Jason Terry came alive in Dallas for 25 points on 11-16 shooting including a monster three pointer at a critical point toward the end of the third quarter to give Dallas a lead they would hold against the Hornets. The good news is Josh Howard has continued to show up every game to play like a superstar and the mavs are playing good overall defense. The bad news, Dirk Nowitzki. Seven points for the leader of the team and unguardable seven footer? Dirk I know you are reading this and I’m a huge fan, but get it together buddy take more shots and at least attempt a three pointer! Dirk went 2-8 shooting against New Orleans and turned the ball over three times. He was a complete non-factor in the game.
On the road in Houston, the Mavs showed up, and Dirk came alive with 20 points, 8 assists, and 6 rebounds. I believe the Mavericks are a very mental team and they just know they can beat the Rockets anytime they want. They have dominated the Rockets winning 10 of their 11 last meetings and currently enjoy a 6 straight win streak against Yao, McGrady and company. The main positive that I can say about the Mavs win over the Rockets, is that they finally played a more physical game with an almost arrogant chip on their shoulder.
As long as the Mavs keep up the good defensive play and Dirk can stay on track, look for them to go fairly untested at home in the next three games vs. the Magic, the Suns, and the Clippers. But Mathis, aren’t the Suns and Magic leading their divisions right now? Yes they both are, but the Suns can’t stop anyone on defense and the Magic rely too much on Dwight Howard to have a big game, much like Cleveland relies on Lebron James. A game to really keep an eye on will be when the Mavericks go to Utah to take on the Jazz on the 26th. Go Mavericks!
-Mathis
Keywords: Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard, Mavericks, Mavs
