Former Maverick helping his team make a playoff push

Forward Dahntay Jones didn't do a lot in his brief time with the Dallas Mavericks before he was traded to Atlanta, but on Wednesday night he did his former team a major solid by knocking out Kobe Bryant.

The Lakers have been hot of late, and were into the eighth seed in the Western Conference thanks largely to Bryant. But the Lakers are now in serious dog-doo and may miss the playoffs for the first time since 2005 thanks to a former Mav.

The Atlanta Hawks were leading the Los Angeles Lakers by two late on Wednesday night when Kobe went up for a long jumper with Jones guarding him. Kobe turned his left ankle on the play is out indefinitely.

The question whether the play was dirty. Looked clean to me.

  

 

 

 

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The rub on Vince Carter winning 6th man of the year

Add this to the things I have been wrong about - The Dallas Mavericks decision to bring Vince Carter on to the team. Granted, they are not winning a lot of basketball games since he arrived but he has been a solid pro.

In 62 games, the veteran guard/forward is averaging 13.3 points, 4 rebounds and 2.1 assists coming off the bench. 

That should be good enough for Carter to be considered for the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year. If Carter wins, he would join Jason Terry, Antawn Jamison and Roy Tarpley as Mavericks to be named the NBA 6th Man of the Year. 

There is, however, the small issue of the Mavericks' record - 30-33 as they head into tonight's game in San Antonio. And there is the matter of the history of this award, too.

Since the NBA began this award in 1983, only three times has it gone to a player whose team has been .500 or worse. And only once did it go to a player whose team did not make the playoffs.
1993-94, Dell Curry, Charlotte (41-41, missed playoffs)
1991-92, Detlef Schrempf, Indiana (40-42, made playoffs)
1990-91, Detlef Schrempf, Indiana (41-41, made playoffs)

How do Carter's stats compare to those players?
Curry averaged 16.4 points and was one of the league's best shooters.
In '92, Schrempf averaged 17.3 points, 9.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists. He was a matchup nightmare, but refused to guard anyone.
In '91, Schrempf averaged 16.1 points, 8 rebounds and 3.7 assists. He was a matchup nightmare, but refused to guard anyone.

Carter will be considered for this award, but to think he will win it is a stretch.

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Time for the Mavericks to start looking at the draft class

Not that Hope had a lot of room for a roster spot on the 2012-'13 Dallas Mavericks' season, but he officially has been released along with the other collection of stiffs the team has cut this season.

The Mavs are dead. Their 23-point loss against the Houston Rockets on Sunday night all but killed their dying chances of landing the eighth spot in the Western Conference.

The Mavs are 26-33, and now seven wins behind Houston for eighth. No playoffs for the first time since 2000.

Two words. Draft. Party. The NBA draft lottery is May 21. The draft itself is June 27.

The Mavs will have a lottery selection - exactly where that spot is merely a guess. The last time they picked high was 1998, when they used the sixth pick on University of Michigan forward Robert "Tractor" Traylor. You may recall the team sent his rights to the Milwaukee Bucks for the rights to Pat Garrity, and some stiff named Dirk Nowitzki.

If the draft selections are based purely on record, meaning no team with an blah record slips into the top 3, the order will look like:
1. Charlotte
2. Orlando
3. Washington
4. Cleveland
5. Sacramento
6. New Olreans
7. Phoenix
8. Minnesota
9. Detroit
10. Oklahoma City (trade)
11. Philladelphia
12. DALLAS MAVERICKS
13. Phoenix
14. Charlotte 

Picking No. 12 isn't exactly great. You are a lottery team in name only.

This story will be fluid, but right now the Mavericks appear to be the area to draft guys such as Duke forward Mason Plumlee, Indiana forward Cody Zeller, Gonzaga center Kelly Olynyk and a bunch of other tall, white guys who won't have NBA game.

The names to look for - Kentucky forward Alex Poythress, Syracuse guard Michael Carter-Williams, and Indiana two-guard Victor Oladipo.

No player the Mavs draft at 12 is going to make much of an immediate impact; all of these guys are three-year projects, at least.

Given how this season has gone for your Mavs, it's not much ... but this is what happens when you don't make the playoffs.

 

 

 

 

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Derek Fisher, part-time point guard, full-time fraud

As if we didn't already know but Derek Fisher is a joke. Either that or he's had enough of his family. Actually ... that has some legs so you can't rule that out.

Fisher, who signed after the start of the season with the Dallas Mavericks only to leave the team after nine whole games because he was homesick has suddenly had a change of heart about staying at home.

According to Yahoo Sports, Fisher has come to an agreement to return to the Oklahoma City Thunder and play basketball away from his family.  Wow, that can't be easy. He must be low on funds. Man's gotta support his family, huh? 

Let's see ... the Dallas Mavericks are 25-30 and six wins behind the Houston Rockets for the eighth seed in the Western Conference. His leaving was probably the best thing for Darren Collison, who quietely is developing into a much better point guard since Fisher left.
The Thunder are 41-15, and three games behind the San Antonio Spurs for the top spot in the West.

Fisher's return to the NBA reinforces a pro sports truth: Always be skeptical of the guy who says he is either homesick or wants to spend more time with his family.

It reminds me of the time when then Dallas Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells in 2006 was asked about Vinny Testaverde coming out of retirement, again, to play for the New England Patriots.

"Vinny just wanted to get out of the house," Parcells joked. Only it wasn't a joke.

Fisher obviously is a good family man who loves his crew, but please suspend the homesick act posthaste. Derek Fisher simply wanted to play basketball, and not lose.

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What Michael Jordan told Derek Harper

I stole this idea from this fun piece Deadspin did with former Cleveland Cavaliers guard Craig Ehlo on trying to guard Michael Jordan.

In case you hadn't heard, Jordan recently celebrated his 50th birthday to remind an entire generation of Jordan followers they are older, too. Now is the time to roll out all of the MJ love and speculate where exactly Kobe Bryant and LeBron James stack on the MJ-odometer. 

Here to join The Big Mac Blog on this topic is former Dallas Mavericks/New York Knicks/Orlando Magic/Los Angeles Lakers guard Derek Harper. He is now a TV analyst for Mavs' games.

Harper was the 11th overall pick of the Mavs in the 1983 draft. The next year, the Chicago Bulls used the third overall pick on Jordan. Selecting fourth was your Mavs, which selected Jordan's North Carolina teammate Sam Perkins.

(FYI - That 10-round draft had Hakeem Olajuwon, Jordan, Perkins, Charles Barkley, Alvin Robertson, Otis Thorpe, Kevin Willis, Jay Humphries, John Stockton, and Jerome Kersey. Also among the draftees, Rick Carlisle went 70th to the Boston Celtics.)

Harper was stuck right in the middle of the MJ era, and fondly recalls trying to play against the best player ever.

Derek Harper: I was with the Knicks and the game was in New York. John Starks started out covering (Jordan) and it was one of those nights Michael got hot. (Knicks coach) Pat Riley was searching for guys to try to guard him. He put me on him. 

Michael said to me, "Harp', I've got a couple of things to say - you're a pretty good defender. The other thing is right now it doesn't matter because you know when I'm hot it doesn't matter.' Of course, I'm challenged by that. Once he is that hot he can't be stopped. I tried all that I could. He came out on top. He can't be stopped. As far as stopping him, he's too good. He gets the respect from the officials. He got the calls. You don't stop greatness. You just hope to contain it and make him earn what he gets. I think that was the mindset when you played Jordan - force him to shoot a bad percentage. 

The Big Mac Blog: What was the aspect to his game that didn't get enough credit? 
Derek Harper: His IQ. Jordan went from a high-flying guy to a half-court, triangle system. He was so efficient at catching the ball where he wanted. He didn't take shots he couldn't make. He didn't take a lot of 3s. That wasn't his game. He made a living 15 feet and in - getting what he watned and where and how he wanted on the court. He was just smarter than everyone else. He had a will to win. Magic had that, too.  

The Big Mac Blog: Did you enjoy playing against him or was it frustrating?
Derek Harper: I enjoyed it. You seize that. No. 1, you have nothing to lose. Mike is expected to get his number. The challenge is to get him from doing that. If you are able to put a damper or a put a void on what he is able to do you have won the battle. Not many nights you stopped Michael Jordan. It was really just a somewhat of a challenge but not something that you are afraid of. 

The Big Mac Blog: Do you like or join in on the comparisons between Jordan, Kobe and LeBron?
Derek Harper: I don’t. There is no comparison. It’s a joke. You cant compare old and new. Those guys have expressed how much they respect Mike. It's like comparing my Mavericks team that took the Lakers to 7 games and the Mavs team that won the Finals. The teams, the game has completely changed.

 

Many thanks to Harper for sharing his memories about MJ.

 

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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's toy are winners on a spreadsheet, just not on the court

The Dallas Mavericks NBA professional basketball team may be six games under .500 and four wins outside of the eighth seed for a spot in the playoffs, but that does not mean they aren't winners.

According to Forbes' annual study/report of the value of each NBA franchise, Mark Cuban's toy is the fifth-most valuable team in the league, worth an estimated $685 million. The Mavs' profit, according to Forbes, was $13 million. I would imagine that makes it a lot easier to say goodbye to Tyson Chandler. 

On Jan. 4, 2000 Mark Cuban paid Ross Perot jr. $285 million to become an NBA owner. In that time he has helped make the Mavericks one of the most valued franchises in the NBA, complete with one NBA title and one player with an MVP regular season trophy. 

And this is the same guy who once gave Raef LaFrentz a long-term contract extension. You see, people can really change.

The Mavs may suck this season, but they are profitable. Of course, so are the Knicks and that's worked out well for them, too.

Here are the top five NBA franchises by value, according to Forbes.

1. New York Knicks, $1.1 billion; profit $83 million
2. L.A. Lakers, $1 billion; profit $48 million
3. Chicago Bulls, $800 million; profit $34 million
4. Boston Celtics, $730 million; profit $19 million
5. Dallas Mavericks, $685 million; profit $13 million

 

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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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