HoopWatch

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I can give three main reasons why the Dallas Mavericks are the top team in the NBA right now: They have a coach named Avery Johnson. One guy playing for them is the biggest mismatch ever in NBA history, and his name is Dirk Nowitzki, and their roster is just too deep!

Ever since acquiring the top coaching role in mid-2003 when Don Nelson left, the “Little General,” as he was called back in his San Antonio days, has slowly cultivated into the minds of his Mavericks the value of defense, which got lost in the Nelson days. He has his Mavericks playing great defense, and they are getting better and better at it. They force turnovers with their pressure. Josh Howard, Greg Buckner, Devin Harris, Devean George and even Jason Terry are pressuring the opposing guards, forcing them to turn the ball over resulting to easy transition baskets. Just ask Denver, who committed 23 turnovers against Dallas two nights ago, and the Mavericks scored 23 points off these turnovers.

And in their half court defensive sets, it’s equally hard to shoot and penetrate against them since they are quick to the ball, and they are a very good defensive rebounding team. When you make past their guards, well, you have to contend with three of the best shotblockers in the league – Desagana Diop, Erick Dampier and Nowitzki. The three average 1.3, 1.2 and 0.9 blocks per ball game. Nowitzki is not a good on-the-ball stopper, but he is a great help defender.

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Plus, Johnson is a perfectionist. I cannot help but to remember one of the best quotes I heard in a long time. When asked how Avery is a coach, guard Anthony Johnson ecstatically replied, “I can’t believe that a guy that small can be so mean.” He has not only made his team to play “D,” he has lessened the team’s turnovers as well. The Mavericks are averaging just 13 turnovers as a team. Dirk makes the most TOs with 2.1, but that’s still low for a guy who has the ball most of the game. Just ask Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson. These guys average tons of turnovers, at least three, coz they got the ball all the time. But not Nowitzki.

And how important is Dirk to Dallas. He is 7-feet tall, who can put the ball down on the floor so well, and has the longest range for any 7-footer. Simply put, he has the height of a center, but plays like a guard. He is the biggest walking mismatch. And he does not rely on his high-percentage jump shot anymore. He penetrates and forces teams to adjust their defense against him. The result: he gets fouled (we all know he is very good free-throw shooter), he makes the shot, or a teammate hits the open shot. Dirk is undoubtedly Dallas’ floor leader. He leads them in scoring and rebounding with 25.5 points and 9.5 rebounds an outing.

Plus his percentages are off the charts! He shoots 50.2% from the field, 42.3% from the three-point line (Wow! Most guards don’t shoot that well from rainbow country!), and a whopping 90.5 percent from the foul stripe.

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Because of Nowitzki, Johnson has the most versatile line-up in the league, and did I mention that they are soooo deep. The Phoenix Suns play seven guys regularly, and they still trail the Mavericks by 3.5 games in the standings. But the Mavericks, they can play 9 to 10 players a night. They can play small and fast, and they can play big. They can win in an up-tempo game, and they can win in a defensive-struggle-type of competition, like they did in Houston where they won, 80-77. Terry and Harris are humming so well at the back court. Diop, George, Austin Croshere, Johnson and Jerry Stackhouse have no problem coming off the bench or if they ever get to play at all. In fact, Croshere has played the least minutes in his career ever since Larry Brown left Indiana. And he has not played for a number of games. But for two straight games when he was needed, Croshere scored 34 and 20-plus points. That’s the brilliance of the Mavs roster.

Currently, Dallas leads the pack at 48-9, and they are the only NBA team this season that had three 10-or-more winning streaks. They already had 13-and-12-game winning runs. And they have currently won 11 games in succession. I see no reason why they would ever abandon that top spot. The closest are my Phoenix Suns, but they are 3-and-a-half games behind, and with Steve Nash’s right shoulder hurting, the Suns will not be able to catch-up with these Mavs, most especially with that shallow bench of theirs. I see a possible 67-win season for Dallas, the fifth best in NBA history. (pics courtesy of yahoonba)

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