Avery Johnson spoke briefly with the team on Monday and decided to cancel practice. He didn’t feel they were in a situation where they needed another practice (clearly this is a coach Iverson would LOVE to play for). Johnson said. “We’ve been having drills and scrimmages since the first day of training camp and if you don’t have it by now, I don’t know if you’re going to have a CliffsNotes session and get it.

“I was just thinking about keeping the legs fresh and meeting on the plane.”

However, several of the players decided they wanted to practice anyway. It is very rare a players-only practice takes place, but a group of the Dallas Mavericks thought it was necessary for the preparation of Game Five tonight. The Mavericks are currently down three games to one against Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets.

Addressing the practice, Avery had this to say “… they decided they needed to go down on the court and do something. We’ll see what type of carryover it has.” And by carryover, he was referring to whether or not the players would have well-rested legs.

It was not reported that Josh Howard went home to smoke weed, but it’s a strong possibility. I’ll find out more, Chenkuye!!