With all the things that happened in this game, there was one thing that stuck in my mind. With all the technology we have these days in basketball games, from the instant replay to shot clocks to the red light that goes off behind the backboard at the end of the quarter to the pyrotechnics and HD broadcasts, it blows my mind that we still need to use a broom stick to knock a basketball down after it gets stuck on top of the backboard. They might as well be hand churning the butter for the popcorn in the concession stands.
1. Jason Terry - JET made this win possible. The Mavs were up big, but JET was the one that sealed it when the Hornets made their run. 25 points on 11 of 16 shooting (3 of 5 from behind the arc), 2 assists and a block.
2. Chris Paul - My favorite non-Maverick knocked down only 9 of his 22 shots, but he scored 22 points and facilitated most of the comeback that made this game so close.
3. Jerry Stackhouse - 16 points on 6 of 11 shooting, 2 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. More importantly, he got assertive with the team during a timeout when the Hornets were getting close. He went into the huddle and told the team to wipe that look off their face, go out there, have some fun and get aggressive.
Random Crap!
- Dirk's Digits: Dirk is lagging behind in this game, which is disappointing. He's been very inconsistent so far this year. I wouldn't go so far as to say he sucked ass, but I'm very upset with 7 points on 2 of 8 shooting, 9 boards, 6 assists and 2 steals. You can share the ball to an extent, but please realize that you are the man on this team. Shoot the damn ball, and shoot it well.
- Mavs are looking for redemption in this game, not just from the awful showing they had in the previous game against the Raptors but for the loss to the Hornets earlier in the season that broke the 19 or 20 some-odd losing streak the Hornets had to the Mavs.
- The Mavs started out well, with good defense, but that doesn't matter to me. The Hornets are a good, young team and given the Mavs trend of late to blow leads, I'm not comfortable at all.
- Chris Paul to Tyson Chandler is a good, formidable tandem. It's no Stockton to Malone, but it's serviceable, and something every team is going to have to guard against.
- I nice, hearty welcome back to Eddie Jones. He showed his rust by inbounding the ball to the referee, which Bobby Jackson picked up and dropped in for the easy score. Welcome back, indeed.
- This game is being broadcast in Belgium, Belarus, Germany, Greece, France, Italy, Macedonia, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Cyprus and Iceland. I get the Germany part, but for those other countries? The only other foreigner in this game is Peja Stojakovic, and he's not from those countries. At least the Mavs are getting worldwide attention. My buddy, Adam, the Navy SEAL, used to tell me that the Mavs would be on the Armed Forces Network all the time, so maybe international money loves them some Mavs.
- The Mavs are interesting because they can make leads and deficits disappear like Copperfield. I haven't seen a team that can lose big leads and overcome big deficits like this team. It's almost like they don't like to be more than average, and they strive to make sure that's all they are. Hopefully, they turn a corner soon. I thought they might have already, but apparently not.
- The Hornets were down 16 in this game, but they came back to take their first lead at 52-51 with 5:38 left in the 3rd thanks to Peja and Paul.
- DeSagana Diop was benched until the 3rd, so he's still in Avery's doghouse. But Diop got the message and came out like Denzel Washington in that Man On Fire movie, except he never shoved a bomb up someone's anus. 7 points and 5 boards in just 15 mintues.
- Chris Paul, my favorite Non-Mav, popped Dirk, my favorite Mav, in the face. It looked like Dirk knocked a tooth out. It was purely unintentional as they were both going up for a rebound, but it looked ugly. If it had been anyone else, I would have been upset, but since it's Paul I'm willing to let it slide.
- As most of you know, I hate the charge foul, but Devin Harris knows how to take one and knows when to take one. Good for him for working the system, but I still hate the charge call. I think it's a sign of lazy defense.
It's a catch 22 right now. Everyone wants the Mavs to learn to help Dirk, but then they want Dirk to take the reins. I figure if they still can win against a good team when Dirk is playing poorly, and distributing the ball, that's not a bad thing. We will see as the season goes on. Go Mavs!