Dallas Mavericks

Whew!

So not to ding Josh Howard but the trade that involved him to acquire Butler and Haywood seems to have gotten sweeter and likely a very good trade at perfect timing.

Josh Howard tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee which puts him out for the rest of the season. Riddled with injuries for the past year or so, injuries which most athletes could bounce back from, I think this one is going to really put Howard down, maybe even slowly start to dissipate from the spotlight as a premier player with All-Star quality and potential.

I just hope we can actually find a way to get Gooden back and just allow Dampier to disappear from the roster here in Dallas. It was a good idea at the time to get a big man but I just felt some Dallas players just don’t have it in their hearts to win or go for that championship, like Dirk and a few others carry with them. For some, it’s about playing and winning, not the money. Sadly I think Josh Howard was one of the obvious players who just stopped caring about not only his team but his own career and performances.

A Few Losses, Big Trade, Goodbye Josh Howard

So I’ve been lacking in the updates. So the Mavericks had a few losses, actually losing like 5 of their last 7games. But now, a big 7 player trade occurred right before the All-Star weekend where the Mavs sent Josh Howard, Drew Gooden, James Singleton and Quinton Ross to the Wizards for Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson.

I really like this trade and I think we got the better players out of the deal, especially with the ailing Josh Howard who’s been injured prone for the past two seasons, who seems to not care as much nowadays about his playing ability. I did like Drew Gooden but I figured he was picked up at the beginning of the season for this exact reasoning, to trade or deal in a multi-player trade.

Caron Butler brings on a healthy starter for the Mavericks, who averages what Josh did for us before injuries started sidelining him. Haywood was the leading rebounder for the Wizards, so I already think that’s a plus. He can likely replace Dampier as our starting center, putting up good numbers and even better numbers than Dampier. He also played at UNC during college, that’s always a plus for me since that’s my college team.

So let’s hope these guys can help the Mavericks for the remainder of the season, stay healthy and give us the needed boost and confidence in the playoffs this season. Perhaps with these additions, the Mavs are the new team to beat.

Almost But Not Quite

The Suns almost came out with a win but the Mavericks held on to win 102-101 at home.

The big surprise, Josh Howard to the rescue with his sore ankle. Josh actually didn’t get things going until the second half, which is unusual for him since he’s been kn0wn as the 1st quarter guy and usually disappears after getting his 16 or so points.

Howard ended up with 20 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals all in 26 minutes of playing time. Not too shabby.

This was a big game. The Suns are off to a great start this year with their run and gun type offense but have not done so well since December. They only lost 3 games in their first 17 games but have since dropped 4 of their last 5.

The key to winning against the Suns though is, play some defense because they’re going to let you score since they lack defense. They try to win by just outscoring you and running the court. That makes exciting high score games but doesn’t get you far against teams that can play defense.

When you play good defense and you turn Nash into a scorer instead of dishing the ball around to make plays, this works to your advantage as well.

Josh Howard Sidelined.. Again!

Josh Howard has been sidelined once again. He probably came back too soon, but according to reports, he’s going to be out indefinitely at this point while he nurses and recovers from his sore ankle.

Howard missed the first 8 games of the season, played the last 3 where he had a good first game comeback but didn’t really produce much since that one game.

The Mavericks are playing the Timberwolves tonight who are 1-8 this season. It should be an easy road win for the Mavs. Then it’s off to Piston Land and then the Bucks for a 3 game road trip, then they host the Spurs at home.