Monday Night Quick Hits

March 24th, 2008 Posted in Avery Johnson, Mavs Talk

It was a busy Monday in Mavericks land so thought I’d just quick hit some of the news of the day.

Dirk is an extremely lucky guy who somehow came out of the yesterday’s game with only a high-ankle sprain and a mild knee sprain. I still don’t understand how he didn’t break or tear anything in his leg, but this is great news for his future. Of course it’s pretty bad news for the Mavs future.

In the next two weeks the Mavs play the Nuggets, Golden State twice, the Lakers, the Suns and the Clippers twice. This team could easily go 2-5 during this stretch. And if that happens their playoff hopes are done. And has Avery shown anybody anything that would suggest he can adjust this team to achieve road wins in Dirk’s absence?

Looks like Tim MacMahon from the DMN Mavs Blog has joined the bandwagon for missing the playoffs. And sadly right now that really does seem like the best option for this team. Missing the playoffs would almost guarantee Avery’s firing, or at least it should, but it remains to be seen if Cuban will be willing to admit things aren’t as good here as they seem.

And speaking of Tim MacMahon and firing Avery, it looks like this little website may have been the reason he (oops, all bloggers) was banned from the Mavs locker room.

Instead, everyone seems to think that Cuban took exception to Dallas Morning News blogger Tim MacMahon for some reason or other. That notion is supported by the reality that Cuban personally ejected MacMahon from the locker room on February 29, even when the team did not yet have a policy prohibiting bloggers. (Several people confirm this.)

If everyone I have talked to is right, that means something else must be driving this.

The theory that has been on MacMahon’s blog is that he blogged somewhat sympathetically about the website, FireAvery.com, which calls for the ouster of coach Avery Johnson. (One of several posts around that time questioning Johnson.)…

What’s more, MacMahon’s FireAvery.com post was fresh on his blog at the moment he was ejected from the locker room.

Honestly, I’m amazed if this site and what Tim posted about it was the reason behind Cuban banning bloggers (Tim) from the locker room. I do want to apologize to Tim for causing him to get kicked out of the room though.

Finally here’s a quote about the Mavericks offensive struggles from Avery after yesterday’s game.

“Do the math. Right now, we can’t score at a high enough clip, and, obviously, we can’t score at the right time.”

That’s quite the problem to have at this time of the year. Maybe part of the reason this team can’t score is because Avery is still too controlling on the offense. For instance, a few days ago he said Kidd needs to shoot the ball more, and the team would live with the results. Well, early in the game yesterday Kidd put up 2 shots and missed them both. He was pulled from the game.


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  1. 17 Responses to “Monday Night Quick Hits”

  2. By MFFL on Mar 25, 2008 at 12:30:22 am

    FIRE AVERYYYYYY!!!!

  3. By Stu Jackson on Mar 25, 2008 at 5:20:45 am

    I will impose a penalty for Mark Cuban for not firing Avery Johnson!

  4. By Aubrey on Mar 25, 2008 at 8:39:04 am

    If Kidd cant hit big shots pull him he was a waste of 17 mil. I am upset bc everyone complained Harris couldnt shoot a jump shot, at least he was young and can improve. Kidd cant shoot a jump shot and he is 35 its pathetic!!!

  5. By John on Mar 25, 2008 at 8:54:46 am

    Maverick player ages next year.

    Kidd 35-36
    Nowitzki 30
    Terry 31
    Dampier 33
    Stackhouse 34
    George 31
    Allen 30
    Jones 37
    Juwan Howard 35-36
    Lue 31
    Magloire 30

    You all miss the point. The Mavericks goal is to be the oldest, slowest team in the league. Maybe we can trade Josh for Mutombo. Miami here we come. At least they got the ring before they died.

  6. By WyldMavsFan on Mar 25, 2008 at 10:52:13 am

    What I really hate about Avery is that he is great pointing out the Mavs’s problems, but he doesn’t fix them. He just says our offense isn’t doing enough and then we continue on doing the exact same thing we always do.

    Avery is the head coach, he needs to stop just telling us what we are doing wrong, and do something about it.

    Dirk is out, and we have the 3 biggest games coming up. The Clippers game to give us some confidence. The Nuggets and GS which are both must wins. If we win both of those, we own both tiebreakers and we will make the playoffs.

  7. By Aubrey on Mar 25, 2008 at 12:10:36 pm

    there is no way w/out Dirk we are beating GS or Denver maybe the Clippers but even that isnt in the bag. I do agree tho Avery can point out the problems he just doesnt do anything about them…or if he tries we end up with Jason Kidd bad move!!

  8. By Dwayne on Mar 25, 2008 at 12:55:00 pm

    I think if Avery loosen up the offense, we have a chance of making the playoffs. I’m the first to admit he been messing up lately, but he’s not out there shooting the ball, guarding Kobe. The team has to step up and play.

  9. By Maverick on Mar 25, 2008 at 2:59:37 pm

    Avery needs to adjust or move on. If something is not working then try something different. If Avery wants a long career coaching he will need to learn to change quickly to get the best out of the players he has at the time. He looks like at this point he won’t budge an inch an will become extinct.

  10. By greg on Mar 25, 2008 at 3:25:52 pm

    bandwagon jumpers, where was this talk this time last year??????????????????

  11. By mon on Mar 25, 2008 at 4:25:05 pm

    Response to John…
    Maverick player ages next year.

    Kidd 35-36 (One year left on contract)
    Nowitzki 30 (Under contract)
    Terry 31 (Under contract)
    Dampier 33 (Under contract)
    Stackhouse 34 (Free Agent)
    George 31 (Free Agent)
    Allen 30 (Free Agent)
    Jones 37 (Player Option)
    Juwan Howard 35-36 (Free Agent)
    Lue 31 (Free Agent)
    Magloire 30 (Free Agent)
    Guys you failed to leave out:
    Josh Howard 28 (Under Contract)
    Antoine Wright 24 (Free Agent)
    Brandon Bass 25 (Under Contract)
    JJ Barea 24(Free Agent)

    Keep in mind Finley and Bradley will be off the books after this year. You guys need to stop being so critical about everything and realize that Devin wasn’t the right fit and if so…atleast there’s room to work with in the future.

  12. By T on Mar 25, 2008 at 4:52:45 pm

    Its time to rebuild around Avery and his system and get him the type players to be successful in his system or tell him to hit the road and hire a coach flexible enough to work around whatever the player’s strengths.

  13. By captainjack on Mar 25, 2008 at 4:56:54 pm

    The age thing is somewhat irrelevent. Dirk did not play college ball and has at least 4 or 5 good years as a 3/4 and like another european (the eastern variety)-sabonis, Dirk could probaly put on some weight and be a damn good 5 unitl he is 40. Like his buddy Nash, Dirk is a gym rat who truly loves the game (the main reason I love him). With a owner like Cuban who will spend the bucks, The new arena and the metroplex being a great place to play, We can get new players and younger players fairly easily. Great 1s and 5s don’t grow on trees (the reason we traded for kidd) but you can get good players. Don’t believe me? The Lakers were mediocre a year ago and the celts were below mediocre. They got shit in the draft. Both are now major contenders. You can win it with Dirk and Kidd if you have the right pieces around them. The problem is we don’t have enough players with multiple skill sets. The perfect example is Tayshawn Prince. Nobody talks about Prince being an all star but think about. Prince is GOOD at EVERYTHING
    Outstanding defender, particularly using his length in the passing lanes. He can post up he can hit the mid range shot. Finally, the young man plays with passion, confidence and in your face courage. When big nellie left we stopped getting mulitple skill set players. Dirk is great at shooting and rebounding and creating his own shot when the D gets ugly. Kidd is great at passing, rebounding and “intangibles” (you will see more of this when Avery finally goes). After that, multi skilled players are hard to come by in Dallas. Stack can score and shoot and will kick your ass. Forget JOHO. He has the body to be the Mavs T. Prince but is apparently not going to take his head out of his ass and what is worse he fades in the second half and disapears at crunch time. This is a fatal flaw for an NBA player. Think about it. Buckner could score and defend. Bell could score and Defend. Both were perfectly willing to kick you ass even if your name was Kobe. Edie N. would ALWAYS get a rebound he had no biz getting, ALWAYS play the tough D. The age aint in it. Players with more than 1 strenght who have some balls and want to win is what we need. I mean I like JET but he is a banjo shooter. a streak shooter. He may end up being the 6th man instant offense that the mavs need but I don;’t think so. Unlike stack, Jet does not break his man down in the half court set and get to the line. But I still say that with Dirk and Kidd, these other ingredients could emerge. We need a Bruce Bowen bad. A lockdown defender who can stroke the 3. Michael Cooper was the best ever at this. Heck, we don’t even have any specialist’s we can count on. Who can we put in and say, lets see Carmilo score on this guy. Someone who can start or stop a specific thing. Perhaps when we do away with Avery and his fu&$#ing system (which don’t work without duncan and/or robinson) some specialists will emerge. The Mavs are playing tight. Look at Ginoboli. Look at Kobe. Neither could do what they do if they were constrained. They have carte blanch’ to fire away. It is hard to guard a man when EVEN HE don’t know what he is going to do. Of course if you coach stands and yells plays the whole game, then everyone in the whole dammed gym knows. Finally, all this bull that they can’t make the playoffs. I think they will make the playoffs and not even as and 8. Possibly a 5 or 6. Golden State may be the only team in the league that the Mavs are better against WITHOUT dirk. Defense cannot be turned on and off game to game. Despite George Karl, Denver has no D what so ever. They have 2 of the top 5 scorers in the league, but no D at all. At this time of year you cannot win and never could win with a really poor defensive team. Anthony and Iverson are every bit as much losers as Vinsanity and Mcgrady. Utah gets all the calls at home but in the final analysis has only 2 quality players and plays no D either.
    As far as Kidd not being a great shooter, I think this will inporve when Avery leaves. Kidd has always been a better 4th quaters shooter than a 1st qtr guy. When he was in Dallas the first time we used to call him Ason Kidd (no “J”). They knew this when they made the deal. I have no doubt the Mavs WILL make the playoffs and like I said, Dirk really WANTS to play. I bet he misses only 7 to 10 days.

  14. By Aubrey on Mar 25, 2008 at 6:15:05 pm

    Response to Mon where are draft pics gone….who we going to sign thats young and upcoming no one bc avery wont play young players just a thought…

  15. By Aubrey on Mar 25, 2008 at 6:15:57 pm

    Dirk played since he was 16 in the professional European league so dont give me he didnt go to college hes been playing professionally longer then al American players thats crap

  16. By captainjack on Mar 25, 2008 at 8:42:27 pm

    O.K. Gloves off. I am going to say what I think and screw the PC stuff. I have never understood why in the living hell Cuban hired Avery Johnson to coach this team. Tony Cubes can be “out there” left wing at times, witness his bankrolling the stupid ass movie about 911 (I think gw is the worse we have ever had, period, but, that is a bit much). I think Nellie really wanted to leave little Nellie as the coach but could not do it with the rif with Cuban (mostly over Nash-which I agree with cuban). I think after getting Dirk for the Mavs and all that travel, etc, little Nellie DESERVED the job and should have got it. Avery is very well as far as he goes. Again, A overachiever, etc. But any of you who have played ball knows about the 3rd string point guard who always yelled at everyone and kissed the coaches ass. The announcers say, “He’s a coach on the floor” or “he is a coaches son”, etc, etc….What is the reality of that from the standpoint of a talented first string player? That guy is a pain in the ass. Like a rock in your shoe.
    I think Cuban did the PC thing by hiring Avery. But Avery took over a Outstanding team that had yet to peak. So he had some initial regular season success. In fact, as I have said here I consider the Mavs to have won it all the year before last. Dick Bevetta was clearly out for revenge against Cuban for bitching about the officiating and he clearly gave the series to Miami. Whether he did it on his own or with blessing from Bugsy Vegas Stern I do not know. But I digress. Avery Johnson has clearly never paid his dues to be an NBA coach. If Dirk was not so mellow and such a gentleman this would have come to a head before now. Most NBA superstars could not play for this guy because his “I’m ok, you’re not ok, parent to child” communication style would be out the friggin door. Robinson was a military man and Duncan is a easy going, by the rules type so some of that smack went in San Antonio, but not many NBA level men would take it and it is no suprise that it has come to a head with Mr. Kidd’s arrival. One of the Newspaper writers said something awhile back about Avery still thinking he is a player and that IS SO TRUE. I have seen it a million times. The only thing that will bear me out is time but I do not think Avery Johnson will ever be a championship NBA coach and he would have never came as close as he did if it had not been as unique a situation as a lightning strike, i.e. taking over a very good team on the rise. Johnson is a H.S. or a small college coach. Mabe. Some place where he will be looked at in Awe by the players and his ego can run rampant. After all he is not Michael Jordon or jesus christ, he is little old over achieving loud mouthed , funny voiced Avery. I mean Cuban is obviously a very smart fella. But as I say, I think the ego and the PC thing got the better of him here. I mean, What would Del Harris have done with this team? Westphall? Like I said, I think Little Nellie would be a better head coach than his dad because I don’t think he would be as married to the trick match up strategy. Mr. Cuban. Please. Wake UP. FIRE AVERY FIRST. Hire a NBA coach. There are several to choose from. Some I have mentioned, Van Gundy, etc. Get some role players who understand they are role players. Get some players who can do more than one thing. Put them with Damp, Kidd and Dirk and we can finally have that parade. But it is not about Ego. Yours or his. It is not about liberal politics or political correctness. It is about the right person for the job. FIRE AVERY.

  17. By Slowpoke on Mar 25, 2008 at 10:08:11 pm

    Im going out on a limb here and say Josh Howard goes 8-22, 32 Pts 7 Rebs, 2 Assists against the Clippers today.

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