Mavericks Practice Report 11/27/09
If Jason Terry had his way, every game would begin and end with him on the court.
The reigning Sixth Man of the Year has always been a mainstay for the Dallas Mavericks down the stretch of games, but he is growing accustom to his recent starting role at the shooting guard position. So accustom that he is slowly lobbying to his coach to stay in that role permanently.
"I've put my bid in," Terry said. "And I think Coach knows going forward, with the progression of (rookie Rodrigue Beaubois), how he's playing helps my cause."
Mavs coach Rick Carlisle inserted Terry into the starting lineup four games ago. The Mavericks have gone 3-1 since the sharpshooter joined the first unit.
"I'm comfortable in that role and hopefully we can continue to get wins," Terry added.
The point hasn't quite hit home for Carlisle, but Terry's play has caught the coach's eye.
"The policy around here, we don't talk about lineups," Carlisle said. "He's been doing a good job, but I haven't heard him lobbying."
(Photo by Tim Heitman/NBAE via Getty Images)
If Terry is working behind the scenes to stay with the first-stringers, then his play on the court is speaking loud enough for him. Terry is coming off of a 21-point performance in the Mavericks' 108-107 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. While the Mavericks claimed an NBA record-tying 10th straight win in games decided by one point, Terry was a big reason for the team's success.
"We all know (Terry) can score, he defends and I think for him it's more of a comfort level starting," point guard Jason Kidd said of his backcourt mate. "But you've got to go with the matchups, and Coach is one that can change lineups on the go. But with JET (Terry) starting, I think his level of play has certainly risen. He's helped us a lot on getting off to a good start."
But if Terry is in the starting lineup, then that impacts the minutes of the likes of swingman Josh Howard, as well as reserve guards J.J. Barea and the first-year pro Beaubois. With Howard in the sixth man role, alongside Barea and Beaubois who played together in the backcourt, the Mavericks' bench played well against the Bucks. But now they all, including Terry, will be asked by Carlisle to do it again, whether they are starters or key reserves.
"Whoever is coming off the bench, whether it's JET or Barea or Josh or the combination of all of them, we expect all those guys to perform and perform well," the coach said.
(Photo by Danny Bollinger/NBAE via Getty Images)
The interchangeability of Barea and Beaubois gives Carlisle a few more options. For the first time, in Tuesday night's win, the two combo guards hit the court together during valuable game time. Carlisle liked what he saw.
"They played well last night," Carlisle said of the duo of Barea and Beaubois. "They haven't played together much, besides at the end of games where there have been huge point spreads. Look, anything that works, I'm certainly willing to look at it again."
"I thought it was good for us to have that kind of lineup with the speed factor," Kidd said after watching the uptempo play from the two young guards. "J.J. is quick, but Roddy (Beaubois) is fast...I thought it was a positive thing. If it's a slow game, we can get the tempo in our favor. They did a great job out there."
Regardless of who is on the court, the Mavericks are hopeful that the momentum of back-to-back wins continues when the team hits the road and lands in Phoenix with a nationally televised game against the Suns on the docket.
Fittingly, the Mavericks claimed a one-point victory, a 102-101 home win, over the Suns in their Dec. 8 meeting. Now the Mavericks try to win by a wider margin, with the matchup airing nationally on TNT at 9:30 p.m. CT.
Dallas returns home to host the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS. The game will air locally on TXA 21, TXA HD and HD NET at 8 p.m. CT. The Mavericks will be out to avenge an 85-81 home loss on Dec. 22.
For up to the minute news on the Dallas Mavericks, visit Mavs.com. Follow Mavs.com’s Earl K. Sneed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EarlKSneed.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment