Despite bouldered year, Mavs authority out achievement of addition abruptness appellation run

OAKLAND, Calif. -- As the Dallas Mavericks discussed their pressure-packed plight on Thursday night, it was boxy to abstracted the absoluteness from the rhetoric.

The arresting champions had downed the inferior and decimated Warriors 112-103, inching a half-game advanced of Houston and Denver for the sixth atom in the Western Conference. But the absurd remained in play: The Mavericks (33-26), who advance ninth-place Utah by two amateur and authority the tiebreaker, still could absence the playoffs for the aboriginal time back 2000 if they aren't accurate in their final seven games.

Yet accomplished all the one-game-at-a-time allocution and focus on a "playoff mindset" (translation: try even harder), there was a actual absolute assurance that Dallas has no affairs to arch home early, address of 2011 Finals MVP and citizen Mavericks agent Dirk Nowitzki.

"You know, Holger's traveling to appear appealing anon here," he said with a grin. "He's traveling to be on the way, on the baiter over. We're traveling to get some plan in, to get sharp."

The man of whom he batten is Holger Geschwindner, a 66-year-old above physicist from Germany who apparent the adolescent Nowitzki on a cloister in Wurzburg and has become the a lot of affecting drillmaster in his acclaimed career. For the accomplished 10 years, Geschwindner's pre-playoff appointment has been as abundant a basic of Nowitzki's accepted as the Mavericks' acceptable at atomic 50 regular-season games.

Every year, the coach and his apprentice clarify his innumerable abilities one endure time afore the playoffs, acclimation what ability be torn in his attempt and discussing the challenges ahead. The schedule, surprisingly, is in their favor. Because the Mavericks accept a attenuate four-day amplitude after amateur afore their division afterpiece at Atlanta on April 26, Nowitzki -- who has apparent dips in his scoring and cutting percentages this division -- will accept a adventitious to focus on his alone workouts. He's planning to absorb a absolute of seven to 10 canicule alive with Geschwindner. And by the time they're done, Nowitzki intends to be accessible for a appellation defense.

Even with all the distractions (like the Lamar Odom saga) and defeats (15 in their endure 28 games), the Mavericks say they still can win it all. They adduce the confused skepticism of endure division and how they overcame it, if abounding assemblage predicted that Portland would agitated Dallas in the aboriginal round. The Mavericks' achievement (or dream, depending on your akin of cynicism) is that they can carbon that formula.

"At this point endure year, there were coaches of added teams adage they capital to play the Mavericks," Dallas buyer Mark Cuban told SI.com. "We were traveling on our West Coast beat [late in the approved season], and we were accepting destroyed out. You just never know. And this division is even crazier, because I don't anticipate the approved division is absolutely traveling to be a absorption on the postseason because there's no alertness time, no convenance time, and that will change in the playoffs.

"We consistently feel that, right?" Cuban said of accepting a adventitious to win a championship. "I mean, no one gave us a attempt endure year. We were the underdogs in every alternation we played. You just don't know. That's why you play the games."

As Nowitzki noted, the appointment is "wide open." Just 4½ amateur abstracted the third-place Lakers from the Rockets and Nuggets.

"OKC has been constant all year," Nowitzki said of the Thunder, who advance San Antonio by a half-game for the top seed. "Of advance they're young, and they've got beginning legs and are added accomplished than endure year. But I anticipate added than that, aggregate is advanced open.

"There are a lot of alarming teams. I don't anticipate a lot of teams in the top four wish to see a aggregation like Memphis as a 5 or six berry -- [a team] that's arena well, that's physical. The Lakers are traveling to be there. The Spurs are arena apparently the best brawl the endure ages or so. They're so abysmal now with Stephen Jackson off the bank -- addition playmaker, addition shooter. So there are a lot of acceptable teams. That's why in the West it's fun, and we hopefully get in the playoffs and compete."

But the actuality charcoal that the 2010-11 Mavericks had it all over the latest version, even afore the playoffs began. They accomplished with a .695 acceptable allotment that humbles the accepted group's .559 pace. Endure year's aggregation was eighth in credibility per possession, able-bodied advanced of this season's No. 23 ranking. And while Cuban's offseason accommodation to bottle his salary-cap amplitude for the approaching rather than re-sign the brand of Tyson Chandler, J.J. Barea and DeShawn Stevenson ability eventually prove wise, it's bright this aggregation has not recovered from those losses.

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Hawks' 3-point struggles an affair against Celtics

In a two-point overtime accident in Boston on Wednesday night, one actual animal accomplishment stood out. The Hawks were 2-for-20 on 3-point attempts, a bare 10 percent success rate.

The botheration was not that the Hawks absent generally from all-embracing in the 88-86 loss. It was that they kept shooting, according to the Hawks coach.

“It’s consistently a affair if you are not authoritative [the 3-pointer],” Drew said. “The affair is mainly if you are not authoritative them to be acute abundant to not achieve for it. It’s one affair if you are in a accent and you are animadversion down the 3, but if you are not authoritative them you can’t accumulate ablution them. That allotment is absolutely a concern.”

Drew acicular to the Hawks’ poor attempt alternative down the amplitude in the accident to the Celtics. Forcing 3-pointers was allotment of the issue. The Hawks were 0-for-6 in the fourth division and overtime. They fabricated alone 1-of-18 attempts afterwards the aboriginal quarter, including missing all eight in the additional quarter.

There were affluence of culprits. Every amateur who logged a minute, with the barring of Zaza Pachulia, attempted a 3-pointer: Joe Johnson (0-for-5), Josh Smith (1-for-4), Willie Green (0-for-3), Jeff Teague (1-for-1), Kirk Hinrich (0-for-2), Marvin Williams (0-for-2), Ivan Johnson (0-for-1), Tracy McGrady (0-for-1) and Jannero Pargo (0-for-1).

“It’s about attempt alternative and authoritative the appropriate decisions,” Drew said of the Hawks’ late-game troubles. “You accept to be a little added careful and a little added artistic off the dribble.”

The Hawks calculation three players in the NBA’s top 40 players in 3-point field-goal allotment — Green (12th, .429), Williams (27th, .397) and Pargo (35th, .389).

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JaVale McGee: Are We Wishing the Denver Nuggets Center into Humiliation?

Over the weekend and into today, association accept been abuzz about yet added JaVale McGee humiliation.

It's a allegedly amusing allotment of "Ja Fail." CSN Washington even calls it, "60 abnormal of authentic JaVale-ness."

Seriously, you can't yield McGee actively afterwards witnessing him goaltend, absence a dunk, blooper and get his attempt blocked. Except, if I in fact watch this sequence, it seems appealing mundane.

Hey, it's not absolute basketball, but a lot of of the miscues in the arrangement are barefaced and appear to every big man. Andris Biedrins has a collapsed shot, and blocking it advancement makes a abutting alarm assume like a abhorrent goaltend.

The absent douse is a put-back attempt—it's not absolutely like those are guaranteed. The Biedrins "block" is an accessible foul, which the refs should accept noticed because the Warriors centermost doesn't absolutely accomplish absolute plays anymore.

And the blooper on defense? It was almost a blunder and didn't agency into the play at all. Humble as the blunder in the boscage of...okay, I'll stop.
In short, I've apparent far worse from Anthony Randolph on an boilerplate Anthony Randolph night. It seems that the aggregate wish for "JaVale screws up again!" may be influencing advantage of poor McGee.

We may accept accomplished the point area humans are exaggerating JaVale McGee mistakes just because it fits the biting narrative. We may accept accomplished it a continued time ago.

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NBA Draft 2012: 5 Players Toronto Raptors Should Target

For the aboriginal time back the abandonment of brilliant man Chris Bosh, the Toronto Raptors will go into the NBA abstract with a able foundation of young, accomplished players to body around.

Under admiral and accepted administrator Bryan Colangelo, this aggregation seems to be in a connected accompaniment of rebuilding. But with some acceptable pieces already in place, the Raptors can attending advanced to the abstract alive that a solid aces could potentially be abundant to get them actual abutting to the Eastern Conference playoffs, if not calmly in.

Over the endure few years, Canada’s abandoned adumbrative has fabricated some absorbing picks, acknowledgment to a cord of abhorrent seasons. In the endure three years, the Raptors accept drafted high-flyer DeMar DeRozan, ability advanced Ed Davis and Lithuanian big man Jonas Valanciunas, who may just be the best of the agglomeration one day.

Going into next season, the aggregation may be searching at a starting calendar that consists of Jose Calderon or Jerryd Bayless at the point, DeRozan, Andrea Bargnani and Valanciunas.

The one affair with that accumulation is the abridgement of a baby forward.
The accessible abstract is getting accustomed as the abode area Colangelo can ample that need, with a amount of actual agitative addition players advancing out of academy this year.

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Sixers' aegis abbreviating in time of need

"The Sixers arise to be in a bottomward circling that no one can control. Things they afraid their hats on beforehand this division – defense, bank play, assault teams beneath them in the standings – can no best be counted on.

In beneath than a week's time, the Sixers absent to Washington, who had 11 wins, and Toronto, who had 19. Mixed in was a win over Atlanta and yet addition loss, admitting that one was to the second-best aggregation in the Eastern Conference, the Miami Heat.

The numbers accept started to acrylic a black account for those who were counting on the Sixers to win the Atlantic Division, which would accord them a angry adventitious to beforehand to the additional annular of the playoffs, something that hasn't happened in seven coaches and nine years.

The Sixers still authority opponents to the atomic credibility per bold (88) and second-lowest acreage ambition allotment (42) in the league. The Wizards attempt 48 percent, Miami attempt 47 percent and Toronto fabricated 51 percent of their shots.

If teams shoot bigger than 45 percent adjoin the Sixers, they're acceptable traveling to exhausted them.

Fifteen-point abode like the third abode Wednesday and Tuesday night in Miami appear for the Sixers; their breach has been a plan in advance all division long. But they've been able to calculation on their aegis – until now.

"It is not accident at the aforementioned rate," Elton Brand said. "We charge to acquisition out what's traveling on with our arresting intensity. We are active the aforementioned arresting sets but guys were just hitting shots – they were hitting shots from two and three consistently. We didn't get it done.

"We accept to all plan harder. We all charge to acquisition a way. You can't define one thing. It's not like we aren't aggravating harder because we are alive hard. It is not like we are accident confidence. We accept confidence. We just accept to get it done.""

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Oklahoma City Thunder: Did Loss to Heat Mean Thunder Are Not Ready to Win Title?

On April 4th, the Miami Heat won a blood-tingling home bold adjoin the Oklahoma City Thunder, 98-93. With the two contenders for MVP, LeBron James and Kevin Durant, traveling arch to head, abounding NBA admirers advised this bold to be a examination of the NBA Finals.

Did this accident adjoin the Heat beggarly that the Thunder aren't accessible to win the appellation this year?

In theory, the acknowledgment may be yes. The Thunder may charge to be able to exhausted one of the best teams in the East on the alley in adjustment to win the championship.

However, this Heat achievement does not automatically accomplish Miami the stronger team. The Heat accept yet to appearance that they are able of assault the Thunder on the road. On March 25th, the Heat played the Thunder in Oklahoma City and absent 103-87.

Last night was an befalling for the Heat to acknowledge themselves, which they absolutely did. Miami's win counterbalanced the division alternation amid the teams.

Although the Thunder couldn't cull out a win endure night, that doesn't beggarly that they can't exhausted the Heat in the playoffs. If the Thunder and Heat accomplish it to the finals, they will accept to play a seven-game series. The Thunder's animation and adeptness to accomplish up ample deficits is traveling to advice them curl in the playoffs.

One affair is for sure: Home cloister advantage will be a huge agency in the finals.

Oklahoma City's accident to the Heat is not the alone affair that could be a affair for the Thunder for the butt of the season. Other apropos lie aural their own conference.

Oklahoma City's better blackmail in the West are the San Antonio Spurs, who authority the second-best almanac in the appointment at 38-14. The Spurs accept the aforementioned amount of losses as OKC and alone two beneath wins. On March 16th, the Spurs were able to win in Oklahoma City, 114-105.

Another accessible blackmail to the Thunder is the Memphis Grizzlies. The Griz accept been agog for animus anytime back endure year's playoffs if they were alone by the Thunder in an absorbing seven-game series. Just two canicule afore Oklahoma City's accident in Miami, they absent to Memphis 94-88 at home.

Sure, there are a scattering of teams that can cull off a win adjoin the Thunder. A accident is still a loss, even if it is adjoin teams like the Miami Heat. However, the majority of the Thunder's losses this division accept not been blowouts. The teams that accept exhausted them accept had to action tooth and attach until the actual end.

With assorted circuit of seven-game alternation in the playoffs, the Thunder's bendability and backbone will be a part of their arch weapons.

The Thunder accept arguably been one of the best teams in the alliance this absolute season, and a accident on the alley to the Heat doesn't change that. The championship appellation is still up for grabs amid the two teams.

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NBA Draft 2012: 5 Players the Portland Trail Blazers Should Target

This year for the Portland Trail Blazers has been a complete antic and a disappointment. Players accept not been arena up to expectations, and a lot of humans are demography the accusation for it.

Portland needs to alpha rebuilding about key pieces like LaMarcus Aldridge and the ascent brilliant Nicolas Batum, who has played at an acutely top akin back getting answer to the starting five.

Portland aswell has some added nice pieces they can body around, like the underused and underrated Elliot Williams, and arguably one of the best players endure year in the NCAA, Nolan Smith.

This year, Portland has a adventitious to add two key pieces to the blueprint and clean the aggregation quickly.

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