Humphries has proven he can help Mavs
November, 21, 2009
Nov 21
1:09
PM CT
DALLAS -- There might not be many minutes for Kris Humphries if the Dallas Mavericks’ big men all finally get healthy at the same time.
But Humphries is making it hard to take him out of the rotation.
The 6-9, 235-pound Humphries, widely considered a throw-in with Shawn Marion in this summer’s four-team deal, has established himself as a solid reserve role player in his first dozen appearances with the Mavs. The six-year veteran, who is still only 24 years old, is averaging career highs in points (6.6), rebounds (4.6) and minutes (15.2).
“I’ve got to prove myself,” Humphries said after his 15-point, five-rebound outing in Friday night’s win over the Sacramento Kings. “I don’t think anyone expected me to come into this team and contribute. For me, from day one, I’ve had to prove that I can contribute to a winning team.”
He has definitely done that during the Mavs’ current five-game winning streak, which came on the heels of Humphries’ only DNP-coach’s decision this season. Humphries has averaged 7.6 points and 5.4 rebounds during the streak, with the Mavs outscoring the opponent during Humphries’ minutes in all but one of those games.
But Humphries is making it hard to take him out of the rotation.
The 6-9, 235-pound Humphries, widely considered a throw-in with Shawn Marion in this summer’s four-team deal, has established himself as a solid reserve role player in his first dozen appearances with the Mavs. The six-year veteran, who is still only 24 years old, is averaging career highs in points (6.6), rebounds (4.6) and minutes (15.2).
“I’ve got to prove myself,” Humphries said after his 15-point, five-rebound outing in Friday night’s win over the Sacramento Kings. “I don’t think anyone expected me to come into this team and contribute. For me, from day one, I’ve had to prove that I can contribute to a winning team.”
He has definitely done that during the Mavs’ current five-game winning streak, which came on the heels of Humphries’ only DNP-coach’s decision this season. Humphries has averaged 7.6 points and 5.4 rebounds during the streak, with the Mavs outscoring the opponent during Humphries’ minutes in all but one of those games.
DALLAS -- The Mavs aren’t nearly as deep as anticipated with three starters sidelined due to various ailments. But they’re still a heck of a lot deeper than the Sacramento Kings.
Dallas’ starter struggled offensively in Friday night’s 104-102 win over the Kings, a game that wasn't as close as the final score indicates. The Mavs’ reserves picked up the slack and then some.
Bench points: Mavs 52, Kings 14.
The Mavs expect reigning Sixth Man of the Year Jason Terry to light it up on a regular basis. His 20 points, 12 of which came in the fourth quarter, were far from a surprise.
But it’s certainly a bonus to get 15 points from Kris Humphries, who hit double digits for the first time in a Mavs uniform and finished two shy of his career high. Tim Thomas chipped in with 11 in his second game since returning from pre-training camp knee surgery.
The Mavs’ climb into a share of the top spot in the Western Conference was truly a team effort.
Dallas’ starter struggled offensively in Friday night’s 104-102 win over the Kings, a game that wasn't as close as the final score indicates. The Mavs’ reserves picked up the slack and then some.
Bench points: Mavs 52, Kings 14.
The Mavs expect reigning Sixth Man of the Year Jason Terry to light it up on a regular basis. His 20 points, 12 of which came in the fourth quarter, were far from a surprise.
But it’s certainly a bonus to get 15 points from Kris Humphries, who hit double digits for the first time in a Mavs uniform and finished two shy of his career high. Tim Thomas chipped in with 11 in his second game since returning from pre-training camp knee surgery.
The Mavs’ climb into a share of the top spot in the Western Conference was truly a team effort.
DALLAS -- The Mavs just can't make winning easy.
They'll be tied for the Western Conference lead if they win this one, but they'll have to fight for it in the fourth quarter against the scrappy Sacramento Kings.
The Kings trimmed the Mavs' lead to 68-65 in the third. Rookie Tyreke Evans is especially giving the Mavs trouble. Triple-double watch is on: 16 points, nine assists, seven rebounds.
Mavs' shooting, on the other hand, is off. They've got the lead despite being sub-40 percent.
They'll be tied for the Western Conference lead if they win this one, but they'll have to fight for it in the fourth quarter against the scrappy Sacramento Kings.
The Kings trimmed the Mavs' lead to 68-65 in the third. Rookie Tyreke Evans is especially giving the Mavs trouble. Triple-double watch is on: 16 points, nine assists, seven rebounds.
Mavs' shooting, on the other hand, is off. They've got the lead despite being sub-40 percent.
DALLAS -- The Mavs' offensive spark came from some unusual suspects.
Reserve forwards Kris Humphries and Tim Thomas carried the scoring load in the second quarter, allowing the Mavs to take a 47-42 halftime lead over the Kings.
Humphries, who hadn't scored in double figures as a Mav, already has 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Thomas, who is playing his second game coming off knee surgery, cranked up nine shots in the half, making four and scoring eight points.
Reserve forwards Kris Humphries and Tim Thomas carried the scoring load in the second quarter, allowing the Mavs to take a 47-42 halftime lead over the Kings.
Humphries, who hadn't scored in double figures as a Mav, already has 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Thomas, who is playing his second game coming off knee surgery, cranked up nine shots in the half, making four and scoring eight points.
DALLAS -- It's amazing that the Mavs aren't trailing by more than two points, considering the way they clanked away in the first quarter against the Sacramento Kings.
The Mavs shot a butt-ugly 32 percent from the floor. Drew Gooden did the most damage, making only one of eight shot attempts despite operating from point-blank range on the vast majority of those shots.
Dirk Nowitzki had a wide-open look at a 3 at the buzzer, but he bricked it off the side of the rim.
The Mavs aren't exactly putting on a defensive clinic, either. The Kings hit 12 of 22 attempts from the floor, with all but one of their buckets coming in the paint.
Kings 24, Mavs 22.
The Mavs shot a butt-ugly 32 percent from the floor. Drew Gooden did the most damage, making only one of eight shot attempts despite operating from point-blank range on the vast majority of those shots.
Dirk Nowitzki had a wide-open look at a 3 at the buzzer, but he bricked it off the side of the rim.
The Mavs aren't exactly putting on a defensive clinic, either. The Kings hit 12 of 22 attempts from the floor, with all but one of their buckets coming in the paint.
Kings 24, Mavs 22.
DALLAS -- The Sacramento Kings' coaching staff could have a significant advantage tonight. Two recent Mavs assistants will be sitting on the visitors' bench.
The Kings (17-65 in 2008-09) are off to a somewhat surprising 5-5 start under new head coach Paul Westphal, who served as the Mavs' executive director of basketball operations last season. He took assistant coach Mario Elie with him when he moved from Dallas to Sacramento.
Mavs coach Rick Carlisle acknowledged that the Kings' staff could have an edge because of their familarity with Dallas' schemes and personnel. However, Carlisle pointed out that there aren't many secrets in today's NBA anyway.
The Kings (17-65 in 2008-09) are off to a somewhat surprising 5-5 start under new head coach Paul Westphal, who served as the Mavs' executive director of basketball operations last season. He took assistant coach Mario Elie with him when he moved from Dallas to Sacramento.
Mavs coach Rick Carlisle acknowledged that the Kings' staff could have an edge because of their familarity with Dallas' schemes and personnel. However, Carlisle pointed out that there aren't many secrets in today's NBA anyway.
Mavs quick hits heading into Kings game
November, 20, 2009
Nov 20
1:26
PM CT
A quick Mavs 3-pointer on the season’s first Friday night gameday at home:
1. Things change fast around here, especially when we’re talking about Mavs speedster Roddy Beaubois.
It was just three weeks ago that Mavs officials could not rule out sending Beaubois down to the D-League for a stint or two to ensure that the young Frenchman was exposed to critical game situations in his rookie season.
Now?
Beaubois is regarded as the starter at shooting guard for the foreseeable future . . . or at least for as long as Josh Howard remains sidelined from his latest ankle setback. Slotted in next to mentor Jason Kidd, Beaubois is averaging 10.8 points in nearly 19 minutes per game since moving into the starting lineup last Friday in Minnesota.
If he keeps getting meaningful minutes, pests like me won’t even ask the D-League question any more. One team official confirmed Friday that the new consensus expectation is that Beaubois will be active -- and utilized -- for every Mavs game from here as long as he stays healthy.
And I can tell you that in my travels around the league -- as well as in discussions by phone or electronic means with various coaches, players and league insiders -- Beaubois is always the first Mav that I’m asked about by NBA folks in other cities.
He’s no Brandon Jennings, but Beaubois is generating quite a bit of November hoopla for a No. 25 pick.
2. Looking for something Dirk Nowitzki hasn’t done in what might be his best-ever start to an NBA season?
Drain a 3-pointer in the first half.
I realize that’s some obscure Dirk trivia, but it’s true. The Elias Sports Bureau keeps track of such matters and reports that, after a dozen games, Dirk is still waiting to knock down his first first-half 3.
Bear in mind, though, that Nowitzki has only attempted 33 triples through 12 games, sinking 12 after halftimes for a success rate of .364.
The full breakdown: Nowitzki is 0-for-7 on 3s in the first half, 10-for-24 on 3s in the second half and 2-for-2 on 3s in overtime.
3. There is an ESPN.com presence in this handy oral history of Dirk’s Mavs career as assembled by local scribe Zac Crain in the newest issue of D Magazine. But you should be reading this handy recap of the past 12 years or so regardless.
1. Things change fast around here, especially when we’re talking about Mavs speedster Roddy Beaubois.
It was just three weeks ago that Mavs officials could not rule out sending Beaubois down to the D-League for a stint or two to ensure that the young Frenchman was exposed to critical game situations in his rookie season.
Now?
Beaubois is regarded as the starter at shooting guard for the foreseeable future . . . or at least for as long as Josh Howard remains sidelined from his latest ankle setback. Slotted in next to mentor Jason Kidd, Beaubois is averaging 10.8 points in nearly 19 minutes per game since moving into the starting lineup last Friday in Minnesota.
If he keeps getting meaningful minutes, pests like me won’t even ask the D-League question any more. One team official confirmed Friday that the new consensus expectation is that Beaubois will be active -- and utilized -- for every Mavs game from here as long as he stays healthy.
And I can tell you that in my travels around the league -- as well as in discussions by phone or electronic means with various coaches, players and league insiders -- Beaubois is always the first Mav that I’m asked about by NBA folks in other cities.
He’s no Brandon Jennings, but Beaubois is generating quite a bit of November hoopla for a No. 25 pick.
2. Looking for something Dirk Nowitzki hasn’t done in what might be his best-ever start to an NBA season?
Drain a 3-pointer in the first half.
I realize that’s some obscure Dirk trivia, but it’s true. The Elias Sports Bureau keeps track of such matters and reports that, after a dozen games, Dirk is still waiting to knock down his first first-half 3.
Bear in mind, though, that Nowitzki has only attempted 33 triples through 12 games, sinking 12 after halftimes for a success rate of .364.
The full breakdown: Nowitzki is 0-for-7 on 3s in the first half, 10-for-24 on 3s in the second half and 2-for-2 on 3s in overtime.
3. There is an ESPN.com presence in this handy oral history of Dirk’s Mavs career as assembled by local scribe Zac Crain in the newest issue of D Magazine. But you should be reading this handy recap of the past 12 years or so regardless.
DALLAS – Forward Shawn Marion will not play Friday night against the Sacramento Kings, but he’s optimistic that it’s the last game that he will miss.
Marion sprained his left ankle in the opening moments of Monday’s win over the Milwaukee Bucks and didn’t return for the second half. He sat out Wednesday’s win over the San Antonio Spurs.
“Hopefully one more game and I’ll be good,” Marion said after the Mavs’ morning shootaround. “It’s feeling better, but it still hurts.”
The Mavs get a few days off before beginning a stretch of three games in four days Tuesday night.
Marion sprained his left ankle in the opening moments of Monday’s win over the Milwaukee Bucks and didn’t return for the second half. He sat out Wednesday’s win over the San Antonio Spurs.
“Hopefully one more game and I’ll be good,” Marion said after the Mavs’ morning shootaround. “It’s feeling better, but it still hurts.”
The Mavs get a few days off before beginning a stretch of three games in four days Tuesday night.
DALLAS -- Drew Gooden played like a man with something to prove in last night’s overtime win, but it was nothing personal against the San Antonio Spurs.
Gooden had his third consecutive double-double since moving into the Dallas Mavericks’ starting lineup, scoring 17 points and snatching 11 rebounds before fouling out late in regulation. He also provided a strong interior defensive presence, blocking three shots and harassing Tim Duncan into a tough shooting night.
But Gooden insists that facing the Spurs, whom he played for the final month and a half of last season, provided no extra motivational fuel.
“Not at all,” Gooden said. “From the day I got there to the day I left, I knew it was all business. That’s a great group of guys over there. I enjoyed playing with them and trying to make a playoff run with those guys.
“But this is a business. I had to move on. Now, I switched sides to the team that beat us. Spurs fans don’t like it too much, but it wasn’t my choice.”
Gooden struggled to mesh with the Spurs after signing with them in early March, after the Kings gave him a buyout following a trade from the Bulls. He didn’t play in the final game of the Mavs’ playoff series win over the Spurs, but he has nothing but praise for San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich and the “first-class” organization.
Gooden did have discussions with the Spurs this summer about returning to San Antonio, but the sides never got close to a deal. He moved on to the Mavs, who offered more money and more playing time. Swapping sides of the Interstate 35 rivalry was just business.
Gooden had his third consecutive double-double since moving into the Dallas Mavericks’ starting lineup, scoring 17 points and snatching 11 rebounds before fouling out late in regulation. He also provided a strong interior defensive presence, blocking three shots and harassing Tim Duncan into a tough shooting night.
But Gooden insists that facing the Spurs, whom he played for the final month and a half of last season, provided no extra motivational fuel.
AP Photo/Tony DejakCenter Drew Gooden had 17 points and 11 rebounds in the Mavs' OT victory against his former team.
“But this is a business. I had to move on. Now, I switched sides to the team that beat us. Spurs fans don’t like it too much, but it wasn’t my choice.”
Gooden struggled to mesh with the Spurs after signing with them in early March, after the Kings gave him a buyout following a trade from the Bulls. He didn’t play in the final game of the Mavs’ playoff series win over the Spurs, but he has nothing but praise for San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich and the “first-class” organization.
Gooden did have discussions with the Spurs this summer about returning to San Antonio, but the sides never got close to a deal. He moved on to the Mavs, who offered more money and more playing time. Swapping sides of the Interstate 35 rivalry was just business.
DALLAS -- The Dallas Mavericks see Tim Thomas as a savvy, sweet-shooting, solid-defending, versatile, veteran frontcourt reserve.
They finally got a glimpse of the 32-year-old in game action during Wednesday night’s overtime win over the Spurs.
Thomas, who had minor knee surgery just before the beginning of training camp, didn’t have the chance to ease into the flow with Erick Dampier, Shawn Marion and Josh Howard sidelined. In 13 minutes, he played some small forward, some power forward and some center, contributing two points, two rebounds and some solid defense to the Mavs’ cause.
“Fortunately for him, his basketball IQ is terrific,” coach Rick Carlisle said.
Thomas’ basketball IQ is as high as ever, but that’s not the case with his vertical leap. He learned that the hard way after making a sweet spin move and going up for a highlight-reel tomahawk slam … and getting rejected by the back of the rim.
“I tried to make a move that I hadn’t made in a long time,” Thomas said with a laugh. “The knee told me that you’re better, but you’re not all the way there yet.”
They finally got a glimpse of the 32-year-old in game action during Wednesday night’s overtime win over the Spurs.
Thomas, who had minor knee surgery just before the beginning of training camp, didn’t have the chance to ease into the flow with Erick Dampier, Shawn Marion and Josh Howard sidelined. In 13 minutes, he played some small forward, some power forward and some center, contributing two points, two rebounds and some solid defense to the Mavs’ cause.
“Fortunately for him, his basketball IQ is terrific,” coach Rick Carlisle said.
Thomas’ basketball IQ is as high as ever, but that’s not the case with his vertical leap. He learned that the hard way after making a sweet spin move and going up for a highlight-reel tomahawk slam … and getting rejected by the back of the rim.
“I tried to make a move that I hadn’t made in a long time,” Thomas said with a laugh. “The knee told me that you’re better, but you’re not all the way there yet.”