[HexNBA]

Mavericks: Dallas is a point guard away from being in position to win an NBA title this year. I'll give Mavs fans a second to savor the irony.

Mark Cuban has to be kicking himself as he watches Nash put up MVP numbers in Phoenix. Put all the actuarial tables aside for a minute: There was something that Nash brought to the table that formulas don't take into account. Cuban blew it, and he knows it.

While Cuban spent most of the summer obsessing over the team's lack of a big man, teams like the Suns were fine-tuning a style of play (one employed less radically by Don Nelson over the years) that maximized Nash's ability and let the Suns take advantage of the growing weakness of the Western Conference's front lines.

Cuban spent nearly the same amount of money on Dampier that he refused to pay Nash. Dampier is just one year younger and has so far been a major disappointment for the Mavs, averaging 8.7 ppg and 7.4 rpg.

The silver lining is that the Mavs are winning despite Cuban's bumbling. Dirk Nowitzki is having a career year (and, in a bit of revisionist history, the Mavs are claiming that he's playing at this level because he no longer has Nash to lean on. … yeah, right). Reserve Jerry Stackhouse is a strong contender for the Sixth Man honor. Second-year forward Josh Howard has been great, and Terry, Nash's replacement, has been on a tear in January, averaging 16.6 ppg and 6.1 apg while shooting more than 60 percent from the field and the three-point line.

Despite Terry's recent production, the Mavs are still looking to upgrade the point guard position. The Mavs believe Terry is better as a sixth man, a Nick Van Exel-esque scorer. Rookie Devin Harris will be the eventual heir to the position, but he isn't ready yet. While Cuban claims he no longer has interest in Jason Kidd, that isn't entirely true, according to sources close to Kidd. Other point guards on the block that the Mavs might consider include Gary Payton and Andre Miller.

Andre Miller, what?