Mavs Moneyball - Gameday: Dallas Mavericks vs. Memphis GrizzliesRick Carlisle approved.https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/50869/mmb-fav.png2015-12-19T08:41:29-06:00http://www.mavsmoneyball.com/rss/stream/103523332015-12-19T08:41:29-06:002015-12-19T08:41:29-06:00Undiagnosed anemia slowed down McGee's recovery
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<figcaption>Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>McGee took nearly two years to recover from a leg fracture and finally we have a better idea why.</p> <p>JaVale McGee played his best game of the season against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, scoring 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting. After the game, <a href="http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas-mavericks/post/_/id/4705914/high-jumping-javale-mcgee-flashes-potential-for-mavs">ESPN Dallas' Tim MacMahon discovered an interesting tidbit</a> that had delayed McGee's recovery: doctors discovered McGee had anemia, a condition that left him without enough iron in his blood.</p>
<p>McGee suffered a left tibia fracture in early February of 2014 -- almost two years ago -- which limited him to six games last season for the Philadelphia 76ers. He wasn't cleared to play for the Mavericks until the middle of November. A lack of iron had preventing his leg from healing properly and, once diagnosed, a change in McGee's diet helped set him on the road to recovery, MacMahon reported.</p>
<p>The diet change left him with the unfortunate consequence of McGee arriving at Mavericks' training camp overweight and somewhat out of shape. McGee told reporters he only feels like he's at 90 percent athletically right now, so his recovery is still an ongoing process. But Friday showed what the real potential of a healthy McGee in Dallas' lineup.</p>
https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2015/12/19/10626050/javale-mcgee-anemia-slow-down-recovery-injury-leg-fracture-mavericksTim Cato2015-12-18T21:54:00-06:002015-12-18T21:54:00-06:00Mavericks get a solid win over Memphis, 97-88
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<figcaption>Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The Mavericks' offense was humming in an impressive win against the Grizzlies.</p> <p>This game sure felt like a must win for Dallas. After struggling against other Western Conference teams above .500, tonight seemed like a good chance for Dallas to shrug off their shooting woes and finally notch an impressive win.</p>
<p>After a disastrous start, the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/">Mavericks</a> (led by <span>Chandler Parsons</span> and <span>JaVale McGee</span>, naturally) clawed their way to a six-point lead at the half, thanks in part to three free-throws following a spectacularly dumb foul committed by <span>Matt Barnes</span> as <span>Deron Williams</span> heaved a half-court shot 0.1 seconds before the buzzer.</p>
<p>The Mavericks came alive in the second half, though, and by midway through the fourth, it was clear that Dallas was going to get the win the team desperately needed.</p>
<h4>Tonight belonged to the bench</h4>
<p>The Mavericks played some really beautiful basketball at times tonight, including a rare DIRK DUNK. But the starters also had one of the biggest garbage fires of an opening I've seen this season. The team's first field goal came almost four minutes into the game. It was still their only field goal by five minutes in, at which point they'd coughed up a 10-point lead to the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.grizzlybearblues.com/">Grizzlies</a>. <span>Zaza Pachulia</span> got the Mavs through this offensive rough spot by pulling down seven boards in five minutes, though most of them were actually his own misses.</p>
<p>But while Dirk outpaced all Mavericks with 20 points, it was the efficiency of the bench that made a big difference tonight. <span>Charlie Villanueva</span> was in double digits, JaVale McGee had his best game of the season, JJ Barea was pretty useful, and Chandler Parsons <a href="http://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2015/12/18/10487804/chandler-parsons-injury-time-to-panic-mavericks-recovery" target="_blank">apparently reads our site</a>. Overall, it was a balanced scoring night with six Mavericks in double digits.</p>
<h4>Speaking of Chandler Parsons...</h4>
<p>Perhaps it's unfair to brag about the Mavericks' bench when it really only technically includes Chandler Parsons, but it seems Parsons took <a href="http://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2015/12/18/10487804/chandler-parsons-injury-time-to-panic-mavericks-recovery" target="_blank">our concerns</a> personally and did his best to reassure antsy Maverick fans everywhere that he is still capable of being the player we all want him to be. His presence in the game helped spark a big first quarter offensive turnaround, and he ended the game with the second-highest point total (16) on the team along with seven rebounds and seven assists.</p>
<h4>JAVALE!</h4>
<p>Even as a JaVale McGee fan/apologist, I was starting to get nervous. In his very limited minutes this season (he'd played a total of 63 coming into tonight's game), McGee has put up some very impressive per-minute numbers. He's on track to average 17 points and almost 17 rebounds per 36 minutes and is making just over 58 percent of his field goals. Still, his advanced stats are garbage because in those 63 minutes he's also managed to wrack up 10 fouls, commit 6 turnovers, and make just two of his six free throws.</p>
<p>But perhaps the most concerning aspect of his play is that he's been totally useless on defense. McGee hasn't always been the most attentive defender, but at his peak he was a fantastic shot blocker. Lately, though, he's been looking more like this, without a single block to his name this season:</p>
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<p>Tonight was a different story. He played more minutes than he has all season and even showed up on defense. On one possession, JaVale had two blocks in succession on <span>Zach Randolph</span> (ok, fine, the second was actually a goaltend, but it looked awesome) and then answered the goaltending call with a sweet alley-oop on the other end. He managed to collect another two legitimate blocks to go with his 10 points (on six shots) and five rebounds.</p>
<p>He still hasn't played enough minutes to really know what he's going to add to the team in the long run, but tonight was very, very encouraging.</p>
<h4>Memphis has the best alternates</h4>
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<p>Tonight the Grizzlies wore their red throw-back Memphis Sounds alternates, and I think they mad a pretty good case for the best in the league.</p>
https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2015/12/18/10625088/dallas-mavericks-memphis-grizzlies-final-score-recapKate Crawford2015-12-18T10:00:06-06:002015-12-18T10:00:06-06:00Mavs face Grizzlies looking to bust out of slump
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<figcaption>Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Can Dallas find some momentum? Please?</p> <p>Things didn't go well for Dallas when they encountered Memphis for the first time this season. The then 8-4 Mavs looked overmatched against the <a href="https://www.grizzlybearblues.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Grizzlies</a> in a 110-96 loss, as they turned the ball over 19 times and shot a paltry 39 percent from the floor as a team.</p>
<p>Now, the Grizzlies sit just a half-game behind Dallas in both the Southwest Division and Western Conference Standings. They, like Dallas, have some pretty big leaks in their ship, and both the Grizzlies and Mavs are trying to bail water as fast as they can.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Dallas is just 2-8 against teams with a record above .500, which is a horrifying signal of where this team could end up, should this trend persist throughout the season.</p>
<h4>Dallas Since They Last Met</h4>
<p>Since that game with the Grizzlies, the <a href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Mavericks</a> have gone just 5-6, with bad losses to Sacramento, Houston, and Washington along the way. Over those 11 games, Dallas has averaged 13.5 turnovers per game while shooting just 43.2 percenet from the floor, and an abysmal 32.6 percent from 3-point range.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, we're all <a href="http://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2015/12/18/10487804/chandler-parsons-injury-time-to-panic-mavericks-recovery">still worried</a> about <span>Chandler Parsons</span>, and the play of the<a href="http://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2015/12/16/10123742/j-j-bareas-struggles-other-mavericks-guard-rotation-problems"> Mavs backcourt</a> has raised some serious questions.</p>
<h4>Memphis Since They Last Met</h4>
<p>The Grizzlies have also wallowed in mediocrity since their last meeting with Dallas, going 6-6 since that win. The biggest concern for Memphis is a noticeable decline on defense. During their 2014-15 campaign, Memphis was second in the NBA in points allowed, giving up just 95.1 points per game to opponents. They were holding opposing teams to just 44.2 percent shooting from the field, good for 10th in the league, and they were forcing 14.6 turnovers a game, good for eighth in the league.</p>
<p>This season, the Grizz have seen those numbers balloon quite a bit. Memphis is allowing opponents to score an average of 100.9 points per game (16th, tied with Dallas), on 45.9 percent shooting (25th). They're still forcing turnovers at a high rate, 15.9 per game, but defensively they've slowed.</p>
<h4>Three Keys To a Dallas Win</h4>
<p>It's something we've been screaming for all season, but Dallas needs to start making their open shots, especially threes. Memphis may have declined defensively but that simply doesn't matter if Dallas can't take advantage of their good looks.</p>
<p><span>Zaza Pachulia</span> has been on a rebounding tear over the past four games, averaging just shy of 14 rebounds over that stretch. Dallas managed to out-rebound the Grizzlies in their first meeting (Zaza pulled down 10 boards to go with 13 points), and they'll need to do that again Friday.</p>
<p>Like I mentioned above, Dallas turned the ball over 19 times in their first meeting with Memphis, and <span>Deron Williams</span>, <span>Raymond Felton</span>, and <span>J.J. Barea</span> were responsible for 11 of those. They'll need to protect the ball much better than that to keep Memphis from getting loose on the fast break and scoring easy buckets.</p>
<p>It all seems rather elementary, sure, but maybe getting back to the basics for a moment will help Dallas recover some momentum, and propel them through a tough finish to the month of December.</p>
<h4>How to watch</h4>
<p>Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m. Central, and you can catch the game on Fox Sports Southwest in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, or on NBA League Pass via your streaming device of choice.</p>
https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2015/12/18/10581594/mavs-face-grizzlies-looking-to-bust-out-of-slumpJamie Plunkett