[外電] Dallas Mavericks open preseason with Howard in spotlight

看板Mavericks (達拉斯小牛)作者popstarkirby (我不是PoP)時間17年前 (2008/10/07 13:54)推噓2(2推 0噓 1→)

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http://tinyurl.com/46byx3 UNIVERSITY PARK – Tuesday night is the first chance to see how Josh Howard is doing in the polls. Mavericks faithful will get their first chance to cheer, jeer, boo or rue Howard as the Mavericks begin the preseason at American Airlines Center against Washington. The real test won't come until the regular season, when the Mavericks hit the road and the venom level rises. But first steps first. Howard will be in the starting lineup Tuesday night, and he is anticipating some tough commentary from the fans. Mavericks / NBA More Mavericks "Most likely," Howard said Monday. "But I'm just concentrating on the team. I've answered all the questions, and it's up to the fans to deal with now." In other words, Howard has moved on. It may take time for fans to do the same, but he said he hopes they will move on at some point. "How many times did he apologize?" president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson said. "I certainly hope folks will give him the benefit of the doubt at this point." Jones must get healthy: The Mavericks hope swingman Eddie Jones can recover from a left hamstring problem and figure out what he can contribute to the team. "Right now, our preference is to see where he's at, and if he can help us," Nelson said. "He has to get healthy before we can determine that." Asked if a buyout of Jones' contract was possible, Nelson said: "That's a conversation for later on. Right now, we need to get him healthy." Jones is earning $1.9 million this season after he exercised the option year on his contract during the summer. Miller time: Reggie Miller was a visitor at practice Monday, partly for his duties as a TNT analyst and partly to visit with the Mavericks and Rick Carlisle, who coached Miller as an assistant and head coach at Indiana. Miller wasn't there to put on the long shorts and hoist up jumpers. But he did say he saw some good things in the Mavericks. "Talking to Rick, this team reminds us of when Larry [Bird] and him first came to the Pacers [in 1997-98]," Miller said. "Everybody kind of wrote us off that we were too old, that our best days were behind us and that's the year we should have beaten Chicago in the conference finals. "We were led by a very talented point guard in Mark Jackson, which they have here in Jason Kidd. And we had two good forwards in the Davises [Dale and Antonio]. So the parallels are somewhat the same. And everybody's kind of writing them off. [The Mavericks are] not young anymore. But there's a lot to be said of a team that has some mileage on it. I like experience. I still think they have one more run in them." Briefly: Erick Dampier will start at center Tuesday night, Carlisle said. He was uncertain about his starter at shooting guard. ... Kidd said the offensive attack fans see tonight is far from the polished product they should be watching in March and April. "There's going to be some growing pains," Kidd said. But one aspect should be evident already – the motion in the offense. Kidd added: "If you're not in shape, you're going to get in shape because of the movement on offense." -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 220.131.224.49