TSB Preseason Recap:
Mavericks, Rockets
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| Coach Rick Carlise with new signees, Bernard James, Jae Crowder, Jared Cunningham, and Donnie Nelson |
Monday, Oct. 15, 2012
Mavericks 123, Rockets 104
The Mavs opened their preseason home game against the Houston Rockets,
Phoenix Suns, and New Orleans Hornets at the American Airline Center in Dallas,
TX. The Mavericks performance was impressively surprising particularly grabbing
combined 54 boards! Fans know, organization too, know that the Mavericks do not
rebound. Not known as rebounding team. Basketball 101 teaches the importance of
rebounding.
Sport Bar Fans are still scratching their head about the dismantling of a
winning championship team that may have won back to back championships. Of course that was two seasons ago, however,
the wounds are still quite sore. Slow to get over.
Sport
Bar Fans believe that with these new signees the team might play well enough to
go to the first-round of the play-offs (okay, a possible prediction). Pre-season play demonstrated signs of strong
potential in scoring and rebounding. Jae Crowder, O.J. Mayo. Elton Brand, Chris
Kaman, Darren Collision, play well. Fans
are observant, they can tell these guys are trying to find their fit on the
court…it is not there yet.
Rookie Bernard James (Sgt.
United States Air Force) have not received much playing time nor has he been
very impressive when playing. In
fairness, this is contributed to the rotation coach
Carlisle must juggle with the new signees as well as the veterans. Although the players executed well together
there is still plenty of room for growth.
It is a matter of channeling these new talents into a cohesive component.
Newcomer, Guard, O.J. Mayo scored 10 first-half points against Houston,
and finished with 20 points to go with four assists in 24 minutes. Jae Crowder quickly will become a fan
favorite, he scored a team-high-tying 20 points to go with five rebounds, two
assists, and two steals in minutes played off the Mavericks’ bench. Eighteen of his 20 points came in the fourth
quarter. This is exactly the kind of
performance Dallas needs from its players.
They need players to perform. Sure, an off night will occur a night or
two.
Simply too early to tell because this is preseason and the new guys are
trying to become familiar with their new employer. However, it appears this season the Mavericks
may be the sleeper team meaning the organization has acquired individuals with
particular skills in scoring and rebounding, which is exactly what the
Mavericks need.
Mayo (20), Crowder (20), Vince Carter (15), Shawn Marion (15), Elton
Brand (10) and Brandan Wright (10) scored in double figures for the Mavericks
in the win. It was the first time this preseason that Dallas had more than four
players in double digits. Newcomer Chris Kaman was M.I.A
The Houston Rockets, Kevin Martin scored a game-high 23 points, including 16 points before halftime. The Rockets outshot the Mavericks 57%
from deep in the first half and led 58-57 at the break, but Dallas came back in
the second half to win 123-104 win.
Injury
Report:
Mavericks forward
Dirk Nowitzki underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. He is expected to be out six to eight weeks
or maybe longer. In a press conference
with the media, Dirk was adamant about taking his time returning to the
floor.
Mavericks guard Rodrigue Beaubois (sprained
left ankle) did not play in the game against Houston. However, he is expected
to receive playing time in upcoming games, Beaubois have suffered off and on
with his ankle injury.
For the Rockets,
newcomer guard Jeremy Lin rested.
