Mavericks vs. Phoenix Suns preview 10:43 PM CST on Monday, November 15, 2004 By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News Mavericks won three of four meetings last season. Key matchup Steve Nash vs. Devin Harris: The coaching staff probably won't hang Harris out to dry on this one. Asking anybody to play Nash on his first trip back to Dallas is a hard proposition. Don't be surprised if Marquis Daniels spends time on him. Or Jason Terry. Everybody will get a shot. In recent separate games, Nash had 17 assists and 29 points. He likes the youth and athleticism of his new teammates. And don't be surprised if the most-cheered player on the floor tonight is Nash. Inside the Suns New monster on the block: The Suns are justifiably giddy about the improvement of Amare Stoudemire. He's started his third season with a bang, becoming the Suns' go-to scorer. When the late Cotton Fitzsimmons said during his rookie season that Stoudemire was every bit as good as Karl Malone was early in his career, he knew what he was talking about. Young guns: Despite signing 33-year-old Bo Outlaw, the Suns remain the youngest team in the NBA, with an average age of only 24.8 years. That's why the Suns are one of the most athletic teams in the league. Inside the Mavericks Tough on the perimeter: Opponents are shooting only 26.4 percent (33-of-125) from 3-point range. Last season, the Mavericks gave up 36.3 percent from the arc. The difference: Perimeter defenders don't have to help as much defensively. Still shy at the line: After leading the league in free throw percentage the last three seasons, they are hitting .763 from the line, which is well below their pace of the past few seasons. They also need to wave their hands more when opponents are shooting free throws. Or something. Foes are making 77 percent from the line. PROBABLE STARTERS Suns Pos. Mavs Shawn Marion F Dirk Nowitzki Joe Johnson F Marquis Daniels Amare Stoudemire C Erick Dampier Quentin Richardson G Josh Howard Steve Nash G Devin Harris http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dw...view.ac667.html If you cant get it... E-mail: maverick411341@verizon.net Pass: lkcxgggf ------------------------------------------------- Nash you have been great to us and I love ya for making Dirk into this monster. But since you created it you must defeat it and he is bringing reinforcements. Mavs - 114 Suns - 102
Sunshine Rain's Keys to the game: 1) Dirk and Damp on the boards. Marion is one of the top rebounders in the league, and Amare isn't bad either. The Mavs cannot let the Suns dominate the boards. 2) Devin Harris and Jason Terry must limit Steve Nash's penetration and make him work on the defensive end. If they do this, the Mavs shooting guards, small forwards and bench should be able to provide a win.
Awww!! Damp and Terry seem to be out for a while..Really a bad time to get injured when the team seemed to be settling down pretty good.
No sweat. We lost two of our best defenders. I guarantee the suns don't go for that many dunks with Damp in there and they would have more turnovers with Terry in there. Dirk had five fouls in the 3rd and had to sit it out through the mid 4th qrt. The refs weren't exactly making favourable calls for the Mavs. You can also say that Fin would hit those threes at the end of the game if he was in there, but i'm not making excuses. We had the game tied in the 4th so.... Devin Harris is amazing! He was arguably the best pg in the game (Dallas vs. Phoenix) today; made so many nash like moves and had a few steals against Nash.
This one was a thriller to the end. Even though we lost, I liked this game. That bucket Devin Harris made was simply amazing. Hopefully we can bounce back from this loss and get back on the right track.
I think it was a good performance from the Mavs. The Suns will soon be recognized as one of the best teams in the league and it looks like they will win their division. When Dampier went out, it was trouble. Dirk held his own on the boards, but he didn't have much help. I think Nelson made a bad move that cost us the game. In the absence of Dampier, Bradley did a nice job anchoring the zone, and Booth could have given him a break. Instead, Nelson chose to put Henderson on Amare. Amare had a great game, but I guarantee that 25 of his 34 points came during the 12 minutes Henderson was on him. It was just a horrible mismatch that put us deep in the hole at the end of the first half, and I was shocked when Nelson did it again in the second half after we had fought back to tie the game. Same result again, Phoenix pushed their lead back up to ten.
That rook Devin Harris... he is really a demon on the D end... he had 5 steals... what was his pre-season spg? 5+ sth? This kid's unreal he could end up averaging over 3 spg if the Mavs give him constant minutes...
I think the mavs need to improve on half court offense a bit more. There were 3 consecutive possessions in the last 2 minutes where dirk and stackhouse ran iso plays and couldnt really score. They should have moved the ball a bit more. That was really the factor in the end after they managed to tie it. Dirk should've been more aware of his foul situation and should not have commited his 5th foul on frustration. Devin Harris certainly showed Nash the franshise point guard position is in safe hands. With not may true point guards around, he'll be one of the best in business in a couple of years until maybe Shaun Livingston catches up.
I'm pretty sure Dampier, Terry and Finley would of had something to do with this. We thought Stack was going to be the one leaving early but i guess we were wrong. This is gonna be a long rest of the month.
How serious is Damp's injury? Looks like its small ball time again, which has always bailed out Nellie in the past. With a tough schedule starting next week until mid-December, Stack will need to be more consistent and take over the #2 option next to Dirk. Mavs cannot afford to lose ground now.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting dallasdude:</div><div class="quote_post">I think the mavs need to improve on half court offense a bit more.</div> Well that's nothing new. It's even more crucial this year though, since their pg doesn't run as much as Nash did. Nast btw, got 18 dimes for my fantasy team .
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting dallasdude:</div><div class="quote_post">I think the mavs need to improve on half court offense a bit more. There were 3 consecutive possessions in the last 2 minutes where dirk and stackhouse ran iso plays and couldnt really score. They should have moved the ball a bit more. That was really the factor in the end after they managed to tie it. Dirk should've been more aware of his foul situation and should not have commited his 5th foul on frustration. Devin Harris certainly showed Nash the franshise point guard position is in safe hands. With not may true point guards around, he'll be one of the best in business in a couple of years until maybe Shaun Livingston catches up.</div> Totally agree! The Mavs are one of the top offensive teams in the league in scoring and shooting percentage, but they are near the bottom in assists. Dirk is the leader in assists. They are doing it with skill alone on the offensive end, and sooner or later, they have to start moving the ball and looking more cohesive. It will catch up to them.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Ankle aches go on for Mavericks Guard Terry carried off court; Dampier leaves game with hip injury By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News The ankle problems just won't go away for the Mavericks. Point guard Jason Terry is the latest victim. He twisted his left ankle badly early in the second quarter against Phoenix on Tuesday night and had to be carried off the court. This came after center Erick Dampier left the game in the first quarter with a strained left hip flexor. Neither returned. The Mavericks have had five players hindered by ankle problems. Michael Finley is out at least one more game because of the sprain that put him on crutches after the Orlando game last week. Terry's injury may be even worse. His ankle appeared to roll completely over when he stepped on Steve Nash's foot. X-rays were negative, but Terry is scheduled to have an MRI today if the ankle is not too swollen. He left the arena on crutches. "It didn't feel too good when it happened," he said. "I've never had an ankle problem before." Terry was trying to be optimistic, but it seems unlikely he would be able to play Friday against New York.</div> The rest is on Dallasnews.com also saying that Finley may be back earlier than expected. Basically Damp and Terry are day to day. That was a close one.
