FrontRowSportsReport.com: Sports Blog

The NBA Western Conference playoff race is getting tight and it wont be getting much easier for the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavericks not only lost to the San Antonio Spurs today but their star forward Dirk Nowitzki went down with a leg injury.

In the 3rd quarter of today’s game the reigning NBA MVP took a nasty tumble and hobbled off the court. “I fell awkwardly and my left leg got caught underneath of me,” Nowitzki said in a statement after the game. “I am going to get re-evaluated in the morning and I hope to have more information then.” Even though the official word has yet to be given it appears as though Nowitzki will miss at least 2 weeks.

This would usually be bad news for any team when their star player goes down, but this is even worse news for the Mavericks who are fighting to keep their playoff spot - which currently stands at 7th in the Western Conference. The Mavericks are usually a playoff shoe-in but not this year as they could easily drop out of playoff contention with some losses. The Golden State Warriors (who are in 8th place) are only 1 game behind the Mavericks and the Denver Nuggets (who are in 9th place and currently out of the playoffs) are only 2 games behind.

Oh, and one other interesting note about the Mavericks. Since that blockbuster trade to bring in Jason Kidd, the Mavericks have yet to beat a team with a winning record. That is not a good sign of things to come, especially with Dirk out.

The Spurs on the other hand have seen their fortune reverse after going on a 1-6 run. This win over the Mavericks not only  put some distance between the two teams but also might give the Spurs a kick in the butt they needed to make a run.

The Houston Rockets just cant be stopped, with or without Yao Ming in the lineup. Last night the Rockets beat the Dallas Mavericks 113-98 for their 17th win in a row - their 5th win without all-world center Yao Ming.

Tracy McGrady continues to show how invaluable he is to the team, last night he put in 31 points and 9 assists. But more importantly McGrady bring a level of confidence to the team. “We all believe, man,” McGrady said after the game. “When you’ve got a roster full of guys that really believe in themselves, great chemistry among the team, and we go out and play extremely hard every night, I’m not surprised.”

The Mavericks were led by Josh Howard who put in 21 points and Jason Terry who had 17. The Mavericks were also without forward Dirk Nowitzki who was serving a suspension for his hard foul on Utah Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko. However, even without Dirk in the lineup, Mavericks guard Jason Terry gave all the credit to the Rockets. “They just outworked us — to a man, every position. That’s something we can’t allow to happen. They’re playing well together right now, but at the same time there’s not a team we can’t beat.”

The thing about this streak is that the Rockets are not playing weak teams, last night they beat a good Mavericks team in Dallas. So the question is how does this streak translate into wins in the NBA playoffs.  The thing is…it doesn’t. Playoff basketball is at another level. I can see the Rockets beating someone in the first round but can they really play and win multiple games against a team like the Lakers or Suns? With Yao they have a shot, without Yao they will make it competitive but the lack of big man in the center will end up costing them.

In this NBA video Utah Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko took a very hard hit from Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki the other day. It was definitely a hard foul and it looked like it hurt, but AK-47 might have been acting it up just a bit.

Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers started off slow against the Dallas Mavericks but in the end Kobe was unstoppable. Kobe scored 22 of his 52 points in the 4th quarter and 8 in overtime as the Lakers took out the Mavericks 108-104.

Kobe scored 50 or more points for the 22nd time his career going 15 for 27 from the floor and drawing foul after foul - Kobe was 20 for 27 from the free throw line, 13 of which came in the 4th quarter. Bryant also grabbed 11 rebounds and had 4 assists. Pau Gasol put up another solid game for the Lakers putting in 17 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals.

Mavericks coach Avery Johnson expressed his frustration about his teams inability to stop Kobe after the game. “We gave him a single look, then we double-teamed him, then we gave him a triple-team and he split the triple-team and scored. We tried to zone him, we tried to funnel him in the trap for a zone and he went the other way. He didn’t cooperate on any of our defenses. Obviously he milked the free throw line on us and he just had it all going. He’s a great player. He has these. Lots of these.”

The Mavericks were led by Dirk Nowitzki who had a team high 30 points, Jason Kidd who had 11 assists and Erik Dampier who grabbed 17 rebounds.

Why is this video of the NBA pushing their ad campaign “Where Amazing Happens”, this time with everyone’s favorite German - Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki - posted? For two reasons: 1) Dirk is less awkward looking as a boy and 2) the boy band haircuts of Dirk and Steve Nash. Seriously, Nash really liked the frosted tip look didn’t he. Also, the NBA couldn’t find a better picture then the one of Dirk at the 22 second spot? He has his tongue out and looks like his pants are hiked up over his stomach. When a friend of mine sent this video to me I first thought it was a joke.



Shaquille O’Neal and Jason Kidd both made debuts with their new teams last night, unfortunately both the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks lost. However, both players impact on their respective team was undeniable.

Let’s start with Shaq and his game against the Los Angeles Lakers. Shaq contributed last night with 15 points and 9 rebounds, not bad since he hasn’t played in a few weeks. Despite the 130-124 loss to the Lakers, the Suns obviously can and will play better once Shaq gets his “legs back” and / or used to his new teammates. At times Shaq looked lost when he wasn’t hanging below the rim as usual. Shaq definitely made an effort to move around more and even ran some fast breaks, but really how long can that last? Shaq needs to find his place in the Suns game that suits both him and his team. After the game Shaq played the good teammate card. “I haven’t been this happy in a long time. I will take the blame for this loss because I wasn’t in tune with the guys. But give me four or five days to really get in tune and I’ll get it.”

Now on to Jason Kidd’s debut with the Dallas Mavericks. It is obvious from watching this game that Kidd is going to really help the Mavericks, his ability to make plays and find people is unmatched. Last night he spent a bit to much time trying to pass it to his new teammates, but that is to be expected. Just looking at the box score you can see that it was not a typical Kidd night, he only scored 8 points and had only 5 assists. However, do not let last nights game or the box score fool you, once this team starts to click and the big guns, Josh Howard and Dirk Nowitzki, get a feel for how Kidd plays everyone better watch out.

It is obviously to early to make any sort of judgment, in fact we can only truly judge the trades after the NBA season is over, but from what I saw last night both teams will be better off then before the trades. The only question is did they improve enough to win a NBA title.

Oh and on another NBA note, the New York Knicks lose to the Philadelphia 76ers last night by 40 points. 40 points! The 76ers aren’t even a good team, again how does Isiah Thomas still have a job?

Well after a week or so of talks and rumors going back and forth Jason Kidd is officially a Dallas Maverick. Don’t believe it? Well Mavericks owner Mark Cuban confirmed it telling ESPN “It’s done, J-Kidd is a Mav.”

The trade, which sends Kidd back to the team that drafted him, consisted of the following details: the New Jersey Nets send Kidd, forward Malik Allen and shooting guard Antoine Wright to Dallas for Devin Harris, center DeSagana Diop, shooting guard Trenton Hassell, guard Maurice Ager, Keith Van Horn via a sign and trade, NBA Draft first round picks in 2008 and 2010 and $3 million in cash. Got all of that? Honestly I am tried of hearing and talking about this trade so I am not going to go into anymore detail.

The Mavericks have scheduled a news conference for this afternoon to make the official announcement.

As we reported yesterday (Looks like Kidd will be heading back to the Mavericks) , the New Jersey Nets and the Dallas Mavericks are trying to work out a trade that would bring All-Star Guard Jason Kidd to the Mavericks. However, late last night the deal was put on hold due to Mavericks guard Devean George not signing off on the trade. Yes, Devean George - who would be going to the Nets as part of the trade - needs to sign off on it.

George, who recently demanded a trade if he didn’t get more playing time, took advantage of a NBA rule to block the trade from going through. George told the Mavericks that he would not agree to be included in the trade and wants to discuss his options with his agent. The little known/used rule states that any player who is on a one-year contract, but who spent the previous season with that same team, cannot be traded without their consent. George is only 1 of 18 players in the NBA who are in this situation.

The deal was all but done yesterday, the Nets even held Kidd out of their game last night in anticipation of him joining the Suns. The deal is not officially dead, but with the trade deadline approaching the two teams will need to work out the details of a new trade - or get George to sign off - sooner rather then later.

Personally I find it funny how 1 player who was an afterthought in this blockbuster of a trade can take it all down. you go Devean George, whoever you are.

Rumors have been flying all season long about where and when New Jersey Nets All-Star guard Jason Kidd would be traded. Today news is coming out that Kidd might be heading back to the team that drafted him as the 2nd pick overall in the 1994 NBA Draft - the Dallas Mavericks.

The deal, which both the Nets and Mavericks have agreed upon in principle and could change, would have Dallas sending point guard Devin Harris, Jerry Stackhouse, the expiring contracts of DeSagana Diop and Devean George and guard Maurice Ager to New Jersey for Kidd and forward Malik Allen. Dallas will also send New Jersey $3 million and the Mavericks first rounder of the 2008 NBA Draft and first rounder in the 2010 NBA Draft.

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has said many times that this trade would not make sense for his team, Cuban even told the New York media earlier his feelings on such a trade. “For us to make the numbers work in a deal like that, we’d have to trade away half the team,” Cuban said. “We’re not doing that, so it just doesn’t work. And we like our team. We’ve got a lot of room for improvement and we hope to get better. But right now, I just don’t see anything happening.”

The move by the Mavericks doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense, it is almost like Cuban was jealous of all of the other big trades that went down this month - namely the Suns getting Shaquille O’Neal and the Lakers getting Pau Gasol. Money isn’t the real issue, since Cuban loves to spend it, the issue really has to do with depth - the Mavericks are trading a lot of players who get playing time. However, Kidd does bring some great leadership abilities that could push the Mavericks over the edge in the tough Western Conference - any team with Kidd, Josh Howard, Jason Terry and Dirk Nowitzki has to be considered a force to deal with.

The Nets on the other hand get some decent players, but more importantly - with the cash relief and draft picks - they are looking to rebuild. Do not be surprised if you see Vince Carter traded very soon.