MAVS BEAT LAKERS 101-96

The Dallas Mavericks played probably the best game I've seen them play in two seasons last night. They beat the defending Champion Lakers 101-96, and did it in the most un-Mav-like way...with defense!

^...This was right after Dirk drained a jumper while getting jacked in the head by a ticked off Kobe Bryant...classic!

Dallas has never been known as a defensive team, and I've talked about how well they have played at times during this season. With the addition of Marion in the off-season, and Haywood, Butler, and Stevenson coming over in the trade the new-look Mavs' are a pretty good defensive team. DeShawn Stevenson was able to guard Kobe straight up in the first quarter and held him to 0 for 5 until he finally hit a tough shot in the second quarter. Marion took over the "defend Kobe" job in crunch time and he made every shot difficult for Bryant who missed a game tying three with 25 seconds left. 

Dallas' team defense was a sight for sore eyes; helping on the weak side, switching off picks, double teaming, and hustling to pick up open shooters...ahhh. At one point Marion was defending Kobe and he double clutched his shot which gave Brendan Haywood enough time to come over and block his shot from the side. Haywood had 5 blocks last night. Thats a great stat, the Mavs' didn't "protect the paint" in any significant way, but they didn't make it easy for the Lakers to drive the paint. Most of their points in the paint were hook shots and tip ins by their bigs. The fact is that Dallas has a guy in Brendan Haywood that can stand toe to toe with the likes of Andrew Bynum! This puts the Mavs' in great position here to match up well enough with the Lakers play them straight up man to man, and once they get Damp back Dallas will have even more length and big body to clog things up with. 

This game felt almost like a playoff game. There was so much energy inside that arena and it was apparent in the way the Mavs' came out and played. Dirk started well, Kidd started well, and defensively Stevenson started well. But when Terry came off the bench with a couple minutes left in the first quarter he drove the lane and laid the ball in the hoop. From there on it was the Jason Terry breaking out of his slump show (hopefully for good!). He needed to have a big night, especially since Butler was out, and he did. He shot the ball well, but best of all he drove the ball to the basket better than he has in a long time. Terry playing well really put the Mavs' over the edge last night. 

Caron Butler was out because he had a "bad reaction to a medication"...not sure what that means, but hey, as long as he's not seriously hurt. He should be back on Friday. And on confused note, the NBA (Fuhrer David Stern) says that Butler is no longer allowed to chew on straws during the games...a habit that he's had since...a really long time ago. The scoop is that he he chews about sixty straws a day, and during a game he'll go through about a dozen. I see where he can enjoy this, when I was younger I went through a straw chewing phase, it was short lived due to the fact that I couldn't get my hands on enough of those small coffee straws often enough to satisfy my oral fixation. But in any event, I don't see how the NBA has jurisdiction on this matter, I think this is an issue that should be decided by the teams...just like how the Federal government shouldn't impose certain laws that should be decided on a state by state basis...oops! If this is something that is going to affect his play I'm gonna be really upset...but if your going to ban chewing straws...shouldn't you ban chewing anything...even gum? 

Fact is...the Mavs' WON! They beat the mighty Lakers...and did it without their straw chewing hero! I still didn't like JJ Berea's play tonight...I'm not sure what they need to do with their rotation, but he is letting me down big time in his role right now...which is super limited. Roddy B played a little tonight on his 22 birthday and had a monster block on Jordan Farmar! Happy B-Day Roddy! Dallas plays Atlanta on Friday, can they keep this winning streak going...they have not won more than 5 straight since the 07-08 season...we'll see! 

Apparently Jay Z chews on straws too... >

The big thing we learned was that Dallas' new defense is legit, and it can be used to beat really good teams like the Lakers. We learned that the Mavs' can hang with the likes of the Lakers, they split the season series with them and played a heck of a game that could've beaten anybody last night. So, do the Mavs' have what it takes to beat the Lakers in a 7 game series...maybe not...but then again...maybe!