Mavs Over Suns 107-97

The Mavs' played a very good game on Wednesday night. The new guys played very well and the old guys played even better! I thought for a second that Kidd was only 26 years old instead of 36...but I remembered that he's just that good! Dirk had a team high 28 while Caron Butler played well (although he shot only 6-16) scoring 15 points, and Haywood nearly had a double-double with 10 points and 9 rebounds and also 5 blocks!

There were 3 major things that happened tonight that I think are very significant for the Mavericks future...and a bonus item/thought!

3) Jason Kidd happened! At first I thought hmm, he's having a pretty good game. Then in the 4th quarter I thought...WOW...he is having an incredible game! In March Kidd will be 37 years old...and he played tonight with incredible energy. He out hustled everyone else on the court, even down to the last few possessions no one could keep up with him! His line is unreal... 18 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds, 7 steals, and only 1 turnover...and the (almost) 37 year old played 41 and a half minutes! He hit 4 threes and couldn't be stopped late in the game when he tracked down every loose ball as if his life depended on it! It truly was a thing of beauty to watch...he is an amazing player, and if the Mavs' go anywhere in the playoffs it will be because he leads the team by example with energy, effort, and intelligence!

2) Brendan Haywood played a great game tonight, he started because Dampier tore his finger off (basically...more like an "open dislocation"?? whatever that is...in short the bone in his right middle finger was poking through his torn skin...). Haywood lost the opening tip and I was disappointed at him for that, but he quickly made up for it by filling the lane offensively and defensively. He recorded 5 blocks and ended up with 4 dunks! He is impressive to me I suppose because the Mavs' haven't had a big man that is as athletic as he is or as good with the ball as he is! He also plays exceptional defense, I was surprised to see how his length allowed him to contest shots that typically are easy buckets against the Mavs'. His length also helped him rebound well, he grabbed nine and thats not amazing or anything, but this is...he had 5 offensive rebounds! Thats 5 extra scoring opportunities, I'm always satisfied with that. So thus begins the Brendan Haywood as the Mavs' big man era...if 3+ blocks a game and 10 rebounds is a nightly thing I think I'll sleep soundly most nights!

1) The Mavs' won a game decidedly at home! I've talked before about how terrible the Mavs' have played at home this season...this was not the case tonight. Dallas played inspired from the first timeout on. After they fell behind by 8 points early in the first they took a timeout. From then till the last few minutes of the quarter the Mavs scored 12 straight points. And from there they never looked back! That late game push by the Suns that earlier in the season would have been enough to discourage Dallas and the game would have come down to the wire...but not this one; Jason Kidd out ran everyone to every single loose ball, Dirk made plays (typical) Butler made plays, Terry made (even some defensive) plays, and the Mavs took the game by force! A Jason Richardson 3 made it a 5 point game 90-85 Dallas...from there the Mavs' looked like they deserved to win! It was inspiring to see them pull together and play with an intensity that I haven't seen all season, especially in the AAC! And guess what...the crowd knew it...and responded! As time expired Dallas got one of the best standing ovations I've seen in a while, it looked as if possibly the Mavericks could turn this season into something special.

But only time will tell...they have a few tough games coming up including another back-2-back this weekend that will be a tough test @ Orlando and home vs. Miami and then the Lakers coming up as well as the the Hawks. In fact the next 7 games will be a tough stretch and if they come out of these next 7 with 5+ wins I'll be disappointed because I expect them to win every game...but I'd take 5 of the next 7. Hopefully we're looking at a Mavs' team that will be able to play with the kind of intensity that I saw tonight...they wanted to win and they would've done whatever it took to win that one! Can they bring it like that every night?

BONUS: With the trade deadline looming (2:00 Central today) many teams will be making last minute phone calls trying to find some special deal that can do them some good down the stretch or set them up for a good summer trading session. Here's what the Mavs' are faced with: Dampier is out for at least a month...the surgically repaired his dead finger last night so at least he's still got 10. But that leaves the Mavs' down a starting(/backup) center. So really they only have 1 big man...Eddie Najera doesn't really count. Dallas needs another big man...Drew Gooden would be a great fit, if they didn't have to wait 30 days before he can "boomerang" back to Dallas after being waived. So are there any other options? Well Zydrunas Ilgauskas just got traded by the Cavs'...I'm pretty sure they're expecting his contract to get waived so he can do the "boomerang" thing back to Cleveland. But what if..maybe the Mavs' could coax him into coming here...? Deadly! We'll see what happens, I'm sure Donnie and Cubes are actively pursuing any leads just like Jack Bauer does for CTU...actually, come to think of it, Mark Cuban is like the Jack Bauer of NBA owners! Wow...