# Shooters still need to shoot



## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

Notebook: Shooters still need to shoot

Art Garcia | Mavs.com
Posted: Dec. 28, 2007

Shooters shoot the ball. When they don’t make shots, what can shooters do?

“They keep shooting,” Mavericks coach Avery Johnson said Friday after practice. “They spend a little bit more time just trying to simplify things. They try to get to a spot or two and say, ‘Hey, just let me make it from this spot.’

“But more than that, they talk to their teammates about setting better picks to bring them up a little more. They just try to work themselves out of it. But a shooter never goes to sleep thinking he can’t shoot.”

Sleep probably hasn’t been easy for come by for Jason Terry the last couple of nights. The Jet nearly went seven scoreless quarters before finally getting a shot to fall late in the third quarter of Thursday’s 88-81 home loss to Cleveland.

Terry’s struggles during the two-game losing streak – 3 of 22 (13.7 percent) from the floor – mirror an overall issue going into Saturday’s noon start against Atlanta. The Mavs (19-11) can’t buy a basket right now, shooting just 39.3 percent in the back-to-back setbacks to Utah and Cleveland. 

“We’ll go back to the drawing board,” Terry said.

Expect most of the chalk to be used up illustrating better ball movement. The coaching staff measures ball movement several ways, such as charting how often the team swings the ball and the conversion rate off pick-and-rolls.

Less ball movement usually means more contested shots, especially for those expecting to carry more of the scoring burden. Dirk Nowitzki is 14 of 36 (38.8 percent) from the floor in the last two games. 

Going into the Utah game, Dallas was shooting 47.2 percent and riding a five-game winning streak. Johnson stopped short of sounding the alarm sirens for the recent getting-the-ball-in-the-basket woes.

“We’ve rarely ever seen it that way,” he said. “When we have a bunch of our shooters not making their shots, we want them to keep shooting. But at the same time, just be more aggressive and take the ball to the basket.”

*Reasons are simple*

Rust built up from the four-day break didn’t lead to the last two losses. Try an 86-48 deficit in points in the paint and 94-85 shortfall on the boards.

“We just hadn’t rebounded,” Avery Johnson said. “We hadn’t really protected the paint like we need to. We just haven’t played well overall for long enough stretches in games. We played two pretty good teams.”

Despite its struggles through December, the Jazz are coming off a trip to the Western Conference and did lose at American Airlines Center earlier this month. The defending Eastern Conference champion Cavaliers also had revenge on their minds after dropping their season/home opener to the Mavs.

“So it’s not like we’re playing any slugs,” Johnson continued. “We’re playing against some really good teams. And we have to execute for a long stretch of the game. And we have to play well and we have to rebound. And we just haven’t done it.”


*Payback the other way*

Atlanta gave the Mavs their first loss of the season. After a long dry spell, the Hawks (15-12) finally may be starting to soar. Joe Johnson, Josh Smith and Marvin Williams lead a freakishly athletic roster of high-flyers.

“They are long and athletic,” Avery Johnson said. “They have won five games, or so, in a row. They are the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference now, so we’re going to have to play well.

“They’re long, they can switch. They can guard you. They pound the boards. So we’re going to need a lot of effort and energy and enthusiasm and a high level of concentration when we play against them.”


http://www.nba.com/mavericks/news/Notebook_122807.html


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## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

BS copout alert!! I'll try to recall the numbers:

Against the Cavaliers - down 81-79 - the Mavs had eight more possessions in the game. They shot eight times - 6 3 pointers - missing all of them. They finished 4-20 from 3pt distance, shooting themselves out of the game.

They did the same thing against the Heat a couple of years ago.

I heard a stat about the Mavs record when they shoot 20 or more 3s, and it wasn't very good as you might imagine. Bottom line: if they refuse to take the ball to the rim, they will sentence themselves to an early vacation. 

Shake the team up - this thing is flawed.


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

I have no problem with shooters shooting, the problem is that we only have two elite shooters in Jet and Dirk and both don't hit at a high clip right now. This team was different when we beat the Spurs two years ago, much more aggressive and they were taking it to the rim on a frequent basis. 

I am not even sure if a trade would be enough unless it is trading for a superstar.


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## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

croco said:


> I am not even sure if a trade would be enough unless it is trading for a superstar.


I'm referring to blowing the thing up, or geting rid of the coach if he can't instill his will upon the team.


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## t1no (Jul 10, 2005)

I give the team and Avery Johnson one more year and if we don't win then yes blow the team up and trade up for a superstar.


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## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

t1no said:


> I give the team and Avery Johnson one more year ...


You mean this season, or are you giving them another after this?


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

Yeah, it's now or never and anything but the Finals would be a failure, this is about the only good thing right now.


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## t1no (Jul 10, 2005)

xray said:


> You mean this season, or are you giving them another after this?


This season.


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## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

t1no said:


> This season.


Summer, or trading deadline? :gossip:


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## t1no (Jul 10, 2005)

No, the regular season and the playoffs. I think it's too late to break up this team this season.


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

Blow it up; tear it down; torch it sideways....

I don't care. I am tired of watching a jump-shooting team.

I haven't watched any of the games lately, even on TV......


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## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

If only attendance would be affected - then management would notice; but then, that would require a knowledgeable fan base - not just a bunch of yuppies out on the town.

Or is Cuban our secret weapon? :raised_ey Might he get fed up with this style of play?


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

xray said:


> If only attendance would be affected - then management would notice; but then, that would require a knowledgeable fan base - not just a bunch of yuppies out on the town.
> 
> Or is Cuban our secret weapon? :raised_ey Might he get fed up with this style of play?


The problem is that the attendance will NOT be affected. There are suckers like myself who's already paid for the tickets.... even after that glorious exit last season.

:azdaja: :azdaja: :azdaja: :azdaja: :azdaja: :azdaja: :azdaja:


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## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

edwardcyh said:


> The problem is that the attendance will NOT be affected. There are suckers like myself who's already paid for the tickets.... even after that glorious exit last season.
> 
> :azdaja: :azdaja: :azdaja: :azdaja: :azdaja: :azdaja: :azdaja:


Well, unless a bunch of dumbies (sorry) prepaid for season tickets for '08-09, they should take a hit next season - barring a real surprise run in the playoffs coming up...

..and boy, will I be surprised. :jawdrop:


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## Dragnsmke1 (Jul 29, 2002)

does antone think this would be a problem if Dirk had just been groomed and continued to play SF?


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## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

Dragnsmke1 said:


> does antone think this would be a problem if Dirk had just been groomed and continued to play SF?


Hindsight being 20/20, we would've seen him become his European best in that case. There would've been hate (he can't defend, rebound well, etc.), but man would he be a scorer! :biggrin:


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

I wonder what he would look like if Nellie were still the coach.


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

croco said:


> I wonder what he would look like if Nellie were still the coach.


Dirk wouldn't be MVP. DAL wouldn't have that 67 win season. DAL would make the 2nd round of playoff every year. Team would jack up 28-30 3's per game on the average. The fans would still be pissed off all the time (see PHX fans) because defense wins ships.

Either way, we'd be pissy little fans.


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## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

edwardcyh said:


> Either way, we'd be pissy little fans.


Funny how things haven't really changed, after all is said and done...


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

xray said:


> Funny how things haven't really changed, after all is said and done...


That will always be the brutal truth until they win a ship.


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## Dragnsmke1 (Jul 29, 2002)

edwardcyh said:


> That will always be the brutal truth until they win a ship.


this team doesnt even have a personality now...if you started watching the NBA oday(as my 2 year old is) what about this team makes you like them?:whoknows:


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## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

Dragnsmke1 said:


> this team doesnt even have a personality now...if you started watching the NBA oday(as my 2 year old is) what about this team makes you like them?:whoknows:


As I've followed sports through my life, I think the biggest factor in following a team is the history of players and franchises. If your daughter is already watching, she'll develop a knowledge base that we naturally build upon.


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

xray said:


> As I've followed sports through my life, I think the biggest factor in following a team is the history of players and franchises. If your daughter is already watching, she'll develop a knowledge base that we naturally build upon.


Thank you, Mr. Bush Jr.


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