The Mavs Are Back

The Dallas Mavericks are HOT. The Mavericks are scary good, right now. It is a 82 game season, but this 9 game winning streak is a sign of another championship caliber team.

When the Mavs lost a key player in Josh Howard they had fallen to 0-3. Since then the Mavericks have gone 9-1. The Mavericks were able to adjust and many players stepped up in Howard’s absence.

Erick Dampier is just one of those names. Erick Dampier has added a new element to an already dynamic Mavericks team. His post presence is something new to Dallas. The Mavericks have never had a big man contribute to the offence in there 27 years of existence. Let me just read to you some of “Big Damp’s” stats. Against Chicago and Ben Wallace (Mr. All-Defensive Player of the Year) Damp had 14 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Against the Grizzlies Damp had 22 points, 15 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Against the Spurs and the Hornets he had 11 points and 9 rebounds for each game. WOW! Is this REALLY Erick Dampier? Why didn’t you do this the past two years? Because of his play less double teams are placed on Dirk and what does that spell. That equals more points for Dirk and more wins for the Mavs.

Another intriguing fact is the amounts of 3-pointers the mavericks have hoisted this year. They are now averaging 19 3-point attempts this year compared to 13 3-point attempts last year. The threes are falling but this could be a trouble some note. What happens when the shooting goes cold? The Mavericks cannot rely on the 3-ball all year. The only way to consistently win in the NBA is with points in the paint and shots at the free-throw line. The Mavericks are closing in on the team record of 14 straight wins, set in 2002, but the Mavericks must keep up the pace to reach the milestone.