MavsFanForLife

Mavs Beat Lakers

This was surprising, I actually anticipated a loss, especially when the Mavericks play the Lakers at the Staples Center, their first win there since March 11, 2007. But the Mavericks dominated, maintaining a lead and never losing that lead after each and every period.

The final score was 94-80. Nowitzki scored 21, with Marion adding 18, Terry with 16 and Little Jose with 12. Kidd got 11 assists and Dampier actually stepped up with 10 boards.

Hopefully this is a game they can use to boost their confidence against big teams on the road.

The Mavericks play the Clippers tonight on Halloween, who have started the season 0-3, so hopefully this might work out to be an easy LA visit for the Mavericks.

Let The Games Begin

The Mavericks start their season opener against the Wizards, a team that went to playoff contenders to only winning 19 games last season, with their start Gilbert Arenas out with injuries.

But he’s back and they’re hoping he will lift them out of the hole they found themselves in last year by becoming a contender once again.

The Mavericks on the other hand did some changes, added some depth to the team but also keeping the core team intact, adding some very valuable players to the roster. Marion, Thomas and Gooden all add an extra something and I feel this team will be better than last years team, which was also under a new coach. Now that they’ve played for Carlisle for a year, the Mavericks should feel a little more confident this season, Marion should pick up and work with the team with no problems.

I also think Humphries will be a hidden gem off the bench for us this season, able to grab rebounds and score from the paint. Might even be a breakout year for him if given the playing time.

Let’s just hope Howard can play like his old self, stay away from injuries, along with Tim Thomas fully recovering from his injury before preseason started, this Mavericks team can go further possibly than last year or at least put up a better fight if they get past the first round.

Nonetheless, they’ve won 7 of their last 8 match ups against the Wizards at home, I predict a win in their home opener and another 50 plus win season for this team.

Drik Ejected Against Rockets

Dirk scores 32 points, picks up his 6th foul 12 seconds after his 5th called foul, protests the call and is given a technical and ejected from the game.

But the Mavs still won 98-94. Kidd and Marion both contributed 14 points each.

Now the real action begins when the opening season is upon us. It was great seeing the replacement refs in action but a new agreement puts the old refs back on the court for the start of the regular season.

Mavs Pummel Pistons

I know I wasn’t going to report much on Preseason games until at least the Cavs meet-ups against the Mavs but the Mavs pretty much just kicked around the Pistons in last nights game. I’m really impressed with Humphries numbers he’s putting up, at this rate, he could be a good player off the bench to come in, get some rebounds, etc.

Preseason

So I probably won’t be posting much during the preseason games, it’s just preseason which literally means nothing to me. It’s always experimental lineups that we usually see. It was good to see Marion post 26 points in his debut, following up with 15 in his second game.

Josh Howard still is out along with a few others. I’ll probably report back when the Mavericks play against the Cavs two games in a row in the coming week and finishing the preseason against Houston, that will probably determine how we’ll supposedly playing against a team (the Cavs) that most are saying will be destined to go to the Finals and against Houston, which likely won’t be as big as contenders this season since Yao is out with an injury.

Honestly, I don’t see Shaq helping out any, the Suns thought they would get that type of support from the big guy and they didn’t even make the playoffs. It’s clear Shaq just wants another ring before he calls it quits and the Cavs likely have a chance, unless they can’t get past the Celtics or Magic, which is highly probable if Garnett stays healthy and Carter can assume a bigger role than Turkoglu made while in Orlando.

The Mavericks are currently 2-1 in the preseason.

Opening Preseason Game Vs Orlando Magic

Tonight the Mavericks host the Orlando Magic for their pre-season opener at home. This will be an interesting game. Both teams had some overhauls of their rosters. The Mavs lost Bass to the Magic who will now be playing against us possibly in this opener. We’ve added Shawn Marion to our lineup and the Magic are now without Turkoglu who was a big part of their winning season and getting to the finals this past year.

Although they’ve added Vince Carter to their lineup and lost a few other players, I don’t think they’re going to live up to last years team, although the Magic will be a good team, I think the shake-up will take some time to readjust for their remaining players.

As for the Mavs, I think they got better despite losing Bass and now with Tim Thomas who would have helped us off the bench, the Mavs have 3 (4 if Josh Howard actually stays healthy and lives up to his potential) All-Stars in their starting lineup with Terry coming off the bench.

It will be interesting game nonetheless and I’m actually predicting the Mavs will win this opener.