Are the Mavs losing it?http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dw...de.26dee74.htmlSpark, mojo, defense is missing, and it's coming at the wrong time08:34 PM CST on Saturday, April 1, 2006By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News The Mavericks haven't conceded yet. But their chances of winning the Western Conference are basically gone because of their disastrous 1-3 road trip. While the Mavericks were dive-bombing in the east, the San Antonio Spurs went 3-2 on their western trip. Barring a huge reversal, the No. 1 seed is gone. Might the Mavericks have lost more than that? Have they lost their mojo, with no guarantee it will magically reappear in the next three weeks before the playoffs begin? That fear could be part of the reason for coach Avery Johnson's cross words after Friday's loss at Orlando. He went ballistic within earshot of reporters, players, assistant coaches and support personnel. It was the kind of reaction that could get players fined. Part of the frustration stems from the fact that the Mavericks clearly don't have the spark they did in building a 45-11 record. Since then, they are 9-8 and have absorbed confidence-rattling losses to San Antonio, Phoenix and Detroit, considered the three favorites for the NBA crown. With vastly improved Denver invading American Airlines Center today (2:30 p.m. tip), it won't be easy for the Mavericks to break their three-game losing streak ? the longest of Johnson's tenure. On Saturday, about 16 hours after he uncorked the loud and angry outburst, Johnson said he did not feel like he got too emotional. He preferred to focus on the onus that is squarely on his team to turn around its fortunes. "It's good, because it tells a lot about who we are," he said of their predicament. "You look at what's happened to a lot of teams that have won the championship. They've all experienced some sort of adversity. "We've been in thicker situations than we are now," Johnson said. "I keep referring back to last year when we were down 0-2 in the playoffs, and everybody wrote us off. I didn't bail on them then, and I'm not bailing out on them now. We've made a lot of improvements, and all of that doesn't go down the drain when you've lost a game or two." Or three. Owner Mark Cuban said he understands why Johnson went off on his team, and Jason Terry in particular, after the 108-99 loss to the Magic. "I think he was trying to wake a few guys up," Cuban said. "Jason just happened to be the first guy he talked to. I'm fine with it. We do need to wake up and start all doing our jobs with the energy required." Despite a monster March by captain Dirk Nowitzki, the Mavericks must address many problems: guarding penetration, rebounding better and trimming minutes for some players who have been overworked during the injury crunch. "It's about everybody being accountable on the defensive end, and I think he's trying to challenge each one of us," Nowitzki said of Johnson. "It's a tough time for all of us. We said all year we're capable of winning it all. But we got to prove it every night."
Hey, the Mavs had a three-game losing streak in their 60-win season in 2002-2003, and they still made it to the WCF. And remember that team only lost because Dirk got injured. If Dirk does NOT, then Dallas is still a contender.
Dallas had no answer for Duncan. They would've lost with or without Dirk. Najera in the starting lineup actually helped Dallas's defense while Nash was still able to find open shots for the team.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Dallas had no answer for Duncan. They would've lost with or without Dirk. Najera in the starting lineup actually helped Dallas's defense while Nash was still able to find open shots for the team.</div>I disagree, we took them to 6 after losing Dirk in game 2. And we had game 6 in our grasp, a 13 pt lead only to be beaten because a guy named Steve Kerr who came off the bench and sparked them with consecutive three's. Not to mention how unconcious Stephen Jackson was afterwards. Am I the only one who wanted to slap him in the face every time he hit a shot and he'd screamed with that stupid black mouthpiece that made him look toothless?With Dirk, who was having a great run, I'd say we had a great shot, our best shot since 88'.
Yeah, man, and this year, we need Dirk to STEP UP to the challenge. He knows he'll draw double-teams, so he needs to dish to Jet more.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Rok @ Apr 3 2006, 03:05 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Am I the only one who wanted to slap him in the face every time he hit a shot and he'd screamed with that stupid black mouthpiece that made him look toothless?</div>i wanted to do the same.
The only reason the mavs won game 1 was because of the free throw disparity between Dallas and San Antonio. San Antonio won the next 2 games and it looked like Dallas was going to lose game 4 even with Dirk Nowitzki not getting injured. Dallas would be down 3-1 against a tough defensive team in San Antonio. They would have to win 3 in a row.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>The only reason the mavs won game 1 was because of the free throw disparity between Dallas and San Antonio. San Antonio won the next 2 games and it looked like Dallas was going to lose game 4 even with Dirk Nowitzki not getting injured. Dallas would be down 3-1 against a tough defensive team in San Antonio. They would have to win 3 in a row.</div>And? I think it was very possible we could have won that series still.
Well, look at this way. The Mavericks are going to get an easy basket if the Spurs don't foul. So it's either two points for two free throws. Mavs were 49-50 on the free throws, so doesn't matter too much, eh, besides foul trouble , eh?
<span style="color:#FF0000">I just read in the SportsDay newspaper I get everyday, and also this one, lol .Anyway, Dallas is right now...-Center: Diop and Dampier need to rebound, energize, and play defense, and they're doing that. This position is strong.-Power Forward: Dirk will probably have to play 42 to 45 minutes per game now, but with his averaging 30 points over the last 30, as well as 10 rebounds, it's pretty much fine.-Small Forward: Josh Howard is at 90-95%, and that's coming from HIM, so we should be pretty happy, and Marshall is still the rookie you don't kno w what you're getting from. In fact, he played 11 minutes in the Denver game yesterday, and I didn't even notice him playing at all, lol. Van Horn played SF, and it'll hurt us, so this position is little weak.-Shooting Guard: Obviously, this position is really damaged. Marquis Daniels is in a day-to-day situation and Adrian Griffin, the efficient offensive player and defensive nighmare (almost), is still out. Stackhouse is playing well, but we need more. This position is very weak.-Point Guard: No need to talk much about this position. Terry is playing lights-out, just like Dirk Nowitzki, but Devin Harris's different "style" of penetration is now showing its value. This position is partially weak.</span>
Stackhouse is the reason the shooting guard position is very weak. It is a simple fix though. Just put Terry at the 2 and start Harris. Daniels or Armstrong can play backup point guard.
Come ON, man, Stack is still a nice player!Well, here were his March stats... some stats were up-and-down, some weren't...JERRY STACKHOUSE'S MARCH STATISTICS:14.0 PPG3.0 APG3.2 RPG86.4% FT37.9% FG22.2% 3FG31.2 MPGFine, some stats AREN'T that good, but he still has the offensive presence when Dirk is out of the game...
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (mavsfan1000 @ Apr 3 2006, 10:51 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Stackhouse is the reason the shooting guard position is very weak. It is a simple fix though. Just put Terry at the 2 and start Harris. Daniels or Armstrong can play backup point guard.</div>i'm not comfortable with amrstrong playing a large amount of minutes as the primary backup point guard.He avgerages almost 1 TO a game and only plays about 10 minutes a game. dont get me wrong, i love him as a spark plug off the bench. he is a nice complament to the team. He plays with alot of heart and is very smart. i just dont like him as the primary backup point. Daniels is another thing. i like him playing point against small teams. when they use a backcourt of Daniels at point and either Griffin, Stackhouse, or Howard at the shooting gaurd. Daniels avgerages about 1.5 TO every game in almost 30 minutes. i like him playing point in only situations like the one stated above. he is also injury prone. i'd rather have Harris as a backup and terry start, or have harris start and terry go into a role kind of like Craig Hodges of the Bulls of the early 90's. he would be a great 6th man.i dont think it matters if stackhouse isnt here next year as long as we pick a nice "shooting" two gaurd in the draft.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (mavsfan1000 @ Apr 3 2006, 08:01 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>He might break the record with worse shooting percentage while scoring over 10 ppg.</div>LMAO :HAHAHA: Dude, he's at 39.8% FG and 13.2 PPG, but what's the record?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Stackhouse is the reason the shooting guard position is very weak. It is a simple fix though. Just put Terry at the 2 and start Harris. Daniels or Armstrong can play backup point guard.</div>Boring. Fact is, as a whole which is being judged, Daniels/Griff also make the sg position weak. None of them are starter quality.In addition, Daniels is not a pg, he should only get minutes at pg in emergency cases. He should be the last resort, and not the backup to Harris at all. Your just biased towards Daniels and hate Stackhouse, that's it.
Yeah, man, Daniels could seriously do a better job on passing. I think Stack is better at finding the open man.
