David Lee was extremely unhappy with his lack of role with the Boston Celtics this season and that was pretty well-known. It also was the Mavericks’ largest margin of victory this year. “We learned that this summer”, owner Mark Cuban said, referring to the team’s verbal agreement with DeAndre Jordan before he re-signed with the Clippers.
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The Mavericks are one of the playoff contenders so far this season carrying a 29-27 win-loss card through Friday’s games. “We definitely needed a win to stop the bleeding”.
To make room for Lee the Mavericks waived guard John Jenkins who averaged just 9.2 minutes in 21 games for the Mavericks this season. Now, news has surfaced from Earl K. Sneed, a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, that the Mavs plan on signing Lee once he clears waivers.
While this is a huge accomplishment, it can’t be overlooked that the Mavs are in a dogfight with the Sixers, and rookie big man Jahlil Okafor is having a huge game at the expense of Dirk and Co.
The Sixers led 43-35 before Dallas closed the half with a 31-11 run. For that reason choosing the Mavericks is interesting because they have a fairly deep frontcourt but they became the favorites immediately upon his buyout with the Celtics, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. Dallas grabbed control in the second quarter, scoring 38 points and making 16 of 17 free-throw attempts while erasing an early eight-point deficit.
Philadelphia closed to 80-71 on Nik Stauskas’ 3-pointer with 5:09 left in the third, but the Mavericks scored the next 10 points. “He’s a great rebounder and inside presence”. He is sixth in scoring in National Basketball Association history.
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“This means that I have been around a long, long time, and that I have made the odd basket here or there”, Nowitzki said afterwards. “I’ve been fortunate to be with this franchise for so long and stay injury free for the most part”.
