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A Little Mavs Chemistry Lesson

Does Jkidd + Smarion + Dgooden + Dnowitzki + Jhoward –> Division Title + Conference Championship + Title?????

We won’t know the answer to that for a while, but just about every person involved with this Mavericks team feels good about what they’ve got. Sure they like the additions. Shawn Marion provides speed and athleticism. Drew Gooden is a self-described “monster” who says he’s looking forward to being a physical force. I like them, too, but what has struck me through almost four weeks of the Mavericks preseason is that these guys really seem to like each other.

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IM Just Saying: Eric Celeste and Zac Crain Chat Up the Western Conference

After the jump, a short conversation between me and Eric Celeste regarding the Western Conference and the Dallas Mavericks’ place in it. It is unedited, to preserve the likely idiocy of our opinions. And also, let’s be honest: because we didn’t do it via Gmail so either one of us would have to work too hard.

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Monday Dallas Stars Update

FRISCO – Mike Modano was back skating with the team on Monday morning. Matt Niskanen is working toward returning for Wednesday’s next game. Nicklas Grossman’s face is healing nicely, thank you.

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Linkin’ Park: NBA Edition

On the eve of the 2009-10 season, the NBA finally has its referees back — just in time, too, after Drew Gooden was ejected and promptly un-ejected during Friday’s preseason finale by a replacement crew — and the Mavericks finally look to be healthy. Dallas’ season gets underway tomorrow night with a game against Washington at the AAC, and the club isn’t as spry as it was a few years ago. How Jason Kidd’s mind and Dirk Nowitzki’s body hold up are going to be key in determining the Mavs’ success, and there are those that feel the prognosis isn’t much better than last year.

Shawn Marion, Drew Gooden, Tim Thomas, and Quinton Ross headlined the crop of newcomers in the summer, but question marks remain on whether Kris Humprhies and high-upside rookie Rodrique Beaubois can build on promising preseasons to become regular contributors in Rick Carlisle’s rotation this year. It’s hard to say considering we don’t really know Carlisle that well, either.

But if your eyes are too tired to do all that reading on a Monday, you could just listen Doug Collins talk about the Mavs for a minute and a half, and then watch clips of the Mavs hanging out on media day. Your call.

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The Morning After: Cowboys 37, Falcons 21

I have never seen, nor do I plan on seeing, the 1998 movie, “How Stella Got Her Groove Back”. I assume Stella had a groove – lost it somehow – and then spent a great deal of time trying to figure out how to re-acquire this groove again. I will also assume that she found this groove by the end of the movie or the title would have been rather mis-leading.

I take you down this unlikely road to bring the conversation to Tony Romo. I think we can all agree he also once had a groove. In his first 25 or so games in the NFL, he was somewhere between amazing and unbelievable. Then, something happened where he hit adversity and we began to see the weaknesses in his game. And for the last 20 or so starts, he just has not been the same guy who seemed like he played the game with everything happening around him in slow motion. Was something wrong with him? Was something wrong with his coaching? What happened to a guy who seemed to have the NFL figured out?

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