Dec 11, 2000
NBA BASKETBALL on
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Dallas Mav-wrecks
no more
By LANCE HOLDEN
Before we even discuss this team, it should be
noted that Mavericks Coach/GM Don Nelson will be leaving the team for an
indefinite amount of time to take care of his prostate cancer. Nelson,
60, promised the team to be back in time for the playoffs - which, if all
goes well, would be their first post-season appearance in a decade. The
cancer was detected early, and Nelson was told by doctors that a full recovery
is quite likely.
Don Nelson is a great guy and has been with the
NBA for a long time. He just got his 938th victory as a coach, typing him
for 4th in NBA history, with Red Auerbach. We wish Don all the best.
Taking over the head coaching duties will be Dell
Harris, who has plenty of head-coaching experience.
As for this squad, while the Mavs offense is hot,
their defense is inconsistent, and to make matters worse, Greg Buckner,
who lives to defend people, is gone for a month or two due to a right foot
that needs some fixing. This gives rookie Donnell Harvey a chance to make
things happen. Harvey is likened to a raw Dennis Rodman (raw as in basketball
skills are concerned, not other things) and looks to rebound and defend
while staying out of the way of the team's more skilled offensive stars.
And now, plenty of positive notes. First of all,
this year marks the rise of Steve Nash. A point guard from the mean streets
of, well, Canada, Nash is playing smart, scrappy basketball. He pushes
it every chance he gets, and at the very least that serves to make the
defense floor it back down the court.
With Buckner out, point guard Howard Eisley pretended
to be a shooting guard in Dallas' last two games, and while he bombed New
York for 17 big points, he came up empty against the Bulls (shouldn't that
be reversed?)
Small forward Mike Finley didn't explode out of
the game this season. Last year he was taking the ball, driving, and making
people fall down. Sure, he took lots of jump shots, but he used the drive
effectively to help open things up. This year he seems happy with taking
jumpers and not using his awesome penetration ability quite as much. While
his shots still fall, he needs to keep things balanced and make it as hard
as possible for defenders to figure out what he's doing until he's already
done it.
And then there's Dirk Nowitzki. 7-footers aren't
suppossed to be threats from the outside, but no one told Dirk. When he
and Finley are on, and the team is playing defense, that's usually enough
to pull off a win.
Christian Laettner has been unimpressive, so Shawn
Bradley has had plenty of time to show his amazing ability to stand with
his arms up and try not to foul. Aside from blocking shots, and being a
human telephone pole (minus the ability to transmit phone calls), Bradley
doesn't do too much.
The Mavericks bench is pretty inconsistent. Hubert
Davis has had some incredible games, but typically he doesn't add much.
Loy Vaught is helping, and the legendary Eduardo Najera gives a little.
Again, with Buckner out, Donnell Harvey must provide the defense and rebounding
everyone thinks he can.
The keys to continued succes for this squad? As
a whole, their team/help defense needs to be consistent. Bench guys have
to be assertive. Steve Nash needs to keep doing what he's doing (causing
havok by running as fast he he can all the time, distributing the ball
and making his shots), and it would be nice if either Shawn Bradley or
Christian Laettner proved worthy of starting at center. And Mark Cuban
needs to keep buying the players all the latest video games to play in
the locker room.
I don't know if these guys would be able to eliminate
the Lakers in the playoffs, but as long as the Spurs and Blazers are good
but not great, I can see the Kings battling those teams as well as the
Suns or Jazz to a 7th game in a 7 game series.
