Cuban Expects Howard in Two Weeks

Contrary to reports that swingman Josh Howard could miss extended time, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said on Tuesday night that he expected Howard back on the court in two weeks.

“I think it’ll be two weeks at the latest,” Cuban said while working out on his StairMaster.

If that timeline holds, Howard would only miss five more games for the Mavericks, who dropped their home opener last night to the Washington Wizards, 102-91. Dallas plays the Houston Rockets on Nov. 10, opening a tough five game-in-seven day stretch for the Mavs.

Howard had surgery on his left ankle and wrist back in May, as his ankle had been consistently bothering him since his senior year in college in 2002-03. He was cleared for contact drills two weeks ago, but the ankle has kept him limited.

“We didn’t want to rush him,” Cuban said. “You could have pushed him harder, but there was no reason to. You just let him come. When he’s ready, he’s ready. It’s a long season.”

Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at 9:23 pm by bryan

Mavs Fall to Wizards on Opening Night

The Dallas Mavericks opened their 30th season in franchise history at home on Tuesday night… unfortunately, they opened with a loss to the Washington Wizards, 102-91.

Dallas fell into the same trap that Cleveland did against Boston – allowing their superstar, Dirk Nowitzki, to go 1-on-5 against the Wizards. Nowitzki scored 34 points, albeit on 10 of 25 shooting – he scored a large chunk of his points from the free throw line, where he knocked down 12 of 13.

“He would be dead by Christmas if we’re going to let him be the offense,” said Jason Kidd, who notched four points, six rebounds and six assists. “Our team defense stunk. We didn’t rebound the ball well. Everything we’re supposed to do well was a no-show tonight.”

The Mavericks opened the season with more hope than usual, as they had new F Shawn Marion to incorporate into their dynamic offense. Marion didn’t disappoint for his first game, scoring 16 points, grabbing seven rebounds, and blocking three shots.

“It seemed like one moment we had something going, the next moment we couldn’t get over the hump,” said Marion.”It’s just a learning curve.”

Marion scored his first three buckets in the first quarter, then couldn’t knock another down until the fourth, where he brought the Mavs back within one point of the Wizards. But Wizards PG Gilbert Arenas started his season of redemption strong, with 29 points and nine assists, and the Wizards rolled the Mavs.

The Mavericks hope that this game is an outlier and not indicative of a larger trend – such as last season, where they lost their first four games at home en route to a 2-7 start.

at 9:21 pm by bryan

Howard May Miss Extended Time

Mavericks forward Josh Howard will not dress tonight for the Mavs’ opening season game against the Washington Wizards, and could be due to miss extended time, according to coach Rick Carlisle.

“It could be awhile,” Carlisle said. “It could be weeks. I don’t know. I don’t know. We’ll find a way without him, but we know we’re better with him. When he comes back, we’ll have to be ready to integrate him very quickly.”

Howard’s been limited by his left ankle and wrist – he had surgery on both on May 22. Howard hadn’t been cleared for any contact work until Oct. 14, and he still hasn’t run through a full practice with the Mavericks.

While Howard’s wrist remains tender, his ankle has been the bigger problem. He opted for surgery on the ankle this summer, as it’d been causing him problems since his senior season at Wake Forest in 2002-2003.

With Howard, the Mavericks boast one of the strongest lines of forwards in the NBA, with Dirk Nowitzki and Shawn Marion flanking him. Last year, the Mavericks went 17-13 in games that Howard missed, while they compiled a 33-19 record in games he played.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009 at 7:49 pm by bryan

Cuban Supports Regulated Steroid Use

Preceding his comments with “I’ll get killed for saying this…,” billionaire Mavericks owner Mark Cuban spoke out in favor of provisional regulated steroid use for athletes at a University of Pittsburgh forum on Tuesday, in response to F Rashard Lewis’ 10-game suspension for taking an over-the-counter supplement banned by the NBA.

“I’ll get killed for saying this … but I’m not so against steroids if they’re administered under proper supervision and there is no long-term damage,” Cuban said.

“I’m not an expert in the subject, but if we get to the point where there aren’t long-term negative health impacts, why wouldn’t you do it?”

Cuban, the Pittsburgh-area native, later stressed the point about the health risk factors, emphasizing that scientists have not reached the point where they can conclusively claim no long-term health risks from steroids.

“We do performance-enhancing things all the time, just not steroids,” Cuban added. “If you administer them properly and fairly and set the rules strictly, as long as in doing so we recognize there are no negative long-term health-impact issues.”

Begrudgingly, Cuban acknowledged this controversial stance would most likely set off a media firestorm, judging by reaction to some of his past comments.

“If somebody thinks it’s controversial, fine. To me, it’s just common sense. I’m sure I’ll hear about it [today] that ‘Cuban is for steroids.’ ”

Friday, October 23, 2009 at 12:10 am by bryan

Mavs Trade Jawai for 2012 Draft Pick

The Mavericks traded Nathan Jawai to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday in exchange for a conditional second-round draft pick in 2012.

With Al Jefferson battling back from offseason ACL surgery and dealing with tendinitis, and Kevin Love now sidelined six weeks from a broken hand, the Timberwolves needed depth up front.

Jawai came to the Mavericks in the four-team trade in July that brought Shawn Marion to Dallas. The Mavs wanted to trade Jawai, but thought they’d have trouble finding suitors for him, even with his minimal $736,420 salary.

The Mavericks aren’t finished making roster moves yet, as they currently have 16 players on the roster. They want to buy out or trade the $2.4 million contract of Shawne Williams, a 23-year-old swingman from Indiana who’s fallen out of favor with the team.

The Mavs sent Williams home last season after appearing in just 15 games, for conduct they deemed unprofessional. ESPN.com reported earlier in the month that the Mavericks were looking into suspending Williams for unspecified conduct detrimental to the team.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009 at 11:12 pm by bryan

Marion Out 7-10 Days

Dallas F Shawn Marion will be out until the beginning of next week at the earliest because of a right strained calf.

Marion missed the opening game of Dallas’ preseason with the strained calf, then returned to play in the last two games. Unfortunately for Marion, he left early in the second half of the Mavericks’ game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday and did not return, as he exacerbated the injury.

“If you don’t let it heal completely, it will linger,” Marion said. “I don’t want it to linger. I came back the first time and tried to play through it a little bit, but it was still bothering. I was fighting through it and actually tweaked it a little bit more and it started hurting worse.”

While Marion could not commit to playing in any more of the Mavericks’ preseason games, he remains focused on returning by the Mavericks’ regular season opener against the Washington Wizards on Oct. 27.

“That’s my biggest goal,” Marion said. “Preseason is the preseason, but when the season starts, I’m going to be there.”

Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 10:41 pm by bryan

Dallas unsure when recovering Howard will be ready

With the season opener just weeks ago, Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle said yesterday that he isn’t sure when swingman Josh Howard will be able to play after undergoing offseason ankle surgery.

The Mavericks are better-equipped to handle the absence of the oft-injured Howard than in years past, with the offseason acquisition of dynamic forward of Shawn Marion and a relatively deep backcourt featuring sixth man Jason Terry, who could easily be a starter for most teams in the league.

It makes more sense for Dallas to treat Howard’s recovery with caution. This is a team that thinks it will contend in the Western Conference this season, and it’s more important for Howard to be healthy late in the season than early. If he’s able to get and stay healthy, the Mavs can make noise. If not, they’ll be one piece away and won’t be able to compete with the likes of Los Angeles and San Antonio.

Saturday, October 10, 2009 at 11:52 am by Raj Sethi

Cuban Glad Lakers Signed Artest

The start of October could only mean two things for the NBA - the start of training camp and the start of Mark Cuban opening his mouth for six months.

Both started with a bang this week, as Cuban commented on the Lakers’ signing of SF Ron Artest this week.

“I tell you what, now that they’ve got Ron Artest, I couldn’t think of anything better,” Cuban said to Dallas’ ESPN 103.3. “If you would have said, what one player — and I’ll get killed over this — what one player would you like to see on the Lakers? Ron Artest.

Could you imagine? Ron Artest has got the ball, and Kobe’s standing there, ‘Throw me the ball.’ Thank you, Ron Artest.”

Current Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle coached Artest from 2003 to 2006 during his Pacer years, including the infamous 2004-2005 season where Artest was suspended for nearly the entire season after The Brawl at The Palace.

Saturday, October 3, 2009 at 2:37 pm by bryan