12/21/24
November 12, 2002
And they're off!: The Dallas Mavericks sprint out of the gate 7-0 (the only undefeated team in the NBA). Nowitzki is named player of the week. But does it really matter? Are the Mavericks doomed to be the Bills of basketball? Has their defense gotten any better? Do they have what it takes to beat the Kings or Lakers during the playoffs (yes, I'm already talking playoffs). Give me your NBA Week Two reports? (Is this post appropriate? Discuss.)
posted by jacknose to basketball at 03:54 PM - 4 comments
"They'll get their real tests later this week at Boston and New Jersey." Heh, that feels good. The Celtics had a dismal start but recovered quite nicely, albeit against a bunch of mid-rank teams. Kedrick Brown, who was slated to be the first wingman off the bench, just came off the injured list and while he won't play again immediately he will play again soon. Vin Baker remains a question mark. Walker is still the most frustrating player in the league. The biggest story out of Beantown, however, is Paul Pierce knocking on the doors of the triple double club. He wouldn't have to pass so much if the Celtics had a real point guard, but he's doing a fine job of dealing out the assists while maintaining his elite scoring lately. With him and Walker passing, the offense becomes pretty flexible -- which, in part, explains why Tony Delk and Eric Williams are having excellent scoring years so far. As always, the Celtics still lack a strong inside presence. Did I mention that Vin Baker is a question mark? If Battie had Baker's muscles, or if Baker had Battie's desire and speed, we'd have a top-flight center. We'll see how the year progresses.
posted by Bryant at 06:19 AM on November 13, 2002
Pacers Report: Pay attention, my NBA friends, to the blue and yellow. Pacers are 6-1 and the Quick offense is proving to be genius. Last night, five players attempted 10 shots and two others attempted 9 and 8, respectively (box score). The last few games 5 players have scored in double-digits. Isaiah likes the distribution, but, as a coach, he is concerned with two stats: margin of victory and shooting percentages. They're beating teams soundly and keeping teams to a league-low 38.1 percent shooting. Isaiah: We just want to kick everybody's ass! Darius Miles to Isaiah after the game: Hey, man, come and get me. I want to play with y'all. Miles to press: Isiah's got them boys ready. He's trying to make them boys like the Pistons.
posted by jacknose at 06:58 AM on November 13, 2002
Jaime Aron of AP concludes that Dallas is playing good D. And in that article Nelson is talking about having Nick around for the end of the season (like Ufez says above). That's a team that's oriented towards playoff performance.
posted by Sean Meade at 10:28 AM on November 13, 2002
I'm pleased with the Mavs performance so far, and they've not gone completely against bad teams (man they schooled Detroit, who was 5-1 and had the best defense in the league so far). They'll get their real tests later this week at Boston and New Jersey, so we'll see how that goes. I think they can run with the Kings, who are looking awfully sluggish so far, so long as Raef and Nick Van Exel can come back and everyone else stays relatively healthy. Van Exel is vital so that Steve Nash doesn't run out of juice during the playoffs, like he did last year. The Lakers though? I still don't know. But a man can hope.