Mavericks Practice Report (12/24/09)
The Dallas Mavericks' Christmas list is short.
A healthy floor general, better offensive production and improved play at home is all the Mavericks are asking St. Nick for this holiday season.
Santa's must-get list for Dallas starts with the health of point guard Jason Kidd, who hit the court hard contesting Brandon Roy's shot attempt in the final seconds of an 85-81 home loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night. Kidd missed the team's practice on Thursday but Mavs coach Rick Carlisle is hopeful the veteran pass-first lead guard will be ready to go by the team's matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday afternoon.
"(Kidd) is sore, and he didn't practice today," Carlisle said. "We'll hold our breath and see where we are come Saturday. But if he can't go, then Roddy (Beaubois) has to be ready to step in and play minutes. That's where we're at. I'm still hopeful that (Kidd) can play, but he took a nasty, nasty fall."
"J. Kidd is a soldier," forward Shawn Marion said of his floor general. "He took a hard fall and it takes a lot for him to stop working and stop ticking. He has to do what he has to do to take care of his body and we have to control that as well."
With Dallas hopeful that Kidd will not miss any time due to injury, the Mavericks are also wishing that the holiday spirit brings along a better flow offensively. The Mavs have gone through shooting droughts of late, but Carlisle says that offensive cohesiveness is on the way.
"We spent a lot of time today shooting, and we just have to stay with our defense and our offense will come around...Shot-making comes and goes, even with the best shooting teams. The thing that I like is that we've made real progress as a defensive team -- much more than anyone could have imagined in this period of time. But we've got to now sustain that and we have to work on our offensive rhythm and our shot-making. We'll continue to do that," Carlisle said.
(Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)
Dallas will try to avenge a Dec. 4 loss on Saturday
Dallas will need improved play offensively on Saturday if they are to beat a hard-charging Memphis Grizzlies squad just a day after Christmas. The Grizzlies are 7-3 in their last 10 games, despite sitting last in the Southwest Division standings, and they have already claimed a win over the Mavs this season with a 98-82 home win on Dec. 4. That loss sticks out to the Mavs as they look for both retribution and better play at home when Dallas wraps up a four-game home stand.
"With Memphis coming in here, we've got to deal with a great low-post player and rebounder in (Zach) Randolph, the best offensive rebounding team in the league and a team that doesn't have great 3-point numbers but they lite us up like a Christmas tree the last time we played them," Carlisle said.
"We laid an egg the last game (in Memphis)," Marion said. "We have to come out here and match their intensity...We have to keep them off the boards and make them play some defense. We have to play some offense and make them play defense."
(Photo by Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images)
The Shawn Marion Foundation will bring Christmas to seven families
Marion will hit the court on Saturday after making Christmas wishes come true for seven families.
While most players will be spending their Christmas Day surrounded by family and friends in front of the television set, Marion, the Shawn Marion Foundation and the ChildCareGroup, a United Way agency, will personally deliver toys, bikes, TVs, clothes, furniture, gift cards and gifts to seven Dallas area single mothers and their children on Christmas morning.
"That's what this time is about," Marion said. "This is about giving and sharing. We are definitely blessed in the situation that we're in to give back. It's easy to give people checks and money, but I like to take the effort and let the people see me doing it personally.
"I grew up in a single-family home, so I know what it's like to grow up and be without something. You wake up wondering what you're going to have for Christmas and a lot of times it's not what you want but it's what you need. I'm blessed, why not give a blessing back."
When Marion and the Mavs return to the court they will try to avenge the Dec. 4 loss to the Grizzlies. The game will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest at 2:00 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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