Most of us immediately wrote the Dallas Mavericks off once we saw reigning NBA MVP Dirk Nowitzki fall to the hardwood in pain on Saturday.
I admit I was one of those people.
I knew from watching the replay that Nowitzki would be sidelined for a couple of weeks at minimum.
But after taking a little "Jeffy" time on my porcelain kingdom, like you wanted to know that, I've decided to keep believing. Let me explain my reasoning for this. Have you forgotten the immense amount of talent suffocating this Mavericks' roster?
If tonight was any indication, Josh Howard has indeed returned from his back injury.
Howard scored 32 points to lead the Mavs past the Clippers, keeping them 1.5 games ahead of the Warriors for 7th place in the West.
With a dominating and aggressive Howard, it only makes newly acquired point guard Jason Kidd that much deadlier. And I won't dive into how great this future Hall of Famer is. You witness it.
Also, you've still got Jerry Stackhouse and Jason Terry at guard. Each one is able to score at a whim. Deveon George, whether you want him or not, is providing solid and at times incredible defense.
Adding to the veteran leadership at point guard is back-up Tyronn Lue, and newly acquired Antoine Wright from the Nets. This back court is still extremely talented and deep.
Nowitzki going down obviously adds problems to the front court. You can't just replace an MVP. But remember, we're not replacing him for an entire season, just for a couple of weeks, best case scenario. We need only to win enough games to maintain/better our seeding to make the playoffs.
Brandon Bass is a great young talent, and extremely capable of filling Dirk's shoes for the time being. He's becoming a terrific mid-range jump shooter, and is aggressive down low on the block. He's a great rebounder, and is steadily improving his offensive low post game.
Yet, for some reason Bass is in Avery's dog house. Tonight for example, he only logged 19 minutes. Over the last 3 games, he hasn’t logged more than 15 minutes per game. Ridiculous if you ask me. It's not time to play games; Avery must keep this team in the playoff picture and not lose anymore ground. The Nuggets, in 9th place, are only 2 games back with 11 games left to play. But I am sure Avery has a credible explanation for his benching of Bass. That's why he is an NBA coach, and I'm still in college.
Still, Bass is needed more than just 15 minutes per game if you want to win games against teams such as the Nuggets, Warriors, and Lakers, all of whom remain on the Mavs schedule. Beating the Nuggets and Warriors is a must. Anything to distance themselves from the 8 and 9 spots is a necessity.
Bass is a lot better at a run-and-gun style of tempo than Nowitzki, which is the style Kidd prefers. This is exactly the way the Mavs need to play in their remaining 11 games. They need to be aggressive, and "take" these games to build confidence going into the playoffs.
As for a back-up to Bass, Malik Allen is great. He's not a starter, which Avery has him playing now; he's a formidable back-up. Yet, he is doing a nice job with the minutes he has received.
Center position is held down by the much improved Erik Dampier. And newly signed Jamaal Magloire is a great back-up to Damp.
So as you can see, the Mavs still have a great amount of talent on this team. They're deep at all positions, even with Nowitzki out of the lineup. Let there be no mistake, Nowitzki makes this team a championship contender. But without Nowitzki, this team can win enough, and gain enough confidence to maintain and get into the playoffs.
Don't write this team off just yet. Let's see how Avery has his bunch playing in the next few games before we stop believing.
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6 months ago
Unfortunately, I don't see our Dallas Mavericks getting to the playoffs. Just ask yourself, When was the last time we beat a team with a winning record with Jason Kidd?
6 months ago
They haven't beat a winning team at all, yet. Now, Howard is back at full strength, and the Mav's are now in an underdog role. I feel they finally realize how close they are from being knocked out of the playoffs, and know they must all step up their games with Dirk out. I also think Kidd will take over and let loose. The remaining games should definitely be fun to watch.
from 6 months ago
They might finally realize how close they are from losing playoff contention but the problem is that history has told us and shown us that they can't beat a winning team. Yes, They will step up because of Dirk's injury but the only problem is that if Howard can be consistent with his playing and if Kidd can actually do what Kidd was set out to do with this trade.
6 months ago
(Got cut off) Then they won't make the playoffs if that doesn't happen.
6 months ago
Yea I agree. I'm still bummed out about the trade for Kidd. I really though Harris was coming into his own. Also, giving up Gana and 2 first round picks is a bit much for Kidd. But that's just my opinion.
6 months ago
Great analysis of the Dallas core. I was concerned about them before they lost Dirk, but now the dynamic of this team has changed so much that you almost have to write them off. In many ways the Clippers game was a fluke, because LA just isn't a threat this year and they really have nothing to play for -- so I really hope the Mavs would be able to beat them by 13. But I want to see them drop the Nuggets and Warriors (two must-win games), and then we can validate their play win quality wins. The schedule is very tough from here, so this Mavs team is going to have to start showing they can win games against the top teams in the West to have a chance, and they must do it without their top scorer.
6 months ago
Akoma, I completely agree with you. I should have went a bit more in depth with the upcoming schedule. Also, I think this game against the Clippers was needed in a big way. Instead of continuing the beatings they've taken against top teams, they win a game and have some of their core players build their confidence heading into the big two showdowns against the Nuggets and Warriors. As a Mav fan, I can only hope for the best. But if we lose both games this week, then I find it hard the Mav's will make the playoffs with so few games left.
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