Donuts: What The NBA GMs Think Of The Mavs

Mark Cuban thinks these Mavs are The Greatest Team Ever! (almost) … The GMs don’t love the Mavs quite as much. … Gooden vs. Damp. … Dirk and Kidd on a top-10 list. … I’ve got your baker’s dozen of Wednesday Morning Donuts!

   DONUT 1: The Mavs aren’t getting much love from the GMs in NBA.com’s survey. Lakers, yeah. Spurs, yeah. Mavs? Nary a mention. 

   DONUT 2: Kelly Dwyer’s “10 Best Players Of The Decade.’’ Mavs fans, I believe you will be pleased – and not too argumentative.

   DONUT 3: Drew Gooden waaaay outplayed Erick Dampier in the Monday night loss to Orlando. Waaaay. On Damp’s best nights, he does the little things well. But on Gooden’s best nights, he does the BIG things well. He scores, he runs, he blocks a shot, he demands to be guarded, he’s got offensive range.

    So here’s my hope regarding the only major knock on Gooden: He is reputed to be a knucklehead, right? A guy who can drift through a game, forget an assignment, freelance when he shouldn’t?

    OK. What if another guy’s reputation – Rick Carlisle’s rep as a coach who milks the most out of his charges – is accurate? What if Carlisle’s need for a playmaking center and Gooden’s need for some structure makes for an ideal match?

    Am I reaching here?

   DONUT 4: The Cavs are already printing NBA Finals tickets? Am I misreading or misunderstanding this? 

   DONUT 5: I ponder the question over at Blogging the Boys: Did Tony Romo and the Cowboys lose track of last-gasp downs?

   DONUT 6: At this moment, Quinton Ross feels to me like a “spot’’player who gets a few minutes here and a few minutes there as a “stopper.’’ He earned that view thanks to the effort in put in on Monday against Vince Carter.

    However …

    The notion that he’s got a chance to develop, Raja Bell-like, into a player who can also be capable on the offensive end?

   At this moment, no, I am not seeing that.

   DONUT 7: Misty Mav misses you. Go check out our Fish-designed T-shirts in the DB.com Store!    

   DONUT 8: Are you a golf guy? Check out my new column in Avid Golfer magazine … plus the rankings of the area’s top celebrity golfers! 

   DONUT 9: Mark Cuban popped onto 105.3 The Fan yesterday to proclaim this year’s Mavs team the Greatest Team Ever. OK, not quite. But almost. J    

    DONUT 10: Here’s yet another chapter in the building argument that maybe, just maybe, the Mavs are a suddenly “athletic’’ team:

    “For us, we couldn't defend them off the dribble without fouling,’’ Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. “That's obviously a concern. … So I thought that was a big issue. We're going to have to get better defending off the dribble.’’

   So yeah, it was sloppy. And maybe the replacement refs stunk up the joint with all the whistles. But somewhere in there, Dallas was “athletic’’ enough off the dribble to challenge a stout (and certainly athletic) Orlando team.

    Something to build on, eh?

    DONUT 11: Shawn Marion was back at practice on Tuesday, so the calf problem isn't serious. I'm excited to see him and Josh Howard together ... but we'll do this one at a time. Starting with The Matrix playing Friday in Washington.

    DONUT 12: The government is investigating and finding fault in the Cowboys practice-dome collapse.

    DONUT 13:  Plaxico Burress’ wife tried to smuggle a microwave into prison. A microwave? Does she think she’s sending her kid off to his college dorm? And doesn’t she know thaty if you’re going to smuggle something into prison you either shove it up an orifice or bake it into a cake?