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Sefko: Why Mavs must give more minutes to Elton Brand





There is almost no interior defense on this team. How can they expect to do anything with offense-minded bigs only like Dirk and Kaman?

Eddie Sefko: That's why Elton Brand is going to have to play a bigger role. He's here for the whole season because you can't trade guys you picked up via the amnesty clause. So he needs to be involved and I think you'll see him play at least the 20 minutes he had against Utah on a regular basis. As for interior defense, Kaman tries, but he's just not wired to be a great defender. The Mavericks need to stay in the zone, which they do most of the time anyway in some form or fashion, and try to put guards on the floor who can limit dribble penetration. The big guys need a fighting chance to be able to help and if the guards play statue defense, then the bigs are helpless.


Can this current roster be competitive if it is able to gel or is this as good as it gets?

Eddie Sefko: Good grief, let's hope this isn't as good as it gets. I'm going to run out of ways to explain how the Mavericks lost in overtime again. The clock's ticking. There are 44 shopping days until the trade deadline. Something's going to happen between now and then. Either the Mavericks turn this around as they are, the vultures fly over and pick off a few players or a big deal is struck that lands a big fish. By vultures, I mean playoff-caliber teams that think a Vince Carter or Chris Kaman could put them over the top.


Just heard that Phoenix and Memphis are talking a deal for Rudy Gay for something around Dudley and a first round pick. Also that Memphis reached out to a couple other teams as well. Any inside info if one of them is Dallas?

Eddie Sefko: Haven't heard the Memphis-Phoenix connection, but it wouldn't surprise me from Phoenix's point of view. It's hard to figure out what they're doing with that roster. For Memphis, it would help them shed about $50 million in payroll over the next three years. But how are they going to make it work under the cap? Sounds like a lot more would have to be involved. I do think the Suns are prime trade partners for somebody before the deadline.



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