I thought that Indiana game was a bit closer than it seemed; the Pacers hit every single crucial shot they had, and still only won by 5. You have to figure if Amir caught one of the two passes in the key that he missed (either would have finished in a dunk), the Raptors made a stop down the stretch, or the Pacers missed on of the many shots they shouldn’t have hit, the Raps could be 2-0 right now. That’s my glass is half-full moment, down to business.

The defending champs host the Raptors for what will be their 4th game in 6 nights; on the second night of a back-to-back having played the Thunder in Oklahoma. That’s a lot of wear and tear for an aging team who is 0-3 to start the season. That said, these are the defending champs with a war-tested lineup; can’t take them lightly.

I had a chance to talk with Ian Levy and Rob Mahoney of The Two Man Game about the Mavs:

True or False: Cuban and Nelson don’t get enough credit for the teams they’ve been fielding for the last decade.

Ian I think they get the right amount of credit. Cuban is known for be willing to spend and for letting the basketball people make the decisions. Nelson has shown a great understanding of timing, not just buying low and selling high, but knowing when the structure of the team needs to go in a different direction.

Rob True. I don’t want to instill the Mavericks with more of a victim complex than they already have (sorry, Shawn Marion — I meant to say “World Champion Mavericks,”), but building and maintaining a contender for more than a decade is no small feat. Dallas may only have one title to show for all of Cuban and Nelson’s hard work, but they played some incredible basketball for 11 straight seasons. That’s damn impressive.

The Mavs retooled in the off-season, replacing Chandler w/ Odom, signing VC and Delonte; without jeopardizing their 2012 cap situation I must add. I look up and down this roster and feel this team is better than the one that won the championship last year; thoughts?

Ian The team that won the championship last season was not the same team they had on paper, it was a beautiful origami construction, using that paper as a raw material. These first two losses for the Mavericks are a reminder that they need to take what they have and make it into something much greater.

Rob I’d give Lamar Odom a slight edge over Tyson Chandler in whatever universal comparison of basketball players I can muster, Vince Carter is fairly comparable to Caron Butler (if you count him in your estimations of the championship team), and Delonte West is better than J.J. Barea. But as a team? I’d say this roster is a bit inferior; Chandler, Barea, and even DeShawn Stevenson were perfect fits for this particular team, while the new pieces contribute to a less complete overall product.

This season could finally be the one that Jason Kidd’s body says “enough’s enough”? With Dirk potentially having a couple more elite seasons in him in the front court, wouldn’t the priority heading into the summer be signing Deron Williams as a free agent target?

Ian Absolutely, but it sounds a lot like one of those “hometown loyalty” pipe-dreams. The Mavericks need to be proactive in building a roster for the future. Adding a player of Williams’ caliber would be tremendous, but the possibility seems too tenuous to be the centerpiece of a plan.

Rob Both are possibilities; Kidd’s drop-off could come without warning, and Dallas has very real interest in acquiring Williams. But it’s one strategy, not the strategy. The Mavs aren’t banking on age-old ties to a high school to bring in Williams, just as they won’t be banking on an age-old point guard to guide them into the next era. Nelson and Cuban are staying flexible, being mindful of their spending, and playing it by ear. They obviously have some tentative plans in place, but overall their outlook is more of a flow chart than an agenda.

Call the game

Ian My apologies to the Raptors fans but I think the Mavericks get on track with a win tonight.

Rob I’ll say Dallas wins a tight one. The Mavs looked much improved against the Thunder on Thursday night, and while they’re sure to be weary after their down-to-the-wire loss, I see them building on their performance in Friday’s game. They’ll have their hands full with a more active Raptors team, but I think the Mavs get it done for their first win of the season.

Match-Ups

Point Guard
I know we’re just two games into the season, but the Raptors are 8th in defense. Don’t rip me a new one, I realize it’s ony two games, but when the hell have we ever been top 10 in defense? Some of that starts with Calderon on the perimeter not doing his clapping hands routine. The one thing that has me concerned about Kidd after watching Paul George have all the time in the world the other night from beyond the arc, is Kidd being put in the same spot; otherwise, keeping him under control shouldn’t be  a mission for Calderon (and Bayless who is my 2nd least favourite Raptor after Magloire).
Edge: Raptors

Shooting Guard
DeRozan played ball all summer, is young, in great shape, a gym rat…yet still has been having a tough time with catching a rhythm early in games. Had it not been for an epic 2nd half against the Pacers, everyone would be pretty ‘meh’ on the kid right now. That said, his shot has looked really good this year. Barbosa has given us exactly what we’ve expected from the get-go (stayed fresh in Brazil while the rest of the league played XBOX and such). The Mavs have two guys over 34 (Terry/Carter) and a head case (West). So while Carter’s best days are behind him, Terry still has some gas in the tank, and has been playing well so far. West is the only one of the lot who plays any defense, but I have a suspicion the Mavs will give the Raptors just enough wiggle room that they will find their offensive stride.
Edge: Mavericks

Small Forward
James Johnson can play defense, rebound, and dunk in transition, and…that’s about it. He should never be allowed to shoot another jumper or put the ball on the floor, again. That said, he’s loads better than Weems. Marion on the other hand hasn’t been to the free throw line yet this season. This troubles me, especially considering he still insists on shooting 3s. Regardless, he’s still got enough to completely nullify anything (Rasual Butler, seriously?) the Raptors can throw at him at the 3, and give Bargnani some fits if Dallas ever goes small ball. The 3-spot quickly falls off after Marion, but they are deep enough to trot out some interesting lineup combinations.
Edge: Mavericks

Power Forward
Nowitzki > Bargnani. Bargs is making strides, nice ones, but there’s nothing else to talk about here.
Edge: Mavericks

Center
One day I’m actually going to put together my list of players I loathe; Brendan Haywood will be on that list, close to the top. I hate how the Raptors single handedly made him look like a star when he played for the Wizards. I did enjoy how after the Mavs handed him that retarded contract of his, they realized they wouldn’t be able to win anything with him as their starting center, then went and got themselves Chandler; that must have been fairly emasculating. So he will have a couple dunks, miss everything from the line and be pretty invisible for the night. Odom may or may not finally wake up and actually choose to contribute, and knowing the Raptors luck it could be tonight, but I like the center-by-committee the Raptors can field against this lot.
Edge: Raptors

The Line

The gamblers have the Mavs as 9.5 point favourites with an over/under of 196. I’m really torn on this one, on the one-hand it’s hard to imagine the Mavs losing their 4th game in a row to start the season at home to the Raptors, but on the other hand they are giving up 110 points a game.  Mavs by 3, bet against the line.

Arsenalist has a Breaking It Down post dropping after lunch; check it out.

Ajinca: my frustration is beginning to mount at his use. He is far from an all star but he is just as serviceable as Sonny FREAKIN Weems. I’m not sure if that upsets me more or that every time I hear his last name, I remember this song. #r2d2

Alabi: according to the box score, he played. In real life, not in a video game. Interesting. #r2d2

Barbosa: in a stretch of a few minutes it was like he was a robot. Back to back threes from almost the exact same spot and speed out of the late 90s. Then he fell back into his rut. #r2d2

Bargnani: stayed late after practice yesterday watching his game tape. Not surprisingly he had the same reaction we all do when watching him play. Therefore he took the night off due to illness. #r2d2

Bayless: I think I have seen Arsenalist more in control of himself and his bodily functions at a kegger than Jerryd is in control of his game. He reminds me of a hamster seeing a big wheel and deciding to take it for a spin. #r2d2

Calderon: nice offensive game tonight. Had the eye to make shots and some nice dishes. This is an important end stretch for us and for him. We need him to be a commodity and with a longer than usual offseason coming up, now is the time to show it. #r2d2

Davis: got the start as Andrea was hugging a toilet and calling it Shirley. Did a bang up job too against a pretty darn good team of veterans. He is a stud if he can remain healthy and will be the leader of this new team. #r2d2

DeRozan: quickly becoming the Raptors version of Rasheed. If we are playing, a technical will be used. Shut your trap and let your game demand the fouls to be called. You had a chance to make a name for yourself on the world stage 2 years in a row now and shat all over it. You expect refs to give you credit? Please. Your coach barely stomachs your game. #r2d2

Dorsey: Given AlkaSeltzer duty by Micah Nori. #r2d2

Evans: This guy ever gonna play? Ever? #r2d2

A. Johnson: in a season of solid hardworking games, add another to the list. Out there running the floor and flailing body parts, it was a welcome sight in this building on a day we needed it. Wasn’t enough, but great to see someone cared. #r2d2

J. Johnson: from no minutes to 33 minutes and a sweatband that actually has game-earned sweat! Blimey, we really are that bad. His game has dropped off already, but that could be him just setting in to his surroundings. #r2d2

Kleiza: just call him C3PO #r2d2

Weems: only one thing will make Sonny an NBA player who can contribute on a nightly basis. Ambien and a clear head. #r2d2

Wright: and the winner for Comeback Player of the Year Who Ended Up Being Inconsequential is….    #r2d2

Driving The Bus: Amir Johnson

Under The Bus: Jerryd Bayless

Game Theme:

Injury Report

Toronto
Reggie Evans – Out
Linas Kleiza – Out

Dallas
Caron Butler – Out

Player Report

Jose Calderon
Friday was a low point for Jose since taking full control of the starting unit. 0pts 7ast in 24mins; much like the rest of the team (Bargnani/Barbosa/Davis excluded) he was pretty flat. 0-3 from the field, no trips to the line. Are you serious? This only serves to strengthen our draft position, but it’s out of his character to dog it on the court. Either he’s hurt, or he’s tired. Regardless, he wont need to worry about a fast point guard who can beat him off the dribble tonight. Jason Kidd turns 38 in a month, but he’s no Steve Nash, and is more reputation than production at this point.

The Mavs are 8th in the league in defense, and while they have guys like Chandler patrolling the key, you have to give Kidd some credit for being part of a team committed to D. The guy still rebounds the ball very well, is an exceptional passer and can hit open threes. Jose needs to attack the old man, make him work in transition and not leave him open at the top of arc for the long ball. I’m smelling a comeback game, even though I’ve been calling for it all it.
Box: 10pts 11ast 5rebs

DeMar DeRozan
I liked that technical he got on Friday, love seeing my guys fired up and pissed off. It was disappointing that he only got to the line twice against a weak (I’m be generous here) Suns defense. There were all kinds of lanes that he could have taken to the rim, but the offense was disjointed, and everything seemed like it was one-and-done. Hard to get going in those circumstances, but he still managed a pretty decent showing. Still, two trips to the line, that’s pretty brutal. Looking back on his year, when he shoots at least 6 free throws, he’s scored at least 20 points (note: there were three cases where he took a great deal of shots to get past 20 though). Getting to the line = being aggressive with the ball = attacking the defense = jumpers not the main course for the evening.

He’s got Beaubois tonight in a match-up he should own. The Mavs are very reluctant to trade the kid, and while he’s nice, I don’t know that he’s good enough to justify not making moves to bring in savior  vets who make better decisions with the ball. Much like the Cavs not wanting to part with JJ Hickson when Amar’e was on the table. Rodrigue will be a pest with his speed and quick hands, but he doesn’t have the size to really bother our boy. Heres to hoping for 8 trips to the line.
Box: 20pts 4rebs

James Johnson
I’m starting to like him a lot, more than Wright. I do have one question though: how did he jump the line so quickly when Wright is as good defensively, but better on the offensive end? Also, if his starting gig holds, how much do you think it will cost Weems as a free agent this summer? Personally, I don’t care if he scores if he keeps giving us that defense on the wing; it was how I felt with Wright, but I like this kid more, must be the Iverson arm sleeve he wears.

I love Peja, wish we held on to him if for no other reason than have him sit on the bench with the pimp suit and nicely combed part in his hair. Since being traded, he’s averaging 11pts 3rebs 1ast 1stl while sticking two treys a game. Granted he gives very little on defense, so there will be plenty of opportunities for JJ to get to the rim.
Box: 7pts 7rebs 1stl 2blk

Amir Johnson
Not sure what Friday was, but I expected much more from Amir against the Suns. He’s averaging 8.6pts 5.4rebs 1ast 1.4blk, nothing to write home about especially since we were getting used to him approaching double-double’s on a regular basis. Could be time to start thinking about using his energy off the bench and giving Davis some burn as a starter, I see no downside. He’s going to need all the energy he can muster against Chandler, who’s playing for another $10mil/year contract in the summer. I’m still pretty pissed we lost out on him in the summer, and have been meaning to write a post all year on what this team would look like had that Bobcats trade gone through (Jack/Bayless, DeRozan, Diaw, Bargnani, Chandler w/ Davis, Johnson, Barbosa, Kleiza off the bench – that’s good for 45 wins with a very manageable cap situation and young player development; sigh). You know he’s going to want to avenge that pathetic 3pt 6reb performance in the loss earlier in the season.
8pts 14rebs 2blk

Andrea Bargnani
Friday against the Suns was a bizzarro night where I tweeted this. Loved Andrea’s performance, even though he only grabbed 4 boards (the team as a whole was doing a sub-par rebounding job). Nowitzki is going to be a tough check for Bargnani, since he’s a better rebounding version of himself. Still, I’m looking forward to watching this match-up since both were absent during the Raptor win earlier this season.
23pts 6rebs 1blk

The Line

The gamblers have the Mavs as 5.5 point favourites with an over/under of 207.5. I just don’t see the Raptors getting that close. If you think we will see the same thing as the win earlier in the season, you have to realize a few things:

1. The Mavs without Nowitzki are a bunch of old guys who can’t score in the paint
2. Ed Davis put up the best game of his rookie season with 17pts 12rebs (made up for the lost Bargnani production)
3. The Mavs are currently on a streak of 15 wins in the their last 16 games as they gear up for the playoffs

This is going to be a totally different kind of game, and if the Raptors come out with the same energy as Friday, this game will be lost in the 2nd quarter.

Alabi: he was as likely to enter this game as I am the Playboy Mansion.

Barbosa: if you believe the talking heads, he is being held together by spit, string, and some Juicy Fruit. He still brought his B game and that was enough to bridge any gap left by the rest of the St. Elsewhere staff.

Bargnani: probably the best game he has ever played against Dirk.

Bayless: looked high strung for most of the game and then his ankle decided it didn’t want to play with the cool kids anymore. His shots weren’t falling and he suffered from Jose-itis in that the drive was there for him all night, but he didn’t want to seem to take it.

Calderon: decided if all the big boys were sitting, damn it, he was too.

Davis: ladies and gentlemen, your future. There were times tonight where I was flashing back to the Vince and TMac days and remembering what it felt like to really be excited about our future. Ed’s game tonight and seeing how loose he was made me want to break out the dinosaur logo.

DeRozan: another nice game but man when he gets exposed on defence, he may as well wear a trenchcoat. He should come with his own “Doh Doh Doh” sound effect to be played as guys blow by him.

Dorsey: Little Dwight with another solid game. Not that Tyson Chandler exactly threw offence Joey’s way (Chandler attempted 1 FG in 26minutes) but Joey did a nice job in keeping the bigs at bay.

Dupree: Per Diem.

Evans: send this man a Wii and get him back in shape.

Johnson: the Coles Notes version of this game. Playing hurt, he turned in 42 minutes of simply inspired play. Hard nosed off the ball, attacking on both ends of the floor, playing with smarts. You simply couldn’t have asked for a better game from a wounded soldier.

Kleiza: played very well until the mid third when he Keon Clark’d and pulled an idiotic move and got himself T’d up twice and ejected, bringing us down to 2 NBA players, a few scrubs and Alex English getting fitted for tearaways.

Stojakovic: you suck.

Weems: A few days away from mastering playing Yao as a PG in 2k11.

Wright: he took a heck of a charge late in the game that pretty much cemented the W for us. He has completely come out of nowhere this season and, once again I have to say, is almost demanding more time from Jay. Jay has given the wrong answer a few times, but time to change your tune.

Driving The Bus: Amir Johnson

Under The Bus: Linas Kleiza

Game Theme:

1. Rid us of Turkoglu
2. Bring in a complimentary piece to Bosh

The fact of the matter is that Bosh wont be making a decision until he is allowed to talk to some teams, and see what they have to offer; at which point he will either sign on the dotted line, or give Colangelo his short list of teams he wants to play for.

Either way, unless we trade yet another lottery pick (and throw DeRozan in), I expect this trade to make the Raptors better in both the short/long run. Take that however you want, but we all have another week to go nuts on the ESPN trade machine.

I had a chance to talk to Rob Mahoney from The Two Man Game about the Mavericks, and what the f*ck happened.

Sam Holako: WTF happened???

Rob Mahoney: Well, that depends on who you ask. Talk to the Maverick faithful, and the team peaked too early; after riding a big winning streak following the Mavs’ acquisitions at the deadline, the team had faded going into the playoffs. Talk to the realists, and they’ll tell you of a Dallas team that never could quite get it together defensively, and lacked the offensive versatility to protect Dirk from aggressive coverage. Ask an extremist, and you’ll likely hear stories of how centuries-old prophecies as told by soothsayers around the globe foretold of Rodrigue Beaubois’ ascension, and Rick Carlisle’s stubborn denial of the rookie’s destiny led to an extended fourth quarter benching in the decisive Game 6 and a destruction of the natural order of the universe.

Needless to say, it’s all a bit complicated. Still, the easy part is that the team just wasn’t ready. They weren’t good enough on either side of the ball to get past San Antonio in the first round — much less a potential match-up with Phoenix or L.A. later in the playoffs — even if they fell just short in almost every loss.

SH: One thing I have admired about the Mavs/Cuban is that they have continually retooled via big moves in an effort to win a championship (Butler, Haywood, and Marion). However, I’m not so sure Carlisle was/is the right guy for the job (although I’m a big fan of his). You touched on his benching of Beausboise a little; while I’m not convinced he would have saved the season if played, I can’t help but think that specific event was symptomatic of a larger issue. Is it time to reduce Kids role on the Mavs and increase Patrices? Does Carlisle have what it takes to make this happen without things detiorating?

RM: I really do think he can make it happen. Carlisle has shown a lot of flexibility during his time in Dallas (his reluctance to play Beaubois was the exception, not the rule), and that’s crucial. I mean, he benched Caron Butler in a playoff game. It was the right move, but the real question is how many coaches would even be willing to do that? That was a lot of salary left sitting on the bench and a former All-Star, but Caron was hurting the offense and Carlisle knew it.

Coaches need to be willing to play whichever players give the team the best chance to win, regardless of standing or reputation. Carlisle has shown that he’s willing to do that (except with Beaubois, apparently, but again that’s more a fluke), and he’ll continue to alter the rotation until he’s satisfied.

For what it’s worth, the Mavs — from Rick Carlisle to Mark Cuban to Donnie Nelson — have made it clear that Beaubois will have a bigger role next season, both playing off the ball as he did this past season and with more time as the back-up point. That probably won’t indicate much of a drop-off for Kidd, but the team may be more conservative with Jason’s minutes in the regular season.

SH: What’s this kids upside? Not very often you hear people scream about benching a late first round pick in favour of Jason Kidd.

RM: It’s incredibly high. The physical tools are all there — the speed, the length, the athleticism, the body control — and once he finds ways to properly utilize all of his gifts, he’s going to be a force. In the meantime, he was only second on the team in points per minute, led all rookies in PER and true shooting percentage, and shot 50-40-80 from the field. He doesn’t have a ton of experience, but at the same time I wouldn’t call him “raw”; his instincts serve him well. He’s coming along at the defensive end as well, but he played defense like a rookie. I expect a little more nuance in his defensive performances in year two, with a better understanding of opposing players’ tendencies, how he fits into a team defensive concept, etc.

I see no reason why Beaubois can’t be a star in this league for a long time. All of the components are there, it just takes time and a little opportunity.

SH: An issue that has split Raptor fans into two groups is the notion of Chris Bosh as a max player. Some of us, myself included, feel that he is an elite level player in the league who is worthy of a max contract (in terms of his worth on a championship team, I feel he’s more a Pippen than a Jordan), while others violently disagree. I want to ask that question of you, can a championship team be built around Nowitzki at this stage of his career? Is he a max player? Would the Mavs be better off dealing him and rebuilding around Beaubois?

RM: For the record, I think Bosh is a max player and I’ll defend that notion to the grave. Similarly, Nowitzki is still a max player, even if he may take a lower-than-max deal to help out the team.

You can still build an offense around Dirk Nowitzki, it’s just not the easiest thing in the world. There is no template to follow, because Dirk isn’t a traditional low-post player or a super-quick point guard or an athletic swingman. The league has never seen anything quite like Dirk; there have been players with similar skills, but no one that combines Nowitzki’s unique versatility, talent, and efficiency. He just needs the right components around him on both ends of the court to secure a title, and he’s never really had that.

Even in 2006 when the Mavs went to the Finals, the thing that really put Dallas over the top was Devin Harris’ ability to penetrate. Harris is the only post-Nash point guard the Mavs have had that could really attract defensive attention. Jason Kidd, for all of his talents, doesn’t command coverage. He doesn’t penetrate particularly well, and he’s not forcing defenses to adapt to his movements. Similarly, Erick Dampier has been the most successful center of the Nowitzki era. I appreciate Damp more than anyone, but if the Mavs had a superior center in the last few seasons, Dirk could have a title to his name.

He still could, but it’s going to take some kind of adjustment. The guys currently on the roster — Jason Terry, Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood, et al — are talented, but probably not talented enough nor do they possess ideal skill sets. It doesn’t take a monumental change, but Dallas needs a few upgrades, and given that, Nowitzki could still be competitive for a title. There may be a day when the Mavs would be wise to build around Beaubois, but it’s not today. Or tomorrow. And probably not the day after that, either.

SH: Nowitzki isn’t getting any younger, but he still has a few years at an elite level in him. Cuban has shown the chops to make things happen, and has continually loaded up year after year with players that have put together great regular season teams, but failed in the playoffs. What players should he be targeting this offseason to compliment Dirk; or is trading Dirk the only answer?

RM: If I had my pick of any potential acquisition, I’d shoot for Dwyane Wade. Not exactly a great center that can anchor a defense, but he’s an elite scorer, a terrific playmaker, and an excellent defender that fills a positional need. That said, Wade won’t be giving the Mavs the time of day, which makes some of the other players that could be on the market this summer — guys like Joe Johnson and Andre Iguodala — far more reasonable targets.

Bosh is a bit of an odd fit in Dallas. Offensively, he’d be a dream, but I’m skeptical of Bosh and Dirk’s ability to coexist on defense. That said, he’s a hell of a player, and if the Mavs had a shot of nabbing him, they’d do their best to take that shot.

That shot would be something like Erick Dampier (or really, his instantly expiring contract that wouldn’t cost Toronto a penny), Rodrigue Beaubois, and DeShawn Stevenson’s expiring contract. If the Mavs were particularly desperate, they could agree to take on Hedo Turkoglu in exchange for Caron Butler, but that would sour the deal rather substantially in my opinion. It’s not a knockout for the Raps, but I honestly don’t see Toronto getting any return value better than Beaubois; he’s young, talented, and inexpensive, and would really only come with the additional cost of Stevenson’s one-year $4.15 million deal. Beaubois may not be Chris Bosh, but he’d be an excellent young piece that when paired with DeMar DeRozan, could give Toronto the most athletic (and one of the most exciting) backcourts in the league.

–

Damn interesting proposal if you ask me. Have to say, if Bosh said he didn’t want to play for the Raptors anymore, and the Mavs agreed to take Turkoglu in a S&T, gotta say this deal gives us lots of options in the short and long term.

I’m on Twitter.

In the best performance we’ve seen all year, the Raptors finally lived up to their potential in a blowout win over the Mavs. It’s sometimes frustrating when the Raptors lose to the likes of the Bobcats/Pacers, then beat the Spurs/Mavs, because you wonder why they couldn’t beat both. It speaks to a team that seems to be a player, or adjustment, or something, away from really putting it together, and making a serious run. What it also does is frustrate many of us because this team isn’t living up to its potential, perceived or otherwise. For now, we are happy because the win in New York was solidified with an even bigger win at home to the Mavs.

I actually had zero expectations for this game aside from trying to keep it as close as possible, and not roll over. The first quarter was just that. The Raptors shot a horrible 36% from the field, but they held the Mavs to 43.5% led by a great defensive effort by DeRozan. The kid really stepped up and challenged Howard to do something, and Howard didn’t. DeMar stayed with him off of screens, contesting jumpers and taking away the lane. The two times Howard shook free, Bosh was there at the rim to block him, and Turkoglu rotated over to steal the ball from him. This defensive tone that DeRozan set early stayed through the whole game, with tight rotations and great help on the weak side.

The second quarter saw Calderon, Wright and Johnson bring a lot of energy off the bench. We forget how effective Jose is as a backup, it’s like he’s a totally different person. The last couple games, he has brought exactly what was missing from the starting unit. He penetrated, found shooters, grabbed a rebound, played tough defense (2 steals) and hit the shots he needed to. All his shots were timely. I’m gushing I know, but in 12min, he had 9pts 6ast 2stls on 4-6 shooting. I alluded to Jason Terry being the perfect 6th man in the league, but if Calderon keeps up this kind of play, he is right up there.

The second quarter spark also saw Turkoglu wake up and contribute with 5pts 4ast in the frame. All said and done, the Raptors took the lead in the 2nd quarter by simply sharing the ball, and making that extra pass that resulted in a quality shot. On 15 made field goals (13 were great looks from the perimeter), 11 were assisted. That’s ridiculous. Antoine Wright even went 2-3, of which all three shots didn’t make me want to bang my head against the wall. On the defensive end, the Raptors kept the Mavs scoreless for 3 minutes during an early quarter 6-0 that gave them the lead that they never gave up for the rest of the game.

Bargnani stepped up his defense on Nowitzki in the second quarter. Contesting, blocking out, and challenging Dirk on every possession. All said and done, Dirk was limited to 4pts on 2-4 shooting in the 2nd. This was huge in keeping the Mavs in check since Terry dropped 10 in the quarter, on 5-7 shooting – dude hit everything, it was very frustrating because they were tough shots. All said and done, the Raptors took a 54-41 lead into the half.

The Raptors offense started the 2nd half stagnant. The ball wasn’t being moved around, bad jumpers were being forced, and the Mavs started with a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 8. Bosh and Bargnani went to work, running the high-low post, assisting on each others buckets – Colangelo’s wet dream. DeRozan hit back-to-back jumpers that pushed the lead back up to 12. The Raptors had another defensive stand that spurred a 7-0 run, allowing 2 contested shots that had no chance in falling. Had Terry not hit a ridiculously deep three towards the end of the quarter, the Raps would have entered the 4th up 19.

Amir blocked Marion at the rim to start the 4th. The Raptors held the Mavs scoreless for 3 minutes, and that was the game. The Raptors shot the ball better from the floor, moved the ball around better, defended better, protected better, got to the line and converted more, it was a masterful display.

This is the most spread out player impact chart I’ve seen this season. Bosh, Bargnani, Turkoglu and Amir Johnson stand out, but when you consider what Jack and Calderon did as a duo, it was a five-headed monster that stepped up and snatched this from the Mavs. I have to say, I’m a proud Raptor fan today, awesome way to start the week.

Priceless

The one thing I was thinking about while watching the Knicks game was that the Raptors need to focus and execute for a full 48 minutes against the Mavs to have a chance at taking the game. While the Knicks were mounting their comeback, thoughts of Nowitzki nailing shot after shot were dancing through my head. Unlike the Knicks, the Mavs are a great team. From what I have seen/read, they are next in line in the West in terms of championship potential in the West.

The Raptors have building a 20 point lead down to a science. They are great at it. Winning by 20 is another story. The Mavs are great at spotting the Raptors a 20 point, then slowly taking it away. What hurts the most is that you know there is nothing that can be done to stop it. The Mavs are perfectly constructed to beat the Raptors on any given night .The script almost writes itself:

Passing the Torch
Since Bargnani got to the league, he’s been the next coming of Dirk. To his credit, he has shown, in stretches, that he is capable of  having the same impact on the game. A crucial match-up. Nowitzki is going to get his points, so will Bargnani, but the one who also does the intangibles (rebounding, weak side blocks, clutch play) will have the most impact for their team.

The Sales Pitch
Bosh is a free agent. Bosh is from Dallas. Dallas likes Bosh (the city). Dallas wants Bosh. Dallas can show Bosh that his addition to the team could push them over the top. Bosh has a lot to think about. Just watch Cuban, every time Bosh looks in his direction, he will smile, wink and nod his head approvingly.

The Guy We Should Have Kept vs The Guy We Ended Up Getting
The title pretty much says it all. Marion represents a perfect compliment to Bosh and Bargnani. The guy rebounds the hell out of the ball and would be that second rebounder on the offensive glass when Bargs is on the perimeter. On the defensive end, he is that lock-down guy who would limit dribble-penetration much more than what is going on now. Oh, Marion doesn’t need the ball in his hands to be effective on either end of the floor.

Supporting Actors
While Calderon has always excelled at coming off the bench, Jason Terry is the best in the game. He gets on the court, and is istant offense. Makes you pay for giving him space, and makes teams jealous that a starter level player has no problems coming off the bench – we could all be so lucky. After Terry, the Dallas bench gets pretty rough. The Raptors are deeper and more versatile, and need to take advantage. Amir will get burn, and actually need to do something with it. Belinelli/Weems/Wright will all get a shot at covering Howard/Marion, and should actually get good results on Howard who has been playing through an injury all year and not at the All-Star level he once was.

This game is a crucial one, aside from the fact that we dropped one against Indiana, we have a back-to-back against Cleveland and Milwaukee (sadly Milwaukee is the second night). It’s another statement game that they can build off the Friday win in New York, and take it to the Mavs who aren’t used to the cold and early game times.

I can only see this game going into one of two directions: 1) The Mavs just get out to a big lead and coast; 2) The Raptors get out to a lead, the Mavs chip away at it, take control in the 3rd, then coast to a win. What I am more concerned with is the manner in which the Raptors play. No easy buckets, no cheap ones, play through screens (there will be a lot coming), run Kidd into a seizure, and do it for a full 48.

The Mavs are an interesting team. I wonder how Cuban wakes up every morning after pulling that trade last season for Kidd. He got a lifeline the first time around when Stackhouse opened his big stupid mouth, but he failed to see it as a sign, and mortgaged the future for no real good reason (it’s not like they are a contender anymore).

Dallas is coming off a pretty solid win over the Thunder, where Nowitzki dropped 41. They hold a 2 game lead for the 8th spot in the West (ahead of the Suns no less). Seems like they win the privilege of meeting the Lakers in the 1st round as Stoudemire has been lost for the season with a detached retina. They are 6-4 in their last 10, but sport a 21-8 home record.

I couldn’t decide between the 4 of them.

The Raptors just ended a two game winning streak with a drubbing at the hands of Shaq and Amundson. Uhm, this is the 2nd game of a possible 6-8 game losing streak for the Raptors which will all but drop their 2% chance of making the playoffs to 0% and we can look ahead to next year for yet another season of resentment, second guessing and wasted time.

On the bright side, the Mavericks cheerleaders are damn hot. The first thing we all notice is that they are all well endowed, I assume we probably have Cuban to thank for that. Thanks man. It was a hard choice, and I couldn’t commit to only one girl here, they are both high quality babies. May I introduce to you Jody and Jessica. Jody (the one on the left) is a rookie dancer who wants to one day own her own cajun restaurant and boasts Jason Terry as her favourite Mav. Jessica on the other hand is an Oasis fan, and loves her some Manicotti, interesting Stackhouse is her favourite Mav.

Injury Report

Raptors
Kris Humphries
Joey Graham – questionable

Mavericks
Jerry Stackhouse
Jason Terry
Shawne Williams

Match-ups

Calderon vs Kidd
The Edge: Kidd - Calderon sucks. Kidd is old and slow, but he is a warrior. I have been taking this match-up for a couple years now.

Parker vs Wright
The Edge: Parker - Parker was luke-warm last night, so it can swing either way, but Wright sucks and is only getting burn because Terry and Stackhouse are out of commission.

Marion vs Howard
The Edge: Marion - This is going to be a nice match-up. Both are premiere 3′s in the league, and will be trying to bring it. Marion has been a beast for us on the boards and in the paint. His perimeter defense has been solid as well, which will come in handy as Howard likes to pop J’s from 15ft out.

Bosh vs Nowitzki
The Edge: Nowitzki - The guy is a Raptor killer he put up 27pts and 10rebs the last time around, and I don’t see it going down much differently, especially with most of the offensive load being on his capable shoulders with Terry out. Bosh will have a big game, 23pts 9rebs, but Nowitzki gets the nod here.

Bargnani vs Dampier
The Edge: VL - VL had a pretty solid showing against Shaq last night, and Dampier is a super watered down version.

The Line

VegasInsider.com has the Mavs at -6.5.

Prediction

The Mavs don’t need Terry and Stackhouse to beat the Raptors, they will protect home court and win by 9.

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Live Blog

96-86 Final – Mavs win: That’s all she wrote! Raptor slump to another defeat, same old story: Start off hot, give most of the lead back by the end of the 2nd quarter, give all of it back and then some by the 3rd and then show your toothless offense in the fourth. -10 on the glass but that’s not a big story even though it was a shame to watch Barea get that rebound around two Raptors. Dirk Nowitzki struggled and his club kept him in the game in the first half, same for Bosh, the reserves did the job in the first. In the second half Dirk stepped up and Bosh didn’t. Neither did Jose or anyone else for that matter. Roll Call will follow later but I got JO driving the bus and Bosh under it. Box.

94-81 Mavs 1:25 I can honestly say Barea has had a bigger impact on this game than Calderon. That was a nice drive ‘n kick to find Terry on the wing. Why can’t Jose do that? Nowitzki wants the ball and hits two more jumpers, on fire! What a player! Bosh misses two FTs but then has back-to-back scores, one on a jumper and one on a drive, Dallas doesn’t seem to care anymore, they know they got this one already.

87-77 Mavs 4:22 4Q: Nowitzki is heating up (6 of his last 8), two more face-up jumpers against Bargnani, he’s killing our bigs in the second half. Jason Terry uses the screen well to get himself open for a jumper and knocks it down, we need to force him to drive, I think he’s proven he can hit an 18-footer. Calderon then needlessly helps somebody who doesn’t need help leaving JKidd open for a left-wing three. Bad defense, Calderon’s been terrible tonight, he’s created nothing for nobody. Triano calls timeout.

79-74 Mavs 6:20 4Q: Jermaine O’Neal’s going hard in the post and finishes a nice 3-pt play, he’s the best Raptor of the night so far. Roko goes under the switch and Barea knocks down a three, after Parker’s turnover, Barea finds Terry for a trailing three. Roko is left open and dared to shoot a three – he misses and gets benched. Bass scores on Bosh and Bosh counters with another missed jumper. Bargani knocks one down, meh.

69-67 Mavs 10:30 4Q: Brandon Bass bites on AP’s baseline fake, good job by AP getting the Raps some easy points. Josh Howard misses a perimeter J (contested) and Bosh misses another jumper but sorta makes up for it by contesting Dirk’s layup attempt on the other end and finally makes what looks like a hook for 2 points. Raps playing better defense, four straight stops. Dallas timeout.

69-63 Mavs End 3Q: Things go from bad to worse as Dirk Nowitzki’s heating up against Bosh. Nothing complicated, simple face-ups followed by jumpers in your face. He scores 7 in this stretch on three patented jumpers. Parker re-posts JO three times as the double comes each time and Parker ends up getting a clean look for a jumper. We end the quarter on a nice Moon cut and Calderon delivers the pinpoint pass. We’re shooting 26% since the end of the 1st quarter. Up-hill battle here.

62-59 Mavs 2:56 3Q: The timeout didn’t fix anything. Bosh was back but missed a wide open dunk and then turned the ball over on a 3-second call. He’s 2-13 FG. Calderon’s one-on-one jumper is the only positive to report here. We also leave JKidd open for a three in the corner, Calderon’s got to stick to him. Dallas running pick ‘n rolls on the perimeter which are getting them clean looks and they’re starting to knock them down, Terry heating up again.

58-55 Mavs 6:07 3Q: The offense is in a big time funk, Jason Kapono’s missing jumpers, Chris Bosh misses on a drive, misses on a fadeaway jumper and then tries to drive but turns the ball over. Jay Triano sits him down and has a long chat on the bench with him. O’Neal’s our best player on the court right now, picking up a couple charges and gettings two FGs inside. On the other end Bargnani picked up his fourth foul by trying to seal the baseline on Dirk. Once that happened Dirk then faced him up for two more. Josh Howard and Jason Kidd hit because of plain bad defense that lost track of them. Kidd’s three was somewhat tolerable because it came out of nowhere, but there’s no reason to double Erick Dampier for any reason whatsoever, he kicked it out to Howard for his three. The Raptors offense in is such a funk that Jose’s resorted to one-on-one contested threes for airballs. Here we go again….BTW, where the hell is Joey?

Halftime Entertainment

49-45 Raps Halftime: Triano takes a 20 second timeout and comes back with a nice play to get JK a good look but he misses. Bargnani with the over the back foul gets Dirk two more FTs. This is Bargnani’s third foul, he’s a total non-factor again, 0-4 FG but he does have 3 rebounds so there’s still hope he can turn out to be the next Larry Bird. Sad part is that we’ve controlled this game but only have a five point lead to show for it, the bench and role players did their part, its time for Bosh to do his, he’s 2-8. We needed him to carry us through this late second quarter stretch and he decides to take threes. Dirk hasn’t even gotten started yet, only 3-9.

49-42 Raps 0:45 2Q: You know what aggravates me? Telemarketers. You know what else? Chris Bosh taking threes. Bargnani misses a wiiiddeee open jumper, Dirk comes back to get two FTs and Terry knocks down a three after we help the paint off of him, dumb move.

49-36 Raps 2:06 2Q: Barea was guarding O’Neal and Jose couldn’t make the entry-pass. That is a little embarrassing, we had to settle for Jose jacking it and O’Neal getting the rebound, loose ball foul for two FTs. O’Neal looks great on one possession (backing Bass down for 2) and absolutely horrible on the next (fadeaway airball), he’s probably somewhere in between. This Brandon Bass fellas is pretty good, can knock the J down nicely, he’s a matchup nigtmare for us. He’s scoring against our guards and bigs. JMoon knocks down a three on a broken play and then Jose finds him on the perimeter with the defense sagging. Another three, I can live with this. Everything for Dallas is on the perimeter, they were missing all of them until Jason Terry knocked one down. Dallas is 2-10 3FG and only a +1 on the glass. They’re shooting 42% and the Raptors have sort of cooled down 54%, can we sustain this? We’ve gotten 19 points off the bench.

39-29 Raps 8:11 2Q: Roko Ukic makes his third FG of the half, another running jumper. AP then slices in against Terry for two. Moon and Bargnani lose Jason Terry at the wing and he knocks down a jumper, a little confusion there. Juan Barea’s drive is rejected by Moon which starts the break and O’Neal finishes with a dunk. Not the great break, but hey, it’s easy points. Barea’s down with an injury, get up you wimp!

33-27 Raps 10:19 2Q: Jason Terry’s going straight at Anthony Parker off the dribble, gets a couple hoops. The Raptors respond by posting up Parker against Terry who finds Hump for an open baseline jumper but he misses. Brandon Bass also needs to be dealt with, he’s getting his shot off against Graham or Kapono. Jay Triano doesn’t like what he sees here and calls timeout after the Mavs’ 6-0 run.

33-21 Raps End 1Q: Bargnani comes in the game and gets faced-up and scored on by Dirk. Parker makes amends by hitting a 17-footer, it seems like the first one in ages. Dallas looking to exploit our wings and post-up Bass against Parker and get the score. No worries though, Roko scores one off the drive and then comes back again to get the three-point play on a runner. Raps up 12 at the end of the first, it don’t mean a thing. We’re taking a lot of jumpers and are shooting 67%, that’s going to even out over the game. Raps getting some production from the bench: Ukic and Graham with a power punch.

26-17 Raps 2:24 1Q: AP is really old, Josh Howard beats him on a cut for a layup, safe to say this play won’t be part of AP’s highlight pack. Bosh makes a jumper but then tries to do it again but its an airball, one which sparks the Dallas break and Nowitzki finishes.

22-11 Raps 4:31 1Q: Dallas calls another timeout after Dallas defends the pick ‘n roll by going under on Jose who drains the shot. Then JO contests a Howard miss and Joey G faces up and drains one on Dirk. We make a living by blowing leads so let’s not get too excited. All jumpers so far for the Raps.

14-9 Raps 6:50 1Q: Dallas comes out trying to exploit the Howard v Kapono/Mono matchup and gets 9 (4-7) points out of it. Moon gets the hook in favor of Joey, maybe try a different look to slow him down. Calderon and JO are 2-2 and 3-3, respectively. JO’s jumper is looking pretty good, he’s got a little energy on offense today, more like the JO of old and less like the Ben Wallace of today. All jumpers though, Joey G gets a jam on the break after we force a turnover which propts Dallas to call timeout. Raps 9-12 FG to start the game.

Just finished watching the Dallas game which I had handpicked as a win, that’s right man, you should’ve taken the +4. Enough good things happened in Atlanta which led me to believe that we’d win this one with or without TJ Ford. See, coming up with a recipe for a Raptor wins tonight was simple: tighten up the defense on Dirk, keep them off the boards and play solid perimeter defense on Howard/Terry while also guarding against their pick ‘n roll which they switch 1-3. On the other end, make CB4 drive to the rim (should be a constant in every game) and hit our outside shots after moving the ball. I know, it’s all easier said than done but when all of these things actually happen in the same game, it’s too good to be a Raptors fan.

This game wasn’t close past the second quarter and every Dallas run was answered with good defense and a timely hoop and often that hoop came from Kris Humphries who has made it a personal business of cleaning up the remains of Bargnani rejections. If Humphries can provide the energy and rebounding he did today, he’ll be an excellent contrast to the finesse of Rasho and could get his points off the confusion Bosh creates when he drives to the rim and happens to miss. In other words, a solid garbage man who can finish, rebound and play unrelenting defense.

Chris Bosh

Am I sick for sometimes wishing that Chris Bosh’s jumpers miss? I just want to see him take his man off the dribble every time and drive to the rim to either score or draw a foul. I hardly care if he gets rejected as long as he drives, he’s too quick for 90% of the PFs that try to guard him and I just see it as a waste of an opportunity every time he passes out of single coverage or takes an 18 footer. I know I’m being a bit dramatic but my point is that he should take the jumper as a last resort or when the defense is giving him enough space and completely taking away the drive. Just a thought.

Jason Kapono

I was observing Kapono on the last play of the third quarter and trying to notice how a three point shooter who everyone knows can shoot can possibly get open. He managed to create some space by simply going to the farthest corner of the court and his defender was barely 4 feet away when he caught the ball. His release was so quick that a) it had no chance of being blocked and b) it was perfect. I always try to compare Kapono with another great shooter, Steve Kerr. Kerr who holds the NBA record for highest 3FG percentage, was a different kind of shooter. When He caught the ball his feet needed to be set well before that in order for him to make a shot. Kapono can actually set his feet extremely quickly thus enabling him to have a quicker release. That’s why you see him coming in transition and just PLANT his feet at the arc and just catch and release. The amount of time it takes him to get into his shooting motion is insane. Possibly as quick as Dell Curry.

Andrea Bargnani

He looks really bad out there and I start to cringe every time he does his fake-the-three-and-take-an-off-balance-20-footer, somebody should tell him to either just drive all the way to the rim or just take the jumper, this in-between thing will never work. I still think he’s going to come out of his funk and have a solid year for us, at least by hitting threes and playing good man-defense. My main concern for Bargnani has always been with the coaching (or lack thereof) he’s receiving.

At his young age the thing he needs the most is coaching and instruction so that he can understand the game and get the fundamentals right (footwork, post-moves, using screens, decisions in the key etc.), the rest will come later. I’m not sure he’s getting that with the Raps right now. Over the past year, his offensive arsenal hasn’t improved at all which is cause for a little concern and his decisions in the low-post are suspect to say the least. The only area of improvement in his game is his man-defense and the effort he’s sometime shown in attacking the rim, but that’s effort not actual ability. Rudy Gay anyone? I’m just joking, I’ll stick with the horse I have, hopefully it’s not a foolish decision.

One-Liners

* Good to see TJ’s back, he says he’s out for at least 7 days. No problem, we have Calderon.

* How about Leo Rautins saying Dallas should blow the current team up because of the scars of the GS series and NBA finals. I think he’s way off.

* “I’m not a bum man!” – Kris Humphries in the PG interview when asked whether this is the first time he’s had his name changed.

* I counted at least five air-balls tonight.

* Does Eddie Jones look fat or what?

* Penny Hardaway got released by the Heat. I was rooting for him.

* This is guaranteed to make you laugh.

Next up we’re at Indiana, another game that’s begging to be had. More coverage here. Later. Feed.