Game Recap: New Look Mavs Notch First Win, 107-97

by zdgmans on Feb 17, 2010 11:23 PM CST in News

The Mavericks come into tonight’s game trying to quickly accommodate new teammates Brendan Haywood and Caron Butler while licking their wounds from a 13-point loss to the Thunder. The Phoenix Suns are looking to steal one in Dallas and tip the season series in their favor. Both teams are on the hunt and every win counts as the season heads toward its conclusion.

Are the "New Look Mavs" up to the challenge at home or do they wilt under the pressure?

Game as a Whole:

The Mavericks needed to prove to themselves that they could still win a basketball game. Standing in their way: a back-to-back against the Phoenix Suns. Offensive rebounding and active defense got it done for Dallas tonight. Whenever you can hold a high-octane offense like the Suns under 100 points for the night, you know you are doing something right.

Haywood gets the start and immediately makes an impact by locking down the paint and sending back five shots. Kidd gets into the act by chipping in a career-high seven steals, causing the Suns to lose their offensive continuity. Finally, the fourth quarter was won on the back of offensive rebounding. Every Dallas player was keyed in toward the end of the 4^th, grabbing the offensive boards and securing another possession for the team.

The most exciting prospect of the night: the Mavericks haven’t even begun to play their best basketball.

1st Quarter:

Late start happens due to the Duke/Miami FL game. It was a pretty excellent primer to tonight’s action.
Erick Dampier out, who knows for how long, can Maverick fans really complain? It’s great to see Haywood get thrust right into the starting lineup.
Suns start with the ball and Jason Richardson hits on a quick jump shot. Let’s see how Amar’e plays with all the trade rumors.
11:08, Haywood deflects two shots in the paint. Glad to see it isn’t going to be easy for the Suns down low.
10:44, Second straight night that Caron Butler airballs his first shot.
9:50, Great ball movement from Caron as he makes the swing pass. Kidd doesn’t make the three.
9:24, Shawn Marion has perfected that little "flip in the lane" shot. I don’t know what you are supposed to call it.
7:44, Haywood gets to post up a bit, Richardson picks up a foul on the play.
6:39, Nowitzki with the two handed flush. Not often that you get to say that.
The game currently looks like a track meet between both teams. Mavericks still don’t look like they know now to play defense.
6:02, Butler picks up his first basket (a long two).
4:52, Butler pulls up for another quick two and nails it. He also grabs a defensive rebound.
4:27, Haywood cleans up a miss that Nowitzki leaves at the front of the rim.
3:45, Welcome to the game Jason Terry. Out goes the Matrix.
Does it feel like the Mavericks are running a lot more than they usually do? Even with Phoenix scoring barrage in this quarter, the Mavericks have pulled to within four.
2:36, Nowitzki misses his first free throw of the game.
2:24, Najera in for Haywood. Nowitzki slides over to the five. The Suns, on their first possession against this unit, had to take a really bad shot.
:49.6, Kidd shows how much he wants to win by taking the ball coast-to-coast.
Dallas closes the first on an 11-0 run. Switching all picks has worked well for the Mavericks.

2nd Quarter:

11:48, Defensive three second on the Suns.
Even though Najera doesn’t give you a lot of offense, you have to appreciate the hustle that he brings when it comes to chasing down rebounds and setting picks.
Déjà vu here, Phoenix Suns bench comes in and immediately starts sticking it to Dallas.
9:19, Barea finally forces the issue and takes it straight to the basket. He gets a foul in the process.
8:51, Haywood is back off the bench and looking to score.
7:30, Barea hits a deep two, Mavericks are in command with a six-point lead.
7:08, Haywood is really anchoring the paint. He sends back a shot, which leads to a Mavericks score on the other end.
6:51, Catching a pass in traffic, Haywood spins and draws a foul. Nice when your center goes to work.
4:46, Nowitzki forces Nash into a shot clock violation. Usually it is Nash who gets the better of that match up.
3:33, Haywood gets a block on Nash. He is also doing some pretty good work on Amar’e.
Amar’e currently is at 17 points while the rest of the team has only scored 22. You really still want to trade this guy?
2:23, Robin Lopez gets a dunk, Haywood counters with a dunk of his own.
1:09, Nice change on the defensive end, Haywood stays at home on Robin Lopez during the pick and roll.

3rd Quarter:

Drew Gooden gets traded again (now he is with the Clippers). One can only hope that he gets a buyout and can rejoin the Mavericks.
Haywood is currently 4 for 4 from the field.
11:41, Caron gets the first bucket of the 2^nd half.
11:18, Nowitzki blocks Amar’e and gets the ball thrown off his head in the process.
10:55, Even Marion gets into the act by hitting a short jumper.
10:13, Haywood is now 5 for 5. Definitely showing his worth.
9:13, Kidd with back-to-back threes and the Mavericks go up by 15. All smiles on the Dallas bench right now.
8:55, Butler goes in for the dunk on the fast break draws a foul instead.
8:06, Grant Hill prevents a Shawn Marion basket on the 1v1 fast break. Marion really needed to try to dunk the basketball.
7:36, Marion throws down a trailing lay up. Dallas is not letting off the gas.
5:54, ESPN announcers are now talking about how Butler and Haywood add "grit’ to the Mavericks. Do you all agree?
Carlisle takes a time out as the Mavericks have slowed a bit.
3:40, Dirk drops in a bucket to keep the Suns at bay. Suns commit a turnover on their next possession.
1:39, Butler gets a steal and Jason Kidd gets the hoop on the other end. Shouldn’t that actually be the other way around?
:36.7, Terry takes it straight into the lane and earns a trip to the line.
Butler has extremely active hands on the defensive end. He has been constantly trying to poke the ball loose from Dudley.

4th Quarter:

11:38, Steal by Jason Kidd and a long outlet pass leads to a Jason Terry basket. Start the quarter off strong.
11:00, Amar’e sends back a Marion dunk. That’s going to be on an Amar’e poster at some point.
10:07, Richardson can barely keep up with Kidd as he races up the floor.
9:30, Dallas is letting the Suns second unit creep slowly back into the game.
8:00, Terry jacks up what has to be the most ill advised three of the game. He could have easily taken it against Dudley.
Mavericks are back on their heels now due to the Suns rediscovering their three-point shooting.
6:31, Butler has gotten a bucket, a key rebound, and a steal in less than 10 seconds. You have to like the activity.
5:06, After two missed shots and two offensive rebounds, Dirk finally puts it in the bucket for Dallas.
4:22, It is officially "Nowitzki time". Dirk is starting to take the game over, high banker off the glass.
2:46, Haywood has five blocks on the night. Kidd has six steals. Defense has been better tonight.
2:29, Butler makes the extra pass to Terry who hits a huge three. No one was more excited than Butler as the Mavericks headed back down the floor.
1:35, Nowitzki and Hill get into each other, a double technical ensues.
:52.1, The Mavericks secure two offensive rebounds on another trip down the floor. Offensive rebounding has killed the Suns tonight.
Jason Kidd gets a career high in steals (7) tonight.
Butler gets to dribble out the clock and he points out to the crowd.

Some Choice Statistics:

Josh Howard gets 14 points in his Washington Wizards debut.
The Mavericks are decidedly middle-of-the-pack when it comes to their defense. They are number 15 out of 30 in points allowed (99.5).
Tim Thomas is out indefinitely for personal reasons. Don’t know what that is all about.

Closing Thoughts:

Can’t wait for the Mavericks to get more practice under their belt.

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Comments

while everyone was sleeping, kevin martin got traded to the rockets. sleep when you're dead, people!

"Your confusing thesis has captured my attention. Tell me more." - Bill McNeal

by buckets on Feb 18, 2010 2:36 AM CST reply actions

Holy fucking shit.

Wait, Carl Landry?! CARL LANDRY?!

I just “holy fucked shitted” the other way.

Remember to retire Fin's number, Mark.

by jonthefon on Feb 18, 2010 4:58 AM CST up reply actions

sounds unpleasant

"Your confusing thesis has captured my attention. Tell me more." - Bill McNeal

by buckets on Feb 18, 2010 1:05 PM CST up reply actions

Rumor: Tim Thomas is with his wife, who is really really sick. He’s not expected to return.

Fact: Mavs hold Opponents to consecutive below-100points games for the first time since jan 24.

PGQ:
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle

Niiiiiiiccccccceeeeeeeee

(on Haywood) “He was good. Real solid. He has a presence in there. The length, even when he doesn’t come up with the ball, he keeps balls alive. Did a nice job finishing around the basket. He knows how to play and plays within himself. He was terrific tonight.”

(on Kidd) “He’s just amazing. Just an amazing game. The way he led the team. The steals, to get to seven steals is a phenomenal number in one game. It seems like there were all timely. There was somebody about to lay it in or somebody about to get a good look at a big shot. He was great.”

“We were pretty good defensively last night expect for about an 8:00 stretch when we gave up 15 out of 18 from the field. We bounced back tonight. For 48 minutes were pretty consistent. This is a tough team to play. They have tons of weapons. They are quick, the shoot it, they have skill. Stoudemire is a monster. The guy had 30 points. They keep coming at you. They only had five threes but it seemed like they had more because they started hitting them on us again. I like the way we hung in when they got close, we made big plays and were able to close it.”

“I thought we were into it last night, too, with the exception of that 8:00 stretch in the second. And in the third we struggled to shoot. But it’s a 48 minute game. I thought we played 48 tonight and it was good to see. They really wanted it. Our new guys, being here, they guys who have been here want them to feel what it’s like to win especially in this building. We fought hard for it.”

“We’re a running team. We have Jason Kidd. We are always better when we don’t call plays or don’t have to call plays. Sometimes, you have to in certain situations. When you do, you better be able to execute it and put the ball in the hole. But tonight, in terms of fast break points, it says 22 here but there were more based on how we were tracking. We got some balls moving up and down the court well.”

Mavericks Guard Caron Butler

Peta out, i mean Peace out!

(On how he was able to get acclimated) “Honestly just getting my legs underneath me, getting more accustomed to the guys and what I’m supposed to do, and what spots to be in and where shots need to come from. That’s what happened today and we got a nice rhythm. In the third quarter, we did a good job of executing our offense and getting to our spots.”

(On if it will be an easy transition to the two guard spot) “Yeah it really is because he’s [Carlisle] still using my skill set and not forcing to go outside the parameters of my body. He’s putting me in comfortable positions, pick and roll sets with Dirk. Obviously nobody is going to come off him so I’m going to have a lot of opportunities to create for my teammates and myself. He’s putting me in a great position to be successful, so I’m really lucky.”

(On what it’s like to play with Kidd) “He’s a Hall of Famer, one of the best to ever do it, and I love playing with a guy like that. He gives you that confidence and makes the game that much easier where all you have to do it run whereas throughout most of my career I had to get the ball off the boards and push it up and set myself up. With a guy like this and a team like this, I’m really lucky.”

Mavericks Guard Jason Kidd

Hug fail

(On the Suns comeback late in the game) “You’ve got to stay hungry and play the game within the game and not rely on being up 10 or 12. Those guys made two threes and cut the lead from 11 to six and so you look at it and all of a sudden you’re in a dog fight.”

Phoenix Coach Alvin Gentry

That hurts, man. Really hurts….

“We kept fighting back. We went through too many periods where we weren’t making shots and we dug ourselves a hole, and against this team it’s really hard to continue to fight back especially when they can always throw the ball to Dirk. Even in good defensive situations he made three really tough shots. I thought we guarded him about as well as you can guard him, and he made three really tough shots there. You can’t keep digging yourself a hole. I thought we dug ourselves a hole way too many times. I thought we got it back workable, we cut it to five with almost seven minutes to go and then we had a couple of bad possessions and they had a couple of good ones and they got separation again. As you can see, I think those guys are really going to help their team. Everybody’s talking about the Caron Butler deal, I think that Brendan Haywood, when you look at everything he brings to the table for them he’s going to be a really nice piece. He does a good job of shot blocking. He does a good job of rebounding the ball, and he’s really good at catching and finishing. He’s a little more athletic than Damp. Nothing against Damp, I just think he gives them another element that they really haven’t had. They’re going to be a very good team. Obviously it’s just the second times these guys have played, but you can see it’s going to be a nice fit for them.”

(On Amare’s game tonight despite trade speculations) “He’s done that, he’s played well. If you go back and look, we won four straight road games where he did an incredible job for us. He started out the trip averaging 36 point and 17 rebounds in Houston. I think he’s put all that behind him and just decided to play, and done a good job.”

Suns Forward Amar’e Stoudemire

Trade me, man!

(Talk about your performance and how you felt out there tonight…) – “I felt great. I came out with a lot of intensity from the start. I wanted to set the tone early, offensively and defensively, to get ourselves going out there. We played particularly well; there was a spurt there where we couldn’t quite score the ball. I think they went on a 21-8 run for a minute or so. But, we can’t allow that to happen. Once a team like that [Dallas] gets a lead or that much of a margin it’s tough to come back.”

(What’s been the secret behind more scoring and rebounding the past few weeks?) – “Just getting more and more comfortable. Again, with the eye procedure I was out – it’s been a full year since the procedure, but I was out this time last year, and all the rest of last season, and all summer. So I wasn’t able to play basketball, I couldn’t even job, or shoot free throws, or even walk fast all summer. It takes awhile to really get your rhythm back and to where you’re totally to your full status. So I think now I’m slowly starting to get back into the rhythm and being comfortable out there playing. That being said, it’s been a pretty successful year so far but I think we’re still going to have to improve as a team if we’re going to get better.”

(Will you be relieved this time tomorrow one way or the other?) – “I’m relieved now. The only thing that’s stopping my celebration right now is the fact that we lost. After a win we always enjoy ourselves, but tonight we can’t really enjoy it as much because we lost. But the Mavericks played well. They shot the ball well. We did a pretty decent job on Dirk – he hit a couple tough shots falling off the glass. Caron Butler I think played good. I think Brendan Haywood also came out there and provided some defensive presence and some offensive boards and put-backs, so, they played well.”

(The Mavs have a little bit different look with those last two guys you mentioned, don’t they?) – “Yeah, I think they’re a better team. I think they’re a better team. With Caron out there, he’s a fellow rookie mate so best of luck with him. But I think he played phenomenal tonight and also Brendan Haywood, who has been doing a great job his entire career on the offensive boards so with that being said he’s definitely helping the Mavericks.”

The Charles Barkley 2009/10 Ancestors Count: 9 Grandmothers, 2 Mothers Alltime: Reg. 32-2 Playoffs 7-0

"There were arms coming from everywhere, and I knew they weren’t going for the ball," Miller said. "I was just trying to get [the shot] up before they called some crap like ‘on the ground.’ "
"What do you want me to do?" Wright asked. "Do you want me to Derek Fisher him?"
"Give them some fucking credit, i mean for real." Jackson said.
"I just fell on my face for no reason," Bryant deadpanned. "I'm a klutz."
"Fucking right i'm preachin' it!" Carlisle replied. He later added "We need to not always make hard work out of sex." Take cover whenever he pulls the undoing-card..
"Rough life, isn't it. It's tough all over, isn't it." Smith chuckled.
Sheed for $30k: "They've got to know that he's a [darn] flopper. That's all Turkododo do."
"Ball." Hedo Turkoglu
Charles Barkley on the Eastern Conference race: "Cleveland and Orlando are the two best teams in the East. The Boston Celtics, people keep waiting on them to get healthy. I mean no disrespect, but old people don’t get healthy. They die."
Mutombo, Ewing and Yao at the restaurant...
MUTOMBO: "The chicken is the bomb."
EWING: [Rubbing belly] "I gotta go work out tonight. I'm full. You got a treadmill for me?"
YAO: " Leave your car keys here and run home. I'll give you the keys tomorrow."

by DOH on Feb 18, 2010 4:06 AM CST reply actions

Haywood

Wizards fan here… just thought I’d drop by to let you know that you got a good player in Haywood. My opinion, he’s a top 10 center in this League. Nothing spectacular – he’ll give you his 9 points and 10 rebounds along with 2 or 3 blocks. He doesn’t try to do too much.

But where he really shines is on Defense. He does all the intangible stuff on D that just doesn’t show up in the stats. He alters more shots than he blocks. He’s always in the right position. He’s excellent one-on-one – AND he’s great on help defense as well. I’d rate him as only “good” on Pick-and-roll defense…as he doesn’t have a lot of quickness. Once he gets aclimated, you’ll notice that he talks a lot on defense…. always telling everyone where they’re supposed to be. He will make the Mav’s entire defense better.

He’s got one small problem – and that’s ego. He believes (rightly so) that he’s a Starting Center. If anything happens to disrupt that, he’ll sulk….

Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......

by Rook6980 on Feb 18, 2010 7:51 AM CST reply actions