Mavericks vs Pacers 1/12/11

Mavericks drop another game making their record without Dirk 2-6. Is it time to sound the alarm? On the top layer I would say yes it is, but lets slow down and look at the big picture. Mavs still have a lot of basketball to play, we haven't eve made the All-Star break yet so there is still time to turn things around once Dirk gets back in the line-up. That being said I think that's the only way they can turn it around, is if Dirk is there. Not only does he average 24.1 points, 54.5% shooting and 7.4 rebounds, he also brings the mental part of the game with him. The team trusts giving him the ball in any situation at any time of the game. Without him, I see a hesitation from the team, a mental collapse. The last thing you want your players to think is they can't win without Dirk and at this rate that's the way it seems to be going. Once the Pacers, Magic, or any other team has taken a significant lead the Mavs take their foot off the gas and just think "well if we had Dirk we would have won" what they need to start thinking is "well if we had Dirk we would have won even bigger". The Mavs need to find a way to slow the bleeding and fast because right now they're showing their true colours to the league and other teams are going to learn how to beat them with or without Dirk.

To put in perspective on how the Pacers season has been going. They are 10-2 this season when scoring 100 or more points. Good right? Well they are also 6-13 against teams above .500. There last time putting two wins together was Nov 30th against Sacramento.

Side Notes
- Terry scored 18pts off the bench to lead the team in scoring.
- Kidd passed Dale Ellis into 3rd place on the NBA all-time career 3-points (1,722).
- Rookie Paul George hits a career-high 16 points.
- Pacers snap a 5 game losing streak versus the Mavs.

Mavericks 1/12/11 FGM/A ADS ADS+ Ajinca 2/7 17.9 17.9 Barea 4/8 10.9 10.9 Cardinal 1/2 19 19 Chandler 3/6 7 5.5 Haywood 0/3 5.3 4.3 Jones 1/1 13 13 Kidd 4/9 21.7 21.7 Mahinmi 0/1 1 1 Marion 5/12 7.2 6.7 Pavlovic 1/3 21.7 21.7 Stevenson 3/8 24.4 24.4 Terry 9/20 16.2 16.2 Team Total 33/80 14.8 14

Pacers 1/12/11 FGM/A ADS ADS+ Collison 6/9 17.2 15.6 Dunleavy 1/6 19.8 17.1 Ford 4/7 18.7 18.7 Foster 1/5 9.2 9.2 George 6/9 21.4 21.4 Granger 5/13 13.2 11.5 Hansbrough 2/6 12.7 11 Hibbert 4/8 7.6 6.9 S. Jones 0/2 1 1 Posey 1/2 19 19 Rush 7/16 16.8 15.8 Team Total 37/83 15.2 14.1

Thanks to Heath Huston for the data.
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