It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's a...Flying Frenchman?!?

One thing was clear on Saturday night in San Francisco as the Mavs walloped the Golden State Wienies, 111-90: Brandon Jennings isn’t the only rookie who can put points on the board. Roddy Beaubois exploded during the second quarter, scoring 26 of his team-high 40 points in only 15 minutes and becoming only the third rookie in Dallas Mavericks’ 30 year history to have a 40 point game. Not even former MVP Dirk Nowitzki or future Hall of Famer Jason Kidd share Roddy’s claim to fame. Only Jay Vincent and Mark Aguirre ever had 40 point games as Mavericks’ rookies, leaving Roddy B in some superstar scoring territory. What we saw Saturday night as the Oracle Arena truly was history in the making.

Beaubois was nothing short of amazing as he nailed shots near and far, but particularly behind the three point line, where he shot 9-of-11 for a whopping 82%! He finished the night with 40 points (15-of-22 shots), eight rebounds, and three blocks, all of which were new career highs. But as amazing as he was shooting the ball, he was still passing the ball to open teammates and playing great defense as well. For instance, Roddy B nailed another of his nine three pointers before dishing out assists on the Mavericks’ final two possessions of the third quarter. He ended the night by blocking Golden State’s final shot attempt in a game that was truly decided once he set foot on the court late in the first quarter and provided the Mavericks with some much needed energy and enthusiasm. Beaubois finished with three assists and only one turnover in 29 minutes.

Fans aren’t the only ones loving it when Roddy B is inserted into the lineup. Word has it that after the game Saturday night, when Roddy, who was the last one on the first bus, climbed aboard, the entire bus 9including players, coaches, assistants, and staff) gave the young phenom a rousing ovation for his remarkable performance. It seems that everyone wants to play with Roddy B and they genuinely enjoy watching him on the court. While the coaching staff finally seems to be realizing they have a diamond in the not-so-rough with Beaubois, his teammates seem to genuinely like him and appreciate all the effort he has put in trying to improve himself and his game this year. He has been patient and has been a willing and eager student under the tutelage of the legendary Jason Kidd, which has been a great benefit to both Beaubois and the team alike. But the one reason I think so many of his teammates want to see Beaubois get more playing time is simple: he puts the fun back in the game of basketball. Roddy makes the game more entertaining and maybe he helps remind a few of the more veteran players how much fun it can be to push aside everything else in life and just get out on the court and play basketball.

The win over Golden State on Saturday was wonderful (as it always is when we whip the Wienies), but it’s time for the Mavericks to really crack down tonight as they face the Denver Nuggets in a game that could very well determine where the teams will wind up in the Western Conference playoff picture when all is said and done. Denver and Dallas have split the season series thus far, meaning tonight’s game will be the tiebreaker. Denver is coming in on the second night of a back to back, having lost in Orlando last night and dropping three of their last four games. The last time the Nuggets set foot in the AAC was during the much heated playoff series last year, so the atmosphere at the arena tonight should be a great one. The Mavericks need to play like their playoff lives depend on it….because in a sense, they very well might.

Less than two hours to tipoff and I can’t wait for the game to start.

Tick, tock, tick tock.