Bernard James capable of 'smackdown' leadership
Then again, Bernard James will be far from the typical NBA rookie. The big man from Florida State is a 27-year-old former Air Force staff sergeant who served tours of duty in Iraq, Afghanistan and Qatar.
Needless to say, the Mavs like the defensive-minded center’s discipline and toughness, as is the case with fellow second-round pick Jae Crowder, a rugged small forward whom coach Rick Carlisle praised as “one of the two or three hardest-playing players in the draft.”
And James, who planned to return to the Air Force as a commissioned officer before the NBA became a realistic goal, certainly has proven that he has the steady but firm hand of a leader.
“I think I was pretty fair with my guys,” James said of his Air Force leadership experience. “But sometimes, you get a knucklehead and you got to put the smackdown on him.”
Sounds like the Mavs could have used James during Josh Howard’s days in Dallas, huh?
Tim MacMahon
ESPNDallas.com- Joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009
- Covers the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Mavericks
- Appears regularly on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM
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Tim MacMahon
Tim MacMahon joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009. Tim covers the Cowboys and Mavericks. He has covered the local sports scene from high schools to colleges to pros during his six-year tenure at The Dallas Morning News. MacMahon is a graduate of UNT.
Marc Stein
Marc Stein began writing for ESPN.com in 2000 and signed on full-time in 2002 as Senior NBA Writer. He also makes regular appearances on "SportsCenter," "NBA Shootaround," "NBA Fastbreak," "NBA Coast To Coast," ESPNEWS, ESPN "First Take" and ESPN Radio.
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TEAM LEADERS
| POINTS | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Dirk Nowitzki
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| OTHER LEADERS | ||||||||||||
| Rebounds | S. Marion | 7.8 | ||||||||||
| Assists | D. Collison | 5.1 | ||||||||||
| Steals | D. Collison | 1.2 | ||||||||||
| Blocks | E. Brand | 1.3 | ||||||||||
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