Welcome back 2002

- Not going to overreact. He's had 1 practice, he just played against a top 3 point guard, and New Orleans has the best record in the West.

- But there are a few things that don't involve Jason Kidd that are very apparent about this team. And if it keeps up, this thing is no better than it was.

- Interior defense will kill this team until they get a backup for Dampier. They got killed inside when Dampier wasn't in there. They had Devean George and Jason Kidd fighting for boards. Not good.

- Chris Paul did whatever he wanted. Get ready Steve Nash and Tony Parker, you're next.

- Still an iso, stand around, jump shooting team. Only Dirk attacked the rim. Howard still floated.

- Avery better realize quick that JET needs to be the #2 scoring option, and needs to be playing 35 minutes a game alongside Jason Kidd. Terry would be deadly playing with Kidd. Wouldn't have to worry about ball handling and could just be a pure scorer and would benefit greatly from open looks from Kidd.

- Howard is not a #2 scorer. Avery and everyone else needs to get this idea out of his head. He is not a sidekick for Dirk to take the pressure off. Howard is what he is, a guy you don't run plays for, a guy that is a decent defender, a guy who is great in transition offense, and a guy who is at his best when nothing is expected. The Mavericks were at their best with Terry the #2 scoring option and starting, Stack the 6th man, and Howard the 3rd wheel who did all the little things. I.E. the 2006 season. Howard needs to go back to that role.

- The team will get better, I'm not trying to overreact. But there were some things that even before Jason Kidd arrived that were apparent about this team. And this trade did nothing to help that. But I will agree something had to be done, especially knowing now that Devin Harris will be out another 2 weeks.

- Mavs get killed in the 2nd half, and lose by 11.

Kidd, Dallas Mavericks out of sync in 104-93 loss

09:30 AM CST on Thursday, February 21, 2008
By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News
esefko@dallasnews.com

NEW ORLEANS – After just one game of the Jason Kidd era, it's been confirmed that there simply is no way to accelerate the break-in process for this new team.

One crash-course practice wasn't going to be enough. Not even close.

The debut of Kidd in his second go-round with the Mavericks was a lot like the trade that brought him back – sticky and awkward.

But like the deal, the participants are confident Kidd and the Mavericks will get it done.

Defensive breakdowns and too many turnovers – problems Kidd attributed to himself – doomed the Mavericks in the first game after the trade as New Orleans inflicted a 104-93 whipping. The Mavericks looked like a team that had been thrown together in the last few hours, which essentially is what they were.

"For the most part, it didn't go well," Josh Howard said. "But nobody's going to mesh overnight. We'll be all right. We'll learn from our mistakes. We'll be great in a little while."

Instead of a feel-good start for Kidd, the Mavericks got schooled by young point guard Chris Paul, who flirted with a triple-double, which normally is Kidd's domain. He has 99 of them in his career.

Paul had 31 points, 11 assists and an NBA season-best nine steals. He would have been the first player to have a points-assists-steals triple-double since Mookie Blaylock in 1998. As it was, Paul dominated Kidd in his initiation to Western Conference point guards.

"We're professionals, and most of these guys have been in the league for a while," Kidd said. "We need more time, but at the same time we have games to play. We're going to try to win every game we play and learn from our mistakes. And a lot of those mistakes start with me, taking care of the ball, being more aggressive and running the show."

There were times, like a three-on-one fast break in the second quarter when the ball went from Eddie Jones to Kidd, back to Jones, back to Kidd and finally to Dirk Nowitzki for an uncontested dunk, that the machine looked well-oiled.

But that was the exception. Mostly, the Mavericks bogged down, and they were powerless to stop the Hornets, particularly in the third quarter, when Paul hit all seven of his shots and scored 19 points as the lead grew to 11.

"We're in a transition period," coach Avery Johnson said. "This is kind of like a mini-training camp right now. We just don't have a lot of time. But we need every practice and every game for everybody to get on the same page and everybody to get used to playing with Kidd.

"He made some great passes. Sometimes, guys weren't looking for the ball."

The Mavericks shadowed New Orleans, which has the best record in the West, for a half. But in the third quarter, Paul ignited the Hornets and the New Orleans Arena crowd. His 18-footer with 1.8 seconds left in the period put the Hornets up, 75-64. The Mavericks never got closer than nine in the fourth.

"We're not in full throttle," Johnson said. "New Orleans looked like a team that had been playing together for a while. And we looked like a relatively new team."

The Mavericks (35-19) are tied with Utah for the fifth-best record in the West. The Hornets, meanwhile, continue to cruise atop the West, despite so many disbelievers that they are for real.

"They are," Johnson said. "When are people going to start talking about this team like they're the best in the West? They're just floating under the radar. I hope you guys get them above the radar now and realize how good they are."



- Stars let one slip away, Calgary scores late and wins. Still hold on to a 4 pt. lead in the division.



Dallas Stars fail to make the 'little plays' in loss to Flames

09:16 AM CST on Thursday, February 21, 2008
By MIKE HEIKA / The Dallas Morning News
mheika@dallasnews.com

A couple of plays here or there, a couple of inches this way or that, and the Stars could have had a win Wednesday night.

Now they know how the competition has been feeling lately.

The Stars blew a few key plays in the third period and lost, 3-2, to the Calgary Flames before a sellout crowd of 18,584 at American Airlines Center. It was only the second loss in the last 11 games for Dallas, but it underscored just what is the key for this team.

"It comes down to little plays, and you have to be able to make them when it counts," said Stars defenseman Stephane Robidas, who was part of the confluence that allowed Flames captain Jarome Iginla to be wide open in front of the net on the game-winning goal with 2:27 left in the game. "Their last goal was almost icing, and I should have stayed in front [of the goal], but I was too aggressive and went behind the net."

He and fellow defenseman Nicklas Grossman each tried to get to the puck that had been iced, but Calgary's Daymond Langkow beat them both for the touch-up, slipped behind the net and fed Iginla for his 38th goal of the season.

"We just made some crucial errors at bad times," Stars coach Dave Tippett said. "We got beat on a race to a puck, and I don't know how you leave Iginla alone in front of the net."

The Stars fell to 37-22-5 with the loss, but remain second in the Western Conference with 79 points. Calgary pushed its record to 31-22-8 (70 points) and is among the group of teams the Stars could meet in the first round of the playoffs.

Despite playing in Phoenix on Tuesday, the Flames came with a hard-working, structured game. Curtis Joseph made just his second start in goal since signing with the Flames as a backup and stopped 29 shots. Dallas had a 31-18 lead in shots on goal, and a 58-39 edge in overall shots (including shots that missed the net or were blocked). Still, Tippett said he felt his team didn't work hard enough for its offensive chances and didn't do enough with four power-play opportunities.

"When we talk about scoring by committee, we need the committee to show up every night," Tippett said. "We had too many guys on the outside looking in tonight."

The momentum swung on a play early in the third period. Robidas had a shot slip through Joseph on the power play, but Flames defenseman Cory Sarich swooped in and picked up the puck before it trickled in for a goal. That helped send Alex Tanguay off on a short-handed breakaway. Tanguay slipped the puck around Mike Modano, and then whipped a shot past Marty Turco to make the score 2-1 in favor of the Flames.

Mattias Norstrom scored just as that power play was ending to tie the score at the 1:57 mark. It was his first goal in a Stars uniform, and the game remained tied until Iginla scored.

"You look back and you see those little plays make such a big difference," Robidas said. "Those are the plays we were making when we were winning games, and those were the plays that went against us tonight. Those are the ones that stick with you."

And ones that can re-emphasize the lesson that every play is important.

"We look at this game as a hiccup," Norstrom said. "We've been playing great hockey as of late, and we'll look to turn it around Friday [against Edmonton]."


- Brett Hull says to expect change in the next week or so.



Dallas Stars' Hull takes a lot from GM meetings

01:14 AM CST on Thursday, February 21, 2008
By MIKE HEIKA / The Dallas Morning News
mheika@dallasnews.com

Brett Hull returned from his first visit to the NHL general managers meetings with a new appreciation for the rule-making process and a belief that the league is moving forward in its attempt to make the game more exciting.

"We did a lot of studies on the size of goaltending equipment, and I really believe we will see it trimmed down," Hull said by phone from Naples, Fla., where the three days of meetings ended Wednesday. "We just got the ball rolling, but there will be changes."

Stars coach Dave Tippett said he hopes they include cutting down the width of leg pads and also getting rid of an extra pad on the catching glove called "the cheater."

"I watched a shootout one night and there were six shots, and five of them hit the cheater," Tippett said. "I mean, it's called 'the cheater.'"

Stars goalie Marty Turco has been part of previous competition committees and said he might be again this summer. He said he is open to further reductions in pad size.

"Safety is a huge concern," Turco said. "We want to make sure that there is a lot of discussion, and we want to make sure the players are a part of it."

Tippett said he believes the padding could be much smaller and still be safe.

"I'm very cognizant of the safety issue, but I don't think we're even close to that yet," Tippett said. "On some parts of the equipment, I understand there has to be enough padding. But I think we're way overboard on a lot of areas."

Hull said he saw a lot of passion from the other GMs and enjoyed the discussions.

He said he also enjoyed the talk of potential trades.

He said he and co-GM Les Jackson's plane didn't change over the three-day meetings.

"Les and I already have a game plan, and we've worked very hard to lay the ground work," Hull said. "We're going to be prepared."

Hull said there are going to be trades.

"It's not going to be normal, with 50 trades or whatever," he said. "But deals are going to happen."

Late bloomers: Since Tippett took over as coach in 2002, the Stars have the second-best winning percentage in the NHL in the months of February, March and April. Dallas is 77-27-22 in that span for a .698 winning percentage. Detroit is first with a .742 winning percentage.