DONUT 1: Tyson Chandler isn't even on the Western Conference All-Star ballot. On my agenda today: I'm going to ask TC who he thinks is the West center who is outplaying him.
And then -- assuming his answer includes a long, thoughful, answer-less moment -- you are going to help me orchestrate a write-in campaign.
Deal?
DONUT 2:
Good to see all the Miami fans at the AAC, wearing those “Heat’’ jerseys. I presume they are reversible. With “Lakers’’ on the other side.
Oh, and I assume they all have “Yankees’’ jackets, “Cowboys’’ ballcaps and boxer shorts with little “UConn’’ women’s basketball logos on them.
DONUT 3: "The UberMan'' ... The “FREE RODDY B’’ T-shirt ... and more, all now in the The newly re-opened DB.com Store!
There's also a tribute to Dominique Jones -- "Enter The DoJo'' ... and the "iMav'' shirts ... and the hottest ticket in town ... It’s DB.com Night at the Mavs! We’ll get together at the AAC on Tuesday, Dec. 28 … It’s Raptors at Mavs, and when you visit The newly re-opened DB.com Store to order …
We’ll get you:
*Your TWO upper-deck tickets
*Your special-edition DB.com Night at the Mavs t-shirt
*And your pre-game meet-and-greet with a special guest or two
For a grand total of 22 bucks! (Or just $29 if you want two shirts!)
Yes, this is a very affordable way for you to do this. ... a DB.com Get-Together at a very low price! ... It’s time for us to get together, time for us to get in the game, time for us to get suited up!
The shirts (DB.com originals designed by the brilliant Beau Shoulders) are limited-edition, and there is a limit to the ticket availability, too, though Ryan at MavCowTickets is pulling all the strings he can. …
So let’s get in the game! DB.com Night at the Mavs! And other DB.com Mavs gear from The DB.com Store! C'mon along!
DONUT 4:
Big Wood was back on Saturday, the first Mav on the pregame floor (as is often the case) and permitted to re-assume his position as Dallas’ backup
center.
His penalty is reported to be almost $63,000 … and to the credit of coach Rick Carlisle, it ends there. Carlisle apparently has no “doghouse,’’ unlike
many coaches – most notably, to me, my Uncle Nellie, who could hold a grudge and keep a player in disfavor forever.
Notably, Ian Mahinmi was thrown a three-minute bone, getting into the game after Big Wood. Haywood played as the second center against Miami,
registering four fouls in eight minutes. … totals that make it look as though Brendan was serving a sort of self-imposed one-more-game suspension.
Note to Big Wood: This organization has rewarded you financially.
Your teammates have embraced you emotionally.
Your coach has forgiven you immediately.
Time for you to give back.
DONUT 5: iDealGolfer.com does it again today ... as it does every day, when you log in and collect your specials! Today's deal: Riverside Golf Course for Half Price. Play ANY DAY of the week! And "half price'' means just $29!
DONUT 6:
It made national news over the weekend, so maybe I needed to pursue it harder. You know, keep re-writing the same story in order to milk it freshly for
everything it’s worth.
But no. Sorry.
Cuban wanted LeBron. We knew that. We wrote that all summer.
The Mavs pursued him via texts and phone calls to LeBron and to his people. We knew that. We wrote that all summer.
Heck, we even wrote very specifically what the Mavs’ sales pitch would be … and I’ll be darned if Cuban’s “revelations’’ of what the Mavs said to Team
LeBron before he left Cleveland for Miami don’t match pretty closely to what we predicted!
The issue – the story worthy of national headlines – isn’t “Cuban tried hard to get LeBron.’’ The issue is whether the Mavs’ decision to follow “NBA
etiquette’’ was wise.
And the issue after that is whether LeBron made a mistake in not listening.
I’m biased, I know. But I’ll say again when we said often in the months leading up to “The Decision’’:
As “cool’’ as Miami looked with LeBron and Bosh joining Wade … a better team would’ve been LeBron joining Dirk and Kidd … supported by depth
highlighted by Shawn Marion and Brendan Haywood and Dominique Jones (and maybe Roddy Beaubois, depending what would’ve been sacrificed in the
sign-and-trade) … supported by fans who don’t need an instruction book on how to clap … supported by a coach who isn’t learning on the job … supported
by Cuban and Donnie and a management team that understands the value of bonding.
Really, the story isn’t about Cuban trying to lure LeBron to Dallas.
The story is why LeBron didn’t come.
DONUT 7:
I hear that when LeBron and Wade and Bosh called that players-only meeting, 12 of the 15 guys weren't sure they were invited.
DONUT 8:
Some say Miami “made a deal with the Devil.’’ I think it should’ve been a long-term guaranteed deal with incentives for the Devil if can play defense,
pass and rebound.
DONUT 9: Rockets roll into town tonight. DB.com will be at the morning shootaround and will of course have The 75-Member Staff in attendance tonight ... coverage of Mavs-Rockets all day and all night!
DONUT 10:
They says Erik Spolstra will not lose his job unless his players turn on him.
So, in other words, Erik Spolstra will lose his job.
Just kidding. Kinda.
But the speculation is now triggered by a video … LeBron seemingly going out of his way to bump into his coach:
Is it an overreaction to keep running this thing backward and forward like it’s the Zapruder Film (as I have done)? Yeah. Because even if James sorta
did this on purpose, hey, guys get frustrated. It’s disrespectful – you know, it’s even disrespectful if it was an accident in the sense that, were
that Phil Jackson (or Pat Riley?!) … a player would’ve been very conscious of his presence.
But is it a “fluke’’? No. Not exactly. Not when we see that a frustrated LeBron has “accidentally’’ gone out of his way to go in the way of a coach before:
DONUT 11: So you want the Mavs to make a trade? You want them to trade the handful of guys who are not playing at an extremely high level even though the 12-4 as a whole is doing so?
Later today, our David Lord addresses this issue in DB.com's "Amateur GM.''
DONUT 12:
As they left Dallas, Miami only need to go 64-1 the rest of the way to achieve their goal of breaking the '95-'96 Bulls record for most wins in a
season. So … good luck, Heat!