Mavs Donuts: Truths About Howard And Carlisle

Mike Fisher -- DB.com

It's gameday, Pistons at Mavs ... We'll have full coverage throughout the day, starting with some Deep Truths about Josh Howard and Rick Carlisle ... plus everything from Bosh to Rush to John Wooden … It’s Thursday Morning Donuts!

DONUT 1: Yesterday, the back-in-business Josh Howard was joking around about how a “shooting guard’’ – his probable new position -- gets to shoot. But upon further review: Tucked into his laughs were a couple of Deep Truths.

“The (shooting guard) shoots a few more jump shots, from what I’ve seen,” Howard kidded. “I don’t think (the transition is) going to be too difficult. Me and Shawn are pretty much the same type of players. We’ll just have to find a different way to score besides shooting jump shots all the time, I’ll say that much.’’

You want J-Ho Deep Truths? Here’s Exhibit A: “Me and Shawn are pretty much the same type of players.’’

As much as we all love The Matrix right about now, didn’t we all also argue for years that our Josh Howard was the equal of their Shawn Marion? That as a defender/rebounder/slasher/scorer, J-Ho was at least destined to mature into being in Marion’s class?

So Josh is correct. There are similarities. … or should be.

DONUT 2: And the other J-Ho Deep Truth, Exhibit B: “We have to find a different way to score besides shooting jump all the time.’’ Amen. We’re gonna hold you to that, Josh.

DONUT 3: Now let’s play the same game with two quotes from Rick Carlisle this week, and conclude them with how much faith I have in him pulling off what he’s talking about:

Carlisle Exhibit A: “And then there’s Detroit, and they do a lot of different things, so we’ll have a lot of different things to look at there.’’

DONUT 4: Carlisle Exhibit B: “We have two weeks (before the start of the regular season). We’ll be ready to go by the seat of our pants to make adjustments.’’

The first quote is specifically about how Dallas will man the center position against the Pistons tonight vs. how Dallas will handle the position on Saturday when the Cavs are here. The second quote is about Howard and Marion and injuries and how it all might have to come together on the fly.

Funny thing: Despite cautions issued about Carlisle before he was hired that he was somehow “inflexible,’’ a year later he’s established that he’s anything but. Oh, he’s inflexible when it comes to work ethic and all that stuff. But in terms of game strategies, creativity and being “reading to go by the seat of our pants’’?

I have complete faith in his ability to do that.

DONUT 5: Misty Mav over in the DB.com Store has a way for you to get a FOUR-PACK of tickets to Saturday’s Cavs-at-Mavs game! Go, go, go! And everybody gets a something-or-other!

DONUT 6: Bosh to the Warriors? That’s a rumor. Problem: Due to his impending free agency, he won’t sign to stay there. So why should a bad team bother acquiring a rent-a-player?

DONUT 7: The Mavs play host to the Pistons tonight, and in preparation for the preseason game at the AAC, some of the fellas were talking about this Will Bynum. Here’s some of what some of the fellas are talking about.

DONUT 8: And here is a very solid season preview of tonight’s visitors.

DONUT 9: Skin is in.

Jeff “Skin’’ Wade, who became part of the Mavs’ telecasts last year on sort of an experimental basis, is back this year as the third man in the booth alongside Mark Followill and Bob Ortegel. Skin will work home games and will also be involved in some “interactive’’ stuff – blogging and more – during telecasts and at other times, apparently at mavs.com. Skin is a long-time DallasBasketball.com guy, so congrats, kid!

DONUT 11: To Miami and Ira Winderman: “In a move to create the feel of a fuller arena, the balcony seats, the 400 level, were covered by curtains at each end of AmericanAirlines Arena for the Miami Heat’s 95-93 exhibition loss Sunday to the San Antonio Spurs. According to a team spokesman, those curtains will remain in place for about a third of the regular-season schedule, for games when ticket demand is lowest. The Heat will use different capacity totals to determine sellouts for those games.”

The Miami Heat can’t even give away tickets? Really?

DONUT 12: Well played, Rush Limbaugh. You won’t be an owner. But to your followers, you will therefore be a martyr.

Well played, sir.

DONUT 13: John Wooden is 99. In honor of that …

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810am oct 15 2009

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