Don't trash Mavs' garbage men

[kriD]

Don't trash Mavs' garbage men

When it comes to dirty work, Griffin and Diop have spotless reputation

By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News

Adrian Griffin learned that he was a grunt worker the hard way: from the sometimes-gruff, always-blunt media.

He was in the seventh grade. And his team was already under the microscope.

"I was the second-best player on the team," Griffin said Friday. "The No. 1 guy was an awesome offensive player. I scored just as much. But I got mine off of rebounds, putting them back in.

"Then one day in the newspaper, an article read that we were the perfect combo because he was the superstar and I was the garbage player. And when you're in the seventh grade, you don't understand that. I said, 'He said I was a garbage player.'

"Somebody had to explain to me what it meant. From then on, I was fine with it."

Now, people say it about Griffin all the time. Pick your favorite description. Grunt worker. Dirty-work specialist. Garbage man.

"That's my game," he said. "I do the dirty work. But somebody's got to do it."

The Mavericks are fortunate that they have two players in their starting lineup who qualify as grunt workers. Griffin and DeSagana Diop have been vital to the team's 43-11 record and their 13 consecutive home victories.

Oh, sure. You need your marquee talent, scorers who get the majority of attention when anybody analyzes your team.

But behind any fancy hood ornament or tricked-up engine, there's always a fuel pump or an oil filter silently, efficiently and relentlessly doing its job to make the whole thing rev a little higher.

That's Griffin and Diop.

These guys are the glue that hold together the scorers in the starting lineup. While Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard and Jason Terry have the green light to shoot and score at will, Diop and Griffin never get a play run for them by coach Avery Johnson.

Actually, that's not true.

"Avery called a play for me one time," Diop said. "It surprised me so much I kicked it to Dirk and he hit a 3.

"But I don't mind being that for my team. I'll do the dirty work as long as we get a W."

Selfless is the way to categorize both players. San Antonio has Bruce Bowen. For the Mavericks, Griffin and Diop are the players who can help without having to touch the ball all the time.

"We couldn't be where we are had we not gotten those guys," Johnson said. "There's so many little ways, detail things, things that don't show up on stat sheets. You need your stars. But their roles are very significant for our team."

In two games since the All-Star break, Griffin has averaged 10 points and seven rebounds. He's also had four steals.

Diop averages almost five blocks per 48 minutes, which ranks fourth in the NBA. And he's averaging 6.5 rebounds in two games since the break.

And about those plays that never come his way, Griffin has a theory.

"To me, [Johnson] runs a play for me every time he starts me," Griffin said. "A play to me is an offensive rebound or playing defense or making things happen. My play isn't to shoot a 3 or come off a screen and stop and pop."

A swagger at home? Not yet, Johnson cautioned. He believes the Mavs need to show more zip from the tip to become monsters at home, despite winning a franchise-best 13 in a row at American Airlines Center.

"I think we need to get off to better starts," Johnson said. "The last couple games, we kind of dug ourselves a hole. You can't just turn it on in the second half."

Wait and see: Josh Howard, who injured his right ankle when he stepped on teammate Keith Van Horn's ankle late in the first quarter against Memphis, is day to day. His status will be determined at game time. He did not practice Friday but was shooting free throws and walking without a trace of a limp.

"It's not as bad as the last one," Howard said, referring to the sprain that cost him eight games earlier in the season.

In addition, Jerry Stackhouse was given a day of rest Friday.

[alby]

Griff.. what a pickup

[orangedays]

The beauty of this is that, the better we get, the more these "garbage men" end up getting positive recognition for their contributions. As a result, team chemistry will improve and Dallas is going to be a more and more desirable place to play.