Image courtesy of TJ Macias/Baller Mind Frame.
On Sunday night, while the rest of the world was preparing to watch stars selfie their way through the Academy Awards, the city of Dallas was preparing itself for a late February ice storm, one that would appear to mirror the forecast in the sixth circle of Hell since 34-year-old Dallas Maverick Richard Jefferson would end up dominating the headlines due to him starting in place of a limping Chandler Parsons in the line up.
“I was joking with Rajon (Rondo) today, and he looked at me funny when coach said I was starting,” Jefferson mused following the Mavericks askew 92-81 win over the Charlotte Hornets. “I have 800 of them (starts) in my career, so I feel pretty comfortable there. I understand my place. We have a young player in Parsons and Farouq (Al-Farouq Aminu), and my job is to mentor them and to make sure that I can help them in anyway and then to be a backup whenever they call.”
Jefferson did more than school the youngin’s during the third quarter when he laid down a devastatingly murderous elderly-dude dunk that nearly decapitated Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. And, of course, since some referees are the minion gate-keepers of the underworld, the dunk was waved off as an offensive foul was placed upon Jefferson.
How very rude.
“Richard Jefferson goes hard,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle stated to the press following the game. “When he’s on the floor, you know he’s out there. He’s combative on defense and he’s aggressive on offense.”
No-freaking-kidding, he’s aggressive. MKG is probably walking around with his head low as Charlie Brown’s “Sad Song” echoes in his ears right about now. At least the aggression wasn’t aimed at his own teammates this time, considering Jefferson’s leg is the reason why Rondo’s face looks slightly crooked. “I let him have his little birthday moment, he just told me not to hurt him,” RJ joked about Rajon, who turned 29-years old on Sunday. “We were starting again, and last time we started, we were in Orlando, and I happened to break his face. I’m glad we were both able to get through the game, him with his face intact and me without bruising my thigh.”
Sunday evening was not only Jefferson’s zombie-rise from the dead, but it was also the debut of the much-needed Amar’e Stoudemire, who made his first Mavericks appearance at the 5:26 minute mark in the first quarter. After a 0-for-2 start for the Dallas newbie, Stoudemire made his mark on Texas with a Brandan Wright-like alley-oop from J.J. Barea.
“Keep it simple,” Stoudemire said of his winning appearance. “Coach Carlisle has so many plays offensively, so in order for me to get the plays figured out, I have to take my time and take it one day at a time, but tonight I kept it simple and played my game.” Stoudemire finished the game with 14-points.
“I thought he was very good, very solid,” Coach confirmed. “I think he showed how he can help us pretty clearly.”
Murders aside, let’s hope this is a sign of a more consistent, not to mention deadly, Mavericks team. They take on Drake… er, I mean the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday evening.
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