You're Welcome, Miami Heat

Remember when the Miami Heat were the worst team in professional sports? OK, maybe it wasn't that bad. But after that Mavericks destroyed them a week or so back, all the talk was how it couldn't work, what's wrong and if ERICK DAMPIER would be the solution.

Now the Heat are rolling. They've won six straight. They ruined Cleveland basketball, again. They can't be stopped. ERICK DAMPIER.

They also had the most publicized players-only meeting on this decade. Seriously. They might of sacrificed four goats and the blood of a lesser being. You can never be too sure with these things.

So, from TROP, you're welcome Miami Heat. You needed a butt-whooping for the Mavericks, and although you wont thank them for it, I'll be the bigger man and tell you you're welcome.

Enjoy ERICK DAMPIER.

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If Not Then, When?

When Tyson Chandler was deemed unavailable for Tuesday night's game against the Golden State Warriors, it was a given that Brendan Haywood would be the starter. His second stint in Dallas has brought its fair share of hate ranging from apathetic to Erick Dampier-like. The rational observer (me) kept thinking that we should wait before we declared shenanigans.

Well, it might be time to go get your brooms.

As you might of known from watching the game, Haywood started but did not finish. In fact, he did not play the entire fourth quarter of Dallas' 105-100 win over Golden State. Ian Mahinmi finished the game, and in the process got his first double-double in his three year NBA career. Watching the game, I didn't think there was any other alternative. Mahinmi was active, energetic and looked like, you know, he was having fun playing a game he loves for money.

Signing Brendan Haywood to a six-year, 55-million dollar deal wasn't outlandish at all over the Summer. The Mavericks didn't make it a secret that Erick Dampier was on the move and the team needed to retain Haywood after his productive second half in 2009-2010 that showed flashes of greatness wrapped around some slight mediocrity. With how rare a traditional center is in this league, it seemed as if Dallas didn't sign Haywood to that deal, any other number of teams would. (Interestingly enough, Miami was the other team in hot pursuit. I wonder how the this past summer would of gone down if Haywood was inked to a similar deal by the Heat. Would Miami try to trade him for scraps? Just sign LeBron and Wade? Very curious "what-if?")

But at the very least, Haywood had the opportunity to prove to Dallas that he can still compete. He can still give Tyson Chandler a run for his money. But I think after being outperformed in training camp, the preseason and now obviously in the regular season, it's safe to say that Haywood is in no way going to live up to the money he's been given...this year. The Maverick coaching staff has been watching these two since October. They knew that Chandler was going to give this team something special and he's paying off in more ways that we could of imagine.

Haywood meanwhile is stuck on the bench, barely registering 20 minutes a game as every Maverick fan panics as Chandler rests on the bench, wondering how soon he can come back in whenever he takes a seat during a game. The numbers aren't pretty either: 4.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and a staggeringly, absolutely, no-good, terrible 25 percent free throw percentage. He's also turning it over at a career high rate and averaging his lowest total rebounding percentage in a full season since 2007-2008. Just for fun, let's go ahead and throw in career-lows in offensive rating (99) and win share (an appalling 0.8).

Tyson Chandler hasn't played a completely healthy season in over two years. While his latest sit-out was due to an uncontrollable stomach virus, it's highly likely that Chandler is a spill on the floor away from missing up to a week. Haywood was supposed to make us feel warm and fuzzy, but now it's cold and dilapidated. Don't get me wrong, Mahinmi's contributions on Tuesday were almost Tyson Chandler-light. But if Mahinmi ever passes Haywood on the depth chart with a healthy Chandler, the Mavericks are going to be faced with numerous questions once the off-season rolls around (For example, how much do you resign Chandler when you've just been burned twice by giving centers large deals?)

Haywood had an opportunity on Tuesday to silence the doubters. What's sad is, he didn't even have to do much. He just had to improve Dallas' chances of winning while on the floor and show some life. His numbers (4 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks) seemed hollow. They seemed Erick Dampier like.

And hey, at least Dampier could set one helluva screen.

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Having a Nice Little Saturday (Er, Week)

As I'm working on a few other things that I'll share with you throughout the week (for instance, what's up with Tyson Chandler, does DeShawn Stevenson need to play more and is Jason Kidd's shooting something to worry about?) I figure I'd throw down some bullet-points and thoughts on what was a fantastic week for the Dallas Mavericks

• Any qualms or trepidations I had about Tyson Chandler before the season started have quickly evaporated. Quite simply, the man is dominating in the paint like NO other Maverick center has before. James Donaldson, I love ya, but what Chandler has done to this team is fairly remarkable. The team has a completely new defensive identity and pick-and-rolls (the torture play for Mavericks teams past) are less effective with Chandler's hedging ability. His length and athleticism have altered how teams run their offense down the stretch with Chandler showing inhuman like instincts on getting out to the guard on a pick-and-roll and forcing an awkward fade-a-way jumper.

• Four games in five nights? Psh. A sweep of this type of run (and three of which being Oklahoma City, San Antonio and Miami to boot) doesn't happen very often. In fact, the Mavericks have only done it twice before (correct me if I'm wrong though): In 1988, the Western Conference Finalist team and 2007, the 67-win team. So people, this Dallas team has a great chance of being special. These type of runs aren't fluky at all. These are the type of runs great teams make.

• Can we all have just a giant Dirk Nowitzki love-fest? After my wedding proposal that was disguised as a post, I still can't stop gushing about the German. His week average of 31 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists was just super. Oh, he did all that while shooting 57% from the field and 53% from three? Wowzers. Zoinks. Eek gads. He's your Western Conference Player of the Week.

• Think about the teams Dallas has beaten this year: New Orleans. Denver. Oklahoma City. San Antonio. Miami. That's five playoff teams and two preseason title contenders. Not bad at all to be sitting at 12-4.

•  Now for a power down moment: Brendan Haywood has been a complete disaster for the Mavs so far this year. He has not played more than 20 minutes since Nov. 15. He was suspended on Friday for having a dispute with Rick Carlisle. I'm not sure what has happened to Haywood. He really isn't doing much and his defense looks small and puny compared to Tyson Chandler. Maybe it's the fact that he's now playing with J.J. Barea more instead of Jason Kidd. Maybe it's because he's not alongside Dirk Nowitzki anymore. I don't know. What I do know is that Chandler is very fragile and will very likely miss between 5-10 games this season (I'd be shocked if he played between 77-82 games this year). I hope Haywood is able to remember who he is by then. 

• If there is one thing I love about this team, is that Carlisle is playing whoever works. He has no second-thoughts about sitting Shawn Marion or Caron Butler for the entirety of the fourth quarter. In the last two cases, it paid off beautifully. On Friday against San Antonio, Butler was lousy offensive and not doing much on defense. As Manu torched Dallas on plenty of pick-and-rolls and step back jumpers, Carlisle switched Marion onto Manu for the entire fourth as Dallas rolled to the end. On Saturday, Butler actually had it going offensively as Dirk looked like a normal basketball player. Carlisle stuck with Butler and the Mavs pulled away in the fourth behind Butler's 23 points.

• A key point in the San Antonio game was the beginning of the fourth quarter. Carlisle left in JJB and Ian Mahinmi as Chandler and Kidd watched from the bench, getting some rest. As I screamed at my TV to let these two back in, Dallas held serve as the game was tied I believe around the six minute mark when both players checked back into the game. The bench has gotten it's fair share of criticism this year (and rightly so) but on Friday, they won Dallas a game against the hottest team in the league on the road. Impressive, if only for one night.

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In Dirk We Trust

In this league, superstars win. Rarely will you see multiple years in a decade such as 2004, when the Detroit Pistons team-first, defense-first mentality won over a stacked Lakers team. It just doesn't happen (and to be fair, that 2004 Pistons team didn't have a superstar per say, but had five All-Stars at/near their prime.)

So when superstars don't get their title, it's sometimes a travesty/bad luck/both. Karl Malone played on some of the greatest NBA teams of all time...at the same time of Michael Jordan. Charles Barkley, same thing. Titles aren't automatic and unfortunately they seem to be the underlying tie breaker in disputing who's greater. So is the case for Dirk Nowitzki. 

You rarely see Dirk grabbing headlines or being the focus of a Sports Illustrated cover. This despite being one of the greatest players (not just forwards) of all time. But you already know that. We've been through the countless articles and radio segments detailing how great Dirk is, how little help he receives and sometimes, if he should be traded. There's also no question about Dirk's work ethic and personality, which has endeared him to fans outside of Dallas city limits. You won't find too many keyed-in NBA fans hate on Dirk, much like you wont find those same fans hate on Kevin Durant.

So what's the point of this already long-winded post, three paragraphs in, if I'm not going to recount how Dirk is never respected nationally, long due for a championship and one of the greatest ever? 

It's to tell you one thing: appreciate him.

Superstars don't grow on trees. And when you lose one, the results afterwards aren't pretty. Ask Toronto if they'd take back Chris Bosh. Ask Suns fans if they think Amar'e would of been worth the price. Dig deep enough into Cleveland fans' souls, and they'll tell you if LeBron uttered "I'm taking my talents back to Cleveland" instead of "South Beach," they'd welcome him back with open arms. You think Minnesota, as dreadful as they are, wouldn't like to see a healthy Al Jefferson complete a front-court of Kevin Love and a rejuvenated Michael Beasley? (Did I just compare Al Jefferson to Chris Bosh, Amar'e Stoudemire and LeBron James? Yes. Yes I did. Shut it.)

So appreciate Dirk. Appreciate that he's off to one of his best starts in his career. Appreciate that he's single-handily the reason Dallas sits at 10-4, being the second leading scorer in the NBA. Appreciate how he's taken his criticisms as a "soft jump shooting Euro" and turned into one of the most versatile, complete offensive players in the NBA today. Appreciate that Dirk is making more unassisted shots at the rim than ever before (which means he's making more shots off his own offense at the rim than ever before). Appreciate that in the last two games, Dirk took over a game where his teammates looked weakened and meager and put in two clutch performances.  

I think we as a fan base have become desensitized to Dirk's brillance. Don't ever take it for granted. Dirk is a special player, one which continues to get better as his age gets closer to 35. His personal 7-0 run Wednesday night in Oklahoma City to tie the game slapped me from my state of acceptance. I remembered what it was like to be dazzled by Dirk's spin moves, his pump fakes, his MJ-like tongue celebration. 

Dirk is the greatest player of the Mavericks franchise. When he's gone, we might be faced with mediocrity that this town hasn't seen from it's basketball team since the 90s. 

Enjoy it. 

Cherish it.

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Recurring Nightmare

Tossing and turning, you awake with a cold sweat. Sometimes with a scream or yelp. It happened again - another nightmare. You keep seeing the same visions: Smaller front-court players grabbing long offensive rebounds. Double teams on Dirk as other shooters fail to convert open looks. A stagnant half-court offense. A lack of production from the starting small forward and back-up point guard. A center paid very handsomely failing to live up to the pricey contract. Second half leads evaporating over the course of a few minutes.

Wait, you don't have those nightmares? Oh. Well, I do. Especially after the Mavericks last three games against the Hornets, Bulls and Hawks. In each of those three games, ghosts of Maverick teams past came creeping up and either delivering a heartbreaking loss or making fans sweat out what was supposed to be an easy-breathing fourth quarter.

Each instance of ineptitude over the last three games (Dirk's supporting cast no-show in New Orleans, terrible rebounding against the Bulls and an 18-point lead whittled away in Atlanta) have cost the Mavericks of regular season and postseason victories over the last decade. The playoffs last year exposed the Mavericks with having a roster of one All-NBA talent (Dirk) with a bunch of third, fourth options at best. I can't count on my fingers and toes the number of losses Dallas has endured thanks to terrible rebounding - you could just paint a broad stroke with the Nellie years. And who could forget Steve Kerr help erase a 13-point fourth quarter deficit for the Spurs in the clinching Game 6 of the 2003 Western Conference Finals (I won't. I was there. And I cried. A lot.)

The Mavericks are a good team. But like good teams (as opposed to great teams) they have their fair share of problems. Caron Butler's line against Atlanta on Saturday still hasn't cast away the doubt that I brought up a week ago. J.J. Barea is 7 for his last 35 shot attempts, which is to say in NBA technical terms, is shitty. Brandon Haywood only grabbed two defensive rebounds against the Bulls on Friday, while Taj Gibson racked up eight rebounds...offensively. Haywood, as you know, is the Mavericks $55 million backup center. Sound familiar? While Haywood has shown signs of living up the contract, it's hard to justify it over the first 12 games of the season. But aye, there's the rub: 12 games is a lousy sample size, so people should probably wait till January to give more hateful judgments.

The saviors for the previously mentioned woes aren't riding in on a sterling white steed anytime soon. Roddy Beaubois is still at least another week or two before he returns to practice. Rick Carlisle has shown no indications of putting rookie Dominique Jones into any meaningful situations. Jones and Beaubois represent the most unknowns of this years team, but to a lesser extent Roddy. I can't help but wonder if Jones' out-of-sorts preseason performance made Carlisle reconsider his minute distributions. Because before the season started, Carlisle offered some unique praise, saying he could be the teams best on-ball defender and is ready to contribute. At least Beaubois last year found some time in spot starts that gave us the glimpse of his future brilliance. Even as Barea continues to rack up awful numbers, Jones waits patiently, watching the Mavs rely on a zone far more often than any elite NBA defense should. And while there is cause for Jones to perhaps see some burn, Barea is the back up PG. No matter how bad he may play, (and no matter how much playmaking skills Jones has displayed) there is no way Carlisle will hand the reigns over to a rookie, much less one playing somewhat out of position.

As for Butler, his expiring contract is indeed flippable, but it's similar to the same contract Peja Stojakovic has, and he was just exchanged for Jarrett Jack to back up Chris Paul. So there might not be a game-changing answer there.

Like I said before, Dallas is a good team. But the nightmares of past Maverick teams will most likely continue to crop up from time to time, until one of the young guns eradicates those memories.

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Making Sense of the Dallas Defense

When you ask someone "what's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the Dallas Mavericks?" you're sure to get a variety of responses: Dirk, Mark Cuban, Donnie Nelson, Steve Nash, run-and-gun, Jason Kidd, Shawn Bradley posters, high tempo, fastbreak and maybe even Nick Van Exel.

Noticeably absent from that list is, of course, defense. Throughout Dallas' renaissance of basketball over the last decade, the facet of the game that the Mavericks hung their hat on was definitely putting the ball in the basket. A lot. Who can forget the Western Conference Final team of 2003 that featured Dirk entering his prime (and chucking away a career high 4.9 threes a game), Steve Nash becoming the All-Star we know him as, Michael Finely being an all-around offensive machine and Nick Van Exel lighting it up, much in the same form as Jason Terry.

But it's never brought a championship. The only year Dallas has made it to the finals (2006) was when Avery Johnson drastically changed the culture of the club to a half-court, defensive oriented team. The Mavericks finally looked at bringing in a defensive center to compliment Dirk (Erick Dampier, 'Gana Diop) instead of failed offensive specialists that couldn't rebound or protect the rim (Raef LaFrentz, come on down!)

So now, how amazing/surprising to see the Mavericks with a higher defensive efficiency, than the rough, rugged and other arbitrary adjective Boston Celtics? That's right. Dallas is giving up 97.1 points per 100 possessions, which ranks them fourth in the league behind New Orleans, Orland and Miami (with the only shocker in that group the upstart Hornets.) How does this happen? Sure, playing games at the Clippers, Bobcats and 76ers certainly helps. But the Mavs have also had to tangle with potent offenses in Boston, Denver (twice) and Memphis (twice). How does this happen with a defensive black hole like J.J. Barea?

The first reason is that when Barea has been in the game, Dallas has gone almost exclusively to a zone, which hides many players individual faults. There's no question that the zone has seen effecitve use in wins against Denver and Memphis, where Dallas has been able to rest Jason Kidd and allow a well-prepared zone to befuddle opposing teams. Of course, zone does not work in the NBA over and extended period. Flaws will be shown and rebounds will be allowed. But used in short bursts? To hide weak defensive players? Why not?

Of course, the Mavericks have typically ranked low in the league in defensive play rate, which judges the rate at which a team collects steals, blocks and charges. Dallas has always been content with sitting back in man-to-man and playing straight up defense. No longer, at least this year. Dallas now ranks eighth. Jason Kidd averaging over two steals a game helps, along with Shawn Marion's ability to rack up a couple of steals and blocks a game to boot. But a big reason? Tyson Chandler. He's averaging 2.25 defensive plays a game, his highest since when he was running rampant in New Orleans. He's also cleaning up the glass, a big component to defense, grabbing 26.8% of the total defensive rebounds in a given game - once again, his highest since New Orleans.

Chandler also helped Dallas match up with the quicker centers and power forwards that has normally plagued Dallas in the past. As much as we scolded Erik Dampier, the man was a decent rebounder, screen setter and plug in the paint. The problem was asking him to step out of the paint. It's been well documented how well "fast big men" have given the Mavericks trouble. Nene, Amar'e Stoudemire, etc. With Chandler mobility, combined with health and an apparent enjoyability he's having right now, has given the Mavericks something that they aren't used to: defense. It's too early to know if the play will progress, but given the new variables of the use of zone, Chandler + Haywood's full-season impact, the unseen potential of rookie Dominique Jones (who Rick Carlisle has said is one of the teams best defenders) plus the ever steady Shawn Marion, Dallas might be able to jump into the upper echelon of elite NBA defenses.

(Advanced stats courtesy of Hoopdata.com)

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The Curious Case of Caron

40.

That's the number of players that have a higher 3PT field goal percentage than Caron Butler's FG%...at the rim.

40!


Now, understand, that we're about two weeks into the season. DeJuan Summers is not going to shoot 100% for the rest of the year, or shoot enough to qualify that mark. But still. In his stay with Dallas so far, Butler has a 45.8 FG% at the rim. That, put bluntly, is absolutely horrible and unacceptable for the kind of player Butler is and his role on the Mavericks.

To compare, Dirk Nowitzki's percentage at the rim hasn't been lower than 59% in the last four years. Same for Jason Terry. Even Jason Kidd - the only point guard in the league that appears allergic to layups - has never posted a field goal percentage below 51 in his time with Dallas.

So what gives? The strange thing is that Butler hasn't posted anything this poor over the last four years. From 2007-2009 his FG% at the tim was 59, 69 and 63, respectively. And this is with about one more shot attempt at the rim per game to boot. What's the diagnoses? It's hard to tell. Butler has been an above average finisher at the rim for most of his career. He's always been an excellent free throw shooter. Whatever it is that's plaguing Butler at the rim, it needs to be fixed and fixed soon. We can only hope that as the season continues, Butler's at the rim percentage simply reverts to his career norm. If it doesn't, the Mavericks could be in for a woeful offensive season.

But don't expect those mid-range jump shots to start falling that much more regularly. His highest FG% from 16-23 feet was actually his stint with Dallas, a 48 percent mark. He's hovered between the high 30's and the low 40's otherwise. But, he always managed to shoot a respectable percentage and score a decent number of points by attacking the basket and getting to the free throw line.

When the Mavericks shipped away Josh Howard for Caron Butler and Brandon Haywood last winter, the consensus was that Butler would be able to provide, at worst, Howard's production level. While the offensive woes have been detailed, the defense hasn't been much better. Monday nights win over Boston was a prime example as Paul Pierce toyed with Butler to get off any shot he wanted. Understand that defense in the NBA is more than just contesting a shot. It's forcing players out of their comfort zones. Putting a hand in Dirk's face as he's falling away might look like good defense, but if he's doing it from the free throw line or the left wing? Forget it. Players make good shots when they are in their comfort zones. Butler allowed Pierce to catch the ball wherever he wanted and lost him in transition a couple of times. As a result, Shawn Marion played almost all of the fourth quarter, posted a +10 (for what it's worth) and Pierce wasn't heard from with much regularity down the stretch as he was in the third.

And there isn't even the "well he's not used to being a second option." Butler has been just about every option possible during his stints with the Heat, Lakers, Wizards and Mavs. He's gone from third to second to first to second and almost everything around that. If Caron Butler doesn't turn it around, the Maverick's Jekyll/Hyde offense is going to have lasting problems.

(Advanced stats courtesy of Hoopdata.com)

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