Dallas released Josh Powell on Monday (same day as the trade) and will likely stick with the 14 players currently on the roster for opening day with 2 going on IR (my guess is Jon Stefansson (almost for sure) and Marquis Daniels). Dallas named Michael Finley, Steve Nash, and Dirk Nowitzki as team captains. Finley and Nash have been the captains for the past several years. Preseason has (mercifully) ended and Dallas finished with a record of 3-5. Don Nelson was not playing for the wins, so the record does not mean anything. However, the Mavs did not play well during most of the games and the recent addition of key players leaves a lot of questions as to how the team will mesh in the first few games. The good news is that they have 5 days (including today - the team stayed in Sacramento to get a morning practice in) to practice before the season opener on Tuesday. The Mavs also caught a break as Nick Van Exel (surgery) and Jason Richardson (suspended) won't be available for the game on Wednesday. The Mavs will be hosting the annual Fan Jam (open scrimmage) Saturday from 1 to 4:30 pm at the AAC. It's free, but parking is $5. The players will sign autographs from 1 to 2. The dancers and mascots will sign autographs from 2 to 2:30. The Wheelchair Mavs will have an exhibition game from 1:30 to 2:30. The Mavs will have their Blue-White scrimmage game starting at 2:45. Utah at Dallas (October 21) It was ugly ball at its worse and Dallas could not shoot worth a darn. As such, Utah mostly held small leads in the 1st quarter. Utah led 26-21 after 1. Dallas shot a mere 39% FG in the 1st quarter - and that was their best shooting quarter of the game. The Jazz took their first double-digit lead when Maurice Williams converted a 3-point play (and Danny Fortson picked up his 3rd foul) to make it 32-21 with 10 minutes left. Their lead did not get any larger than 11 points as the Mavs were somehow staying in the game. Shawn Bradley dove onto Raja Bell to tie him up for a jumpball, but Bradley's head hit Antawn Jamison's knee and he had to go to the locker room to get 9 stitches for the cut above his left eye. Because he was unable to participate in the jumpball, Bradley was ineligible to return to the game (and good sportsman Jerry Sloan selected Fortson to replace Bradley in the jump when he could have selected any Mav). Utah led 48-41 at the half. It got even uglier in the 3rd quarter as both teams couldn't shoot and the refs kept stopping play with whistles. I swear the minute of game time with 4 minutes left took forever to play - every time I'd look up, it would still say 3-something left. The Jazz held a single-digit lead throughout the quarter as neither team could do much of anything. Utah led 66-60 after 3. Somehow the Mavs kept hang around and I feared overtime - I didn't want to see any more of this mess. But the Jazz managed to score 8 straight points to go up 88-72 with 1:40 remaining. Utah won 92-76. Yuch. That was painful to watch. Dallas shot a miserable 34.4% FG and committed 22 turnovers. Utah shot 44.9% FG and committed 20 turnovers. The Jazz out-rebounded Dallas 48-30 including 16-9 offensive. Added to the uglyness was that there were 65 free throws attempted. The Mavs were short handed as Antoine Walker and Tony Delk were ineligible to play - the new Boston players had to past their physicals first and word that they had did not come down until midway through the 4th quarter (where Keith Grant passed Mark Cuban a note and then he passed it on to Donn Nelson during the timeout and then Donn informed his father - and there were lots of congratulations and hugs being passed about). And with Shawn Bradley going out to get stitches and being unable to return, Nelson had to reinsert a couple of players he planned on sitting the rest of the game. Travis Best subbed in when Danny Fortson fouled out midway through the 4th and Michael Finley had to return for the last 30 seconds when Best fouled out. Dirk Nowitzki was the only Mav to show up for the game. Nowitzki had 19 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals. No other Mav was in double-digits and all looked terrible. Rookie Maurice Williams was the high man for Utah with 17 points including 6-9 FG, but did not have an assists (he's a 6-1 guard). Matt Harpring had 15 points and Andrei Kirilenko had 11 points and 6 rebounds. All other Jazz players were in single-digits. The officiating was terrible throughout the game as even the refs were in preseason form. Once again, the play of the game did not count. To start the 2nd half, the ref handed the ball to Nowitzki and he inbounded to Nash who passed right back to Nowitzki for the slam as the whistles were blowing. Of course, Utah was supposed to be inbounding the ball. Quotes: Jerry Sloan: "We are just trying to get guys to learn to play together. I thought they tried to pass the ball to each other a little better and trying to help each other defensively. We have a long way to go, but at least they are trying to do the right things and what gives us the best chance to win. That was encouraging to see them try to help each other and try to play together." Sloan on Maurice Williams: "He had his moments when I thought he played pretty good. At times, he gets too anxious to get into things that aren't there. Part of his development is learning how to get our team set so we know exactly what we are doing, but I thought he did a good job." Don Nelson: "There isn't anything to say about the game. I don't think we could have won if we had played the big three the whole 48 minutes. We are in just a disarray at this time, but I guess that is to be expected." Josh Howard: "We played hard tonight, but we just need to step up on defense and rebound a lot better." Utah Jazz 92, Dallas Mavericks 76 at Dallas (October 21) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Utah 26 22 18 26 - 92 .485 .200 .449 .741 Dallas 21 20 19 16 - 76 .367 .267 .344 .737 Halftime: Utah 48-41 3rd Q: Utah 66-60 Technicals: none Refs: Dick Bavetta, Orlandis Poole, Tim Donaghy Attendance: 19,682 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: Chris Borchardt (fractured left index finger), Tariq Abdul-Wahad (personal reasons), Antoine Walker (trade not cleared), Tony Delk (trade not cleared) Utah Jazz REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Matt Harpring 20 5-8 2-3 3-5 15 1-2 1 3 2 0 0 Michael Ruffin 24 0-3 0-0 0-0 0 4-9 1 1 4 0 0 Greg Ostertag 19 1-2 0-0 2-2 4 0-5 0 2 3 0 0 DeShawn Stevenson 22 3-8 0-1 2-4 8 1-3 2 1 0 3 0 Carlos Arroyo 21 3-8 0-2 2-2 8 0-1 2 0 3 0 0 Andrei Kirilenko 23 5-8 0-0 1-1 11 3-6 4 2 0 2 1 Jarron Collins 18 1-4 0-0 2-2 4 4-7 0 1 4 1 0 Raja Bell 12 2-6 0-1 0-0 4 0-1 1 0 1 1 0 Maurice Williams 14 6-9 0-0 5-5 17 0-2 0 1 2 0 0 Keon Clark 15 4-6 0-0 1-2 9 0-2 0 1 6 1 3 Raul Lopez 13 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0-0 5 4 1 1 0 Aleksander Pavlovic 20 4-11 0-2 0-0 8 1-3 1 1 3 2 0 Ben Handlogten 12 1-2 0-0 1-2 3 2-7 2 1 2 0 1 Jermaine Boyette 7 0-1 0-0 1-2 1 0-0 2 1 0 0 0 Totals 48 35-78 2-10 20-27 92 16-48 21 20 31 11 5 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Josh Howard 36 2-7 0-1 5-7 9 1-4 3 4 5 2 4 Dirk Nowitzki 29 5-9 1-5 8-9 19 0-6 2 2 2 3 2 Danny Fortson 19 0-3 0-0 4-4 4 5-6 1 2 6 0 1 Michael Finley 26 2-9 2-4 2-2 8 0-2 1 0 1 0 1 Steve Nash 18 2-4 0-0 0-0 4 1-2 6 2 4 0 0 Shawn Bradley 6 1-1 0-0 1-2 3 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 Antawn Jamison 24 3-10 0-1 1-2 7 0-5 0 4 4 1 0 Travis Best 30 3-8 0-1 2-2 8 0-1 4 4 6 1 0 Eduardo Najera 28 1-5 0-1 2-6 4 1-3 1 2 1 2 1 Marquis Daniels 16 3-7 1-2 1-2 8 1-1 0 0 1 1 0 Jon Stefansson 8 0-1 0-0 2-2 2 0-0 0 2 2 0 0 Totals 48 22-64 4-15 28-38 76 9-30 18 22 33 10 9 Dallas at Sacramento (October 22) It was the first game with Antoine Walker (Tony Delk didn't play with a minor injury) and, unfortunately, it wasn't being televised. But he sounded good. Sacramento scored 9 straight points to go up 18-7 with 8 minutes left. Steve Nash left the game with 5 minutes remaining and did not return (no injury, just resting him - Dallas did play the night before). Sacramento built their lead up to 27-11 with 4:45 left. Walker was playing point-forward and was being effective. Sacramento led 36-19 with 2 minutes left and Dallas scored the next 9 points, capped by a touchdown pass from Walker to Dirk Nowitzki for the layup as the quarter ended. But it wasn't the end of the scoring as Nowitzki got hammered by Brad Miller after the layup was made and when the refs didn't make the call, both Don Nelson and Del Harris hopped onto the court to complain and both picked up technicals. Peja Stojakovic hit both free throws to give Sacramento a 38-28 lead after 1. Walker had 10 points and 5 assists in the quarter - all 5 assists came after Nash left the game. A pass from Walker to Nowitzki for a layup opened the 2nd quarter and Sacramento led in single-digits the rest of the quarter, expect for the last 3 seconds. 3 free throws gave Sacramento a 62-52 lead after 3. That it was just a 10 point lead by Sacramento was hard to believe as Dallas was turning the ball over like crazy and the Kings were shooting much better than Dallas. The Mavs already had 16 turnovers (they averaged 11.6 last season) and shot 46% FG while Sacramento shot 58% FG. Doug Christie and Mike Bibby had 11 points each. Nowitzki had 16 points and Walker had a solid all-around game with 12 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals. Sacramento scored the first 4 points of the 3rd quarter and led in the teens the rest of the quarter. Nowitzki left the game with 5:45 to go and Walker left with 4 minutes remaining and neither returned. 7 straight King points gave Sacramento their then largest lead at 91-74 with a minute left. Sacramento led 93-78 after 3. The youngsters plus Michael Finley, whom Nelson was trying to get back to playing form - he had a strained quad early in camp and hasn't looked good in the 5 games he has played, played the 4th quarter and the Mavs got no closer than 16 points. Sacramento won 121-99. The Mavs biggest preseason problem continued as they had 24 turnovers in this game and averaged 20.3 turnovers in the 8 preseason games. Hopefully when Nash starts playing his normal minutes that number will go back to the Mavs normal league-leading low number. The new guy, Antoine Walker, sounded good and seemed to mesh really well, especially on his connects with Dirk Nowitzki. Walker had 13 points (and just 2 3-pointers attempted - both made), 5 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals in 25 minutes. Nowitzki had 16 points including 7-11 FG and 7 rebounds in 28 minutes. Michael Finley continued to struggle and had 13 points including 5-15 FG and 5 turnovers in a preseason high (any Mav) 43 minutes. Travis Best had 12 points on 6-9 FG. Antawn Jamison had 11 points and attempted just 6 shots. Eduardo Najera had 10 points and 8 rebounds and Shawn Bradley had 10 points on a perfect 4-4 FG and 2-2 FT (and no rebounds) in 7 minutes. For Sacramento, Peja Stojakovic led the way with 25 points including 4-6 3-pointers and 7 rebounds. Doug Christie had 15 points, 5 assists, and 5 steals and Mike Bibby had 15 points and 7 assists. Chris Webber and Vlade Divac did not play. Quotes Rick Adelman: "They already were hard to guard. Now, if they can get Antoine to buy into what they were doing, they're going to be a hard matchup. And he stepped back to let Pierce be the man, so it could work. But we were more concerned with what we doing, and that may have been the best we've looked." Don Nelson on Walker: "He's a fabulous basketball player. We ran the ball a lot through him. We got something pretty good almost every time on the offensive end. We're excited to have him." Sacramento Kings 121, Dallas Mavericks 99 at Dallas (October 22) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Sacramento 38 24 31 28 - 121 .493 .471 .488 .879 Dallas 28 24 26 21 - 99 .544 .375 .526 .889 Halftime: Sacramento 62-52 3rd Q: Sacramento 93-78 Technicals: Dirk Nowitzki 3:07 1st, Don Nelson 0:00 1st, Del Harris 0:00 1st Refs: Bill Spooner, Gary Zielinski, Violet Palmer Attendance: 17,317 (sellout) Did not play due to injury: Chris Webber (knee surgery), Vlade Divac (sprained ankle), Lawrence Funderburke (left Achilles surgery), Tony Delk (strained right calf), Tariq Abdul-Wahad (personal reasons) Sacramento Kings REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Darius Songaila 21 2-3 0-0 4-4 8 3-5 2 0 4 1 0 Predrag Stojakovic 38 8-17 4-6 5-5 25 0-7 2 1 3 1 1 Brad Miller 37 5-7 0-1 4-5 14 2-6 1 2 1 1 0 Doug Christie 29 6-14 1-3 2-3 15 0-2 5 2 0 5 1 Mike Bibby 26 6-12 1-2 2-2 15 1-4 7 1 2 1 0 Jabari Smith 14 1-2 0-0 5-6 7 0-0 4 1 5 0 0 Bobby Jackson 26 4-9 2-4 3-4 13 2-5 4 2 3 0 0 Gerald Wallace 25 5-11 0-0 2-2 12 1-5 4 0 1 1 0 Tony Massenburg 11 1-4 0-0 0-0 2 2-2 1 2 0 0 0 Anthony Peeler 9 1-4 0-1 0-0 2 1-1 2 0 0 1 0 Rodney Buford 4 3-3 0-0 2-2 8 0-0 1 0 0 1 1 Totals 48 42-86 8-17 29-33 121 12-37 33 11 19 12 3 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Dirk Nowitzki 28 7-11 0-0 2-2 16 0-7 2 2 1 0 0 Antoine Walker 25 5-8 2-2 1-3 13 2-5 7 2 2 3 0 Danny Fortson 14 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-2 1 0 2 0 0 Michael Finley 43 5-15 1-3 2-2 13 0-3 3 5 1 1 0 Steve Nash 7 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 1-1 0 3 2 0 0 Eduardo Najera 20 4-8 0-0 2-2 10 3-8 1 2 3 0 2 Antawn Jamison 25 4-6 0-1 3-3 11 1-4 3 1 2 0 1 Travis Best 27 6-9 0-0 0-0 12 0-3 2 4 4 0 0 Josh Howard 23 2-8 0-0 2-2 6 0-2 1 0 2 0 0 Shawn Bradley 7 4-4 0-0 2-2 10 0-0 0 1 3 0 0 Marquis Daniels 14 2-3 0-1 2-2 6 0-0 1 2 1 1 0 Jon Stefansson 7 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 0-1 1 0 2 1 0 Totals 48 40-76 3-8 16-18 99 7-36 22 24 25 6 3 patricia