Dallas Mavericks

This Isn't What Magic's Bass Expected

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By Tim Povtak 2/04/2010 7:10 PM ET

ORLANDO -- When he signed as a free agent this summer, power forward Brandon Bass thought he would become the final -- and very integral -- piece to help the Orlando Magic win a championship.

He has turned into the missing piece, all right. As in, missing from the lineup. The defending Eastern Conference champions have been moving forward mostly without him.

"I felt in my heart this was the right place for me,'' Bass said Thursday after practice. "When I signed, it just felt right – but it's not going right, (right) now. I'm not playing, and that's bad.''

Bass signed a four-year, $16 million contract this summer, rejecting a more lucrative offer to stay in Dallas, and other opportunities in New Orleans, Charlotte and Portland.

But instead of contributing, he mostly has watched others, playing in only 28 of the 49 games, averaging just 13.3 minutes, 5.9 rebounds and 2.4 rebounds in a much smaller role than he anticipated.

The Magic wanted him for front-court depth, giving them a physical presence to help center Dwight Howard, an option beyond a lineup with mostly 3-point shooters.

It just hasn't happened.

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By Tim Povtak 2/03/2010 4:40 PM ET

ORLANDO, Fla. -- At this stage of his career, Jerry Stackhouse isn't trying to win a title anymore -- he missed a golden opportunity in 2006 with Dallas. He just wants to leave this game with his head high.

Stackhouse, 35, is one of only two guards from the 1995 NBA Draft who still is playing in the league. He was signed late last month by the Milwaukee Bucks after Michael Redd was lost for the season with a knee injury.

In eight games, he has averaged 18.3 minutes, 6.8 points and 2.1 assists, still trying to find his place with a new system but impressing coaches with his surprisingly good conditioning for someone who hadn't played in a year.

It might not be a coincidence that the Bucks are 5-3 since he joined, hoping now for their first playoff appearance in four years.

"I want to go out on my terms. That was my motivation. I still have something to offer. I still have something left in the tank,'' Stackhouse said Tuesday night after the Bucks played the Orlando Magic. "I can still provide a spark.''

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By Brett Pollakoff 2/03/2010 2:00 PM ET

If the playoffs began today, the Thunder would be in the conversation. Kevin Durant is within percentage points of leading the league in scoring, and has led his team to wins over the previously red-hot Nuggets and Hawks in the past week. As such, Oklahoma City finds themselves moving all the way up to the six spot in this week's Rankings.

The Cavaliers, of course, are still on top, but there was plenty of movement otherwise. Read on to see where your favorites ended up this week.

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By Tom Ziller 1/31/2010 1:15 PM ET

Heading into Saturday night's game in Dallas, Blazers point guard Andre Miller had a career scoring high of 37 points. He'd never taken more than 26 field goal attempts in a game; basically, he's about a step removed from Luke Ridnour and Brevin Knight in terms of scoring urgency.

So when he dropped 52 points on the Mavericks -- at least 10 of those in the closing minutes of regulation and in overtime on all-world defender Shawn Marion -- it was a big deal. A real WTF moment. To everyone ... except Miller.

Jason Quick of The Oregonian heard from Miller's teammates just how little the fitty-plus performance changed Dre's M.O. Martell Webster said Miller walked into the locker room after the finish as if nothing had ever happened. LaMarcus Aldridge said Miller was stoked for the win -- which came almost entirely because of Miller -- but had no time to celebrate the personal achievement.

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By Brett Pollakoff 1/29/2010 3:41 AM ET

PHOENIX -- If the Suns are serious about trading Amar'e Stoudemire out of town before next month's deadline, they sure didn't do themselves any favors on Thursday. Playing a nationally televised game on TNT against the Dallas Mavericks, with the whole league watching, Phoenix pulled out a gritty, come-from-behind 112-106 victory.

And they did it by benching Stoudemire for the entire fourth quarter.

The Suns won this one with their defense, and went largely with bench players down the stretch, who, on this night, gave the team its best chance to win. That meant that Stoudemire, who led the team in scoring with 22 points while playing just 27 minutes, wasn't part of the plan.

Suns coach Alvin Gentry explained that on any given night, different guys are going to step up and help his team. And he made it very clear not to read anything into the fact that Stoudemire watched from the bench while his team battled its way to a win.

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By Brett Pollakoff 1/27/2010 4:30 PM ET

The Cavaliers remain on top in this week's rankings -- the same spot that they've held for the last month. So that's not exactly news at this point. The recent surge from the Jazz? Now that's worth talking about.

Utah made the biggest leap, moving all the way up from 12 to number three. And they did so impressively, by winning eight of their last nine, with road wins over Dallas and San Antonio, along with the home buzzer-beater over the top-ranked Cavs.

As for everyone else? Read on to find out where your favorites landed this week.

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By Bethlehem Shoals 1/25/2010 12:59 PM ET

It's gotten hard to keep track of every team in position to hand out a max deal next summer. Maybe we're too busy trying to figure out what franchise has a shot at securing the services of two All-Stars. However, here's a dark horse we'd better start considering: the Dallas Mavericks.

The Mavs have an $11.8 million dollar option on Josh Howard, which given his inability to stay healthy and contribute likely won't be picked up. That's a pretty good chunk of change. Then there's the player option built into Erick Dampier's contract that comes with major strings attached. If the center plays under 2100 minutes total this season, Dallas can drop him and the $13 million they'd owe him for 2010-11. If the Mavs could make one other move, such as trading Jason Terry this summer, they're in business.

Predictably, Mark Cuban isn't wasting the chance to get excited in public about this potential situation. From The New York Post:

"It doesn't matter," Cuban said. "With any top-tier player, when they have multiple choices for [maximum] money, it really comes down to where he thinks he has the best chance to win. That's up to each individual organization to convince him of that. New York is a great selling point, Miami is a great selling point, Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles, Memphis. Maybe he's a huge Elvis [Presley] fan."

How realistic is this? Dampier would have to play 25.6 minutes a game, for all 82, to reach that figure. So far, he's averaging 26.1, but has already sat out 8 games.

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By Brett Pollakoff 1/20/2010 3:30 PM ET

The Cavaliers' loss to the Jazz at the buzzer wasn't necessarily enough to drop them from the top spot, but the Lakers have gotten back to their winning ways -- and do have the best record in the league -- so L.A. and Cleveland sit at 1. and 1A. atop this week's rankings.

You may want to keep any animosity you're feeling over this development in check, though, at least for a day or so. The Lakers and Cavs will settle it on the court in Cleveland on Thursday, with bragging rights for the remainder of the season undoubtedly of monumental importance to both teams.

As for everyone else? Read on to find out where your favorites landed this week.

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By Bethlehem Shoals 1/20/2010 11:34 AM ET

Amidst all the cries of sin, sinner, and "like the trailer for Legion," there's been precious little talk of the basketball side of the Gilbert Arenas situation. I refer not to the brewing snooze-fest over what will happen with Gil's contract, and whether or not the Wizards would have their lawyers on speed-dial if this huge deal weren't attached to a chronic injury risk. The question is, at age 28, how much value is left in Gilbert Arenas? Injuries aside, the Wizards just might have invested too much, for too long, in a player who even under the healthiest circumstances would be declining soon.

Last week, Kevin Pelton of Basketball Prospectus performed a thorough investigation of these concerns. His articles should be digested in full. But the upshot is that scoring guards of Gil's ilk peak soon and decline rapidly. Combined with Dave Berri's recent proclamation that NBA prime, lone believed to strike around 27, in fact arrives at 24 and then drops off from there. Open up the skies, we've got an issue to address: Exactly what is prime, and how did it get so reified?

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By Tom Ziller 1/15/2010 7:03 PM ET

So much for homophonic resurrection in New Jersey for Shawne Williams. The Nets today waived the embattled swingman, just recently acquired from Dallas in some goofy cap maneuvering. When New Jersey picked up Shawne, it simultaneously waived its own resident problem child Sean Williams, who just last spring was arrested after some mall hijinks.

The newest ex-Net (that'd be Shawne, keep up!) faces handcuffs of his own. Williams has been indicted on multiple counts of drug possession and conspiracy to manufacture, deliver or sell controlled substances by a Tennesse grand jury, according to the Memphis Commercial-Appeal. The conspiracy to manufacture, deliver or sell charges are tied to the alleged possession of some codeine-based syrup, a concoction made famous (in part) by a 2000 song by Memphis hip hop group Three 6 Mafia. Williams grew up in Memphis, and briefly attended the University of Memphis before being drafted by the Pacers in 2006.

Williams' indictment follows from a massive Memphis Police Department investigation called "Operation Lockdown," which according to the Commercial-Appeal has netted 24 defendants.

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