Dallas Mavericks Blog – Page 45 – NBA Blog

Mavs recall Ricky Ledo from D-League

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have recalled Ricky Ledo from the Texas Legends of the NBA Development League.

Ledo (6-7, 200) was originally assigned to the Legends on November 30 and played in 14 games with the Mavericks’ D-League affiliate. The rookie swingman started nine of those 14 games and averaged 14.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.14 steals in 29.8 minutes per game.

Ledo has seen action in six games for the Mavericks this season and holds averages of 1.2 points and 2.6 minutes.

Center Dexter Pittman now on Austin Toros in D-League

The Austin Toros today announced that they have acquired center Dexter Pittman from the Springfield Armor in exchange for the Toros third round pick in the 2014 NBA D-League Draft. Kyle Hunt was waived as a result.

Pittman was selected by the Miami Heat in the second round (32nd overall) of the 2010 NBA Draft. He played three seasons with the Heat before being traded to the Memphis Grizzlies. In 48 NBA games, Pittman averaged 2.4 points and 1.8 rebounds in 7.2 minutes of play. While on the Heat roster, Pittman was assigned to the D-League Sioux Falls Skyforce (10-11, 12-13) where he averaged 13.6 points and 8.4 rebounds in 37 games played (34 starts). He participated in the 2013 NBA Summer League with the San Antonio Spurs followed by a training camp invite from the Chicago Bulls.

The 6-11, 285 pound center played four seasons at the University of Texas. He appeared in 134 games (59 starts) averaging 6.6 points and 4.0 rebounds in 12.2 minutes.

Knicks race past lackluster Mavericks

Here’s the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on the Mavericks not playing well at home Sunday and dropping a game they probably expected to win:

Before anyone and started pointing fingers, coach Rick Carlisle stepped forward and pointed a finger at himself for the Dallas Mavericks’ lackluster performance Sunday night against the New York Knicks.

In another ho-hum outing that’s becoming more mysterious by the game, the Mavs allowed the Knicks to bang them around on the backboards and get out of American Airlines Center with a 92-80 victory before a sellout crowd of 19,892.

It was the Mavs’ fourth straight home loss and dropped them to 19-15 overall and 0-2 on this three-game homestand that concludes Tuesday against the Los Angeles Lakers.

And if the Mavs don’t put up a better fight against the Lakers than they did against the Knicks, they’re facing the prospect of being swept on the homestand.

“I didn’t have them ready,” Carlisle said after the loss to the Knicks. “I will take the blame for that.

“It’s pretty clear. It starts at the top.”

DeJuan Blair plans to have fun against Spurs

Here’s the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on DeJuan Blair of the Dallas Mavericks, who may be quite excited to battle his former team:

DeJuan Blair plans to have fun tonight against the Spurs

If there’s ever a player who wears his emotions on his sleeves, it’s DeJuan Blair.

And right now, the Dallas Mavericks’ center is walking around with a lot of pin-up emotions.

Blair is still steamed at the way the San Antonio Spurs treated him last season. Especially since they barely played him at all against Miami during the NBA Finals in a series Blair believes he could have helped the Spurs win if given the chance to play.

Thus, when Blair became a free agent, signed a one-year, $884,293 contract with the Mavs, and then saw that their first game against the Spurs was today, he made a big fat circle around it on his calendar.

Dirk Nowitzki, still an NBA star

Here’s the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki, who is still a force in basketball:

The greatness that is Dirk Nowitzki struck again Monday night at the Toyota Center.

Nowitzki poured in a game-high 31 points and converted 11-of-18 shots while leading the Dallas Mavericks to a 111-104 victory over the Houston Rockets. Afterward, leave it to forward Vince Carter to explain why Nowitzki will go down in history as one of the greatest to ever play in the NBA.

“He’s very confident and he understands who he is and how he can dominate the game,” Carter said. “And that’s a dangerous player to me is a guy who knows, ‘Hey, I might not take you off the dribble, but at the same time, I’m going to score all day.’

“He has you at his mercy, and I think he also does a great job of just letting [the game] come to him.”

Rick Carlisle encouraging Shawn Marion to shoot three-pointers

Here’s the Dallas Morning News blog on Mavs veteran Shawn Marion:

Entering Wednesday’s home game against Memphis, Mavericks foward Shawn Marion has attempted 62 three-pointers this season and made 21, a .339 percentage.

Following Wednesday morning’s shootaround at American Airlines Center, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle and Marion were the last people on the floor, with Marion practicing 3s and Carlisle shagging rebounds.

Why the sudden emphasis with Marion shooting treys? He attempted 73 all of last season. During Dallas’ championship season of 2010-2011, Marion attempted 33 threes and made five.

“He (Carlisle) told me to,” Marion said Wednesday, when asked why he’s shooting more threes.

“I just believe in him,” Carlisle said. “I believe he can do it. I see the stretches in his career where he’s shot it well. I understand that a coach’s belief in a player goes a long way toward the player believing in himself.”

Brandan Wright back soon for Mavericks

Here’s the Fort Worth Star-Telegram blog on the 13-10 Dallas Mavericks, who are set to enjoy some added depth:

Brandan Wright said he likely will see his first action of the season Saturday night when the Dallas Mavericks host the Milwaukee Bucks at 7:30 at American Airlines Center.

The Mavs’ center played in the preseason opener against New Orleans, then suffered a small non-displaced fracture of his left shoulder during an Oct. 8 practice session. Since then, Wright has gone through a litany of treatment sessions in an effort to get his shoulder back up to speed.

“If everything goes well tomorrow I should be able to go (Saturday),” Wright said after today’s practice. “I feel alright.

Dallas Mavericks assign Ricky Ledo to D-League

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have assigned Ricky Ledo to the Texas Legends of the NBA Development League.

Ledo (6-7, 200) has seen action in six games for the Mavericks and holds averages of 1.2 points and 2.6 minutes per game.

Ledo will join the Legends and be available for tonight’s game when they take on the Tulsa 66ers at 7:00 pm CT at the Dr. Pepper Arena in Frisco.

Mavs are leading the NBA in steals

The new NBA season is still young, but here’s the Fort Worth Star-Telegram blog with a positive note on the 2013-14 Dallas Mavericks:

A mere 10 games into the season and the Dallas Mavericks are surprisingly leading the NBA in steals with 10.2 per game.

That’s a monumental accomplishment for a team that’s never finished higher than fourth in steals in its entire 34-year history.

Asked what he attributes his team’s steals’ total to, coach Rick Carlisle said: “A lot of gambling, probably. Steals can be a great thing and it also can at times mess you up if you swing and miss a lot.

“But we’ve got some guys with pretty good anticipation and quickness in (Monta) Ellis, and (DeJuan) Blair’s gotten quite a few steals. As long as we’re within our system when we”re going to for them, I’m OK — as long as we’re in a position of strength — and generally we’ve been OK with that.”

Mario Chalmers suspended for striking Dirk Nowitzki

Miami Heat guard Mario Chalmers has been suspended for one game without pay for throwing a forearm and making contact with the head of Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki, it was announced today by Rod Thorn, President, Basketball Operations.

The incident, for which Chalmers was assessed a Flagrant Foul 2 and ejected, occurred with 5:01 remaining in the fourth quarter of Miami’s 110-104 win over Dallas on Friday, Nov. 15, at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Chalmers will serve his suspension tonight when the Heat visit the Charlotte Bobcats.

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