[HexNBA]

Big picture: Dampier not satisfied with his play, but others are

10:57 PM CST on Friday, November 5, 2004

By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News


Erick Dampier is thrilled to be 2-0. A lot of times in his first eight seasons in the NBA, his teams started out exactly opposite.

Sporadic would be a word Dampier would use to describe his play.

"I expect more out of myself than this," he said after he had 10 points and eight rebounds at New Orleans. "I haven't played my best yet, but it's early in the season."

While Dampier doesn't feel he's found a groove yet, his coaches have seen more positive moments. In fact, they have been encouraged by the aspects of the game that perhaps are lost on the casual fan.

"With him in there, I didn't have to double-team the post," coach Don Nelson said of Dampier's defense against Hornets All-Star Jamaal Magloire. "I think Damp is going to be better than what we've seen. Just the fact we have size and he's doing his job in there. Being bigger in the middle has definitely helped our defense."

Essentially, the play of Dampier in the post and Josh Howard on the wing has been the catalyst for the Mavericks' thus-far improved defense. Howard, in fact, has disrupted things so well that the Mavericks already are trying to sell him on focusing on trying to make the league's all-defensive team.

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The combination of Howard, Dampier and a quicker-than-average point guard (either Devin Harris or Jason Terry) has given the Mavericks a different look defensively.

That is, they can actually play some.

"His presence is huge," assistant coach Avery Johnson said of Dampier. "His numbers weren't great in New Orleans, but boy, he did some nice stuff."

Neither Dirk Nowitzki nor Michael Finley is ever going to win any awards for his defense. But they aren't inept at it, either. And after years of offensive-minded strategies, they know the value of defense.

"We're a lot more solid at that end now," Nowitzki said. "With Damp in the middle, we have the potential to be pretty good."

What the incoming Mavericks have done is embrace the idea of defending all areas of the court. Howard has been the catalyst.

"Absolutely," Johnson said. "If you look at the first two games, obviously, it's only two games. But you can see signs that we've made improvement. Because of Josh's approach to defense and because of Damp's commitment to defense and because we have a point guard who is really quick, we've made strides.

"But a lot of it comes from what Josh is doing, because you can put him on a lot of different players and he covers up a lot of mistakes."

The Mavericks have not allowed either of their opponents to shoot 42 percent. Of course, Sacramento was in disarray without Doug Christie and with Chris Webber and Peja Stojakovic sniping at each other. And New Orleans may be a lottery team.

Still, the defense is better, and Dampier has also added an ancillary benefit.

"The big boy is getting double-teamed on the box offensively," Johnson said.

And when was the last time that's happened to a Mavericks center?