In fact I'm so glad I think I'll tell you

1 unit, have not been scoring with any kind of regularity (though both had points in the win of Tampa, so, there is hope).These are the guys that set up the passes, make the shots that lead to tip-ins and, usually, get a few lasers past the opposing keeper themselves.Even when they're doing what they need to from theblue-line, the guys down low haven't exactly made the most of their opportunities.Players pass when they should shoot, whiff on one-timers or just plain miss an open net with frustrating regularity.For most of the season, the five guys on the PP just haven't looked in sync (even the old faithful combo of Lidstrom, Rafalski, Holmstrom, Datsyuk and Zetterberg).With guys like Filppula, Zetterberg, Franzen, Kronwall and Cleary on the sidelines, delivering this gift isn't going to be easy, but an effectivepower-play in Detroit is sorely missed.I know it'll be tough guys, but, really, this is one of those need it more than want it type of gifts, for me and you!...four wins in a row, three solid periods of hockey every game, two defensemen scoring, and a dominating performance by Pavel Datsyuk!. So, here we are again. Round III of Rockets-Mavs, also known by many as Jason Terry's Third Favorite Day of the Year. In case you were wondering, the first two were the first two times the Mavericks play us No, not Christmas Not Thanksgiving Not Halloween. I know, I know, Jason Terry must be some sort of horrible, sinister man. And guess what His fourth favorite day of the year It's the fourth time he plays the Rockets Yeah, that's right.

And if you're thoroughly confused by my feeble attempts at a segue/introduction to an article, I'll stop by saying that the joke is that Terry lights up the Rockets And I mean really, really, lights up the Rockets. I could probably make a joke here about him lighting us up so badly we look like firecrackers, or something of that ilk, but I'll save you the anger and myself the embarrassment by moving on. The first two games of this series have been blowouts, with the Mavericks beating the Rockets by a combined 49 points In two games That's a lot of points. For all you fans of advanced stats, and pardon me if I'm wrong, I'm not exactly a mathematician, that's an average of 24.5 points a game. So what can everyone's favorite overachievers do to stop the bleeding I'm glad you asked, me from ten seconds ago.

In fact, I'm so glad, I think I'll tell you.We should start by putting Chuck Hayes/Carl Landry on Dirk Nowitzki. I know, I know, the idea that this guy is one of the most feared players in the league maddens me, but the sad truth is that the best way to stop the Mavericks is to slow down Dirk. As great of a defender as Scola is, I like the idea of putting the smaller, quicker Hayes and the more athletic Landry on Dirk. We saw in 2007 that smaller, more athletic players give Dirk troubles, and while the idea of banking on a strategy two years old when so many players have changed, grown or regressed is ludicrous, it's not like people have found any other way to defend Dirk successfully. Plus, what we've been doing against the Mavericks clearly hasn't been working, so there's no harm in switching things up a little, noWell, yes, there kind of is. He has an effective field goal percentage of 108.3 against us.