Good afternoon fellas.
What more could Mak ask for on his birthday? An entire matinee slate of NBA
basketball. I love MLK day. For those of you interested, I turn 26 years
young today. To many that may come as a
surprise, but I really despise those who account ability and knowledge with
age. Age is but a number. Others may call Mak a liar since I have
stated on numerous occasions that I have been obsessed with this game for almost
a quarter of a century. But I speak the
truth my friends. I came out of my
mother’s womb with a Spalding basketball in my hand...I was spinning that shit
on my baby finger.
I share this birthday with the G.O.A.T Muhammad Ali, one of
my heroes along with Rev. Martin Luther King.
Many of you probably automatically think I am African-American since I
love basketball, love hip-hop and was born in Africa...but that just makes you
a bunch of stereotypical bastards :) I am not African-American but I hold guys
like MLK and Malcolm X in extremely high regard. They were leaders who changed the course of
history. The thing I like about covers
is no one gives a shit what color the guy behind the keyboard is, as long as
they provide insight and assist in making money, that is all that matters. And that is how it should be.
Some people may ask what the significance of MLK day is to
players in the National Basketball Association.
First off, give a lot of credit to the NBA who recognized Martin Luther
King Day as a holiday about 5 years before it was made official. This day does impact specific games. Some NBA players who tend to take a game off
or limit their effort on specific days will not today. Expect maximum effort from teams today. Really tempted to make this a large card, but
that is where profits get minimized. Had
to remove a lot of leans and cut down the card.
I still may add plays on 2 other games but they are contingent upon
injuries and I shall wait for the updates.
I have some plans later today but I will try and get back to post the added plays. As always guys, I wish you
nothing but the best of luck. Peace out
- - - MAK
DALLAS MAVERICKS – 4.0 (-115) - - - The
Texas Zone gets back
on track today. Dirk plainly stated that
this team has hit rock bottom. Losing 5
in a row does not sit well with this professional team. The loss of
Caron was mentally excruciating,
combined with Dirk’s injury just made it even more difficult to overcome
Caron’s
loss. Butler the only guy on this team
that could take guys off the dribble.
They desperately need Beaubois to get healthy but he is quite some time
away. Dallas just matches up to
perfection with the Pistons. Kidd has been dismal as of late, but he is a
consummate
vet, best eyes in the business. He has
excelled in must-win road situations and I think he outplays Stuck
today. Stevenson went 0-5 last game, he is usually
automatic for at least 2 three point shots a game. T Mac is a loose
perimeter defender and Stevenson
will get some points from the land beyond today. Marion and Prince are a
key matchup, look for
Shawn to break off misses and turnovers.
Prince is fast but Marion is faster, if Shawn can put up some offensive
numbers today, it will really help the cause.
Dirk only played 15 minutes last game and looked very rusty, a few more
practices under his belt and his shot should look better today. Wilcox
is not tall enough to guard Dirk and he should be able to shoot right
over him.
Tyson will be back to man the middle and that is key, he is the leader
of their half-court zone defense and clogs the paint much better than
Haywood. My key to this game is the 3
man rotation of each bench. Charlie, Ben
and Will Bynum did an excellent job last game.
Tonight Will the thrill may not get any time due to the return of T
Mac. Ben and Charlie both had excellent
games but that is a rarity, usually one or none of them show up
consistently. Today I see Jason Terry
exploding. He has been atrocious for
Dallas since Caron went down, they have looked to him for offense and he
has
not come through at all. Terry is a
confident man, strong will and this game screams opportunity for the Jet
off
the bench. J.J Barea and Haywood will
also provide production. Here’s hoping
Ian Mahinmi actually sees time again. He
is a waste sitting on that bench, such size, such raw power, he deserves
to be
in the rotation and could cause Monroe and other Detroit bigs fits in
the
paint. All-in-all this has no
situational value whatsoever, nevertheless the matchups are on the side
of
Dallas. The Mavs have been road warriors
for the past 2 seasons, they find another level in their game on the
road, this
games just seems like one where Dallas finds themselves, I think they
come out
focused and poised for victory. Mavs
cover and returns to winning ways.4 UNITS JASON “CYCLOPS” KIDD - - -