Full-Court Press

Shawn Marion reaches 15K milestone

Shawn Marion became the 118th player in NBA
history to reach 15,000 points when he 13 points Saturday night at Utah. He
passed the fourth quarter.
 
Marion continues to have an impressive season that has gone
largely under the radar. He had four steals against the Jazz and has worked his
way seamlessly into the starting lineup the last few games. He’s been one
of their most consistent rebounders and he always seems to be able to make
something good happen when he’s on the floor.
 
Eddie Sefko
 

Nose back in place, Gortat questionable for Mavs

The Phoenix Suns say doctors “manipulated” Marcin Gortat’s broken nose back into place on Saturday and he is questionable for Sunday night’s game against the Dallas Mavericks.

The Suns’ center sustained a nasal fracture when his nose banged in to the back of teammate Steve Nash’s head in the fourth quarter of Friday night’s home loss to the New Orleans Hornets.

Gortat, blood gushing from his nose, left the game for good after scoring 18 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Phoenix lost 106-100 to deal a severe blow to its sinking playoff hopes.

— The Associated Press

Terry said Mavs don't need any rest

 

 

DALLAS _ Please don’t ask Jason Terry to rest any of the final 11 games of the regular season.

In fact, Terry doesn’t think any of his Dallas Mavericks’ teammates should be asking for some time off.

“We don’t need to rest,’’ Terry said. “We are finely-tuned athletes, and we had enough rest losing in the first round last year.

“So we’re good this year and we’re ready to go.’’

Last year the Mavs went into the playoffs seeded No. 2 in the Western Conference, but lost in the opening round to the No. 7-seeded San Antonio Spurs in six games.

-- Dwain Price

Follow me on Twitter

@DwainPrice

Harris, Kirilenko out tonight for Jazz

The Mavericks won’t have to contend with two of the
players that typically give them problems tonight as Devin Harris (right hamstring)
and Andre Kirilenko (left knee) have been ruled out for tonight’s game.
 
Harris said he’s hoping to return to action before
this season is over.
 
“I’m not getting any younger,’’
Harris said.
 
Harris came to Utah before the trade deadline in the deal
for Deron Williams. Derrick Favors, the third overall pick in last year’s
draft, also came to the Jazz and has averaged 7.5 points and 4.2 rebounds for
the Jazz.
 
Eddie Sefko
 

Who says the Mavericks don't play defense?

Maybe you missed this one, but late on Friday night in
Oakland, the Golden State Warriors piled up 84 points – in the first
half.
 
Yes, this is the same Warriors team that couldn’t
score anywhere close to that many in an entire game against the Mavericks’
vaunted defense.
 
Remember back on Sunday? That’s when the Warriors rang
up just 73 points against the Mavericks.
 
OK, OK. Maybe the Warriors benefited on Friday from being at
home and playing a Toronto team that packed in this season long ago. But still,
the Warriors finished with 138 points, close to double their output in Dallas
the other night.
 
Hey, when you’re the Mavericks, you hang your
defensive hat on little victories like this.
 
Eddie Sefko
 

Mavericks still prefer slashing over shooting for Roddy B.

Roddy Beaubois has hit 19-of-60 3-point shots so far (31.7
percent), meaning almost 40 percent of his shots are from beyond the arc.
 
Rick Carlisle doesn’t mind open 3-pointers. In fact,
he encourages them. But he also knows that Beaubois’ best asset is not
his ability to fling it from long range.
 
Dirk Nowitzki said earlier this week that he thought
Beaubois sometimes settles for the 3-point shot a little too much.
 
“Anytime he can penetrate, it’s a plus for
us,’’ Carlisle said of the second-year guard. “Open threes
are good shots in our system. But I agree with Dirk that anytime we get Roddy
using his quickness to penetrate and cause other problems (for the defense),
that’s a plus.
 
“I like his drive game to open up threes for the rest of
our team. And I like him to take open threes in (advantageous)
situations.’’
 
Beaubois has struggled of late, hitting just 3-of-15
3-pointers in the last four games.
 
Eddie Sefko
 

Marion eager for role definition

Shawn Marion wants to be a starter.
 
Either that, or he wants to be a sixth man.
 
He does not want to be both.
 
Marion, who has had a quality season but has been better as
a starter than coming off the bench, said the Mavericks have reached that point
where a decision must be made about who starts at small forward.
 
“We got to,’’ he said. “We got to
decide on what we’re going to do. We got to make decisions. It’s
not my choice to make. But he (Rick Carlisle) has to. And everybody still has
to be ready, because you just never know.’’
 
It appears the decision has been made, for now, with Marion
starting his 17th game of the season Thursday night against
Minnesota.
 
That meant Peja Stojakovic came off the bench. So did DeShawn
Stevenson, for all of four seconds at the end of the third quarter.
 
The guess here is that the Mavericks are going to need
Stevenson again at some point. But it appears now is not that point.
 
Meanwhile, Stojakovic is such a wily veteran that he knows
he’s going to get the best amount of playing time in Carlisle’s
eyes that helps the Mavericks win.
 
“You got to be ready to play,’’ Stojakovic
said. “At this part of the season, we all have the same goal and we all
have to be ready. It doesn’t matter how many minutes it’s going to
be.’’
Is he truly OK with coming off the bench?
 
“Probably in the past, when I was younger, I was
thinking about it more,’’ he said. “But at this point,
whenever your name is called, you have to be ready to play.’’
 
Asked if his back is OK, he said: “It’s good
enough.’’
 
Eddie Sefko
 

Carlisle won't have a set rotation during the playoffs

DALLAS _ Don’t go looking for Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle to have a set rotation by the time the playoffs start next month.

It’s not going to happen.

“I’d like to get something consistent going,’’ Carlisle said before Thursday’s game against Minnesota. “I don’t know that we’re going to an exact rotation at any point.

“I think we know who our nine or 10 main guys are. With the value of the guys and the depth of our roster I don’t see us getting to an eight-man rotation or anything like that. I think we’re going to be playing nine guys with the other few guys stepping in and playing.’’

Carlisle already juggled the starting lineup tonight against Minnesota when he started Shawn Marion at small forward ahead of Peja Stojakovic. Carlisle explained that it’s because Marion matches up better against Michael Beasley than Stojakovic.

Ever since the New Year’s Day season-ending knee injury to Caron Butler, several players have been in and out of the starting lineup at small forward. Carlisle has basically determined that his top two players at that position are Marion and Stojakovic, and matchups will decide which one starts.

“Both Peja and Marion have played very well starting and off the bench,’’ Carlisle said. “So we’re going to take a hard look at this.’’

Marion sat out last Sunday’s game against the Golden State Warriors with a sprained right wrist. Stojakovic, meanwhile, scored 17 points in 19 minutes against the Warriors – his first game against missing six contests with a stiff neck.

The Mavs are keeping close tabs on Stojakovic, trying to make sure the 33-year old sharpshooter doesn’t have any more flare-ups the rest of the season.

“He’s gotten through the last couple days of practice in good shape,’’ Carlisle said. “But he’s got a neck thing and something going on with his disc, or whatever it is.

“So it’s something that needs to be monitored, but he’s done well with it and he’s worked hard to get through it. If he goes like this and he does play off the bench, minutes won’t be an issue.’’

For most of this season Marion had been coming off the bench about the same time Carlisle brought in guard Jason Terry. But that changed against Minnesota as Terry entered the game with 5:54 left in the first period and Stojakovic came in exactly two minutes later.

It’s a new wrinkle Carlisle said isn’t exactly etched in stone.

“Where it changes is Peja becomes the (small forward) with the second group instead of Marion,’’ Carlisle said. “That changes things some, but right now we’re going to run with this.

“Knock on wood – if our health situation can remain stable. And that’s so important. And in another 24 hours see what’s what.’’

-- Dwain Price

Follow me on Twitter

@DwainPrice

Carlisle said Minnesota is a dangerous team

DALLAS _Rick Carlisle subscribes to the theory that all NBA players put their pants on one leg at a time.

That’s why the Dallas Mavericks’ coach believes his 49-21 squad should approach tonight’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves as if they’re playing the Los Angeles Lakers.

Carlisle doesn’t want his players paying attention to the T-Wolves’ 17-54 record, which happens to be the worst in the Western Conference and the second-worst in the entire NBA.

“We can’t look at the record or any of that,’’ Carlisle said every team in this league is dangerous and you’ve got to have the appropriate amount of respect for them, and that’s the plan headed in.’’

Minnesota will be without its best player as power forward Kevin Love didn’t make the trip to Dallas because of a groin injury. Still, Carlisle doesn’t believe that gives his team a decided edge.

“Whatever five guys they put out there we’ll match up with them and we’ve got to play the (expletive delete) out of them,’’ Carlisle said. “I don’t believe that this is about an analysis of how it changes if Kevin Love is here or not here.

“We’ve got to be doing things that are going to help us get better.’’

-- Dwain Price

Follow me on Twitter

@DwainPrice

Corsicana's Johnson doing well for Wolves

Wes Johnson has had a solid rookie season, although he’s
off to an 0-for-3 start tonight against the Mavericks.
 
Johnson, who despite what you may have read earlier today is
from Corsicana, not Waxahachie, was the fourth overall pick last summer out of
Syracuse. He’s averaged 9.1 points, 3 rebounds and shot 41.1 percent from
the field.
 
The 6-7 small forward was part of the glut of swingmen the
Wolves had, which led to them trading Corey Brewer, who eventually landed with
the Mavericks.
 
Eddie Sefko