Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
Cleveland Cavaliers (20-7) at Dallas Mavericks (19-8)
The Dallas Mavericks are used to the odds being stacked up against them.
(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
After the basketball prognosticator overlooked and underestimated Dallas coming into this season, the Mavs have have proved the naysayers wrong by leading the Southwest Division through 27 games. When the critics said Dallas couldn't win when swingman Josh Howard sat out to rest his surgically-repaired left ankle, the Mavs won and won again. And now the Mavericks will try to prove the skeptics wrong yet again, with leading-scorer Dirk Nowitzki questionable for Sunday's matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers with a deep laceration to his right elbow.
"We obviously hope for the best, but we don't know what the timetable is going to be (for Nowitzki's return)," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "We have to have other guys ready. We've had a lot of guys play well this year and I expect them to do that in his absence."
Nowitzki sustained the injury early in the second quarter of a 116-108 overtime loss to the Houston Rockets on Friday night, colliding with Rockets forward Carl Landry at the 9:28-mark of the period. While Landry left the game missing a few teeth, Nowitzki sat in the home team's locker room, never returning after receiving stitches from the incident. Though x-rays were negative, the Mavs star remained at home, taking pain medications, while the team practiced on Saturday. No. 41's status is still up in the air going into the Mavs' game on Sunday.
But if the Mavericks are to be without the league's sixth leading-scorer for an extended period of time, a veteran core is prepared to pick up for the void left by Nowitzki's absence.
(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
That veteran leadership starts with point guard Jason Kidd and filters down to the reserve role players. The future Hall-of-Famer will be called upon to be both a vocal and on-court leader if Nowitzki is on the shelf.
"Kidd is great. He took a hard foul the other night, and he was making a point -- it's time to quite being soft and start playing harder and at a higher level. That helped us at that point and time," Carlisle said.
But it will take a total team effort to make up for No. 41's on-court production and intangibles.
"Obviously, (Nowitzki) is our go-to-guy on this team and the leader of this team," center Erick Dampier said. "But regardless of whether he's going to play or not, we still have to put five guys out on the floor. We have the talent to compete with anyone in this league, with Dirk or without him."
"We still have the talent to go out there and win. It doesn't matter who is out there. As long as we're playing together, having fun, sharing the ball and the things we've been doing the whole season, we're going to give ourselves a chance to win."
(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
Stopping LeBron James is a must for Dallas to get a win Sunday
Now the Mavericks will need Kidd and the veteran core most of all if they are going to get back on the winning side against a perennial Eastern Conference power in Cleveland, led by reigning MVP LeBron James. The Mavs will be out to avenge a 111-95 loss in Cleveland on Nov. 28, when James put up 25 points and dished out 12 assists to outdo Nowitzki's 27-point night.
"They're an excellent team -- a lot weapons. LeBron James is a great, great player. (Shaquille O'Neal) is still a major force to deal with, and their guard-play is excellent, they shoot the three great. There's a lot of things you have to prepare for. But most of all, you have to play really hard and really efficiently, and that's what we'll have to do," Carlisle said.
James, the league's third leading-scorer, will once again play a prominent role in the Cavaliers' attack, both as a primary scorer and a play-making facilitator. With O'Neal and Mo Williams by his side, James has plenty of options to go to when the ball is in his hands.
"We know exactly what Cleveland is going to do coming in," Dampier said. "(James) is going to take his shots, he's going to make great passes to those guys and he's going to do what he's been doing the whole season to try to get a win. He's one of the best players in the league."
In a battle of division leaders, the Mavericks host the Cavaliers at the American Airlines Center on Sunday evening at 6:30 p.m. CT. That game will air locally on TXA 21 and TXA HD, and nationally on NBA TV. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS. It is the second game of a four-game home stand.
The Mavericks and the NBA have introduced the official NBA All-Star game ballot, featuring Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Josh Howard, Shawn Marion and Jason Terry. For more on how to vote for your favorite Mavs for the All-Star game, to be held at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, visit Mavs.com.
Follow Mavs.com’s Earl K. Sneed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EarlKSneed.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment