03/31/2008 - 10:11
Scoring Everything but the W
by
Aaron Sobel
Thirty-six points from the Show weren't enough to get Dallas a win Sunday.
Despite putting the team on his back offensively, Josh and the Mavericks fell, 114-104, to the the Golden State Warriors.
STEPPING UP
Josh continues to step up, hitting the 30-point plateau for the third straight time without Dirk Nowitzki in the lineup. Sunday, No. 5 brought the entire repertoire, reminding fantasy owners everywhere why he is so coveted. On his way to 36 points, he shot 13-25 from the floor (52%) while adding nine rebounds, three assists, two steals, and two blocks.
IN A GROOVE
While No. 5 is better with No. 41, the Dallas offense has changed without Dirk, and those changes suit the strengths of the Show well. The more open style offense has certainly agreed with Josh as he is averaging 32.7 points on 46% shooting in his last three games while going to the stripe an average of 10.6 times per game.
“We’re more of a break team now, a lot less isolations and more pick-and-rolls,” Josh said. “I need to stay aggressive.”
LAST WEEK IN REVIEW
Despite a 1-3 record the past week, the biggest concerns for No. 5 and the Mavs are the left leg of Dirk Nowitzki, the reigning NBA MVP.
NEXT UP
No. 5 and the Mavs (45-28) look to take adavntage of a favorable match up as they visit the Los Angeles Clippers (22-51) Monday night. Tip off will be at 7:30pm PST.
The Mavs are in a three-way logjam for the final two playoff spots in the Western Conference. Along with Dallas, the Warriors and Nuggets share a 45-28 record. Currently, the Mavs hold the seventh seed due to holding the tie breaker against the Warriors, and the best record against the West among the three tams.
RELATED STORIES
Dallas Mavericks in three-way tie after loss (DallasNews.com, Mar. 31, 2008)
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/basketball/mavs/stories/...
Golden State can’t stop J(o)-Ho (Dallas Mavericks BLOG, Mar. 31, 2008)
http://mavsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/josh-howard/
Loss leaves Mavericks all tied up in knots, (Star-Telegram, Mar. 31, 2008)
http://www.star-telegram.com/287/story/553298.html
Mavs-Warriors Box Score, (NBA.com, Mar. 30, 2008)
http://www.nba.com/games/20080330/DALGSW/boxscore.html
Mavericks Team Report, (Yahoo! Sports, Mar. 31, 2008)
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AtoaRpWjWuZu7_Ihg338dnZ60bYF?slug=...
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