On Monday, Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson mentioned at a press event that incumbent starting center Erick Dampier could come off the bench this season. Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News followed up to report that it's not a set-in-stone matter, and that Nelson was just generally speaking about the team's flexibility.
That got Matt Moore and I thinking -- err, talking -- about the Maverick rotation. Our discussion (with a somewhat relevant Magic-Cavs vignette) is after the jump.
Tip-Off Timer counts down the days until the first game of the 2009-10 season. On Sunday, there are 44 days remaining -- the same number the Lakers retired in 1983 for Jerry West.
Sometimes the basketball gods smile upon you even if you're not really part of the game. That's what happened to me on Nov. 12, 2004.
OK, so maybe it wasn't any kind of hoops deity that hooked me up; it was Raymond Ridder, the Warriors' director of public relations. Still, I remember to this day my brick of a cellphone ringing that cold morning in Memphis with Ridder at the other end.
"You want to go to lunch with Jerry West?" he asked. Ridder had worked for the Lakers and knew West from his days in L.A., so they were going to catch up. And I was coming along.
ORLANDO -- Marcin Gortat came to watch the Orlando Magic Summer League team out of habit on Monday. It was like he couldn't stay away.
Gortat may be signing a new free agent contract Wednesday with the Dallas Mavericks, but he came to the RDV Sportsplex to watch the Pro Summer League and say goodbye to many of his friends.
Gortat is expected to receive a five-year, $33 million contract, a far cry from playing the last four years on the Magic's Summer League team of rookies and hopeful longshots.
It feels strange to even type it, but it's true: the Spurs have been eliminated in the first round, losing to the Mavericks on Tuesday night 106-93 and ending a streak of eight consecutive seasons in which the Spurs won at least one playoff series.
At least there's no confusion about what the Spurs need to do this summer: get deeper. This team never bounced back from the loss of Manu Ginobili, as even huge games from Tim Duncan (30 points, eight boards) and Tony Parker (26 points, 12 assists) weren't enough to keep this game competitive.
The Jazz did indeed beat the Lakers in Game 3 of their first round playoff match-up, and cut L.A.'s lead in the series to two games to one in the process. But just because Utah was able to squeak out a two-point victory at home basically at the buzzer, that doesn't mean that suddenly we now have a series on our hands.
Because we don't. Look a little more closely at how this one went down, and you'll see that so much had to go wrong for L.A. and right for Utah, that this game was the exception to the rule, and not the rule itself.
Spurs lightning bolt Tony Parker ripped through the Mavericks Monday night on his way toward 38 points on 72 percent shooting and, of course, a Game 2 victory. Given the defensive backcourt struggles Dallas has had all season, this is not a surprise. Heck, in the first half of Game 1 Parker had his way with Jason Kidd!
But enlightened Mavericks center Erick Dampier has a solution for Thursday's Game 3 in Big D: beat the snot out of the Frenchman.
Phoenix faces a do or die situation in Dallas this afternoon (3:30 PM ET, ABC). Here are three things to watch for.
Can Shaq dominate the paint? Erick Dampier is known as one of the league's least consistent pivots, but he's a fine rebounder and defender. Shaquille O'Neal, however, doesn't exactly let himself get dominated. With everything on the line for Phoenix, we expect Shaq to assert his power around the rim, forcing Dallas to foul, double and play from their heels instead of their toes. The Suns need that.
B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Bookmark it and visit often.
Cup of Coffee Stephen A. Smith rolled over in his vocal-chord enhancing cyborg chamber last night as Rasho Nesterovic posted a very nice line -- 16 points, five boards and three blocks -- with Chris Bosh beginning to sit out a week with a knee issue. Nesterovic isn't going to set the world on fire, but he can be a nice option in deeper leagues for boards and blocks over the next week, and as long as Bosh stays injured, he's a cheap filler. Plus, he kind of looks like Dwight Schrute, so that's a bonus.
Hot Cakes It's safe to say Devin Harris is going to take that starter's job in New Jersey. He scored another 21 off the bench last night with five boards and two dimes in 35 minutes; Marcus Williams had eight points with three boards and two dimes, plus four turnovers in only 18 minutes. Get prepared to see Williams' minutes continue to dive.
Luis Scola went off for 18 points and 14 boards against the Nuggets. With Yao Ming done for the season, you could really see that Scola felt a need to carry the offensive load. Unlikely he's available in your league, but if he is, get ready for a boost in value for the remainder of the season.
It's obvious to most hardcore NBA fans that while the Jason Kidd to Dallas trade certainly made the Mavs more glamorous, it did in fact cost them pretty heavily. There was, of course, Devin Harris, their point guard of the future. But more importantly for a championship run this year, there was DeSagana Diop. He wasn't really what you'd call an everyday name, but he did provide stout interior defense and a penchant for shot blocking. Also, since Erick Dampier is not good foul prone, Diop's ability to eat up large chunks of minutes in the post were pretty critical for Dallas. They have been looking to fill that void since the deal went down, and it looks like they may have found a fill-in in recently waived Jamaal Magloire.
Center Jamaal Magloire, released by the Nets on Friday, will sign with the Mavericks when he clears waivers later this evening, according to a league source.
Like renting Dude, Where's My Car? because you laughed for two hours one Saturday night a few years ago in college, you'd probably be stretching it to try and use Magloire's All Star campaign of five years ago to refer to him as "great". Or "good", really. He's only 29 though, and while his track record the past few years hasn't been spectacular, he's the best option the Mavs have available right now given howt desperately they need a big body in the middle. Although, had Magloire, who will reportedly sign a one year deal for the vet's minimum, held out a little longer, he probably could be starting for Houston tomorrow.
After Mark Cuban just the other day said he wouldn't trade away half his team for Jason Kidd, it appears that he's done (or is on the verge of doing) exactly that. With the Lakers and Suns making huge additions -- both literally and figuratively -- to their rosters, it seems like Dallas just wasn't willing to wait and see if their roster, once healthy, could compete with these clubs for a title. Sure the Mavericks have their share of issues, but as I see it, the addition of Kidd doesn't help to solve any of them.
The Mavericks' problems this year have been a lack of depth and too many injuries, which together can make for a deadly combination. Just look at the Mavs' last game against the Sixers, where they managed to score only 23 points in the entire second half. That's what happens when Jerry Stackhouse, Devin Harris, and Erick Dampier all sit with injuries, and you're left with the likes of Devean George and DeSagana Diop in your starting lineup. But despite all that, Dallas still has a 34-17 record, currently good for third in the West. When considering the fact that both Harris and Stack -- two main rotation guys -- were both expected back in the next couple of weeks, it seems that the injury portion of Dallas' problems would have worked itself out rather quickly.
On Monday, Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson mentioned at a press event that incumbent starting center Erick Dampier could come off the bench this season. Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News followed up to report that it's not a set-in-stone matter, and that Nelson was just generally speaking about the team's flexibility.
Tip-Off Timer counts down the days until the first game of the 2009-10 season. On Sunday, there are 44 days remaining -- the same number the Lakers retired in 1983 for Jerry West.
ORLANDO -- Marcin Gortat came to watch the Orlando Magic Summer League team out of habit on Monday. It was like he couldn't stay away.
It feels strange to even type it, but it's true: the Spurs have been eliminated in the first round, losing to the Mavericks on Tuesday night 106-93 and ending a streak of eight consecutive seasons in which the Spurs won at least one playoff series. 
Cherry Picking recaps yesterday's playoff action.
Spurs lightning bolt Tony Parker ripped through the Mavericks Monday night on his way toward 38 points on 72 percent shooting and, of course, a Game 2 victory. Given the defensive backcourt struggles Dallas has had all season, this is not a surprise. Heck, in the first half of Game 1 Parker had his way with Jason Kidd!
Phoenix faces a do or die situation in Dallas this afternoon (3:30 PM ET, ABC). Here are three things to watch for.
B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Bookmark it and visit often.
It's obvious to most hardcore NBA fans that while the Jason Kidd to Dallas trade certainly made the Mavs more glamorous, it did in fact cost them pretty heavily. There was, of course, Devin Harris, their point guard of the future. But more importantly for a championship run this year, there was DeSagana Diop. He wasn't really what you'd call an everyday name, but he did provide stout interior defense and a penchant for shot blocking. Also, since Erick Dampier is 
