The Mavs have lost 6 in a row. Ouch.

Only 2 players in double figures vs. the 15-26 Pistons.

2-9 in the last 11 gams.

Lakers and Bulls coming up, both who lead their divisions.

8.5 back of the Spurs.

And Dirk had 32 points.

Mavs should just dial in the season now and work on improving their lottery chances.

Only team to go longer without losing 6 in a row is the Spurs, who haven't done it in the Tim Duncan era.

Really starting to feel like January 2008 before the Kidd trade. The team will go into a hole when they sense that a big trade is needed. Jason Terry especially disappears. Is he trying to kill his trade value or does he think the playoffs have started?

Local radio just pointed out the irony that Devin Harris is one of the main trade targets.

Terry is the only other player that can find the bottom of the net. He's the only other player that got in double digits besides Dirk.

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Local radio just pointed out the irony that Devin Harris is one of the main trade targets.

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I still say the Kidd/Harris trade set the Mavs back a few years. For all the talk about how "smart" Kidd is, his shooting and his ability to run the team, they were better with Harris, period.
The Mavs don't need a traditional point guard who can distribute the ball. They need somebody who can get open and make plays when Dirk gets doubled. The more guys they have around Dirk that can do that, the better they are as a team.

Terry is a punk. No backbone.

Lets keep in mind that before Dirk went down, the Mavs were one of the 2(SA) top teams in the league with wins over all the other elite teams besides LA (haven't played them yet).

The only thing that willn ot allow them to get back to that point is the injury to Butler. If they can someone make a trade to replace him with a quality player and Roddy B can come back strong, they could still be a very good team by the time the playoffs come around.

Of course, it is easier said than done, but there is still hope for this year.

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Terry is the only other player that can find the bottom of the net.

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Allsome. Now go check his January splits.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/t/terryja01/splits/2011/

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For all the talk about how "smart" Kidd is, his shooting and his ability to run the team, they were better with Harris, period.

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They were better with Gana Diop, period. They were better with a healthy Stackhouse, period. With a motivated Josh Howard. They were better before they stopped playing hard for their coach.

They should have held out to get Kidd w/o giving up Harris. If acquired Harris will play starting off guard and backup point. He will guard opposing PGs and may or may not play in crunch time. He's a great asset but he's not a championship starting pg

Of course I'm assuming Kidd is not finished. He is shooting worse than jet right now. He needs a reliable backup pg that will cut his minutes then he'll have a better chance for success

I think part of the problem with Kidd's shooting is that he is trying to pick up the scoring slack which is not his strong suit. The reason he shot well last year was because he was so selective. He would only shoot for 2 reasons: The shot clock was up or he was completely wide open.

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He's a great asset but he's not a championship starting pg

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Kidd has spent, what, 50 years in the NBA now and how many has HE won?

The '99 Spurs proved you can win a championship without a stud at PG (screw you, Damon Stoudamire). The Lakers have validated it 5 times since then.

The '06 Mavericks were MORE of a "championship caliber" team than any team Jason Kidd has ever been a part of. It was by mere fluke they didn't win it that year, and Harris was probably the reason the Mavs were even IN the finals. He gave the Spurs all kinds of fits defensively that Jason Kidd has never given them.

[This message has been edited by MassAggie97 (edited 1/18/2011 12:06p).]

Okay Harris could be a champion pg if he has multiple star players. Point taken

And yes he was the biggest threat in 2006 when he was the 2 guard and 4th option. I want him to resume that role

I agree with Mass. The Maverick Dirk-iso offense doesn't need a distributor at PG. DH could shoot and penetrate (similar to RB3) and that's exactly what you need. All the PG for the Mavs should do is dribble up the court and facilitate the offense, which doesn't require Kidd's skill-level of passing.

Kidd will never relenquish significant minutes, which is our undoing. He's not a scoring threat at all, which is a free double team on Dirk. RB3 can give the Spurs fits if he gets to play (when he comes back).

[This message has been edited by Judge (edited 1/18/2011 12:38p).]

For all the talk about the Spurs vaunted defense over the years, fast PG's have been their achilles heel. Jason Kidd? No problem. Steve Nash? No big deal. Devin Harris? No idea how to guard that guy.

Granted, the Spurs are no longer the high-water mark in the west, but something tells me that this year the WCF go through San Antonio.

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Granted, the Spurs are no longer the high-water mark in the west

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Must not be following basketball this year.

Best record /= team by which all others measure themselves.

If having the best record meant having the best team, the Suns and Mavs would have full trophy cases by now.

The Lakers are currently the team by which all others measure themselves. I follow basketball, thanks.

The Mavs have only had the best record in the West once.

but yes, the Lakers are the current measuring stick.

I was referring more to in the midst of the season. Seems like, more often than not, the Mavs and Suns have started out of the gate really fast and owned the west's top record over the last 10 years. But I could be just imagining that.

Finally got back to giving the same kind of effort we were giving before Dirk's injury.

The league is so top heavy that I really can't gauge how good the Spurs are this year.

Peja's on his way. Just made a verbal commitment to Dallas.

Mavs lose to the Bulls tonight. Go Spurs Go!!