In last night's game against the Trail Blazers, the Mavs had a break down in the third quarter. The team collected 4 technical fouls and Josh Howard tackled Portland's Joel Przybilla, trash talked, and was ejected from the game. Dirk was in foul trouble. The team scored only 18 points in the quarter.
It appeared as if the Trail Blazers were picking up momentum just as the Mavs were fizzling out ending the 3rd quarter with a 3 point deficit. In comes the 3-guard lineup with Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, and Jose Barea along with Brandon Bass and DeSagana Diop down low. James Singleton and Antoine Wright also saw some court time. When I saw those lineups, I thought that the Mavs where just going to mail it in for the rest of the night and start their Christmas vacation early. Then Barea zipped in and out of the paint, picked and rolled, and connected with Bass going in for a dunk. It hit me, the Mavs are better without Howard and Dirk on the court! Because the bench players are actually pretty good, they pick up their level when their starters are off the court. If this keeps up, the Mavs will be a force to be reckoned with down the road.
Keywords: Antoine Wright, Dallas Mavericks, DeSagana Diop, Dirk Nowitzki, James Singleton, Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Joel Przybilla, Jose Barea, Josh Howard, Portland Trail Blazers
