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Five on Five: Mavs v. Wizards

Five observations on a lackluster loss to the Washington Wizards, after the jump.

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Mavs/Wizards Hangover

Man, do I feel like I was drinking the Kool-Aid!  So much for this great chemistry the Mavericks have and obsessive focus on defense.  It’s only one game and I don’t want to rush too quickly to judge but the Mavericks season opening loss to the Wizards proved this team has some work to do. (more…)

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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Your 2009-10 Dallas Mavericks Preview

Grab a cup of coffee, and settle in. We’ll be waiting after the jump in a game-worn Nick Van Exel jersey with a big pile of words.

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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!

Josh Howard Returns to “Old Self”?

If you can have a “big day” NBA training camp, Wednesday was one for the Mavericks: forward-turned-two-guard Josh Howard practiced. It was the first time he did any real contact stuff since having off-season ankle surgery. There’s no timetable set for his return.

“I’m just working myself into practice,” Howard said.

“He’s worked extremely hard,” head coach Rick Carlisle said.  “He had a serious procedure and this was a positive sign today but no means is he ready to jump into game.”

I mentioned in this space earlier that I thought Dirk Nowitzki had sort of returned; perhaps the popular phrase is “back to his old self.”  I think we can say the same for Howard.

Last season he was coming off that Youtube nightmare in which he was caught saying some things he really regretted saying.  The entire 2008-2009 season he wanted nothing to do with the media. Any conversation I had with him was forced. His answers were short, he wouldn’t make eye contact with me, and there wasn’t a smile or laugh to be found. He felt like we (the media) almost vilified him. He even told me he used it as motivation to be a better player.

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Major League Baseball’s Playoffs Are Finally Here; Haven’t We Seen This Movie Already?

Baseball’s playoffs have begun. And don’t the teams look familiar? When compared to the other three sports over the past 10 years, MLB has had less movement between the haves and have nots, according to calculation performed by yours truly. While I can’t approach Sports Sturm in detailed dissection of numbers, I offer the following in trying to examine parity in the sports leagues – and how it’s decreasing in baseball.

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Gina Miller Digs on Josh Howard’s Threads

As Eric has taken pains to point out, I’m not a sports fan. But you know what? I know sports fans. In fact, I know sports fans who work on television and are hot. I speak, of course, of the greatness of Gina Miller. I asked Gina what she thought of last night’s Mavs pre-season game. I think we can all agree that her analysis — especially of Josh Howard’s sidelines getup — is far more trenchant than Eric’s. Jump for what she told me.

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Mavs-Magic: Five on Five

We’re in the preseason here, too, and we’re trying out different Mavs bloggers and features to entertain you during the season. Right now Zac and I are trying to figure out what our regular after-game analysis will look like. Until the season starts, it feels like you’ll want no more than five observations/opinions/ramblings from the night before. That might not allow me to get all my notes in (examples: “Dirk going more to the up-and-under move after his baseline spin … McHale’s influence?” or “Bob Sturm and Drew Gooden … separated at birth?), but that’s okay. Let’s call it Five on Five, because I can’t think of anything else right now.

1. Seeing Matt Carroll start last night was a bit of a shock, mainly because I had just finished reading John Hollinger’s take on him as I was perusing his 2010 player predictions: “If Carroll wasn’t the worst player in the league last season, he was certainly on the short list.” And if this was an audition for someone other team looking to add a sharpshooter who can’t defend, can’t rebound, and has no handle, mission accomplished. Although Carroll did get frisky with Matt Barnes at one point. What’s the over-under on Barnes dropping Carroll if it came to blows? Six seconds? Four?

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Charles Barkley on the 2009-10 Dallas Mavericks

Last week, I found myself on the phone with Charles Barkley, talking about the 2010 NBA All-Star Game at Cowboys Stadium, among other things — one of which I was asked to strike from the permanent record about five minutes after we talked about it. (Not by Barkley, of course.) Here is what he had to say, when asked if he thought the Dallas Mavericks’ off-season moves made them a contender for the Western Conference crown.

I don’t think they’re one of the best teams in the West. It’s a two-team race: the Lakers and the Spurs. I mean, I’m not sure they’re better than Utah or Denver, to be honest with you. Let me rephrase that. They’re not better than Utah or Denver.

I took that as a “no.”

After the jump, another brief excerpt, wherein Chuck talks about Dallas and Mavericks fans.

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The Top 10: The Most Interesting Men In The Dallas Sports World – At Least For This Week

Will we rank the area’s most intriguing/interesting/important sports figures on a weekly basis? It’s our intention. But who knows how it will go. Feel free to adjust, discuss, ridicule or praise our rankings.

10. Rodrigue Beaubois: First-rounder scores 23 in leading Mavs to victory. Probably won’t be duplicating that line during the regular season.

9. Tom Watson: Sure, he’s not from Dallas and is one of a half-dozen pro golfers who don’t call the area home. But he’s 59 and took the British Open to a playoff. He’s intriguing in anyone’s rankings.

8. Ian Kinsler: Maybe leadoff homer/walk-off homer on Sunday will get him going. Rangers offense desperately needs it.

7. Josh Hamilton: Speaking of guys the Rangers offense desperately needs. At least there were subtle signs at All-Star Game and in first game back from break that maybe he’s found his swing.

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MGM – On a Tuesday.

As I continue to catch-up from my mysterious absence (or vacation), I thought the best way to touch on a number of issues at one time is to roll out a Machine Gun Monday on a Tuesday.

On one hand, you would think this is a nice slow time of year where we could merely lock in on the Rangers attempt to battle those Angels on the sports stage all by themselves. But, look around. NBA Free Agency is tonight; NHL Free Agency is tomorrow; Wimbledon is in its Championship week; Longhorns are running into apartment buildings; and much more.

As a wise man once said, “there are no slow sports days, just slow sports people”. So let’s touch on many items in a short amount of time:

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The NBA Finals Have Arrived!

Ah, yes. The time has come. The wonderful first few weeks of June where every Thursday, Sunday, Tuesday, until we have a team win 4 times, we have NBA Finals basketball.

It certainly wasn’t the match-up everyone expected. The Lakers are the people’s choice, but the surprise guest is the Orlando Magic. When they lost their point guard (against the Mavericks, you may recall) Jameer Nelson, many thought that they went from a dark-horse to a team with no real chance. But, they scrambled, and have received huge efforts from various points, and between “Skip to my Lou” and the under-valued Hedo Turkoglu they have figured this thing out a bit.

To knock out the Cleveland Cavaliers in 6 games is impressive enough. Now, can they continue this run and grab their first O’Brien trophy with a shocking win over the L.A. Lakers?

I would certainly not pick them, but after that display, they should be treated with a great amount of respect. This is a dangerous team with a very impressive young stud in Dwight Howard, who has gone from a prospect who dominates the dunk competition to a guy who now deserves a spot in the “Top 5 players in the NBA” discussion.

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Amazing Is Happening.

Four Days ago, I wrote that the NBA Playoffs have been amazing this spring. Since that was written, we have had four games, won by four different teams. These conference finals are enough to make you forget about most everything else.

And as we ponder the events of the last 7 glorious days of NBA basketball and look ahead to the next 7 that will determine who will be in the NBA Finals, here are some quick thoughts on each team that is still very much in the hunt:

DENVER NUGGETS

What you have to like:If you are the Nuggets, you have to love a few things about the way this series is headed. First, the idea that the physical nature of the game seems to be working against most of the Lakers. They may not be withering quite to the extent that New Orleans or Dallas did, but the fact seems to be that the Lakers do not appreciate this overly-physical mid-90′s Knicks/Heat basketball. But, if you think about it, the Nuggets likely could not win any other way. They have been in prime position to win all 4 games of this series, and although they have given home-court advantage back to the Lakers, there is a chance that this is a series where being at home doesn’t matter too much. The combination of Nene, Kenyon, and Birdman seem to be wearing down the Lakers. If this continues, the Nuggets have a great chance to represent the West. By the way, you also have to love that there are no extra days off for Kobe. Games Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday with travel each day in between the rest of the way will not replenish the energy supplies of a guy who is a) carrying his team and b) starting to look gassed.

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