Mavericks vs Pistons 1/17/11

Well everyone, I have a confession to make. I'm not a native Texan though I have lived here most my life I am originally from Detroit. Yes, I am a Detroit sports fan Red Wings, Tigers, Pistons, and the Lions. Even with my heart in Motown I gave the Pistons little to no chances of beating the Mavericks. You may be asking "but Tim the Mavs have lost five straight, and only have scored over 100 twice in the month of January!". You make a good argument , but hear me out on this. It was a coaches decision to bench Hamilton for a 4th straight game while ownership continues to try and trade him. This win makes three in a row and a season high for them. Their top center Ben Wallace was out with a hurt ankle and gave up ten turnovers in the first half, but tightened things up only giving up one in the second half.

The Mavs side of the game had it's highs and lows, unfortunately there were more lows. Dirk in only his second game back from his knee injury scored a game high of 32 points. Maybe with Dirk in the line-up the rest of the team feels they need a nine day break as well. Ever since Kidd became the 3rd highest in three-pointers in NBA history he has only made two of his last sixteen. Once a again the Mavs fall behind by 20 points and this time it was to a Pistons team that is in its rebuilding stage. Dallas had 26 points in the paint compared to Detroit's 50 not only was the point difference huge, but the ADS shows it. A sugnificant difference between their ADS shows that the Mavs are struggling to get to the net for the second game in a row. If you can't make it to the basket you better hope your long shots are on, and the Mavs can't even get that right.

The Mavs have dropped to 6th in the West and as they set their cross hairs on the Lakers could easily drop further down the standings, in a division that isn't the easiest to rise up in. The Dallas Nowitzkis (or is it Mavs, I can't remember) need to figure out what needs to be fixed because their upcoming schedule will make it easier to dig a hole then to get out of one.

Side Notes
- Last six game losing streak for the Mavs was in 2000.
- Pavlovic broke his nose in the first, returned in the fourth.
- Mavs shooting percentage was held to 39.3 for the first three quarters.
- Hamilton was benched for his 4th straight game.
- Ben Gordon is two three-pointers shy of 1000 for his career.

Mavericks 1/17/11 FGM/A ADS ADS+ Ajinca 1/3 6.3 6.3 Barea 3/7 11.6 11.6 Cardinal 2/3 23.3 23.3 Haywood 2/4 4.5 3 Jones 0/1 18 18 Kidd 0/7 26.4 26.4 Mahinmi 3/3 .3 .3 Marion 2/8 6.6 6.6 Pavlovic 1/2 21 21 Nowitzki 10/17 20.3 16.6 Stevenson 2/4 20.5 20.5 Terry 8/14 16.6 15.6 Team Total 34/73 15.7 14.3

Pistons 1/17/11 FGM/A ADS ADS+ Bynum 2/6 9.3 9.3 Daye 1/5 10.4 10.4 Gordon 3/8 17 13.8 McGrady 4/6 15.2 15.2 Monroe 7/12 4.2 3.9 Prince 9/12 13.7 13.7 Stuckey 6/8 9.4 7.7 Summers 0/1 19 19 Villanueva 6/9 17.8 17.8 Wilcox 4/6 4.8 4.8 Team Total 42/73 11.4 10.6

Thanks to Heath Huston for the data.
What is ADS? Read the FAQ and find out.