Mavericks Practice Report (12/30/09)
(Photo by Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images)
The Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets know each other about as well as they know themselves.
Having already played each other in an exhibition game and three regular season games, the Mavs and Rockets will not be trying to fool each other when they meet in Houston on Thursday night for the fourth and final meeting between the two in the regular season. Mavs coach Rick Carlisle knows exactly what he is going to get from his counterpart Rick Adelman and the Houston squad.
"Well, it's been pretty frequent, and this is somewhat unusual but these things do happen," Carlisle said of matching up against the Houston team for the fifth time in a three-month span. "You got to roll with the schedule. They're obviously a good team. They've played well against us a lot of the time...We've got our hands full.
"Most of the games (between the two teams) are going to come down to who's playing harder, who's playing more efficiently and who's putting the ball in the basket...They're very good and they play their style very effectively. So, we're going to have to slow them down in transition, try to limit their threes and they've got some guys that do a great job in the post. There are a lot of challenges."
The Mavs lead the season series with the Rockets 2-1, but Dallas still can taste the sourness of a 116-108 overtime loss to Houston at home on Dec. 18.
(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
"We definitely owe them one," center Erick Dampier said. "We didn't play the way we wanted to play here in the last game. We worked on our defensive schemes today, so we're just going to go down their, play hard and try to win us one game."
A theme in the three meetings has been slow starts from the Mavericks, needing valient comeback efforts in the second halves of all three games. That is a trend that must end, the 7-footer said, if the Mavs are going to close out 2009 with a win.
"You could say we've gotten off to a slow start every time we've played this team, but tomorrow we're just going to come out and try to play hard from the beginning of the game and make it an interesting game," Dampier said.
Houston has shown an ability to win without their two superstars, Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, sitting in third place behind Dallas in the Southwest Division standings. Though McGrady is now healthy, the Rockets have indicated to the star that they are moving in a different direction, helping the Mavs turn their full attention towards a balanced Rockets' attack.
"(McGrady) is a great player, but they are obviously proving that they are a very capable team without him," Carlisle said. "Our efforts are going to be focused on the guys that are going to be there, and they're all tough customers."
For Dallas, keeping together a healthy unit is still a top priority. After battling through nagging early season injuries, the Mavs appear to be as healthy as a team can be in an 82-game season.
The Mavericks exhaled a sigh of relief when swingman Josh Howard went through practice on Wednesday after sitting out the day before due to a sore hamstring suffered in the first half of the win against Denver. He is still expected to play against the Rockets on Thursday.
"We've worked hard to try to get healthy," Carlisle said. "We're crossing our fingers that we can stay healthy. It's work, it's time in the training room and a lot of meticulous things with our medical staff...Our goal is to get to Houston healthy and be able to step on the floor and be in good shape. You can't assume anything.
"We're very aware of the importance of good health and what it means, and we don't take it for granted."
Dallas plays its final game of 2009, heading into Houston on New Year's Eve. The Mavericks-Rockets matchup will air locally on KTXA and KTXA HD at 6:00 p.m. CT. It is the second game of four straight on the road for the Mavericks.
The team returns to the American Airlines Center on Jan. 5 to host the Detroit Pistons. That game will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest 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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