Dampier learns Cuban is a good listener

[MavsFanFinley]

Dampier learns Cuban is a good listener

By Art Garcia
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

For someone who seems to hide his emotions, it was obvious something was bothering Erick Dampier.

The Mavericks were just blown out in Atlanta on Dec. 22 and Dampier wasn't a factor against the lowly Hawks. He played 29 listless minutes, totaling more fouls (five) than points (four).

Dampier was down. He was frustrated. He knew he could do more. He knew he should be doing more.

The Mavs had a couple of days off, an unofficial Christmas break, before getting back to the grind. Dampier left Atlanta for New Hebron, Miss., where he was donating more than $13,000 worth of clothes and toys to children at his hometown church.

But he wasn't thinking about making someone else's Christmas. He was thinking about the game against the Hawks. He had 410 miles ahead just to stew.

During the drive, the phone rang. Mavs owner Mark Cuban picked up on Dampier's body language during and after the 113-100 loss, and offered to lend an ear. They made a point to talk again on Christmas, the day the Mavs resumed practice.

So what happened during their heart-to-heart talks? Nothing earth-shattering. But nothing to disregard either.

Sometimes just having someone to listen is help enough.

"We just talked," Dampier said recently. "A general conversation about the game and my performance, and what I'm capable of doing.

"We just talked about the way I'm playing. Regardless of what happens, go out and play hard whenever you're on the floor. Try to get the team whatever you can."

Cuban talks to players all the time, whether it's about basketball or finances or the latest technological doodads. Reaching out to Dampier, Cuban insisted, wasn't out of the ordinary. Though it did offer some insight.

"Now that I talked to him personally, I understand him better," Cuban said. "He wouldn't take the time to talk to me if he didn't care.

"It's a hard adjustment changing companies no matter what business you're in. I just wanted to give Damp some support. I'm just someone to talk things out with. He knows I can't control minutes or anything like that."

Understanding who Dampier is and what he can be hasn't been easy 2 1/2 months into his Mavs career. Dampier has shown flashes of being the center the Mavs envisioned when they decided to fork over potentially more than $70 million over seven years in a sign-and-trade deal with Golden State.

Dampier looks par the of a dominating center at 6-foot-11 and 265 pounds, though he owns career averages of less than nine points and eight rebounds per game. He has yet to consistently resemble the player who was good for a dozen points and a dozen rebounds last season with the Warriors.

"We want these guys to be microwaved," said assistant Avery Johnson, a key voice in signing Dampier. "They have to be ovened. Slow-ovened. It's going to take some time. Damp needs some time. I think he's getting some of the things that [coach Don Nelson] needs him to do. He's not all the way there. If you're giving him a grade, we'd give him a C-plus. The effort is there. He's trying."

There's no doubting that. Dampier is in the gym the hours before practice watching film and working on his game. He's often back at midnight to shoot hundreds of free throws.

He's a long way from being satisfied.

"Of course there have been periods where I've been frustrated," said Dampier, who is averaging 8.9 points and 7.4 rebounds this season. "I'm capable of playing a lot better than I've shown. I know this is my first season with this team, first season with the guys. I'm just trying to get comfortable on the floor and comfortable in the offense.

"I'm sure as we continue to practice and play, I'm going to feel better with the way things are going. Things have been pretty good for me the last couple games. The guys have been looking for me. I've been doing the work to position myself to score whenever I touch it."

The Mavs (22-10) are looking to win their season-high sixth game in a row -- all since the Atlanta loss -- tonight against Houston at American Airlines Center. Perhaps not so coincidentally, Dampier has stepped up his production during the winning streak.

He has averaged 13.6 points and 7.2 rebounds, and shot 73 percent from the floor (27-of-37) over the past five games. He's been particularly effective in the paint, with the majority of his baskets coming off dunks and layups.

Dampier admitted to Cuban that it's sometimes hard to get into the game if he's not getting touches offensively. That has proved tricky for a team with Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Finley, Jerry Stackhouse, Jason Terry and other scorers.

It has also proved frustrating for the coaching staff and teammates to watch Dampier coast at times on the floor. Finley called it "floating."

"As a teammate, you're going to have to push him," said Finley, a team captain. "Everybody needs a little push every once in a while. I just have to find the right way to push him. Some people get motivated by criticism. Some people get motivated by patting them on the back. I just have to figure out the right way to do it with him. We'll figure it out."

Not knowing exactly how to motivate him is partially attributed to Dampier's stoic demeanor. He's not demonstrative. He doesn't bark at officials after a bad call or pound his chest after a basket-rattling slam.

He's a tough read.

"You want guys to sometimes show you by their body language that they care," Johnson said. "He cares. He doesn't show it all the time. I don't want him to withdraw even more. We want him to come out of that a little more, because sometimes we need to see it.

"We talk about double-double, but every night is not going to be 14 [points] and 12 [rebounds]. We just want him to have a presence."

His contract -- Dampier is guaranteed $73 million if he hits certain incentives the first six seasons -- is an easy target for critics. Dampier isn't naive about that.

With Shaquille O'Neal in Miami, Dampier figured to be one of the top centers in the Western Conference, along with Yao Ming. The Mavs rewarded their last "answer" at center with a $70 million deal before the 2002-03 season. Raef LaFrentz was shipped to Boston a year later.

"You're always going to think about it," Dampier said of his contract. "I was coming from a team that wasn't in the playoffs to a team that will be in the playoffs. There are so many good players. I'm just an addition. Obviously, we have guys that can put the ball in the basket and guys that can rebound.

"Playing with the Warriors, I was accustomed to getting a double-double every night. With this team, it can be any one of us any night. While I'm out there on the floor, I'm going to do whatever I can. Whether it's playing defense, whether it's scoring some nights or blocking shots, just try to help this team. If we win, it doesn't matter who has a double-double. The most important thing at the end of the night is getting a win."

It makes for a better drive.

[madape]

Patience is a skill I never associated with Mark Cuban. I'm glad he's listening patiently to Dampier's long winded toils of frustration. Better him than me. I think if I ever had to listen to Dampier talk on and on about how "he knows how much better he is", I think my head might explode.

Here's to hoping that patience wins out, and that the Mavericks "figure out" how to motivate Dampier. They'll need more than patience, though. The only time this guy has ever played anything close to motivated basketball was in a contract year. Thanks to the gullible Cuban, he won't have another one of those until the year 2011.

[XERXES]

2 thoughts:

1) Cuban has always seemed Jerry Jones-esque to me...but I was glad to see him say that "he couldn't control his minutes.

2) I'm glad Dampier takes it personally when he plays poorly - especially in light of the huge contract he just signed. That speaks volumes about his character.

[kg_veteran]

I'm glad Dampier takes it personally when he plays poorly - especially in light of the huge contract he just signed. That speaks volumes about his character.

Exactly. Contrary to what our good friend ape suggests, the man really wants to play well and contribute to this team. He's not just here for a paycheck.

[TripleDipping]

Talks become cheap over the course of time. For now it's a good sign that Dampier is taking it upon himself to play better.

[EricaLubarsky]

The first half of the season was the story of gelling and finding a point, with the suprising sub-plots of Howard, Henderson and Terry emerging. The second half will be the story of tightening the team and the sub-plots may very well be the re-emergence of Dampier, Daniels, Harris and Armstrong.

We all know that Dampier can be dominant. He might not average 2.29 blocks in only 24mpg again, but if he comes out strong and the team learns to maximize his impact, then he could be a very nice surprise boost for this team.

[rakesh.s]

Originally posted by: MavsFanFinley
Dampier learns Cuban is a good listener

Dampier admitted to Cuban that it's sometimes hard to get into the game if he's not getting touches offensively.

Thank you very much..

Drive home safely.