Finally a game tonight. Toronto is in town to finish a four game homestand -- hopefully ay 4-0.
Sefko has a very good article on how Avery is going to start reducing Dirk's minutes to the 32-34 range.
Saturday's game against Memphis was a prime example. Nowitzki came out of the game like he normally does with about three or four minutes left in the first quarter. He returned with 8:10 left in the second quarter. But then he left with 3:16 to go. He would have sat the rest of the half, but a situation in the final seconds got him back in the game.
In the second half, he played almost 19 minutes, right at his usual floor time. The total of 32 minutes, 59 seconds was what Johnson would like to have his MVP play in every game, although there obviously will be exceptions. And his down time could come at different points in different games.
The idea of course is that those minutes will add up and allow Dirk to be fresher in the postseason.In the second half, he played almost 19 minutes, right at his usual floor time. The total of 32 minutes, 59 seconds was what Johnson would like to have his MVP play in every game, although there obviously will be exceptions. And his down time could come at different points in different games.
It also a means a few more minutes for Brandon Bass (not Nick Fazekas since he just got sent to the D-League)
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Jeff Caplan writes that Josh Howard is playing at far less than 100%.
Josh Howard had both ankles taped, decided against lacing a brace on the gimpy right one, wore a brace on his still sprained left wrist and the few times he took a breather against Memphis on Saturday night -- he played 41 minutes -- trainers wrapped a bandage around his mid-section to aid a muscle pull.
At Monday's practice, the 6-foot-7 forward added another bandage around a bruised left thigh.
"I took a knee during the Memphis game in the first quarter," Howard said, explaining the newest wrap. "But I didn't say nothing until after the game."
And the muscle pull?
"Oooh, last week," Howard said, able to recall when it happened, but not how it happened. "If I sneeze, it's like..."
---------------------At Monday's practice, the 6-foot-7 forward added another bandage around a bruised left thigh.
"I took a knee during the Memphis game in the first quarter," Howard said, explaining the newest wrap. "But I didn't say nothing until after the game."
And the muscle pull?
"Oooh, last week," Howard said, able to recall when it happened, but not how it happened. "If I sneeze, it's like..."
Avery made the team work on free throws in practice yesterday.
Random players were picked to shoot two free throws. If he missed one, everybody sprinted to the end of the court and back.
--------------------Art Garcia says Diop is off to a career-best start.
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Around the NBA: New Orleans actually lost night, dropping them to 9-3. They also might have lost Tyson Chandler. He was help off the court after his right knee "buckled". Right now it's just being called a hyperextension.
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This Day in Mavs History
1997 A.C. Green set the NBA consecutive games played record at 907 during the game vs Golden State. Green broke Randy Smith's record of 906. The game was paused 2 minutes in and the Mavs held a ceremony where they raised a banner with GREEN 907 on it to the rafters (and hung in the rafters for the rest of the season). "