MVN - Most Valuable Network

Week in Review: Mavs exorcise demons

If there’s one thing to take away from the Mavericks’ wins last week, it’s that the team won’t allow themselves to forget how their last two seasons ended. Last year, the Golden State Warriors ended the Mavs’ season prematurely in the first round of the playoffs, and in 2006, the Miami Heat stormed back from a 2-0 deficit in the Finals and won four straight to wrestle the title from Dallas’ hands. The team might refuse to admit it, but I think it’s pretty obvious that the Mavs approach these opponents differently than most other teams. There’s a sense of bitterness present, and the core of the team that has been around for a while was definitely looking for payback.

So, was payback issued? Against Golden State, it certainly looked like it. The Mavs absolutely dominated throughout the game, and the Warriors, who had both Mavs killers Stephen Jackson and Baron Davis in uniform, didn’t really put up much of a fight. The Mavs’ 22-point win was the largest and most convincing of the season. Two nights later, Dallas was able to pull out a close win against Miami despite being behind for the majority of the game thanks to sloppy play on both ends of the court. And last night’s win against Minnesota, while not a payback-type game, was satisfying in that it was another dominant performance that allowed Avery to rest most of his starters down the stretch.

This week Dallas has another tough slate of games, including a back-to-back on the road. They will face the Pistons at home in a nationally televised game on Wednesday, then head to Seattle on Friday before quickly turning around for a game in L.A. against the Clippers the next night. It could be tough, considering two rotation regulars - Erick Dampier and Jerry Stackhouse - have been hurt and could miss some time. Dampier is expected to be reevaluated today after missing a couple games with a swollen knee. Stack missed the Wolves game with a sprained thumb, but he has said it’s feeling better and should return soon.

Record: 3-0 (season: 23-11, T-2nd in Southwest)

Results:
1/2 vs. Warriors - W - 121-99 (recap | box score | impressions)
1/4 vs. Heat - W - 94-89 (recap | box score | impressions)
1/6 vs. Wolves - W - 101-78 (recap | box score | impressions)

ESPN.com Power Ranking: #7 (Last week: #8)
NBA.com Power Ranking: #8 (Last week: #8)

Player of the Week: Dirk Nowitzki - who else? The guys is simply lighting it up these days. He has now led the team in scoring in each of the past nine games, raising his scoring average up to 22.2. Dirk shot over 58% from behind the arc last week to put his 3-PT FG% up to a more respectable but still not Dirk-like 32% for the season. It’s a good sign that when he turns it up, the Mavs benefit as a whole. They have gone 7-2 during Dirk’s nine-game scoring tear.

Little General Quote of the Week:

“We’re going to get that swagger back. We haven’t gotten it yet. We’ve seen it in spurts. It’s going to take work and practice. It’s going to take film sessions.” - Avery, on the team finally starting to play with passion.

This Week (full schedule):
Wed. 1/9 vs. Detroit
Fri. 1/11 @ Seattle
Sat. 1/12 @ L.A. Clippers

This entry was posted on Monday, January 7th, 2008 at 1:18 pm and is filed under Jerry Stackhouse, Erick Dampier, Avery Johnson, Dirk Nowitzki, Week in Review, Dallas Mavericks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.