Dallas Mavericks: Mid-Season Reaction

After this thing started 0-3, with an Opening Day thumping at the hands of the mighty Miami Heat, and practically a whole new cast of characters, I don't think many would have bet the Mavs would have a 21-13 record, sitting at #2 in the Southwest Division, with the overall #4 seed in the West at the midway point of the season. The masses just wouldn't. Only the die hards would believe this thing had a chance.

I admit it, I had the knee-jerk reaction. The, "oh, wow, this could be a very long season." But then I remember, this is an organization that has put together a string of 11-consecutive seasons of 50 or more wins. One that is willing to try new things. Go after players. Make trades.

A co-worker told me a very interesting rumor today regarding the Mavs and a potential trade. Despite my best Googling, I couldn't come up with a single source to corroborate. I'll proceed to reiterate what he told me, even though you might as well consider it nothing more than pure conjecture.

The rumor goes: during All-Star weekend in Orlando, Dwight Howard and Deron Williams were spotted chatting. Both of them are the most-prized free agents in the next off-season, after the sign-and-trade of Chris Paul to the Clips at the start of the season. The NBA trade deadline quickly approaches in the next two weeks. Howard's Magic and Williams' Nets will look to get something instead of nothing for the both of them in that time frame. This rumor has us imagine a world where the both of them end up in Dallas uniforms for the remainder of this season and for years to come.

Oh, the speculation this generates!

As a business decision, it's a no brainer. Take the deal. Sign both of them. Give the other teams what they want as long as Dirk stays.

But what a decision. It would hurt to see guys like Kidd and Marion go. To me, all signs point to this being Kidd's last season and I'd like to see him close it out in the uni he was drafted in. And Marion, he's been the heart and soul of the club this year. He's the only one to play every game and he's putting up damn fine numbers.

Who knows? Throw in Haywood, Roddy B, and Lamar Odom and maybe Orlando goes for that. Can't say as I'd miss Odom going on his way, right now. Even though I still think that as soon as I put in writing my curses at his lackluster play, that's the instant Odom suddenly puts together a triple-double in Game 7 of the Finals. Which wouldn't matter, since in this dream world 1) the Mavs made it back to the Finals this year and 2) apparently my insignificant writings here have some sort of influence over the cosmos. In which case I should be writing about PowerBall numbers instead.

Regardless, the trade rumors are going to come hot and heavy over the next week. Dudes talked to one another at the All-Star game; players and owners alike. Owners aren't going to be left empty-handed for their stars that are set to walk. And I fully believe that any team that makes it into the playoffs this year has more of a fighting chance at a ring than in any other year since 1998. Teams that might not otherwise be in the market for a trade any other year will probably jump in this time around.

And at this point in the season, the Mavs have been showing a craftiness in playing different angles. They know that, statistically, the team that leads at the end of the first and second quarters typically goes on to win. They have won most of those games. They know that this season is a grind. The Mavs have 9 games in the next 12 days. Resting Dirk and Kidd has been important. Having the fourth-highest scoring bench and fourth-fewest points allowed per game. And then there's the stat that Jeff Van Gundy threw out in the last Mavs game before the break, which could almost be construed as a positive from that sourpuss: that Kidd has attempted something in the ballpark of 130 shots this season, and 107 have been from 3-point range. A stat like that sends me the signal that the Mavs are playing the stats.

It reminds me of the concept that if you're trying to improve your weaknesses you're wasting your time, rather than focusing on playing to your strengths. If someone like Kidd, clocking in at 38, doesn't have the knees he once did, but he's the #3 all-time three-point shooter in the NBA, then play to his strengths. And play to the strength of defense and win the first half.

Should be an exciting run in the second half.