Jeff Caplan has an article on some of the starters playing more minutes than they have in the past -- particularly Dirk Nowitzki.
A full season at this rate, a team-high 37.5 minutes a game, might risk burnout by April, but the exceedingly durable Nowitzki and Rick Carlisle say the power forward is capable of handling the load for the long haul.
"I think 38 [minutes] is fine for him. I don’t think he has any problem," Carlisle said. "I’d like to always keep him under 40 if we can. There’s some nights where it doesn’t matter that much. He’s got such good stamina and his mind just works in a way that he can just stay out there."
I'd have to agree with Carlisle here. Dirk is playing 90 more seconds a game than he did last season, and I don't think that will come back to haunt him. That's an extra 120 minutes over the course of five and a half months. I don't buy into the idea that minutes played in November keep piling up and have any effect on those played in April. Not to mention that Dallas has to make the postseason for any of this to matter...
---------------
Dirk says the team needs to have a big win where they can rest their starters the entire 4th quarter.
"Sometime you have to run away with the game and have the starters on the bench icing in the fourth. All season long, we haven't had one easy game, it seems like. It's good that we're grinding out wins and we're getting wins, but sometimes on back-to-backs, it's going to come back and hurt you."
The Mavs largest margin of victory this season is 23 points and it came aginst tonight's opponent -- Sacramento.
---------------
Jan Hubbard has an article on all the good point guards in the NBA right now.
----------------
JJT has a 'Kidd is better than his stats" article. OK, yes Kidd is better than what shows up in the box score. If you look at stats per 48 minutes JJ Barea almost out produces him statistically, but you'd have to be crazy to say Barea is better and should be the starter. So I don't have a problem with the premise of this argument. For some reason it bother me though, because I feel like columnists (not beat writers) write stuff like this just so they can say "I do more than look at box scores" -- even if it's not true...
----------------
Another trade rumor has popped up involving Diop -- this one has Raymond Felton coming to Dallas.
---------------
Mike Fisher wonders if Gerald Green should start tonight.
I'm not predicting this. I'm just sayin'. Coincidentally, Dallas' last meeting with Sacto - a 101-78 victory back on Nov. 29- was the beginning of the end of Gerald's promising stint as a starter. He was 1-of-8 from the floor that night, started one more game after that, but hasn't played "real'' minutes in a game since that night against the Kings.
Rick? Time for a second chance?
And I ask, why not?
----------------
In the twelve games Josh Howard did not start with a sprained ankle, Dallas used five different starting lineups.
Kidd - Green - Singleton - Nowitzki - Dampier (twice)
Kidd - Wright - Singleton - Nowitzki - Dampier
Kidd - Green - Wright - Nowtizki - Dampier (twice)
Kidd - Green - George - Nowitzki - Dampier
Kidd - Barea - George - Nowitzki - Dampier (five times)