except that in his 1.25 seasons in Dallas since the NJ trade Kidd has shot slightly over 40% from the 3 pt line which is really good very un-rafer like. So you cant really sag off of Kidd anymore like in the past (his career 3pt% being ~34) I never said that they would be in the Finals but I think they could be a lot better than many make them out to be possibly battling with Denver, Spurs for the 2-4 spots. They have gotten a lot of good pieces in the off season, but ultimately they are a bit soft in the middle (especially with that 'offense' lineup I posted above) but a rotation of Dampier and Gooden at the 5 spot in a more traditional lineup actually puts them in okay shape, not the greatest but not nearly as bad as other teams. Their biggest weakness still remain the lack of a true post player, Dirk is hybrid post player he can post up but he isnt going to pound it inside he'll shoot fadeaway jumpers all day which is far easier to disrupt than a guy who pounds it inside for a baby hook. The loss to the Wizards is puzzling but the Wizards are a much improved team from last season even with the injury to Jamison (but the Wizards much like the Mavs to me can make a lot of 'noise' in the east once Jamison is back) Certainly tonight when they play the Clippers will say a lot about which Mavs team is the one we'll more likely see the rest of the season...will they come out and struggle to a W (or lose) or will they will come out and handle business right away as a true legit team would? As a Rockets fan I want the mavs to fail big time i mean FAIL but as a fan of the NBA I want more teams to be good, especially with the Rockets not being able to realistically contend for a playoff spot this year. It makes for better basketball if more teams go from mediocre (which the mavs were last season) to good. besides the Mavs will do great in the reg season and then choke in the playoffs in a fashion only they can pull off so that'll be fun to watch
I was at this game. Ron looked awful but the refs we're just as bad. They called an awful game. The building went crazy when Shannon Brown had that put back dunk. That was the best live dunk I've ever seen.
