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Tyson Chandler’s Play Helping Newly Defensive-Minded Mavs

December 07, 2010   Sam Amick   No comments

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You’d think they’d be crossing fingers in Dallas these days, just hoping this winning streak that sits at nine straight keeps growing and that this whole The-Big-D-Stands-For-Defense campaign continues.

But they really should be crossing their toes, just for symbolism’s sake.

Everyone except for Tyson Chandler, of course.

Remember the man with the most controversial toe in league history, the big one on the left foot that led to a rescinded trade between New Orleans and Oklahoma City in February 2009? Thunder general manager Sam Presti identified Chandler as the perfect piece to occupy his team’s paint and complement his young stable of stallions, only to decide against it after seeing the big man’s physical.

It was a calculated choice made with the advice of Carlan Yates, an Oklahoma-City based doctor who — as irony would have it — had performed the surgery to repair Chandler’s left big toe after the 2006-07 season and subsequently ruled him a risk. Nineteen months later, the only red flags being waved near Chandler are the ones in front of the rim Dallas is defending in an NBA arena near you.

 

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Bolstered Mavericks Set Sights on Champion Lakers

October 14, 2010   Chris Tomasson   No comments

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Dirk NowitzkiDALLAS — The Mavericks don’t have to send the message to the Lakers by e-mail or FedEx. They can ship it Parcel Post since the teams don’t meet until Jan. 19.

Regardless, the message is simple: Dallas is gunning for the Lakers.

“That’s our goal,” said Mavericks guard Jason Terry. “They’re the champs. We’re coming for them. Last year, we were No. 2. We made some moves and this year we feel we can push them all the way to No. 1.”

The Mavericks thought they could challenge the Lakers last season after a deal during All-Star Weekend in which they acquired forward Caron Butler and center Brendan Haywood from Washington. It appeared the teams might meet in the Western Conference finals after the Mavericks went 23-7 following the trade to finish 55-27 and secure the No. 2 seed behind the Lakers.

But it didn’t happen. The Mavericks were upset 4-2 in the first round of the playoffs by San Antonio, and Los Angeles eventually rolled to its second straight title.

“We just kicked the bucket in the playoffs,” said point guard Jason Kidd, still ringless entering his 17th season. “But that’s a lesson learned … I think we’re hungry. We want to win a championship.”

 

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The Works: Mavs Both Deep and Shallow, Abolish ‘Over-and-Back’

September 17, 2010   Bethlehem Shoals and Tom Ziller   No comments

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Today in The Works: Rob Peterson (@ShotDrJr) argues for the end of the backcourt violation and Andrew Bogut sounds off about racial sensitivity in Australia.

But first, we investigate the depth of the Mavericks.

Jason KiddPlumbing the Depth: When asked if his Mavericks can defeat the two-time defending NBA champion L.A. Lakers, franchise owner Mark Cuban argued that the team’s depth will allow Dallas to reign supreme. The actual quote, from a Q&A with SportsDayDFW, is a bit more rah-rah: “Hell yes. We’ve got the size now. We’ve got the depth. We’ve got a lot more depth than the Lakers. It’s not even close there.”

Uhh …

Cuban is apparently arguing that having a better ninth or 10th man is a major factor in winning major games. To the contrary, research has repeatedly shown that a team’s top three or so players account for much of the success or failure of a team. Sports economist David Berri, with whom I frequently disagree, has applied the Pareto Principle to the NBA, which has shown that using his (controversial) production metric, a team’s top three players generally produce 80 percent of a team’s wins. And while in basketball circles Berri is a divisive figure, this point is actually widely accepted. It makes intuitive sense — your top players play more minutes, thus having a larger potential footprint (for better or worse) on a game. And the math seems to back it up.

So what about the Mavericks’ depth?

 

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Josh Howard Returns to Wizards

July 29, 2010   Brett Pollakoff   No comments

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Josh Howard will return to the Wizards next season, on a one-year deal that will pay him in the neighborhood of $4 million. And it might not even cost Washington that much.

Michael Lee of The Washington Post reports that the contract will include incentives based on both minutes and games played. But even if Howard hits all of his revenue-generating targets, it’s still a pretty good deal for the Wiz, and a sign of just how far Howard’s stock has fallen in the eyes of the NBA people who are in charge of cutting the checks.

Howard’s previous contract — the one the Wizards inherited when they dealt for him at the trade deadline — included a team option for the upcoming season that would have paid the one-time All-Star $11.8 million. But when you consider Howard’s off-the-court issues, decline in production, and torn ACL that he suffered a mere four games into his Washington career, it’s no surprise that the team declined to pick up that option.

 

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Mavericks Becoming Even Bigger Challenger to Lakers’ West Throne

July 13, 2010   Chris Tomasson   No comments

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Haven’t we been through this before?

The Mavs last February acquired forward Caron Butler and center Brendan Haywood from Washington and immediately was dubbed contenders to the Lakers’ Western Conference throne.

It didn’t work out too well. The Mavericks were upset 4-2 in the first round of the playoffs by San Antonio while the Lakers strolled to a third straight West title and second straight NBA crown.

But the Mavericks are again loading up. And general manager Donnie Nelson feels even better about their chances after Tuesday’s trade with Charlotte in which the key piece was getting center Tyson Chandler.

“All roads lead through L.A. the last time I checked,” Nelson said in an interview with FanHouse. “If you’re against the likes of (Pau) Gasol and Andrew Bynum in the post, you need athletic big guys that can defend in the low post.”

 

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Jermaine O’Neal to Boston, Brendan Haywood Back to Dallas

July 08, 2010   Sam Amick   No comments

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Jermaine O'Neal and Brendan HaywoodThe big man market began to unfold quickly Thursday, as league sources confirmed that Jermaine O’Neal is headed to Boston and Brendan Haywood is going back to Dallas.

And neither, it’s safe to say, will be complaining about their paychecks.

Haywood has agreed to terms on a six-year deal worth $55 million, while O’Neal will sign a two-year deal worth the full midlevel exception, approximately $11.5 million combined.

The 31-year-old O’Neal will be hoping to become the latest oldie-but-goodie member of the Celtics, the defending Eastern Conference champions who have already come to terms with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. The frontline addition of O’Neal would seem to further indicate the impending departure of Rasheed Wallace, who has said he will retire but was reportedly reconsidering. Should LeBron James indeed head for Miami as has been reported, O’Neal would have left the league’s new “Big Three” (with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh) to join the older version.

Share The Mavericks, meanwhile, agreed to pay quite a sum in attempt to retain their new core. Haywood, who spent his first eight-plus seasons in Washington, was traded with Caron Butler and DeShawn Stevenson to Dallas last February in the deal that sent Josh Howard to the Wizards. He split time with center Erick Dampier last season but will clearly be the focal point down low in the 2010-11 campaign.

Dampier’s contract remains one of the league’s most interesting, as his $13 million owed for next season is not guaranteed. Any team that acquired Dampier would be in line for massive salary cap savings after choosing to waive the 14-year veteran.
Yahoo! Sports first reported the agreements.

 

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Heat Remain in Play for Free Agents

July 07, 2010   Tom Ziller   No comments

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Dwyane WadeWith the news the Heat have been able to convince Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to play together in South Beach next season, the concern becomes who will surround the stars. Miami famously gutted its roster to open up as much cap space as possible. Besides Wade and Bosh, only Mario Chalmers and Michael Beasley are slated to wear Heat jerseys next year, and one or both of those players may very well wind up in Toronto as a part of a sign-and-trade deal for Bosh. (That seems unlikely, however.)

Miami needs eight more players by opening night. Assuming the back of the bench can be filled by minimum contract players — undrafted rookies, D-League prospects and minor veteran free agents — the Heat reasonably need three or four legit rotation players, and at least one more starter.

The good news is that because the Heat so thoroughly gutted its roster, after signing Wade and Bosh Miami will still have some $12 million in cap space to use this summer.

 

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Mavs Working to Re-Sign Free Agent Center Brendan Haywood

July 02, 2010   Chris Tomasson   No comments

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Brendan HaywoodThe Dallas Mavericks want center Brendan Haywood back.

“We’re working to get Brendan back in a Mavericks uniform,” Dallas general manager Donnie Nelson said Friday about the free agent who spent part of last season with Dallas after being acquired from Washington.

But Haywood won’t come cheap. Big men always get paid, and Haywood’s agent, Andy Miller, made it clear Friday his client, who made $6 million last season, won’t be signing for the mid-level exception of about $5.8 million.

“I’ve always thought he’s the best center (in free agency),” Miller said of Haywood, who averaged 9.1 points and 9.3 rebounds last season.

Miller is likely right. But it’s not as if there’s much to this summer’s free-agent center class, especially after Houston’s Yao Ming didn’t opt out of his contract earlier this week.

 

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Mavs’ Caron Butler Still Loves D.C., Doesn’t Rule Out Return

June 07, 2010   David Steele   No comments

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Caron ButlerWASHINGTON — As Caron Butler biked through downtown Washington Monday morning, the nation’s capital reminded him that it still loves him and misses him. “Yeah, definitely — people taking double-takes, buses honking their horns, showing love,” said the Mavericks forward and longtime Wizard. “It always has been like that, and I think it always will be like that.”

Butler, meanwhile, made it clear that he still loves his NBA home for the previous five seasons. So much that he not only wants to make it his permanent home, but might move back as a player.

“I don’t know what the future may hold, but maybe, I could wind up back here,” he said as he stood in front of the Capitol, after finishing a ride to promote his new partnership with the League of American Bicyclists.

“Anything’s possible. One of my dreams here was always winning a championship for the city,” Butler continued. “Unfortunately it didn’t happen during my tenure here in the city, and I’m still trying to get one; I’m still in pursuit to get a championship.”

 

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Mavs Seek Vengeance for 2006 Collapse

April 11, 2010   Sam Amick   No comments

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Four years later, they’re finally laughing about it.

Not really, of course. There’s nothing funny about choking on the biggest of stages, and Dallas’ collapse to Miami in the 2006 NBA Finals certainly left Dirk Nowitzki and Co. clutching their respective necks.

But in those unpleasant times when pondering their shared moment of darkness, the Mavericks who remain from the most painful of postseason exits have long since entered the laugh-so-you-don’t-cry mode.

“We joke all the time (about it), but knowing deep down that it really hurt,” said Mavericks guard Jason Terry, one of three Dallas players who was there, along with Nowitzki and Erick Dampier, when a 13-point, fourth-quarter lead in Game 3 quickly became the first of four straight losses to Dwyane Wade and the Heat. “It hurt us, and until we get back to where we’re supposed to be that’s how we’re going to think about it.”

Beating the Kings on Saturday night was hardly hard evidence that Dallas is in championship form again, but it certainly beat the alternative. They treated an inferior team with the proper potency, with their 126-108 decision at Arco Arena earning them sole possession of the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.

 

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