Thursday, January 18, 2001
After enduring a three-game losing streak—with two of the three coming at home—the Mavs bounced back Wednesday night with a big win at Charlotte. Notching the win took a three-pointer from Howard Eisley, a name we have not heard as much as we expected to this year, and it improved Dallas’ record to 25-16.
It was a triumph for Dallas indeed, however, it does not answer the question of why did the Mavs drop three straight. The reason for that appears to be the absence of Steve Nash, who missed his fourth straight game. The Mavs are 0-5 in games he missed this season. To ultimately succeed in the playoffs this season, the Mavs have to find ways to win without their starting point guard. Eisley was a capable backup to John Stockton in Utah. In the backup role to Nash he has done well, but he must be able to drive the team to wins when he has to move up and start. The next four games are at home, where the Mavericks have not been stellar. Look for them to improve that, though, going 3-1 at home.
