Mavs turn attention to D
In the current NBA, without a physical defense, a team has no chance of winning.
Case in point: The San Antonio Spurs and the Detroit Pistons have won the past three NBA championships, and for the past three years both teams have dominated the league defensively.
Through those three years, both teams have been among the top three in scoring defense in the NBA. This season, both teams are still in the top three, and both teams are among the top three in the league standings.
The only other team that has been able to hang with the Pistons and the Spurs so far this year has been the Dallas Mavericks. Traditionally, the Mavs have been viewed as a high-flying, high-scoring team that?s more interested in running up the scoreboard then playing defense. For the past three years, Dallas has been in the top three in team scoring.
But coach Avery Johnson knows that his team needs to be more defensive to have any chance of contending and he has been preaching this to his players all year.
?It?s about playing physical basketball, taking away easy layups, giving hard fouls when appropriate,? he told reporters recently.
It appears his players are buying in. Prior to Tuesday?s game against the Lakers, the Mavs were riding an 11-game winning streak and had climbed to first in the Southwest tied with the Spurs. Through those 11 games, they allowed just 87.5 ppg while scoring 102 ppg.
Overall, the Mavs? scoring offense has dipped to less than 100 ppg this season. However, through 47 games, the team is allowing an average of just 93.3 ppg, ninth fewest in league.
The Mavs? defensive success has resulted in lower overall scores. Though their 11-game win streak, eight games fell below the posted total with only two going OVER.
And with such a large spread between average points scored and points allowed, the Mavs? have been covering the number. Through the 11-game win streak they went 9-2 ATS.
Despite this success, Johnson believes his team still needs to become more physical and to improve defensively. A big test will come on Thursday when the Mavs host the Miami Heat in the first game of TNT?s weekly doubleheader (8 p.m. ET).
The Heat have been on fire lately having won 11 of their past 15 games SU (9-5-1 ATS) to improve to 30-19 and take a commanding lead in the Southeast division. Leading the way for the Heat has been Dwayne Wade, who?s averaging 27 ppg (fifth-most in the league) and a team-leading 6.9 assists per game.
Miami has also benefited from the return of Shaquille O?Neal who missed 18 games earlier in the season due to an ankle injury. Shaq is second on the team in scoring averaging 19 ppg and leads the team in rebounds with 9.3 rpg. Since his return in early December, the Heat are 20-9 SU.
Meanwhile, Dirk Nowitzki leads the Mavs in scoring with 25.4 ppg (9th overall) and rebounds with 8.5 rpg. Interestingly, Dallas has not been overly dependent on Nowitzki and has been able to spread the ball around ? six players are averaging more than 10 ppg.
Prior to Tuesday, in games where Nowitzki wasn?t the leading scorer (or tied for the leading score), the Mavericks were still 12-4 SU.
Thursday?s game will be the second meeting between the Heat and Mavs this season. They met back on Nov. 25 in Miami with the Mavs winning 103-90 as 1-point favorites.
At the time, Shaq was still out with the ankle injury and the Heat were still being coached by Stan Van Gundy. With the team 11-10, Van Gundy resigned as coach on Dec. 11 and was replaced by Heat President Pat Riley. Since Riley took over, the Heat are 19-9.
Other Thursday game:
In the second of TNT?s doubleheader, the Chicago Bulls will visit Ron Artest and the Sacramento Kings (10:30 p.m. ET).
Sacramento is currently in the basement of the Pacific division with a record of 20-27 SU (21-26 ATS). The Bulls are at the bottom of the Central with a record of 20-27 SU (20-27 ATS). Prior to Tuesday, the Bulls were 6-2 ATS in their past eight games.
Both teams have seen more games go OVER the posted total this season. The Bulls are 27-20 on the OVER/UNDER; the Kings are 24-21-2.
Since the defensive-minded Artest joined the Kings last month, the team has gone 2-3 SU (2-3 ATS). However, only one of those games has topped the total.
---Perry
Lines Dept of
BetWWTS
In the current NBA, without a physical defense, a team has no chance of winning.
Case in point: The San Antonio Spurs and the Detroit Pistons have won the past three NBA championships, and for the past three years both teams have dominated the league defensively.
Through those three years, both teams have been among the top three in scoring defense in the NBA. This season, both teams are still in the top three, and both teams are among the top three in the league standings.
The only other team that has been able to hang with the Pistons and the Spurs so far this year has been the Dallas Mavericks. Traditionally, the Mavs have been viewed as a high-flying, high-scoring team that?s more interested in running up the scoreboard then playing defense. For the past three years, Dallas has been in the top three in team scoring.
But coach Avery Johnson knows that his team needs to be more defensive to have any chance of contending and he has been preaching this to his players all year.
?It?s about playing physical basketball, taking away easy layups, giving hard fouls when appropriate,? he told reporters recently.
It appears his players are buying in. Prior to Tuesday?s game against the Lakers, the Mavs were riding an 11-game winning streak and had climbed to first in the Southwest tied with the Spurs. Through those 11 games, they allowed just 87.5 ppg while scoring 102 ppg.
Overall, the Mavs? scoring offense has dipped to less than 100 ppg this season. However, through 47 games, the team is allowing an average of just 93.3 ppg, ninth fewest in league.
The Mavs? defensive success has resulted in lower overall scores. Though their 11-game win streak, eight games fell below the posted total with only two going OVER.
And with such a large spread between average points scored and points allowed, the Mavs? have been covering the number. Through the 11-game win streak they went 9-2 ATS.
Despite this success, Johnson believes his team still needs to become more physical and to improve defensively. A big test will come on Thursday when the Mavs host the Miami Heat in the first game of TNT?s weekly doubleheader (8 p.m. ET).
The Heat have been on fire lately having won 11 of their past 15 games SU (9-5-1 ATS) to improve to 30-19 and take a commanding lead in the Southeast division. Leading the way for the Heat has been Dwayne Wade, who?s averaging 27 ppg (fifth-most in the league) and a team-leading 6.9 assists per game.
Miami has also benefited from the return of Shaquille O?Neal who missed 18 games earlier in the season due to an ankle injury. Shaq is second on the team in scoring averaging 19 ppg and leads the team in rebounds with 9.3 rpg. Since his return in early December, the Heat are 20-9 SU.
Meanwhile, Dirk Nowitzki leads the Mavs in scoring with 25.4 ppg (9th overall) and rebounds with 8.5 rpg. Interestingly, Dallas has not been overly dependent on Nowitzki and has been able to spread the ball around ? six players are averaging more than 10 ppg.
Prior to Tuesday, in games where Nowitzki wasn?t the leading scorer (or tied for the leading score), the Mavericks were still 12-4 SU.
Thursday?s game will be the second meeting between the Heat and Mavs this season. They met back on Nov. 25 in Miami with the Mavs winning 103-90 as 1-point favorites.
At the time, Shaq was still out with the ankle injury and the Heat were still being coached by Stan Van Gundy. With the team 11-10, Van Gundy resigned as coach on Dec. 11 and was replaced by Heat President Pat Riley. Since Riley took over, the Heat are 19-9.
Other Thursday game:
In the second of TNT?s doubleheader, the Chicago Bulls will visit Ron Artest and the Sacramento Kings (10:30 p.m. ET).
Sacramento is currently in the basement of the Pacific division with a record of 20-27 SU (21-26 ATS). The Bulls are at the bottom of the Central with a record of 20-27 SU (20-27 ATS). Prior to Tuesday, the Bulls were 6-2 ATS in their past eight games.
Both teams have seen more games go OVER the posted total this season. The Bulls are 27-20 on the OVER/UNDER; the Kings are 24-21-2.
Since the defensive-minded Artest joined the Kings last month, the team has gone 2-3 SU (2-3 ATS). However, only one of those games has topped the total.
---Perry
Lines Dept of
BetWWTS
