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BC's State of the Mavs Address; 5/24/05
Topic Started: May 25 2005, 03:57 PM (234 Views)
beecee
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'As for the other comment,you're not my type BeeCee'
Things got ugly towards the end of their final game. Dirk lost his cool. Cuban kinda ripped Nelson for stepping down so late in the year. Local media has ripped Finley right and left. Although this was a terrible loss to stomach, Mavs fans have to take step back and look at the big picture, rather than lamenting over suddenly habitual late-game collapses. Yes, the Mavs had plenty of opportunities to push the Suns to a Game 7. However, if anyone in October told you to expect 58 wins and a deep 2nd round playoff exit, you would've laughed at such a ludicrous forecast.

So what does the future hold?

With Avery Johnson approaching his first full-time season at the helm, he will get to install his style of play. No more of Nellie's shoot early, shoot often offensive frenzy. A defense-first mentality will be installed. The team made some great defensive strides late in the regular season, but all seemed to be forgotten as the Mavs had to turn to unconditional line-ups in the playoffs.

Of course, Dirk is still the centerpiece, and he will be a man on a mission. He has always had a great outside game, but he struggled against smaller defenders in the playoffs. He has vowed to add more posting up to his arsenal. This will punish teams who try to go small when guarding him. Rumor has it that Dirk doesn't really care about becoming a leader, despite his tirades in the post-season. That's fine. You can't just make somebody a leader. So who is the leader?

One might say Micheal Finley, but....? Well, what happened to Finley in the playoffs? 13 points per game and no defense from a shooting guard does not constitute a leader. Finley left the final game without speaking to the media, but just a few days later at the final team meeting, he spoke. Allegedly, he has been playing on a bum ankle, thus limiting his attempt to be aggressive, drive the lane, and expand his offensive game. Let's hope a good ankle will give him his game back. If you're under contract for 3 more years and making more money than Tim Duncan and Kobe Bryant, you need to play like it.

Finley's contract looks bad for the Mavs now, but it was one they had to give him. After the 2000 season, the Mavs finally returned to the playoffs with a young nucleus of Nash, Finley, and Nowitzki. Fin's contract was up, and to prove they were a team committed to winning, they had to give Finley a maximum salary contract. Some might say they should've given Nash a similar contract last summer, but they were smart by not subjecting themselves to that financial bind in a few years when his game goes down the tubes.

Bottom line with Finley, he can still contribute to the team. Whether it's at an all-star level, or as the most expensive bench player in the history of organized sports, he still has something left in the tank.

As for the role players, this team doesn't need another major overhaul. Jason Terry is under contract for one more year. He'll be better at point guard, and he'll give young Devin Harris another year to develop his game. A lot rides on Harris' improvement next year. The Mavs spent a #5 pick on him. He needs to produce.

Josh Howard is a great hustle player and defender. Of course he returns as the starting small forward.

At center, Erick Dampier returns. Can we get some consistency out of him please? One night you'll get a 20-20 game. The next, he'll be plagued by fouls and will have absolutely no impact.

Jerry Stackhouse should come back and will split minutes with Finley at the shooting guard spot. Marquis Daniels also returns. If anyone is willing to gamble on him returning to his outstanding rookie form on offense, he could be great trade bait for a better defender.

Keith Van Horn also comes back with one year remaining. He'll be a very expensive backup to Dirk. It would be great if they could unload him for a defender, but no way anyone takes his salary.

Last and certainly least, Shawn Bradley is back again to rot on the bench. The Mavs do have a couple of big men who are "projects," but rumor has it that neither one of these guys will pan out.

This leaves Darrell Armstrong and Alan Henderson as the only free agents. It would be great to have both of them back. Armstrong is excellent as a #3 point guard. His hustle is wel-appreciated. And Henderson played surprisingly well too as an inside presence. (Compared to big men he's playing with, he's playing with though, the Mavs could pull James Donaldson out of reitrement, and he'd be a force).

Local media wants the Mavs to sign Nick Van Exel. He would definitely be a great leader, but this isn't 2003 anymore. He fit in perfectly under Nellie's Run & Gun system. I don't ever recalling him playing a lick of defense though. I say stay away from him unless you can sign him with the veteran's exemption, and point out to him that he won't be putting up 20 shots a game off the bench.

Another great option is re-signing Raja Bell, also from the 2003 squad. He's injury prone, but his defense is great. However, he could still be bitter at the MAvs for not making effort of keeping him just 2 years ago.

The future looks bright for the Mavs. They have a great young coach. Most of the team is young and battle-tested. Just give these guys a chance to form some chemistry, and add a few spare parts here and there. Winning an NBA title is very tough, but keeping this group of players together gives them a chance to legitamitely contend on an annual basis; something that could never be said about any other Mavericks team in history.

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betweenthewheels
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If I Had a Heart I'd Cry
BTW is a true MAVS fan now!

thanks Karl! :fro:
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beecee
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'As for the other comment,you're not my type BeeCee'
ok karl
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betweenthewheels
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If I Had a Heart I'd Cry
1. CAVS :fro:
2. MAVS :fro:
3. HEAT :fro:
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beecee
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'As for the other comment,you're not my type BeeCee'
:fro:
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funky cm
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No I'm not
I don't follow basketball much so I can't say much on the Mav's regular season

Since Steve Nash is a Victoria boy, he gets a lot of coverage here- also Sportsnet covered a few Mavs games the previos years, and a few Suns games this year

Last year Mavs were the big three; this year it just seemed to be Dirk.

I huess Finley had a reason; I barely noticed Dampier.
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beecee
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'As for the other comment,you're not my type BeeCee'
Dampier was very inconsistent. If I remember correctly, he did absolutely nothing for about the first 4-6 weeks. Then he had a good streak for about a month until he fractured his foot and missed about a month. After he came back, he very occasionally had an impact.

We chose not to re-sign Nash because we only wanted him for 3 or 4 years. Phoenix committed to a 5th year. While that decision looked awful in the Mavs-Suns series, well...... Nash was facing a discombobulated Mavs defense who didn't want to let Stoudemire kill them. So they forced Nash to be more selfish and take away his teammates. It worked in game 4, not so much in the final 2 games.

But now we're seeing another reason why Nash was let go. He always gets burnt by Tony Parker and the Spurs.
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betweenthewheels
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If I Had a Heart I'd Cry
Brown, larry
Brown, mike
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beecee
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'As for the other comment,you're not my type BeeCee'
Cleveland Browns
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betweenthewheels
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If I Had a Heart I'd Cry
Browns, paul
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beecee
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'As for the other comment,you're not my type BeeCee'
:draco: BC not high on Mavs after a terrible effort in Golden State.
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beecee
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'As for the other comment,you're not my type BeeCee'
2006 post for posterity

OK..... my end of the year MAvs poisttttt....

Dirk is signed for next year, with a player option in 07-08. He's the franchise, he's not going anywhere in the foreseeable future. He needs to keep developing his inside game, and develop a mean streak, treat his opponents like JEWS.

Howard is under contract for next year, I think they'll get him a long-term deal this offseason. Just needs to be more consistent, and he can be an even more special player.

Stackhouse is back for next year. He'll probably be the 6th man again. He's too old to speculate on his longer-term future at this point.

Harris has a couple of years left before he can explore free agency. Next year's probably a big year for him concerning his long term future here.

Dampier is under contract for an eternity at a high price. He's decent when he wants to be, which isn't often.

Diop is here on the cheap for 2 more years.

Daniels is here for 4 more years. He's the best player on the team at attacking the rim when healthy. If he plays consisently like he did last night, this helps the Mavs A LOT! Staying healthy is his Achilles' Heel though.

Josh Powell and Rawle Marshall both projects signed for 1 more year. Both have shown flashes of productivity. Could be good 11th and 12th men on the bench.

Terry is a free agent. Sounds like the Mavs want him back and he wants to be back. Honestly, I'm indifferent. Good guy, but 7-25 in a critical game at home by a guy who plays no defense doesn't exactly excite me. When he's on, he's great though.

Van Horn is a free agent and there is no way in hell he should back, unless it's at the minimum salary which he wouldn't accept. He's very likely a goner, and good riddance chump.

DJ Mbenga is a free agent. Would love to see him back. Other teams might be interested in taking a chance on him though. His return is iffy.

Adrian Griffin is a free agent. I think he'll be back. Everyone loves his hustle and his defensive ability.

Darrell Armstrong is probably retiring. Would love to see him stay with the organization in some capacity.

Pavel Podkolzin. Yeah, who? Big 7 footer they're trying to develop. Under contract for 3 more years. Any hope of him amounting to something would be great.

Perhaps the most amazing stat of all, the Mavs will be shelling out $28 million to people who aren't on their roster next year.

Here's where I got all this from.....

http://www.hoopshype.com/salaries/dallas.htm[/URL
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beecee
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'As for the other comment,you're not my type BeeCee'
NBA SALARY CAP FIGURES

DON'T LOSE THIS AGAIN

http://www.hoopshype.com/salaries/dallas.htm

The Mavs were still paying EVAN ESCHMAYER?!?!?!?!?
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beecee
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'As for the other comment,you're not my type BeeCee'
2007

to-do list

Not much to do. No cap room. No worthy free agents. Decent job in draft I guess.

Dirk always improves something in the offseason. I hope he's GETTING MENTAL HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mavs will be a contender with the same core again. J-Ho needs to be a 4 quarter player. Not a 15 minutes player who disappears for long stretches at a time.

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inthenameofDT
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1-up gun buddies
adsfadsf
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