By Mike Fisher -- DallasBasketball.com
In trying to determine the Best News, Worst News and Coming News about the Mavs, we assemble our own All-Star Team of Dallas-based sports personalities, carrying them by limousine to the plush DB.com headquarters where they are greeted by a harem of “self-employed models,’ who pour them Cristal and light their Cohibas.
We lounge about the sitting room, serenaded by the same army of violinists who just worked Oprah’s 50th birthday party. The collected brainpower is astounding: Distinguished Bob Ortegel, a DB.com contributor and long-time TV analyst; Southern-fried Greg ‘The Hammer’ Williams, a season-ticket holder and outspoken radio host on ‘1310 The Ticket;’ smart-alecky Tim McDarby of DB.com; ‘1310 The Ticket’s’ Bob Sturm, one of the few media personalities who can actual play basketball and chew gum at the same time; edgy David Lord of DB.com; and Dave Shore, sports director at ESPN 103.3 FM and the sideline reporter for Mavs games.
At issue: The best news from the first 50 games; the worst news from the first 50 games; and the headlines to watch for during the rest of the regular season. And around the room we go. ...
THE BEST NEWS
McDarby – The best thing about the first half is that it is finally and mercifully over. It what seemed like centuries, Dallas has endured a radical roster makeover, the growing pains of trying to find the right roster mix, the frenzy of a potential coaching change and the normal injuries that can derail all of it. When the Mavericks return from the All-Star break suntanned and rested, all they’ve endured during the first 5 months has left them in position to still have some control over their own fate.
Williams – With the trades for Walker and Jamison, it has taken almost the whole first half of the season to jell. And by showing this very uncharacteristic patience, they are finally seeing some on-court results. The thing I most like about the Mavs so far is they seem to be sticking with their plan.
McDarby – True, but this year has been like pulling teeth from the moment Nellie rolled out the first basketball. Nothing has really happened the way it was drawn up.
Williams – But there seems to be no panic. And as the trade deadline looms around the corner, there is no need to make a move.
Ortegel – The development of Josh Howard is a major plus. The other good headline is the number of very good wins the Mavericks have registered against some very good teams.
Lord – Potential. This team has shown in brief glimpses that it can beat anyone, and it can play extremely well. The record is stellar against the best teams in the West. Antoine Walker, Antawn Jamison, and Josh Howard all have proven to be major additions of talent. The Mavs match up well with the Kings, T'wolves, and Spurs, and the Lakers are struggling due to injuries and turmoil. The road to the finals doesn't seem quite as daunting as in past years, if they will play hard enough down the stretch to secure home court for at least a round or two. A second or third seed, with only the Kings and/or T'wolves above them, could open up a real opportunity for them.
Shore – The positive has to be that despite injuries, the Mavs racked up the league’s best home record. And on the way, they beat the teams that they were not beating last year.
Sturm – The most notably positive thing about the first half in Antoine Walker on nights when he desires to be the playmaking force he is capble of being.
THE WORST NEWS
Sturm – The most disappointing news item from the first half is Antoine Walker on nights in which he has little or no desire to be the playmaking force he is capable of being.
Williams – Let’s refer to the most troubling aspect of this team as ‘the Usual Suspects’: too much reliance on the jump shot. Unfortunately, there is something else wrong that is new to this team: A tendency to blow big leads in the second halves of games. And my gosh, what has happened on the road? A 10-15 record away from American Airlines Center is not good.
Ortegel – They do have some very disappointing losses against teams they simply should have beaten. They have a poor road record against teams from the East, and I think there is a reason for it: The new players come from teams that, on the whole, did not win road games. Walker’s Celtics teams and Jamison’s Warriors teams did not know how to win on the road. So there is a learning experience there.
McDarby – Perhaps the most worrisome aspect of the Mavs’ game (outside of defense) is their inconsistency game-by-game. Now, early in the season, it was understandable. Nellie was trying to find combinations and also finding which players he can count on. But now? It is a warning sign to the coaching staff. At this level, effort and focus should never be a question! Some might argue that this is a bit picky, but at the elite level the Mavericks believe they have achieved, it’s the little things that mean a lot now. We learned by watching the masterful work of Bill Parcells with the Cowboys that in order to compete to be the very best, the little things are usually the most telling.
Shore – The disappointment has to be not coming back with a stronger defense. Josh Howard is only a rookie and he's one of the most active defenders. It's been obvious that the veterans only want to play defense when they want to.
Lord – Yes, and that ‘coasting’ approach seems to affect the coaching and game rotations, filters down to the floor leaders, and pervades the entire lineup.
Their defense this season has been atrocious, and defensive play is as much about effort as anything. During the nine-game streak (when it appeared things were in crisis), they played their butts off on both ends of the floor. And the D improved noticeably. Crisis ends.
So far no lead is safe and no opponent is a sure win, because of the tendency to play hard only when needed. It’s a time for urgency.
THE HEADLINES TO COME
Sturm – Hopefully we’ll see more of what we have seen in the last few weeks, which will allow for a top 3 seed in the West. I would suggest the more this team looks like the Big 3 plus all new helper parts, and the less it looks like a whole new team in ‘04, the better Jamison, Howard, and Walker (all superb players in their own way) will be. This team still succeeds because of the Big 3.
Lord – The pecking order question is key. There are only 30 games left, and they still haven't developed that, or the habitual consistency and effort that it takes to be a top contender. Even as talented as they are, that half-assed approach just won’t get them anywhere in the West.
Shore – Anything short of grabbing home court advantage will be a disappointment and will lead to a likely second-round knockout. Josh Howard playing up top on the zone will be a key down the stretch, and in the playoffs as he can chase the good shooters and penetrators at the top. Dirk also has to mix in the hook shots more in the post so that the Mavs can run close-game scenarios through him in the low post. Antoine Walker has to get that 3-point shooting percentage up in the high 30's and the free-throw percentage to around 65-68 percent because he will get sent to the line more late in the season.
McDarby – The final 30 games offer no real break: 21 will be against the West; 8 of the 9 remaining vs. the East take place in a 3-week stretch from mid-March till the end of the month. Five of those are on a road trip! In a worst case scenario, the Mavericks will have to fight like hell to secure a home-court advantage. Climbing the standings will be a very tall order.
Williams – There are two items that maybe are being overlooked: The development of Josh Howard, and his earning both playing time and respect from Don Nelson, a coach notorious for not allowing rookies off the bench; and do not underestimate the potential impact of Scott Williams. He will play not only well on the court, but also in the room, bringing something that has been missing since Nick Van Exel left.
McDarby – Howard may go down as the best value pick in the draft. (The league’s No. 2 overall pick, Darko Milicic, can’t get off the end of the Pistons bench!) I also think Dallas will get more productivity from the post, but Bradley may be the best hope, as all members of the “Shawn Bradley Patience Club” will agree.
Williams – Winning 13 of the final 16 leading up to the All-Star Break is a terrific start to the second half, and I see it continuing. Because they play in the brutally tough West, they need to keep up the pace. I see them getting better, streaking at the right time, and I see them challenging for the Midwest title. Whatever happens there, though, playoff seeding will be critical. Are they the best team in the West? Probably not, but they are a better team, and they are a team much more equipped to handle playoff-type basketball.
Lord – My prediction: I think they will do the same in the next 30 days as they have in the last 60 days: there will be some good wins here, some bad losses there, and lots of frustrated fans who watch the golden opportunity for a high seed (and accompanying title hopes) get frittered away.
However, I like this team, this talent, these coaches and players - so this is one time when I hope my prediction is completely and utterly wrong. They can make it happen differently - and I hope they make me eat my words.
Ortegel– The battle is on for home-court advantage, and the Mavericks are obviously in the thick of that. But I do not think you want to be at No. 4; I do not think No. 4 is very advantageous. The 4-5 matchup is one in which No. 5 thinks it is as good as 4, and might just be. You want 1, 2 or 3. That should be Dallas’ goal.

(Editor's note: The debating and the partying could have gone on all night. But Dallas government officials shut it down when they learned we were smoking Cohibas indoors and were moving to within six feet of the "self-employed models.'')