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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.

“We have the best chemistry I’ve had since I’ve been here,” Jason Terry said the day before the season opener against the Wizards.

“We’re a family here on and off the court,” added Shawn Marion. (Then he wanted a big media hug and with me being the only female in the scrum, I was scared. You never know who might get too handsy.)

That “we love each other” vibe is all well and good in training camp and the preseason but what does it really mean?

“You got to have good chemistry,” said Terry. “That’s where it starts: guys coming in being on the same page, having one common goal in mind which is to win a championship and I think that’s what we have here.”

The fact that a number of these players are veterans, have had some personal success and are in their 30s (Kidd, 36; Dampier, 34; Terry, 32; Nowitzki, 31; Marion, 31; Howard will be 30 on April 28) plays into that.

In previous years, I’ve heard players say that developing that chemistry is so important in the preseason and that it will take some time during the regular season to get acclimated to one another. I found it interesting I didn’t hear that once this year.

“We have the best chemistry I’ve had since I’ve been here,” concluded head coach Rick Carlisle.

Granted he’s only been with the Mavericks a year, but that point isn’t lost, either. This chemistry lesson is as much about the players meshing as it is the coach with his players. He can be a tough coach and a tough person to handle at times. The players struggled with him at points last season. REALLY struggled. A number of people confirmed as much. But the players understand Carlisle better, he knows his team’s quirks better, and all of those things really are factors.

The chemistry lesson is an important one. They seem to like each other. Good. Now it needs to translate into wins. We’ll find out a lot this week as they open against a much-improved Wizards team on Tuesday and then face the Lakers in LA on Friday.

Quote of the day:
“I did not care too much for the ducktail. If I had a knife I would have chopped it off myself.” — Jason Terry on Drew Gooden’s infamous facial hair last season. Gooden says he’s going to stay with the clean-shaven look.

He's going "Kojak" this year, according to Jason Terry.