[MavsFanFinley]

It's early, but Mavs' pieces fit nicely

By Randy Galloway
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

A year ago, as the NBA season was opening, the Mavericks were up to their A's in Antoine and Antawn.

The front-office brain trust had acquired high-profile pieces, none of whom seems to be a local fit.

As feared, by playoff time in April, that team became alphabet soup.

What followed was a strange and negative summer.

Shaq-mania came and went. Shaq never came. Steve Nash just up and went.

The good-time, good-vibe Mavericks slipped as the local darlings.

Trades also were made in the off-season that smacked of either panic or dart-throwing. Half the team turned over, including both A's.

One deal, however, did make sense.

The Mavs overpaid (financially) in acquiring Erick Dampier, but he is a center. If you've been paying attention over the past 25 years, maybe you noticed this was an area of need.

Out West, those who had followed Dampier as a longtime member of the Golden State Warriors, openly laughed at such folly. The loss of Dampier didn't seem to faze them.

Oh, well ...

A bigger worry appeared to be the point guard replacement for Nash.

When veteran Jason Terry was beaten out by rookie Devin Harris, it was red-flagged. Don Nelson is not a fan of rookie point guards.

So with all this as the backdrop, the Mavericks' season has opened with two impressive wins, and Memphis is coming up Saturday night at the downtown Dallas arena.

In both wins, quality depth surfaced. More important, a team concept was obvious. Ball-hogging was nonexistent.

Terry, coming off the bench, has played well in the backcourt (damn, he's fast).

All the newcomers, each with their question marks, have made an immediate contribution.

Jerry Stackhouse? Good attitude so far. And a solid game, too. Based on reputation, I wouldn't have given you two dead rats for the Mavs making that summertime move. At the moment, however, Stackhouse has moved up to wait-and-see status, as opposed to the initial reaction of worthless.

The obvious goal is fitting a collection of role-playing talent around Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Finley, and the very early returns seem to suggest the Mavericks might have done that.

Dampier, however, is the key to this, and when he disappeared in the first half Wednesday night against New Orleans, you had to wonder. But he was a factor in the opener (a win over Sacramento), so thus far there has at least been a split decision.

Right now, the Mavericks have two excellent players in Dirk and Michael. But the rest of the cast has been dismissed, at least nationally, and therefore this is a team not highly regarded as a Western Conference contender.

Take a closer look, however, at the once potent West.

With Shaq gone from LA, the conference hasn't been this wide open in years.

The Spurs are the class, and the Lakers are dead. After that, it's a jumble.

Minnesota is worried about internal problems. Latrell Sprewell is mouthing off about his contract. He's always been a team-wrecker waiting to happen.

Sacramento has Peja Stojakovic publicly asking for a trade, and he appeared to be one unhappy dude on the court here the other night. Chris Webber, who publicly ripped Peja over the summer, might have become the Kings' cancer.

Teams such as Memphis, Denver, Houston and Phoenix were ranked higher than the Mavs going into the season.

But the Grizzlies were awful in their opener at Washington, and Houston is 0-2 with Tracy McGrady. Yao Ming has taken 18 shots in two games, suggesting there is no one concerned about getting the ball to the big fellow.

Again, these are merely early returns.

But in the NBA, you win with stars and a collection of attitude-friendly role players.

The Mavericks have given us a glimpse of both thus far.

This might be better than some of us thought.

Maybe the summer wasn't so bad after all.


Mavericks Notes
Rookie learns a lesson in time

By Art Garcia
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

Mavericks point guard Devin Harris is going to have games like Wednesday night's nine-minute stint at New Orleans. The key for the rookie is to learn something during those 39 minutes on the sideline.

Harris had enough time to study backup Jason Terry, one of the standout contributors for the Mavs in their 106-91 victory over the Hornets.

"I had a good conversation on the bench with a lot of guys," said Harris, who finished with two points and one assist. "I learned a lot, especially in a game like that, watching Jason. I got some good info from [Michael Finley] and [Jerry Stackhouse] about what to do in certain situations. I'll use it as a learning experience."

After logging 30 minutes in his professional debut Tuesday against Sacramento, Harris hit the bench at the 7:47 mark of the first period and sat for the remainder of the half. He played the first five minutes of the third quarter before giving way to Terry again.

Harris, with eight points and seven assists Tuesday night, did an admirable job controlling the offensive tempo in the win over the Kings. But his early indecisiveness against New Orleans led to the quick hook.

"For whatever reason, I didn't like the feel of him in charge early," Mavs coach Don Nelson said. "He's going to go through these things."

Terry justified the switch by accelerating the pace and disrupting the Hornets' offense. The sixth-year player scored 18 points and had five assists and four steals.

"He pushed the ball up like I want Harris to," Nelson said. "The kid has to understand that [and] has to see the difference. He was better in the second half when I put him in, but Terry had it going, so I wasn't going to stay very long [with Harris]."

Nelson's decision to play Terry extensively worked out well for the former Atlanta Hawk. The Hornets are new to the Western Conference this season, but Terry had plenty of experience competing against them in the East.

"It's a situation where I'm very comfortable in New Orleans," he said. "I know their personnel. I know what they don't do. They've beaten me so many times in the past that I knew what to expect."

At one point in the second quarter, Terry shared this thought with Hornets star point guard Baron Davis: "I've been playing against you for five years with no help. Watch out now."

Road reversal

After getting drubbed in Los Angeles by the Lakers to start last season, life on the road didn't get much better for the Mavs. They finished 16-25 away from American Airlines Center, ending a string of three consecutive winning seasons on the road.

In each of those three seasons, the Mavs opened their road schedule with a victory. Winning Wednesday at New Orleans doesn't guarantee a successful road campaign, but it beats the alternative.

"We wanted to make sure that we set a tone right away," Dirk Nowitzki said. "It's great to be a good home team, but we've got to be a good road team if we want to go somewhere in the playoffs. We need teams to fear us, even when we come to their place."

Briefly

• With the Mavs not playing again until Saturday at home against Memphis, coach Don Nelson gave the team Thursday off, but several players stopped by American Airlines Center for treatment and individual workouts.

• The Mavs are 2-0 for the fourth time in the past five seasons. Overall, the franchise has won its first two games only five times in 25 seasons.