How about Von Wafer

Entering the off-season, I felt the Mavericks’ three biggest needs were to address the center, shooting guard and lack of athleticism. It appeared that the Mavs had addressed the center situation by singing an offer sheet for Marcin Gortat; however, we all know how that worked out. While several rumors have swirled around regarding other potential deals to address the center position, none have materialized as of this time.

Acquiring Shawn Marion improves the athleticism of this team to some extent and the flashes that Rodrigue Beaubois has shown in his brief NBA Summer League career suggests tha the too could add some athleticism to this team. Yet this team still lacks the athleticism of many of their Western Conference counterparts.

The only thing the Mavs have done at the shooting guard position is the signing of Quinton Ross, who the front office says will provide defensive help and shoot the three. What they really mean to say is that Ross is just another Antoine Wright.  If we assume that the Mavericks will move Josh Howard to the starting shooting guard position, we can set the depth chart–Jason Terry will come in off the bench and get a majority of the minutes at the 2 and Ross will fill in, as needed, in specific situations. Theoretically, the Mavs are three deep at the 2 position.

I love what JET brings off the bench, but neither Ross nor Howard excite me.  My suggestion? Go for a change of pace, sign Von Wafer.  The little I saw of Wafer last year, I liked. He would instantly add a level of athleticism to this team that is asbsent. 

How would the rotation work at four deep? The move would make Josh Howard expendable. He could be shopped to someone like New Orleans, for Tyson Chandler, or to Charlotte, near his home, for someone like Emeka Okafor.

The Mavericks starting line-up would look something like this:

PG – Jason Kidd

SG- Von Wafer

SF – Shawn Marion

PF- Dirk Nowitzki

C – Emeka Okafor/Tyson Chandler

I realize the move has it drawbacks.  One, Wafer’s limited body of work and lack of starting experience. Terry would still get a majority of the minutes at the 2, but would start as a change of pace. Think of the way the Nuggets used Dahntay Jones last season (18.1 MPG, 5.4 PPG). Wafer put up better numbers (19.4 MPG, 9.7 PPG) as a reserve.

Could you get Okafor or Chandler for Howard? It’s worth shopping around. I hope the Mavs learned from the Gortat fiasco and would have a deal in place for Howard before inking Wafer. This is the key piece to making the deal work. If you can’t move Howard for an upgrade of Dampier, then there’s really no sense in pursuing Wafer. However, if the Mavs are serious about addressing two of the most glaring weaknesses, they should at least give Wafer a casual glance.

Marcin Gortat

Thus far, the most compelling news of this NBA off-season has been the jail sentence of the Denver Nuggets’ J.R. Smith. Out of all the adjectives in the English language,  “underwhelming” best describes the Mavs draft picks–a Euro point guard, a mid-major project and a guard with potential who will spend a year in Greece. At first glance, I was equally unimpressed with the organizations interest in the 6-11 Marcin Gortat.

I’ll be the first to admit, I don’t watch much Orlando Magic basketball, and  Gortat’s 3 ppg and 4 rpg average doesn’t instill a lot of confidence. However, Gortat got those numbers as a back-up, averaging 12.6 minutes per game; Erick Dampier averaged 5/7, as a starter, in 23.0 minutes per game, so if the numbers hold, Gortat wouldn’t be much a drop off–production wise–from Dampier.

Perhaps the most exciting prospect Gortat brings is his youth. The Mavs looked old against the Nuggets and looked middle-aged against an ancient Spurs team. They need some youth. I still hope that Ryan Hollins is the future at center for this team, but a Gortat/Hollins combination is younger than a Dampier/Hollins combination and should translate into more energy on the court.

In order for this to be relevant, the Mavs must remain committed to the youth already on the team. This means going out and resigning Brandon Bass and ironically making sure Jason Kidd signs his three year offer. Kidd will be instrumental in shaping the future of this franchise. If we expect any of the young guard prospects on this team to develop, it will require Kidd’s experience and tutelage. Additionally, the Mavs must make sure they turn the expiring contracts of Jerry Stackhouse and Dampier into youthful contributors during the course of this off-season. I know it may be asking for too much, but it would be nice to get a young prospect in exchange for Devean George.

As I step back and look at it, the Gortat signing has potential as the first piece in a much bigger off-season puzzle for the Mavericks.  In order for it to work, the Mavs must make additional, more substantial moves this off-season.

Things I Want to See in Game 5

I’m a die hard MFFL, but I am not delusional. I realize that the chances of the Mavs bringing this series back to Dallas are not that great. However, I still have faith. Until the last second runs off the clock, I’ll continue to believe that there is a chance.

With that said, there are a few things I want to see out of the Mavs tonight:

• Energy  The Pepsi Center is going to be rocking tonight. The Nuggets have a chance to advance to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in over 20 years and the Nuggets fans are not to happy with anything from Dallas at this time. The crowd will be into this one from the beginning. The Nuggets players are a little bit angry after Game 4 and will come out firing. It’s up to the Mavs to match this energy early and keep it up throughout the game.
• Less Dampier  I don’t know if it’s his ankle or something else, but Erick Dampier has not had a very good series. He has looked slow and out of place. Personally, I think seeing more of Brandon Bass and Ryan Hollins would be a positive note.
• JET on the runway  Jason Terry had his best game of the 2009 Playoffs so far in Game 4, in my opinion. A repeat performance would help ease the load on Dirk’s back.
• Defensive rebounds Sure, a monster dunk or a three pointer will instantly ignite a crowd, but it’s the offensive rebounds that keep the crowds going. Grab defensive rebounds and you can control some of the energy.
• Transition defense The Nuggets will cause turnovers. When they do, we have to be ready to slow down the fast break.

Dirk v. ‘Melo

Sure, Carmelo Anthony has one bogus game winner in this series, but Dirk Nowitzki is actually putting up better numbers than ‘Melo. These numbers are from today’s Dallas Morning News:

Stats through Game 4 of Dallas/Denver series.

Melo:

PPG:  30.0

Rebounds: 7.5

FG%: .464

3-pt. %: .389

FT %: .854

Dirk Nowitzki:

PPG: 35.0

Rebounds:  12.0

FG%:  .535

3 PT %:  .375

FT%:  .900

 

More on the “personality” of the Denver Nuggets

A lot has been made about the character of the Denver Nuggets team.

As a proud American, I have one picture that sums it all up. Notice, only one player, Chris “The Birdman” Andersen, is saluting the flag during our national anthem.

Thuggish-Ruggish Nuggets

I’m still baffled at the allegations flowing from the Nuggets camp. Now, this LaLa Vasquez character, whose name sounds more like a character from a Broadway musical,  has reached for the race card out of desperation.

From what I understand, LaLa sat behind the Nuggets bench either near or with Kenyon Martin’s brother. During the course of the game, a group of young Mavs fans started heckling Kenyon Martin–an easy target. This set off a chain of alleged events, including a confrontation with Martin’s brother and the young Mavs fans, the young Mavs fans being kicked out of the game and then LaLa Vasquez having a confrontation with a group of female Mavs fans. Depending on who you listen to, the story is either that the female Mavs fans were shouting racial slurs at LaLa or that LaLa verbally assaulted the female Mavs fans and poured a drink on one of them. In the end, LaLa was escorted out of the game.

Video of LaLa being escorted of the game clearly shows this lady has a temper. It is not hard to believe, after seeing the video, that one of the ladys could have made a remark about her boyfriend (Carmelo Anthony) or his team, setting her off on a profanity laced tirade, resulting in her tossing a drink on one of the ladys.

UPDATE: Here is the story of one of the Mavs fans near the action on Monday night.

Evidently, LaLa has some connection with either MTV or VH1 and is in the public eye. She knew that tape of this incident would get out and she knew that she would have to formulate a story to generate sympathy from her employer.  What easier to generate than sympathy than reaching for the race card?

You’re in a large arena filled with over 20,000 people, even if you can’t back up your claims, no one can officially rule it out either. If someone chooses to question your claim, you can easily label them a racist. It’s a win-win situation for LaLa all the way around.

I don’t know much about LaLa, but I do know about her husband and the company he keeps. Kind of reminds me of that song, “Thuggish Ruggish Bone”:

 Get ready for the Bone…

…and the mo’ thug…

 

…busta, you know me as a hustla’!

 

It’s the thugggish-ruggish Nuggets!

 

 

With Dorf the trainer?

Does the NBA have a double standard?

As he was exiting the court last night, Kenyon Martin had some choice words for Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, including an pejorative used againt homosexuals. As you can see, this incident was caught on tape and I’m sure the David Stern and the NBA are well aware of what Martin said. However, I seriously doubt they will take any action against him. Had a player used a racial slur, it would have been an automatic suspension.

Is there a double-standard applied by the NBA? Is the NBA office homophobic? Why don’t GLBT leaders stand up and demand the NBA take action against Martin for his words?

Hello, Pot? This is kettle, you’re black!

The Dallas Morning News is reporting that the Denver Nugget officials are upset with the behavior of some of the Maverick fans at the American Airlines Center last night. Is the Denver Nugget organization really in any position to tell other organizations how their players, fans or owners should act?

The Nuggets play with a swagger, which is fine, but if you play with a swager you have to be prepared to pay the price. When you play with the type of swagger of J.R. Smith, Kenyon Martin or Chris Andersen, you open yourself up for attack, nothing is off limits–wives, girlfriends, family, etc.  Fans have every right to do everything, besides causing physical harm, to these type of players to make them as uncomfartable as possible. Maybe it’s yelling at the player’s family members, maybe it’s acting more like a Philadelphia Eagles fan.

As a life long fan of all Dallas sports teams, I have always felt that our fans are a little too calm, especially compared to the fans in New York and Philly.  I’m glad to see that finally a sports venue in this city, if only for one evening, took on some of the energy of the old Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

At the end of the night, the Mavs fans’ actions action accomplished their goal. As Kenyon Martin exited the arena, he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that neither he nor his family were no longer welcome in their own home town.  Martin’s actions on and off the court, the way that he presents himself, screams, “I want you to hate me,” which is what the Mavs fans gave him. Why is so he upset then when Mavs fans and Mark Cuban yell at his mother?

Mark Cuban and Kenyon Martin’s mom

The Dallas Morning News Maverick’s blog reports that Mark Cuban had some special words for Kenyon Martin’s mother after Saturday’s loss. If the quote in the blog is correct, I fully support Cuban.  Denver fans might not like it, Martin’s family might not like it, but Cuban is the only owner in the NBA (possibly professional sports) with the balls to say what is really on his mind.

The same people who bitch and moan about Cuban’s comments are the same people who defend Martin (and others like him) for playing a rough brand of basketball that often includes pretty intense “trash talking.”

Is there a double standard among NBA fans? Is it ok for a NBA player to act one way, but to expect different behavior out of a passionate owner?

Racism in the NBA?

I was reading a post on the Mavericks blog on the dallasnews.com this morning and noticed  a comment from a Nuggets fan. The Denver fan expressed frustration with Mavs fans labeling the Nuggets as “thugs,” and charged that their was a racist element involved in these accusations.

I can’t speak for all Mavs’ fans, but I’ve stopped short of directly calling the Nuggets, “thugs.”  I called them “miscreants” and “social deviants,” but I intended for those adjectives to describe Chris Andersen as much as they described Kenyon Martin.

The true racism in the NBA, whether among fans, players or analysts, and the true elephant in the room no one is willing to discuss is the obvious racism towards Dirk Nowitzki.

Think of the term people use to describe Dirk–he’s soft, he’s a good shooter, he works hard, he’s  a gym rat, he’s slow,  he’s not athletic enough, etc. They are code for saying that Dirk is too white to be a true NBA superstar.

When was the last time you heard someone who wasn’t white and not part of the Maverick’s organization–either past or present–say anything positive about Dirk’s game?  The best you will hear them say is something like, “Dirk is no Larry Bird, but he is a Larry Bird-like.”

Why? Because they were both white and great shooters?

I despise racism in any form. All bigotry is evil, but racism drives me more crazy than any other form of bigotry. To hear someone charge that Mavs’ fans calling the Nuggets “thugs” is racist, but in the same breath for them to criticize Dirk with racist code words just makes me sick.