The Fan Voice: "Magic vs. Mavs (Mix and Match Up #2)"By Live or Die Magic | August 11th, 2009
I gotta say, just looking at it objectively and not as a fan of either team, this match up has the most potential of any that involve the Magic. On paper, the Mavericks have really made big improvements to both their starting lineup and their bench. If things click right for this team, I could see them easily winning 60 games in the West and making it to the Western Conference Finals.
The big move that the Mavericks made was trading for Shawn Marion. They are hoping that a new location and a better core of teammates will bring back the Marion that the Phoenix Suns knew and loved. Of course, with all those better teammates, Marion may find that despite feeling recharged, his stats still reflect those that he put up with Miami and Toronto, and maybe worse. But I don’t think that will matter much to him.
You could argue that the biggest move that Dallas made was one they didn’t make; namely moving Josh Howard. With Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Marion, and Jason Kidd in the lineup, Josh Howard will never see a double team and therefore won’t have too much trouble scoring whenever he wants.
The other, smaller moves that the Mavericks made have added much needed depth to their roster, especially considering that they lost Brandon Bass (and in a sense, Marcin Gortat) and chose to give up long-time bench player Jerry Stackhouse. But by adding Quentin Ross, Drew Gooden, and Tim Thomas, they now have several versatile options off the bench.
The reason I have such excitement for this match up is because of the individual match ups up and down both rosters. Let’s take a look.
Best starting lineup matchup:PG: Jameer Nelson vs. Jason Kidd
SG: Vince Carter vs. Josh Howard
SF: Rashard Lewis vs. Shawn Marion
PF: Brandon Bass vs. Dirk Nowitzki
C: Dwight Howard vs. Erick Dampier
Key Bench Players: Magic: Mickael Pietrus, Marcin Gortat, Matt Barnes
Mavericks: Jason Terry, Drew Gooden, Jose Barea
Against the Mavericks, I think we are likely to see Coach Stan Van Gundy utilize a more traditional lineup by shifting Rashard Lewis to the small forward position and inserting Brandon Bass into the starting lineup at power forward. Brandon Bass has experience playing with all of the Mavericks, and likely spent time matched up against Dirk in practice. So, although he likely won’t be able to shut down the tremendously gifted 7-footer, he should at least make him work just a bit harder. Although Brandon Bass is not expected to be an offensive dynamo for the Magic, he should be able to use his superior size, speed, and quickness to gain an offensive advantage on Dirk Nowitzki, especially on the fast break.
Some may disagree with me, but I see the match up at the point guard position as basically a draw. Offensively, Jason Kidd will have trouble guarding Jameer Nelson, provided that Nelson isn’t slammed by Erick Dampier again. In his one full game against the Mavericks last season, Nelson shot 9 for 18 for 21 points. But if Nelson has an advantage in scoring from the point position, then it is easily countered by Jason Kidd’s superior playmaking skills and rebounding savvy. Both players will need to play to their strengths in order to get the best of this match up.
At the shooting guard position, the battle between Vince Carter and Josh Howard could be epic, especially if the game is close late in the fourth quarter. Both players are good defenders and will take special pride in trying to check the other player one-on-one. As good as Josh Howard is, he isn’t Vince Carter. I fully expect that this is one match up where we will benefit greatly from Carter’s season-long “reintroduction” to the league.
As good as the match-up at shooting guard is likely to be, I think the match up at small forward might be even better. And here’s why...Rashard Lewis and Shawn Marion have differing playing styles, and yet each player is adaptable enough that we might see them alter their style slightly when matched up against each other. Rashard Lewis doesn’t have the “running on the wing and finishing at the rim” game that Marion is known for, and yet Lewis has shown that he is certainly able to run and finish when necessary. And Marion isn’t as known for shooting the three pointer as Lewis is, but nonetheless, Marion has a career shooting percentage of nearly 34% from beyond the arc and is still capable of keeping Lewis out on the perimeter (but don’t get me started on that awkward looking shot!). While Lewis will never be the rebounder that Marion is, he did show last season that he will get in the paint and mix it up. I’m really looking forward to this match up.
The one area where Dallas has a clear advantage is their 6th man. Sorry fellow Magic fans, this isn’t meant to insult Mickael Pietrus, but very few teams can claim to have a better player than Jason Terry as their first player off the bench. Unfortunately, we don’t really have anyone on our bench who can check him. Anthony Johnson would be game, for sure, but Terry would be too quick for him. And if you think AJ would have trouble keeping up with Jason Terry, imagine what happens when AJ tries to check Jose Barea!
As with most teams we will face all season long, our biggest advantage against the Mavericks is at the center position. Erick Dampier is one of the few centers in the league who can match Dwight Howard in bulk, but he will have little chance in keeping Dwight away from the rim if Dwight can use his superior speed. Similarly, Dampier isn’t likely to win any rebounding battles with Dwight. If Dwight has big games against the Mavericks, we should have favorable odds to win both games.
One more note to consider about this match up...it should be an interesting scene when we play the Mavericks in Dallas on April 1st in front of a national television audience on TNT. Not only will it be a late-season game, but the Dallas home crowd will be sure to give it to us hard for not only signing Brandon Bass, but for dragging out the process of matching their contract offer for Marcin Gortat. More than any other NBA owner, Mark Cuban speaks the language of the fans, and he will certainly have them riled up for this game.
I can’t wait to see these two contests...too bad we only play them twice.
Stay tuned to this space for more matchups! This message was not subject of approval by the NBA or the Orlando Magic. The views expressed in this blog do not necessarily reflect the views of the Orlando Magic or the NBA, but solely the writer.
"My life will go on, this much I know. Cars and games will come and go. But never once will I forgetta, the way we danced, dear Dick Bavetta." -
from "I Left My Heart In Dick Bavetta"
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