Has Dirk Nowitzki started an early bid for MVP with an incredible fourth quarter of 29 points against the Utah Jazz? Dirk had 40 total points on a night when for 3 quarters he just could not get it going and it looked like a boring defeat at the hands of the Jazz, but then the magic scoring hands of Nowitzki went to work and broke Mark Aguirre’s 1 quarter Maverick scoring record.

NBA factoid: Last December Carmelo Anthony had 33 in a single quarter to tie George Gervin’s all time NBA record.

Mark Aguirre had 27 on March 24th 1984.

Dirk had Jason Terry just gushing.

He scored 23 of 25 Maverick points in one stretch, including a step-back jumper with 2:05 to go that put them ahead, 85-83.

“It was tremendous,” Jason Terry said of Nowitzki’s fourth quarter. “Dirk put us on his back and showed us why he’s the MVP. We were in it defensively all night long. But offensively we struggled. It was getting to us. … But we didn’t let our defensive effort lack. I think that’s what kept us in the game.
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Dirk Nowitzki with classic shooting form

Dirk Nowitzki has 29 in the fourth

For the Dallas Mavericks the true test will come at the defensive end as a team loaded with offensive stars attempts to stop the opposing team from scoring, which is something they have not shown a strong propensity to accomplish in the past.

What’s more significant to me is that the Mavs have won three consecutive games despite not shooting better than 41.7 percent in any game this season. Last year, when they shot 42.5 percent of worse from the floor, they were 3-25. In many ways, just like the Rangers, this offense has traditionally been so good that if it gets even a touch of defense, it wins. Since that rather rough season opener, the Mavs have won as much because of defense as anything.

That is most definitely a change in this team. Maybe it’s only a one-week aberration, but, at least for a week, you have to figure the attention to defense is paying off for this team.
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If the Defensive Trend continues for the Dallas Mavericks then you can look for an extended playoff run at the end of the year.

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Now it is time to play who makes more in the NBA as provided by Hoopsworld. The answers will be at the bottom of the blog.

Are you ready?

A) Who makes more Boston Celtics… Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, or Kevin Garnett?

B) Who makes more Cleveland Cavaliers… LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neil, or Mo Williams?

C) Who makes more Denver Nuggets… Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, or Kenyon Martin?

D) Who makes more Los Angeles Lakers… Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, or Ron Artest?

E) Who makes more New Orleans Hornets… Chris Paul, Emeka Okafor, or Peja Stojakovic?

F) Who makes more San Antonio Spurs… Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, or Richard Jefferson?

G) Who makes more Dallas Mavericks… Jason Kidd, Josh Howard, or Dirk Nowitzki?

H) Who makes more Orlando Magic… Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis, or Vince Carter?

I) Who makes more Miami Heat… Dwyane Wade, Michael Beasley, or Jermaine O’Neal?

J) Who makes more Detroit Pistons… Ben Gordon, Charlie Villenueva, or Rip Hamilton?

Tim Duncan makes a lot of cash!

Answers from Hoopsworld:
A) Paul Pierce $19,795,712.
B) Shaquille O’Neal $21,000,000.
C) Kenyon Martin $15,613,636.
D) Kobe Bryant $23,034,375.
E) Peja Stojakovic $13,392,000.
F) Tim Duncan $22,183,220.
G) Dirk Nowitzki $19,795,714.
H) Rashard Lewis $18,010,791.
I) Jermaine O’Neal $23,016,000.
J) Rip Hamilton $11,625,000.

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Shawn Marion is known as the Matrix and he can do it all on a hoop court. For years he operated in near anonymity in Phoenix. It got so bad that Shawn threatened to leave just so he could be the man on some other team instead of third banana behind Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire on the Suns. Finally the Suns gave him his wish and dealt him to the Heat for the Shaq. The Heat were not very good and needed a big man, so Matrix was dealt to Toronto and from there he was dealt to Dallas.

Dirk Nowitzki will join Shawn Marion to go for the NBA title!

In Dallas, Shawn will never be the man. That label belongs to Dirk Nowitzki the perennial All Star and offensive power house. But the overall game and relentless movement on offense from Shawn has brought an extra dimension to the Mavericks that will only serve to enhance the play of Nowitzki.

“He’s pretty amazing, I got to admit,” Nowitzki said. “Playing against him all these years, you don’t really know all the little things he does. I really like playing with him. He doesn’t demand the ball, he just gets his points on the go.”

And he also sees the big picture. Marion’s do-it-all game should make life simpler for Nowitzki.

“I really think, especially on the break, that’s going to open up my shots on transition,” he said. “And we can get some baskets where we don’t have to work extra, extra hard.”
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The Mavericks will now face the Western Division with 3 solid but aging stars in Jason Kidd, Dirk Nowitzki, and Shawn Marion. If they stay healthy it could be the same formula the Boston Celtics used to win the NBA title a few years ago.

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It came out during an interview with Rick Carlisle, the Dallas Mavericks are better. Now if you look at the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association there are 3 super teams and the rest is wide open. The super teams would be the Los Angeles Lakers, the Denver Nuggets, and the San Antonio Spurs. After that the West is wide open, with even the rotten teams improving themselves.

The Dallas Mavericks have added Shawn Marion, Drew Gooden, and Tim Thomas to a 6th place team. That is three quality players that will add shooting, scoring, size, and rebounding. Each of those players has missing parts to their games, but put the 3 together and you have an amazing set of situational type players.

So what does Rick Carlisle, the coach of the Dallas Mavericks think of all this?

What about the roster changes of the off-season? What do the incoming players bring to the table?

I like the moves we’ve made. We’ve acquired competitive guys. I like our chemistry. I think the pieces we added fit. The personalities of the new guys complement our nucleus. And I really believe the abilities of our new guys complement the guys that we have. We’re more athletic. We’ve got more experience.
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Rick is a coach that holds you accountable and often puts you in situations to help the team with what you do best. Look for him to get the most out of the new players. He also is a strong believer in scripting plays and defending 1 on 1. It will be interesting to see how well the new players adapt to this type of coaching.

Dirk is yelling for the ball!

Rick is smart enough to know that Dirk Nowitzki is what makes the team go and all the new players will have to play to Dirk’s strength. Who knows, maybe the Mavericks could move into the group of super teams in the West!

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So is Mark Cuban upset with Dirk Nowitzki or not? Is that why Dirk is not representing the German national team in Poland?

No. Mark simply asked Dirk to take time off if his team qualified for the Olympics and they did that. Dirk Nowitzki claims that he could have played and Mark would not have stopped him, but that was not all there was to it.

“Dirk and I agreed last year after his Olympic run, which was his dream for Germany, that he would take a year off,” Cuban said. “He has the option of returning after this year if that is what he wants to do. Hopefully, instead, the NBA will return the favor to FIBA in the use of our players that FIBA gave to us in summer league.”

In announcing to the German media that Nowitzki would not be playing in Poland, federation president Ingo Weiss told reporters that “we accept this decision completely,” describing his organization’s relationship with the Mavericks as “excellent and reliable.”

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It sounds like everybody is happy, but that is not the case. The NBA allows players to compete for their respective national teams if they can get that team to pay for the insurance. The problem Mark Cuban had was not with Dirk playing, but with a little known rule that allows the National teams from preventing NBA players from playing in the NBA summer leagues without the permission of the player’s National team and that happened to the Dallas Mavericks, but not to Dirk, it was another player.

Mark Cuban is not always solidly behind his players when it comes to international play

Mark Cuban is still not happy period.

Yet in spite of his longtime backing of Nowitzki’s national-team excursions, Cuban remains a very reluctant supporter of international tournaments in general, having railed for years against the risks absorbed by NBA teams when star players such as Nowitzki return to FIBA play, where more physical contact is frequently allowed by referees.

You have to figure that stuff can happen and already did in the case of Tony Parker getting hurt playing for his National team. Cuban has millions of dollars riding on Nowitzki, not to mention any hint of going to the finals. Maybe Cuban is right?

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Every year you can count on the Dallas Mavericks being very interesting with Mark Cuban as an owner and Dirk Nowitzki as your star player, you have all the makings of an explosive team with explosive ownership. The Mavericks as usual made a lot of moves to change their team. One of the most lethal moves was to pick up Shawn “Matrix” Marion.

The Shawn Marion deal helps; there’s no question about that. In talking with Mark Cuban during summer league he told HOOPSWORLD to expect a lot of small ball next season. He said they’ll run Dirk Nowitzki at the center, Marion at the four, Josh Howard at the three, and some combination of Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, and J.J. Barea in the backcourt. We were quick to point out that playing Dirk at the five has been tried and was a dismal failure for both Don Nelson and Avery Johnson, but Cuban insisted that the up-tempo style his team will look to run next season will make that lineup a lethal combination.
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Shawn Marion will be a Maverick

The Mavericks did not stop there as they also signed Drew Gooden, the man of 7 teams in 7 years.

Like Brandon Bass, Gooden has a good mid-range game. The good news for Mavericks fans is that Gooden is more consistent than Bass, who seemed to have good games about three out of every five nights. Gooden will deliver the same effort night in and night out, and given enough playing time he’s a solid double-double threat. He rebounds well, grabbing 7.9 boards per game over his career, hits 47% of his field goal attempts, and is an above average defender, as well. He should be a great addition, one who complements Jason Kidd nicely.
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The up tempo style of the Dallas Mavericks makes the need for a lot of players paramount and in case you were wondering, they are loaded with a lot of players. Check out the two deep of:
PG Jason Kidd Jose Juan Barea
SG Jason Terry Matt Carroll
SF Josh Howard Shawn Marion
PF Dirk Nowitzki Drew Gooden
C Erick Dampier Kris Humphries
[as reported in Yahoo Sports]

Most teams would salivate at the likes of that type of depth. Not the Mavericks, they still feel they need a shooting guard to really make the team go. These guys never quit, on the court or in the front office.

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Shawn aka ‘The Matrix’ Marion is going to be a Maverick and the odd thing about the whole trade, which involved four teams, is nobody can figure out if the Mavericks will be better or not. The plan is to play Shawn at the four spot, but that will involve moving a lot of players around even during the game.

Now maybe that won’t be a problem, because Rick Carlisle is a master at setting up plays and getting players in a position to do their thing, but just what is Shawn’s thing? Will he be over achieving as a rebounder or racing up the court to finish Jason Kidd fast breaks or stealing shots that Jason Terry would have shot or maybe just be the new out of control Jerry Stackhouse? Jerry ended up in Memphis for the time being. Yes, it was a bizarre trade.

Whether the Matrix produces for Dallas or not, this strange trade also accomplished some other odd things.

Dallas, Toronto, Orlando and Memphis came together to complete a deal that also allowed Toronto to receive Hedo Turkoglu in a sign-and-trade transaction. The rest of the complicated trade, which changed several times over the last day, includes fairly inconsequential parts.

The Grizzlies received Jerry Stackhouse from Dallas, a future second-round pick from Toronto plus cash considerations. Most of that cash will be used to buy out Stackhouse, who has $2 million guaranteed on his contract and doesn’t fit into the Grizzlies’ plans.
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Turkoglu ends up in Toronto

So Dallas ends up with Marion, Toronto with Turkoglu, and Jerry Stackhouse ends up.

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Maverick fans have to be drooling. Mark Cuban has let it be known that he would pick up the two worst contracts on the Hornets in order to get Chris Paul.

It makes the mind swirl to think of the Dallas Mavericks picking up Chris Paul to play on the same team as Dirk Nowitzki. You would have a former MVP still playing at a very high level with a future MVP candidate adding some much needed full court speed.

Chris Paul defies the laws of gravity

Dirk is still one of the top mismatch players in the league, presenting an interesting combination of size and long distance shooting ability. If you added in Chris Paul, just think of the explosiveness on the Mavericks. Chris is a penetrating point guard and they rule the NBA right now.

So why would the Hornets let this deal happen?

In a word, contracts. They have way too many dollars tied up in longer contracts.

Who would the Hornets want to get rid of so badly that they’d be willing to part with Paul? Peja Stojakovic ($13.39 million next season and $14.26 in 2010-11) would definitely be part of the deal. Chandler ($12.3 next season and $13.2 in 2010-11) probably would be included, too. Morris Peterson (due a total of $12 million over the next two seasons) or James Posey ($19.5 million over three seasons) are other possibilities.

Stojakovic’s contract ranks among the worst in the league. He’s had a very good career, but he’s an oft-injured 40-percent jump shooter these days. But he is the starting small forward for a playoff team.

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Dirk Nowitzki is listening for a Spurs rally, but did not hear anything

Dirk Nowitzki goes off for 30 and the Mavericks still look like a team to contend with in the West.

Can San Antonio win a game this year?

It remains to be seen. The new Dallas Mavericks with the same old players beat the Spurs 98 – 91.

They still have to play without the injured Manu Ginobili until December.

It is a rough start.

Odds remain high the Spurs aren’t going to finish the year 0-82. It only seemed that way during the lowest moments of Tuesday night’s 98-81 loss to the Dallas Mavericks at the AT&T Center, which dropped the Spurs to 0-3 for the first time in their NBA history.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 30 points, Jason Terry chipped in 29 and the Mavericks had their way with the Spurs for most of the game — in the paint, on the glass and from the perimeter.

The last time the Spurs began a season with three consecutive defeats, the year was 1973, they were playing in the ABA, and Duncan had yet to be born.

“It’s uncharted territory for us,” Duncan said, striking a serious note. “We’re 0-3. We’ve played some bad basketball so far. What can you say?”
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The Spurs have had slow starts before in the Duncan era and they do not panic.

“It’s the NBA,” Mason said afterward, “and it was one of those nights.”

The trouble for the Spurs is that they’ve had three of those nights, and here is where they are hoping history stops repeating itself.

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Michael Curry will try to right the Piston ship

The NBA is proud to bring a brand new coach to your area. They did it for 8 teams.

Think about that. 8 new coaches.

Ever heard of a brand new coach immediately winning it all? It has probably happened, but not to my knowledge.

Usually you just fired the last coach because the team stunk so bad he could not make them win.

So this year we bring you the 8 trying to make the magic happen.

Michael Curry, Pistons

Curry, 40, was an assistant to last year’s coach, Flip Saunders, who was fired. From 2000 to 2004, Curry was president of the National Basketball Players Association. He’s also a former NBA vice president for basketball operations and played for six teams in an 11-year career.
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Michael is lucky. He inherits a veteran team with a real honest to god chance to win it all. The team knows him. The GM, Joe Dumars, knows him. Heck, the hotdog vendor in section 133 knows him. Michael Curry was a defensive minded team oriented over achiever as a player. He even used to plan out bike trips and movies for when the players were on the road.

But can he coach? Well, he can as an assistant, but can he as the head coach?

Vinny Del Negro, Bulls

Del Negro, who has no coaching experience at any level, follows interim coach Jim Boylan, who replaced Scott Skiles. Del Negro, 42, formerly was assistant general manager for the Phoenix Suns and played for five teams in a 12-year NBA career.

Scotty Skiles and Jim Boylan is a tough act to follow. Vinny has his hands full with that crew in Chicago. Skiles whipped and beat them to play defense and play as a team. Boylan found out they are lacking depth, size, speed, etc. Good Luck!

Erik Spoelstra, Miami Heat

Club President Pat Riley named Spoelstra, a seven-year assistant, to succeed him. Spoelstra, 37, is the youngest coach in the league.

This guy just has the job on loan until Pat Riley sees a good enough team to take over. Sure doesn’t hurt to have Dwyane Wade and the Matrix auditioning for jobs.

Larry Brown, Charlotte Bobcats

Have witnessed Larry up front with my Pistons and he is an amazing coach and complicated man. He is always chasing after something that is missing in his life. Some think he is looking for his father that left him at young age, not literally, but figuratively.

Larry will put them in half court sets and make them play playoff style basketball. If teams listen, they win, but most young players do not want to play that way. Example: Chauncey Billups was close to a triple double one night and Larry pulled him and said “You don’t have a clue as to how to play point guard for me, do you?” Think about it.

Rick Carlisle, Dallas Mavericks

This one will be fun to watch. The Dallas Mavericks and Dirk Nowitzki were often shooting before crossing half court and now will be playing half court. Rick was the Piston coach before Larry and he alienated so many people that he had to be fired with a winning record. Chauncey Billups used to say they knew exactly what plays would be run in the last two minutes as Carlisle called all the plays. Rick also does not like to double on defense. Can Dirk defend?

Mike D’Antoni, New York Knicks

Mike has his hands full until the Knicks can clean house and find some D’antoni style players. He needs speed and outside shooting to go along with a pass first dribbling point guard, a la Steve Nash. Mike is a great coach and the players love his style. The ball gets shared and the pace is quick.

Can he play enough defense to win a title though?

Must be Michigan week in the NBA or something

Michael Curry, Detroit Pistons
Larry Brown, former Detroit Pistons coach
Rick Carlisle, former Detroit Pistons coach
Vinny Del Negro replaces Jim Boylan former assistant at Michigan State University
Before Jim Boylan was Scott Skiles former player at Michigan State University
Mike D’Antoni was brought in to replace Isiah Thomas former Detroit Piston
The D’Antoni wanted to trade Zach Randolph former player at Michigan State University
Terry Porter, former Detroit Pistons assistant coach
Scott Skiles, former player at Michigan State University
Scott will work for GM John Hammond and he worked under Joe Dumars of the Detroit Pistons.

Terry Porter, Phoenix Suns

A hustling guard as a player and an average coach at Milwaukee, Terry will have some talent to work with, but will drastically change the style for the Suns. Terry is a real believer in defense.

Scott Skiles, Milwaukee Bucks

Scott will have some hungry players in Michael Redd and Richard Jefferson. Maybe not enough talent to win, but that has never been an issue with Scott. He just wants you to bring the desire.

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