Mavs Scrimmage: Player-By-Player Review, The Blues

Newcomers Marion And Beaubois Add Athleticism And Eletricity

Mike Fisher -- DB.com

   We begin our player-by-player review of Friday’s Fan Jam “Blue-White’’ scrimmage with an examination of the Blue Team, electrified by the presence of newcomers Roddy Beaubois and Shawn Marion. Marion’s sheer presence has brought a completely different energy to this team, and it’s not for show. Example: At halftime of the scrimmage, Mavs Man took to the trampoline for some gymnastic dunks. Marion – with no knowledge that I was eavesdropping half-joked that he’d like to try the trampoline trick, too … and started jogging into position to do so.

   Good thing about The Matrix: He doesn’t need the trampoline to put on a show.

   The Blue review from two abbreviated “halves’’ of basketball (10 minutes each) at the AAC:

   0 Shawn Marion Was he once considered by some a “cancer’’ in the locker room? Man, this is one happy cancer. What Jason Terry brings to this team in terms of spirit and buoyancy, The Matrix brings again – only he does it in a 6-7 package that made him the best player on the floor on Friday. Marion single-handedly stopped two White team fastbreaks due to his length and his smarts. And on offense, his unorthodox shot looked just like it did in Phoenix: Weird from shoulder to elbow to wrist – but perfect coming off his fingertips. (Especially on that one-handed turnaround thing.) … Marion was very much the slasher/finisher here, and largely did it against defensive ace Quinton Ross. … In terms of offensive rebounds, Marion was so energetic, athletic and crafty that he could’ve almost named his total. In fact, it was Marion’s tip-in with 7.5 seconds left that tied the score and ended the scrimmage at 42-all. …

   “I’m going I’m going to try to make sure I bring that energy night in and night out, and everything else will take care of itself,” said Marion, who is welcome to bring the energy – but who is also invited to leave at home those unfortunate-looking tight leggings, black with orange trim. Yuck.

   2 Jason Kidd Kidd had a couple of trademark coast-to-coast moments, one of them when he snuck into a passing lane for a baseline steal and then dribbled the length of the floor, culminating the play with a lob-dunk to Marion. … On switches, Kidd frequently found himself guarding Dirk, and used his strength to prevent Nowitzki from pounding him down low. Once he even outmuscled Nowitzki for a steal. … Kidd also hit an unguarded 3; yes, even the Mavs themselves don’t guard him at the arc. … Kidd and Beaubois spent some time on the floor together. On at least two occasions, Roddy played the 1 and was in charge of the play-call – but Professor Kidd instructed him on what play he should call.

   3 Roddy Beaubois It’s too early to say he’s Chris Paul, Tony Parker or Devin Harris. But it is not to early to say the rookie has some of those physical traits and some of those athletic skills. Beaubois showed terrific dribbling wizardry, threw a pair of on-the-mark behind-the-back passes, attempts to contest every shot and seems to be able to get into the lane with ease. And once in there? His in-the-lane lob to Humphries made Kris look like Tyson Chandler. Which means, of course, that Roddy looked a little CP3-esque. … With Josh Howard nursing the ankle, I bet we see Roddy get some exhibition-game time at the 2, playing in tandem with Kidd or JJB … Now we’ve just got to get Jason Terry to figure out how to pronounce the kid’s name. Jet played PA announcer for pregame announcements and clearly did not take French in high school.

   Coach Rick Carlisle on Beaubois: “He can do a lot of different things. I like point guards that can run a squad and score, and he has an ability to make things happen offensively - both from a scoring standpoint and a play-making standpoint. He’s going to continue to get better as he gets more experience.”

   13 Matt Carroll The sharpshooting that has been the buzz of closed sessions in camp showed itself here as well. Carroll began the scoring with a catch-and-shoot bomb and stroked it well all night. … Carroll didn’t show much ability to create a shot for himself, and only rarely put the ball on the floor. … He did, however, record an assist on a lob to (who else?) Marion.

   “He’s a really good shooter, so this is not surprising to us,’’ Carlisle said. “He’s been playing this way throughout camp.”

   21 Nathan Jawai The Aussie is massive, thick in the torso and not exactly possessive of the traditional basketball build. But – he’s pretty smooth. … He recorded a dunk and looked like a basketball player on his two free throws. … He appears to have very soft hands. … On a play where Jawai muscled his way inside, he used his free arm to swim away from a defender, a move that would’ve drawn an offensive-foul whistle in a real game.

   25 Erick Dampier Damp did what he could to guard Drew Gooden, but to no avail. The Mavs’ theory regarding needing quicker defenders at the 5 certainly looked valid here. … Dampier’s highlight came on a drive to the hoop when he smartly used his off-hand (his left hand) on a difficult layup attempt. Alas, he didn’t hit the bucket. … Damp did hit a baseline jumper (you know, the one with the hitch that he attempts about once a year) and did make his two free throws.

   43 Kris Humphries Was given an early chance to catch an alley-oop pass for the dunk, but the timing was all wrong. Moments later, though, the timing and the footwork came together, and Humphries showed some ups on the oop-dunk. … As has been the case in practice, the scrappy 6-9 forward drew the assignment of Dirk Nowitzki; Humphries’ best moments there came on the offensive end, where a couple of times he was able to ball-fake-and-dribble his way around The UberMan. … he seems to have a knack for overplaying/denying the ball ... Here, Humphries looked a little too comfortable taking outside shots, if you know what I mean.

   FISHELLANEOUS: The starting five for the Blue was Damp, Humphries, Matrix, Carroll and Kidd … the team will engage in single practices on Saturday and Sunday in preparation for the preseason opener at the AAC Monday against the Magic … Mark Cuban sat courtside with Carlisle, as assistants Monte Mathis and Popeye Jones ran the Blue team and assistants Darrell Armstrong and Tom Sterner ran the Whites … Ro Blackman and guest-coach Kevin McHale also sat together. … The crowd was estimated at 7,700. … The Mavs ended the evening by throwing their scrimmage-worn shoes into the audience.