Because Travis [Wimberly] is hungover from the Superbowl Hot on Workload and Cold on available Time, i was ordered to substitute hijacked the diametric opposites forces of thermophysical Mavericks analysis for a Day. The Dallas Mavericks had a decent overall week, going 4-0 against Washington at Home and the Knicks, Celtics and Bobcats on the Road, the latter on the second night of a Back to Back. The Mavs now call the League's longest current winning streak at 8 their own. Not too shabby for the oldest team in the NBA.
Hot
1) Dirk Nowitzki
Ze tall blond Jermaine has been on Fire lately, shooting 36-50 FG (72%), 6-10 3FG (60%) and 29-29 FT (100%) for the Week. His knee appears still not completely healthy, so a Look at those numbers should activate Defcon Level 1 for his Defenders. Remarkable is also the consistency he delivers with, scoring 24, 29, 29, 25 in 33-36 Minutes each. Obviously, listening to John McEnroe is good for you.
2) Rick Carlisle's Temper in the Second Quarter against Washington
After lollygagging to a 23-32 2nd Quarter Deficit at Home against the Worst Road Team of the NBA on Monday, Slick Rick started a verbal Texas Chainsaw Massacre during his Timeout. Rumors of JJ Barea running to the locker room for more Gasoline could not be confirmed. The Mavs outscored the Wizards 79-60 the rest of the Game. Dallas has a long and not-so prideful history of playing down to the level of competition, thereby building 'losing habits', which Carlisle wants to be remedied. Because he cares. He cares so much that he decided to swap Starter Brian Cardinal for Starter JJ 'NBA Star' Barea.
3) Tyson Chandler
Everybody's favorite All-Star Snub has been on a Tear on the Court and in the Hot Segment here, posting one 'almost' and 3 strong Double-doubles this Week. 18 Pts and 18 Rebs against the Wizards, 15-11 against New York while holding 'MVP-Candidate' Amar'e Stoudemire to zilch 2nd Half-Points [after dropping 21 before intermission], 14-15 vs Boston and KG's effective Defense against Procreation and 9-15 against Charlotte. The Heart, Hustle and Soul of Dallas Defense can be yours, too, for a small fee.
Cold
1) The Free French Forces' Freedom [F-4]
With Rodrigue Beaubois still not allowed to practice with the team [and safely stored away in Dallas], Alexis Ajinca traded to the Raptors for two Apples and Oranges - Nutrition is always important, folks - and Dirk Nowitzki not yet converted, Ian Mahinmi is tasked with representing the Tricolore on the Court for the Mavericks. That is, if he were allowed to do so. After clearly outworking and outproducing Brendan 'I have to work here?' Haywood in much fewer minutes each game, he has been rewarded with being compared to another not justifiable low-minutes Player and a DNP-FRENCH against Charlotte. Rien ne va plus.
2) The Mavericks Protection of the Rim
A large part of Dallas' success on the Defensive Side of the Court this Season has been their ability to limit Opponents to only 20.4 Shotattempts at the Rim per Game [at a conversion rate of 64.6%; 1.6% higher than the Average an NBA team allows], which is the 2nd best Rank, trailing only Orlando at 18.7 Attempts. For Comparison, the League Average is 22.1 Attempts at the Rim.
However, this Week the Mavs let Washington shot 12-19 (63.2%), New York 18-27 (66%), Boston 22-32 (68%) and Charlotte an insane 18-40 (45%). Disregard the Percentages for a moment, the sheer Number of Attempts is troublesome enough to start a Revolution in the Middle East (of Defensive Assistant Coach Dwane Casey's Brain).
So, that was that for this week. We omit a third Cold item in honor of the Mavs not losing a game and not because we're to lazy to do so. If you feel we overlooked something significant, please add in the comments.
See you next Monday, hopefully with the real Travis. TY. Back then.