Unfortunately, everybody's favorite Mavericks blogger Wes doesn't have access to a computer today and he left it up to the other writers to get the Sunday Roundup out for you all. I know I can't replace what Wes does so I thought I would tweak the typical roundup post a bit (seems fitting after the loss last night) and bring you my take on the best of the Sunday Mavericks coverage.
Let's check out a couple of post game quotes from the action last night:
Shawn Marion, after having a fairly pedestrian outing (only 8 points in 32 minutes of action), stated a bit of the obvious,
"We might be in a little bit of a funk right now".
"The ball wasn't going in for us like there was a little bit of a lid on there for us. When you hold a team to 36 percent shooting, you are going to win, but that wasn't the case tonight. We didn't capitalize on anything."
Rick Carlisle is also quick to point out that long and athletic teams still give the Mavs a lot of trouble,
"Once again, we struggled to shoot the ball and some of that certainly was Atlanta,"
"They have length and they are hard to score against."
Even a casual Mavericks observer knows the true identity of this team. It is one that relies primarily on jump-shots (the Mavs have been doing it for years) to be successful. I am unsure whether this strategy falls on the coaching staff or the players as we obviously have a lot of talent who should feel comfortable going to and operating around the basket. Which leads me to my next point...
The puzzling decision last night to give Beaubois and Humphries practically zero playing time. For an offense that is looking for inside scoring, you would wonder why Carlisle doesn't place both of these guys on the floor at the same time for extended minutes. They have both shown that they can play at a high level and bring energy in the short spurts that they have been allowed to play. Seems like they should be given the chance to prove themselves with more minutes.
Okay, let me step down from the soap box for now. Here are some of the links you may have missed from today:
Jason Terry forced into starter's role for Dallas Mavericks | DMN
Eddie Sefko points out how the Mavericks are looking for scoring and experience anywhere they can find it. This could mean we see Jason Terry starting a lot more games until the Mavericks get healthy.
Donuts: Hawks 80, Mavs 75, As I Stand Upside-Down | DB.com
As always, Mike Fisher offers up some wonderful nuggets of wisdom for you to take away and enjoy on this lazy Sunday.
Marion pulls double duty due to injuries | ESPN Dallas
ESPN Dallas has an interesting article on Shawn Marion and what he is being asked to do while key Mavericks (Ross and Howard) nurse injuries. Is he being asked to do too much or is he not doing enough?
Here's hoping the Mavericks are looking forward but keeping the lessons learned from this two game losing streak in the back of their minds.