Not much Mavs related in the papers today.
Sefko's got a pretty good article on Josh Howard's offensive presence.
In five games, he's averaging 18.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and is shooting 50 percent.
From 3-point range? He's 11-of-19 since his return and 14-of-29 for the year. His 14 3-pointers in eight games indicate a dramatic change in his style after he made just 27 in 59 games last season.
Howard also is the primary reason the Mavericks have been putting teams away early in the last four games, leading by an average of 15 points after the first quarter.
Howard's averages - 8.3 points and 63 percent shooting - in the first quarter this season would be a decent game for many players.
---------------------From 3-point range? He's 11-of-19 since his return and 14-of-29 for the year. His 14 3-pointers in eight games indicate a dramatic change in his style after he made just 27 in 59 games last season.
Howard also is the primary reason the Mavericks have been putting teams away early in the last four games, leading by an average of 15 points after the first quarter.
Howard's averages - 8.3 points and 63 percent shooting - in the first quarter this season would be a decent game for many players.
Art Garcia writes about what Avery Johnson considers a complete game.
Before their latest in an ongoing procession of wins, coach Avery Johnson humbly said his Mavericks had played maybe one or two "complete" games this season.
Not a full 48-minute effort. That's basically impossible.
"We're not playing some video game," Johnson said. "Maybe you can have a 48-minute, complete game [that way]. It doesn't work like that [in real life]."
A complete game, by Johnson's definition, is executing efficiently at both ends of the court for somewhere between 36-42 minutes. Do that and the chances of winning are pretty good.
--------------------Not a full 48-minute effort. That's basically impossible.
"We're not playing some video game," Johnson said. "Maybe you can have a 48-minute, complete game [that way]. It doesn't work like that [in real life]."
A complete game, by Johnson's definition, is executing efficiently at both ends of the court for somewhere between 36-42 minutes. Do that and the chances of winning are pretty good.
And over at the Dallas Morning News, David Moore has a 3-part look at the rest of the NBA.
- Part 2 - Teams average ppg
- Part 3 - Players who have been better than he expected.