There's been a lot of talk about the Mavs offense looking fairly awful when Kidd and other starters weren't on the floor -- something which the +/- bared out.
Here is the Rockets' bench plus/minus for the game: Aaron Brooks
(+22), Brent Barry and Chuck Hayes (+21 each), Carl Landry (-2). Total: +62.Mavericks: Jerry Stackhouse (-21), DeSagana Diop (-18), Jason Terry (-16), Brandon Bass (-14). Total: -69.
But here's the real proof that Dallas is a little lost when Kidd is on the bench.
"It's a little bit of a chess game trying to get some of our guys on the floor with Jason as much as possible, and still rest Jason," he said. "I'd like to keep him at 35 minutes, which I think we can. "Offensively our approach might be a little different when Jason's not on the court. But maybe not. When Jason's not on the court, that's a challenge for any team he's played for. He's that good. We'll find the right formula." So yeah, I think there is some stuff to figure out... It could be worse though. Remember last year when Dallas looked lost when Kidd was on the court? ------------------- Quote of the Day: Rick Carlisle on the backup PG's. "[Jason Terry] is certainly capable and we’ve got Barea sitting over there, who can play the point," Carlisle said. "But when you get stops, it takes care of a lot of the problems."
------------------
Sefko says there are no must wins at the start of season but thinks a win in MIN could be a big boost because the next two aren't exactly easy.
After tonight, the games come fast, with a Monday home game against LeBron James and Cleveland serving as the first half of a back-to-back that ends in San Antonio.
--------------
Ever wanted to see a giant picture of Jerry Stackhouse shaving his head? Now you can.
-------------------
Around the NBA: San Antonio lost by 1 in Portland and is now 0-2.
---------------
2005 Pavel Podkolzin underwent surgery on the stress fracture in his
right foot to insert 2 screws. He would be assigned to the NBADL
3/7/06 and remain on IL until 4/19/06.
I just spent ten minutes trying to see what Podkolzin was doing these days and couldn't find anything...