GioBlog

What the Mavericks should do from here

I'm a fan of the hometown sports teams, so I'm a fan of the Dallas Cowboys, the Mavericks, and the Stars (I'm only mildly interested in the Rangers, our baseball franchise). So I don't live and die with the Mavs, but I root for them and I'm disappointed at watching the same scenario play out for each of the past several basketball seasons.

The Mavs have a phenomenal player, Dirk Nowitzki, who is an incredibly consistent producer of points and rebounds, and who can occasionally put the team on his back. But Dirk isn't enough.

Surrounding Dirk is a collection of parts that have never really recovered from blowing the NBA finals in 2006, and then losing in the 1st round in 2007 due to over-inadequate coaching.

Since then, we've watch the same nucleus fail again in 2008's first round defeat by New Orleans, and this week's loss to the Denver Nuggets.

It's time for changes. The Mavericks have the makings of a strong  bench, but need to find an athletic center and a 2 guard. I have not been in favor of "blowing it up" until now. This team in its present configuration has had plenty of chances, and it's time to tear it down. Here's how it starts for me.

Dirk Nowitzki stays. He's the heart and soul of the franchise, and he should spend the rest of his career here. There's no reason with a free-spending owner like Mark Cuban that a championship team shouldn't be able to be built around Dirk. I'm opposed to some blockbuster trade that sends Dirk anywhere. If Dirk finds himself in his last year or two of his career without a championship, I'd support trading him to a contender just to give him the chance he deserves. But it's too soon for that.

Erick Dampier has to go. Somewhere. Another team, home, the end of the bench, somewhere. He's virtually worthless. Dampier was brought to Dallas when the franchise thought that the only thing standing between them and a championship was a big body to put on Shaq just to slow Shaq down a bit, either just with his bulk, or by delivering six "Hack-a-Shaq" fouls for Don Nelson. Those days are gone. Dampier can't handle the ball at all. You can't even hand him the ball under the basket without him flubbing it. The Mavericks know they desperately need their big man to get involved in the offense, which is why almost every game starts with the Mavs purposefully getting the ball to Damp on the first possession. And that's generally the last time they do it successfully for the rest of the game. Dampier doesn't even clog up the lane, which you know if you've watched teams effortlessly drive the lane against Dallas for the last several years. It's like there's no one there. The Mavs have to have an athletic big man who can be trusted to receive a pass occasionally. I don't know why Damp can't do it, but he can't. Every season it seems Damp has one great offensive game, and ownership seems tantalized to think it can get that kind of production out of Damp more often than once a game. But they never do, and they never will. He should never start another game for the Mavs.

Jason Kidd has to go. Everybody likes him, and he's a Hall-of-Famer, but in the payoffs this year he was found wanting. It was Berea who played an effective point guard against the Spurs, not Kidd. And against Denver, Kidd was a slow turnover machine. Known as a great passer, Kidd seemed to have lost the ability to pass at all against Denver. Berea, who is "too small," nevertheless was far more effective in getting the ball to open players around the basket. Kidd seemed only available to work the ball to players posted up within 6 feet of him, or to hand the ball to Jason Terry. Love Kidd, but let him go.

Josh Howard has to go. Howard is the classic underachiever--he has great talent but just doesn't have the brain or the character. Howard is that very strong, quick, athletic player that the Mavs (and everyone else) craves, but Howard just won't play the role. He wants to be Jason Terry, firing up jump shots. On those occasions when he drives the lane, he blows past his defender with ease, but he'll only do it once or twice a game. Howard has the potential to be a great player, but it's too late. He would have shown the character to do so by now if he had it in him. Howard won't put forth the effort to be a substantial rebounder or to consistently drive the lane, he can't keep his cool when frustrated, and he's an off-season disaster waiting to happen. "You can't control what the ball do," and you can't control what Josh Howard do, either. Get rid of him.

Brandon Bass must be kept at all costs, and he'll get plenty of offers in the off-season. Bass is exactly what this team needs. No one on the Mavericks works as hard as Bass, and that includes Dirk. Bass provides strength, toughness, agility, and a willingness to go to the basket for both shots and rebounds. Whether Bass has starting potential or should become the 6th man is debatable, but you reconstruct this team with Bass as a key piece of the puzzle.

I keep Ryan Hollins and try to turn him into my starting center. He's a seven-footer, and he has a natural ability to block shots. Problem is, that's all he does right now. But Hollins is an energy guy--he's the Mavericks' version of Denver's Birdman, and for life of my I don't know why Carlisle didn't use Hollins exactly like the Nuggets use the Birdman. Get in there, play some aggressive defense and block some shots for a while. I think not playing Hollins was one of Carlisle's major coaching mistakes this season, and especially in the playoffs. Make Hollins' development the major coaching project of the off-season.

J.J. Berea you keep, of course. He's more than serviceable as a backup point guard, and I wouldn't rule out trying him as a starter provided you address the other weaknesses in your starting five. Berea showed ability superior to Kidd's in getting the ball quickly to players like Bass on the pick-and-roll. With a strong other 4 starters, I have no problem with Berea as the starting point guard.

The Mavs understand that, at this point in his career, Jason Terry's best role is coming off the bench. It was a mistake starting him in game 5, especially since almost no effort was made to get him the ball in the entire first half. If you're going to start Terry, why didn't you plan to use him on offense? You sure didn't put him in to play defense!  If I can solve my two big problems in my starting rotation and keep Jason Terry, I keep him, but I don't hesitate to trade Terry or otherwise part with him if it solves bigger problems.

Antoine Wright should never have been a starter on this team. It's not his fault, but he was called upon to fill a vacuum in the starting five that is just too much for him. There's no reason to keep him if he has any value otherwise.

The rest I have no opinion on except Gerald Green, who I think has potential. Yes, when he gets in the game he immediately jacks up shots, but that's probably because of WHEN he gets in the game, which is usually garbage time of one sort or another. Green is fast, athletic, has a high vertical jump, and strikes me as having the potential to be a starter at the 2 guard.