5. You can tell Chandler Parsons isn’t all the way back yet. Couple of drives in the first quarter he attempted to “finish” with finesse layups. There’ll be a time next spring when he punctuates those drives with dunks or at least by drawing a foul attacking above the rim. His “pitch count” in the wake of knee surgery is frustrating while he sits on the bench in the fourth quarter, but it’s also totally appropriate.
4. As we suspected after losing DeAndre Jordan and Tyson Chandler, the Mavs are soft and vulnerable in the paint. Blake Griffin, Julius Randle and now Luis Scola (19 points, 12 rebounds) have dominated Dallas inside. Unfortunately, Zaza Pachulia is exactly what we expected. Can’t believe I’m typing this, but maybe JaVale McGee will help?
3. I was struck last night by the fact that Dirk Nowitzki’s next home opener will be his last. It's early in a long season, but at this point he's playing like a guy with a lot left in his tank.
2. I love Pudge Rodriguez and Eduardo Najera as players and as people, but I don’t get Fox Sports Southwest’s philosophy to hire them as on-air analysts for Rangers and Mavs broadcasts. Let’s be honest, their mastery of the English language is less than masterful. Watching Najera attempt to diagram a Mavs’ play and refer to Deron Williams as “this player” and Wesley Matthews as “this other guy” was painful and, for him, embarrassing. I’m accustomed to heavy, savvy doses of Bob Ortegel and Mike Fisher on Mavs’ telecasts. What I got last night was a broadcast suited more for the D League.
1. No shame in this loss. The Mavs just aren’t as good as the Raptors, who remain the Eastern Conference's only undefeated team at 4-0. Maybe when they meet again Dec. 22 in Toronto they’ll be closer. But it’s clear that – because of injuries and lack of chemistry – Dallas won’t begin to sniff its real potential until after the All-Star break. Hopefully it's not too late.
A native Texan who was born in Duncanville and graduated from UT-Arlington, Richie Whitt has been a mainstay in the Metroplex media since 1986. He’s held prominent roles on all media platforms including newspaper (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Observer), radio (105.3 The Fan) and TV (co-host on TXA 21 and numerous guest appearances, including NBC 5). He lives in McKinney with his wife, Sybil, and two very spoiled dogs.
