J-E-T ... Jet, Jet, Jet Neither is catching the Los Angeles Lakers for the No. 2 seed in the West. I assume the Lakers own some kind of tie breaker with two games each left on the schedule. That leaves the Mavs facing either the Portland Trailblazers, New Orleans Hornets or Memphis Grizzlies.
The story is, instead, Jason Terry. Friday night, he inexplicably started yelling at J.J. Barea then at coach Rick Carlisle and was delayed in returning to the bench after halftime.
A week after owner Mark Cuban got on his lil' soapbox and cried about Tim McMahon picking on him and stirring up controversial stories, Terry pitches a fit on the bench.
Now, getting mad at Barea is no big deal. He angers me nightly. However, there's a difference. Barea actually tries. He has 1/10th of the skill of Terry and yet he works 50 percent more in getting to the basket, attempting to play defense and make a real difference.
I hate Barea. But give me him over Terry any day of the week.
The thing about Terry is that he's old, doesn't play defense, runs hot-cold on offense, talks entirely too much shit, can't back any of it up and is apparently prone to screaming at his team right at the point in the season when they should be coming together.
Again, does this really look like a championship-calibre team? Hardly.
The Mavs need to do a lot of work in the offseason. Starting with handling Terry. He'll have some value. For the right team, he's a handy seventh or eight man. His contract (he's due $11 million next year) ends after the 2011-12 season (if there is a 2011-12 season).
Here are some more facts:
1. Corey Brewer has to make this team's post-season rotation. I don't disagree that he can be maddening offensively. However, he is without a doubt your best athlete and on-the-ball defender on the team. That doesn't say a damn thing about Brewer. It says tons about the Mavericks. They are milquetoast without him on the floor.
2. The Mavs must hold off the Lakers for the No. 2 seed. I hate the Mavs' chances to begin with. Keeping home-court in case of a second round series is important. Possibly getting Memphis or New Orleans is vital.
3. Shawn Marion is the second-best, most efficient player. I think it says something about Marion. He kind of hit a wall the last several years. He quickly went from a marquee starter to a support/bench role. He's embraced it. Very efficient. The second-best rebounder on the team (sorry, Dirk) and he fills up the box score every game. Plus, for the Mavericks, he's a good defender.
4. The Mavericks must crash the boards. No. Crush the boards. They outrebounded the Suns 51-37 last night. But the Suns haven't rebounded well ... ever. The Mavericks must have similar margins in all its remaining games.
5. The Mavericks made a huge mistake not including Roddy Beaubois in any off- mid-season trades. I'm not saying Roddy won't turn into anything. He certainly has all the potential in the world. But is he what the Mavericks need? I don't think his ceiling as an all-around player is as high as it was a year ago.
