Dallas coach Rick Carlisle is the antithesis of the old saying that square people don't die round.
He has demonstrated flexibility in playing to his team's strength rather than trying to cram a square peg into a little round hole. Carlisle, known for his deliberate half court playoff style basketball when coaching in Detroit and Indiana, has the Mavericks running. To date, Dallas is one of the top 10 scoring teams in the NBA.
The numbers reinforce this as the Mavs are also fourth in shots per game -- squeezing off roughly 85 each night. The running prowess is proven by another stat as Carlisle's crew is fourth in the league in fast break points. Jason Terry is leading the running game as he is the individual leader in fast break scoring in the entire NBA and he will be a handful for Toronto's wing men. The "Jet" (Jason Eugene Terry) will have to be reckoned with in the final quarter as he trails only New Jersey's Devin Harris (remember him Raptors fans - 18 points in the final quarter on Monday) and Atlanta's Joe Johnson when the game is on the line in the final 12 minutes.
Dallas is not at the championship level is showed back in 2006 when they blew a 2-0 in games lead and a 17 point third quarter edge in Game 3 of the NBA Finals against Miami, but they are still a formidable team in the west. Dallas is the second best rebounding team in the league and that will be another issue that the Raptors will have to deal with if they want to earn a win before heading out on a six-game west coast trip.
One more thing: Dallas' bench isn't too shabby either as it leads the NBA in reserve scoring at just over 37 points per game. One of the Mavs you want to keep your eye on is J.J. Barea; his stature has him more suited for field hockey than basketball but don't let his size fool you because he literally had a fight for his life on the day he was born.
The New York Knicks have taken their traveling circus on the road in the form of Stephon Marbury. He showed up at their game last night against the Lakers, purchasing himself a Staples Center ticket to watch the contest. So tell me, with the underlying tension between Phoenix and New York with Mike D'Antoni leaving the Suns this summer for the Knicks, if Marbury ends up in Phoenix as it is being speculated as one of his possible destinations, is that like a guy dating another guy's ex-girlfriend just to tick him off?
Everybody was wondering why Antonio McDyess was so dead set against going to Denver to play for the Nuggets as he had already had a stop there along the NBA road. This may enlighten you slightly as to why "Dice" is headed back to the Motor City.
Boston and Atlanta will play on Wednesday for the first time since Game 7 of the playoffs when the Celtics blew the Hawks out to advance to the second round. By the sound of it, the Hawks are looking forward to it and hey, why not, they are 9-1 at home. The question mark for Boston is Paul Pierce and his injured right knee. How effective will he be?
Maurice Cheeks had his say on Tuesday after being fired as head coach in Philadelphia and took the "high road."
Finally, how would you like to be Lonnie Cooper, the super-agent that represents many NBA head coaches. Unfortunately all six head coaches that have been fired this season are "Lonnie's boys". Cooper offered up his reasoning as to why the axe is falling so regularly on coaches.
