Mavericks Practice Report
A grueling 82-game schedule is always filled with peaks and valleys. The key is to be peaking at the right time, and not to allow a valley to turn into the Grand Canyon.
The Dallas Mavericks weren't too high when they were playing their best, and now with the team on a two-game skid, they aren't too low.
At the root of the problem has been the Mavericks' offense, which has struggled to put the ball in the basket the past two games. It is an easily fixable problem, superstar Dirk Nowitzki said.
"Shooting the ball the way we did the last couple of games, we have to figure something out," Nowitzki said. "We hold a team to 80 at home (in a 80-75 loss to Atlanta) and we can't find a way to win, that's pretty disappointing."
"We have to execute a lot better, get good shots and get to the line. We'll be alright. We'll keep working, we're going to take shots if they're there, if not move with pick-and-rolls and just get the ball hopping a little more."
(Photo by Tim Heitman/NBAE via Getty Images)
Now, more so than ever, the Mavericks feel like they have to be aggressive in their efforts to score at the rim. Admittedly confessing to falling in love with the jump shot of late, Dallas hopes to change that against the Phoenix Suns when the two squads face off at the American Airlines Center on Tuesday night.
"You can't be tentative ever in this league. You can't lose your confidence. The next shot is coming your way and you have to step right into it, like you've made 10 in a row," Nowitzki said.
But against the Suns, Dallas will have to look to be aggressive while not playing right into the run-and-gun style that Phoenix displays at both ends.
"We just have to play our game," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "Our game is to be aggressive, but we have to do better defensively and in the rebounding department."
Dallas will also be keying in on former Mav and two-time MVP Steve Nash, who is playing like he could add a third piece of hardware to his trophy case this season. Slowing the fast-breaking Suns down will start with limiting Nash's role in the Phoenix offense, Carlisle said.
"It's hard to take him (Nash) out because he's so good, but he certainly is the fulcrum of their team in so many ways," Carlisle said.
Stopping Nash will be atop the Mavericks' priority list when the two teams meet, but not allowing the pass-first point guard to get his teammates involved will be a challenge all night long. To combat the Suns' top-scoring offense, Dallas plans to make Phoenix work on both ends of the floor. That translates into making the Suns play defense, which has been like a foreign language for the No. 2 team in the Pacific Division standings.
"When you're guarding them you have to make sure you contest their shots and make them play defense -- put pressure on them as well," former Sun Shawn Marion said. "You have to do the same thing they're doing at you most of the time. It's a matter of who's going to play some defense and who's going to stop each other."
The Mavericks-Suns matchup will air on KTXA 21, KTXA HD and HD NET at 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS.
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.
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