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.

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 Point: Calderon had his second solid game in a row, but needs to get the guys more involved. He did a great job of pushing the ball, then pulling back at the last moment until everyone else caught up. Jack needs to not shoot the ball as much, and just attack the rim. I didn’t even realize Kidd was playing,
Matchup: Raptors

The Skill: DeRozan had his worst game of the year. Belinelli did even less. Howard in his first game of the season looked like he didn’t skip a beat. Terry picked up where Josh left off, taking it up three notches, and scored every-time he wanted too.
Matchup: Mavericks

The Swingman: Turkoglu’s worst game as a Raptor. Hit an acrobatic shot to start the 1st, but nothing else for the rest of the game. Wright did a decent job of attacking the paint, but once he got there, he kept losing his dribble. Was much worse from the perimeter, needs to stop shooting threes. Marion ran the break, crashed the boards, gave Hedo fits on defense, and proved why the Raptors made the wrong choice during the summer.
Matchup: Mavericks

The Big: Bosh continued his new-found swagger. The key = his home, but there is only so much one man can do. Johnson held his own when he saw the floor, but the night belonged to Dirk. Zeh Jerman hit dagger after dagger pacing the Mavs early, and pulling away in the 3rd quarter.
Matchup: Mavericks

The Strong: Bargnani didn’t get enough looks in the 4th when he was feeling it, but didn’t really matter as it would have been padding during a loss. Still, our boy looks comfortable out there, and owned Dampier.
Matchup: Raptors

Player of the Game: Dirk Nowitzki – 29pts grebes 4ast 2stl +16

Pardon the lame title, but I couldn’t help myself. Reading through Blake’s latest and greatest, he hit the nail on the head: we don’t need DeRozan to be a superstar this coming season. Don’t get me wrong, that would be nice if he came through like VC did in his rookie year and drop 20 a night, but we have enough scorers on this team that D-Squared doesn’t have to kill it from game 1. Enter Antoine Wright, one of the pieces we got in the Hedo trade.

He instantly steps into the starting shooting guard role for the Raptors. He may not log 30+ minutes a night (never played more then 24 a night), but he is one of two players we have at the shooting guard who will be expected to pick up where Anthony Parker left off (I have zero expectations of Douby…big donut). What do we really know about the kid though? I turned to a couple TrueHoop brothers in hopes of getting a bloggers opinion of Antoine…

Sebastian Pruiti (@NetsRScorching) of Nets are Scorching:

Antoine Wright came into New Jersey with some big expectations. As the #15 pick overall, he was a billed as a “do it all player” but he never really performed up to expectations as a Net. A great swingman over at Texas A&M, Wright had (and still has) the size and the athleticism to play either the two or the three spot. He makes enough threes that it is a threat, but he can put the ball on the floor as well.

In my opinion, Antoine’s biggest problem in New Jersey was the fact that he was playing behind two great players in Richard Jefferson and Vince Carter. The fact that he came in with real high expectations didn’t help the situation. Wright was only on the court 9.5 MPG his rookie season, and when he was out there he didn’t play well at all. Personally, I think this hurt him a lot mentally, and it seemed like he checked out from that season forward. Even as he saw his minutes rise each year as a Net, he never really had a breakout game/season during his time here. With that brought a lot of boos and a lot of animosity. So when the Nets traded him, I wasn’t completely surprised. I didn’t really follow him during his time in Dallas, but looking at his numbers, it seems that his play was similar to how he was playing when he left NJ. Meaning he is improving slightly, but not enough to warrant a significant rise in minutes.

Sorry to paint such a bleak picture, but it would be foolish not to describe his time in NJ as a failure. It isn’t all bad though, he is still very young (turning 25 some time next year), and I think going to a team where he wasn’t the 15th pick or a part of the Devin Harris trade will really help. Plus, the skills are all there, he just has to put it all together, and it isn’t like he is getting worse, he is in fact improving (His FT%, 3PT%, and Scoring has gone up every year in the league except one). It is just not at the rate you would expect a lottery pick to. I thought it would take a year or two for him to develop into a serviceable 6th man, but it just didn’t happen. Realistically that is the best that Raptor fans can hope for out of him next year. Unless he starts the year playing out of his mind, he will be a guy you can put in to create a size mismatch or to hit a three or two. That is about it.

Err…ok, he had high expectations getting drafted by Jersey and didn’t get comfortable playing behind VC and RJ. Maybe his time in Dallas will be more positive….

Rob Mahoney (@RobMahoney) of The Two Man Game:

Mark my words: Antoine Wright will be relatively unloved and under-appreciated. Some will be eager to criticize his merely average shooting stroke, but Wright works hard on both ends and is improving as a scorer. That’s not necessarily ideal for a starting shooting guard (he was the de jure starter for the Mavs last season, although Jason Terry logged a majority of the minutes), but it can make Wright enticing as a rotation player.

I think the key with Wright is understanding his limits. Don’t expect a high-volume scorer, don’t expect an impressive arsenal, and don’t expect Bruce Bowen. Wright will be an interesting contrast with an athletic, instinctive scorer like DeMar DeRozan, but it’s important that Wright be viewed with that lens; Wright’s not a replacement or substitute for DeRozan, but a different look with less of an innate feel for the game. Antoine’s athleticism is decidedly average by NBA standards, but rather than fall by the wayside as so many similar players have, Wright may have carved out a niche for himself with his work on the defensive end. He is by no means an elite NBA defender (try above average), but I find Antoine’s high-energy approach endearing. He stays with his man, contests shots, and generally works in the “doing the little things” mold to contribute in the most subtle of ways. Admittedly, Wright’s not always super-effective in that regard, but his defensive efforts and expanding offensive game do give him some value on the floor.

Wright is a markedly better spot-up shooter than he was when he first came to Dallas, and he’s also shown to be a decent slasher. But Wright’s still shaping his own offensive abilities, and for better or worse he is both evolving and malleable. Or offensively raw and currently unspectacular. Y’know, depending on which side of the bed you woke up on this morning.

Sound like anyone we know? Cough…Joey Graham…Cough… Actually, Wright was drafted one spot ahead of Joey in 2005.  Fortunately for us, this is where comparisons with Graham end. Where Joey was a physically gifted player with all the tools (except a brain/motivation) to excel at the NBA level, Wright is an energy guy who has created a niche for himself with his defensive ability and spot up shooting.

I would venture that expectations are much lower for Wright then in years past for a couple reasons:

• He was a throw in on the Turkoglu trade
• We drafted a promising young’n at the shooting guard position who we all know will be the starting SG by mid-year and the SG of the future
• He is not expected to put up copious amounts of points on the board (we have enough scoring)
• Toronto fans appreciate energy players who play tough defense, and since Humphries and Pops are gone…

What does concern me is productivity:

PER:
Parker – 12.16
Wright – 8.63

Production per 36min:

It’s not necessarily the points that concerns me, he is improving in that department, but the kid is 6″7 and grabs 2.4 rebounds per 36minutes. Considering he wont be playing more then 24mins, he will be contributing about 1.6rebs/game. For a team that struggles to rebound, this is not good news. Considering Calderon only grabs about 3 per 36mins, we can expect our starting backcourt to grab just 4.6rebs/game. What compounds that is that Bargnani wont be grabbing much more (6.1), so we have 3 positions on the floor that contribute about 10.5rebs/game. Add in Bosh and Turkoglu (5.2) and Bosh (9.5), and our starters grab 25.2rebs/game. Looks like we will be struggling to grab boards again…that’s another article.

Back to Antoine; he is 9 years younger and 1-inch taller then Parker. If he can play lock-downish defense on the perimeter, grab some boards, knock down the occasional three/jumper and take it to the rack whenever a lane opens up … that is all we can hope for. If he can avoid the mistakes Moon made, and swing the ball on the perimeter and not grin idiotically and incessantly, he will be fine. Not asking for great, just don’t want to see bad.

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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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