# Magloire working his way back



## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

Magloire working his way back

By JEFF CAPLAN

If not his play, then at least Jamaal Magloire's ironclad work ethic became legend in New Jersey.

After a November home game, Nets shooting coach Bob Thate went looking for Magloire but couldn't find him anywhere. After serious probing, Thate finally stumbled upon him -- in the sauna, riding a stationary bike.

"Even though I wasn't playing in Jersey I was working out twice a day," said Magloire, who recently signed with the Mavs after the Nets waived him. "The guys that are here from New Jersey, they can tell you that."

All that work with no play has produced a lot of pent-up energy. Magloire's debut Monday at Utah lasted five minutes, but it marked his first floor time since Jan. 29.

"I feel like a caged animal not being able to play for a long time for reasons beyond my control," Magloire said. "I'm here now in Dallas and I'm looking forward to helping this team win games."

If Nets coach Lawrence Frank had little use for the 6-foot-11, 265-pound throwback, Mavs coach Avery Johnson has little choice but to get him involved quickly.

Losses to the Lakers and Jazz signaled the urgency to find a reliable rebounder and defender behind Erick Dampier. Foul trouble, always an issue, has been upgraded to grave concern now that Dampier's minutes must increase since losing DeSagana Diop in the Jason Kidd trade.

Fouls stalled Dampier's 16-point, 17-rebound effort at Los Angeles. His absence opened the lane for Kobe Bryant to take over the game.

Two first-quarter fouls at Utah eliminated Dampier early and Carlos Boozer and the Jazz dominated the low post for 46 points in the paint.

"It's definitely going to be important to keep me out of foul trouble down the stretch," Dampier said. "[Magloire] knows how to play basketball. It will be interesting to see what he can do."

Johnson's other options are little-used veteran Juwan Howard, Malik Allen -- who is 6-10 but a light rebounder -- and Brandon Bass in smaller lineups. But, more than the others, Magloire is an old-fashioned banger.

Rust was evident upon Magloire's entrance Monday when a pass slipped through his fingers and out of bounds. The one turnover was the only number not a zero on his stat line.

At just 29, Magloire's career has plummeted from a double-double machine and All-Star in 2003-04 with New Orleans to a journeyman.

"I do want to re-establish myself in this league," Magloire said. "I'm looking forward to the opportunity to do that."

Gifted with a tree-trunk torso and broad upper body that could satiate Johnson's urges to punish would-be penetrators, Magloire's power game seems to be losing its luster in today's NBA.

Trending toward more athletic slashers and rules changes designed to enhance those players' skills, Magloire's lunch-pail plodding, more in line with Charles Oakley than Amare Stoudemire, has been diminished.

So have his minutes. He averaged 30.1 minutes with Milwaukee two seasons ago and averaged 9.2 points and 9.5 rebounds. Last season with Portland he played 21 minutes and managed 6.5 points and 6.1 rebounds. The Blazers' stable of young talent made Magloire expendable.

He landed in New Jersey, played in just 24 games and laid blame for his sedentary existence there on Frank.

*"It's coaching decisions. My game hasn't changed from when I've been an All-Star," Magloire said.* "My work ethic hasn't changed, in fact it's improved. I know it's nothing on my end that I've done, nothing disciplinary, nothing physically that I've done that I shouldn't be doing. I've done everything and more."

http://www.star-telegram.com/287/story/512093.html


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

The bold statement is indeed bold considering he shouldn't have been an All-Star to begin with and he also declined rapidly since.


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## Dragnsmke1 (Jul 29, 2002)

at least he should be worth 6 hard fouls...that a couple of boards and Ill be happy


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

That's a great point in the article.

The old fashioned banger aren't as popular as the "NEW and IMPROVED" athletic big that the league desires....


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## Dragnsmke1 (Jul 29, 2002)

we are the only team out of the elite in the West that doesn't have a great penetrator/finisher


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## Dre (Jun 20, 2003)

Dragnsmke1 said:


> we are the only team out of the elite in the West that doesn't have a great penetrator/finisher


No offense, but what does this have to do with Magloire?

Anyway, I'm excited we have a legitimate starter in the league just here for 6 fouls. He's had a tough year so far, but he's more than serviceable.


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## Ruff Draft (Nov 21, 2004)

He's got a great mindset. I hope we can see his game.


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## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

Ruff Draft said:


> He's got a great mindset. I hope we can see his game.


And you have to have that mindset if you're going to succeed - it would be great if that energy and frustration could be unleashed down the stretch. 

On a side note, I wonder how entertaining the practices are with he and Damp banging it out?


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## Dragnsmke1 (Jul 29, 2002)

Dre™ said:


> No offense, but what does this have to do with Magloire?
> 
> Anyway, I'm excited we have a legitimate starter in the league just here for 6 fouls. He's had a tough year so far, but he's more than serviceable.


because its more of the same, the reason why were considered soft in the middle is becuase we dont have a true penetrator to keep the other bigs in foul trouble. were not gonna be able to balance the scales by adding more bigs who will play 4-5 minutes a game depending on Damps fouls.


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

All of the above "issues" stem from the fact that this is a jump shooting team, and it won't go away as long as our "superstar" is the best shooting big man in the league.


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## Dre (Jun 20, 2003)

edwardcyh said:


> All of the above "issues" stem from the fact that this is a jump shooting team, and it won't go away as long as our "superstar" is the best shooting big man in the league.


I don't really think that's the case. I don't see how his style of play affects his teammates directly, he's not a point guard. It's more on the GM for not bringing in enough good slashers.


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## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

Dre™ said:


> ...I don't see how his style of play affects his teammates directly, he's not a point guard...


But we can see in his absence what effect he has, though not necessarily through fault of his own. This offense has been constructed to use him Garnett-like, but without Garnett's style and skill set. Dirk works best in iso or pick and pop, so the whole team goes iso. That's why I was hoping Kidd's arrival would somehow revolutionize the offense, but that's beyond one player's - even the pg's - ability.


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

Dre™ said:


> I don't really think that's the case. I don't see how his style of play affects his teammates directly, he's not a point guard. It's more on the GM for not bringing in enough good slashers.


I beg to differ...

Josh Howard wasn't exactly known as a shooter, yet he chose to develop his shot and won't hesitate to jack up a three these days.

How about Brandon Bass? The man used to be a blind power dunker, but now he's jacking up shots from the midrange as well.

I have reached a point that I think even Magloire will be camped at the baseline and jacking up outside shots.


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## Dragnsmke1 (Jul 29, 2002)

edwardcyh said:


> I beg to differ...
> 
> Josh Howard wasn't exactly known as a shooter, yet he chose to develop his shot and won't hesitate to jack up a three these days.
> 
> ...


its the offense we run. The good thing with good shooting big men is it creates great spacing in the middle...the problem is we don't have a slasher to exploit that spacing and get other bigs in foul trouble. A big reason we cannot lose the soft title. Ok big deal, we draw Shaq, Tim, Amare, Dwight or whoever else in the world out to the perimeter. We still jack up a jumper. And now all that spacing creates a bad offensive rebounding positioning and we have a fast break against us most likely leading to points or a foul. Devin Harris could have shined here if he wasn't the point guard. All that spacing is great for him but not if hes the one with the ball every time. Thats why I'm starting to think this Kidd idea might not work. Hes not a good enough shooter/finisher to fulfill this roll. I thought Howard was that person until all these jumpers he started jacking up. Granted his back hurt but then the statement about getting used to running threw me. after that were basically a bunch of decent defending wings with respectable enough jump shots and respectable enough lay up ability but too old to be able to exploit it against most teams in the west. So until we get either a dominant inside C or Pf to work that spacing or an I try to dunk on everybody SG or SF to run through it we may have peaked...


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## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

Dragnsmke1 said:


> its the offense we run. The good thing with good shooting big men is it creates great spacing in the middle...the problem is we don't have a slasher to exploit that spacing and get other bigs in foul trouble. A big reason we cannot lose the soft title. Ok big deal, we draw Shaq, Tim, Amare, Dwight or whoever else in the world out to the perimeter. We still jack up a jumper. And now all that spacing creates a bad offensive rebounding positioning and we have a fast break against us most likely leading to points or a foul. Devin Harris could have shined here if he wasn't the point guard. All that spacing is great for him but not if hes the one with the ball every time. Thats why I'm starting to think this Kidd idea might not work. Hes not a good enough shooter/finisher to fulfill this roll. I thought Howard was that person until all these jumpers he started jacking up. Granted his back hurt but then the statement about getting used to running threw me. after that were basically a bunch of decent defending wings with respectable enough jump shots and respectable enough lay up ability but too old to be able to exploit it against most teams in the west. So until we get either a dominant inside C or Pf to work that spacing or an I try to dunk on everybody SG or SF to run through it we may have peaked...


Agreed. Funny but a young Michael Finley is what came to me.


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

xray said:


> Agreed. Funny but a young *Michael Finley* is what came to me.


Booooooo.....


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

Dragnsmke1 said:


> its the offense we run. The good thing with good shooting big men is it creates great spacing in the middle...the problem is we don't have a slasher to exploit that spacing and get other bigs in foul trouble. A big reason we cannot lose the soft title. Ok big deal, we draw Shaq, Tim, Amare, Dwight or whoever else in the world out to the perimeter. We still jack up a jumper. And now all that spacing creates a bad offensive rebounding positioning and we have a fast break against us most likely leading to points or a foul. Devin Harris could have shined here if he wasn't the point guard. All that spacing is great for him but not if hes the one with the ball every time. Thats why I'm starting to think this Kidd idea might not work. Hes not a good enough shooter/finisher to fulfill this roll. I thought Howard was that person until all these jumpers he started jacking up. Granted his back hurt but then the statement about getting used to running threw me. after that were basically a bunch of decent defending wings with respectable enough jump shots and respectable enough lay up ability but too old to be able to exploit it against most teams in the west. So until we get either a dominant inside C or Pf to work that spacing or an I try to dunk on everybody SG or SF to run through it we may have peaked...


A big shooter may be nice, but don't you think it's become the general attitude around here?

Why take the ball to the hole when you can step back and jack up a shot and BE SUCCESSFUL.


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

edwardcyh said:


> A big shooter may be nice, but don't you think it's become the general attitude around here?
> 
> Why take the ball to the hole when you can step back and jack up a shot and *BE SUCCESSFUL.*


That of course was referring to Dirk. Dirk was the best player of the best team last season, and the league awarded him with an empty MVP title. Personally, if I were a new player on the mavs, I'd be trying to be like Dirk and shoot first...


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## Dragnsmke1 (Jul 29, 2002)

edwardcyh said:


> A big shooter may be nice, but don't you think it's become the general attitude around here?
> 
> Why take the ball to the hole when you can step back and jack up a shot and BE SUCCESSFUL.


thats fine while its successful but when the decoy play becomes the main play over the course of the game your screwed.


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

Dragnsmke1 said:


> thats fine while its successful but when the decoy play becomes the main play over the course of the game your screwed.


Amen....


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