TRADE: Dallas traded Raef LaFrentz, Jiri Welsch, Chris Mills, and their 2004 1st round draft pick to Boston for Antoine Walker and Tony Delk. Wow. What a way to start off a Monday morning. I have very mixed feelings about this trade. Talent-wise, it's a big no-brainer favoring Dallas. I worry about it chemistry-wise. I've never been a Walker fan and he has a reputation as being a "me" player. Hopefully the trend of traded-for players with questionable reputations fitting in great with the Mavs will continue with Walker and my concerns will not come to fruition. And maybe my perception of Walker is wrong as reports from Boston is that Walker is great in the locker room. On paper, this trade is a no-brainer for Dallas (now why Boston did it is beyond me - you got to be kidding me if LaFrentz is all they could get for Walker). As for what Dallas lost, the only true asset was LaFrentz. Mills was not going to ever see the floor in a Mavs uniform (in fact, he hasn't even been to Dallas since the August Golden State trade). Welsch is a youngster who hasn't shown much in real games. He hardly played last year for Golden State, his rookie year, and shot a mere 25.3% FG - reports are that he is an awesome shooter in practice, but it's what you do in games. In the preseason games I've seen, he has not impressed. He shot terrible in the first 3 game (combined 7-26 FG) and much better in the last 2 (13-23 FG) and has been turnover and foul prone. After signing a 7 year, $70 million contract in the summer of 2002, LaFrentz followed that up with his worst season of his career (9.3 points, 4.8 rebounds) and very foul prone (3.8 fouls, earned the nickname LaFoul) and was a big disappointment. He had looked very good this preseason in showing confidence in his shot (60.7% FG and even showed some nice dribble-drives) and grabbing rebounds. And the 1st round pick is highly likely going to be very late in the draft - it is lottery protected forever, but that shouldn't come into effect. As for what Dallas got, Antoine Walker is an offensive force. He's averaged over 20 points in each of the last 4 seasons. He's a scorer, not a shooter though as he shot just 40.6% FG over those 4 seasons. He does have an inside game, but is in love with the outside shot and attempted 582 3-pointers last season (and over 600 the previous 2 seasons). He also averaged 8.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists in the last 4 seasons. Walker is a 6-9 bulky forward and 3-time All-Star who just turned 27 years old. He is earning a maximum contract ($12,375,000 last season) and has a player opt-out next summer (else it's up the following summer). Tony Delk is a 6-2 role-playing guard (he's not a star or big name) who is 29 years old. He averaged 9.8 points including 41.6% FG and 39.5% 3-pointers and 2.2 assists in 28 minutes. He signed a 6 year, $19 million contract in the summer of 2000 and has a player opt-out after 04-05 (else expires after 05-06) and earned $2.7 million last season. I have a feeling that this trade would not have been made if Danny Fortson wasn't playing as well as he is. Dallas only had 2 true centers and traded away 1 of them without getting another in return (it also begs the question if Dallas is not done dealing). With the current roster, Dirk Nowitzki will likely spend a lot of time at center as Dallas will often go with a lineup of Nash, Finley, Jamison, Walker, and Nowitzki. It's an offensive powerhouse of a lineup as all 5 are capable of averaging over 20 points per game (though Nash will likely scale back his shot attempts) and will give the opponents defensive nightmares as double-teaming a player will leave another good scorer open. Of course, that lineup will give Dallas defensive nightmares as none are good defenders. I have mixed feelings about the trade as I'm concerned about Walker's attitude. Talent-wise I love it; chemistry-wise I'm concerned. Can Walker fit into what Dallas likes to do without being an attitude problem? Can he live with not getting as many shot attempts as he had in Boston where he and Pierce were the only real weapons? Quotes: Don Nelson: "We have been looking for a point forward since I have been here and I feel we have gotten one of the best in the league in Antoine Walker. Walker is an all-around great player who will fit nicely into our system." Nelson: "We are going to miss Raef. The Celtics are getting a terrific player in Raef as he can play the 4 or the 5 spot. He is in the best shape of his career and has been one of my best players in the preseason. He is going to have a great year for Boston. The Celtics are also getting a terrific young talent in Jiri Welsch." [my notes from Nelson's press conference] "It's kind of a dangerous move because we lost a center and we didn't have much there." "Nowitzki will now have to play some 5. There will be some problems for us with that and some positives." "Antawn Jamison, I'm asking to be my 6th man this year." On Jamison: He's been great about it. I asked him about it... He's great. What ever could make the team win. "It's hard to double-team the Mavericks right now." "There should be lots of positives on the offensive end. will rotate Nowitzki, Fortson, and Bradley as the starting center based on matchups Donn Nelson: "It's not every day that a 27 year-old All-Star becomes available. We feel we've got one of the most versatile coaches in the league. To add a player of Antoine's ability just gives Nellie more options to work with." Nelson: "We see Antoine as a triple-double guy. I know in some form or fashion at the end of the game you're going to see the Big 3 and Antoine Squared [Walker and Jamison]." Nelson on Delk: "He's not afraid, he's tough and experienced. He's got a knack for making big shots and big plays.'' [my notes from Donn's press conference] "In our opinion we gave up quite a bit, but we couldn't pass up the opportunity go get Walker, who's just 27 years old." "You can never have enough scorers." talked with Finley about Walker - both from Chicago on chemistry: "Don't know. Chemistry has a life of it's own, so it's hard to say." on Walker: "We're not going to look to alter his game. He'll have the creativity and license to do things he wouldn't in Boston." on a future trade: "We did not acquire those pieces to move on." on Delk: "We like guys who are not afraid to squeeze the trigger in a playoff type situation and he's got that." new Boston GM Danny Ainge: "It has been a pleasure to have Antoine and Tony a part of the Celtics family, we are going to miss them. In particular, Antoine, who has been a part of the organization for a long time. In return, we are getting quality players. Raef is a great complement to Paul Pierce, he stretches the defense, opens the paint and is a good shot blocker. We also would not have done this deal if Jiri was not included. He's a very promising 6-7 combo guard. We are very high on him." Philadelphia at Dallas (October 18) Dirk Nowitzki (sprained right ankle) and Allen Iverson (personal reasons) did not play. The game stayed close in the 1st quarter with Dallas holding small leads. Dallas led 17-14 with 2:45 left and then scored the last 8 points of the quarter to go up 25-14 after 1. Antawn Jamison had 13 points. Dallas continued to lead in the 2nd quarter and it was slow going as lots of whistles were being blown. Dallas led 53-42 at the half. Dallas shot 20-24 FT and Philadelphia shot 14-21 FT in the half. It was a different game in the 2nd half as the whistles weren't blowing as much and it was more of a free-flowing game. Philadelphia scored 9 straight points to pull within 53-54 with 8:25 to go. 2 minutes later, Dallas started a 13-0 run that put the Mavs up 74-60 with 3:15 remaining. Dallas led 74-64 after 3. Philadelphia scored the first 11 points of the 4th quarter to pull within 75-76 with 9:35 remaining. Dallas continued to cling to a single-digit lead. Dallas led 94-87 with 4 minutes to go and the 76ers scored the next 7 points, capped by a 3-pointer by Aaron McKie off a pretty dish by Eric Snow, to tie the game at 94-94 with 2:30 left. Don Nelson decided to go for the win as he reinserted Steve Nash. It didn't help as Nash missed a long jumper and then McKie hit a jumper to give Philadelphia their first lead at 96-94 with 1:45 to go. The teams traded 2 points and there was a minute left. Marc Jackson got 2 points with 41 seconds left and then Michael Finley converted the alley-oop from Nash and Philly led 100-98 with 34 seconds left. Philadelphia missed a long jumper with 11 seconds left, but the rebound was long and the 76ers got it and Snow was intentionally fouled. He hit both free throws with 7 seconds left. Dallas took timeout and brought the ball to half court. As the ball was inbounded, an off-the-ball foul was called, which resulted in a free throw for Dallas (which Nash made) and Dallas inbounding the ball again. Nash inbounded to Finley, who had a good look but missed the 3-pointer, the rebound went baseline and out of bounds of the 76ers with 2 seconds left. After another timeout, the ball was inbounded and swung to an open Jiri Welsch in the far corner, but he missed the 3 as the buzzer sounded. Philadelphia won 102-99. After an ugly 1st half, it was an exciting finish. Even though I was routing for the shots to go in, I was glad the game didn't go into overtime. The object of preseason is to get some game-type experience for the players and for no one to get hurt. The sloppiness defensively by Dallas in the 4th quarter was not good to see, though, and allowed the 76ers to get back in the game. Philadelphia only missed 3 shots in the 4th quarter. 12 of Eric Snow's 15 points came in the 4th. Glenn Robinson had a great game with 20 points including 9-11 FG and 9 rebounds - Josh Howard tried guarding him early, but Robinson just rose up and nailed shots over him. Marc Jackson also played well with 19 points on 7-11 FG and 5-8 FT and 7 rebounds. And Aaron McKie completed the killer quartet with 18 points including 7-9 FG. For Dallas, Antawn Jamison had another strong outing with 25 points and 6 rebounds. Michael Finley and Jiri Welsch, having one of his better games, each had 15 points. Steve Nash wasn't looking to shoot with just 6 attempts and had 9 assists. Marquis Daniels was the 4th Mav in double-digits with 10 points. Danny Fortson was plagued by foul trouble and could only stay on the court 16 minutes before fouling out. Josh Howard had his worst outing of the preseason with shooting just 1-6 FG and, as I mentioned above, was ineffective defensively. The shot of the night did not count. Steve Nash was bring the ball up and got bumped in the backcourt and the ball rolled away. Nash continued after the ball and the whistle was blown for the foul call. Nash caught up with the ball a foot before mid-court as the whistle was blowing and leaned over and flipped the ball up from the ankles and it went in. He then went over and gave high-fives to some kids sitting courtside. Quotes Randy Ayers on the 4th quarter: "I thought our veterans helped us do some things down the stretch. It was nice to get Korver and Green into a tough late game situation. I thought they did their jobs well. So it is a good win for us. I know its preseason, but we needed to see some things. I was really pleased that we responded after playing last night in a tough environment; I thought we responded well tonight." Ayers on Glenn Robinson: "Last night, I was happy to get him 16 shots. Even though he was 4-16, I was happy with the amount of shots. He took over in the 2nd half. Without Allen Iverson on the floor, he is probably our go-to guy and he responded. I thought he only took one bad shot in the 2nd half." Don Nelson: The good thing for tonight was that Mike looked like he took a step in the right direction. I thought Jamison was sharp throughout the game, except he missed a couple of shots down the stretch, but everybody kind of did. Down the stretch, we let our guard down defensively and didn't play very well in the 2nd half and in the 4th quarter Philly made every shot. That was probably the difference in the game. I was looking at some different things and the positive for us was Mike Finley, probably the best he's looked in an NBA game in a while." Raef LaFrentz on the 4th quarter: "We just weren't hitting our shots. Other than that we were getting descent looks. They turned up their defensive intensity a little bit obviously and we just weren't able to answer it on the offensive end." Philadelphia 76ers 102, Dallas Mavericks 99 at Dallas (October 18) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Philadelphia 14 28 22 38 - 102 .544 .417 .522 .694 Dallas 25 28 21 25 - 99 .457 .417 .458 .800 Halftime: Dallas 53-42 3rd Q: Dallas 74-64 Technicals: none Refs: Michael Smith, Scott Foster, Tony Brown Attendance: 20,162 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: Allen Iverson (personal), Monty Williams (left knee pain), Todd MacCulloch (foot neuropathy), Kenny Thomas (strained right Achilles), Greg Buckner (strained left hamstring), Dirk Nowitzki (sprained right ankle) Philadelphia 76ers REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Glenn Robinson 27 9-11 0-0 2-2 20 3-9 0 2 5 0 0 Derrick Coleman 25 0-8 0-1 6-8 6 1-4 5 3 4 0 0 Marc Jackson 33 7-11 0-0 5-8 19 2-7 0 4 4 1 0 Aaron McKie 33 7-9 3-4 1-1 18 0-2 5 1 2 2 0 Eric Snow 34 4-11 0-0 7-8 15 0-5 11 2 5 0 0 John Salmons 26 4-4 0-0 0-0 8 0-1 4 3 2 2 2 Willie Green 17 0-4 0-2 1-2 1 0-0 2 1 0 2 0 Amal McCaskill 16 2-3 0-0 2-3 6 0-1 0 1 5 0 0 Kyle Korver 12 2-5 2-5 0-0 6 1-3 0 0 1 1 0 Sam Clancy 14 1-3 0-0 1-4 3 3-4 0 1 0 0 1 Samuel Dalembert 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1-1 0 2 2 0 0 Totals 48 36-69 5-12 25-36 102 11-37 27 20 30 8 3 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Josh Howard 18 1-6 0-0 2-2 4 1-4 0 2 2 1 0 Antawn Jamison 39 7-15 1-2 10-12 25 2-6 3 3 2 1 0 Danny Fortson 16 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 3-5 0 0 6 0 0 Michael Finley 34 6-14 2-4 1-2 15 2-4 3 0 0 2 0 Steve Nash 28 2-6 1-2 4-5 9 0-1 9 2 4 1 0 Raef LaFrentz 17 2-3 0-1 0-0 4 3-3 0 1 3 1 1 Travis Best 20 3-3 0-0 3-3 9 0-0 5 2 3 0 0 Jiri Welsch 27 6-12 0-2 3-5 15 0-2 0 1 4 1 0 Eduardo Najera 9 0-1 0-0 2-2 2 0-3 0 1 2 0 2 Marquis Daniels 17 3-6 1-1 3-4 10 0-2 1 2 1 2 0 Shawn Bradley 15 2-3 0-0 0-0 4 0-3 0 2 2 0 0 Totals 48 33-72 5-12 28-35 99 11-33 21 16 29 9 3 Dallas at San Antonio (October 19) Dirk Nowitzki (sprained right ankle) and Tony Parker (sprained left ankle) did not play. It was a game of runs. San Antonio scored 15 straight points to go up 19-6 with 4 minutes left. Dallas then scored the next 8 points to pull within 14-19 with 1:30 to go. San Antonio led 23-17 after 1. Tim Duncan had 6 points and 7 rebounds. The game stayed close in the 2nd quarter with the game tied or San Antonio holding small leads for all but the last seconds of the quarter. Dallas scored the last 4 points of the quarter to go up 43-42 at the half. The game remained close for the first 7 minutes of the 3rd quarter. Then Robert Horry came in and the game shifted. Dallas led 59-58 with 4:15 left and didn't score again the rest of the quarter as they missed their next 6 shots. The Spurs continued to score and scored 13 points to go up 71-59 after 3. San Antonio scored the first 4 points of the 4th quarter to continue their run. San Antonio had their largest lead at 82-65 with 8 minutes to go and then lost their shooting touch and it became the Danny Fortson show as Fortson scored the next 12 points. Other Mavs chipped in and it ended up being a 20-0 monster run that put Dallas up 85-82 with 1:20 left. Sean Marks got a dunk with a minute left. The teams traded misses and Fortson got 2 more to give Dallas a 3 point lead. San Antonio missed and a dunk by Daniels capped the scoring. Dallas won 89-84. It looked to be a blowout and then the youngsters plus Danny Fortson took advantage of the Spurs youngsters (Tim Duncan sat after the first minute of the 4th quarter). All of Fortson's 12 points came in the 4th. Marquis Daniels, Josh Howard, and Eduardo Najera also deserve credit for the comeback. Howard was the high scorer for Dallas with 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals. Daniels had 8 points and Najera had 6 points and 4 rebounds. Steve Nash sat for the 4th, but had 13 points and 7 assists in 21 minutes. Antawn Jamison had his first poor outing with just 9 points including 4-12 FG. Michael Finley was dismal with 4 points including 1-9 FG. For San Antonio, Emanuel Ginobili was on fire with 23 points including 9-13 FG, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. Tim Duncan had 15 points including 7-11 FG and 11 rebounds in 27 minutes. Quotes Don Nelson: "It was kind of fun at the end for our kids. They got a chance to play and do well." Nelson on Howard: "He went from his worst game to his best." Dallas Mavericks 89, San Antonio Spurs 84 at San Antonio (October 19) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 17 26 16 30 - 89 .473 .000 .438 .864 San Antonio 23 19 29 13 - 84 .516 .167 .459 .667 Halftime: Dallas 43-42 3rd Q: San Antonio 71-59 Technicals: none Refs: Mike Henderson, Ron Olesiak, Sean Corbin Attendance: 14,765 (cap 18,500) Did not play due to injury: Dirk Nowitzki (sprained right ankle), Tony Parker (sprained left ankle) Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Michael Finley 23 1-9 0-2 2-2 4 0-2 1 2 1 1 0 Steve Nash 21 4-8 0-1 5-6 13 0-2 7 3 0 1 0 Tariq Abdul-Wahad 35 2-6 0-0 0-0 4 0-0 0 2 3 2 2 Antawn Jamison 25 4-12 0-0 1-2 9 0-6 0 3 4 2 0 Raef LaFrentz 17 2-4 0-1 0-0 4 1-4 0 0 2 0 1 Josh Howard 29 7-12 0-1 3-4 17 3-5 1 0 3 3 0 Eduardo Najera 29 2-6 0-0 2-2 6 0-4 1 0 3 2 1 Shawn Bradley 17 1-4 0-0 0-0 2 2-7 0 4 1 0 1 Travis Best 15 4-8 0-1 2-2 10 0-1 2 1 3 0 0 Danny Fortson 12 4-4 0-0 4-4 12 1-5 0 0 1 0 0 Marquis Daniels 11 4-7 0-0 0-0 8 0-1 1 0 0 1 0 Jon Stefansson 6 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1-1 0 3 0 1 0 Totals 48 35-80 0-6 19-22 89 8-38 13 18 21 13 5 San Antonio Spurs REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Emanuel Ginobili 26 9-13 1-2 4-5 23 1-7 5 5 3 1 0 Anthony Carter 24 2-3 0-0 0-0 4 0-3 6 0 3 1 0 Tim Duncan 27 7-11 0-0 1-3 15 1-11 2 4 0 3 0 Bruce Bowen 21 4-5 0-0 0-1 8 0-0 2 1 2 0 0 Radoslav Nesterovic 33 2-12 0-0 4-6 8 6-12 2 2 2 3 0 Hidayet Turkoglu 21 3-7 0-2 4-4 10 0-1 3 0 1 0 0 Ron Mercer 18 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 1-3 1 4 3 1 0 Shane Heal 13 0-5 0-4 1-2 1 0-1 0 0 2 0 0 Malik Rose 12 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 2 2 1 0 0 Alex Garcia 11 3-6 0-2 0-0 6 0-3 1 3 3 2 0 Robert Horry 11 2-2 1-1 0-0 5 1-4 0 1 0 1 4 Ernest Brown 7 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1-1 0 2 6 0 1 Dan Langhi 6 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0-0 1 0 0 0 0 Sean Marks 6 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 0-0 0 1 2 0 0 Devin Brown 4 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 2 0 0 0 Totals 48 34-74 2-12 14-21 84 11-46 25 28 28 12 5 patricia