The Dallas Mavericks, like so many teams around the NBA, have not yet been able to field their opening night roster due to various injuries. Tim Thomas is out 3-6 weeks with a knee injury and hasn't even been able to practice with the team yet. Josh Howard is recovering from offseason ankle surgery, and while he's taking part in contact drills for the first time he's still a ways away from actually taking the court. The combination of Howard and new Maverick Shawn Marion is expected to keep opposing head coaches up nights as they try to dream up ways to stop two of the most explosive players in the game. Now, just as Howard is nearing a return to action, Marion is going to be out of the lineup for seven-to-ten days due to an ongoing calf injury.
"I want to just play through this, but it's one of those injuries that they tell me if I don't let it heal completely it will keep lingering," Marion tells HOOPSWORLD. "I don't want it to linger. When I came back the first time it was still hurting me a little bit, but I was trying to fight through it and I actually tweaked it a little bit more and it started hurting more. Now I'm just working on rehabbing and working on my conditioning."
Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle has not taken the approach that many NBA coaches are taking, which is to rest certain starters for certain preseason games. Instead, citing the fact that the Mavs play just seven preseason contests and no back-to-backs, Carlisle is being opportunistic about when he rests his starters, while still putting them together in the starting lineup.
"With only seven games it's doubtful we'll sit anybody for an entire game, but it will all depend," says Carlisle. "We'll definitely do it if someone is banged up. Having seven instead of eight games changes a lot. We don't have any back-to-backs, which is a positive. It allows us to have a little more practice time. It allows us to manage the rest of our main guys, too. Keep all those factors in mind, but I don't think we'll look at (resting guys for entire games)."
With Marion now re-joining Howard on the bench, the Mavericks' roleplayers will now have a golden opportunity to show that they deserve a spot in the rotation once the season begins. Kris Humphries, in particular, has shown he can handle a bigger role, and guys like Matt Carroll, Quinton Ross, and perhaps even Jake Voskuhl and Nathan Jawai could benefit from the playing time Marion's absence will open up. Rick Carlisle has been here before, however, and says the key is for everyone to just stay ready.
"We've been seeing our role players since the first game, so nothing's changed. Look, I've seen everything in terms of having to have guys step up. I've had multiple players suspended for 30 or 40 games and then had back-ups become starters and injured reserve guys become rotation players, and you know last year we were a roster that had to be ready for anything. We had a lot of injury issues over the course of the year, so the message this year is the same as last year: Be ready at all times. There are certain things that everybody brings that can help our team win."
In the long run, missing guys in preseason can actually make the team deeper as the season progresses. That said, it would obviously be better to have everyone healthy. The Mavericks have a lot of new faces, and adjusting on the fly once the regular season begins is never an easy process.
Injuries Already Hurting Charlotte
Preseason haven't been going as well for the Charlotte Bobcats as they hoped; in fact, the worst-case scenario seems to be setting in. First of all, they've been without new acquisition Tyson Chandler due to an ankle injury. The sad truth about Chandler is that he may not ever be 100% healthy, which is why the New Orleans Hornets traded him . . .twice. You'll recall that the Oklahoma City Thunder sent him back to New Orleans because he didn't pass their physical. Is it a shock, then, that Chandler is having a hard time getting healthy now?
It doesn't help that Boris Diaw has also been out with a leg injury, meaning head coach Larry Brown has been missing his starting front line almost from day one. Brown was already upset that the organization didn't add a piece or two to the front line, and he has made no secret of his displeasure over the lackluster play of Nazr Mohammed and Gana Diop since camp started.
Things just got a little bit worse for the Bobcats, as they learned that Ronald "Flip" Murray will be out for at least the rest of preseason with a pre-existing shin injury. So we find that the little money the team actually spent is now sitting on the sidelines in a coat and tie instead of helping the team win. Murray was struggling to find his shot throughout his three preseason games, averaging 5.3 points per game and shooting 29% from the field. If anyone needed additional preseason time, it was Murray.
Last season the Bobcats set a team record for most games won in a season and were in the playoff chase until the last week or so of the regular season. The hope has been that they would improve upon that record and make the postseason for the first time in franchise history. Of course, the hope was also that there would be significant upgrades made over the summer. The latter didn't happen, and as injuries pile up we can only hope they aren't harbingers of things to come in 2009-10.
First Look At Tonight's Action
Houston Rockets @ Toronto Raptors: The Raptors finally got Hedo Turkoglu into uniform last night, but it wasn't enough to help them beat the Boston Celtics. Turkoglu logged 22 minutes and scored six points on 3-6 shooting and also dished five assists, but the Raptors lost 90-106. The Rockets have looked pretty good in preseason play, but the reality of youth is already costing them games. Chase Budinger has taken on a scoring role, but it remains to be seen whether or not he'll be able to do that once the games count.
Detroit Pistons @ Dallas Mavericks: The Dallas Mavericks have been incredibly good with Shawn Marion in the lineup, and now wait to see how much better they'll be when Josh Howard joins the party. He's not expected back for another week or so as he recovers from ankle surgery. The Pistons hope to have Charlie Villanueva in the lineup tonight, though the word is he, like Ben Gordon, will come off the bench.
New Orleans Hornets @ Miami HEAT: The Hornets have struggled without Emeka Okafor in the mix, though the HEAT haven't fared much better without Dwyane Wade. Michael Beasley has been good for Miami, scoring 24 points to lead the team in a loss to OKC last night. The Hornets are just 1-3 in preseason, and have yet to see Okafor in uniform. He's out for another week or so with a toe injury.
Portland Trail Blazers @ Utah Jazz: The Jazz are back from a trip to Madrid, and haven't played a game in a week. The battle of the power forwards can now resume, with Carlos Boozer and Paul Millsap fighting it out to see who will be the starter on opening night. Millsap outscored Boozer 20-14 in Madrid, with both players logging roughly 20 minutes of action. The Blazers continue to get excellent play from Greg Oden, and have moved Andre Miller into the starting lineup. Looks like both are penciled in as starters for Portland on opening night.
Sacramento Kings @ Los Angeles Lakers: Ron Artest's integration into the triangle offense has been seamless so far, as he flirted with a triple-double his first time out. The Lakers have been off for a week, but should shake off the rust quickly enough going against the lowly Sacramento Kings. It doesn't help that Francisco Garcia is out indefinitely, and Andres Nocioni, Desmond Mason and Spencer Hawes are all listed as "questionable," as well, with nagging injuries.
Gotta Have Twitter?
If you've just gotta have Twitter, HOOPSWORLD is ready to feed your basketball jones. You can follow HOOPSWORLD by going here: twitter.com/hoopsworld, and you can follow me by going here: twitter.com/TheRocketGuy. Enjoy!
NBA Chats!
HOOPSWORLD Senior writer Joel Brigham will host his weekly chat at 1pm EST. Joel covers the Chicago Bulls and the Eastern Conference, so get your questions for Joel in early. HOOPSWORLD Editor Jason Fleming hosts the evening chat at 8pm EST. Make sure to drop in your questions for veteran NBA writer Chris Perkins, he will host his first weekly chat tomorrow at 11am. Perk covers the Miami HEAT and the NBA for HOOPSWORLD, so get your questions in now to make sure yours gets answered. You can find the upcoming chats days and times here: Upcoming Chats At HOOPSWORLD.
