Happy Johnny Appleseed Day Roundup

Playing the Knicks is so much fun.  You know it's a fun game for Mavs fans when even the media for the other team can't bear to watch.  And with that, the winning streak goes up to two.  Lets hope they can keep it going.

Before I get to the game recap, there’s some news that some of you guys are obviously stoked about. Dwayne Wade has opted for season-ending surgery on his left knee. I guess it’s now fall down 7, get up 6. No immediate word if a wheelchair was needed after the surgery.

Wade will miss the remainder of the season so he can further rehabilitate his surgically repaired left knee, which has bothered him for about a year. He will undergo a powerful shock-wave treatment later this week, and hopes he will be pain free in time for next season. Which makes me wonder- if the Knicks played the Heat, is it possible for both teams to lose? And it REALLY makes me wish that the NBA had relegation like the European soccer leagues do. I’m sure that the NBDL would love to get a new franchise in New York. Also, Dirk gets some national recognition about becoming the Mavs leading scorer. Here's a news flash: Dirk Nowitzki is the greatest player in Dallas Mavericks history. OK, so he's probably had that distinction for a while. But the big German cemented his status Saturday night by moving to No. 1 on the franchise's career scoring list. Lots more Dirk news out there. Jeff Caplan has an article about the trade taking some of the burden off Dirk, and basically putting him in his happy place. "[Dirk is] just happy right now," Johnson said. "He's in a happy place. He's playing really hard. Right now, he knows we, as a team, have a higher level to go to. There's a new dimension for us to go to, and he knows we're not there yet." Dirk also knows what the whole point of this is about. "I think in 10 or 20 years, I'm going to look back on my career and see what I did," Nowitzki said. "Hopefully there is a lot more to come, especially a championship. This will mean more to me when my career is over." In a blow to the dreams of Wes, Jake and I, Mark Cuban has officially banned bloggers from getting media credentials to enter the Mavs locker room. Of course, the _interesting_ part of this is that Tim MacMahon of the Dallas Morning News is the only person so credentialed, and the move came the day after MacMahon wrote an article critical of AJ. Cubes manages to say with a straight face that he’s not singling MacMahon out. "I don't care what Tim writes, then or now," Cuban wrote. "What I do care about is being fair to all bloggers." And now onto the game (if you can call a 29 point blowout a game). There were a couple heartening things from the box score and game action.

1) Josh Howard led all Mavs with only 31 minutes played. Stack and Dirk only played 23. With the stretch run upon us, any time that the starters can grab rest is good. Howard had a MUCH better game than the last few, shooting 50% from the field for 14 points, 5 boards, 2 assists, and 3 steals. It still isn’t where AJ wants it to be. "It hasn't happened the way we want it to happen, but it will happen." 2) Speaking of starters, Stack joined that group again. AJ said after the last game that he was going to do that for a while, and Brad Davis re-iterated it during the broadcast. AJ has been concerned that when he plays the all-Jason backcourt, Kidd has to expend too much energy on the defensive end to do what he needs to offensively. "We ran into some major issues with both Jet and Kidd starting together that we have to take a long look at," Johnson said. 3) Antonie Wright proved some pretty good minutes at the 2 spot himself- 18 mins, 3 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 6 points. Not too shabby. Count me as impressed. Davis also mentioned that AJ is rewarding him for the way he’s played in a couple losses, contesting everything. That is, after all the AJ way- for better or worse. I would expect him to continue to play some minutes if he keeps this up, and if Devean George is limited by back trouble. "[Wright] has defended on the ball pretty well," Johnson said. "That's what we need, good on-the-ball defenders." 4) Damp got in quick foul trouble, then found himself not really getting up off the bench again given the excellent play of Brandon Bass and Malik Allen. Even Jamal Magloire was productive with his time on the court, scoring 7 points and pulling down 2 boards in 6 minutes. He looked pretty good from what I saw, though it’s tough to judge given the level of competition. I’m still waiting to see him rotate through against the Spurs, Suns and Lakers to give any judgment.

Looking ahead: Tyronn Lue is expected to debut Wednesday.

Up Next: The streaking Bobcats, winners of 5 straight. Tipoff is 8:30, Wednesday the 12th, at the AAC.

Johnny Appleseed Day