Mavs Haunt Lakers 94-80 in L.A.

The Mavs got a gritty win over the Lakers in L.A. last night 94-80. Let’s discuss…

- Neither team played great, but it was nice to see the Mavs pull out a win, on the road. The defense looked improved, and it was a much better effort than what we saw in the opener against Washington.

- Shawn Marion showed why he is a solid pickup for this team. He had a lot of key baskets in the 4^th and the two alley-oops he threw down were nice! It is so good to see a player on this team that is able to do the things this team has been missing for a while.

- Kobe had an off game. He finished with 20 points on 6-of-19 shooting. I don’t know how much you attribute that to the Mavs defense, or if he just had an off night. I do think the combination off Kidd and Quinton Ross did a really good job of slowing Kobe down.

- Kris Humphries showed why he is just as good as Brandon Bass but not such a liability. Humphries spent a lot of time guarding Bynum in the post. That is something Bass wasn’t good at because he was too undersized. Humphries has size, plus the ability to shoot if he needs to. Humphries finished the game with 8 points and 7 rebounds in 20 minutes. Not bad off the bench. Plus, he was talking noise to Kobe, you have to love that.

- The Mavs debuted their new alternate royal blue jersey last night. From all I have seen, most fans seem to really like them. Mark Cuban likes them because apparently, Cuban has already scheduled the Mavs to wear the alternate 15 times (the max # of time) but it seems he’s going to petition the league to up that number. I like them, but I still think I like the green ones better. I think they should have had a throwback Mavs jersey for the alternate, but that’s just me I guess.

Dallas has the Clippers tonight on the second night of a back-to-back. They have to keep the level of play and intensity up because the Clippers aren’t a bad team. L.A. will be without Blake Griffin, but if the Mavs lose tonight, it makes the win against the Lakers last night worthless. Catch the "Mavs GameNight" pre-game starting at 8:00PM on 103.3 FM ESPN Radio.

Tim Donaghy's Book is Causing a Stir

Deadspin.com has a great posting up right now about former NBA referee Tim Donaghy’s book “Blowing the Whistle.” In the book Donaghy talk about things referees did during games and some of the things he looked for before betting on a game.

Deadspin has excerpts from the book HERE. It is definitely worth the read.

The NBA has come out and said it will investigate the allegations made by Tim Donaghy. Elizabeth Ventura, the NBA's senior vice president of communications, issued the following statement.

"In 2008 Mr. Donaghy's allegations were thoroughly investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office. We are reassured that the U.S. Government completed its investigation finding that the only criminal conduct was that of Mr. Donaghy.

"We take any question regarding the integrity of our game extremely seriously. At the time Mr. Donaghy’s crimes came to light, we appointed Lawrence B. Pedowitz, a former Chief of the Criminal Division in the U.S. Attorney's office of the Southern District of New York, to lead a comprehensive independent review of the NBA's officiating program. Mr. Pedowitz's review revealed that the NBA’s core values of neutrality and accountability were not compromised by anyone other than Mr. Donaghy.

"As with all allegations concerning the integrity of our officiating program, these latest assertions by Mr. Donaghy will be turned over to Mr. Pedowitz for a complete review."

I am still not sure what to think about this. On one hand, Donaghy could be saying these things to sell books and get back at the NBA. On the other hand, this could be a Jose Canseco type situation where everyone thinks he is lying, but it actually turns out to be true. Judging by what I have seen from the NBA, especially in the 2006 Finals, I feel like there could be a lot of truths in Tim Donaghy’s allegations.

Gasol Out for Lakers Against Mavericks

According to Laker Reporter Mide Trudell's Twitter page...

Mavs Drop Home Opener to Wizards...Reaction Time

The Mavs dropped their home opener 102-91 at the AAC Tuesday night. Let me make a few observations.

- I was disappointed in the defense. Especially since defense is something Coach Carlisle preached and tried to improve during training camp.

- The 2 guard hole still haunts the Mavs. Fans were expecting Josh to be playing there but he isn’t healthy so Dallas went with Quinton Ross. Ross had an ok game defensively but only contributed 2 points on the offensive end. Dallas did get contributions from Jason Terry and J.J. Barea but those guys are a defensive liability.

- I like the toughness and defense that Drew Gooden brings to this team, but he took a few ill advised shots during the game.

- Dirk had a pretty good game, but his shot wasn’t falling like normal as he went 10-for-25. Despite that, Dirk still finished with 34 points and was 12-of-13 from the line. Dating back to the last season, Nowitzki has now scored 20+ points in 26 consecutive regular season games – the longest such streak in the NBA

- Where was the Kris Humphries from pre-season? I thought he would be able to back-up Dirk and be a decent player from what we saw in training camp. He only played 5 minutes and was not very effective.

- Gilbert Arenas looked nice!! I’m glad to see Agent 0 back to his old self. He battled through 2 years worth of injuries, but totally appears to be healthy now. The Wizards can be a really good team once Jamison returns and everyone else stays healthy.

5 Reasons Why the Mavs are Better This Season

Angry Trey’s NBA previews and discussions continue today with more talk about the Mavericks. A lot of analysts have been sleeping on this team, but I give you 5…scratch that, I mean 4 reasons why the Mavs are improved and will increase their number of wins from last season. Josh Howard being helthy was one of my five reasons, but he isn’t healthy yet, but should be… hopefully… maybe…

1. Head Coach Rick Carlisle is in his second season with the Mavs. There won’t be as large of a learning curve for the players and himself this season. Last year everything was new to everyone. This year, players know the system and already know most of the plays. On the other side, Coach Carlisle is more familiar with his team and the things he can expect from each player.

2. Josh Howard should be healthy. Everyone could tell that Josh wasn’t healthy at all last season. It was also evident how much he means to this team by he was able to do in the San Antonio series. J-Ho had surgery in the offseason to fix some ankle problems and will be back to the Josh of old this season. He will also benefit from having Shawn Marion on the opposite wing.

3. Mavs no longer have to rely solely on Erick Dampier at center. The addition of Drew Gooden means minutes at the center position will be mainly shared by Gooden and Dampier. All of the good big men reside in the East and there is no center in the West that Damp and Drew shouldn’t be able to tag team. If for some reason those guys get into early foul trouble, Dallas also can use Dirk and Chris Humphries, which brings me to my next point…

4. Kris Humphries is as good as or better than Brandon Bass. The Mavericks lost Bass to Orlando in the offseason, but acquired Humphries through the Shawn Marion trade. Humphries has had a very nice preseason and has shown he can be a good piece off the bench for this team. He will not be as big of a liability size wise as Bass was, and he can also do a few more things offensively.

5. Shawn Marion. Do I need to say any more? Probably not, but I will. The Mavs have been in desperate need of an athletic player who can create his own shots and slash to the rim. The Matrix is that exact player. He can create on his own, throw down the alley-oop, run the floor, and play solid defense. Marion will benefit tons from playing with Jason Kidd.

Jerry Hughes and Jeremy Kerley Garner Midseason Honors

TCU defensive end Jerry Hughes and punt returner Jeremy Kerley have been named first-team Midseason All-Americans by CollegeFootballNews.com.TCU, Alabama and Florida are the only schools with more than one player as first-team selections.

Hughes is on all five Midseason All-America teams (Sporting News, CBSSports.com, SI.com, Phil Steele's, CollegeFootballNews.com).

Kerley is the only player in the nation to rank in the top eight in punt returns and the top 26 in kickoff returns. He tops the MWC and is eighth nationally with his mark of 16.2 yards per punt return. His 27.0 kickoff return average places 26th in the nation.

A junior from Hutto, Texas, Kerley has returned punts for touchdowns in his last two home games. His 69-yard effort against Colorado State was the Top Play of the Day on ESPN’s SportsCenter. Kerley also had a 71-yard punt return for a touchdown against SMU. He has had a 52-yard kickoff return in two of the last three games.

Both of Kerley's punt returns for touchdowns have given TCU a late first-half spark. Following Kerley's touchdowns, TCU has outscored its opponents 54-7 over the remainder of the game.

With 325 punt return yards in the opening seven contests, Kerley is on pace for 604 this season. It would shatter the TCU single-season record of 549 punt return yards set by Davey O’Brien in 1937.

Kerley also tops TCU with 22 receptions.

Hughes has 10 1/2 tackles for loss with nine sacks and is fourth on the Horned Frogs with 35 tackles.

The senior from Sugar Land, Texas, is averaging 1.3 sacks per game, ahead of the 1.2 mark he had last season when he led the nation with 15 sacks and was a consensus All-American.

Hughes is one of 10 finalists for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, one of 12 semifinalists for the Rotary Lombardi Award and one of 20 quarterfinalists for the Lott Trophy.