New Kidd On The Block
The Mavericks' interpersonal confidence, trust, and respect on their roster weren’t at the levels needed to win a ‘chip, and it was becoming more and more apparent with each successive loss in the wild, wild West. Kidd changes all of that, but, as many pundits are asking, at what cost?
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2007-2008 Season Preview: Dallas Mavericks
Dallas fans may push for Cuban to make a major move for Kobe Bryant, but the organization has made it apparent that star Dirk Nowitzki isn’t going anywhere, despite his occasional playoff struggles. The 2007-2008 team will instead look very similar to last year’s version.
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Summer League Analysis: Game 2, Vs. Portland
Dallas was led in their first game by Jose Juan Barea and that continued against Portland. Barea and the defense helped Dallas stay in the game and the Mavericks used a strong 3rd quarter to pull away for the win.
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Summer League Analysis: Game 1, Vs. Seattle
Dallas has a few players to watch out for this summer and, if they keep playing like they did against Seattle, they’ll be on the roster and getting playing time.
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30 Teams, 30 Days: Dallas Draft Preview (34th, 50th, 60th)
The Mavericks may not have a first round selection, but they should still be able to find a difference maker at the thirty-fourth pick. They’ll likely use their later second round picks to find talent overseas, or acquire players to battle for a roster spot this fall.
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Three's Company
In Dallas, big things in the sports community generally come in the three. The Cowboys had Aikman, Irvin, and Emmitt and three Super Bowl trophies to go along with their Big Three. Another successful trio consisting of Nash, Finley, and Nowitzki took a defunct franchise and made it a perennial playoff contender. The old trio peaked without a title and now a new Trifecta is emerging in the Mavericks’ organization and has its eyes on the Larry O’Brien Trophy. The deadly combination of Josh Howard, Jason Terry, and Dirk Nowitzki seems poised to build on last year’s success and this time intend to finish the job.
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An Interview With Mark Cuban
In an interview with RealGM's Andrew Perna, Mark Cuban weighs in on the Josh Howard situation, the Steve Nash situation, the off-season moves, plus he reveals what the best part about being Mark Cuban is.
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More Of The Same For The New Look Mavs
When the Mavs hit the gym for their first practices, the Western Conference Champions will field a roster will numerous new faces but a roster that looks eerily similar to the team Coach Avery Johnson assembled last year.
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Andrew + 13
Reading Chris Reina’s article a few weeks about making the most of the $53.135 million salary cap limit – I thought there was some players missing. I took it upon to myself to make another version of 13 players who, when binded together, fit under the NBA’s new 06/07 salary cap.
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What To Do Next
Dallas entered the offseason without a big need for anything after just losing to Miami. Some more shooters and a backup to Dirk Nowitzki seemed the most pressing needs. So, what has happened so far in the Mavericks front office?
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Dirk Tells Cuban to Chill Out
Mark Cuban is a passionate owner, something the NBA and all sports need more of -- I have already recognized that fact. Sure, Cuban is entitled to his opinion over the officiating, or lack thereof. And yes, he was probably agitated over some questionable calls. But, if Cuban cares about his team, and their success, as it appears he does, he will listen to his superstar.
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Dirk Tells Cuban To Chill Out
Dirk Nowitzki has a message for team owner Mark Cuban and it may not be friendly, but it's the truth; Cuban needs to chill out.
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A New Beginning
The 2006 NBA Finals are done. No mulligan. No do-overs. Done. It’s time to start preparing for the 2007 Finals and the NBA Draft was the official launch of the new season. With the addition of Ager, an “Avery Johnson” guy and solid selection, I have regained that excitement and eager anticipation that Bennett Salvatore had taken from me in weeks past.
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A Pick for the Age(r)s
Maurice Ager decided to partake in 23 (!) workouts, but surprisingly did not workout for Dallas since they didn’t believe he’d be available at #28. Coach Avery Johnson said, “We run a battery of interviews but he wasn’t one of the guys. This is a guy who could have gone as high as 10 or 12 so we’re glad to have him.”
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Winners And Losers Of Draft Night
The draft was filled with surprises, ranging from Marcus Williams’ drop to Portland’s six trades to the Rudy Gay deal.
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Dallas Mavericks Draft Preview
Finishing the season with a record of 60-22, the Mavericks were awarded the #28 pick in the upcoming draft. It is unexpected that the upcoming pick will mirror Josh Howard (#29, 2003), who has turned into one of our best players. Who are on the Mavericks minds? It’s tough to say, but here are a few possible suggestions.
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A Season In Review
The Mavericks went through it all this past season – suspensions, a starter retiring, triumph, negativity, the list goes on and on. Replace the whole “basketball” and you have the window for a classic soap-opera on daytime television. In the end, the Mavericks failed to achieve their goal of winning a championship and after all the trials and tribulations the season can be looked upon as a failure.
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Game 3 Report Card
In the closest game of the NBA Finals, the Heat overcame a strong third-quarter surge from the Mavericks to take the game 98-96. Dwyane Wade carried the heat with an amazing 42 points and a career high 13 rebounds.
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Game 2 Report Card
With a commanding Game 2 victory, Erick Dampier still has yet to lose to Shaquille O’Neal in his Maverick career (6-0). Damp was all around the game, running the break, dunking it and grabbing rebounds. Possibly his best game in his tenure with Dallas.
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From One Hot Extremity To Another
The series will be filled with interesting matchups, but the coaches gameplan will be equally important. Dallas should look to the opposite of what they did against Phoenix, and try to force Antoine Walker and company into longer shots. Dallas should try to avoid letting anyone on Miami (I’m looking at Wade) walk through the defense. If worse comes to worse, Dallas should employ the infamous Hack-a-Shaq, but with a defensive tandem of Diop and Dampier, Dallas is as set as they ever will be to take on Shaq.
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Mav-Wrecks To Mavericks
Mavericks fans have waited along time for this. A franchise once voted the worst in sports by Sports Illustrated is now on the cusp of immortality and for those Mavs fans that have followed the team throughout their 26 years in the NBA the ride couldn’t be any sweeter. They say that in order to understand where you are going you have to know where you have been so on the eve of Game 1 of the 2006 NBA Finals here’s a list of remembrance (some good others bad) for those diehard Mavs fans.
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A Series For The Ages
7 games. 2 overtimes. Five games decided by 5 points or less. Forget Lebron. Thanks to the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks, NBA fans were all witnesses to the best 2nd round series in recent memory and quite possibly the entire history of the NBA.
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An Old-Fashioned Western Shootout
In what could be called the Western Conference Finals, everyone is expecting it to be a gun-slinging Western rivalry of the ages, Dallas' defense will be tested and so will Avery Johnson, who is ironically a Spurs playoff hero.
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How Sweep It Is
Until a week ago it was safe to say that both the Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies had both gotten lucky and found themselves with the latter. However after Dirk Nowitzki’s Mavs swept the Pau Gasol-led Grizzlies it seems like the difference between Dirk and Pau may be more like the difference between a supermodel and the cute girl next door. You would be proud to have either one but only one is going to take you to a higher level.
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Grand Larceny
Even though there were enormous amounts of talent found in the lottery picks of the 2003 Draft, scroll down to the last pick of the first round and you can see that the Dallas Mavericks may have pulled off the biggest heist in one of the best draft classes of all time by selecting Josh Howard of Wake Forest. Despite being unanimously picked as the ACC Player of the Year, the 6’7” swingman saw names like Troy Bell and Ndudi Ebi come off the board, before the Mavericks took him with the 29th pick overall.
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March Madness
The Mavericks weren’t expecting March to be like February. It’s hard to match a month where you lose just one game and play some of your best basketball. Yet so far March can be described as chaotic at best as the Mavericks are struggling for consistency and scrambling to find players to fill minutes as various injuries pile up.
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Comeback Kids
A never say die attitude and the ability to overcome adversity are attributes any championship quality team needs. After the past week I think it’s safe to say the Dallas Mavericks have these two traits covered. A 19 point rally against the Memphis Grizzlies and 24 point rally against the Toronto Raptors allowed the Mavs to lock up a franchise record 14 game home winning streak. The Mavs are now 9 for 18 when trailing by double digits at some point in the game. However as fun and exciting as comebacks are, these Mavericks know that allowing teams to jump on them early and build a substantial lead is like playing with fire, eventually you are going to get burned.
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Flying Under The Radar: Marcus Slaughter
In today's college basketball world, where prestigious east coast universities like Duke and North Carolina capture much of the media attention, one west coast player, Marcus Slaughter, is trying to obliterate all the biases that come along with the mention of west coast basketball. And he's turning heads doing it.
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Avery The Great
The Dallas Mavericks have quietly put together an impressive 11 game win streak while compiling an overall 37-10 record. Despite their recent success the Mavs remain a team under the radar and still find themselves under constant criticism from the media. However by looking at this Dallas team closely it is easy to see why these Mavs should not be overlooked.
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So Far, So Good
The Dallas Mavericks had plenty to be excited after Sunday night’s overtime win against the Portland Trailblazers. Thanks to a certain 81-point performance the “Kobe” monkey leapt from the back of the Mavericks’ and onto that of the Raptors’. However the main reason for the excitement was the 31-10 record the Mavs have amassed that has moved them into a tie with the Spurs for the best record in both the Southwest division and the Western conference.
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Role Reversal
January 14, 2006. Remember that day. It could very well end up being the turning point in the Dallas Mavericks’ season. For the first time since being brought to Dallas in a 2004 sign-and-trade a healthy Erick Dampier, a man once often viewed as the missing link, came off the bench. In his place newcomer DeSagana Diop got the starting nod and the results were electrifying.
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Growing Pains
The maturing process in the NBA is impossible to explain. A select few explode in their rookie seasons and have an immediately impact on their teams. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Paul all come to mind. Others take time to develop and the learning curve for these players is impossible to determine. It took Jermaine O’Neal five years to make his presence known and everyone is still waiting for Darko Milicic to live up to the hype. Fortunately for the Dallas Mavericks the development of point guard Devin Harris is quickly progressing.
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A Blast From The Past
The Mavericks remain a dangerous team and head into Memphis with a 13-5 record. The recent success can be attributed to the reemergence of a familiar face in Dallas, swingman Adrian Griffin. A defensive-minded swingman, Griffin, returns to Dallas after a two year stint with the Chicago Bulls. A key component of the Mavs team that made it all the way to the 2003 Western Conference Finals, the six year veteran failed to re-sign with the Bulls this offseason and instead remained under the radar and unemployed.
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Off And Running
The first month of the season has come and gone and November was a success for Coach Avery Johnson and the Dallas Mavericks. The team rolled to a 10-4 record and the Little General picked up his second Western Conference Coach of the Month award. More impressive, however, has been the manner in which the Mavericks won.
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Double D's
During last week’s 83-80 victory over the Denver Nuggets, the Dallas Mavericks’ centers combined for four points, sixteen rebounds, and six blocks. The problem is, starting center Erick Dampier contributed 0 points, 0 rebounds, and yes, 0 blocks. Dampier, stuck in early foul trouble, was on the bench watching as his backup, newly acquired DeSagana Diop, put up career highs in minutes, rebounds, and blocks including the game-ending swat of a Carmelo Anthony runner.
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Point Guard Platoon
When Steve Nash accepted a five year contract worth over $60 million with the Phoenix Suns two summers ago the Dallas Mavericks lost their floor general. Since his departure the Mavericks have made several acquisitions to try to replace Kid Canada. While it is impossible to completely fill the void left by Nash it seems now that the Mavs are attempting to fill the position with three men instead of one.
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A Glance At Things To Come
With a 103-97 win over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night the Dallas Mavericks completed their preseason schedule and now shift their focus to the season opener on November 1 in Phoenix. The preseason offered a glimpse into the direction that Coach Avery Johnson wants to take his Mavericks. The team is deep, healthy for the most part, and all seem to be on the same page. However it is often said that the NBA season is not a sprint but a marathon and it will be interesting to see how the Mavericks will endure through the grinding season that lies ahead. Here’s a preview of the 2005-2006 season for the Dallas Mavericks.
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New Kid On The Block
DeSagana Diop was drafted in the 2001 NBA Draft at the eight spot ahead of the likes of Richard Jefferson, Zach Rudolph, and Gilbert Arenas. Cleveland, desperate for a backup to their often injured center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, gambled on the Oak Hill Academy product only to see him play a mere 18 games that season. Minor injuries and lack of production marred Diop’s next three seasons with the Cavaliers and this off season he entered free agency. After private workouts with Coach Avery Johnson the Mavericks had apparently seen enough and signed the 7-footer to a 3-year $6.48 million deal.
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Unusual Occurrences
It’s been an odd year for the Dallas Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki. It started last year several weeks after a first round exit from the 2004 playoffs. After losing Steve Nash to the Suns, Dirk went on to have a very productive year, but Nash and the Suns eliminated Dallas from the playoffs. Then Dirk’s longtime mentor Holger Geschwindner was arrested for suspicion of tax evasion. German tax officials searched Nowitzki’s home in Wurzberg.
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Silencing The Critics
You can’t say anything about Marquis Daniels that he hasn’t heard before. The critics and cynics have always been there. After a brilliant rookie year, followed by a sophmore-year slump or sorts, Daniels is out to prove he is more than just a has-been rookie phenom.
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The Summer Of Maturity
Immmaturity has been a constant presence in Dallas since Mark Cuban took over the team in 2000. Yes the Mavericks have been entertaining and been in upper echelon franchise but that elusive championship has remained out of reach.
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Stro-No
After finishing the season on a sour note and heading into the off-season with holes-a-plenty, Mark Cuban just made one of the biggest blunders of the off-season by not picking up former Memphis Grizzlies star Stromile Swift.
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Mavericks Corral Suns
The Dallas Mavericks decided to follow suit with the rest of the league Sunday night as they became the third playoff team on the day to even their best of seven series with the Phoenix Suns at 2-2.
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All Square
With the 108-106 win, Dallas now has a shot to come back home for two home games at American Airlines Center in what should be as rowdy as crowd as anyone has seen all season as Suns forward Steve Nash makes his much anticipated playoff debut against the hometown fans.
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Total Domination
Question: What do the St. Louis Bombers of 1948 and the current Dallas Mavericks have in common?
They both totally destroyed and embarrassed their opponents by 39 and 40 points respectively in game seven's of their playoffs series – but it just so happens Dallas now owns the record for most lopsided win in NBA history as the Mavericks trashed the Houston Rockets at home 116-76.
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83 Reasons The Series Is Done
You have to love percentages if you're the Dallas Mavericks. After the team secured the first home win by either team in the series; the team moved one step closer to becoming the fourth team since the 1994 Houston Rockets to win a playoff series after losing their first two games at home.
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Terry And Finley To The Rescue
When Jason Terry came into the Mavericks organization this year, he came in with a lot of skepticism from Dallas critics for his "me first" play – on Saturday night Terry decided to squash all of those comments.
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Mavericks Back In The Saddle Again With 106-102 Win
The season was all but over with nine minutes remaining in the game Thursday night, as the Mavericks continued to make the chances of a Mark Cuban off-season fire sale a serious reality. But something happened in the final eight and a half minutes of the game – the Mavericks decided to wake up and play.
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Road Domination
The Dallas Mavericks emerged in the playoffs for the first time on Thursday, due to being faced with an 0-2 deficit and the knowledge that no team in the history of the league has come back from a 3-0 deficit, but whether or not they will reemerge in their best of seven series with the Houston Rockets still remains to be seen.
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On The Brink
When the Dallas Mavericks take the Toyota Center court versus the Houston Rockets they won't be playing for the chance to take an advantage in their best of seven playoff series – this time the Mavericks will be playing for their playoff lives.
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Double Trouble
Tracy McGrady hit a dagger jumper with 2.2 seconds as Houston knocked off Dallas to go up 2-0 in the series.
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Everything But The Win
The Dallas Mavericks did everything they could except win tonight in Dallas and will now go to Houston in trying to dig themselves out of a huge hole after losing 113-111 to the Houston Rockets on Tracy McGrady’s game winner with 2.2 seconds remaining.
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'Big Sleep' McGrady tranquilizes Nowitzki
Dirk Nowitzki has been dominant all season long; however, Tracy McGrady may have a secret formula to shut him down
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Mavericks Must Regroup Immediately
If the Dallas Mavericks want to regain any control of the series, which they now trail 0-1 against the Houston Rockets, there are several things that they are going to need to do and the first and foremost is to find a way to contain Tracy McGrady.
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Now Or Never
If the last 20 games of the Dallas Mavericks season resembled anything it would probably be a car race.
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The Future Of The Mavericks
In his first season in the NBA, Josh Howard played the role of the seventh man, always ready to go in and willing to crash the board for the rebound. He ended up with averaging almost 9 points and 5 boards a game for one of the top scoring teams in the league, but that wasn’t enough for Josh.
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Nash was worth the Money
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ReDirkulous? Nowitzki is MVP candidate
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Mavs Report
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The Mavs Report
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New Logo
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Mutombo to Dallas!
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The recent change in the free agent landscape, including the move of Baron Davis from the Warriors to Clippers, could prove costly for the 76ers.
Danny Granger, who has just three years of NBA experience under his belt, will undoubtedly be the man in Indiana beginning this summer.
The Orlando Magic will be limited by the NBA's Luxury Tax in terms of filling the remaining spots on their roster. It is also possible it could cost them Keyon Dooling or Maurice Evans.
The Raptors are bringing in a player who will have an immediate impact (unlike Hibbert or whomever the Raptors would’ve drafted at 17), plays a position of need (unlike Ford,) and carries a reputation of intimidation (unlike Nesterovic).
It ended up not being Roy Hibbert for Utah, which could be a good thing because Kosta Koufos has more upside.
The Cavaliers have many options with the 19th pick in the draft. The burning question is will they draft a proven college player who can contribute right away, or will they select a project player who has a little more upside. 
What the Griz lack is a household name. Someone that your grandmother knows about even if she can’t tell the difference between a pick on the hardwood and an interception on the gridiron.
The Lakers’ big issues next season will be re-integrating Bynum and Ariza, and shifting Odom to small forward. That, instead of a big trade, should be all that is done to tinker.
The Celtics are still celebrating their recent NBA Title victory, but decisions will still have to be made this Thursday.