O.K, so Dallas has a losing streak going here, but they'll get a chance to break it quickly, as they take the court in about 4 hours. Or they could keep the losing streak going, and...bite down on cyanide tooth capsule...
- Some big changes last night to the starting lineup, most notably in the form of Darren Collison's demotion, but are the changes temporary? Well, we're not sure yet. Carlisle seems to be saying Darren Collison will be the "primary point guard", whether he starts or not. What that means exactly is anyone's guess.
- Understandably, Collison is not terribly happy about the move, though he vows to remain positive and not create drama. The drama here is really just that, as bad as Collison had been the few previous games, Dallas doesn't have a viable replacement candidate. Notably absent last night in Philly: Rodrigue Beaubois, former future of the franchise, current personification of heartbreak.
- One guy who did play well(for once)? Elton Brand, in what was a homecoming he probably marked on the calendar. Brand had 17 points, reaching double digits in the scoring column for just the third time in 14 game, and 8 rebounds, in just 19 minutes. Brand continues to struggle shooting from midrange, once his calling card, but has outrebounded the anemic-boarding trio of Kaman, Wright and Murphy so far. He also did not commit a turnover, which brings us to the stat of the night...
- On a stunning six consecutive possessions in the 4th quarter against the 76ers, the Mavs turned the ball over. This allowed what was a close game to turn into a 9-point advantage for Philly, and Dallas could never quite erase that lead(though some free throws from O.J Mayo would have helped).
- Back to Brand for a moment, as Aaron McGuire is STILL doing that player preview series on all 370 players in the NBA, and he just hit Big Elton.
- Eddie Sefko answered some questions yesterday, including some on the Mavs' rebounding woes, and some names to remember as potential trade targets, which includes a name I, myself, have mentioned in these parts.
- A few days old, but a nice breakdown by friend-of-MMB Connor Huchton of the Mavs' play so far without Dirk.
- Oh...my...god...
And that's it.