Mavericks record worse with Dirk; it's time to deal

This thing looked bad enough after Deron Williams said "Nope" to Mark Cuban's email offer, but once Dirk Nowitzki had to have surgery for a knee shortly before the season began all was lost.

Actually, that's not true. All hope was lost once this team made little attempt to re-sign Tyson Chandler.

Dirk missed the first 27 games of the season recovering from that surgery. The Mavs went 12-15 in those games. Since he returned, the team is 9-13.

According to the math, the Mavs are worse with Dirk!

The Mavs are of course better with Dirk in the lineup, but overall the results aren't even .500.

The NBA's trade deadline is Thursday, Feb. 21. The Bank of Cuban may be wide open for business, but for what? At this point, your Dallas Mavericks are 21-28 and six wins behind the Houston Rockets for the eighth seed in the Western Conference.

This is not a player or coach issue; everybody from Rick Carlisle down to the last guy on the bench has been professional and tried. They just don't have enough talent.

Plan on the Mavs missing the playoffs for the first time since the spring of 2000, which was the last time they did not have a winning season.

Cuban is not trading Dirk, and Dirk does not want to leave.

Everyone else has to be fair game, including the two guys who may have some value for a team looking for a little help - Shawn Marion and Vince Carter. Both of these are veterans who knew what to do and how to play, and could potentially bring something of value in return.

The problem is that few teams may be willing to deal for fear of what the NBA is going to look like when the punitive luxury tax kicks in. 

The Bank of Cuban should be open, and the team may want to deal, but it is going to be hard if no one wants to walk through the door to do business.

 

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Rick Carlisle warned the Dallas Stars about this schedule

DALLAS, Texas - Rick Carlisle does not know too much about hockey, but he does know a few things about coaching old guys.

When the NHL's lockout finally ended one of the first people Dallas Stars coach Glen Gulutzan leaned on was Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle. Last season, Carlisle had the pleasures of trying to coach a veteran team through a compressed 66-game regular season schedule.

"He knew when they first started, he said, we knew we were going to get crushed in the beginning," Gulutzan said. "But, he said, 'We knew because they were older guys what we could do to get them up and running.' The beginning was going to hurt them, but because they were older guys they didn't need to practice as much. Once they got into game shape they would be OK."

The Stars are in Columbus, Ohio tonight to play the Blue Jackets and will be in Detroit on Tuesday night to play the Red Wings. The Stars' game on Tuesday night will be their second appearance in that tourist trap city in seven days. 

How are their old guys holding up thus far in this 48-game season? Veteran Ray Whitney appears to be OK. Veteran forward Jaromir Jagr is already nursing a sore back, and center Derek Roy has a groin issue. In fairness, most men always have some sort of groin issue, hence the need for deep pockets.

Carlisle told Gulutzan the team made sure to give their veteran players a longer time to stretch and warm up before practices, tried to monitor rest periods and looked at how the players could sleep.

"We are not looking at it in a 48-game schedule - we are looking at it this week and what they do in this compressed time," Gulutzan said.

More Starbucks, Monster Energy Drinks, and winning.

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Mark Cuban is apologizing for the wrong thing

If you predicted that on January 6, 2013 the Dallas Mavericks would have two fewer wins than the Los Angeles Lakers you are wasting your talents watching basketball. Go to the track. Duh?

Alas, here we are on Jan. 6 and the Mavericks are 13-21. The Lakers are 15-17.

The Mavericks lost 99-96 in OT against the New Orleans Hornets on Saturday night at the Amreican Airlines Center. It was the first time this season the Mavs had the lineup they planned on.

The reason the Mavs lost - who else? - the referees. The Mavs were on the wrong end of a call and ended up losing to one of the worst teams in the NBA at home.

After the game Mavericks owner Mark Cuban Tweeted: "Im sorry NBA fans. Ive tried for 13 yrs to fix the officiating in this league and I have failed miserably. Any Suggestions ? I need help"

Cuban's efforts to improve the officiating should be appreciated, but at this juncture this sounds like misplaced blame. The Mavericks are not 13-21 because of a few bad calls. Bad calls happen all the time. So do good ones.

The Mavs are 13-21 because of a roster that Cuban helped "build".

At this point apologizing for the roster feels more appropriate than the officiating.

 

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What can cure the Dallas Mavericks

Watching the Dallas Mavericks defeat the Washington Wizards 103-94 on Jan. 1 it is now apparent what the Mavs team requires - just play the Wizards all the time.

Just when you thought Michael Jordan's Charlotte Bobcats were the worst team in the NBA, the last team he played for has new team beat. The Wizards are devoid of NBA talent in a way that could take several years to change.

The Mavericks may not be great - they are 13-19 - but they are a mere three wins behind Portland for the eighth seed in the West. Not sure reaching the playoffs is the cure for what this team needs, but the Mavericks are certainly not the worst team in the NBA.

We really won't know how good this team can be until Dirk Nowitzki is back to his regular starting spot and playing starter-like minutes. He played 17 minutes against the Wizards and scored 11 points.

By mid January the Mavericks should look like the team they planned on, and then we can decide how "good" they actually are.

 

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The guy the Mavericks gutted their roster for just got Avery Johnson fired in Brooklyn

Not only did I never, ever think Deron Williams was going to sign with the Dallas Mavericks I never, ever thought he was worth the pursuit in the first place. Chalk this up to one of the few bold sports predictions I nailed this year. 

Not that Williams can't play or isn't a dynamic scorer - the stats say the man can ball. 
My fear about Williams is that in his short career he achieved the impossible when Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan opted to retire than deal with this headache every day. In early Feb. of '11, Sloan quit the Jazz after 23 years.

That is the largest red flag on Williams' resume. Jerry Sloan said "screw it" rather than coach Deron Williams.

This was the player the Dallas Mavericks gutted their title-winning roster to pursue.

A few months after Williams spurned the Mavericks' offer to sign with the Brooklyn Nets, coach Avery Johsnon found himself fired this morning.

According to Yahoo Sports! NBA writer Adrian Wojnarowski's Twitter account, @WojYahooNBA, "The Brooklyn Nets have fired coach Avery Johnson, league source tells Yahoo! Sports"

The Nets are 14-14 and in eighth place in the Eastern Conference. This season is not going the way the Nets thought it would after they re-signed Williams, traded for Joe Johnson and moved into a new arena in Brooklyn.

Williams is third on the team in scoring with 17 points per game, and leads the team averaging 8.0 assists per game. A few weeks ago he grumbled about Avery's offense, because it's never the player's fault.

The Mavs will spin this as "We never really wanted" D-Will but don't buy it. They wanted this guy, and - who knows? - maybe it would have worked under Rick Carlisle. But any guy who gets Jerry Sloan to quit was never worth the trouble.

 

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Mavs Under the Cap championship t-shirts available soon

Watching the carnage between the Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night was arguably the most painful reminder of just how far Los Mavs have fallen since winning the NBA title two years ago. 

The Miami Heat layup drill was impressive, and then it just grew tiresome and sad. The Heat's 110-95 win was not that close.

The saddest part is the Mavs were trying and hustling and it simply didn't matter because the talent differential is just too great to overcome.

The return of Dirk Nowitzki, who should be back before year's end, will help and may make the Mavs a contender for the eighth seed, but not much more. 

The team can't rebound well enough. Darren Collison is an NBA guard, but he is not a pure point guard. O.J. Mayo is a good scorer, but he may be a case of a good scorer for an average team. Not sure if a team can win with O.J. Mayo as its best scorer.

The good news, we are told, is the team has all kinds of financial flexibility to pursue top line free agents who will use the Mavs as leverage and then sign with another club.

 

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About that timetable for Dirk Nowitzki to return

DALLAS, Texas - The addition of Derek Fisher to the Mavericks should give them some stability at the point guard - Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said Fisher will likley be the starter - but we are all kidding ourselves if we think this team is going to do a thing sans Dirk.

The good news is that Dirk Nowitzki's mentor, Holger Geschwinder, was at Mavs practice on Friday. Maybe that's a sign that Dirk is closer to returning.
The bad news is that it does not sound like Dirk is really close to returning after he had surgery on his right knee back in October.

"There is no timetable," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said today when I asked him whether anybody should evaluate this team without its best player. "It's too early for a Dirk update every day."

Carlisle said Dirk is doing some things and improving, but that he will be back when it's time and when mother nature gives the OK.

The Mavs were scheduled to play 13 regular season games without Dirk, but that timetable has already been shot. The team is 7-9 thus far.

This is what happens to 34-year-olds recovering from surgery - healing seldom goes as projected. Older guys just need a little bit more time.

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Dallas Mavericks have become a homecoming opponent

The Phoenix Suns are going to offer fans who pay for tickets and attend the Suns' game in Phoenix on Dec. 6 a full refund if they don't have fun. The opponent? Your Dallas Mavericks.

What better way to stack the deck in your favor than by playing the Mavericks. Face, meet slap.

The mighty Mavs have become the Kansas Jayhawks football team.

Your Dallas Mavericks professional basketball team is 7-9, and a mere 2-6 on the road.
The Phoenix Suns professional basketball team is also 7-9, but a stout 5-3 at home.

Where have you gone, 2006 Western Conference Finals?

Even though the Suns are in a "rebuilding" mode and feature a roster where Goran Dragic is likely the best player, they are not good enough to guarantee a win against any team but the Washington Generals/Wizards. 

Notice the Suns are not guaranteeing a victory, but merely that their fans will have fun.

Apparently the Suns' brass thinks the best way to guarantee their fans will have fun is by playing the Dallas Mavericks.

 

 

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Derek Fisher ... really?

Until Dirk Nowitzki returns from his injury the Dallas Mavericks cannot be properly evaluated. We are nearly in December, which by the calendar means he should be returning soon enough.

So far the Deron Williams-less Dallas Mavericks have been pretty much what we thought - a collection of hastily signed older guys their former employer really didn't want.

Now that includes veteran former LA Lakers and most recently OKC point guard Derek Fisher, who is going to sign with the Mavs. Whom the Mavericks release does not matter. It's not like they are going to cut an impact name.

The Mavs are 7-9, and are one of the worst teams in the league in points allowed (27th) and rebounding (21st). Nothing ticks off this head coach more than not defending and not rebounding.

Their point guard really isn't a great point guard, which is why the Indiana Pacers sent Darren Collison here during the offseason.

Collison is a good pro and a solid guy, but he's not a point guard in the traditional sense. Fisher is. The problem is Fisher is 38. The Mavs will now have eight guys on their roster who are at least 30.

Of the veterans the Mavs brought in this offseason - Chris Kaman, Elton Brand, Collison, Troy Murphy - the only one who looks like he may be a real keeper is O.J. Mayo, but his game is  not without serious flaw (defense).

Fisher is only a minor improvement, assuming he has anything left at all. And he can't address this team's issues on defense or on the boards.

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The Dallas Mavericks' re-progamming of O.J. Mayo is working

DALLAS, Texas - O.J. Mayo just turned 25, and if he had the chance to hop into a way back machine to tell an 18-year-old version of himself without fear of a butterfly effect or disrupting the time-space continium he would say:

"I would tell myself to stay hungry and don't believe in the good or the bad," Mayo told me a few days ago after a Dallas Mavericks practice. "When you are young people tell you the stuff you want to hear all the time. No one hardly ever tells you what you need to hear, just want you want to hear. Obviously I built a big-time ego and a comfort level like you made it and you arrived. There is so much more to prove, ways to get better. There is a long way to get better. You don't get into the Hall of Fame with a heck of a high school career."

When the Mavericks acquired the shooting guard from the Memphis Grizzlies in the offseason I was all in, primarily because of his size (6-4, 210), age (25) and talent. If the Mavs are going to have a good season, this acquisition has to hit and Mayo will be the team's second-leading scorer behind Dirk Nowitzki.

This can work big, provided Mayo regains his confidence as a scorer and a guy who is comfortable shooting the ball at all times. He can shoot more, and he has the ability to penetrate into the lane to score or create.

As a rookie, he averaged nearly 16 shots per game. That figure dropped every season, including last season's mark 11.1 per game. As the Grizzlies improved, Mayo's shots dropped. The Grizzlies had changed to a more inside oriented team, anchored around forwards Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol.

By the time Mayo arrived to the Mavericks, he sounded totally screwed up. Was he a role player, or a scorer?

"You are a 1,000 percent right. I programmed myself to fit their role for the team to have success," Mayo said. "Now I'm battling to program myself as a scorer. I get here early and stay late to get that swagger back. It's like a broken computer."

The Mavs told Mayo to shoot, and to look for his shot.

Through four games, Mayo is averaging 14.3 shots per game, 21.5 points per game, and is shooting a ridiculous 18-of-27 from 3. That last figure is not going to hold, but if Mayo can average 16 points per game, the Mavs will have successfully made up for Jason Terry's lost production.

Whether Mayo can become the fourth-quarter scorer like Terry remains to be seen, but for the time being it does appear the computer is getting fixed.

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