MMB Thanksgiving Roundtable:

Hi there! I'm thankful to see you here today! Enjoy family and friends and food. Here's a roundtable that's vaguely Mavericks related.

We're all thankful for basketball, but what else about the Mavericks are you thankful for?

Lisa (@ljrotter): I am thankful that the Mavericks have given me something else to watch while my Skins are falling apart at the seams.

Rebecca (@beccaaftersix): I'm thankful that the Mavs are fun. I know the playoffs will still be difficult to get into, much less win anything, but I get to watch Dirk, and Monta Basketball (that's a good thing turns out!) and I have hope from game to game. And that's far, far, far happier than watching Mike James and Derek Fisher run the point and O.J. Mayo be O.J. Mayo.

Kirk (@KirkSeriousFace): I'm thankful for the phenominal announce team and PR staff. Followill should be on a national platform and Harper and Skin help round out an amazing team. I'm also glad the PR folks are so helpful to us here at MMB. They don't have to be but I know I'm really glad they're so helpful.

Andrew (@andytobo): Great, passionate fans. You guys may not know this, but since 2011 this site has grown tremendously. On a lot of sites, when you go from championship to struggling, the opposite happens. But here we are.

Doyle (@TheKobeBeef): I would be lying if I said I wasn't thankful for the Mavs Dancers. However, I am thankful that the Mavericks are a team that never stops tinkering. Carlisle is not one to be tied to any lineup and the front office, for better or worse, is always looking to make moves to improve the team. This keeps everything fluid and fresh because God forbid this team be run like the Nets.

Josh (@Boweman55): I'm thankful that, for the most part, the off-season additions worked out either exactly how I thought, or even better. Jose Calderon is the shooting/stable point guard we all thought he was, Samuel Dalembert is the decent protector and finisher we assumed he'd be, DeJuan Blair is a bundle of rebounding energy and SURPRISE! Monta Ellis is having his best season ever playing alongside one of the most efficient big men in the history of the NBA. No one likes to be wrong and the off-season did a good job drumming up some decent excitement. It's good to see those hopeful wishes come true (for now).

Tim (@tim_cato): This site and my staff. I really enjoy all of this and I'm thankful for the opportunity to write, go to games and everything else.

Ian/Alan (@SmitheeMMB): Dirk and Carlisle: the two things Dallas has that even ostensibly better teams don't. A great coach and a selfless star don't grow on trees.

The question you guys all knew was coming: which is the best Thanksgiving food?

Rebecca: Red wine. Wait. You said food. Okay fine, green bean casserole.

Kirk: Mashed potatoes for me. I could eat them all the time.

Andy: This is a weird one: we have a big thanksgiving and my cousin makes meatballs. Which I love.

Doyle: Stuffing. Hands down. Period. The end. Just as long as it doesn't have oysters in it.

Josh: I love it all: Turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie...but seriously, the whole sweet potato + marshmallows + browns sugar + syrup + cinnamon is the best. I do the Homer Simpson drool whenever I think about....*starts drooling*

Tim: Sweet potato casserole, yo. Any food that you can put marshmallows into is a win.

Ian: Pumpkin pie. For me there isn't much else, since I'm one of those crazy non turkey eaters.

Lisa: For me, this year, the best Thanksgiving food is going to be potato latkes. My mom's are legendary. Thanksgivukkah 2013!

Just like good gravy can turn an average Thanksgiving meal great, which role player who helps hold everything together is underappreciated on the Mavericks?

Kirk: This will always be Shawn Marion. People talk about him and his contract as if they are expendable, but without Shawn, the team crumbles. He's the glue. He's the guy we all forget about but one day, when he's gone, we're going to look back and remember that he was the man behind the curtain. I love Shawn Marion so much.

Andy: For me, it's Calderon. We're going to keep seeing columns about, can Calderon and Ellis co-exist offensively, can the defense survive it, blah, blah, blah. If you can't use a guy who's the most efficient three-point shooter in the game, one of the best free throw shooters of all time, and a guy who moves the ball and basically never makes a mistake, that's on you. Really doesn't matter who else is on the team.

Doyle: I think that Blair is finally getting the appreciation he deserves. However, I think that the backup point guards, both Gal Mekel and Shane Larkin, deserve some credit. Neither has been remarkable but they have spelled the starters and given the team solid minutes on the floor. Recently, Larkin moved into the role of the primary backup and has been playing well. Until Devin Harris returns, the team is going to lean on them and they must provide solid effort. So far, they have shown that they can do that.

Josh: I'm going with Calderon. Ellis has been getting most of the backcourt love and for good reason. He's been fantastic. But Calderon just lurks off in the corner, ready to make a three or swing the ball to the right place. He isn't having a flashy season even by his un-flasy standards (5.2 assists, 1.6 turnovers, 10 points per game, 14 PER) but he's still be invaluable. He's hitting 47 percent of his threes. And he takes a lot! And he started the season 1-8! Calderon might not ever put up the gaudy assist-to-turnover numbers as he did before, simply because Ellis has the ball a lot. And that's a great thing. Sure, his defense needs work, but knowing that Calderon is always there on offense, ready to either burry a shot or make the right pass...it's a refreshing feeling. Especially when compared to last year's team.

Tim: Shawn Marion is my man. Defense, weird spinning flip lay-ups, rebounding and maaaybeee even three pointers, this season?

Ian: I'll say Shawn Marion, who rebounds, defends(the things this team struggles), and gets easy baskets, along with the occasionally three.

Lisa: Vince Carter may not be having a stellar season so far, but his importance is undeniable. If nothing else, his deadly long range potential helps spread a defense.

Rebecca: I would say both Dalembert and Blair. We all know the Mavs defense is meh, but those guys have done a nice job with the skill set they have. The fact that I've uttered the phrase "The Sam Dalembert Game, Part 2" already this season ought to be evidence enough of that.

There's no basketball on Thanksgiving. What on earth are you doing with your life today?

Andy: The Tobolowsky family play a football game which always ends in a tie, even if it takes a 28 point final TD. It's a nice mix of 60 year olds reliving their glory days and 4 year olds making 80 yard TD runs, miraculously untouched. Happy Thanksgiving!

Doyle: I'm going to some swanky country club to have Thanksgiving with people I barely know. Maybe I can coax them into giving me a Bentley or a six-figure salary. Probably not, though. I just hope football is on somewhere.

Josh: I'm actually working. *sad trombone* It's OK! I'll make up for it by gorging myself with food and then filling my belly with an unhealthy amount of Shiner Cheer when I get home.

Tim: Unfortunately, I'm still a Cowboys fan, so I get to watch them disappoint me again. YAY!

Ian: Enjoy family or whatever, I guess.

Lisa: I'm going to snuggle by the fire with my brand new baby nephew and my two old dogs. Life moves too fast.

Rebecca: Curling myself into the fetal position in a corner and crying all day. Or going to the Cowboys game. Is that the same thing?

Kirk: My wife and I live so far away from our family, so we often turn our house in a Thanksgiving refugee station. Curtis Harris (@ProHoopsHistory) and Aaron McGuire (@Docrostov of Gothic Ginobli) are coming over with some other friends and we are going to eat all of the things, drink a bit too much, and play Cards Against Humanity. Mary and I also go Black Friday shopping because we are insane and love watching the people.