Source:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/stories/012809dnspomavslede.377a705.html
*********************************************************************
Dallas Mavericks will find no fortune staying near .500
By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News esefko@dallasnews.com
02:38 PM CST on Wednesday, January 28, 2009
*********************************************************************
The clock's not exactly ticking on the Mavericks' season. They still have
time.
But time for what?
Tonight will be game No. 45, with Don Nelson and Golden State making their
first visit of the season.
This season is no longer a puppy. It's a full-grown pit bull that is giving
the Mavericks everything they can handle. And the longer they stay just a few
games above .500, the longer they put themselves in danger of missing the
playoffs.
It's certainly stressful for all the teams jockeying for position in the
Western Conference.
"Any time is a good time to make a positive move in the West because it's so
competitive," coach Rick Carlisle said Tuesday. "Only eight of nine are going
to make it. I think everybody feels the urgency. And we're working toward
getting better."
That's been the battle cry. The Mavericks want to keep up the gradual
progression. And even with the two blowout losses on last week's road trip,
they still went 2-2, which most people would gladly take when you go through
Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Detroit and Boston.
Moreover, they won three of their last five and are 23-12 since that dreadful
2-7 beginning. "We've had a lot of good stretches," Carlisle said.
It's the inconsistency that has everybody wondering if the Mavericks are
capable of going on an extended run. But Dirk Nowitzki brings up a cogent
point.
"You can say the exact same thing about the other teams there," he said. "So
you can look at things negative all the time. Or you can try to stay
positive. That's what we're trying to do. We have some games left to prove we
belong in the playoffs. And we've got to do it.
"You can never lose hope. We know that."
Before the Mavericks know it, the All-Star break will be here (Feb. 13-16).
After that, the trading deadline will pass. Then they will look up with less
than 30 games left in a season when nine teams in the Western Conference are
battling for eight playoff spots.
And really, it's only eight teams for seven spots, because the Los Angeles
Lakers are running away from everybody else in the West.
Beyond that, San Antonio, New Orleans and Denver have gained a bit of
separation on everybody else.
That leaves the Mavericks, Utah, Phoenix, Houston and Portland fighting for
four spots. All are separated by 2 ½ games.
"We don't want to get in a position where we're still sleeping and sleeping
and wait too long to make our run," Devean George said. "We just have to keep
getting better. We're not that far off. We've seen spurts of where we need to
be. And that's why I feel we're not far off."
Pivotal practice
The Mavericks stress improvement from day to day and practice to practice.
That's why sessions like Tuesday's, in which defensive rebounding and
subsequent offensive flow were stressed, are important, Carlisle said.
"We don't have wide margins for error," he said. "We've got to be precise in
how we play. And much of our game comes out of flow. A lot of the
decision-making is in the hands of our players. We're always educating them
on how to attack out of that dimension, because it's our best dimension.
"We're a top-five team in the league in fast-break points, and it's by far
our most frequent mode of playing. If you get stops, you get opportunities to
run out more than you get set-play opportunities."
Briefly
Antoine Wright was the star of Tuesday's shooting game after practice. He
nailed the last 15 3-pointers he took in an around-the-horn game, finishing
20-of-25. Nobody else made more than 18 (Jason Terry). ... Darrell Armstrong
was on the job for the first time at Tuesday's practice and spent a good
amount of time working with J.J. Barea, who like Armstrong is an undersized
point guard. ... Nowitzki on the Mavericks' defensive problems: "You name it.
Pick-and-roll. One-on-one containment. Transition. Rebounding. Rebounding
actually is OK. But it's all over the place. We got some work to do."
*********************************************************************
--
Only the strong survive- Iverson ⊕ ═█┘
⊕ ●╱ Ｗ
● ●︵ ● ●)) ３╯
<３\ /３⊕ ／３﹚ ３ \\
/>⊕ >/ ⊕ ╲> >>
========= http://www.wretch.cc/blog/AWEI3 =========
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
◆ From: 58.114.81.64