Friday, April 4, 2008
Keep it going
- Keep that momentum going. We'll know if Wednesday night was a mirage by how they play tonight against LA and Sunday against Phoenix. A bleak season could bust out with some hope with 1 win and a close loss, or 2 wins this weekend.
Energized Dallas Mavericks a little shocking
02:32 AM CDT on Friday, April 4, 2008
Jason Kidd came bounding off the bench and delivered a flying chest bump to Eddie Jones moments after he threw down an alley-oop dunk the other night against Golden State.
Josh Howard repeatedly attacked the basket without trepidation. Jason Terry hurtled out of bounds to save a loose ball, resulting in a reverse layup when Kidd delivered a nifty pass to Howard.
There were primal screams and fist pumps galore.
Then there was Dirk Nowitzki lumbering up and down the court with an injured ankle and knee, doing everything he could possibly do to lift the Mavericks past the Warriors.
The Mavs – who ran a tired Golden State team playing its fourth game in five nights into submission – is the team we need to see play each of the final seven games this season, not the group of tin men we've seen way too often against the Western Conference's best teams.
Now the players won't like that characterization. Neither will Avery Johnson. Or Mark Cuban.
But it's true.
How else do you describe a team that was 0-10 with a propensity for losing in the fourth quarter against teams above .500 until their triumph over the Warriors? Have you forgotten the loss against Golden State earlier this week, when the players said they didn't come out in the third quarter with the proper intensity?
Shoot me an e-mail when you figure out how that happens. If the Mavs were a top seed in the West, then I'd understand, but they're in the midst of a nine-team battle royal for their playoff lives.
Some of the responsibility falls on the shoulders of the Little General. After all, teams are supposed to take on the characteristics of their coaches. Without hesitation, Avery will tell you about the toughness he displayed as a player and how he fought through adversity and how he maximized every ounce of ability in his 5-11 body to play 16 NBA seasons.
All that is true, but it doesn't matter in some respects if he can't figure out how to consistently get his team to play with the same mentality he did.
Certainly, we can agree that professionals, most of whom earn millions per season, shouldn't need inspirational words from a coach to play their best basketball every game.
The reality, however, is they do need their coach to inspire them from time to time.
Johnson is a fantastic public speaker. He just wrote an autobiography titled, Aspire Higher.
Well, it's time for Johnson to use some of those same motivational techniques to get his players to reach their potential every night. Anything less and the Mavs will still figure out a way to miss the playoffs, despite having essentially a three-game lead over the Warriors.
But it's also up to the players. They must absolutely, positively play with the same passion, effort and urgency over the next two weeks as they did against Golden State.
No one said it would be easy. It's not. And it doesn't mean they'll win every game, because the grind of the NBA schedule can humble even the best teams. The Mavs, though, have used up nearly all of their margin for error.
In the process, they have proved to us they're not good enough to beat the other top teams in the West without their best effort.
It's that simple.
The Mavs, on the verge of missing the playoffs with a loss to the Warriors, finally showed us the mental toughness and mettle they've lacked much of the year. Desperation can do that.
Admittedly, I didn't see it coming. I figured they'd lose. As a pragmatist, I tend to see things as they are – not as players and coaches think they will be or could be or could have been.
And this team has shown us little against the conference's best teams since the Kidd trade.
"The word 'swagger' has several letters in it," Johnson said. "And we don't want to stop on the 's.' We need to keep going."
If they can't, then their playoff exit will be even shorter than last season's six-game debacle.
- It appears the matchup troubles with Golden State are no longer present.
Matchups improved for Dallas Mavericks against Warriors
07:54 PM CDT on Thursday, April 3, 2008
By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News
esefko@dallasnews.com
Every NBA team makes personnel decisions that don't always work out, either in the short term or the long run.
The Dallas Mavericks may have been on the beneficial end of a move by the Golden State Warriors, judging from the way Josh Howard played against Stephen Jackson on Wednesday. The Warriors' small forward was 1-of-11 from the field and had just two points in 32 minutes.
Howard was guarding Jackson most of the time and, by the way, finished with 28 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Turns out there's a reason Jackson wasn't nearly as effective against the Mavericks this time. He had 30 points in one game and 33 in the Game 6 clincher of their first-round playoff series last season.
"The problem is when we played against that team last year, I couldn't put Josh on Jackson because I needed him to guard Jason Richardson," coach Avery Johnson said. "Now, since they lost Richardson, Dirk has somebody to guard, whether it's [Kelenna] Azubuike or [Al] Harrington.
"Now Josh can try to put out Jackson, which we couldn't do last year because they were so small."
Last year, Nowitzki spent plenty of time on Jackson, and it was a matchup nightmare.
But the showing Wednesday was another sign that Howard is hitting a nice run at just the right time.
"My teammates look to me," Howard said. "I'm one of the top guys on the team. I'm not a rookie anymore. I've been around long enough. It's about responsibility."
Next up is the responsibility of guarding Kobe Bryant tonight.
- John Hollinger sizes up the West playoffs.
Forecasting the West: How will the top teams finish?
Much has been written about the incredibly compelling race in the Western Conference this season and the upcoming playoffs. Truly, this is the best playoff race the league has ever seen. Consider the fact that with two weeks to go in the season, not one Western team has even clinched a playoff berth.
Only three games separate the top six teams, and the first-place team is only 7½ games from being out of the playoffs entirely. On top of that, three teams that could win 50 games each are locked in a tight battle for the final two playoff berths.
So with the entire conference in the unusual situation of having two weeks worth of extremely meaningful games, it's time to break down where the Western playoff contenders stand, check out some of the numbers behind their performance, and look in the crystal ball at where everyone might end up.
New Orleans Hornets
Glass half-full: We had no crowd and no bench for half the season; now we have both.
Glass half-empty: Take away our pick-and-roll and we're screwed.
Key factoids you might not know: You might think that since the Hornets have the best point guard in the league in Chris Paul that they'd be an up-tempo outfit, but they're really not. Though they'll run when the opportunity presents itself, the Hornets are among the league's most deliberate teams when they get in the half-court. As a result, they play at the league's fourth-slowest pace.
Instead, here's a different secret to their success: They don't foul. You may not have that image of the Hornets since they have a tough-guy coach in Byron Scott and fierce frontcourt players like Tyson Chandler and David West, but this is the hardest team in the league to get to the line against.
New Orleans permits only .241 free-throw attempts per field-goal attempt, and the impact is enormous -- relative to the league average, this saves the Hornets about four points per game. Because of this, they're No. 6 in defensive efficiency, even though they're below the league average in both field-goal defense and forcing turnovers.
Remaining schedule: Pretty soft now that they've completed a wildly successful six-game Eastern road trip, going 5-1 with the only loss coming at Boston. Roadies against the Lakers and Mavs remain, as well as home games against Utah and Golden State, but the other five games are against losing teams.
Crystal ball says: No. 1 seed, here we come. The Hornets own the tiebreaker with San Antonio, so as long as they can go 5-3 over the final eight games and get to 57 wins, they should finish at least tied for the best record in the West and earn the top seed. The Playoff Odds of them doing this is 62.1 percent, so they're in pretty good shape. Not that it's any great reward -- they'd likely have to play the Mavs or Nuggets in the opening round.
San Antonio could push the Hornets down to No. 2, and the other team to watch is the Lakers. They still play the Hornets and will own the tiebreaker with a win.
San Antonio Spurs
Glass half-full: Relax, we do this every year.
Glass half-empty: This sure seemed easier when everybody wasn't 30-something.
Key factoids you might not know: San Antonio began its late surge even later than usual, not really turning things around for good until late March. But now the Spurs have won eight in a row and seem likely to be the No. 2 or No. 3 seed in the West.
As usual, the defense is the key. The Spurs have been in the middle of the pack offensively all season, but rank third in defensive efficiency. They're the league's best defensive rebounding team, pulling down 76.9 percent of opponents' misses, and as usual they defend the 3-point line with ferocity. San Antonio gives up the fourth-fewest attempts -- only 19.5 percent of opponents' shots are 3s -- and are second only to Boston in 3-point defense at 33.8 percent.
But the reason San Antonio is so close to the rest of the Western pack rather than head and shoulders above is that several key role players have begun declining. Bruce Bowen, Michael Finley, Brent Barry, Jacque Vaughn and especially Robert Horry have all seen their output diminish due to age, injury or both, and as a result, on too many nights Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili are left to carry the offense entirely. Barry's calf problem in particular has been a setback, because his still-deadly shot is an incredible deterrent to help defenders.
Remaining schedule: It's difficult. Road games against Utah, Portland and the Lakers are the most daunting part, but the home games against Utah and Phoenix aren't gimmies either. Only one of the seven games (home vs. Seattle) shapes up as an automatic win. The game against the Lakers will also determine who gets the tiebreaker; as a result it may end up deciding which team is the No. 2 seed and which is No. 3.
Crystal ball says: Chances are that the Spurs will win either four or five of these next seven games, which would probably be enough to get the No. 2 seed but not enough to win the division. To leapfrog New Orleans to No. 1, the Spurs probably would need to win six, unless the Hornets have an unexpected collapse down the stretch. The bigger question is probably whether the Spurs can hold off the Lakers for No. 2 -- if they'd even want to. The No. 3 seed, and a likely date with Houston, seems much more advantageous.
Los Angeles Lakers
Glass half-full: Once our injured guys come back we have more talent than anyone in the league.
Glass half-empty: Please don't hit Kobe's pinkie. Pretty please.
Key factoids you might not know: Here's one that might shock you. The Lakers employ one of the game's more renowned floppers in Derek Fisher, whose thespian skills most recently came into play on a controversial game-ending offensive foul against Golden State's Monta Ellis that could end up costing the Warriors a playoff spot.
But when it comes to forcing dead-ball turnovers (everything except steals), did you know the Lakers are last in the league? Isn't that amazing? You'd think Fisher's presence alone would make that impossible, but apparently not. Only 6.35 percent of L.A. opponents' possessions end in a turnover that isn't a steal; the league average is 7.21 percent.
Offensively, the Lakers are a rarity: A team that both gets to the line a lot and attempts a lot of 3s. Usually this is an either/or thing, but not in L.A.'s case. Bryant leads the way, averaging nine free-throw attempts, but Gasol, Lamar Odom, Ronny Turiaf and Andrew Bynum all have high free-throw rates. And everybody else lets it rip from deep, most notably Fisher, Sasha Vujacic, Vladimir Radmanovic and Jordan Farmar. And, of course, Bryant.
As a result, L.A. ranks ninth in free-throw attempts per field-goal attempt and seventh in 3-point attempts per field-goal attempt (only Orlando can trump L.A. in these two categories). Since they also convert 37.5 percent of those 3s, it's a big reason the Lakers rank third in offensive efficiency.
Remaining schedule: The Lakers have the kindest slate of any Western Conference contender. Only three tough opponents remain -- San Antonio, Dallas and New Orleans -- and all three games are at home. Of course, the Lakers just lost at home to Charlotte and Memphis, so they probably shouldn't be chalking up future wins just yet.
Crystal ball says: This is the hardest team in the league to figure. How long will Gasol need to get back to full strength? How much will Fisher be limited by his foot problems? What if Kobe gets hit on the pinkie? And when's Bynum coming back?
L.A. is only 7-6 in its past 13 games, and of those the Lakers really played well only once, in an admittedly impressive road win at Utah. The guess is that with Gasol back they regain some of their old mojo and get to at least 55 wins, which should be good enough for a division title and a No. 3 seed, given that they own the tiebreaker against Phoenix. That distinction between No. 3 and No. 5 will be enormous, since it's likely the difference between getting Utah or Houston in the first round.
The Lakers still have a shot at moving up, because they still play both San Antonio and New Orleans and would own both tiebreakers with victories. They'll probably need to run the table or go 6-1 at worst, but the top seed remains possible. The Playoff Odds give them a 12.8 percent shot of pulling it off.
Utah Jazz
Glass half-full: Three of our starters have been All-Stars -- and the fourth one is Deron Williams.
Glass half-empty: We don't have to play any road games in the playoffs … do we?
Key factoids you might not know: The Jazz may be the best team in the West, even with their deplorable road record, mediocre defense and questionable outside shooting. Utah is only sixth in terms of winning percentage, but is first in the West in scoring margin at 6.9 points per game, which is a better indicator of future success. Despite some horrid road losses, overall they've played very well of late, taking over the top spot in the league in offensive efficiency and moving up to No. 2 in the Hollinger Power Rankings.
Longtime Utah watchers will take comfort in the fact that they're still the league's resident mad hackers, with opponents averaging a league-best .394 free-throw attempts per field-goal attempt. This fact alone makes it impossible for the Jazz to have a better than average defense, but at least there's a reward for all those reach-ins: Utah has the league's No. 1 steal rate, pilfering the ball on 9.2 percent of opponents' possessions.
Remaining schedule: It's tough. The Jazz play San Antonio twice, as well as Denver, Houston, Dallas and New Orleans, and they still need to snag a couple of more wins to secure the Northwest Division title.
Crystal ball says: With three home games and three road games left, it's obvious, right? The Jazz go 3-3 and finish at 53-29, holding off Denver for the division but possibly leaving themselves the challenge of winning three playoff series on the road in order to win the conference.
Phoenix Suns
Glass half-full: We've won 10 out of 13, and the three losses were at Detroit, at Boston and at Denver.
Glass half-empty: We're still only 13-9 with Shaquille O'Neal.
Key factoids you might not know: I slammed Suns president Steve Kerr for trading for Shaq; based on the contents of my inbox, it appears one or two Suns fans noticed this. I still have some misgivings about the deal, especially once you get into next year and the year after, but it's hard not to notice how well the Suns are rolling right now.
The key has not been the play of Shaq, who continues to have an insanely high turnover rate. (Seriously, how do you make three turnovers a game if you're taking only eight shots?) Rather, it's been his apparent impact on Amare Stoudemire. The Suns made this deal in part to move Stoudemire out of the center spot, so you have to give them credit for the results.
In 22 games at power forward, Stoudemire has been the best player in the league. No, really, he's been that good. He has averaged 29.4 points on 58.2 percent shooting and averaged nearly 11 free-throw attempts.
But the number that maybe is most important is 36.7. That's how many minutes per game he's played with Shaq, after averaging only 33.0 before the trade because he was in foul trouble too often. Stoudemire's foul rate is still fairly high, but it has declined just enough that he's able to play his regular minutes.
A pessimist would note the Suns have shot unbelievably well on 3s during the recent hot streak, and that's unlikely to hold up over an extended period. But if Stoudemire keeps playing this freakishly well it's not going to matter too much, because right now the difference between New Stoudemire and Old Stoudemire more than offsets the difference between Shawn Marion and Shaquille O'Neal. I'd have never thought that possible, but it's happening.
Remaining schedule: It could be worse. Road games against San Antonio and Houston won't be fun, but they have two gimmies (home vs. Minnesota, at Memphis), and they should be able to handle home games against Dallas and Golden State.
Crystal ball says: The way they're playing they might grab six of the final seven and steal the division crown from L.A. The unfortunate thing is they probably have to win six of the seven, because the Lakers own the tiebreaker. So the smart money remains on the Suns ending up with the No. 5 seed and a brutal first-round pairing against Utah.
It's possible they could move up to No. 3 even if they don't win the division, because the Suns still play San Antonio and will own the tiebreak with a victory. But again, this scenario pretty much depends on them winning at least six of their last seven.
Houston Rockets
Glass half-full: We're 34-9 since New Year's Day and 13-5 since losing Yao Ming.
Glass half-empty: We never won a playoff series even with Yao; now we're supposed to do it without him?
Key factoids you might not know: It seems obvious that the Rockets are worse off without Yao Ming … yet trying to find evidence for this is amazingly difficult. At the time Yao went out, the Rockets were 17th in offensive efficiency and second in defensive efficiency; today they're 16th in offensive efficiency and second in defensive efficiency.
In fact, the Rockets are 1.2 points per 48 minutes worse with Yao on the court this season. Of course, that's partly because he missed out on all those double-digit victories at the tail end of the win streak.
Nonetheless, late cracks have begun to show. The Rockets are 3-5 since their epic 22-game winning streak ended, with three of the losses by 20 or more. Tracy McGrady is the only Rocket who can reliably create a shot, and the strain is becoming apparent. His shot attempts went from 18.9 a game to 21.7 in a Yao-less March, and his shooting percentage went from 43.2 percent to 40.9 percent. He's not making 3s anymore either, because all his shots out there are off-the-dribble, under-duress tries rather than kick-outs from Yao -- he made just 23.4 percent in March.
Remaining schedule: Houston's schedule is extremely favorable, which could leave the Rockets in the hunt for the division crown if they catch a few breaks. They have two games apiece against the Sonics and Clippers, although roadies against the Nuggets and Jazz will be difficult.
Crystal ball says: Houston is in a tough spot, because if it doesn't beat either San Antonio or New Orleans in the Southwest Division, it means the Rockets probably draw either the Jazz or the Lakers in Round 1. So much for ending T-Mac's first-round streak.
Even with the soft schedule, Houston's most likely outcome is 54 or 55 wins, which is probably going to be one or two short of what they need to avoid the Lakers and Jazz in Round 1. Look for them to end up as the No. 6 seed, though if they beat Phoenix on April 11, they could improve to No. 5.
Denver Nuggets
Glass half-full: Nobody else has two big-time scorers like Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony.
Glass half-empty: Nobody else's games look more ragged. Is this the NBA or the Rucker League?
Key factoids you might not know: Denver has the league's best free-throw "defense." Its opponents have made only 72.8 percent from the line this season. While some might attribute this to the Nuggets' speedy pace (and high altitude) tiring out opponents or being especially clever in choosing whom to foul, the bottom line is that this is almost certainly just plain old dumb luck.
And it's a pretty friendly piece of luck at that. Relative to the league, it's earned the Nuggets about 0.7 points per game, meaning it's been worth nearly two wins. In a playoff race which may be decided by one game, that's enormous. So basically, the reason Denver is probably headed to the playoffs instead of the lottery is the fact that its opponents can't make a free throw. What a country.
Remaining schedule: A four-game road trip with stops in Golden State and Utah won't be fun, but of their final seven games, five look like wins. Obviously the April 10 game at Golden State is huge: win that and they're pretty much a lock for the playoffs.
Crystal ball says: With tiebreakers over both Dallas and Golden State and the most favorable schedule of the three, it's going to take a real effort for Denver to stay home for the postseason, especially since the Nuggets are playing their best ball of the season.
Peg them for 51 wins and the No. 7 seed, and mark them down as a tough out in the first round. Even if they lose to Golden State next week, the schedules and tiebreakers combine to make it tough for Denver to miss.
I should also mention that the Nuggets retain a chance to beat out Utah for the Northwest Division and earn the No. 4 seed. Denver would have to win their upcoming meeting in Salt Lake City, which would give the Nuggets the tiebreaker, and could afford to lose one game at most between now and the end of the season. The Playoff Odds tool gives them a 10 percent shot of pulling it off.
Dallas Mavericks
Glass half-full: Dirk's back and now all will be good.
Glass half-empty: Now we can disappoint everybody in the playoffs again.
Key factoids you might not know: The Mavs' 1-10 record against winning teams since acquiring Jason Kidd has been well-documented. But here's the thing: They actually played really well in that stretch, and only a flukish series of close losses prevented their record from being much better.
For starters, three of the losses were without Dirk -- two due to injury and one due to suspension -- so let's set those aside.
Now check out the other seven losses. They lost by 11 at New Orleans, three at San Antonio, four in OT against the Lakers, by six at Utah, two to the Lakers, four to Boston and seven to San Antonio. Combined, they lost seven games by a total of 37 points.
Those were Dallas' only defeats in that stretch. Meanwhile, the games against losing teams were all runaways: by 29, 25, 25, 20, 19, 16, 15, 13, 9, 8 and 7. No, hammering sub-.500 teams doesn't impress people nearly as much, but it's just as good a sign of a team's quality. In 11 games against losing teams, Dallas crushed pretty much every one.
So overall, they're 12-10 since trading for Kidd. But that's 12-7 when Dirk plays -- with an average scoring margin of plus-9.2 per game, which would easily be the best in the West. Everyone has focused on a series of consecutive close losses against good teams, which resulted more from bad luck than bad basketball, and ignored the fact that in all the other games Dallas completely outmatched its opponents.
What I'm saying, in a roundabout way, is that this team is being vastly underestimated at the moment. Yes, there are some issues here, and no, I'm still not particularly fond of the Kidd trade overall. But all the evidence since the deal says this team can hang with the West's elite, and now that they hammered Golden State last night it seems they'll get a chance to show it.
Remaining schedule: Dallas has the most murderous remaining schedule of any Western contender, with a home-and-home against Seattle providing the lone breaks. Otherwise it's on the road against Portland, Phoenix and the Lakers, and home dates against Utah and New Orleans.
Crystal ball says: Obviously, it all comes down to Dirk Nowitzki's ankle. Let's say this: I'm stunned he was able to come back from a high ankle sprain in less than two weeks and do anything, let alone lead a rout of Golden State. Clearly, he is an absolute freak of nature. This is normally a four-week injury, and often it lingers beyond that point.
By the way, how badly do you think the Mavs were chuckling to themselves last night as they watched Golden State take the floor and behold Nowitzki playing -- after a story leaked out earlier in the day saying he wasn't in the game plan. I have visions of Mark Cuban laughing diabolically throughout the game while stabbing a Don Nelson voodoo doll.
At any rate, because of the schedule they might have trouble doing better than 4-3 the rest of the way, even if Nowitzki plays. It would help if New Orleans is locked into their spot on the last day of the season, which is a possibility, because then the Hornets would likely play their scrubs and allow Dallas to roll.
But fortunately for Dallas, they are up two games on Golden State and own the tiebreaker, so it would take a collapse to keep them out of the playoffs now. Look for them to end up tied with Denver at 51 wins and get the No. 8 seed -- where they can try to turn the tables on what happened a year ago.
Golden State Warriors
Glass half-full: Nobody can catch lightning in a bottle like us.
Glass half-empty: Nobody can mail in games like us.
Key factoids you might not know: You might think this team is all about reckless abandon, but actually they have the second-lowest turnover ratio in the league, making miscues on just 12.9 percent of their possessions. That's pretty amazing given that they play the league's second-fastest pace, and it's a tribute to the skills of Baron Davis, Monta Ellis and Stephen Jackson to play so quickly without making errors.
Now if they could just be a little smarter with their shots. Golden State is second in the league in 3-point attempts per field-goal attempt: 29.8 percent of their shots are 3s. But they convert them at a rate well below the league average: 35.1 percent.
Golden State also has hurt itself with some self-inflicted damage on the defensive end. The Warriors are dead last in defensive rebound percentage, pulling down only 69.8 percent of opponents' missed shots, which is yet one more reason it should drive Warriors fans crazy that their best defensive rebounder, Andris Biedrins, has played more than 30 minutes in a game exactly once since March 7. On Tuesday he played just 16, even though he was the only Warrior with a positive plus/minus in a blowout loss to the Spurs.
Remaining schedule: Probable losses remain in road games against New Orleans and Phoenix, but the others look very winnable. The key game is April 10 at home against Denver, but with Memphis, Sacramento, Seattle and the Clippers left, a 4-4 finish seems the worst-case scenario.
Crystal ball says: They pretty much screwed themselves with last night's face-plant in Dallas, and now might need to run the table to get to the postseason. Golden State has to beat Denver, certainly, but even that might not be enough because the rest of the Nuggets' schedule is easier and Denver wins the tiebreaker.
I'm projecting both Dallas and Denver to finish with 51 wins, which means Golden State needs to win 52 to get in ahead of them, requiring a 7-0 finish. Based on that schedule, it's not real likely, and the Playoff Odds tool agrees: Last night's loss dropped their odds to 31.0 percent, and it seems to me that's still overstating things.
- Stars win, have playoff matchup set versus the defending Champion, Anaheim. Ouch.
Dallas Stars draw Ducks in playoffs after 4-2 win
02:24 AM CDT on Friday, April 4, 2008
By MIKE HEIKA / The Dallas Morning News
mheika@dallasnews.com
GLENDALE, Ariz. – The Dallas Stars locked themselves into a first-round playoff showdown with the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday by taking a 4-2 win over the Phoenix Coyotes, but Stars coach Dave Tippett said his team wouldn’t start looking ahead to postseason play just yet.
"Our focus is totally on what we have to do right now, totally on getting our game where we have to get it," Tippett said. "They say, 'Know your enemy,' but we have two more games before we need to do that."
The Stars sat out Mike Ribeiro (flu-like symptoms), Brad Richards (overall soreness) and Marty Turco (coach’s decision) and still came up with a solid team effort. They will almost assuredly not have Sergei Zubov available in the first round of the playoffs after he went to Germany to have a procedure done that could help heal his sports hernia injury, but they still are starting to shake some of the dust from a miserable March.
With the win, Dallas is 2-0-2 in its last four games and moves to 44-29-7 (95 points). Sixth-place Colorado can only tie the Stars in the standings, and the Stars hold the tiebreakers. That means Dallas will play Anaheim in the first round. The only thing to be determined is who has home ice. The Ducks (45-27-8, 98 points) can clinch home ice by getting two points out of their final two games. The Stars need to get three more points than the Ducks in the final two games to move ahead in the standings.
"Any one of those teams is tough," Stars captain Brenden Morrow said when asked about locking up the Ducks. "We’ve had some great games against that team, and you’re going to have to go through them at some point, so we’ll have to do it in the first round."
The Stars say they need to continue to build their game, and they will get another chance tonight when they and the Coyotes fly to Dallas and finish the home-and-home series in a 7:30 p.m. game at American Airlines Center.
The Stars might get either Richards or Ribeiro back and will start Turco in goal, but the plan is the same – find a way to gain rhythm and momentum heading into the playoffs.
"Our work ethic, for the most part, was good," Tippett said. "We made some mistakes, but I felt we did a pretty good job for the lineup we had."
Tippett scrambled his lines and gave additional power-play responsibility to Philippe Boucher, Matt Niskanen and Joel Lundqvist. The trio responded with some big plays as Dallas went 2-for-5 with the man advantage. In addition, the defense pairs were solid in front of goalie Johan Holmqvist, who was playing his second game in a Stars uniform. Holmqvist played just one period March 15, allowing three goals on 12 shots before being pulled against the Vancouver Canucks.
"I thought it was much better than my first period at home," Holmqvist joked of a 21-save performance. "I thought it would be very hard to go into the playoffs off of that last game, so this felt good. I know I can play, and you just want to have rhythm and momentum going."
The Stars made a clear statement that they wanted to support their new teammate, who was acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning on Feb. 26.
"We wanted to kind of stick together and support each other coming back," Morrow said. "We did a good job in lanes and when they did get those opportunities, Holmer came up big."
It wasn’t a complete masterpiece, as the Stars came close to blowing a 3-0 lead in the third period when they allowed two goals in the final 6:09. However, Mike Modano scored an empty-netter, and that clinched the win and no worse than fifth place in the West.
"There were positives," Tippett said. "And we’ll take the positives right now."
- Say it ain't so Barch.....
- I need a pick me up after that. Aaron Downey to the rescue.
- The Rangers' defense and clutch hitting sucks a fat one. So nothing's changed from last year.
Texas Rangers' defense off to shaky start
Ailing Young, Kinsler make uncharacteristic errors in opening series
01:39 AM CDT on Friday, April 4, 2008
By EVAN GRANT / The Dallas Morning News
egrant@dallasnews.com
ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Texas Rangers' dugout was still bouncing as Josh Hamilton rounded the bases following his ninth-inning, go-ahead homer Tuesday. Amid the excitement, though, Michael Young and Ian Kinsler recognized the homer for exactly what it was: A reprieve.
The two combined for four errors in the first 17 innings of the season. The Rangers first loss could be directly attributed to shaky defense. Until Hamilton's homer, the team was in position to lose the second game for the same reason.
"It was just like 'OK, now let's tighten up the defense'," Young said. "We're not going to be able to make errors like we did and eke out wins all year."
Despite winning only one of three games in the season-opening series at Seattle, the Rangers displayed some nice attributes. They had some quality starting pitching from Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla. They had exemplary long relief from Jamey Wright. Their newly reshaped outfield, with Josh Hamilton and David Murphy, provided some of the club's biggest hits and biggest plays.
The middle infield's defense, considered to be one of the club's more stable areas, was shaky though. Perhaps that was due to fighting flu-like chills and fever during the first two days of the series. Young and Kinsler were nearly scratched from games with fevers above 100 degrees.
Regardless of the reasons, however, it did bring back memories of last year when fielding was a season-long issue. The year began with a sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Angels in which the club made five errors. One by Young was key to a four-run Angels' first-inning in the series finale, which Los Angeles won, 5-3. The Rangers went on to lead the AL in errors and unearned runs allowed.
Becoming a better fielding team was one of the main themes of the off-season and spring training. In the first two games, though, both players had plenty of problems.
Young failed to field a squirming ground ball in the first game and was charged with an error. The error led to a Seattle rally. In the second game, he short-hopped a throw to first, creating an opening for Seattle to rally back from a 3-1 deficit to take a momentary lead. Also in the second game, Kinsler dropped a throw from catcher Gerald Laird that led to the Mariners' first run. In Seattle's three-run eighth inning, Kinsler tried to go to second with a ball for a force out, but moved too quickly and the ball squirted out of his hands.
"We just made some misplays, but we're not panicking on it," manger Ron Washington said. "We know that they will make the plays. It's going to get cleared up. Physical mistakes happen. I don't mind physical mistakes so much."
Young and Kinsler, along with Hamilton in center and Laird, should help the spine of the team's defense be sharper. Hamilton made three impressive running catches during the series. While there were three wild pitches with Laird behind the plate, he did throw out two of the four runners who tried to steal against him (it would have been three of four if Kinsler had held on to a Game 2 throw).
"I'm going to make more errors," Young said. "I feel like I butchered a ball. But the good thing was the team fought through it. We won that game despite making mistakes. That's a positive. But we can't do that all year."
The club seemed to understand that. The Rangers followed Hamilton's homer with their first "clean" game of the year.
Now, they hope to simply extend that streak.
- Paul Brogan Final 4 rap.
PAUL BROGAN - FINAL FOUR RAP
- Britney Spears rap.
PAUL BROGAN -- BRITNEY SPEARS RAP
- Shaq rap.
PAUL BROGAN -- SHAQ RAP
Thursday, April 3, 2008
MVP
- He's not the MVP this year, and he may never win another one. His stats from his MVP season are down. He was at or below career lows in FG% and 3 point FG% for the year before Jason Kidd. But I don't care. Last night you saw Dirk's true value to this team. He inspires. He leads. He's the single toughest dude in the NBA. And I have no problem saying that.
- Toughness isn't just because you're 350 pounds and you can knock people around. Toughness isn't because you're a thug who scares people. Toughness is refusing to let 2 major sprains in your knee and ankle send your team's season down the drain. Toughness is trotting out there within 10 days of a horrific injury. Toughness is spraining your ankle every year since you've been in the league and yet still playing 76 games or more every season for 10 seasons. Toughness is getting your front teeth knocked out, sitting out for a timeout, and coming back to lead your team to a playoff victory.
- I don't want to hear it anymore from anyone. I've been saying Dirk's one of the toughest dudes in the league for 5 years now. The guy doesn't let pain slow him down.
- He saw his team playing its worst ball of the year. He saw the season going down the drain. He saw a must win game, and he responded. He put this team and this franchise on his back for the umpteenth time when they needed him the most. And this hasn't been the first time......
- Dirk after Game 7 against San Antonio in 2006 - "I saw everything slipping away, the great season we had," Nowitzki said. "If there's a drive to the lane, just take it in there."
- Dirk after his 50 point game 5 in the 2006 Western Finals - "When we were down seven, I just saw the whole season swimming away," Nowitzki said, repeating a sentiment he trotted out for the first time when the Spurs erased a 20-point deficit in Game 7.
- Dirk after last night - "If it would have been November, there's no way I would have been out there," Nowitzki said. "But we've got to get this playoff spot. We've been fighting all season long, so I tried to be out there and helped the team as much as I could. If we'd lost, it wouldn't have looked too good."
- He had a pedestrian game for a healthy Dirk. But this was a guy running up and down the court, doing some spin moves, finishing fast breaks. And all of this within 10 days of him basically twisting his knee and ankle up like a pretzel. He did more than score points and fill up the box score last night, he showed a level of leadership and toughness that no one gives him proper credit for.
- This wasn't a jump shooting team that had everything fall for them for one night. Anyone can do that. They were getting steals, controlling the boards, driving to the basket, and getting production from bench players. This was a hungry, inspired, energetic, dive for every loose ball team. They showed a fire that I hadn't seen all year. And I have to believe it was all from the inspiration and toughness that Dirk brings to the table.
- I'm not even sure where the non-clutch, non-leader things come from. There's lots of good players who have failed in the spotlight. There's lots of good players who haven't won titles. But yet, Dirk seems to be the biggest lightning rod for things like this.
- Do people forget him upping his regular season averages to 25 and 11 in the playoffs? His 50 point game in a pivotal game 5 of the 2006 Western Finals? His potential game winning shot over Shaq in Game 4 of the NBA Finals? (Miami was then bailed out by Wade getting to the free throw line on the next possession). His 37 and 13 in game 7 on the road to beat San Antonio in 2006? Dallas's failures as a team are not an indication of Dirk's ability to be clutch or lead. He's done all he can do with a severely average cast around him.
- I don't know where they go from here, this may just be the calm before the shitstorm of losses that may be coming. This may mean nothing when they're beat out in the 1st round (should they make the playoffs). But I don't care, for one night, the nation saw what Dirk is. He put on the Superman cape and willed his team to victory. Not by points and big shots, but by toughness and leadership.
- Hopefully some of those nationally who are misinformed and base judgement on the 5 or so Mavs games they see a year, were educated last night. And for that faction locally that run their mouth on Dirk, go F yourself.
Nowitzki's Return Inspires Mavericks
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
DALLAS -- We could not be calling it Resurrection Wednesday in the NBA if we didn't see multiple resurrections. You had Gilbert Arenas, Pau Gasol and Elton Brand making headline-grabbing comebacks, too.
Yet surely you can judge who made Wednesday's grandest, newsiest return.
Maybe this 111-86 rout of the Golden State Warriors won't be remembered as Dirk Nowitzki's grittiest game. It'll be tough for him to ever top the dramatic comeback he made as a playoff rookie back in 2001, when Nowitzki got a tooth knocked out in the Dallas Mavericks' second-round hookup with San Antonio and kept playing after a brief break to soak up the blood, eventually carrying the Mavs in crunch time in their only victory of the series.
This was close, though.
This was Nowitzki coming back from a high ankle sprain -- and thus the worst ankle injury in a career filled with them -- to possibly save the Mavs' season after missing just four games and nine days. As weary and weak as the Warriors uncharacteristically looked, playing for the fourth time in five nights, there's no denying that Nowitzki's 18 points and much larger presence at American Airlines Center totally changed a game that puts Golden State at a decisive disadvantage for what remains of the greatest conference race in league history.
"It's quite an inspiration to their ballclub," Warriors coach Don Nelson said of Nowitzki's return, recognizing that sort of impact after coaching the reigning MVP in the aforementioned tooth episode.
"They just went to a different level than we've seen this year. And if they can keep that level going, they're as good as anybody in the West."
The famously hyperbolic Nelson was the only one here willing to go that far with his tribute, since this was only Dallas' first win against a team with a winning record since the big trade it made in mid-February to bring back Jason Kidd. First in 11 tries, no less.
Yet there was no way for either side to downplay how much was riding on the outcome, with the Warriors (45-30) effectively dropping two games behind No. 8 Denver (46-29) and three games behind No. 7 Dallas (47-28) with the defeat because they'll lose out on any tiebreakers with either team.
"The playoffs started early this year," Nowitzki said after logging nearly 27 minutes, slightly exceeding his 24-minute limit as established by the Mavs' medical staff. "I knew if I was going to wait until I was 100 percent, our season was going to be over.
"If we go down tonight, things really didn't look good at all."
So Nowitzki played at maybe 80 percent and after he and Avery Johnson spent much of the day spewing pessimism in an attempt to try to convince the media (and Golden State) that the comeback was still on hold. "Nellie taught me that," Johnson joked.
The problem with holding off any longer in the name of safety was that Dallas' next two games are roadies against the Lakers and Suns, neither of which is especially welcoming even with Nowitzki in the lineup. So Nowitzki and his coach knew they really couldn't wait, given that no game left on the schedule could impact the standings like the Warriors' visit. The plan, then, called for Johnson to restrict Nowitzki to bursts of four-to-six minutes.
Not that there would be any actual bursting from the 7-footer. Nowitzki was largely reduced to a spot-up shooter, still lacking the lift he needs to attack the basket or rise up for jumpers off the dribble or even chase rebounds. Example: In the final minute of the opening quarter, Nowitzki got the ball just beyond the free-throw line late in the shot clock and promptly handed it off to Devean George without even looking for his shot.
Nowitzki was also grateful that the Warriors had nothing going offensively beyond Monta Ellis and Baron Davis to tax him at the other end, when you figured Nelson would go right at him and the bulky brace protecting his left ankle.
"Didn't move well at all," Nowitzki said.
Yet what he clearly did do, after a pregame hug from Nelson, is energize a group that has been steadily losing confidence. The Mavs have lost starting shooting guard Jerry Stackhouse (groin) for at least one more week in addition to their Nowitzki issues, but Jason Terry broke out of a recent malaise by pumping in 31 points in Stackhouse's place. Josh Howard (28 points) was another stalwart and Kidd almost made you forget his mere five points on 1-for-6 shooting by controlling the game in so many other places, amassing 17 assists and 11 rebounds in his ongoing quest for triple-double No. 100.
The Mavs wound up pushing the lead into double-digits with Nowitzki and Kidd on the bench, sparked by a resurgent Eddie Jones, who emerged from his season of injury frustration at 36 to deliver 12 points, five rebounds and one alley-oop finish that sent the Mavs' bench into delirium in 20 minutes. The Mavs also rung up a stunning 35 assists and 44 fast-break points to Golden State's 10 and 16 in the same categories, after days of growing concern locally about the lack of ball and player movement in their offense since the trade.
The sorry state of the Warriors on this night -- "How many times can you say that we got outrun?" Davis lamented -- made it difficult to embrace Terry's suggestion that this outcome could be what "flips the switch on" for a Mavs team that has been floundering for more than a month. It's way too soon to say that.
What we can say is that Nowitzki's well-chronicled reputation as a freakishly fast healer has to be raised another notch, especially since it came against Stephen Jackson and the rest of his playoff tormentors from Oakland. Don't forget, furthermore, that Cleveland's Daniel Gibson -- just to make one comparison -- missed more than 30 days with a similar high ankle sprain earlier this season.
"Hopefully by me playing it didn't make it worse," Nowitzki said.
Nah. You figure karma was with him on Resurrection Wednesday.
- That's all I have today. I'm ready to rock and roll this weekend at Phoenix and LA. I hope this gives this team renewed hope that they can beat these types of teams.
- Scott Weiland is done with Velvet Revolver. We officially have no more true rock and roll bands. A tragedy.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Huge
- Although the local media seems to be calling every game of the past 2 weeks the "biggest game of the year", I think we may have finally found the no doubt "biggest game of the year."
- A win tonight does a few things.
1) It gives the Mavs a 2 game lead in the standings over Golden State, and a 3 game lead overall (tiebreaker with Golden State).
2) It starts the long road back to gaining confidence that they can beat good teams. Can this team really go 0-11 since the trade against playoff teams?
3) If they're Dirk-less, it gives them confidence to be able to beat good teams shorthanded. If they have Dirk, it gives them hope for success in the playoffs.
- No matter how you look at it, it's huge. Win this game, and making the playoffs will look increasingly more likely.
For Dallas Mavericks, it's playoffs or bust
02:40 AM CDT on Wednesday, April 2, 2008
The only good news about watching the Dallas Mavericks play without Dirk Nowitzki is that it reminds all those who say Dallas will never win with Dirk just how much this team is capable of losing without him.
Others see another hidden silver lining in the team's downturn, which has it on the brink of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2000.
There are fans and followers of this team who contend that missing the playoffs and getting a lottery pick is better than landing the seventh or eighth seed and getting bounced in the first round.
I don't buy it.
First off, if the Mavericks barely miss the playoffs, they aren't likely to win the lottery. Chances are they will get the 14th pick.
Now you can find a serviceable player with that selection. The last three No. 14 picks – Minnesota's Rashad McCants, Utah's Ronnie Brewer and the Clippers' Al Thornton – all average between 12 and 15 points for their teams.
But those aren't franchise-changing players, which is what a team that misses the playoffs needs to find.
And, for me, there are just two huge problems with teams that miss the playoffs.
One is that NBA championships are earned through playoff wins and defeats. Teams that win or get to the NBA Finals are almost always teams that have been going to the postseason and enjoying success for at least two years.
Over the last 12 seasons, of the 24 teams that have reached the Finals, only three had missed the playoffs in either of the previous two years. And it's easy to spot why those teams were the exceptions.
The San Antonio Spurs won their first title in 1999. They did not make the playoffs in 1997. That was the year David Robinson missed all but six games and the team won the lottery and landed Tim Duncan.
Now that's a franchise-changing player.
In 2002, the New Jersey Nets made the first of two straight trips to the Finals after missing the playoffs the previous season. But before the 2001-02 season, they added Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson, which elevated the Nets to the top of the East.
And in 2007, Cleveland went to the Finals two years removed from missing the playoffs. Obviously, LeBron James' rise to prominence can be traced to the Cavaliers' success.
All the other teams had been competing in the playoffs both the previous two years (or more) before getting to the Finals. And in more than 80 percent of the cases, all had advanced to at least the second round.
So I don't see sitting out the most competitive Western Conference race on record and re-trenching with a mid-first round draft pick as a legitimate option for Dallas.
Also, there is a huge mental downside to missing the playoffs. And we know this was a team with a fragile psyche and something less than a killer instinct even when it won 67 regular-season games.
Obviously, Mavericks management heard a clock ticking when it made the Kidd trade. He's a 35-year-old point guard. He won't be playing when he's 40.
And I don't see it as a foregone conclusion that the Mavericks – or anyone else, for that matter – automatically lose in the first round. Yes, I'm well aware of the team's 0-10 record against winning teams since the deal.
Throw out the last two defeats because Nowitzki wasn't on the floor. OK, 0-8's still lousy. I get it.
And watching them struggle to beat a crippled Clippers team makes it hard to think about playoff victories.
But for the year, the team's record in the conference is the same as San Antonio's. It's better than Utah's.
I can't believe that just because Kidd is in the lineup now instead of Devin Harris that none of those games are winnable any more.
Things can change.
In Phoenix, Shaquille O'Neal's first two weeks produced the worst Suns basketball of the year. Critics said they were doomed. Can't run anymore. Can't defend on the outside.
Now Phoenix is playing some of its best basketball and is a major contender in the West.
It didn't click in Dallas as quickly as it did in Phoenix. It still can.
It doesn't have to keep clanking. And for Mavs fans, it's worth being happy for.
In pro sports, anything is better than just barely missing the playoffs. That's not the road to success. It's the road to prolonged mediocrity.
- Rangers win despite more bad defense and more bad pitching out of the bullpen. Josh Hamilton will be the most popular/well-liked Ranger since Rusty Greer this season.
Hamilton hammers win home for Texas Rangers
09:31 AM CDT on Wednesday, April 2, 2008
By EVAN GRANT / The Dallas Morning News
egrant@dallasnews.com
SEATTLE – The expectation is that Josh Hamilton will do exactly what he did Tuesday night. He’ll deliver dramatic winning homers.
Here’s a bit of advice, though: If you sit around waiting for a Hamilton homer, you may miss some other compelling parts of his act. The guy can catch the ball, and he can run, too.
And when you put it all together, he’s got the ability to single-handedly deliver a game just like Tuesday’s 5-4 win over Seattle. The standings will say the Texas Rangers are 1-1 today. Make no mistake, though, the win was all Hamilton.
Even before he drove the first pitch he saw from Mariners reliever J.J. Putz into the right field seats with one out and Ian Kinsler on first in the ninth inning, he first kept the Rangers in the game with two running catches and then helped give the club the lead by beating out a rally-starting infield hit.
“When I’m not having a good game at the plate, and I wasn’t having one early in this game, I still want to be able to do everything I can to help the team win a game,” Hamilton said. “I love playing the outfield. I love it even more than hitting.”
When the Rangers acquired Hamilton, it was with the thought that possibly, just possibly, he was a franchise kind of player. He looked the part Tuesday.
Just consider:
• In the fifth and seventh innings, he ran down long fly balls off the bats of various Mariners to keep a 1-1 score tied. Brad Wilkerson had driven a two-out pitch from Vicente Padilla deep towards left center in the fifth. But with Richie Sexson lumbering around the bases, Hamilton, stumbling into the wall as he reached for the ball, made an over-the-shoulder grab. In the seventh, he went to right-center to take extra bases away from Raul Ibanez to start the inning.
• In the eighth, he started the Rangers' rally by hustling to first after chopping a pitch from lefty Eric O’Flaherty into the ground. Thought Sexson fielded the ball cleanly, the high bounce and Hamilton’s hustle gave him enough time to reach the bag just ahead of the Mariners first baseman. Hank Blalock followed with a double on a 1-and-2 count, and then Milton Bradley’s fly ball gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead. They expanded it to 3-1 when David Murphy doubled with two outs.
• In the ninth, after Kinsler’s hit, flu-ridden Michael Young struck out, leaving Hamilton to face Putz. In the season-opener, Putz struck Hamilton out to end the game. Hamilton saw eight pitches in that at-bat, though, including four fastballs.
“I think he’s trying to do too much right now only because it’s a new team,” manager Ron Washington said. “But he saw a lot of pitches from Putz the night before. I’m just glad he threw a first-pitch fastball.”
The Rangers, however, seemed determine to find out the full scope of Hamilton’s capabilities because they gave the lead right back with a second consecutive day of shoddy fielding.
The Rangers committed two of their three errors in the bottom of the eighth. The two errors, combined with a wild pitch by Joaquin Benoit, produced three Seattle runs. The winning run scored when Benoit’s first pitch to Adrian Beltre with two outs skipped away from Gerald Laird. Yuniesky Betancourt scored from third when Laird had trouble grasping the ball after chasing it down at the home on-deck circle.
But it was only the last mistake in an inning full of them. He quickly got No. 7 hitter Jose Vidro to bounce to Young, who didn’t even have to take a step to field the ball. Young, who battled the flu all day, may have been in a semi-weakened state. His routine throw didn’t even make it across the infield grass and skipped by Ben Broussard, allowing Vidro to go to second.
The Nos. 8 and 9 hitters, Kenji Johjima and Betancourt, followed with singles to make it a 3-2 game. With runners on first and third, Ichiro Suzuki slapped a ball to second baseman Ian Kinsler. Kinsler, who had taken a fastball off the right hand while trying to bunt in the seventh, tried to do too much. It was unlikely Kinsler would have gotten the double play even if he had fielded the ball cleanly, but he bobbled it and got no outs while the tying run scored.
After a sacrifice bunt, an intentional walk of Raul Ibanez and a strikeout of Richie Sexson, the Rangers seemed in position to get out of the inning with the score tied. That’s when Benoit threw a pitch in the dirt and the go-ahead run scored.
It was apparently all just part of the setup for Hamilton.
“The guy stayed focused all game long,” outfielder Marlon Byrd said. “He did what he needed to do. He’s just amazing.”
- This ain't good. Stars looking at starting 2 rookie defenseman to open the playoffs. Ouch.
Dallas Stars' Zubov may miss start of playoffs
02:18 AM CDT on Wednesday, April 2, 2008
By MIKE HEIKA / The Dallas Morning News
mheika@dallasnews.com
FRISCO – Dallas Stars defenseman Sergei Zubov has had a setback in his recovery from foot and groin injuries and will be re-evaluated Friday, coach Dave Tippett said.
Zubov may not be ready to play when the playoffs begin next Wednesday or Thursday.
"He's going to see a specialist and probably won't be on the ice for a few days," Tippett said.
Zubov has missed the last 30 games with foot and groin injuries. The foot injury started to become a concern in early January, and Zubov missed three games at the time. However, he tried to play through the foot pain and ended up compensating so much that he injured his groin.
Zubov's last game was Jan. 17. He rested the foot for a month and then tried to skate on it in mid-February. When the foot did not respond, Zubov had a screw placed in a small bone in his right foot Feb. 24. The screw was supposed to help ensure the foot would be stable and ready for the playoffs, and Zubov has been skating since March 21 with seemingly good results.
He traveled with the team on its most recent road trip to California and skated hard in Friday's practice.
However, he was given Monday off to rest and then did not skate Tuesday. He instead went out of town to see a specialist, and Tippett said he expected to have an update Friday.
"It's a concern, it's a concern," Tippett said when asked how serious the problem could be. "We'll revisit it on Friday. We'll see what results we get and where we are."
When asked if Zubov was having problems with the foot or the groin, Tippett replied: "All of the above."
Zubov missed Game 7 of the Stars' first-round playoff series with Vancouver last season, and Dallas lost, 4-1.
He had surgery to repair a sports hernia in the summer and then returned to the ice in September for preseason workouts.
He tallied four goals and 31 assists in the team's first 46 games and was drawing mention as a candidate for the Norris Trophy, given to the top defenseman in the NHL. He was averaging 25:41 in ice time, tops among all Stars players.
Dallas quickly overcame the absence of Zubov, going 15-4-0 in the first 19 games he missed. However, the increased pressure from opponents and the inexperience of three rookie defensemen caught up to the team in March, when it went 2-7-2.
The return of Philippe Boucher (shoulder) to the lineup should help take some pressure off the young defensemen, but the absence of Zubov would be clearly felt, especially in the playoffs.
"Obviously, he's one of the best defensemen in the league, so we definitely miss him," captain Brenden Morrow said. "We've played some good hockey without him, and we need some guys to step up if he's not ready. Those are big minutes to fill, but someone might have to fill them."
Briefly: C Brad Richards missed practice Tuesday, and Tippett said it was a mixture of allowing Richards, who was acquired in a Feb. 26 trade with Tampa Bay, to take care of some personal concerns and also because he was dealing with some soreness. Tippett said he thinks Richards will skate today.
Monday, March 31, 2008
The great game is back
- Baseball is back. With 1st round exits or no playoffs looming for both AAC teams, I need the Rangers to rescue me from sports hell. Just give me a contending team through late August, that's all I want. Then you can tail off when football occupies my brain again.
On paper, I like this team a lot. Not saying they're going to win anything, but I get the sense that these guys all like each other and enjoy each other. Lots of good dudes, no egos, a fun bunch to watch. Kind of reminds me of the 2005 Ranger team that contended into September. Great clubhouse and chemistry. I can see that this year in this team.
The key, as always, is health and starting pitching. And I see a team that can contend into August if those 2 things are significantly better than last year.
- 2008 Lineup
2B - Ian Kinsler - Ready to take the next step. Primed for a 25 HR, 30 SB year.
SS - Michael Young - Consistent as hell. 5 straight 200 hit seasons. Gold Glove defense. The 1 constant on this team.
CF - Josh Hamilton - If healthy, has potential to be the big bat the Rangers need with Teixeira gone. Could hit 40 HR's and drive in 100+.
3B - Hank Blalock - Needs to stay healthy as well. Hopefully is recharged and ready to roll this year. Hot spring showed he's ready to bounce back.
DH - Milton Bradley - Headcase with a ton of talent. Hoping that his love for Ron Washington will keep him motivated and playing well.
RF - Marlon Byrd - We'll see if his 2007 was just a fluke. If he performs at 75% of that level this year, I'll take it.
LF - David Murpthy - Could become a doubles machine, balls-out defender in the outfield, and fan favorite. Rusty Greer clone.
C - Gerald Laird - Should have traded him this past off season. Good clubhouse guy, but can't hit a lick. Look for him to get shipped off to a contender to make room for Salty Dog.
1B - Ben Broussard - Stays healthy, is a great clubhouse guy, but has just been average for his career. Could also be shipped this year to a contender to make room for Salty Dog.
2008 Starting Rotation
1) Kevin Millwood - Lost 20 lbs this off season, needs to pitch 200+ innings, win 15 games, and stabilize the rotation. Repeat of 2006 season is needed.
2) Vicente Padilla - Horrible last year. Also needs to return to 2006 form. Bad clubhouse guy who has rumored to be getting better this year, more talkative and involved in the room. Rangers wanted to give him away for a sack of baseballs this past off season. Need 200 innings and 15 wins and less hit batters. Probably too much to ask.
3) Jason Jennings - Local guy. If healthy, can eat up innings. Just is never healthy. Need 150+ innings and 10 wins from him. Could be shipped to contender for prospects in August.
4) Kason Gabbard - Lefty received from Boston in Eric Gagne deal. Looks to be very average. Once again, only goal is to eat innings and approach 10 wins.
5) Luis Mendoza - A homegrown starter from the minors getting his shot this year. Very impressive spring gained him a spot in the rotation. Could be swapped with Eric Hurley later this season. No expectations.
2008 Bullpen
Closer - CJ Wilson - Can a lefty be an effective closer? Can he hold up for a full season after wearing down last year? Do his teammates like him?
Set up - Joaquin Benoit, Kaz Fukumore, and Frank Francisco - Could form the best set up combo in baseball if Fukumore is healthy and as advertised and if Francisco can return to his 2005 form.
Prognosis
I like this team a lot. Lots of good guys, hardworking guys who genuinely look like they enjoy playing. I see a lot of bounceback years for guys. Michael Young, Hank Blalock, and Kevin Millwood will return to form this year. Josh Hamilton will be a force in the middle of the lineup. Ian Kinsler will become a 25 HR, 30 SB guy. And the rotation will be better than last year, to go along with a top 5 bullpen. Give me 88 wins and a 2nd place finish to Seattle.
Health key to Rangers' improvement
Injuries ravaged roster en route to last-place finish in 2007
By T.R. Sullivan / MLB.com
The Rangers know they have a large number of players with a history of recent injuries, and they know any chance of contending rests on keeping themselves healthy.
The subject has been talked about at great length in Spring Training, to the point where it has almost been engrained in their collective psyche.
As the Rangers get ready to open the season against the Mariners on Monday, two questions are worth raising.
First of all, it's natural to wonder just what are the odds of all these key players making it through a 162-game season without a number of them going down at an inopportune time.
"It's so hard to quantify health risk," Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said. "That's going to be our biggest single goal this year. It's almost a given that every year and every team is going to have some issues, expected and unexpected. It all depends on how we deal with it."
The second question is what happens if the Rangers do avoid the massive number of injuries that torpedoed their 2007 season. Just exactly how good is this team when injuries are not a problem? Throughout the roster, there are players who have been successful at the big league level. They just haven't done it lately.
"We have guys who are capable of having a big year and we have guys who can shoulder a lot of responsibility," shortstop Michael Young said. "It's up to everyone to find a way to be successful. If you've had success before in the Major Leagues, you know what it takes. It's a matter of getting it done."
The Rangers talk about going with young players, and Daniels said one of the key factors to the season is their continued development. But Texas also made a number of moves designed to put at least a competitive team on the field.
Jason Jennings, coming back from flexor tendon surgery, joins a rotation that already includes Kevin Millwood, Vicente Padilla and Kason Gabbard. Rookie Luis Mendoza steps in for Brandon McCarthy, who will start the season on the disabled list with severe elbow inflammation.
Kazuo Fukumori (elbow surgery) and Eddie Guardado (Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery) were added to a bullpen led by closer C.J. Wilson and setup reliever Joaquin Benoit, who was the Rangers Pitcher of the Year in 2007.
Ben Broussard takes over at first base in an infield that includes Young, third baseman Hank Blalock and second baseman Ian Kinsler. Blalock missed over three months last year because of shoulder surgery.
The outfield was revamped. Josh Hamilton, who was on the disabled list twice last year, was acquired to play center field, and Milton Bradley, coming off major knee surgery, was signed to play right field. Bradley's rehabilitation is not finished and he'll start the season at designated hitter, while Marlon Byrd and rookie David Murphy flank Hamilton.
Designated hitter Frank Catalanotto and catcher Gerald Laird fill out the lineup card. Both had substandard offensive seasons in 2007. Many of their teammates did so as well, mainly because of physical problems. Still, there is talent here.
"I think we're going to surprise some people even though nobody is going to give us a chance," Catalanotto said. "From what I've seen in Spring Training, we're going to score a lot of runs, and I think there's going to be some surprises in the pitching staff. Our defense is going to be better than last year. We like being the team that nobody talks about."
There hasn't been much reason to talk about the Rangers of late. This is a franchise that has finished in last place seven of the last eight seasons since their last division title, and there are few if any who think this team can finish higher than a distant third place.
"I don't care what anybody else is thinking," Young said. "I like the fact that there are guys here who will have big years that nobody is expecting. Nobody is expecting Kinsler to be a star or that Josh will have a big year or Milton will have the kind of season he's capable of having.
"People can think what they want. I think we're going to sneak up on some people."
- Things aren't looking good for the AAC teams. Mavs won't make playoffs and Stars can't beat anyone right now.
Another +.500 team, another loss.
Dallas Mavericks in three-way tie after loss
01:27 AM CDT on Monday, March 31, 2008
By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News
esefko@dallasnews.com
OAKLAND, Calif. – Once again, the Mavericks were right there, stuck in a close game with the fourth quarter ticking down.
Haven't they been "right there" all season?
And, once again, right there became a nightmare.
The Mavericks got outplayed at the end as the Golden State Warriors pulled out a 114-104 victory Sunday evening at Oracle Arena, creating a three-way logjam for the final two playoff spots in the Western Conference.
The Mavericks, Warriors and Denver Nuggets all are 45-28. Two will make the playoffs.
It should be an exciting finish to the regular season. But the way things are going, the Mavericks seem ill-equipped to keep pace with their two rivals. They fell to 0-10 against winning teams since the All-Star break.
"It's not exciting for us," coach Avery Johnson said. "We'd rather be third or fourth. We don't want to be part of seven and eight."
But that's where they are, mostly because they couldn't stop the Warriors in the fourth quarter.
One play summed up their frustrations.
Down, 102-98, after a three-point play by Brandon Bass, who had a career-best 21 points, the Mavericks had the momentum and forced a missed fadeaway by Baron Davis. The rebound tipped off of Bass' hand and out of bounds. On the inbounds play, the Warriors got a 3-pointer from Kelenna Azubuike with 3:48 left. Moments later, their lead was 109-100, and the Mavericks were goners.
"That's the way it's been for the last two weeks," Bass said. "A few plays, a few stops. We're all determined. We're not down on each other. We just got to get some wins."
Added Jason Kidd: "That's how it's been for us right now. We just can't get over the hump. We had the rebound. Brandon was going away from the ball, and it was instinct. It wasn't his fault. But those are the plays. It's getting down to singling out plays and stops."
So the Mavs lost for the fifth time in six games. And they will face a challenging back-to-back tonight in Los Angeles against the Clippers.
Jerry Stackhouse missed the game after tweaking his right groin muscle Thursday in Denver. That made the Mavericks, who still are without Dirk Nowitzki, even more short-handed.
"He's day-to-day," Johnson said of Stackhouse. "We're not sure about him, and he'll be re-evaluated in LA."
No matter who's in or out of uniform, the Mavericks have no choice at this point. They simply must win more games than Denver or the Warriors the rest of the way.
"Moral victories aren't any good right now," Johnson said.
Wasted was a 36-point night by Josh Howard. Jason Kidd finished with 13 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds, narrowly missing his 100th career triple double.
"I looked at the schedule," Warriors coach Don Nelson said. "The team that wins is going to make it, and the team that stubs their toe is not. It's pretty simple."
Toe-stubbers. That pretty much describes the Mavericks right now.
- Stars gain berth into playoffs, but lose another heartbreaker to a division opponent.
Dallas Stars gain spot, lose ground with loss
01:47 AM CDT on Monday, March 31, 2008
By MIKE HEIKA / The Dallas Morning News
mheika@dallasnews.com
ANAHEIM, Calif. – A month ago, it didn't seem like that big a deal for the Dallas Stars to clinch a playoff spot.
Then again, a month ago, it didn't seem that big a deal for the Stars to outplay an opponent for one third period.
But ending one of the worst months in the last decade, the Stars celebrated a 3-2 shootout loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday. By gaining a point in the standings, the Stars (43-29-7, 93 points) clinched a playoff spot. By overcoming a 2-1 deficit with a Niklas Hagman goal in the third period, the Stars outscored an opponent in the third for only the second time in the last 12 games.
Small victories, sure, but victories the Stars say they need.
"I thought we needed that third period," captain Brenden Morrow said. "Yeah, we would have loved to win, but we needed to get some positive momentum going forward."
The Stars finished the month 2-7-2, but they also went 1-0-2 on a three-game road trip through San Jose, Los Angeles and Anaheim.
"I think this group was a little fatigued," coach Dave Tippett said. "Marty [Turco] cleaned up a lot of hiccups we had, and we found a way to get a point. We were a tired group today. You could tell we didn't have a lot in the tank."
But again, is that a tribute to the team's determination to come back or a statement that rings of faint praise. After all, the Stars could have tightened up the race for fourth place in the Western Conference by winning this game. They could have sent a message to the Ducks, who very well could be their first-round opponent.
Was fatigue even an option?
"We wanted to keep home ice, we wanted a regulation win, and it's too bad we couldn't pull it out," said Turco, who had 30 saves, some spectacular. "We're going to take a lot out of the point that we did get, but from my perspective, I thought the game was winnable."
Not the way the Stars played it early. They handed the Ducks seven power-play opportunities in the first two periods. They were outshot, 32-25, for the game and were outhit, 25-17. They were on their heels until the third period, when they finally began to fight back.
"It is a big deal," Tippett said of making the playoffs. "If you don't get to the playoffs, you don't get that opportunity to go on. That's always a goal, and now we can put that behind us and keep building our game and getting ready for the playoffs."
- Nebraska report from ESPN.com
Ganz, Pelini hope winning returns to Nebraska in 2008
By Tim Griffin
ESPN.com
Patience hasn't been an easy virtue for Joe Ganz to develop.
The toll of sitting on the bench was difficult for Ganz, who served as Nebraska's backup quarterback for nearly three seasons before getting his shot late last season when Sam Keller went down with a season-ending broken collarbone.
That brief taste of playing time has made Ganz determined to keep the starting job.
"Last year is all the motivation I need," he said. "My main motivation is not to let anyone take the spot I have. I've worked too hard to let someone take this job from me."
New Nebraska coach Bo Pelini shares a similar determination to see that things are done his way in his first head-coaching position. The combination of Nebraska's indomitable new coach working with a quarterback who shares a similarly resolute approach should be an ideal match.
Ganz's own background serves as a reminder of how far he's come since arriving at college. He was one of Nebraska's last recruits in the 2004 class, picking the Cornhuskers over scholarship offers from Ball State, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Air Force. He sat out his freshman season as a redshirt and later spent two seasons as Zac Taylor's caddie before beginning last season behind Keller.
Once Ganz got his opportunity, he made the most of it, erupting for 1,399 passing yards and 15 touchdown passes in his final three starts. Included in that barrage were three of the top five 400-yard, single-game passing performances in school history, topped by a record-breaking 510-yard, seven-TD pass effort against Kansas State on Nov. 10. It marked the most productive run of passing offense in the 118-year history of Nebraska's football program.
But Nebraska's defensive collapse led the Cornhuskers to lose two of those three games, bottoming out a disappointing 5-7 season that cost coach Bill Callahan his job and led to Pelini's hiring.
After he served as the defensive coordinator for national champion LSU last season, the new coach's expertise is concentrated on defense. However, he's excited about having Ganz back for another season.
"At this point in his career, he's only touched the base of his talent of how good he can be," Pelini said. "There's a lot more out there for him, and he certainly understands that."
Last season's struggles have helped serve as an inspiration for the Cornhuskers. Ganz could detect that feeling as soon as his team started conditioning work after returning to school in January.
"Guys are pumped about getting back out there," Ganz said. "This spring, we have a lot to prove. I know they are excited because it was tough when our name was dragged through the mud like it was last season."
Ganz's development should be bolstered by the return of offensive coordinator Shawn Watson, who strongly considered joining Nick Saban's staff at Alabama before deciding to remain with Pelini's staff.
I-back Marlon Lucky, the Big 12's only returning 1,000-yard back, likely will be featured more as a running threat this season. Lucky set a school record for receptions with 75 to go along with 1,019 rushing yards.
Some of the team's confidence is based on the return of four starters along the offensive line. Mike Huff, Jacob Hickman, Matt Slauson and Lydon Murtha have combined for 67 career starts. The group is considered "the strength of the team" by Pelini.
"I think we can be as good as we want to be -- one of the best lines in the nation," Murtha said. "We have that cohesiveness from working together that a lot of lines don't have. It should help us work together."
Pelini's biggest spring chore will be to rebuild confidence in a defensive unit that was humiliated in the worst season statistically in Nebraska history.
The Cornhuskers allowed more points (455), yards (5,722) and first downs (299) than any other team in school history in 2007. Making matters worse, they ranked among the nation's bottom 10 in total defense, rushing defense and scoring defense.
It was far removed from Pelini's triumphant one-season stint as Nebraska's defensive coordinator in 2003. During that season, the Cornhuskers produced 47 turnovers, including a school-record 32 interceptions.
Pelini's defenses have traditionally relied heavily on zone defenses. The largely man-to-man defenses of former coordinator Kevin Cosgrove generated only 11 turnovers last season.
"What happened in the past is kind of irrelevant in my opinion," Pelini said. "I don't understand what they were taught and the schemes they were playing. Because of that, you kind of get a skewed view of whether they were good or bad. And until you start working with them, you don't see where they are."
Those struggles have led Pelini to use last season's game films as an evaluation tool of his opponents rather than of his own personnel.
"We need to put them in our scheme and see where they fit for us. They are who we have," Pelini said. "We can't go out and get free agents. Our job is to make them better and more productive in our system."
The defense figures to get a jolt of energy from the fiery leadership of Pelini, who became a folk hero of sorts during his one season at Nebraska.
Nebraska fans remember how Pelini confronted former Kansas State coach Bill Snyder after he felt that Snyder ran up the score on his defense. And they hope he will similarly pump some vibrancy back in the program after a forgettable season where those feelings seldom surfaced -- particularly on defense.
Those feelings will give his new team a definite idea of how Pelini wants things done.
"They'll see our way works … what we do has a proven track record," Pelini said. "There's not much room for debate -- it will be done a certain way. And if they want to do it another way, there's a lot of other programs they can play for. There's not a lot up for discussion in how we'll do things. And that's how it's going to be."
That might seem harsh, but Ganz said the program needs Pelini's enthusiasm -- particularly after last season.
"I love Coach [Pelini]," Ganz said. "His door is always open, and his mentality is definitely welcomed around here. He knows how to motivate us, and he's a players' coach. I'm very excited to get to work for him."
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