Mavs Draft Review

When the Mavericks were left without a fist round pick in this year's draft due to the Jason Kidd trade they went out and bought one. Dallas paid 3 million dollars to Memphis for the rights of the 25th overall pick, Dominique Jones a guard from South Florida. Jones was one of the best scorers in college basketball last year averaging over 21 points a game. The strongest are of his game is getting to the rim as he averaged 8.5 free throw attempts a game. The Mavericks traded their #50 overall pick, Florida St. Center Solomon Alabi to Toronto for a 2013 2nd rounder and cash.

All in all it seems to be an excellent night for the Mavs as they were able to get a player who can help right away and all they had to do was pay Mark Cuban's money for him. It is yet another example of Cuban's commitment to this franchise.

News and notes

Roddy Beaubois has been named to the French national team for this summer's World Championships. He should see plenty of playing time with Tony Parker sitting out the games. J.J. Barea will play for Puerto Rico. The Mavericks are working on a contract extension with Dirk Nowitzki, who can opt for free agency. Nowitzki was named 2nd team all-NBA, the 10th straight year he has been selected to an all-NBA squad. He has been 1st team 4 times, 2nd team 4 times and 3rd team twice. Jason Kidd confirms he was sick during the Spurs series, but will not use it as an excuse.

Conference Finals predictions

West: Lakers in 5

East: Magic in 6

Mavericks vs. Spurs game 6 review

The Mavericks season ended Thursday night with a 97-87 defeat to the Spurs. The Spurs won the series in 6 games, taking all three in San Antonio.

The Mavs fell behind early, trailing 22-8 after one and by as much as 22 points. The team battled back to take a lead in the third but were outplayed in the fourth once again.

Dirk led the way for the Mavs scoring 33 despite picking up 4 first half fouls. Caron Butler added 25 and Roddy Beaubois took advantage of rare playing time with 16. Once again however the two Jasons, Kidd and Terry combined for only 5 points on 2-13 shooting.

Manu Ginobili led the Spurs with 26 points. George Hill had 21 and Tim Duncan had a double-double of 17 and 10 rebounds.

The Spurs will move on to face Phoenix in the next round while the Mavs head for another offseason that will start way too early.

Mavs vs. Spurs game 6 preview

Dallas Mavericks at San Antonio Spurs

Western Conference quarterfinals game 6

Spurs lead series 3-2

Thurs. April 29 7:00 at the AT&T Center

TV: Ch. 21, TNT

Series results

Game 1: Mavs 100 Spurs 94 at Dallas

Game 2: Spurs 102 Mavs 88 at Dallas

Game 3: Spurs 94 Mavs 90 at San Antonio

Game 4: Spurs 92 Mavs 89 at San Antonio

Game 5: Mavs 103 Spurs 81 at Dallas

Series leaders

Mavs

PPG: Dirk Nowitzki, 25.4

RPG: Nowitzki, 8.8

APG: Jason Kidd, 7.2

Spurs

PPG: Tim Duncan, 18.4

RPG: Duncan, 9.4

APG: Tony Parker, 5.2

Mavs vs. Spurs previous game 6 results

2003: Spurs 90 Mavs 78 at Dallas

2006: Spurs 91 Mavs 86 at Dallas

Notes: Caron Butler's 35 points was the most for a Maverick other than Dirk since Jason Terry had 35 in Game 5 of the 2006 Finals. The Mavs are 1-8 in Game 6s in the Dirk Nowitzki era with the only win coming in the series clincher of the 2006 West Finals in Phoenix. The only 2 playoff road wins the Mavs have in their last 17 games came last year in San Antonio. In the last two games Tim Duncan is 4-18 from the field while Manu Ginobili is 6-23.

Mavs vs. Spurs game 5 review

With his team's back against the wall and his play so far in the series so underwhelming he was benched for an entire half, Caron Butler picked a good time to remind everybody that he can still be an all-star level player. If he keeps it up the this season has a good chance to continue.

Led by Butler's career playoff high of 35 points, the Mavs blew out San Antonio by a 103-81 score Tuesday night. The win puts the series at 3-2 in favor of the Spurs with game six now set for Thursday night in San Antonio.

Butler, who also had 11 rebounds was on his game from the start as the Mavs grabbed a 17 point first half lead which was cut to only 7 at halftime. The Mavs though came out strong in the third going on a 8-0 run to begin the half and were never threatened again.

A big game was not needed from Dirk but he still added 15 points and 9 rebounds. Jason Kidd had 10 points, 7 assists and 7 rebounds in easily his best game since game one. Brendan Haywood was added to the starting lineup and responded with 8 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks.

The Mavs clamped down on the defensive end holding the Spurs to only 36% shooting. Tim Duncan only scored 11 on 3-9 shooting while Manu Ginobili had 7 points on 2-7 from the field.

If Dallas can bring this level of play and intensity in game 6, then there will be a good chance for a game 7 back in Dallas on Saturday with a team that is much more than a one man show it was in games 3 and 4.

Teams that came back from 3-1 deficits

2006 2. Phoenix Suns(54-28) vs. 7. Los Angeles Lakers(45-37) West Quarterfinals

2003 1. Detroit Pistons(50-32) vs. 8. Orlando Magic(42-40) East Quarterfinals

1997 2. Miami Heat(61-21) vs. 3. New York Knicks(57-25) East Semifinals

1995 6. Houston Rockets(47-35) vs. 2. Phoenix Suns(59-23) West Semifinals

1981 1. Boston Celtics(62-20) vs. 3.Philadelphia 76ers(62-20) East Finals

1979 1. Washington Bullets(54-28) vs. 2. San Antonio Spurs(48-34) East Finals

1970 2. Los Angeles Lakers(46-36) vs. 4. Phoenix Suns(39-43) West Semifinals

1968 2. Boston Celtics(54-28) vs. 1. Philadelphia(62-20) East Finals

Mavs vs. Spurs game 5 preview

Dallas Mavericks vs. San Antonio Spurs

Western Conference quarterfinals Game 5

Spurs lead series 3-1

Tues. April 27 8:30 at the AAC

TV: Ch. 21, NBATV

Series results

Game 1: Mavs 100 Spurs 94 at Dallas

Game 2: Spurs 102 Mavs 88 at Dallas

Game 3: Spurs 94 Mavs 90 at San Antonio

Game 4: Spurs 92 Mavs 89 at San Antonio

Series leaders

Mavs

PPG: Dirk Nowitzki, 28.0

RPG: Nowitzki, 8.8

APG: Jason Kidd, 7.3

Spurs

PPG: Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, 20.3

RPG: Duncan, 10.3

APG: Ginobili, 6.0

Mavs vs. Spurs previous game 5 results

2001: Spurs 105 Mavs 87 at San Antonio

2003: Mavs 103 Spurs 91 at San Antonio

2006: Spurs 98 Mavs 97 at San Antonio

2009: Mavs 106 Spurs 93 at San Antonio

Notes: The Mavs have lost 15 of their last 17 road playoff games. Dallas is 2-5 in the Dirk Nowitzki era when trailing a series 3-1. Nowitzki and Brendan Haywood are the only Mavs shooting over .423% in the series. Dirk who is 34-35 from the line in the series is the only Maverick to shoot more than 12 free throws in the four games.