Mavericks Have New Stats Guru: 82games’ Roland Beech

Hardcore NBA observers have long been familiar with the sports-nerd greatness that is 82Games. Now the man behind the site, Roland Beech, is applying his mastery of arcane stats and numbers on the side of the angels, aka the Dallas Mavericks. The Two Man Game’s Rob Mahoney has a brief Q&A with Beech right … here.

Programming Guide to InsideCorner’s Coverage of the Forthcoming 2009-10 NBA Season

The Dallas Mavericks kick off their season Tuesday night at the AAC against a finally healthy (for now) Gilbert Arenas and his Washington Wizards. Yrs truly will be in attendance in my usual spot in Sec. 319. Here is what you can expect from us in the next few days, as well as the coming weeks and months.

FRIDAY: A two-part Mavs preview. I will be taking a look at the returning members of the roster, while Eric Celeste will cast his eyes (and keyboard) toward the new additions.

MONDAY: A conversational look at the Western Conference (and the Mavs’ place in it) between me and Eric. We hope to have a few voices popping in to share their insights as well. I think it’s safe to say you will get predictions here. I don’t want to jinx myself, but I called the Mavs’ record EXACTLY last year.

TUESDAY: Eric will focus in on the season opener, followed that night (or the next morning) by me with our first Mavs game book. We’re calling it “Five on Five,” and, as the name implies, expect five cogent, potentially mind-blowing observations about the game. (Usually when Eric is writing it.)

For the rest of the season, look for a breakdown at the week ahead every Monday, previews of every game, recaps of the important or notable ones, and the occasional chat, as well as more good basketball talk from TXA 21′s Gina Miller, and a few guests we’re solidifying as I type this. And, of course, the great Bob Sturm will jump into the fray when the mood strikes and show us all up with his big sports brain.

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter for the stray Mavs/NBA thought: @InsideCorner, @zaccrain, @EricCeleste, @ThatSportsGirl (Gina Miller), and @bobanddan (Bob Sturm).

BASKETBALL!

Analyze the Enemy – Game 6 – Atlanta Falcons

THURSDAYS: We catch you up on this week’s opponent with an overall portrait of their team. This is not breaking down this week’s match-up, because that happens on Friday. This is just to set the table in preparation for laying out the gameplan.

Some teams are not as good as you think they should be based on their level of talent. And other teams are actually better than you think they should be because they play well as a team. They are coached well. They seldom beat themselves, and they just play football the way it was meant to be played. I suggest to you that one of those teams could very well be the 2009 Atlanta Falcons.

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Sunny Start for New Stars Coach Marc Crawford

Marc Crawford

They have a lot going on in Los Angeles, what with the Dodgers going out and the Angels following closely behind. Doesn’t appear the local papers or web sites are taking much notice of Stars coach Marc Crawford making his first return to Staples Center following his inglorious run as coach of the L.A. Kings.

It has been about a month since Crawford called together his first Stars training camp. It was no secret that Joe Nieuwendyk sought a tougher edge, a louder voice when hiring Crawford to replace Dave Tippett.

What did the players hear about their new coach? “That he was pretty tough and pretty demanding and likes to lose his mind once in a while,” Mike Ribeiro said with a laugh. And so far? “I think he’s trying to get not too emotional either way, after a big win or after a big loss,” Stephane Robidas said. “Sometimes he’ll snap on the bench, but that’s part of who he is. He’s a guy who’s trying to keep everybody honest. We knew he was going to be tough that way. I think so far he’s been really good for us.”

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