Friday Roundup

Dallas Mavericks face an offensive juggernaut in Spurs | Eddie Sefko - DMN
"They've been scoring all year," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "They've added some weapons. [Antonio] McDyess and Jefferson, those guys are top-caliber players. They've beefed up their team, and it's a tough matchup." Added Jason Terry: "They're built a little different. Some of the pieces are interchangeable though. Keith Bogans is like Bruce Bowen with a better offensive game. You got Richard Jefferson, who's more athletic than Michael Finley at this point in his career. They just got more offensive weapons. So they still got the same defensive fire, but they definitely want to be a high-scoring team."

Why No Drew Gooden Trade? 3 Mavs 'If's' Don't Align | DB.com
Remember that a trade would've almost certainly had to bring in return a player who would play (at least some) center, otherwise a Dallas roster stripped of Gooden would be exposed at the position. That would seem to narrow the options that might've been out there.

Dallas Mavericks will be tested with Spurs, Jazz back to back | Eddie Sefko Chat
It's an interesting situation with Thomas, James Singleton and Kris Humphries. All are considered important players, yet they rarely play. Thomas is the first option whenever the Mavericks have any injury problems with their big guys. Humphries would be next. I think as the season goes on, you're going to see more of Thomas on the court because his 3-point shooting is too valuable to leave on the bench for long stretches. And you're right that he's a better defender than most people think.

Dirk loses ground again in All-Star voting | ESPN Dallas
In the fourth returns of the voting, which were released Thursday, Nowitzki leads San Antonio's Tim Duncan by about 50,000 votes for the Western Conference's second starting forward spot. Nowitzki has lost ground to Duncan in the last two returns. The starters will be announced Jan. 21. Paper balloting ends Jan. 10, while wireless balloting and voting on NBA.com continue until Jan. 18.