That was a pretty dominating win last night. Dallas led for 47 minutes, and the offense was especially impressive.
Dallas' 102 points are a lot more impressive than you might think. This was a slow-paced game, and the Mavs scored a pro-rated 121.4 points per 100 possessions. That's a lot. Phoenix leads the NBA at 115 per 100, and Dallas did this against one of the premier defensive teams in the NBA.
And don't forget the defense. The Dallas D allowed a pro-rated 93.4 points per 100 possessions. Only 1 team in the NBA is allowing less than 100pts per 100 possessions this season -- Boston at 96.7.Still, it was the efficiency on offense that impressed me the most: 56.8% as a team from the field and 10-16 beyond the arc. The hot first quarter (32 points on 14-23) set the tone for the rest of the game.
"It's disappointing because we knew that team is a first-quarter team," Chauncey Billups said after the Mavericks posted a 102-86 victory before a rowdy, sellout crowd at American Airlines Center. "We let them get into a comfort zone and when you let them shoot where they want to shoot, they don't miss."
-------------------Jan Hubbard wonders if last night was an NBA Finals preview. We can only hope.
--------------------
Dirk Nowitzki did not score last night when Walter Hermann was guarding him. If he does that again people will start calling the Argentinean a Dirk stopper, just like Tracy McGrady, Bruce Bowen, Udonis Haslem, Stephen Jackson, and you get the point...
--------------------
Erick Dampier is the proud new owner of a franchise record.
The 6-foot-11 center hit all three of his shot attempts to extend his streak of consecutive made baskets to 14, breaking the previous mark of 13 set by Jay Vincent (1982) and James Donaldson (1987). Dampier hasn't missed a field goal since Dec. 29.
--------------------Mike Fisher is confused by Avery's underdog mind games.
--------------------
Michael Bivins interviewing Mark Cuban for TNT.
------------------
Funny Mark Cuban quote comparing this seasons Celtics and last years Mavs.
"I see in them what I saw in us last year, which was great until it wasn't."
-------------------Down in the D-League: Nick Fazekas, the Mavs lone representative with Tulsa for now, scored 25 (12-16), and grabbed five rebounds.
The Rocky Mountain News has an article today about his life in the NBDL.
--------------------
This Day in Mavs History
1980 The NBA Expansion Committee recommended the expansion of the league by 1 team with a cost of $12 million (with Dallas being the prime candidate)