Dallas traded Dana Barros and Ansu Sesay to Detroit for Loy Vaught. Since the Mavs never formally renounced Sesay and he never signed with another team, the Mavs could use him in a sign-and trade. Sesay was technically signed to a 3 year contract with only the 1st year guaranteed. He was included purely for salary cap reasons and was released by Detroit the day after the trade. To make the trade work, Vaught waived about $1.7 million of his trade kicker. This trade was (somewhat) agreed to at the same time as the Christian Laettner-Cedric Ceballos trade, but could not be completed until Barros had been with Dallas for 2 months. The somewhat part was that Vaught had to agree to waive part of his trade clause bonus, else if he did not agree to do so then this trade would not have happened. Detroit did this trade to gain salary cap room (Barros is in the last year of his contract and Vaught had 3 years at $4.55 million, $4.88 million, and $5.23 million left on his contract). Dallas did this trade to get Vaught and Barros wasn't in the Mavs' plans for this season. Vaught is a 6-9 power forward. He averaged 16.2 points and 9.9 rebounds for 3 seasons (94-95 - 96-97) with the Clippers. He underwent spinal fusion surgery in December 1997 and was out for over a year. Unfortunately, he has not been the same player since the surgery. Though there were rumblings that there was some problem with the coach, he only played in half the games last season and averaged a mere 6.8 minutes, 1.7 points, and 2.1 rebounds. He has always had a reputation of being a good guy and I felt he was underrated when he was with the Clippers. Acquiring him is a gamble and the Mavs are hoping that a new setting will help him return the solid player that he once was. Dallas at Detroit (October 18) [note: my notes and comments are based purely on listening to the game on the radio - it wasn't on TV and I wasn't there (thus, no scatter shooting or much player analysis)] It was a closely contested game the entire way and the Mavs actually gave significant minutes to Courtney Alexander and Donnell Harvey and rested some Michael Finley and Steve Nash. The Mavs started terrible on the boards and Nelson inserted Harvey a few minutes in after Detroit grabbed the first 8 rebounds in the game. The Mavs' rebounding improved some and Detroit led 26-25 after 1. Harvey and Alexander were playing well. Harvey returned to the bench 4 1/2 minutes into the 2nd quarter and collected 4 rebounds in his 9 minutes and even went diving after a ball. The lead changed hands a number of times during the 2nd quarter. Dallas led 47-46 at the half as Eduardo Najera swatted away Detroit's last attempt. Dallas shot 45% FG and Detroit shot 36%. As seems to be usual, Detroit had more trips to the line and shot 11-18 FT while Dallas shot 7-11 FT. Jerry Stackhouse had 17 points and Alexander had 10 points in the 12 minutes he played in the 2nd quarter. John Celestand got Nash's minutes in the 3rd quarter as Celestand played the entire quarter (Nash and Finley sat the entire quarter). Dirk Nowitzki was the man in the the 3rd as he was hitting everything and had 14 points in the quarter. Despite Nowitzki's efforts, the game stayed close in the 3rd and Dallas led 74-69 after 3. The game remained close in the 4th quarter and the lead went back and forth. Harvey saw significant minutes in the 4th. Hubert Davis drove for 2 to cut Detroit's lead down to 91-89 with 1:20 left. Stackhouse got a layup with 1:14 left and Nowitzki drained a 20-footer with 47 seconds left. Stackhouse hit 2 free throws to put Detroit up 95-91 with 28.6 seconds left. Nowitzki hit 2 free throws with 12.7 seconds left and Chucky Atkins hit 2 free throws with 12.3 seconds left. Najera drove for the quick basket with 7.5 seconds left and Stackhouse hit 2 more free throws. Nash drained a 3-pointer off the wrong foot with 2.3 seconds left. Detroit couldn't get the ball inbounds and called timeout and advanced the ball to half court. Detroit used a new rule to inbound the ball into an open Atkins in the back court and time expired. Detroit won 99-98. There were 19 lead changes and 13 ties in the game. Dirk Nowitzki was a stud with 29 points and 9 rebounds. Courtney Alexander had a solid game and was a little more in control on offense. Michael Finley only played 24 minutes and Steve Nash played 22 minutes. For Detroit, Jerry Stackhouse was a monster with 33 points and Cedric Ceballos had his first good game for Detroit with 19 points. Chucky Atkins was draining 3s (4-5) and had 19 points. Detroit Pistons 99, Dallas Mavericks 98 at Detroit (October 17) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Detroit 26 20 23 30 - 99 .441 .600 .462 .700 Dallas 25 22 27 24 - 98 .512 .400 .488 .667 Halftime: Dallas 47-46 3rd Q: Dallas 74-69 Technicals: Dallas Illegal D 8:39 2nd Refs: Scott Foster, Jim Capers, Phil Robinson Attendance: 8,582 (cap 22,076) Did not play due to injury: Gary Trent (strained hip), Etan Thomas (sprained big toe), Howard Eisley (sprained ankle), Jamal Kendrick, Billy Owens Detroit Pistons REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Ben Wallace 34 2-5 0-0 1-1 5 2-10 0 3 1 1 0 John Wallace 16 0-7 0-0 0-2 0 2-2 3 2 3 0 0 Eric Montross 4 0-0 0-0 1-2 1 0-0 0 1 3 0 0 Jerry Stackhouse 36 13-25 0-2 7-9 33 1-3 2 1 1 1 0 Chucky Atkins 32 6-12 4-5 2-2 18 0-4 6 2 2 0 0 Jerome Williams 30 5-7 0-0 4-6 14 6-10 4 2 4 3 0 Cedric Ceballos 22 7-11 1-1 3-3 18 1-3 1 3 4 2 0 Mateen Cleaves 16 1-4 0-1 0-0 2 0-4 2 5 2 2 0 Jud Buechler 13 1-1 1-1 0-0 3 0-1 0 0 0 1 1 Mikki Moore 18 1-2 0-0 3-5 5 0-4 2 0 4 0 1 Michael Curry 13 0-3 0-0 0-0 0 1-1 3 0 2 0 0 Brian Cardinal 5 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1-1 2 0 1 1 0 Torraye Braggs 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 36-78 6-10 21-30 99 14-43 25 20 27 11 2 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 24 4-9 1-4 2-2 11 1-2 2 1 3 0 0 Dirk Nowitzki 36 11-18 4-7 3-4 29 1-9 4 2 1 3 1 Christian Laettner 21 3-6 0-0 0-0 6 2-3 3 2 3 1 1 Steve Nash 22 5-7 1-1 1-1 12 0-1 1 2 3 0 0 Hubert Davis 28 3-6 2-4 0-0 8 0-1 2 1 5 1 0 Greg Buckner 37 4-12 0-2 0-1 8 1-8 1 2 5 1 1 Donnell Harvey 21 0-1 0-0 1-2 1 0-3 1 0 4 2 0 Eduardo Najera 18 3-7 0-0 0-0 6 0-2 0 1 0 2 2 Shawn Bradley 7 0-1 0-0 3-4 3 0-2 0 0 2 0 1 Courtney Alexander 12 4-8 0-0 2-4 10 1-3 0 2 3 0 0 John Celestand 14 2-5 0-2 0-0 4 1-1 3 3 1 1 0 Totals 48 39-80 8-20 12-18 98 7-35 17 17 30 11 6 Dallas at Toronto (October 18) [note: my notes and comments are based purely on listening to the game on the radio - it wasn't on TV and I wasn't there (thus, no scatter shooting or much player analysis)] The surprise of the night came before the opening tip off: Eduardo Najera started. The Mavs' starting lineup of Najera, Michael Finley, Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Bradley, and Steve Nash played very well in the 1st quarter and played the entire quarter. Toronto also played well, but Dallas did force them into a number of turnovers (7 in the quarter). Dallas scored the last 6 points of the quarter and led 28-21 after 1. Nowitzki was again the man and had 14 points in the quarter. Then came the 2nd quarter where both teams were struggling to find the basket. With 3:30 left in the 2nd, Dallas only was shooting 4-16 FG in the quarter. Despite the Mavs' poor quarter, they did manage to hang on to the lead and Dallas led 47-43 at the half. Vincer Carter had 11 points. Dallas shot 39% FG and Toronto shot 44% FG. Toronto had committed 14 turnovers. With the starters back in for Dallas and Nowitzki again clicking (all his points came in the 1st and 3rd quarters), Dallas built a double-digit lead. Dallas led 73-59 with 3:45 left as the team shot 11-16 FG. However, the team would not score again until there was just 7 seconds left in the quarter. Toronto closed the quarter with a 11-2 run and Dallas led 75-70 after 3. Nowitzki had 13 points in the quarter. Dallas scored 7 straight points to go up 86-75 with 8 minutes remaining, but rookie Curtis Haywood answered with consecutive 3-pointers to keep Toronto in the game. Dallas slowed down to a half court game and were fighting the shot clock on a number of possessions. Carter scored 5 straight points (and Bradley fouled out) to pull Toronto within 86-88 with 3:40 remaining. Nash nailed a 3 and Carter drove for 2. Hubert Davis nailed a 3 and Haywood got a bucket and Dallas led 94-90 with 2:30 remaining. The teams traded turnovers over the next minute. Carter missed 2 free throws, but Antonio Davis rebounded and Carter got a putback off another miss and Dallas' lead was only 2 with 1:18 to go. Greg Buckner tipped in a shot with a minute left. Carter tipped in a shot with 50 seconds left. Carter stole the ball, but Toronto turned the ball over. Finley was fouled with 13.4 seconds left and hit 1-2 FT to put Dallas up 97-94. Carter missed a 3-pointer and Nash hit 2 free throws to cap the scoring. Dallas won 99-94. Well, this seemed like the reverse of the Detroit game - Dallas hanging on to a small lead late in the 4th and Toronto not able to snatch the lead away. Turnovers were the key to this game. 23 Toronto turnovers led to 27 Dallas points. The opponent again attempted more free throws than Dallas, 26 to 16. And the opponent, as usual, out-rebounded Dallas - 45-34 this time. After only playing 24 minutes in the previous game, Michael Finley was back in the 40s (43) for minutes played. Vince Carter also had high minutes for a pre-season game at 42. Finley is still struggling some from the field (8-20 FG) but still putting up points (19). Dirk Nowitzki had his 2nd nice game in a row and had 27 points including 4-6 3-pointers and snagged 7 rebounds [he's been rebounding well this pre-season]. Nash did not have a good game, but did dish out 6 assists. Eduardo Najera's numbers were not very impressive, but the team did play well in this game when he was on the court (which was with the starters). Donnell Harvey and Courtney Alexander only saw limited minutes in the 2nd quarter. Dallas Mavericks 99, Toronto Raptors 94 at Toronto (October 18) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 28 19 28 24 - 99 .341 .500 .443 .813 Toronto 21 22 27 24 - 94 .500 .333 .467 .731 Halftime: Dallas 47-43 3rd Q: Dallas 75-70 Technicals: Charles Oakley 9:54 3rd Refs: Joey Crawford, Rashan Michel, Derrick Stafford Attendance: 13,229 (cap 19,800) Did not play due to injury: Gary Trent (strained hip), Etan Thomas (sprained big toe), Howard Eisley (sprained ankle), Michael Stewart, Muggsy Bogues, Morris Peterson, Dell Curry Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Eduardo Najera 26 3-7 0-0 0-0 6 4-6 1 0 1 1 0 Dirk Nowitzki 38 10-19 4-6 3-4 27 2-7 4 1 3 0 0 Shawn Bradley 23 4-8 0-0 0-0 8 1-6 1 2 6 2 1 Michael Finley 43 8-20 0-2 3-4 19 0-5 3 1 1 2 1 Steve Nash 34 3-10 1-4 3-3 10 0-2 6 5 4 2 0 Greg Buckner 22 4-8 0-0 2-2 10 2-3 1 0 3 2 0 Christian Laettner 25 2-8 0-0 1-1 5 2-4 2 3 2 0 0 Hubert Davis 21 4-6 3-4 0-0 11 0-1 0 2 0 0 0 Courtney Alexander 7 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 0-0 0 0 2 0 0 Donnell Harvey 1 0-0 0-0 1-2 1 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 Totals 48 39-88 8-16 13-16 99 11-34 18 15 23 9 2 Toronto Raptors REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Charles Oakley 20 1-2 0-1 0-0 2 0-3 3 1 0 0 0 Corlis Williamson 26 2-6 0-0 8-10 12 1-3 1 1 4 0 1 Antonio Davis 29 5-11 0-0 2-2 12 3-9 1 2 2 0 0 Vince Carter 42 12-21 2-4 4-8 30 5-11 2 5 3 3 4 Mark Jackson 35 2-4 1-3 3-4 8 0-5 7 6 2 2 0 Jeff Sheppard 19 2-7 0-2 0-0 4 1-5 1 0 0 1 1 Kevin Willis 19 0-4 0-0 0-0 0 2-3 0 2 1 2 0 Kornel David 7 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0-2 0 3 4 0 0 Alvin Williams 28 8-13 0-0 2-2 18 1-3 3 1 5 1 2 Curtis Haywood 15 3-6 2-5 0-0 8 0-1 2 1 2 0 0 Totals 48 35-75 5-15 19-26 94 13-45 20 23 23 9 8 patricia