Re: 2 Games back

[CeltsSteve@xxxxxxx]

In a message dated 12/19/03 3:41:11 AM Pacific Standard Time,
sgiovanello@xxxxxxxxxxxx writes:

> Oh, you mean that Finley is out injured and Dirk (as a measure of stats) is
> the 52nd rater player in the NBA according to ESPN.  Did Dirk suddenly suck?
>  No, its because he has one really bad ankle that has really limited him
> this year and just as that was getting healthy he sprained the other one
this
> week.
>
> I guess injuries to key players is not as good an explanation for some of
> you than saying Antoine is team killer.... - sgiovanello@xxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>
> Troy Hash wrote:
>
> >Ya, those multi-talented Mavs vs the talent challenged Celts.  No contest
> >right?  With the Mavs playing in the West, they may end up with no better
> >record than us, if as good.  They are no longer the free flowing offensive
> >team they have been for last few years.  Draw your own conclusions as to
> >why.  Troy


Sean,

Let me add something that I am copying and pasting here  that I sent to Jason
Ouellette of RealGM a few weeks ago on this very topic :

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<<-Since Walker has joined the Mavericks his numbers have all gotten better.
Everyone elsebs numbers on Dallas have been on the decline. Just throwing
that
out there for your brain to chew on. - Jason Ouellette of RealGM>>


"Jason,

Here is something else to also chew on: Nowitski has been hurt and thus his
minutes are down from last year so his subpar FG% and 3-pt % are not
unexpected
as a result of the injury and diminshed minutes. His rebounds are also down
but that is to be expected since Walker is rebounding so well.

They don't have Van Exel to bring off the bench like they did last year -- a
HUGE loss -- and as a result, Eduardo Najera, another bench player on that 2nd
unit has seen a reduction in his minutes and productivity as well.

They lost another unsung starter Adrian Griffin who didn't look to score and
deferred his O to Nowitski and Nash and Finley; they lost Raja Bell who
started 32 games via FA to the Jazz; Lafrentz is gone via the trade; and they
have
new players such as Jamison and Fortson to integrate into the rotation so of
course it will take time for new roles to be established and for everyone to
blend.

And FYI as a point of clarification - Finley's FG% and 3-pt % have increased
over last year -- not declined. Nash's FG% is down but his 3-pt % is up and
his assists are identical and that's what a PG is expected to do, QB the
offense, correct?

Bradley's #s are down because his minutes have dropped to less than half of
what he was getting last year with Fortson now starting so again that drop is
not unexpected, either."B B B - CeltsSteve
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CeltsSteve

``Time, practice, patience, attitude, unselfishness'' - Jim O'Brien