Friday's game was a fun game. I had a great time. Sure, the shooting by both teams was (as usual) poor, but the Mavs were enjoying themselves, the small crowd was pretty rowdy, and Glen Rice has one of the sweetest shots in the league. Jason Kidd and Chris Gatling returned from injury to play in their first pre-season game and Oliver Miller played. You could tell just how much better the team plays with Kidd on the court. Kidd was sucking wind pretty hard after about 5 minutes and had to sit for a bit. He dished out 12 assist in 35 minutes, but his shooting was pathetic. He shot 3-13 FG and 2 of those were driving layups and the 3rd was a driving finger roll - no shot was made outside of 1 foot. The Mavs got down by about 13 midway through the 3rd quarter when the scrubs started playing really well. I believe the lineup was Webster, Strickland, Peterson, McCloud, and King or Harper. Strickland got two steals (and a near third) and hit a 3, Peterson drove for two baskets, and Webster got a bucket to bring the Mavs within 2. The starters came in the 4th quarter and played well. The Mavs were up by about 8 when Glen Rice started going crazy. He hit 3 3-pointers with a defender right in his face to bring the Hornets with in 3 with 30 seconds left. Of course, the game would have been long over if the Mavs any where near decent on their free throws (10-24 for the game). I hope Cleamons made them shoot free throws for an hour the next day. Rice had a great game with 32 points including 11-18 FG and 5-7 3-pointers. For the first time since Bill Wennington, the Mavs have cheerleaders on their team. Chris Gatling waves his arms up at the fans and Oliver Miller pushes the sky to urge the fans on. At the start of training camp, I thought the competition for the 5th guard spot was going to be between Jimmy King and Shawn Harvey. That turned out not to be the case. Harvey has played poorly and even DNP-coach's decision the last game and will likely be among the first cut. The competition King has had comes from Erick Strickland. Strickland has played really well and the coaches reportedly like him. I've been impressed with what I've seen of him. He plays great defense (and has a nice low defensive crouch), can get a couple of steals, and can knock down the 3. With the guaranteed contract, King still has the inside track, but I'm rooting for Strickland. Look for the Mavs to cut several of the free agents before they head to Mexico City Friday. Shawn Harvey, Jeff Webster, Herb Jones, and Jaime Peterson are likely to be the first cut. The Mavs' last two pre-season games are Saturday and Sunday in Mexico and then the roster must be reduced to 12 active players (with up to 3 players on IR) by 5 pm October 31. With Montross recovering from the sprained ankle and Miller not yet in playing shape, Greg Dreiling might survive the first cut, but will be gone by the start of the season. The Mavs have 14 players under guaranteed contract, but look for Samaki Walker to start the season on IR. If the team decides to place Mashburn on IR, Fred Roberts may stick around until Mash is ready, else I for see Roberts being cut. The winner of the King-Strickland roster spot is still to be determined. Jamal Mashburn's recovery is still going slow. He will not be ready for the season opener as was planned. He has yet to be cleared for 5-on-5 practice and wants to practice for at least two weeks before playing in a game. Mashburn has been working with Mark Aguirre recently playing one-on-one with light contact. Mashburn last played in a game December 9. KLIF and the Mavs will be hosting an open practice and Jam Session at Reunion Arena on the evening of October 21. It's free and the doors open at 5:00. Practice starts at 6:00 and there will be other events during the evening. The Mavs will be hosting a tip-off luncheon at the Dallas Fairmont Hotel on Tuesday, October 29 starting at 11:00 am. Individual seats are available for $50 and a table of 10 can be purchased for $1000 with a VIP reception. All proceeds will benefit the Dallas Mavericks Foundation. For more information, call 214-748-1808. The Mavs will be publishing an eight page monthly newsletter called Teamworks. It is replacing the Dallas Mavericks Press. A subscription costs $16 per year, but will be sent free to season ticket holders (I don't know if it will also be sent to partial season ticket holders). For more information, you can send a note to jjcarter@dallasmavs.com or send your check and the subscription address to Teamworks, 777 Sports Street, Dallas, TX 75207. Dr Pepper and the Dallas Morning News will once again be sponsoring several Family Nights. For $49, you get 4 tickets (either $15 or $21 sections - I'm not sure which), 4 hot dogs, 4 Dr Peppers, and a parking pass. The 6 family nights are Nov 12 vs Indiana, Nov 26 vs San Antonio, Feb 4 vs Sacramento, Feb 25 vs Charlotte, Mar 18 vs Washington, and Apr 8 vs Portland. For more information call 972-988-0117. patricia ---- Dallas Mavericks 87, Charlotte Hornets 84 - at Dallas 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 20 15 27 25 - 87 .424 .500 .438 .417 Charlotte 15 26 23 20 - 84 .338 .412 .354 .613 Halftime: Charlotte 41-35 3rd Q: Charlotte 64-62 Technicals: Anthony Mason 7:27 3rd Refs: Mike Mathis, Ken Mauer, Hank Armstrong Attendance: 14,683 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Loren Meyer 21 4-7 0-0 0-0 8 1-9 0 1 4 0 0 George McCloud 28 4-10 3-6 1-1 12 1-4 2 2 4 0 0 Greg Dreiling 26 2-4 0-0 3-6 7 0-5 0 0 3 0 0 Jason Kidd 35 3-13 0-1 1-3 7 1-3 12 2 1 2 0 Jim Jackson 31 6-13 2-3 2-4 16 2-3 4 4 5 0 1 Chris Gatling 21 6-11 0-0 1-3 13 2-12 1 1 5 1 0 Fred Roberts 10 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 1-1 0 1 0 1 0 Oliver Miller 14 2-4 0-0 1-2 5 5-8 0 1 1 2 1 Jimmy King 6 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 0-0 0 1 0 0 0 Terry Davis 4 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1-1 0 1 1 0 0 Herb Jones 3 0-0 0-0 0-2 0 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 Erick Strickland 5 1-3 1-1 0-0 3 0-1 1 0 2 2 0 Jaime Peterson 9 2-2 0-0 1-3 5 1-2 0 1 0 1 1 Jeff Webster 5 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 0-0 0 0 1 0 1 Derek Harper 22 2-8 1-3 0-0 5 0-3 2 1 2 1 0 Totals 48 35-80 7-14 10-24 87 15-52 22 20 30 11 4 Charlotte Hornets REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Anthony Mason 40 3-6 0-0 4-8 10 3-14 5 2 2 0 0 Matt Geiger 31 1-11 0-0 0-4 2 3-8 3 2 4 0 0 Vlade Divac 37 5-10 0-1 4-6 14 6-12 1 2 2 2 0 Glen Rice 34 11-18 5-7 5-6 32 0-4 1 1 3 3 2 Anthony Goldwire 30 3-14 1-6 3-3 10 0-1 2 3 3 0 0 Tony Delk 10 1-2 1-1 0-0 3 0-0 1 1 1 1 0 Malik Rose 17 2-7 0-0 2-2 6 1-3 1 2 4 0 0 George Zidek 11 1-4 0-0 0-0 2 3-4 0 1 3 0 0 Dell Curry 22 2-8 0-1 1-2 5 0-2 0 2 3 2 0 Brad Lohaus 8 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0-1 2 0 1 0 0 Totals 48 29-82 7-17 19-31 84 16-49 16 16 26 8 2