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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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Can nice guy Mike D’Antoni give the New York Knicks the discipline they need?

Image details: New Orleans Hornets v Phoenix Suns served by picapp.com

A tale of two coaching changes and a true mystery as to what is going on.

Donnie Walsh of the Knicks hired Mike D’Antoni to be coach of the Knicks.

Donnie Nelson of the Dallas Mavericks hired Rick Carlisle.

So please explain what is going in here.

Let’s start with D’Antoni, who was fired by the Phoenix Suns.

For New York, this is a mistake.

Wrong coach, wrong time.

The Knicks need toughness.

Discipline.

Accountability.

On his best day on the job, D’Antoni brings none of these elements to Madison Square Garden. Basketball doesn’t need to be fun in New York. It doesn’t need to be entertaining. Most of all, New York wants tough, relentless teams. In the Western Conference, you need to win with style. It sells tickets. It gets people out of warm weather into an arena. This isn’t necessary in New York. It takes the perfect personnel to run, and that isn’t there today, tomorrow – maybe never.

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Jimmy Dolan and Isiah Thomas left the Knicks with a boatload of big contracts that will keep bad players trapped in New York. Worse yet, they are not in the style of D’Antoni. He likes his teams to run, pass, and shoot quickly. The Knicks just like to ball hog.

Can D’Antoni survive in New York if he starts losing and can’t switch any players?

Rick Carlisle

Coach Carlisle is the type of coach that like to script out the plays. Chauncey Billups once remarked that they knew exactly what they would run in the last two minutes of any game. Carlisle will sometimes call all the plays from the bench. Will the wide open playing Dallas Mavericks be able to even wait for the signals.

Carlisle is also a master of defense. He preaches one on one principles and does not like to double team. Does this mean Dirk Nowitzki will have to play defense?

Donnie Nelson, the Mavericks’ president of basketball operations, said in a statement that Carlisle was “our top choice from the onset.”

“His integrity, exceptional basketball IQ and balanced approach are exactly what we were looking for,” Nelson said. “Rick’s playoff experience and success make him a great fit for our team and its future.”

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Rick was great with the Pistons at winning with very little in terms of star power, but he eventually wore out his welcome and the Pistons got rid of him and hired Larry Brown.

These are strange hires, even by the good old boys standard.

Can D’Antoni win with selfish players?

Can Carlisle win with offense first players?

Tune into the NBA next year to find out.

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Byron Scott in with the new.

Avery Johnson out with the old.

That was the swan song of the Coach of the Year award.

New Orleans 99 Dallas 94

Top 10 reasons Hornets eliminate Mavs

10. Chris Paul at beginning of a potential Hall of Fame career, while Jason Kidd near the end of potential Hall of Fame career.

Chris Paul had 24 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds, and the Hornets held on for a 99-94 victory over the Dallas Mavericks to win their first-round series in five games.

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9. Dirk Nowitzki settles too often for jumpers, even when there is a mismatch on D.

8. Poor recognition of mismatches on defense by Dallas.

7. Poor defense by Dallas.

6., 5., 4., 3., 2., 1. No clue how to defend by Dallas.

Just in case you think the Mavs never played defense, there is proof that they did.

Dallas never led and was hurt badly by an 11-1 Hornets run after Nowitzki’s free throw had pulled the Mavs to 73-66 early in the fourth quarter.

Dallas played solid defense on New Orleans’ next possession, keeping the ball on the perimeter, but Pargo hit a deflating 3 at the shot clock buzzer.

Time to stop blaming Jason Kidd.

“We’re better than what we showed this series,” Nowitzki said. “The summer is going to be long. … You don’t want to say stuff when you’re emotional and disappointed. … You’ve got to look at what you can do to make the team better. We’ve got to look at it this summer again, but it’s not the time now.”

Nowitzki gave mixed reviews to the Kidd trade, which cost the Mavericks young point guard Devin Harris, a former first-round draft choice.

Dallas will probably be looking at firing former Coach of the Year Avery Johnson and adding some defense to their games.

Kidd and Johnson never found a rhythm together, never found a common ground to make this work. And Mark Cuban did nothing in the losing locker room to end speculation that an NBA Finals collapse and two straight first-round playoff blowouts would end Johnson’s run as Mavericks coach.

“Nothing to say,” the Mavericks owner said, throwing a fistful of popcorn into his mouth.

“I pass.”

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Yes, Chris Paul was brilliant and outplayed Jason Kidd, but do you think for a minute Chris Paul would not have destroyed Devin Harris?

Dallas needs Defense.

NBA Basketball special comment Chris Paul sure is fun to watch. Go Hornets.

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In a game of two awesome point guards, it was the lack of defense that stood out.

Dallas came back in the fourth quarter with a 16 - 0 run to take the game. A game that Phoenix led from the get go and had a 13 point lead in the 3rd quarter.

Dirk scored 32 points on one ankle as the Mavs won 105 - 98.

Dirk Nowitzki signals he can score on one ankle or two

“Every team we’d played so far we were right there, on the road or at home,” Nowitzki said. “So it feels great to get finally over the hump. I think everybody in t he locker room was pretty hyped up that we had finally pulled this one out. Hopefully this could build some momentum.”

Josh Howard added 24 points and Brandon Bass 19 for the Mavericks, who used a smothering defense in a 16-0 run that put them ahead for good in a game the Suns had led nearly throughout. Phoenix went scoreless for just under 8 minutes, missing 12 shots in the process.

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The disturbing part of this game was the lack of defense on the pick and roll. In the playoffs, you have to be able to defend the pick and roll.

It got so bad in the second half that my TV was switched to The Lord of the Rings II. Rohan used excellent defense to defend Helms deep from the invading Orcs. It was playoff defense at its best.

Anyway, getting back to the game, it seemed like either team could shake a man loose on the pick and roll whenever they wanted. There was no cut out or rotation or trap or any of the myriad ways to defend. Nowitzki and Shaq both looked helpless on pick and rolls.

How do these teams plan on beating San Antonio and Tim Duncan or Utah and Darren Williams without defending the pick and roll?

NBA Basketball special comment It still has to be San Antonio in the West until better defense is played by the other teams.

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The Warriors suffer the consequences of Dirk Nowitzki’s early return.

After being declared unfit to face the Golden State Warriors, Dirk played anyway.

Johnson used another “s” word—steel—to describe Nowitzki. The big German had 18 points and five rebounds in nearly 27 minutes, but there’s not a stat sheet anywhere that describes how the reigning MVP was most valuable against the Warriors.

A dejected-looking Nowitzki told reporters hours before the Golden State game that he didn’t think he’d be ready to go. Maybe he was sandbagging. Or maybe he had time to realize that a loss to the Warriors would have been the sixth loss in eight games with visits to the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix up next.

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From street clothes to uniform, Dirk Nowitzki gets it done

With this victory by the Dallas Mavericks, the Warriors dropped to the 9th spot in the Western Conference behind Denver.

This was a huge game for both clubs. Dirk Nowitzki came back to life, just in time.

NBA Basketball special comment Why is it some players like Dirk Nowitzki have a way of being larger than life?

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All the after the fact analysts are now claiming the Jason Kidd deal was such a dumb move by Mark Cuban.

The facts? No victories against above .500 teams and the West is loaded with above .500 teams.

Now they have all this analysis about what Devin Harris brought to the team or even, oh yeah, get this, DeSagana Diop.

Excuuuuse me? What a bunch of baloney.

The Mavericks lost to the Warriors in the first round last year. The out of control Warriors took them down.

Was Devin Harris a good young player? Yeah, and he still is for that matter, but that is not the point.

Dallas needed to do something. The team they had was not going to win.

Jason Kidd turns his back on the nay sayers

Is Jason Kidd the answer? We don’t know yet, but he is getting blamed for everything including the stale hotdog buns in section 129 at the last home game.

It has been a difficult transition for Kidd, although he has played better the last week, averaging 19.7 points, 11 assists and 3.3 steals.

He is a positive person who is emboldened by the challenge: “If you want it badly, you’ve got to go through this. You kind of have no choice but to produce. That’s the fun part. You’re going to have good days and bad days, where you feel non-existent and everybody is on your back. That’s when you have to keep pushing.”

The Kidd trade was supposed to have positive leadership implications because the Mavericks have long been considered too soft — “too fragile,” as Jackson says. But the offense has struggled to find its flow and the defense hasn’t displayed consistent vigor.

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Maybe the bigger question is when will Dirk Nowitzki be back. The Dallas Mavericks need to make the playoffs first and foremost and then worry about what Jason Kidd’s role will be.

The status for the Wednesday game against Golden State is not good.

There were hopes that Nowitzki could play Wednesday after the team upgraded his status to day-to-day following his 45-minute workout Tuesday. But that optimism faded after the shootaround session.

“I’ve got to be pain-free. If I can’t move out there and cut and try to defend and move my feet, it really doesn’t make any sense to try to get out there,” Nowitzki said. “Just hobbling around wouldn’t help anybody. I would rather have somebody out there that can go and give 100%.”

Nowitzki sprained his left ankle and knee March 23. He said his knee is fine.

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Ultimately the team will be about Dirk Nowitzki and how far he can carry them, not about Jason Kidd.

NBA Basketball special comment The early returns mean nothing. The final polls are the playoffs. That is when the Jason Kidd trade will be fully tested. Can Jason get it done?

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Dallas is hanging by a thread.

19 games after trading twice for Jason Kidd, the Mavericks are 10 - 9 in those games, but have zero victories against winning teams. Zero.

Now they are missing Dirk Nowitzki with leg and ankle injuries.

How ironic they had to face the Nuggets, the very team that may put them out of the playoffs. The Nuggets are the 9th team in an 8 team playoff bracket. They want in, bad!

Allen Iverson can feel it.

Allen Iverson added 31 points for the Nuggets, who are a half-game behind Golden State for the eighth and final playoff spot, and one game behind the Mavericks. The Warriors visit the Pepsi Center on Saturday night for another big matchup.

“That game’s bigger than this game,” suggested Anthony. source

Nene returns

In a rather important side note, Nene returned from his bout with cancer and played.

Your intrepid author is currently fighting cancer and it is an ordeal, believe me. For Nene to step back out on the floor is an inspiration for everyone. You cannot believe how much cancer saps your strength. Not just your physical strength, but your emotional and mental strength as well.

“Everybody was excited to see Nene back out there, just to see him back in his uniform, seeing him smile again after the stuff he’s been through,” said Carmelo Anthony, who scored 32 points and keyed the decisive run in the Nuggets’ fourth straight win.

Nene had been out since Jan. 11, and it’s been just over a month since he underwent chemotherapy.

Chemo wipes you out. Congratulations to Nene. He played for 77 seconds. It could be a long time before he is at full strength.

NBA Basketball Fan Question Is Dallas out of the playoffs without Dirk?

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The sweet J of Dirk Nowitzki will be missed

Dirk Nowitzki update.

Nowitzki met with reporters for about 10 minutes Monday to discuss the leg injury he sustained the previous day. He said he feels fortunate it’s only a moderate high-ankle sprain and a mildly sprained knee and he hopes to be back in a week or two.

But he also realizes it could be longer and the Mavericks might miss the playoffs without him.

“This is probably the most painful time to miss games,” Nowitzki said. “That’s very discouraging.”

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Yesterday you were told of Dirk’s leg injury and that on Monday we would know more. Well, the news was not good and neither are the Maverick’s playoff chances.

Hard to imagine not watching a Maverick-Spurs Tim Duncan battle or missing a Dallas-Phoenix Steve Nash shootout in the playoffs, but the West is just stacked with good teams.

Western Conference
Team GB
1. * New Orleans —
2. * LA Lakers -0.5
3. Houston 0.5
4. * Utah 2.5
5. Phoenix 1.0
6. San Antonio 1.0
7. Dallas 4.0
8. Golden State 5.0
9. Denver 5.5

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Dirk is just too much of the Dallas team. Can Jason Kidd turn it on and save them?

NBA Basketball Fan Question Can Dallas stay in the race until Dirk Nowitzki comes back?

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