Empty the Bench

Stephen Jackson Photo Credit: The Daily Review/ZUMA Press/Icon SMI

- Are the Dallas Mavericks finally ready to sober up from their 2007 NBA Playoffs hangover? They’ve posted a fine 24-11 record thus far and will once again challenge the San Antonio Spurs for the Southwest Division crown, but something just hasn’t sat right with me about this team… yet. Until recently, they’ve shown little to make me really believe they’ve learned from their embarassing first-round loss to the Golden State Warriors last year and are ready to get over it and make a true run for a title. Sure, like the Miami Heat and Detroit Pistons have said in recent years, the Mavs claim they’re less focused on winning regular-season games and more on the bigger picture. But, like the Heat and Pistons before them, we’ve seen that the “flip-the-switch mentality” is a faulty one. “Beware of false prophets,” as David Brent might say.

Lately, however, they’ve been flattening lesser teams and made a convincing statement that maybe, just maybe, they’re back with a 102-86 route of the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday. During the game, ESPN’s color commentator Jon Berry predicted a minimum 13-game win streak, and with the way they dismantled the Pistons and were shooting from beyond the arc (10-16 as a team), it’s hard to argue with that prognostication given their schedule over the next few weeks. They’ve currently won five straight, and their biggest challenge over their next seven comes against the Lakers on January 25.

- At 6.9 three-point shot attempts/per (and maybe rising), Warriors co-captain Stephen Jackson has truly embraced his unconscious love for jacking it up from beyond the arc. It’s really amazing to watch him on nights like Monday against the Spurs, when he hoisted up 11 of ‘em, making 4. If you can believe it, through 29 games he’s already hit double-digits six times in this category, with his high coming on December 28 against the Nuggs with 15. Fifteen! There’s no other coach in the NBA that would tolerate such cavalier shot-selection from a guy shooting just 31.7% from three-ball land, but of course Don Nelson is in a category of his own when it comes to embracing helter-skelter on the court. Warriors fans don’t seem to mind much either–you can almost hear them collectively hold their breath as he launches the ball; when it falls, they go bat-shit crazy, and when it doesn’t, they merely sigh in disappointment. I’ve yet to hear the home crowd boo SJax and his three-point adventures.

- The league is starting to understand what Detroit Pistons’ reverse forward Jason “Merciless” Maxiell can do, as evidenced by the definite show of respect by the San Antonio Spurs Thursday night. Every time J-Maxx touched the ball in the post during the first half, San Antone immediately double-teamed him in an attempt to force a rushed shot or to simply get the ball out of his hands. A common question about Maxiell and his capacity to eventually step into a starting role is his size, or lack thereof, for a power forward. He’s listed at 6-7. I had the chance to sit courtside with my dad at the December 23 Pistons/Rockets game back home over the holidays, and seeing him stand side-by-side with Tayshaun Prince (6-9) up close was a minor revelation–Maxiell really is that short.

To end the ramble, against these double-teams Maxiell again proved that his court smarts and high-intensity motor more than compensate for any possible measurement issues. He was flustered not once by the Spurs’ traps, and late in the second quarter lofted a beautiful cross-court pass–over the top and threw the fully outstretched arms of Tim Duncan–to Jarvis Hayes for an easy lay-up. Is there anything Sweet Merciless can’t do?

- In the same game, Duncan put up the quietest 25-point, 15-rebound effort I’ve seen in a long time. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but a player’s presence is usually quite strong on nights like that. It wasn’t on Thursday.

- Tough loss Wednesday night in Phoenix for the visiting Indiana Pacers, who played from in front for most of the night only to squander away a big lead late and lose in overtime. In the extra stanza, Pacers point guard Jamaal Tinsley gave new meaning to the words “ball hog.” The guy finished with 26 shot attempts that were highlighted by a 4-for-18 stretch over the fourth quarter and overtime. For what seemed like an enternity, the Pacers entire offensive sets literally consisted of Tinsley bringing the ball up the court, Tinsley dribbling around at the top of the key, Tinsley either calling for a high screen or backing his man into the post, Tinsley shooting it, and as you can see, Tinsley usually missing it. The guy is having one of the best overall seasons of his seven-year career, but his selfishness was a major contributing factor to his team’s loss, which dropped Indiana to 16-21 on the season.

- The Seattle SuperSonics have searched for consistent production in the middle of their frontcourt for what seems like a decade, and they’re still waiting to see what, if anything, they have in recent first-round picks Robert Swift, Mouhamed Sele, and Johan Petro. None have done much to separate themselves from one another in the big-man pecking order behind Nick Collison, Chris Wilcox, and Kurt Thomas, and neither has Mickaël Gelabale. A second-round pick in ‘05, Gelabale has done just enough to stay on the roster but little else: over the first 91 games of his NBA career, he’s averaged just 4.1 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 0.3 blocks over 15:35 minutes of action. The team has considered sending him down to the D-League so he can get some actual court-time and hone his game, but the 6-7 forward wants no part of it. “It’s been my dream to play in the NBA,” he said. “I didn’t dream about playing in the D-League.” If I’m Gelabale, I do whatever the Sonics ask of me–if he pitches a fit about this, it won’t matter which league he’s dreamt of playing in because he could find himself out of both.