Dallas Mavericks Stomp the Washington Wizards

The Mavericks are looking as dominate as ever as they closed out the Washington Wizards last night. I was at this game, which was the first game of the preseason. The first quarter was close because the Mavs were having way too much trouble shooting their free throws. I think they were 1-20 in the first quarter, (just guessing). Even Dirk Nowitzki was missing from the charity stripe. The Mavs shot 53 percent as a team vs Washington who was shooting 82 percent. They can't keep that up if they want to be NBA champs.

Antwan Jamison went down in the first quarter with a sprained knee injury. Jamison was actually a former Maverick during the 03-04 season coincidentally. Also, John Hollinger of ESPN wrote during his Player Efficiency Ratings that "His(Jamison) game has held up very well the past few years, he never gets hurt..". If you don't believe in jinxing people, it's time to start. The Wizards had also just given Jamison a 50 million dollar extension on his contract, I'm sure they'd like part of that back now. For the Wizards, having Jamison and Gilbert Arenas out for the game devastated their lineup. Although the Mavericks were likely to win it is good that they didn't play down to their opponents as they sometimes do. They pulled away in the second quarter and never looked back.

Brandon Bass was surprisingly dominate with 17 points and three rebounds which is higher than his 8.3 points per game average of last year. DeSagana Diop is back in Dallas and contributed 7 rebounds and three blocks. His defense is much appreciated in Big D. Dirk had 17 points as well as 7 boards. Jason Kidd played well with 7 assists and 6 points. Caron Butler of the Wizards had 11 points. A lesser known player Andray Blatche had 18 points and 5 rebounds.

Some of the Mavs younger players are stepping it up to get playing time. Antoine Wright played considerably well racking up 9 points, 3 steals, 4 assists and 2 rebounds. He should see more playing time as well as J.J. Barea who played excellent at guard and did not turn the ball over.

I don't get why we are paying 10.5 million to Eric Dampier. Is there no one else we can find at the post position? He plays soft defense 9/10 games he plays. He looks like a powerhouse but plays like the Easter Bunny. I would trade him in a heartbeat.

In the fourth quarter the Mavs were up by as much as 36! The Mavs were very quick and all the gears were moving well. Washington might have to start worrying with their two biggest stars out. They may need to trade some draft picks for some decent players.