MVN - Most Valuable Network

Week in Review: Injury bug finally catches up to Mavs

Looking back at the week that was in Dallas brings up a common theme: good news, bad news.  The good news is that the Dallas Mavericks have now won 11 of their last 13 games, with their most recent couple of wins coming against two Western Conference playoff teams.  The bad news is that the team is still not consistent enough on the road, as shown by their blowout loss to the Wizards last Monday.

Better news from yesterday is that the Mavs were able to avenge that ugly home loss to Denver on Dec. 6 by holding the Nuggets to only 85 points off 38% shooting last night.  But much worse is the fact that the five-point win could cost them in the long run, as starting point guard Devin Harris was knocked out of the game with what looked like a badly sprained left ankle.  He left the arena on crutches and was not able to put any weight on the injury.  Today’s MRI revealed only a bone bruise, which is good news considering there wasn’t any structural damage to the ankle.  But the bad news, however, is that he’ll be out at least two to three weeks.

Sans-Harris, the road ahead looks seriously tough.  After last night’s win, the Mavs left Dallas to begin a four-game road trip.  After they play Memphis tonight, Dallas will visit Boston on Thursday, Detroit on Sunday and finally Orlando on Monday, before returning home for a few days.  If they don’t have Harris in the lineup, as well as Jerry Stackhouse who is expected to miss at least tonight’s game and possibly more, the Mavs could be in trouble on the road against tough competition.

Record: 3-1 (season: 30-13, 2nd in Southwest)

Results:
1/21 vs. Wizards - L - 102-84 (recap | box score)
1/23 vs. Bobcats - W - 102-95 (recap | box score | Winning is everything)
1/25 vs. Lakers - W - 112-105 (recap | box score | Mavs mentally weak?)
1/27 vs. Nuggets - W - 90-85 (recap | box score)

ESPN.com Power Ranking: #3 (Last week: #3)
NBA.com Power Ranking: #3 (Last week: #4)

Player of the Week: Josh Howard - I haven’t given my POW award to J-Ho in quite some time, which is a true travesty considering how well he’s been playing all season.  A lot of what he brings to the game doesn’t always show up in the box score, namely his defensive intensity and positive attitude.  But this past week, his numbers actually do tell the tale: 24.8 points and 9.3 rebounds off 50% shooting, all above his season averages.  It looks like he probably will not get an All-Star selection this year, and that is quite a shame.

Little General Quote of the Week:

“Next year, you may be talking about Devin Harris as an All-Star. Who knows? That would be a thrill.” - Johnson, on the continuing growth of Harris.

This Week (full schedule):
Today @ Memphis
Thu. 1/31 @ Boston
Sun. 2/3 @ Detroit

This entry was posted on Monday, January 28th, 2008 at 5:15 pm and is filed under Josh Howard, Devin Harris, Avery Johnson, Week in Review, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Washington Wizards. 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.