Friday Donuts: Mavs And Hornets And X's And O's

It’s Time To Make The Donuts as only DB.com can: We fill your belly with Friday Morning Donuts (a baker’s dozen!) to get you ready for tonight’s 7:30 Hornets-at-Mavs tipoff … and I’m doing a little extra prep by swinging over to Donnie Nelson’s house to wash his truck. …

  DONUT 1: Welcome to another edition of “Fish Washing Donnie’s Truck,’’ wherein Mike Fisher praises the Mavs GM:

   Not long ago, we were all in agreement about the Mavs bench. It was ancient, it lacked energy, it lacked “spring,’ if you will. It was very Magliorish. Or, if you think that’s too harsh, it was all very Deveanesque. You know, guys who knew where to stand on the floor, who wouldn’t blow an assignment, who served as a security blanket for coach. … but who seemed busy not losing games rather than trying to win them.

  Don’t look now, but. … Jason Terry is going to be named the best bench player in the NBA. JJB (with this DMNews write-up), Bass, Singleton, Hollins and Green are young, athletic and energetic.

  So maybe the Mavs’ personnel dept. is a little bit on to something?

   Either that or I’m just using all this as any excuse to run the “Fish Washing Donnie’s Truck’’ art.

  DONUT 2: How much fun are the Mavs at this moment? Even the great Randy Galloway is enjoying the ride with some of his sunshine and daffodils.

  DONUT 3: Here’s the “Hornets/Jazz/Mavs Watch For Dummies’’ version of what is about to go down: The Jazz really need to win in SA tonight and will try to do so despite their 2-17 (!) road record against winning teams. The Mavs need to earn a split of the home-and-home meetings with NO slated for tonight at the AAC and then Sunday at noon in the Bayou. And the Hornets have an undeniably uncanny knack for winning close games in the clutch.

  There you go, Dummy.

  DONUT 4: Open your mind and scan this summary of a certain NBA team’s woes from Ross Siler of the Salt Lake Tribune: "We've been here before. Sad to say, it's the (team)'s identity. They've played three absolutely critical games for their playoff fortunes on the road the last week-and-a-half and lost … by an average of 20 points. It's unbelievable, really. … I don't know what you call them now. My theory, in case you're interested, is that the (team) experienced so many highs on the way to the Western Conference finals (a few years ago) that they've been bored by the regular season, especially on the road, ever since. I think you'd have to agree their play has reflected it. The problem is they've also had a bulls-eye on their back every time they've walked into a visiting arena since that run …’’

   Of course, you figured it out – because Ross writes from SLC and because it’s the Jazz who lost those three lopsided games.

   Still, you get my point, right? This describes the Jazz now. It’s described your Mavs at other times. At some point it will also describe the Lakers, the Celtics, the Cavs, all of ‘em.

  I don’t know if this comforts Mavs fans in any way, but it is true: It’s not just your team. It happens to everybody.

  DONUT 5: There’s an argument that the Mavs are NOT the team LA would prefer to play. … an argument that the Jazz – so woeful on the road – are the more appealing Lakers foe.

  Remember, LAL might have a vote in all this, as the Lakers host the Jazz in their Tuesday night regular-season closer. And respect HP for this angle if only because they also note that NO guard Chris Paul has “baby eyes.’’

  DONUT 6: Lots of folks putting their spin on our “Shaq-Loves-The-Mavs’’ scoop. A few outlets have just out-and-out stolen it (you know who you are) and a few others (especially the fanboy sites) are playing the shoot-down game. Their tool? Following up by noting that Mark Cuban has downplayed the likelihood of a Shaq-to-Dallas trade this summer.

   The problem with that tool? It does nothing to counter pur exclusive, which is all about what Shaq wants. We never said it will happen and we never said it should. We simply reported a fact – about what Shaq is telling his friends who are our friends – and for now, we’ve left it there.

  DONUT 7: The wisest reporters who read and know DB.com (including MacMahon and Stein) have used our story as a building block for their own stories. That’s good. Stein’s work on ESPN.com confirms our angle about Shaq’s wishes, says he’s not Plan A for the Mavs, and then throws out some theoretically better ideas for a Mavs organization that he says – and as we’ve said – plans to be aggressively upgrading this summer.

  DONUT 8: We said we wouldn’t mention by name the sites that have out-and-out swiped our story. (Or one local radio station who did the same.) One hoops site even scored a double-double, stealing the story AND shooting it down. (Nifty trick, that.) But we will give shoutouts to the guys who are giving us props: Sports Illustrated, The Dallas Morning News, Stein at ESPN.com, the Arizona Republic, Yahoo, AOL Fanhouse, USA Today, SLAM and now Deadspin ... all showing love for DallasBasketball.com this week. (Oh, and ESPN 103.3 Radio, too.) Love u back, from DB.com, well-established at 9 years old yet still like a newborn calf: fresh, pea-brained and covered in goo.

  DONUT 9: OK, one more self-aggrandizing item: Did “PTI’’ and Wilbon and Kornheiser really praise DB.com and claim to be regular readers? Really?

   Nah.

   But maybe?

   Nah.

   But what if?

  DONUT 10: One more thing about Cuban’s Shaq comments (which other characterize as “denials’’ but I simply call “coy’’): Let’s do a test. Tonight, when Tony Cubes is on his Stairmaster, somebody go ask him about acquiring Chris Paul. Or Dwyane Wade. Or Chris Bosh. Or the 12^th man on the T’wolves, for that matter.

  Do people really not understand that his answer to trade-related questions – whether it regards Shaq or CP3 or Scot Friggin’ Pollard – MUST come with a pinch of denial lest Chancellor Stern issue $125,000 worth of tampering handcuffs on the Mavs owner?

  DONUT 11: You know what I still can’t figure out from Wednesday’s blowout of Utah? Where was Carlos Boozer? I mean, he was there. … But every time I watch him he’s the King of Easy Baskets, letting himself get blanketed by Damp and shriveling into a non-factor.

   Can David West be similarly blanketed and shriveled tonight?

  DONUT 12: Time to re-evaluate those numbers regarding “How Dallas Does WITH Josh’’ vs. “How Dallas Does WITHOUT Josh.’’ I lean toward the WITH.

    DONUT 13: One X-and-O’sy tip for tonight’s Hornets-at-Mavs: Dallas will utilize a zone defense, the purpose being to force Chris Paul to do his damage as a perimeter shooter. CP3 will attempt to defy the laws of basketball by single-handedly penetrating into the zone, and once he’s on the run and in the lane will unleash an arsenal of clever teardrop-type shots or, with the shot-blockers drawn to him, will uncork an arsenal of alley-oop passes that are indefensible once he’s inside.

    Can Dallas’ perimeter zone defenders keep from penetrating in the first place, fulfilling the whole purpose of even playing zone? If the answer is “yes,’’ Dallas wins. If the answer is “no,’’ Chris Paul earns some more MVP votes.

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749am april 10 2009