NBA Talk v3.0

[vonkaar]

Yup... it's do or die for 90% of the league. That's awesome.

Malluas, I thought you'd like this:

http://www.indystar.com/articles/4/172987-6324-036.html

And what would have happened if Artest were on the team?

"There would be a lot of people being locked down; that's it," he said. "That Puerto Rican guard (Carlos Arroyo, who scored 24 points in a 92-73 victory over the U.S. team) would have been locked down. I would have locked down everybody. That's what would have happened."

Artest certainly doesn't shy away from speaking his mind =p.

[Malluas]

i like that in a player. I also like the elbows being thrown and knocking people to the court


BRING BACK THE OLD SCHOOL STYLE OF JUNGLE BBALL!!!

[Malluas]

yea Charlie is ok. He still isn't consistant, Houston needs a consistant PG. I love Ward but he isn't really consistant. But it is better than what they have.

I am still not sold on K-Mart. He gets used by the west best PFs all the time. BUt they have a team that runs runs and runs so he will be good in that system


I don't about the Devon Harri rookie of the year thing, but with the mavs offense he could score like 20+ easily

Duncan or Kobe will get the MVP. Maybe shaq. BUt now kobe will be like iverson on that team.. Shoot 50 times a game and score 30+

[Zanchief]

BUt now kobe will be like iverson on that team.. Shoot 50 times a game and score 30+

He did that now.

[Malluas]

true got me there.

I will say if Kobe shoots as much as Iverson he will score 50 a night heh

[Zanchief]

I don't about the Devon Harri rookie of the year thing, but with the mavs offense he could score like 20+ easily

The things is he's gonna get tons of PT on a good team with a lot of scorers.

I'm gonna be cheering for Jameer Neslon but I don't know how realistic that is.

[vonkaar]

Mavs are looking good now... can't wait for the season to start.

I still think that Dwight Howard will have a mini King-James appeal in Florida. He'll get 35-40 a game, which will obviously bump his numbers. I *will* say that Devin Harris will likely have the best 'per 48 minutes' numbers of all rookies.

[vonkaar]

Wow... some MORE good news for we Mavs fans:

Mavericks pleased with overflow at center

Trade for Dampier puts Dallas in a position of strength


11:22 PM CDT on Wednesday, August 25, 2004

By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News


The logjam at center for the Mavericks is unprecedented. It's also not a big concern to the basketball staff. In fact, for a team that has been searching for functional centers through most of its existence, it's a blessing.

Newly acquired Erick Dampier will earn the bulk of the playing time. Calvin Booth, Shawn Bradley and rookie D.J. Mbenga will divvy up what's left.

Pavel Podkolzin probably will need a year to get acclimated to the NBA before he is ready to contribute. But since he has signed a contract, he'll be on the 15-man roster. As for Evan Eschmeyer, the health of his knee will be the determining factor for whether he plays or sits on the injured list.

But even if shuffling those six players becomes a chore, it is one the Mavericks will gladly accept.

"No disrespect to anyone who has played center in the past for us, but for shot-blocking, rebounding, scoring and toughness, we've got most of those components in one player now with Erick," says Donnie Nelson, president of basketball operations. "He's the closest thing we've ever had to a total center package.

"Overnight, we've gone from center being probably our weakest area to having an abundance there."

The Mavericks will have 18 players with guaranteed contracts when Avery Johnson signs as a player-coach later in the week. Newly acquired guard Steve Logan is not under contract yet. Still, at least three players will have to be jettisoned before the season begins. It's not as difficult as it sounds.

Jon Stefansson, the guard who never played last season, probably is headed to Europe or the developmental league for a year of seasoning. His contract is such that it won't cost the Mavericks much to send him to the minors.

Tariq Abdul-Wahad could be cut and, since insurance is paying 80 percent of his contract, it would not be a big financial hit for owner Mark Cuban.

That means a low-dollar player such as Dan Dickau ($893,000) could be waived, and the Mavericks would be at 15 players.

What the overload of players will do, however, is dissuade any NBA hopefuls of joining the Mavericks for training camp. There simply aren't going to be any spots available for "training camp fodder" to surprise the team. In other words, there will be no undrafted gems such as Marquis Daniels was last season.