Dismantling the Mavericks
As the New Orleans Hornets are a couple of minutes away from eliminating the Mavs from the 2008 playoffs it looks like this group of players has run its course. They had a shot at becoming a one shot wonder in 2006, but their window of opportunity was slammed shut by Wade, who, in the process, seemed to have shuttered their collective self-confidence as well. And they never recovered.
Now there’s talk about Avery being fired and perhaps Josh Howard being traded. Which sounds OK with me, as long it is just the beginning of a rebuilding process that must include trading Dirk. He is the Mavs leader, but he hasn’t been too good at it, especially in the playoffs. Like some other really talented players, he’s built for the regular season, where he will lead his team to a good record. But once the playoffs start, his softness and lack of defense get badly exposed. Here’s a list of players that the Mavs should explore trading and the reasons why:
* Josh Howard: he sucked during this series and his admission of smoking pot makes him look kinda dumb. But this is not the real reason why he should be traded. As I explained before, his offensive game is based way too much on 1-on-1 plays and he disrupts the offense.
I think Kidd has a couple more years when he can contribute, and if the Mavs move quick, they might benefit from them. At times, Howard also seemed lost or unfocused on defense. Right now he’s in his prime so the Mavs should be able to get some value back.
* Dirk Nowitzki: he’s a great offensive weapon, but he’s also very very soft. He doesn’t go inside nowhere as much as he needs to. Sometimes he doesn’t realize he has a mismatch and thus he doesn’t try to take advantage of it by requesting the ball. He seems unable to set a proper pick, too often he sets the pick standing sideways, and since he doesn’t have a big frame (or big belly), defenders get around him easily. And if the pick works, he pops for a jumper instead of rolling to the basket, even if the paint is open.
On defense he doesn’t put his hands up all the time, he doesn’t rotate to help when opponents are penetrating to the basket. His rebounding numbers are inflated too, as many times the others just box out for him to take the rebound. Defensive rebounds are more a result of team-work, while good rebounders also have good offensive rebounding numbers. Well, out of the top rebounders in the NBA, Dirk has the fewest offensive rebounds at 1.2 per game. The only other player on that list with as few offensive rebounds is Jason Kidd who happens to be a G and 6 inches shorter than Dirk. Most of the other players have 3 or more offensive rebounds per game.
For a team with Dirk to really be a contender, they need a real defensive presence, a shot blocker to play with him, cause Dampier’s lame washed-up overpaid ass is not enough. A Tyson Chandler or Marcus Camby type of player, someone who is not really a scorer and doesn’t need the ball much. Someone who can focus on playing D while being available for open dunks or alley oops when Dirk is doubled. Emeka Okafor or Jermaine O’Neal would also fit well with Dirk, and Jermaine might be available and cheap this summer.
By the way, I am surprised to see how many people fail to see the holes in Dirk’s game and claim he doesn’t have enough help from his teammates. While it’s true that his teammates didn’t handle their business, Dirk was just as much a part of the problem. Including in game 5 where he shot 8-21 from the field, and took most of those shots while fading away from the basket instead of going strong. When you’re a superstar and you know calls are gonna go your way (like not even getting a foul after clearly shoving MoPete), you have to be aggressive and take it to the rim. Flopping on fade away jump shots is not the right way to get to the free throw line.
* Erick Dampier: yeah, like anyone’s gonna want his bloated contract. Too bad for the Mavs, cause he’d have no place on the roster if the Mavs got the defending/rebounding C to play with Dirk. Guess signing players who only perform in their contract years is not a good idea (see: James, Jerome). But maybe the Mavs can pack him with Josh Howard or Dirk.
* Jerry Stackhouse: Biggest bonehead on the team. With the Mavs closing in on the Hornets at the end of the 4th quarter of a “win or go home” game 5, he picks up his second technical and is ejected. That 1 extra point could have been the difference between Dallas losing or going to overtime. And that comes after his moronic comments about returning to play for the Mavs after a trade to the Nets cost Cuban a cool 11 million in salaries and luxury tax.
* Jason Terry: His play during the series was in fact decent, but with his contract, if the Mavs decide to try a quick rebuild, it might be a good idea to trade him while he has some value.
