Beaubois Progressing For Mavs
ESPNDallas.com
SAN FRANCISCO -- An assistant coach politely interrupted a recent interview with Rodrigue Beaubois to remind the rookie that he had a post-practice session scheduled.
This wasn't typical extra work for Beaubois, though. The Dallas Mavericks' in-house camera crew wanted to shoot video of what might be described as the 21-year-old guard's Guadeloupean Globetrotter routine, a mix of ballhandling tricks picked up on soccer fields and basketball courts.
That video will soon crack the rotation on the scoreboard big screens at American Airlines Center during breaks in the action. Coach Rick Carlisle is also ready to feature Beaubois, who seems on the verge of seizing a permanent role in the Mavs' playing rotation.
"You've got to play talent," said future Hall of Fame point guard Jason Kidd, who has embraced a role as the rookie's mentor. "He's going through his learning curve. You've got to put him in a situation for some trial and error. He's got to go through some ups and downs and be able to understand how to run the team and be aggressive."
Beaubois, the 25th overall pick in last year's draft, is finally being given that opportunity.
Other than a 13-game stint as the fill-in starter at shooting guard, Beaubois has pretty much been glued to the bench except for garbage time, until recently. That does not mean the phenom from a French island has been in Carlisle's doghouse. The coach was determined to be patient with the development of an intriguing prospect who is adapting to an entirely different culture while making an enormous leap in competition after playing in a lower-level European league.
• Read the rest of McMahon's story at, ESPNDallas.com.
Schedule: Monday, Feb. 8
Magic 123, Hornets 117
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Mavs127, Warriors 117
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Lakers 101, Spurs 89
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Creating A Buzz
Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty ImagesRookie Darren Collison is averaging 16.6 points and 9.8 assists in place of the injured CP3.
Hills And Valleys
TrueHoop Network
For all the excitement this summer over Richard Jefferson, Antonio McDyess and DeJuan Blair, perhaps the Spurs' biggest offseason acquisition has been shooting guard George Hill.
While we'll hold off on appointing Hill, who usually plays the 1, to the All-Star Game, he showed a glimpse of his ceiling on Saturday. Fitting in naturally alongside point guard Tony Parker (who had a nice game himself with 14 points and 14 assists), Hill torched the Clippers for 17 points on 6-for-7 shooting and two free throws in the first quarter en route to 22 points in the 98-81 win.
Even better, these two combo guards with different sets of abilities in the backcourt seem to be meshing well (Parker assisted three of Hill's six first-quarter baskets).
But as has been the case the past week or so, Hill's play brings about another question: If Hill, the shooting guard, ends the season as the biggest addition (other than the return to health of Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan, of course), will that be enough to put the Spurs over the top?
That is, to say, if McDyess and Jefferson cannot raise their games to what we expected of them, will Hill's improvement at shooting guard be enough to offset their mediocre seasons?
As impressive as Hill has been as a starter -- averaging 15.3 ppg in that role -- I'm still not completely comfortable with the idea of a second-year, late-round draft pick being the fourth-best player on a championship contender.
Of course, the same probably could have been said about a young Parker back in the day. And if Hill can continue improving and sprinkle in a couple of performances like he did Saturday, I think we can put the questions and overrated talk to bed.
• Read more at, 48 Minutes of Hell.
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