FanHouse JamesSingleton

In Game 1, Dallas committed a devastating 20 turnovers in its loss to Denver. Things were better in Game 2: the Mavericks coughed up the ball only 11 times, a decently low number considering the pace (93 possessions) of the game.

But of those turnovers, half came completely unforced. The Nuggets are a good defensive team, and all teams make mistakes. Every game. You expect the Nuggets to strip a few balls, force a 24-second violation or two. But on six plays in Game 2, Dallas lost possession because they lost focus, didn't communicate or got rattled. Those giveaways kill you, especially against elite great teams.

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded NBA Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

He's a handyman and an expert marskman. He's got a degree in computer programming, and he's worked as a dishwasher. He still respects his inner-city roots -- "Because of where I'm from, people expect me to get a little money in my pocket and go crazy ... Nope." -- and ultimately he's one of the most interesting young interviews in the NBA. He's new Mavericks forward James Singleton, and he's fresh off of two European championships in Italy and Spain. In this video we chill at his house and talk to Singleton about ... well, everything.

Check out the video after the jump.

Seems like a year ago, James Singleton was a cupcake in the Clippers' batch of future goodness. But things didn't quite work out for Singleton in the NBA (blame Mike Dunleavy Sr.'s rotation), and he ended up signing with Tau Ceramica this summer. But he won't play in Spain for a while... because he tore his ACL in the Spanish league preseason tournament.

This might not be notable had David Berri, bearer of basketball's statistical lightning rod, not just this week named Singleton as one of NBA's 'distant future stars' based on his L.A. performance. (Also, on the list: Sean May [indeed], Amir Johnson [sure!], Justin Williams [erm...] and Shavlik Randolph [ha ha ha].) Shoals took exception to the idea at Free Darko, arguing if no NBA team saw fit to value Singleton's offerings, then his offerings are by definition not of value to the NBA. It's a highly valid point.

Either way, it extends proof how little of an idea the Clippers have with regards to what they are doing. They had some level of young, solid player in Singleton, and let him leave (after Elton Brand went down, I might add). If Singleton had any value in the NBA (and I think he does), it'd be with short-staffed, capped-out, familiar Los Angeles. They draft Yaroslav Korolev in the lottery and decide two years later he's not worth even a pittance on the rookie scale. They use up their whole cap a summer after they overachieved to lock up players who most understood would not maintain their performance. (That'd be Tim Thomas and Chris Kaman. And hell, throw Dunleavy and Sam Cassell into that category as well.) At least Indiana has blown itself into oblivion with some wacko trades... the Clippers went to Hades by way of boredom.

European players are known (stereotyped?) for fitting into a certain mold, namely, outside shooters with solid fundamentals. But wait, you're telling me they now do the dunk contest, a uniquely American exhibition, better than us? I'll leave that for you to decide, but I think it's obvious. This is a battle between James Singleton, former Clipper, and Victor Claver, the cowboy-hat wearing Spaniard who pretty much stole the show. Of course, this probably wouldn't fly stateside, seeing as American judges have proven to hate creativity.

Muchas gracias to Ball in Europe, a Euro hoops blog that's long overdue.