<font size="-1">By GERRY FRALEY / The Dallas Morning News </font> OAKLAND, Calif. ? There will be no middle ground for the Mavericks this season. They will revolutionize the NBA, or experience a spectacular flameout in the playoffs. Says one often-overlooked item on the stat sheet. Assists. The Mavericks, carrying a five-game winning streak, enter tonight's game against slumping Golden State averaging only 17.63 assists per game. That goes well beyond low. At the start of Tuesday's play, the Mavericks ranked last in the NBA in assists. The Mavericks previously were last in assists in 1993-94 and 1994-95, going a combined 24-140 in those dreadful seasons. Since the 1960-61 season, only one team has had a lower rate over a full year. The 1976-77 New York Nets, of "Super John" Williamson, had a 17.34 rate on the way to a 22-60 finish. In their current style, the Mavericks go against the flow of NBA history. Teams that have a low assists rate traditionally vanish in the playoffs ? if they even get that far. In the last 20 seasons, the team that finished last in assists reached the playoffs five times. Three of those clubs won an opening-round series but were gone after two. Run-and-gun Seattle did that last season: winning the Northwest Division and a first-round series before losing to San Antonio in five games. "It's the way we play," Mavericks coach Avery Johnson said. "More than assists, we want to make sure our players move. We're really a different team." It is a quality team, with 31 wins and pushing San Antonio for the spot in the Western Conference. The Mavericks were sixth in shooting percentage (.463) and seventh in scoring (99.73) at the start of Tuesday's play. Traditional tags do not always apply with this team, Johnson said. In Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard and Keith Van Horn, the Mavericks have more big men who can score than most clubs. That will cut into assists, Johnson said. The assist can be a subjective statistic, with wide ranges from arena to arena. The Mavericks chart their ball movement, Johnson said, and it has been better than last season although the passes do not always bring assists. "Once in a while we fall into our old stuff," said Nowitzki, referring to the Mavericks' penchant for staying on the strong side of the court. "When we move the ball, we have so many guys who can score. We have to keep the ball moving." The assists figure says other things about the Mavericks. The obvious statement is that point guards Jason Terry and Devin Harris could determine the club's playoff course. They are a curious pairing. Both are out of the top 40 in assists per game and assists-to-turnovers ratio. Johnson conceded that the offense is better with "JT shooting and Devin playing his role, as playmaker." The suggestion is that Harris, in his second season, will have increased responsibilities of getting the offense started. The Mavericks are also prone to falling into solo routines on offense. "They play a lot of isolation," Los Angeles Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "Nowitzki is getting the ball and making moves for the most part to score. Same with Jason Terry. They have a lot of guys who go one-on-one. "Having said that, it's still surprising where they are [in assists]. I never would have guessed that." First in the West; last in assists. How long can that continue? ------------------------------------------- Great article there by Gerry Fraley for the DMN
Nellie used to call lot of iso plays when he was there and Avery seems to have inherited some of it. I do however see this Mavs team pass the ball more. Part of the reason as mentioned in the article was to cut down on the turnovers, which was Nellie's philisophy. Terry's not a true point guard either. Mavs have been in the top 5 last few seasons in fewest turnovers committed, which I think is more important than having fewer assists.
