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Source: http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/
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Mav-wrecks not even playoff calibre right now
Struggling Dallas, 9th in West, needs to get it together.
By Jaime Aron / Friday, January 16, 2009
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DALLAS — Dirk Nowitzki was looking forward to having Thursday off, a sign of
how bad things are for the Dallas Mavericks.
Nowitzki is the type who has to be locked out of the gym to keep him away.
Yet after enduring a fourth straight loss, he hung his head Wednesday night
and softly said, "Sometimes, you've just got to get away for a day, relax a
little bit and clear your mind."
Dallas started the season in a similar rut, dropping five straight to bottom
out at 2-7. Then new coach Rick Carlisle made some changes and saw instant
results. The Mavericks won 20 of their next 26 games and nuzzled up near the
leaders of the Western Conference.
Josh Howard was out for much of the turnaround, dealing with an ankle problem
just after he'd shaken off a wrist injury. He was finally starting to get
into a groove when he hurt a shoulder last Friday against Phoenix. And that's
when this latest collapse started.
A game against the Suns that already was slipping away turned into an
embarrassing blowout, followed by another loss in Sacramento. It was the
first time Dallas dropped consecutive games since the opening weeks.
Nowitzki did all he could to end the skid in Denver, scoring 44 points and
pulling the Mavericks even in the final minute. But they lost again and flew
home to Dallas, where Chris Paul and the Hornets were resting and waiting.
The Mavs hung tough for three quarters Wednesday night, only to see New
Orleans pull away.
Just like that, Dallas finds itself ninth in the race for eight playoff spots
in the West.
"I think the main thing is we've got to keep our spirits up somehow, as
frustrating as it is," Nowitzki said, followed by a long exhale. "We want to
work. We want to get better. That's the only way it's going to work. Get away
(Thursday), get some distance and hopefully come in with a fresh mind Friday
and go at it again."
It might not be that simple.
Nowitzki and Jason Kidd give Dallas two elite starters. Jason Terry has been
tremendous, too, pumping in 20-plus points per game since becoming the sixth
man. But Carlisle doesn't have much he can depend on beyond those guys.
When Howard is out and with Terry coming off the bench, Nowitzki is the only
starter averaging double digits. On Wednesday night, Nowitzki alone scored
more points than the other four starters combined.
Carlisle keeps juggling the rotation to find the right combinations. Gerald
Green went from playing 7 minutes over an 18-game stretch to starting the
last two games. James Singleton's season has included 12 DNP-Coach's Decision
and four starts. Backup center DeSagana Diop is the latest guy forced to sit
because he was doing nothing.
Mark Cuban and team president Donnie Nelson are always on the lookout for
ways to upgrade the roster, with the trade for Kidd last February the most
recent example.
Might they do something splashy again?
That probably would mean trading Howard, but his value isn't exactly peaking
these days. They'd like to trade Stackhouse and Diop, but they wouldn't bring
much in return.
Dallas next plays at home Saturday night against Utah, followed by four
straight road games against the Eastern Conference.
"There's no easy way out of a losing streak," Carlisle said. "Everybody can
do something better to help us through this."
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小牛真的需要在找另一個穩定的得分點了( ′-`)y-～......
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