Game On: Hornets @ Mavericks

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Published: January 5, 2013

The Hornets travel to Dallas, hoping to extend the Maverick’s woes.

The Mavericks started off the season with a bang, winning four of five games and leaving all the pundits who thought the acquisitions of Mayo, Collison, Kaman and Brand were brilliant nodding their heads knowingly.  Never mind the evidence that of those four players, only one has been consistently an above average player – and that’s Brand.  Never mind the fact that most of those wins were on the back of unsustainable good shooting from deep.

Now, 33 games into the season, the Mavericks are 13-20, Dirk is still struggling back onto the court after surgery, and the Mavs are hoping to right the ship before they fall entirely out of playoff contention.

The Hornets get Dallas with Nowitzki on the verge of starting again – and if the big German is closer to 90% than 70%, the Hornets may struggle.  Okay, who am I kidding, this Hornets team struggles against everyone.  Unless Gordon plays.  And he should.  Then the world is unicorns and rainbows.  Right?  Right!?

No, I’m not drinking already.

Keys to the game

  • Dominate the glass.  The Hornets have all their big men back.  Aminu seems to be winning the small forward “battle” by default.  That means the Hornets should be able to dominate the glass against a team that is almost dead last in overall rebounding percentage, 24th in defensive rebounding percentage, and 27th in offensive rebounding percentage.
  • Encourage the mid-range shot.  No team in the league takes more mid-range jumpers than Dallas.  As a result, their expected Field Goal % (If everyone shot league average, what do those shots generate) is the league’s fourth worst.  Yes, the Mavs have some specialists at taking those shots, but they are still bad shots.  Let them.
  • No dumb mistakes.  The Mavericks almost never generate turnovers.  Don’t help them out by making unforced errors.

Enjoy the game!

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