Dallas Mavericks Roundtable: Week 15
What's this? A roundtable in a timely manner? It seems I have finally gotten my act together, just too bad it took a Jason Terry injury to spur (pun?) me into action.
This week saw the Mavs possibly crash down to earth, with a beatdown handed out courtesy of the shorthanded Utah Jazz, and Jason Terry, your NBA Sixth Man of the Year breaking a bone in his hand.
Last week's scores:
Mavs fans, I urge you to take solace in the image of Jason Terry above, let his spirit inspire you for the next few weeks.
As usual, the first three questions are the same from week to week, with the last two about current issues.
1. How did the Mavericks look to you this week?
Janet Kessler: If we just close our eyes and forget the Utah game didn't happen (again). I'd say they were on track to do some major damage in the very crowded West. Maybe B+, A-.
Waleed Ershad: Another inexcusable blowout loss. Well there were some excuses. Back-to-back and playing in Utah. But still, you never see the Celtics or Lakers losing games like that. C+
Alex McVeigh: Another slack week for me as far as viewing the games. The Magic game was great, and following the ESPN GameCast for the Trailblazers game was excruciating at the end. But they won three out of four, although they should have taken advantage of a short-handed Jazz team.
Robert Allred: About how I expected them to, so I would say pretty good. Obviously, I wish they had won the Jazz game (or at least competed a little better), but it would have been tough to get a win in Utah on the second night of a back-to-back, so I'm not too bummed.
2. What was a personal highlight for you?
Janet: Dirk working thru his shooting funk, and score 44 pts. on the Bulls. J-Kidd remembering to shoot the A-HUM, darn ball, and getting the clutch shots to tie the game. Just watching JJ rebounding the ball. How in the heck does that little guy get the ball out of a crowd of big men?
Waleed: Jason Kidd's three-pointer to send it to overtime was sweeeeeet! Dirk lighting it up in OT. And Barea speeding his way to 20 points against the Bulls!
Alex: J-Kidd's three-ball against the Bulls looked pretty sick.
Robert: I probably shouldn't, but I really liked the way the Portland game ended. They kept fighting and scratching to get back in the game in the late minutes, and every time it looked like the momentum was about to go the other way, Dallas said no. The OT win was also great, but the Portland game was huge, I thought. The Mavs from earlier in the season probably would have folded.
3. What is the most immediate issue that needs to be fixed?
Janet: Duh, Terry's finger. Get well soon Jet, we need you back.
Waleed: Jason Terry's injury!
Alex: Antoine Wright needs to step up the scoring in JET's absence. Also, the Mavs need to stop sleeping on teams like the Jazz.
Robert: Jason Terry's finger!! Unfortunately, he will be out at least three weeks, so someone else will have to step up and fill his void. More on that follows...
4. What Gasol-to-the-Lakers-style trade are you secretly hoping the Mavs pull off before the deadline?
Janet: How about Damp, Bass, George, Stackhouse, for Amare Stoudemire? I'm hearing he wants out and away from Shaq and the Suns. Yeah a big inside player that can score big numbers. Let him be the center with Dirk at power-forward. Get your wallet out Mark Cuban.
Waleed: I guess Dwight Howard or something does not count. Maybe Brad Miller? I heard Sacramento has everyone on the trading block besides Kevin Martin.
Alex: There are several that fill my wildest dreams every night. Josh Howard and Wright for Caron Butler and Nick Young. Howard for Tayshaun Prince. Dampier for Chris Paul. Gerald Green for Kobe. Barea for LeBron. Stackhouse for Dwight Howard.
Robert: I really don't think we'll be seeing a trade like that happen this year, or any year in the future for that matter. The Lakers were extremely fortunate to get the deal that they got. I would love Devin Harris back though!
5. Who do you think needs to step up the most while JET is out?
Janet: No doubt Josh Howard needs to step up. He has missed so many games this season. It seemed every time it looked like J-ho was about to get really hot, he got injured.
The rest of the bench has to step up too. Maybe Green can get minutes here. Even J-Kidd will have to take more shots. The Main thing is, Dirk can't do it alone.
Waleed: Antoine Wright! He played great at the beginning of the Bulls game. After the 1st quarter he didn't get much minutes though. I'm not a strong supporter of JJ Barea playing the two-guard position. Although, if he plays like he did against the Bulls, he can play that spot all he wants.
Alex: Gerald Green. Wright can defend, but the Mavs need to fill the 20 PPG that Terry gave them, and Green needs to be a big part of that.
Robert: Josh Howard. Josh, JET, and Dirk are Dallas' primary offensive threats. Without JET in the lineup, that will only put more pressure on Dirk to produce. If they Mavs are going to maintain the level they have played at for the past few weeks, Josh will have to help carry the load.
Player of the week:
Janet: Jason Kidd, I like the high octane offense since he starting calling the plays. And his defense, he may be old, but that old dog can still hunt (pardon the pun). Kidd's defense made a big difference in the wins.
Waleed: I don't like giving it to Dirk because we expect it from him and he's so magnificent. Also, props to J-Kidd for the timely three-ball. But I'm gonna give it to JJ Barea. My nickname for him is "El Conquistador". Hopefully, it'll catch on...
Alex: Dirk, for dropping 44, including 15 in OT in what could have been a disastrous loss to the Bulls.
Robert: Hate to be a broken record, but its got to be Dirk...again. He was great in the Chicago game, specifically the 4th quarter.
Games for this week:
Feb. 10 - Kings @ Mavs
Janet: The Mavs will have two-days to figure out how to make-up for Terry's points. Let's keep the momentum going in our house. Dirk will be hot from the tip-off. J will be the sparkplug with another 20 pt outing.
Mavs over the Kings.
Waleed: We're gonna get good production from lots of people at the wing in place of Jason Terry and destroy the Kings.
Alex: Mavs need this win, by at least 30, and Gerald Green needs garbage minutes.
Robert: The Kings are bad. The Mavs should handle them at home, even without JET.
Feb. 12 - Celtics @ Mavs
Janet: Just one day to get ready for this one. The Celtics can be beat, but the Mavs go to have there A-game. With Terry it would be real feat, without him the team gonna have to play as one. With J-Kidd calling the plays maybe there's a real chance we can upset Boston, and send them home with a big ole L. Mavs win and go in to the ALL-STAR break on a three game streak. LET'S GO MAVS!!!
Waleed: Uh-oh...I want to say we're gonna win but...actually...I believe we can do this. Mavs win...gulp...
Alex: Without Terry, I think the Mavs can matchup better with the C's. Terry probably wouldn't do much against Ray Allen. If the Mavs can play a modicum of defense, they might keep it close. Still, I think the C's win.
Robert: I really wanted to pick an upset on this one. We've got Boston on the second night of a back-to-back, in Dallas, with the Mavs playing some pretty solid basketball lately. All that said, I just can't make the pick for an upset without Terry in the lineup. I would love to be wrong though!
Picks as of Feb. 10:
Janet: 22-14 (2-2 last week)
Waleed: 23-9 (3-1 last week)
Alex: 25-11 (2-2 last week)
Robert: 6-3 (3-0 last week)
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