LMM
Starter
there's more in the article. you can find it here. it's not really kings related, so i didn't post it.
NBA Beat: Mavericks also are limping into opener
By Joe Davidson -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Sunday, October 24, 2004
Maybe when the Kings and Dallas Mavericks meet this week they can exchange medical charts and healing ointments.
The Kings' injury woes include Greg Ostertag and Doug Christie, both of whom will miss the preseason game against the Mavericks on Thursday and could also sit out the season opener against the same club Nov. 2.
Jerry Stackhouse, part of the new-look Dallas scheme this season, has been out with hamstring problems. Marquis Daniels, who showed tremendous promise last season as a rookie through the playoff loss to the Kings, has ankle problems and hasn't even practiced.
So both units are scrambling to see what they have.
Dallas will surround franchise cornerstone Dirk Nowitzki with a new center - finally - in Erick Dampier and two new point guards in rookie Devin Harris and veteran Jason Terry, both of whom take over for the beloved Steve Nash, now in Phoenix. Josh Howard, whom Dallas coach Don Nelson has praised as having the best camp of any of his Mavericks, and Michael Finley also return.
Dampier gives the Mavericks an inside presence that was mere rumor in seasons past.
The Mavericks sweated out the summer, at first hoping to land Shaquille O'Neal and then wondering if Dampier was going to sign with the New York Knicks. Dampier provides Nelson his first legitimate big man - Shawn Bradley, Raef LaFrentz and Danny Fortson don't count - since Bob Lanier was laboring upcourt in his final seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1980s.
"We didn't have a dominant guy in the middle, and when one became available, we jumped all over it," Nelson told the Dallas media last week. "We were aware of everything (the Knicks) were doing (in trying to get Dampier).
"How can you keep a secret in New York?"
It's no secret that players and coaches could be jettisoned should Dallas not at least reach the NBA Finals this season, a tall order given the strength of the Western Conference, headed by Minnesota, San Antonio and Sacramento.
Kings-Lakers leftovers
There wasn't an ounce of rivalry hostility to be found in Fresno last week when the Kings and Lakers played.
Nor was there any clue to any so-called friction among Chris Webber, Peja Stojakovic and Brad Miller, the most overblown "chemistry" concern in the NBA.
Webber, Miller and Stojakovic went over plays and assignments on the floor and on the bench, where they sat together. They also sprinkled in laughs. Webber encouraged the rookies and free agents scrambling to make the roster during timeouts and from his bench seat late, and he also took time to appease a 40-something woman amid droves of Lakers fans two rows back who pleaded for some sort of souvenir by jumping and waving. Webber tossed her his headband.
NBA Beat: Mavericks also are limping into opener
By Joe Davidson -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Sunday, October 24, 2004
Maybe when the Kings and Dallas Mavericks meet this week they can exchange medical charts and healing ointments.
The Kings' injury woes include Greg Ostertag and Doug Christie, both of whom will miss the preseason game against the Mavericks on Thursday and could also sit out the season opener against the same club Nov. 2.
Jerry Stackhouse, part of the new-look Dallas scheme this season, has been out with hamstring problems. Marquis Daniels, who showed tremendous promise last season as a rookie through the playoff loss to the Kings, has ankle problems and hasn't even practiced.
So both units are scrambling to see what they have.
Dallas will surround franchise cornerstone Dirk Nowitzki with a new center - finally - in Erick Dampier and two new point guards in rookie Devin Harris and veteran Jason Terry, both of whom take over for the beloved Steve Nash, now in Phoenix. Josh Howard, whom Dallas coach Don Nelson has praised as having the best camp of any of his Mavericks, and Michael Finley also return.
Dampier gives the Mavericks an inside presence that was mere rumor in seasons past.
The Mavericks sweated out the summer, at first hoping to land Shaquille O'Neal and then wondering if Dampier was going to sign with the New York Knicks. Dampier provides Nelson his first legitimate big man - Shawn Bradley, Raef LaFrentz and Danny Fortson don't count - since Bob Lanier was laboring upcourt in his final seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1980s.
"We didn't have a dominant guy in the middle, and when one became available, we jumped all over it," Nelson told the Dallas media last week. "We were aware of everything (the Knicks) were doing (in trying to get Dampier).
"How can you keep a secret in New York?"
It's no secret that players and coaches could be jettisoned should Dallas not at least reach the NBA Finals this season, a tall order given the strength of the Western Conference, headed by Minnesota, San Antonio and Sacramento.
Kings-Lakers leftovers
There wasn't an ounce of rivalry hostility to be found in Fresno last week when the Kings and Lakers played.
Nor was there any clue to any so-called friction among Chris Webber, Peja Stojakovic and Brad Miller, the most overblown "chemistry" concern in the NBA.
Webber, Miller and Stojakovic went over plays and assignments on the floor and on the bench, where they sat together. They also sprinkled in laughs. Webber encouraged the rookies and free agents scrambling to make the roster during timeouts and from his bench seat late, and he also took time to appease a 40-something woman amid droves of Lakers fans two rows back who pleaded for some sort of souvenir by jumping and waving. Webber tossed her his headband.
