preview each of the NBA teams, counting backward from its Sept. 25 Power Poll. For more great NBA content, order your copy of our Pro Basketball yearbook, or pick one up at a newsstand today.
By Fran Blinebury
Sporting News Yearbooks
If the Dallas Mavericks take the floor on opening night with a new look, maybe that's the result of a touch of Grecian Formula in their temples.
Will Modern Maturity magazine become a staple of their locker-room reading? Will they be mixing lots of bran flakes into their diet?
No, they're hardly a collection of limping codgers on their last legs. But the Mavericks did spend the summer getting older (and hopefully wiser) with a plan that doesn't look further into the future than next spring and the playoffs.
The Mavericks are all about right now. They are a team of the present.
"These guys know how to win," said Donnie Nelson, the Mavs' president of basketball operations.
"These guys" are the newly acquired Shawn Marion, 31, who'll play small forward opposite 31-year-old Dirk Nowitzki. Jason Terry is 32, and point guard Jason Kidd (who re-signed in the offseason) is 36.
"We call it ‘experience,'" Nelson said. "These guys have been down in the trenches and been through everything in the playoffs. And we really want to make the most of this window of opportunity."
It is a window the Mavs view as wide-open for the next two peak-performing seasons that Nowitzki is under contract. So with their fast finish last season-which included a first-round playoff win over the Spurs-fresh in their minds, it made perfect sense for the Mavericks to stack up their poker chips and go "all in" by trading for Marion.
The Mavericks did strike out in their bid to land free-agent center Marcin Gortat off the Orlando roster. When the Magic matched the offer sheet, it threw a wrench into plans to unload the last two years and $23 million of Erick Dampier's contract. Dampier, of course, has his moments when he piles up points in bunches by cleaning up all of the garbage around the hoop. Rarely, though, is he an offensive threat.
After losing free agent Brandon Bass to Orlando, the Mavs came back and signed veteran Drew Gooden to a one-year deal for roughly $4.5 million. Gooden, 28, can still provide quality minutes off the bench and get points and rebounds.
The new energy injection this season should be from Marion, who gives the Mavs a hard-nosed, versatile defender at small forward. Marion doesn't have the picture-perfect stroke that the Mavs might wish for on the wing, but his odd-looking jumper goes in enough times from behind the 3-point line to keep opponents honest. He is also an excellent rebounder who can get the ball off the glass and into Kidd's hands to ignite the fast break.
Marion could fit into a reconfigured lineup with Josh Howard at shooting guard, giving the Mavs plenty of length to go around Nowitzki and Kidd.
After landing Marion, Dallas wasted no time in signing him to a five-year, $39 million contract. It's the kind of move that could come back to haunt the Mavericks a few seasons down the line. But the last thing on their minds right now is the future.
In a Western Conference where the arms race continues to escalate, the Mavs are older, wiser and figure they have reloaded enough to do battle in the here and now.
Fast Facts:
2008-09 record: 50-32
Last playoff: 2009 (lost in conference semifinal)
Coach: Rick Carlisle
Burning question
What does Jason Kidd have left in the tank?
The Mavericks were active on the market this season, adding Shawn Marion and Drew Gooden, among others. And Dirk Nowtizki, even at 31, is still at the top of his game. But the team's success likely rests with the performance of its point guard, Jason Kidd, who turns 37 in March and had the lowest scoring production of his career last year, at 9.0 points per game. He's still a top-notch playmaker, though, and if he can continue to set up the many weapons on the roster, the Mavericks have a shot at contending.
- Sean Deveney
View from the other bench
(an opponent breaks down the Mavs)
"It took them a while last season to adjust to the change in head coaches from Avery Johnson to Rick Carlisle. But now everybody seems to be on the same page and they have their swagger back. As long as (Shawn) Marion doesn't show any signs of breaking down physically, they're a team that should be able to get out and run for easy baskets and put up plenty of points. Aside from the question about Marion at (age) 31, they've got to hope that Josh Howard is willing to make any adjustments in his game to accommodate a new offensive weapon."
Rookie to watch: G Rodrigue Beaubois
The 21-year-old Frenchman is a long-armed, athletic playmaker with a 40-inch vertical leap. Beaubois has played professionally the last three seasons in the French league, and the Mavericks' front office is high on his potential.
Inside the numbers
40.6: Three-point shooting percentage for Jason Kidd last season, highest on the team and a career best for the 15-year veteran.
19.6: Scoring average off the bench for Sixth Man of the Year Jason Terry last season, the highest by a qualifying player since Thurl Bailey's record of 20.4 points per game in 1987-88.
37.9: Points per game by Dallas' bench in 2008-09, most in the league. The Mavs' starters averaged 63.8 points, fewest in the league.
Additions: Quinton Ross, G/F (Memphis), Tim Thomas, F (Chicago), Shawn Marion, F (trade, Toronto), Kris Humphries, F (trade, Toronto), Drew Gooden, F (San Antonio)
Subtractions: Brandon Bass, F (Orlando), Jerry Stackhouse, G (trade, Memphis), Antoine Wright, G/F (trade, Toronto), Devean George, G/F (trade, Toronto), Ryan Hollins, C (Minnesota), Nathan Jawai, F (trade, Minnesota)
http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/The...llas_mavericks
lsewhere in our web of basketball knowledge, you'll find comprehensive team previews by experts intimately acquainted with what makes these NBA teams tick, where they've been, and what might be next for them. So why another set of previews? Because sometimes, it's worth listening to your crazy uncle about that broken leg before you take a second trip to the doctor's office.
The Mavs just might be the biggest question mark of 2009-10. Consider the following:
Jason Kidd just gets older and older. Shawn Marion, the new addition, might have been exposed by leaving Phoenix, or also could be showing the effects of aging. Josh Howard is one of those "when he plays well, they win" guys, but has been dinged up or otherwise compromised for what seems like ages. Dirk Nowitzki should be on the MVP radar every year, and yet can't go at it alone like James or Wade can. Jason Terry seems to have been around forever. Oh, and their center is Drew Gooden.
Or then, there's the other version.
Kidd has proven himself endlessly resourceful when it comes to staying effective despite his age; Marion may have lost a step, but he's back with an elite PG (sorry, Jose) on a legit team that should be pushing the tempo; Howard's run of bad luck and judgment has to end at some point; Dirk is a weapon unlike any other in the league, especially when a coach isn't obsessed with his height; Terry shows no signs of slowing down or letting up; and Gooden has proven himself a perfectly respectable rebounder and defender, and putting him in the middle allows the team to operate more fluidly than ever.
It's kind of like their unexpectedly strong showing in last year's playoffs. They shocked the Spurs, who just happened to be down one Manu. But still, the Mavs, who had been remarkably mediocre during much of the year, trampled a team known for solving the seemingly insolvable. Then were the Nuggets, the hottest team in the league and just maybe a threat to the Lakers. The Mavericks got bounced in five games, but put up a fight—most games were close, one only went to the Nuggets because of a botched call, and Dallas showed a toughness that they've historically lacked.
Where did that leave them? I have no idea, but the overall feeling was a good one, which is generally how I see them heading into this season. They're not contenders—at least I don't think they are—and I'd still place the Nuggets well ahead of them. But really, anything between "league's best record" and the lottery wouldn't surprise me. I would almost say that makes them exciting and unpredictable, if they weren't so old. Then again, they're likely to be somewhat exciting and unpredictable on the floor. But still old.
What do you think?
Most Likely Breakout: Hard to say, on a team that so, um, familiar. Jose Juan Barea showed during last year's playoffs that, at least on offense, he can make an impact from either guard slot. Matt Carroll, acquired from Charlotte, has played some great ball in spurts in games that didn't matter. Rookie speedster Rodrigue Beaubois is, on pure physical tools alone, one of the most intriguing rookies from this past draft. Barea or Carroll could become a secondary scoring threat off the bench after Terry, but that veteran core is going to keep either one from suddenly ascending. Beaubois just won't get a chance, unless things go seriously awry and the team's left scrambling for answers. Anything could happen!
Most Likely Letdown: Kidd, Marion or anyone else looking old doesn't count. Death happens. All eyes are on Drew Gooden, one of Jerry West's few missteps as a GM, to prove he can actually work as the team's big man of choice. Otherwise, we're back to Dampier, and Marcin Gortat turns into the one that got away. Gooden's been a disappointment and redeemed himself to become a valuable role player. Now at another crucial juncture, he's trying to make a switch that puts him in a position to fail, even if no one's expecting him to star.
Blog superstar: Wouldn't you like to know what Tim Thomas has been thinking all these years? I'd say they should trade for Larry Hughes and include him on there, but Hughes has that whole pathos thing going.
Signature game: The last one they lose.
Why else you should care: Critical mass of big names, boom/bust potential and pleasant memories you wouldn't mind warming over one more time.
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