Got an extra minute?

[dirt_dobber]

Got an extra minute?
Dallas Mavericks' coach could use a few
With a deep bench, finding enough playing time for everybody is tough for Dallas Mavericks' Johnson
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...e.3424413.html
By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News

If the Mavericks' season were a jet ride, this would be the time when the captain comes on and tells you to fasten your seat belt and hold on for some choppy air.

Get your white knuckles ready. This is going to get tense.

That's the inevitable reality in the two weeks before the trading deadline. But it's not just the looming trade cutoff date that will prey on nerves. When you have a deep team, as the Mavericks do, players are on pins and needles about playing time, and it's only human to worry about one's worth.

With a half-dozen players who fit into the small forward/big guard roles, somebody is always going to be peeved. And it doesn't help that the grand plan to reduce the minutes of Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard has not happened. Both are averaging nearly 37 minutes per game, which is more than they logged last season.

But with less time to go around, the key, according to one of the Mavericks' captains, is not letting personal dissatisfaction worm its way into the team-first reach for the greater good.

"It's tough," Nowitzki said. "Sometimes I can understand the frustration. They're all good players. They've had big roles on good teams before. They're competitors. They want to play. So I understand.

"But on good teams, you just have to make that sacrifice and stay ready. When your number is called, give it your all. Sometimes it's tough. People get down a little on themselves and on the coach. But on a good team, you can't have that too much."

If you do, it's sure to cause problems somewhere down the line.

So far, the Mavericks have walked that fine line quite well. Trenton Hassell and Devean George are wily veterans who want to play more, but for the most part, have not been a distraction to the team. The same goes for Juwan Howard, Eddie Jones, J.J. Barea and Moe Ager, all of whom know that it's Avery Johnson's job to make decisions about playing time based on what he thinks is right for the Mavericks.

With a 32-15 record, it's hard to argue about the results. This stretch also is one that helps make the regular season interesting.

The overlying fact is that the Mavericks' season will be based on what happens in the playoffs. But players earn their reputation with their play in the regular season, although often their payoff in future contracts comes from what they do in the playoffs.

"A lot of it in this league is what have you done for me lately?" said George, who played a season-high 25 minutes in Monday's win at Orlando. "Things have a way of changing in a hurry."

That sort of attitude is what kept him afloat during a lost first half of the season.

Now, with Jerry Stackhouse close to coming back from a hamstring problem, Johnson again will have to work on rotations and doling out playing time – all with an eye on the primary goal of having his team at its best in April.

"We've been trying to tweak, but tweaks work when guys play well," Johnson said. "If you tweak it and put a guy in there and his job is to rebound or make shots or run the team, it all looks better when the guys play well. We got to just make sure we put them in the right position and give them a lot of confidence.

"We have some guys who haven't been playing that are hoping they have more time to play; now is their time. So we need them to come through for us."

Sticking with Barea? Based on Monday's showing in Orlando, J.J. Barea might be the best option to start at point guard, which allows Jason Terry to continue coming off the bench.

Barea made his first start since mid-November and got the team off to a solid start in the first quarter. The Mavs never trailed.

"We were in the lab," Johnson said as he got Terry back into his sixth-man role. "I wanted to try to keep Jet in the same spot he's been in. And I thought J.J. was solid. He ran the ballclub at the start of the game very well."

Barea played 20 minutes and finished with three points (all on free throws), four assists and four rebounds.

"He's one of the best passers we have on the team," Nowitzki said. "Offensively, we trust him 100 percent with the ball. Sometimes defensively, he's a liability because he's small. But what's great about him is he's always battling. He's always trying to stay in front of his man."

Briefly: Rookie Nick Fazekas has been chosen to play in the D-League All-Star Game on Feb. 16 in New Orleans.

[dude1394]

JJB did the one thing Jason just can't do consistently and that is push the ball, it's just not in his dna.

I think the Devean George use/misuse has been the worst this year. He was a big part of what we did last year and I sure haven't seen eddie/trenton beat him out.