Donuts: Injuries & Numbers Favor Mavs Over Detroit

   As I mentioned in Monday’s podcast ('The Final 15') and as I mentioned on Channel 52 last night and as I will probably mention tonight at 6:20 on the ‘Mavs Insider’ pregame show on 103.3 ESPN Radio (hey, it’s good material and I am only one mortal man), Dallas will likely find itself favored in 12 of its final 15 games.

   So all the Mavs have to do here is live up to Las Vegas. … and they can start by not playing down to the competition that is Detroit.

   Donuts for all!

   DONUT 2: All the numbers point to Dallas tonight.

  The Mavericks are 24-8 at home and will shoot for their eighth straight win at the American Airlines Center.

   The Pistons are 16-15 away from The Palace of Auburn Hills this season.

   Detroit is coming off an 89-84 home loss to Memphis on Sunday.

   When these teams last played, on Jan. 23 in Detroit, Dallas pounded the Pistons, 112-91.

   Dallas has won three of the past four meetings and five of the last seven meetings in the series. So, like I say, all the Mavs have to do is live up to the numbers here.

   DONUT 3: Dirk numbers stolen from Tim which were stolen from Coop:

   Against the Lakers, Dirk is averaging 17.7 points in the three losses, has shot 34.6 percent from the floor and has scored a grand total of two points in the fourth quarters of the games.

   So bring on the NBA Playoffs. … somebody besides the Lakers!

   DONUT 4: I’ll paraphrase my friend Dale Hansen on the subject of Roy Tarpley, the troubled ex-Mavs star who has “settled’’ a 2007 federal lawsuit against the NBA and the Mavs in which he claimed the team violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by refusing to reinstate him after he was banned for drug use.

    As Dale noted, “settled’’ makes it sound as if Tarpley won some dough. And if so – if somebody actually thinks Roy has a claim because basketball “discriminated against him’’ because he was high all the time. … well, look for hundreds of athletes to follow suit and file suits and get lucrative “settlements.’’

   DONUT 5: The Pistons might be playing without the services of Rasheed Wallace (calf) and Allen Iverson (back). We’re planning a Practice Report today to get you updated. Stay tuned.

   DONUT 6: A report from Houston: Rockets forward Carl Landry apparently shot in a drive-by incident.

   DONUT 7: The Mavericks want to help “put a lid on cancer’’ and they want your help with the adidas Dallas Mavericks Cap Drive. Along with Academy Sports & Outdoors stores, adidas will donate one cap to the drive for every adidas product purchased at Academy. The drive goes through April 15, when all caps will be delivered to local hospitals and other treatment centers for children afflicted with cancer.

Antoine Wright will be at the McKinney Academy store from 6-to-7 p.m. on March 24 and Jerry Stackhouse will be at the Forest Lane store from 6-to-7 p.m. on March 26 to sign autographs for the first 250 people who donate a new cap or purchase an adidas product that day.

   DONUT 8: Rather esoteric Pistons coverage from Detroit Bad Boys.

   DONUT 9: Rick Carlisle keeps saying that Jerry Stackhouse is missed and that he’s “one of our five best players.’’ Phil JackZen noted over the weekend that Stack’s absence means Dallas “doesn’t have that third scorer.’’ And Jason Terry, speaking last night on his ESPN 103.3 Radio show, said, “We miss him.’’

     Did my eyes deceive me during virtually every moment Stack’s been on the floor this season? (The exception being his early-season stint guarding Kobe in Dallas.) Or has the Image of Stack morphed into the Image of Josh?

     DONUT 10: Josh Howard isn't expected to be playing tonight. I thought Josh was “one of our five best,’’ “that third scorer’’ and the guy they “miss’’?

    By the numbers, the Mavs are virtually as good with J-Ho (27-18) as without him (13-9).

    Logic dictates that for Dallas to succeed – during The Final 15 and/or beyond  -- it’ll need Josh to be available and at his best.

    How likely is all that to happen? And how will his absence influence his future with the Mavs?

    Mark that first question down as a major storyline for this month. Mark that second question down as a major storyline for this offseason.

    DONUT 11: I wasn’t there in LA when Phil JackZen made his Mark Cuban comments that are being interpreted as a dig. But I’ve heard Phil speak about the Mavs owner before, and this seems like his most respectful observations.

     “I don't think I could work under those conditions. I just don't," Jackson said over the weekend. "I think it's something (the players) have to definitely get used to. He's going to be a rooter, a supporter and probably critique it, too. It's very difficult for players to get used to, but once they're in the mix, I think they get thick skin and they're OK."

    I know everyone loves to stir it up. But when Phil calls Mark a “rooter and a supporter,’’ that’s not much of a dig.

    DONUT 12: DallasBasketball.com will represent tonight. I’m on ESPN 103.3 Radio at 6:20 as part of the “Mavs Insider,’ the pregame show before Pistons-at-Mavs tipoff. See you on the sideline!

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1035am mar 17 2009