More from RealGM
 Dallas Mavericks WiretapMavericks LinksNews ArchiveNBA News
Mavs Could Look To Cassell If Terry Bolts Via Free Agency
The starting point guard for the Los Angeles Clippers, Cassell also becomes an unrestricted free agent July 1. And it's no guarantee that he'll stay in LA or that Terry will remain with the Mavs. "I'd like to stay in LA, but who knows," Cassell said Tuesday. "I'm playing basketball, and I feel good." Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Clippers Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets NBA To Address Playoff Seed Problem This Summer
But the probability of that encounter – and the fact it would take place in the second round – has NBA officials starting to question whether the system is flawed. The plight of the top teams in the Southwest Division wasn't a front-burner issue at a meeting of the league's competition committee. But deputy commissioner Russ Granik said the committee will gather information about the seeding format and place the topic on its agenda in June. "My view is that there are just a lot of anomalies that come into play when you talk about playoff pairings, particularly in the first rounds," Granik said. "I think the concern this year is because we have two teams in the West that seem to be way ahead of everybody else." The Mavericks lead the Western Conference with a 41-11 record. The Spurs are next at 40-12. The Phoenix Suns trails the Spurs by five games in the standings. If the season ended today, the Mavericks would land the No. 1 seed under the current format. The Suns would be No. 2 and Denver, with a record of 28-26, would be the No. 3 seed. Both of those teams would be seeded ahead of San Antonio because they won their divisions. "Obviously, there will be issues, no matter what the system," commissioner David Stern said. "I'm sort of disinclined to change it, but we're going to get the data, and maybe something will emerge from a little data mining that will suggest that we have it all wrong, or a little bit wrong, and then we'll make the change." Any potential change in format would not take place until the 2006-07 season. San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Dirk Wins 3-Point Shootout
Nowitzki won the title Saturday night after coming close twice before, beating Gilbert Arenas and Ray Allen at All-Star weekend. With Dallas teammate Jason Terry and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban looking on from the sideline, the 7-foot German finished with 18 points. Arenas had 16 points and Allen, the 2001 champion, had 15. Nowitzki finished second in the 3-point contest in 2000 and third the next year. He got off to a quick start in the finals Saturday night, making eight of his first 10 shots and going 15-of-25 in the final round. "That's kind of my game," Nowitzki said. "I'm going to shoot it first and everything else is second." Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Mavericks Feb 2006 Archive
|
If the Mavericks fail to re-sign Jason Terry, who can become an unrestricted free agent July 1, they could logically replace him with Sam Cassell.
No one can assure that the Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs will meet in the playoffs. 
Dirk Nowitzki barely escaped the first round. A few minutes later, he was finally the 3-point champion.