Sunday February 27 2011 – 2:54pm Eastern – Toronto, ON

We’re about three hours away from the tip-off of the Mavericks and Raptors at the ACC and I thought I’d check in quickly with some game-day number-crunching!

WHERE’D THE O GO?

Wed vs CHI           Fri vs PHX

Points                         118                  92
FG%                            58.1                 50.7
FT Attemps                   34                    23
FT%                            94.1                 65.2
PTS in Paint                 58                    54

The offence will need to be clickin’ tonight as the Mavericks come to town with a defence that has been on the rise for a few years now.  Many people think about guys like Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry … and even Jason Kidd (and his 3-point prowess) and assume it’s all-offence, all the time.  But that’s not the case:

BIG D’s D-FENCE

Opp. PPG              Opp. FG%

2008-09           99.8                             45.5
2009-10           99.3                             45.7
2010-11           95.7                             45.0

Speaking of the defence, perhaps the turn-around can be partially attributed to the return of Kidd to the Mavs.  The veteran PG was dealt to Dallas in 2007-08 and appeared in 29 games that season (51 for New Jersey).  But in his full seasons since that deal (including this year), you can see how much things have improved with Kidd’s leadership on the floor.  Perhaps the Mavericks are learning from one of the league’s all-time greatest snipers/swipers:

ALL-TIME STEALS

John Stockton               3,265
Michael Jordan               2,514
Gary Payton                 2,445
Jason Kidd                   2,440

But don’t make the mistake of thinking that his team still can’t score.  Kidd is #3 on the league’s all-time list of 3-point field goals (made), Jason Terry could be headed for another 6^TH Man of the Year award (and would start for a number of teams in the association), and Dirk Nowitzki has torn-up Toronto over the course of his career:

Points                23.7
FG%                  51.2
3PT FG%           44.0
Rebounds         7.5
Minutes            36.2

Jonesy and I will be on the air tonight at 530pm with the pre game show and we’ll have the tip off just after 6pm.

Don’t forget to stay tuned to the post-game show – “The Rap” – after the ball game as well.

Have a good one

E. Smith

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