January Rookie of the Month – Mike Bickerstaf, Oklahoma City Thunder – 21.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.0 blocks per game.
The Neon come to town on the first day of February and leave with their tails between their legs as we smash them 120-89. Victor Jones was again the high man with 20 points and 8 rebounds as we had seven players in double figures in a great team effort. Ryan Garris, that guy that was drafted after Raul Lopez, led the way for Nevada with 22 points but there wasn’t much else.
Dallas Mavericks 21-24
**TRADE**
Philadelphia trade:
C Mike Lingle
Sacramento trade:
2026 1st round pick
Winner – Philadelphia. The Kings are currently sitting at 18-26, fourth last in the Western Conference. Lingle isn’t even that good, he is an above average defensive centre let down by his offensive game and will never be much more than a fifth starter.
Speaking of the Sixers, we smash them the next night at home 128-105 as again we have a great balanced attack. Steve Anderson led the way but five other Mavericks were in double figures, aided by Changa Hendricks’ 14 assists. Jared Arenas is not starting any more now that Dustin Harris is in the squad which is a huge mistake but that didn’t stop him from scoring 22 points in 26 minutes. Andre Drummond fouled out in 21 minutes with only 3 points to his name.
Dallas Mavericks 22-24
We were never going to beat the Hornets on their home ground, especially with Anthony Davis having a chip on his shoulder because of our win in the NBA Finals. Davis had 22 points, 17 rebounds and 8 blocks in the game as we went down 111-93 in a very uneventful game. Jack Dawkins was our best with 19 points and 6 assists and even though he is scoring well I’m really impressed by his passing abilities which helps his Lebron comparisons.
Dallas Mavericks 22-25
After our 111-102 loss to OKC where we came back from a 23 point deficit in the last quarter to come up short, Kemba Walker thought that he deserved more court time and told everyone about it. I don’t like this kind of behaviour and told him if he has one more outburst like this he should consider looking for a new job. Rookie of the Year favourite Mike Bickerstaf led the way with 29 points and 9 rebounds, helped by six other Thunder players in double figures. Victor Jones was our best with 19 points and 9 rebounds but was undone by Jack Dawkins’ 3/18 shooting night.
Dallas Mavericks 22-26
Kemba Walker gets his chance after Changa Hendricks fouls out and puts it to good use with 14 points and 10 assists but it wasn’t enough as the Neon got their revenge with a 121-109 win. The reason why Hendricks and Walker fouled out was Greg Lavin who had 26 points and 9 assists from the PG position which is not his natural position. Victor Jones went 9/13 from the field for 26 points but had zero rebounds. That’s right, a centre playing in the middle of the key had zero rebounds. Yuck.
Dallas Mavericks 22-27
In another ‘defence optional’ game where there was six players from both sides with 20 points or more we had the stamina to get past Miami 135-122. Both teams shot above 54% from the field but we did better. Changa Hendricks was our best with 21 points and 10 assists and even though Jack Dawkins had 22 points on 7/11 shooting he turned the ball over 9 times. It’s sometimes easy to forget that he is just a rookie, and a young one at that. Keith Selden, Art Haynes and Eryk Charnowski combined for 82 points in the loss.
Dallas Mavericks 23-27
Our last game before the All Star break was a disappointing one, where we let a two point lead at three quarter time end up as a ten point defeat in the end, going down 112-102 to Houston. We held Kyrie Irving to 5/21 shooting for only 15 points but their depth killed us with seven players in double figures. Victor Jones had 25 points and a whopping (for him) 12 rebounds, helped out by Jack Dawkins’ 27 points and 6 assists where he hit 8 three pointers. Much better game for Jack.
Dallas Mavericks 23-28
A day before the All Star weekend Brian Jenkins and Kemba Walker are seen having a very heated argument which ended up in shoving and then teammates being forced to intervene. I told Kemba that if he put a toe out of line again he was gone and he didn’t even last a month. I trade him and our second round pick for Atlanta’s second round pick this year which in all probability will be the first in the second round. In comes Iman Shumpert, the guy I have got rid of and then brought back so many times I can’t really remember and he slots in as our seventh man.
I can’t remember the last time we had a participant in either the slam dunk contest or the long distance shootout and again we are left out in the cold. Miami’s Michael Graham was lucky to get into the final of the Dunk Contest, tying with OKC’s Steve Smith but going through because Smith needed more attempts on his dunks. It worked for Graham as he beat Chicago’s Dereck Crumble by only three points to take the title. In the Long Distance Shootout, it was the opposite with Brooklyn’s Tyler Gainous leading from start to finish with a massive 24 points in the final to beat Raul Lopez and Charles Gaines.
We finally have a rookie game player in Jack Dawkins who started at SF and nearly had a devil’s triple double with 17 points, 9 rebounds and 8 turnovers as the second year guys led from start to finish with a 149-127 win. Michael Taylor took the honours with 32 points and 9 assists and he is looking like the next big thing in the league. Vlado Prazina backed him up with 23 points and 8 assists and Lars Ray contributed 23 points and 11 rebounds in the win. Cort Majishun was the top scorer for the Rookies with 22 points and 8 assists as Terry McKenzie had 16 points and Chris Jones put up 15 points from the bench. Neither Kenneth Long nor Art Stevenson were selected for the team.
Wow, what a crazy score line. The East’s lowest quarter total was 38 points and even though the West scored 145 points they still got beaten by over 20 points, losing 171-145. Hell, I could do a write up for you but it would be better to just show you to the scoresheet.
Western Conference – teams with most players – Utah (Mark Lewis, Derrick Favors) and Phoenix (Emmett Emerson, Reggie Dobbins) with two.
Eastern Conference – teams with most players – Washington (James McDaniel, Rowan Taylor) and Toronto (Paul Orvis, Matias Perez) with two.
Coming off his All Star appearance Jeff Cunningham goes to town on us, hitting 13/14 free throws on his way to 23 points and 9 rebounds as the Lakers pummel us 124-99. Michael Taylor had 22 points in the win as well. Jack Dawkins needs to cut his turnover rate but he was still excellent with 26 points and 8 rebounds while Ernest Jameson hits all of his six shots for 14 points off the bench.
Dallas Mavericks 23-29
**TRADE**
Memphis trade:
SG Jacob Alexander
2026 2nd round pick
Toronto trade:
SF Danny McArdle
Winner – Memphis. Even though Alexander is the better player the Raptors are still going with their 6’0” Perez/5’11” Crawford backcourt which won’t win you much down the stretch. Alexander would be great at SG and really balance the team but they have him coming off the bench. McArdle was lighting up the D-League and has been thrust into the starting line-up to see if he has the chops to run with the pros.
The Pacers are absolutely rapped that we have been struggling lately as they have our first round draft pick and they love it when we go down to them 113-87. Darrell Hampton showed Jack Dawkins what it’s like to be a superstar with 42 points and 7 rebounds as Indiana shoots 51% and limits us to only 36%. Dawkins is our top scorer with 16 points but went 4/12 from the field to get those points.
Dallas Mavericks 23-30
It seems the wheels have fallen off the Dallas wagon as we have gone 3-12 in the last 15 games and are really starting to bottom out. I guess the Pacers’ gamble will pay off for them but I still like having Dawkins instead of a top five pick this season. Also, who would have thought that the Alexander/McArdle trade was the only one at the deadline? Like, not even a small scrub for scrub deal.
Great, what a waste of a game. We got out to a 14 point lead in the fourth quarter before Raul Lopez went berserk and scored 20 points in eight minutes to snatch the win away from us, as the Celtics squeeze past us 114-111. They outscored us 40-25 in the last term as Lopez scored 35 points for the game. Jack Dawkins had his usual up and down game, putting up 21 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 turnovers while getting torched by Lopez. Victor Jones had a better game, going 10/13 for 23 points and 9 rebounds.
Dallas Mavericks 23-31
Phew, I thought with our plummet down the ladder we would lose to the 4-51 Hawks but even after a spirited comeback from Atlanta we held our nerve to win 98-91. Changa Hendricks was our best with 13 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals as six Mavericks players were in double figures. Borut Peschat led the way for the hopeless Hawks with 21 points as Chris Jones put up 14 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds in the loss.
Dallas Mavericks 24-31
Our last game of the month is a 114-106 win over Seattle as we got out to a 35 point lead in the third term. “But Yaxley, why was it only an eight point win?” I hear you ask. Well, the Sonics went on a 49-29 last quarter tear to nearly give me a heart attack. Victor Jones was our best with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists in the perfect big man role with Steve Anderson adding 21 points. Travis Grigsby had 31 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists and was the major reason for the comeback, hitting four three pointers in the final term.
Dallas Mavericks 25-31
With a little upswing at the end we are now in tenth spot again in the West, surprisingly only five games out of the eight. With Minnesota, Los Angeles and Nevada broken away from the pack there are seven teams all within two games of each other fighting for the seventh and eighth position. I would love it if we could sneak into the playoffs as we wouldn’t be giving up a lottery pick. Denver are still at the bottom at 17-33 and there were very loud rumblings of Chris Drexler being traded but nothing came of it.
The Hawks upped their winning percentage from 4.5% to 6.8% with two wins that month but are still staring down the barrel of the worst record in history at 5-44. New Orleans have opened up a little gap from Toronto at 43-17 with the Raptors at 38-20.
Dallas Top Points
Victor Jones – 17.5
Jack Dawkins – 15.9
Shawn Latimer – 15.0
Dallas Top Assists
Changa Hendricks – 7.5
Jack Dawkins – 4.2
Kemba Walker – 4.0
Dallas Top Rebounds
Joe Duggins – 7.0
Shawn Latimer – 5.9
Victor Jones – 5.9
League Leaders
Points – Ledaryl McMillian (GSW) – 29.6
Assists – Darcel Settles (SAS) – 10.7
Rebounds – Anthony Davis (NOH) – 10.4
Blocks – Anthony Davis (NOH) – 4.1
Steals – Jay Warren (HOU) – 2.8
Efficiency – Enrique Mendez (MIN) – 29.4
Rookie Leaders
Points – Mike Bickerstaf (OKC) – 19.5
Assists – Chris Jones (ATL) – 6.0
Rebounds – Terry McKenzie (NYK) – 7.6
Blocks – Joe Moore (DET) – 1.0
Steals – Chris Jones (ATL) – 1.4
Efficiency – Mike Bickerstaf (OKC) – 16.5
Third Round of NBA Draft Prospects
1. (1) C Schuyler Vanderwerken (Netherlands), 18 years old, 6’9”, 257lbs
2. (5) SG Phillip Rude (Gardner-Webb), Freshman, 6’6”, 189lbs
3. (3) SG Kelly Pryor (USC), Freshman, 6’8”, 204lbs
4. (NR) SG Curtis Anderson (Colorado), Freshman, 6’5”, 198lbs
5. (4) SG Jason London (Dayton), Freshman, 6’5”, 189lbs
Thoughts – Another guard heavy draft but there is plenty of depth here. Maybe not as good as last season but there should be enough for everyone in the lottery if they pick correctly. It will be interesting to see who has the best career out of the four SGs in the top five.
