The Mavericks finally got on the right track last night against the Raptors.  Ian Mahinmi led the way for the Mavericks last night with 19 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots in 29 minutes off the bench.  He made all six of his shots from the floor in this game.  Dirk Nowitzki (18 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals and 1 blocked shot) and Jason Terry (17 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists) also pitched in with solid games last night.  Shawn Marion (12 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists) and Vince Carter (10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot) also pitched in for the Mavs.  The Mavericks are now 1-3 on the year.

Things were looking good for the Mavericks when Vince Carter hit a 3-pointer with only 1.4 seconds left in this game to give them a 102-101 lead.  Then Thabo Sefolosha inbounded the ball to Kevin Durant and he hit about a 28-footer as time expired to give the Thunder a huge win!  Dirk Nowitzki led the way for the Mavericks last night with 29 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists.  Jason Terry only shot 6 of 17 from the floor but he still finished up with 16 points, 9 assists and 1 steal last night.  Delonte West pitched in with a solid effort with 15 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals.  The Mavericks are now 0-3 on the year.

The Mavericks laid another egg last night at home against the Nuggets.  The Mavericks were down 97-68 after the first three quarters as they seemed to be playing with very little emotion for the second day in a row.  They were also outrebounded 47-37 by the Nuggets as they continue to miss Tyson Chandler in the middle.  Dirk Nowitzki led the way for the Mavericks with 20 points and 4 rebounds.  Jason Kidd also had a somewhat decent game with 12 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists last night.  Sean Williams (12 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 blocked shot in only 11 minutes), Vince Carter (11 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot) and Rodrigue Beaubois (10 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals) also pitched in.  The Mavericks are now a very unimpressive 0-2 on the season.

This game was nowhere near as close as the scoreboard suggets it was.  The Mavericks were down 97-65 after three quarters, before outscoring the Heat 29-8 in the 4th quarter to make the score look semi-respectable.  The Mavericks came out really flat and the Heat made them pay for it.  The Mavericks only shot 37.8% from the floor as a team and they really missed Tyson Chandler’s presence in the middle as the Heat outrebounded them 51-31!  Jason Terry led the way for the Mavericks yesterday with 23 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists and 2 steals off the bench.  Dirk Nowitzki only shot 6 of 15 from the floor as he finished with 21 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.  Shawn Marion (12 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists) and Delonte West (10 points, 3 assists and 3 steals in 25 minutes off the bench) also pitched in for the Mavericks in this game.  The Mavericks are now 0-1 on the year.

The Mavericks have signed 25-year old PF/C Sean Williams to a 1-year deal.  Williams was a first round pick of the New Jersey Nets in 2007, but he hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2009-2010 season with the Nets.  Williams has played in 126 games (29 starts) in his first three years in the NBA and he is averaging 14.8 minutes, 4.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 0.3 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game.  Williams will give the Mavericks another big body for depth along the frontline in 2011-12.

The Mavericks have signed 34-year old small forward Brian Cardinal to a 1-year deal.  Cardinal played in 56 games (4 starts) for the Mavericks last year and he averaged 11.0 minutes, 2.6 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.  He also shot 48.3% from three point range for the Mavericks last year.  He has now played in 412 games (37 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 15.0 minutes, 5.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.  This was a good move for the Mavericks as Cardinal’s long range shooting off the bench is a nice asset.

The Mavericks have dealt 26-year old shooting guard Rudy Fernandez and 25-year old SG/SF Corey Brewer to the Nuggets for a future second round pick.  Fernandez was acquired in a draft day trade involving the Trailblazers and Nuggets.  So he never played for the Mavericks.  Corey Brewer played in 13 games (2 starts) for the Mavericks last year and he averaged 11.4 minutes, 5.3 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game.  This trade was made for two reasons.  First, the Mavericks have signed Vince Carter and Delonte West, so they didn’t have any P.T. available for Brewer and Fernandez.  Secondly, they get a draft pick and this opens up some salary cap room for this year….if needed…..but more importantly for next season when Dwight Howard, Chris Paul and Deron Williams become free agents.

The Mavericks have signed 28-year old PG/SG Delonte West to a 1-year deal.  West played in 24 games (2 starts) for the Boston Celtics last year and he averaged 18.9 minutes, 5.6 points, 1.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.  He has now played in 388 games (225 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 27.8 minutes, 9.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  This was another solid pickup for the Mavericks as West can handle playing both guard spots.

The Mavericks have signed 34-year old shooting guard Vince Carter to a 1-year deal.  Carter played in 73 games (63 starts) for the Magic & Suns last year and he averaged 28.1 minutes, 14.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.  He has now played in 925 games (907 starts) so far in his NBA career and he is averaging 36.4 minutes, 22.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.2 steals per game.  Vince Carter and Rudy Fernandez will duke it out in training camp to see who will start at shooting guard for the Mavericks in 2011-12.

The Dallas Mavericks have acquired 32-year old SF/PF Lamar Odom and a 2nd round pick in 2012 from the Lakers for a first round pick in 2012 and a $8.9 million dollar trade exception.  Odom played in 82 games (35 starts) for the Lakers last year and he averaged 32.2 minutes, 14.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.  He has now played in 829 games (678 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 35.6 minutes, 14.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game.  The Mavericks fell right back on their feet after losing starting center Tyson Chandler yesterday, as Odom is going to add an outstanding all around player to the team in 2011-12.