J.J. the Savior

Every team has one: the scapegoat. The one guy that takes the rap for everything, regardless whether it's his fault or not. The Rangers have Michael Young. The Cowboys have Roy Williams. The Stars have...uh...someone. For the Mavericks, it is without question, J.J. Barea. The under six-foot-tall guard from Puerto Rico has permanently entrenched himself under the skin of the die-hard fanatics (and even the casual ones)

And yes, there is some good reason. He's never posted a PER at or above 15 (the league average). He's never shot 45 percent or better. His only way to contribute defensively is taking offensive fouls. When he's in the game, the Mavericks almost 100 percent of the time run a zone, which no matter how well you run it, is still an inefficient defense in the NBA. He's a post-up waiting to happen.

But regardless of all that, Barea is just a back-up point guard after all. He has his small role, and regardless of your opinion of it, he fills it well. Back-up point guard is one of the hardest positions in the NBA to fill -- ask the Lakers, Celtics or Knicks. Barea is also the only Maverick guard to average his most shots at the rim per game. You can't argue his fearlessness to get to the rim.

So what JJB has done for the Mavericks this week has been nothing short of spectacular and a pleasant surprise for Dallas fans. He's made 17 of his last 22 field goal attempts, which is a ridiculous number for himself. He's finally making threes, having the highest three point percentage since January. Against the Clippers on Tuesday, he single-handily kept the Mavericks from being run out of the gym by scoring 18 points in the first half, on his way to 25 total. Against the Rockets on Thursday, he provided offense when there wasn't any in the Maverick's abysmal second half. His late runner/jumper/gift from the basketball gods with 32.9 seconds to go gave the Mavericks a two possession lead as they closed the game out with free throws and gave him 19 points.

While this is all well and good, people need to temper expectations. Barea is the definition of a streaky scorer -- he scored a season-high 29 points against the Bucks on Jan. 1 only to follow that up with two made field goals in 19 minutes the following night in Cleveland. After scoring in double figures for three consecutive games from Nov. 27 to Dec. 1, he went six consecuative games failing to get back to double figures in scoring. Let's not get carried away here: Barea's role on this team is to keep the offense afloat and score. He isn't a defensive stopper or anything else. He has to change the pace with his ability to get to the basket.

This is why I feel that the public thinks that when Roddy Beaubois returns, JJB's minutes should almost vanish. I don't completely agree with this. I do feel that Barea shouldn't be played instead of Beaubois but along side him. Beaubois hasn't proved himself capable of running the offensive sets and taking care of the ball when in charge of the offense. That job still belongs to Barea until Beaubois shows he can handle it. I feel that the two can co-exist (although, there are defensive limitations with that lineup)

In the end, these two games might not mean much in the next week. Barea will more than likely cool off, and the public's hatred will rise yet again. But with Dirk Nowitzki still not being Dirk Nowitzki, any offense from any source I will gladly take -- even if it is just for a couple of games.

(Advanced stats courtesy of Hoopdata)

 

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Jason Kidd and His Mysterious J

When the Mavericks traded away Devin Harris to bring in Jason Kidd there were essentially two sides: the side that couldn't believe they packed up and shipped away their future and the side that was finally grateful for having a real, legitimate point guard since Steve Nash left years before. And it was heated both ways. There wasn't a lot of middle ground and it was for good reason -- the Mavericks seemed to be spiraling in mediocrity after failing to capitalize on the two greatest teams of the franchise in 2006 and 2007. I for one, actually found myself teetering in that middle ground. On one hand I was thrilled, the lack of an efficient point guard in Dallas killed them in the playoffs when half-court execution is put at a premium. (Note: See, I even said they needed to bring in another point guard and move Terry to the bench after being bounced in 2005. Now you can all laugh at my hilarious and embarrassing Xanga page and my writing skills back them) On the other, I was worried that Devin Harris would become an All-Star in New Jersey, leading them to many victories for years to come.

Even years after the trade, in 2011, there doesn't seem to be a consensus on what was better. Kidd looked brutal against the Hornets in the 2008 playoffs. Harris looked fantastic for the 2008-2009 season. Then Kidd looked great against the Spurs in the playoffs in 2009 and Harris broke down in the 2009-2010 season. Then Kidd looked horrible again in the 2010 playoffs. It's almost a toss up as Harris tries to regain his All-Star form.

But regardless of what you think of the trade, credit had to be given when Kidd, somehow, shot 42 percent from three last season. The biggest knock on Jason Kidd (or Ason Kidd as he's been pegged before) was he couldn't shoot. And they were right. Kidd is a 40 percent overall shooter in his career and his three point percentage has always hovered in the low 30s during his time in Phoenix and New Jersey. His shooting renaissance in Dallas should be chiseled into whatever statue gets made of Jason Kidd after he retires -- it's that noteworthy. But before a monument to Kidd should be built, he needs to stop doing the very thing that plagued him throughout his entire career until last year -- shooting horribly.

If you haven't noticed, Kidd is having an unbelievably bad shooting year -- 34.2 percent to be exact. That makes him the sixth worst shooting point guard in the NBA this year. Care to know who is above him? Grab a tissue.

Marcus Banks (a whopping 0 percent and three games played)
Acie Law (15.8 percent in only 11 played games)
Sherron Collins (25 percent, 15 games played, 50 pounds overweight)
Jeremy Lin (31.6 percent, 17 games played)
Johnny Flynn (33 percent, 20 games played, one awesome name)

Yep, I know what you're thinking. Even Derek Fisher is shooting better than Jason Kidd. And you have to go five more spots past Kidd to find the next player that has played in at least 40 games (C.J. Watson with a 36.9 percentage and 45 games played.) If you had hope that maybe Kidd is respectable from three and his knuckleball layups aren't falling, prepare to grab another tissue as he's only hitting 33 percent from downtown.

I wish I could tell you some magical statistic that is the fault of all this. I wish some advanced stat genie could appear and tell me that if Kidd improves this, the results will come. But there isn't. The only way Jason Kidd can recapture his shooting stroke is to, well, find it. I'm hoping Kidd didn't have to sacrifice his soul for just one great shooting season from three because if there's a team that could use it, it's Dallas. Kidd needs to shoot better, that's all there is to it. With Dirk Nowitzki getting healthier by the day, hopefully the spacing and looks will get better. The problem is Kidd hasn't been shooting the ball well at any point this season, even with a healthy Dirk drawing double teams.

All the shooting woes have led to Kidd's 7.9 points per game average, which would be the lowest of his entire career. Two more depressing notes before I leave you to gauge your eyes out: Kidd isn't even averaging one full shot attempt at the rim per game (he's at 0.7). I didn't even know that was humanly possible for a player that averages over 30 minutes a game. Here's the other -- Kidd is averaging more assists than points (8.3 to 7.9). In the history of the NBA, only two players have done that. Mark Jackson in the 1996-1997 season and Johnny Moore in the 1981-82 season. As the article I linked to notes, Rajon Rondo is on pace to join that club as well (and he's still on that pace right now). The big difference? Rondo is shooting 52 percent from the floor. While I think I would still trust Jason Kidd to hit a big three in a big game over Rondo, that confidence is slipping. For the Mavericks to have any continued success this season, Kidd has to regain his shooting touch and be a threat on the weak side of Dirk double teams. There really isn't any other way around it. 

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Having Fun Yet?

As a Maverick fan, it can be very easy to forget why you love basketball in the first place. Combined with the recent history of the other Dallas/Forth Worth teams, there's a very depressing atmosphere around this area -- especially about its basketball team.

And I can't really blame you. The horrible 90s teams. The frustrating yet spectacular "Big Three" era. The departure of Steve Nash. June 2006. Late April 2007. The Hornets first-round series. The Nugget series of 2009. The Spurs...every single time (except 2006). All the jump shots. The apparent lack of toughness. No psychical presence down low. The lack of a real point guard. Over-paid players past their prime. All valid complaints during the decade of relevant Mavericks basketball.

But there's a key word there: relevant. I understand that during what appears to be another ordinary year for Dallas (after seemingly starting unordinary) you don't want to read a gushy piece about the Mavericks. Especially from a guy that's about as positive as a storm cloud. But watching last night's game against the Clippers, I had the feeling that a lot of Dallas fans almost wish they could be in the Clippers scenario: Loads of young talent, with pieces that work and will only continue to get better. A bright star the will soon take over the league in a few years. I get it. It's intoxicating to watch a young team before they are even close to maxing out their potential. The same happens for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Sometime I wonder if Dallas fans are really Dallas fans anymore. The Thunder have become everyones second favorite team (and for good reason) almost to the point where I can't tell which team the fan base likes anymore at times.

These moods also intensify when the Mavericks are playing garbage basketball. 87 points against New Jersey. 77 against Chicago. 89 versus Detroit. 70 in Memphis. I get it. It's not fun to watch, it's not great basketball and there are other teams out there that are shinning with more youth and personality.

But take a moment to realize that Dallas has won 50 games every season since the 2000-2001 season. They've been in the playoffs every single year. And they've been a lock, as well. Consider that other franchises (even the great ones) don't have that sort of security. The Knicks haven't been to the playoffs in ages. The Bucks are always grasping for that 8th seed. The Pacers and Pistions were constant title contenders in the 2000s and are now fighting to stay out of the lottery. Remember the greatness of those Kings teams 10 years ago? Now they have the worst record in the Western Conference. Even the Lakers were stuck in a mud of mediocrity after their three-peat.

I'm saying this to let people understand the kind of commitment and smarts that make up the Dallas front office and the team. And also because last night was just pure fun. It had been months since a Maverick game had made me feel that giddy and take a trip on my emotional elevator. Hell, J.J. Barea looked like an All-Star, a far cry from his punching-bag self (or should I say, piñata?) Shawn Marion looked like the Phoenix Shawn Marion. I think even Jason Terry thought he was still chucking away in Atlanta. Tyson Chandler was like the Norse God of basketball. It was fantastic and refreshing to watch. 


Now this is the part where people tell me, "Yeah, but still no title. And we're not getting any younger. And that was against the Clippers." But that was better then what the Mavericks have thrown out there in the last week or so. I haven't seen the AAC that alive, that rowdy in quiet a bit. It was fun again to watch the Mavericks.


I'm sorry that the last few posts haven't dived deep into advanced stats on why some things are working (or not working, i.e., Jason Kidd) but I felt that I needed to say this. People are pretty depressed about the Mavericks. There is still reason to have some hope and be appreciative. Funny that it has to come from me. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go sacrifice eight goats to a greater power.


Just kidding.

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Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

Dirk Nowitzki is hurting. It's obvious. Watching him right now is like watching him during his rookie season - limited to just a jump shooter and nothing else. He isn't rebounding well and he can't seem to get any lift on any of his awkward fade-a-ways. It's painful to watch.

But he had to come back. Worse than watching Dirk struggle with his knee was watching the Mavericks struggle without him. The New Jersey Nets were a perfect bounce back game after being ransacked in Chicago. They didn't have the defenders to throw at Dirk. Sure, they have Kim Kardashian's boyfriend but not even her intoxicating derriere sitting in the front row could provide ample defense (or distraction).

Except it did. Once again, Dirk struggled to get any lift on his jumper. He was short. He was off-left. He was off-right. He even had an air ball (which makes me struggle to recount any previous Dirk air balls.) It looked like the Mavericks were doomed to once again fall to an inferior opponent because Dirk's teammates failed to step up. The saving grace was that Dirk realized he was struggling and forced himself to the free throw line (eight times, in fact)

After Devin Harris shot something that only in theory could be described as an actual basketball shot, the Mavericks had one more chance. I honestly was worried. Usually this is Dirk time. Give him the ball at the high post, right at the free throw line. Let him back his defender down and draw the double. Or drive facing the basket, spin and fire. We've seen it before, and it's glorious. But for once I wasn't so sure. Dirk was 6-for-23. He was flat. I almost wondered if the Mavericks should use Dirk as a decoy and get an open look for someone else.

How stupid am I?

Dirk, of course, promptly took the ball and used one of the best pump fakes the NBA has ever seen and rattled home the game winner with exactly six seconds left on the clock. New Jersey couldn't recover as their final possession could of been best watched with the the Benny Hill song playing in the background. It might be a one-point victory over one of the worst teams in the league. It might have been one of Dirk's worst shooting nights. But don't down yourself in the negatives. Just know that Dirk is the Dallas basketball messiah and his resurrection in the final seconds on a cold night in New Jersey was, well, biblical. Let's just hope he's back for good this time. And never doubt his crunch-time abilities again. Lesson learned.

Hallelujah.

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Take Dat Wit Chew: The Rice of Passage Podcast Episode 1

The last few weeks have felt like a straight arm to the groin for Mavericks fans. Naturally, you would want to extend that pain by listening to a couple of guys bitching about the state of affairs in Mavland.

You might ask, "Why would Josh choose to do a podcast with someone who seems determined to steer the conversation away from the game every chat?" It is quite simple really, I own a microphone. Two of them, in fact. I may not have extensive basketball knowledge, but I can talk to people that do and I guess that makes me more qualified than any of you. Anyway, Josh and I will try to throw up a new episode every Sunday for your listening enjoyment/enragement.

We need you. Please listen or at the very least put it on in the background while smoking meth or buying your wife a lovely piece of salted pork. Any comments or questions you have will be greatly appreciated. We aren't above begging, but I would like to avoid it if at all possible. So open your earholes and let us in.

Download the .mp3 file directly here!

Grasping at Straws

Nostalgia is a tricky thing. It can be a warm security blanket that reminds you of the glory days, when times were better and men were men. But when those distant memories revert to the present, the result is usually not as good as you remember.

Case in point with the Dallas Mavericks reportedly on the verge of landing one time nemesis Peja Stojakovic after his contract has been bought out from Toronto. Peja, as many dedicated Mavs fans remember, was the sharpshooting wing from the arch-rival Sacramento Kings back when the Mavericks and Kings played nationally televised games on Christmas of who could score 130 points first. Ah, the good old days.

Obviously, Dallas needed to make a move to acquire some sort of wing player that could make shots. Sasha Pavlovic, you were nice against the Lakers, but after watching the debacle in Chicago, it's clear Dallas needs someone a bit more proven and a bit more...uhm...good. But is Peja the answer? If this were 2004, yes. Now? About as definite a 'maybe' you can get.

I think the first thing that needs to be debunked is that Peja isn't a worthless player. I feel that Twitter was giving Peja a bad rap last night, as if the Mavericks had genetically cloned Steve Novak from the bottom of their roster, gave him a new hair cut and a fake mustache, and trotted him to the world as the answer. As awesome as that might be, it's a little better than that. Peja is still a quality contributing player in the NBA. If you can give a mulligan to this year (due to injuries and his rotting time spent in Toronto) Peja was still shooting at a decent clip well past his Sacramento years. In his first full, healthy season in New Orleans, Peja knocked down 44 percent of his threes, while scoring over 16 points a game - much similar to what Caron Butler was doing this season. I was even surprised how productive he was in Indiana for half a season after being traded from the Kings, scoring 19.5 points per game and shooting above 40 percent from three.

Once again, this is not to say Peja is in All-Star form. He's not. He's been ravaged by injuries and still is a bit of a one trick poney. He isn't a facilitator - at all (career assist number of 1.8). With the age rising and injuries to go along with it, his respectable rebounding numbers have fallen off. And by no means is he even close to a defensive weapon. There was a time when you could say Peja was no-brainer All-Star but fans have to realize that those times have passed. Peja is at the point of his career where he is best suited to being a role-player. Someone who plays 15-20 minutes, can knock down a couple of threes and be on his way. If Peja is brought in (and on any contract more than a couple million) and plays 30 minutes a night and starts, you're going to start to see his flaws exposed. That's what being a role-player is. You have your niche, but if overexposed, that niche becomes a crutch and teams counter the one positive you bring to a team.

Two things bother me the most about the Peja reaction: The two extreme sides (the ones that are stuck in 2004 and think the Mavs have added an All-Star and those that think the team just brought Jon Barry from his talking head position) and then that this could be the last move Dallas makes this season. I still feel Dallas needs to make a "splash" move (such as acquiring a Kevin Martin/Danny Granger level player, as slim as those chances may be) to become a true title contender. But who knows. The last player the Mavericks took a gamble on that had succes in New Orleans before breaking down in his next stop turned out pretty well.

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Relief

While I was thinking throughout the day on Wednesday about how I should critically attack the Mavericks through the written word, the unthinkable happened - they beat the back-to-back defending champions. Pretty decisively (enough to have a 16-point lead at one point). In the fourth quarter. This is great. It ends the worst streak the Mavericks have been on since Dirk's hair looked like this. It showed Jason Kidd and Jason Terry have pulses and that Dallas can beat one of the best teams in the league even without Dirk being, well, Dirk. But there's a caveat: the Mavs didn't play all that particually well on defense. As Rob Mahoney points out, it's nice to see the Mavericks win and against a great team, but holding the Lakers to a 120 points per 100 possessions isn't going to cut it. Dallas was hot from deep, played some decent defense in the third quarter and stopped the bleeding.

In a way, the Mavericks during the six game losing streak were having an erection lasting longer than four hours. On Wednesday they went an saw the doctor to get it taken care of. But that doesn't mean another four hour erection isn't on the way. Dallas still has their problems and if you can forgive the worst analogy I've ever written (or the best), the Mavs still need to string together consecutive competitive games before we can finally declare them "back." As Mark Followill said on 1310 The Ticket this afternoon, tonight against Chicago will be the real test to see if the Mavs are back. After all, he said, if this team couldn't get up to play the defending champs at home after a rough stretch, then nothing would.

Last night was a great night for a Maverick fan. But it wasn't the solution to the last week or so of problems. As some have mentioned, it was almost expected. There's still the issue of the small forward spot (Peja?), why Shawn Marion can't start, is DeShawn Stevenson coming back to earth (yes) and how is this team even doing this well with a starting point guard hitting 33 percent of his shots entering last night's game?

There will be a time and place for all the criticisms of this Maverick team to be laid out over here and to plan for what to do before the trade deadline. And by no means have the Mavericks fixed any of those after last night's game. But it was a nice change a pace. Instead of listening to talking heads and writers squawk at the sinking ship that is the Mavericks, we were temporarily relieved. Consider me thrilled.

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