Mavs' George working his way back

[kriD]

Mavs' George working his way back

09:18 PM CDT on Tuesday, April 10, 2007
By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News
esefko@dallasnews.com

MINNEAPOLIS – For Devean George, the final five games of the season won't be spent taking time to recuperate from aches and pains.

That's already been done.

For a month, save for a couple days when he tried to come back too quickly, George sat out to allow his right knee to recover from a sprained ligament. He's been back for eight games, but only recently has he started to look like the solid player he was before he went down on Feb. 13.

George said he's feeling much better now and the knee, while still getting treatment after games, no longer is holding him back from being his best.

"My role is to try to be all over the place, knock down shots if I'm open, but to get deflections defensively and try to disrupt their offense," George said. "And I'm just getting into my groove.

"We got five games left, so some guys are going to rest up and some are going to be getting in their rhythm. It's not like I can come out there, get a few plays called for me, see a couple shots drop and get back into the rhythm that way. It just takes time."

George has started the last four games and has averaged 7.3 points and 6.5 rebounds in 29.5 minutes. It's encouraging because he's shown more mobility and explosion lately.

Dampier sits again: For the second time in six games, Erick Dampier will rest his ailing right shoulder, and he said he's not averse to sitting out the rest of the regular season if it means being his healthiest for the playoffs.

"If I had to, yeah," he said. "The rest will definitely help."

Dampier, whose MRI on Tuesday came back negative, added he hopes to play as many games as possible down the stretch, if for no other reason than to help make life tough for teams that need wins to secure playoff spots or seedings.

View from the top: The Mavericks are taking enjoyment in watching teams below them in the standings fight it out for playoff positions, including the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference. That will be the team they meet in the first round.

"Obviously, those three teams are really in a dogfight for those last two spots," said Austin Croshere of the Lakers, Clippers and Warriors. "Fortunately, we're in a situation knowing we're going to have the No. 1 seed. I've been in that situation where you're fighting for that eighth spot. It's a lot more fun knowing you have the best record throughout the playoffs."

Croshere had back spasms Monday, which was why he was limited to eight minutes in a victory over the Clippers. He was feeling better Tuesday.

A fine mess: Mavericks coach Avery Johnson is adamant going into the playoffs that there will be no foolishness by his team this time around.

In other words, anybody who gets suspended for anything will be penalized further by the team.

"There can't be any suspensions this year," he said, recalling Jason Terry's punch to Michael Finley's groin, Jerry Stackhouse's hard foul on Shaquille O'Neal and D.J. Mbenga's sprint into the stands to aid Johnson's wife, Cassandra, at Phoenix.

"There will be a stiff price to pay," Johnson promised.

Popping up: Forward Pops Mensah-Bonsu has been recalled from the Fort Worth Flyers of the D-League. Mensah-Bonsu has played in nine games for the Mavericks and is averaging 1.7 points and 0.9 rebounds in 4.7 minutes per game.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Good to hear Avery is gonna come down on his players for being suspended. I wanna see Pops play 30 minutes versus Minnesota.

[Underdog]

Popping up: Forward Pops Mensah-Bonsu has been recalled from the Fort Worth Flyers of the D-League. Mensah-Bonsu has played in nine games for the Mavericks and is averaging 1.7 points and 0.9 rebounds in 4.7 minutes per game.

This should be good for his development - 5 games in junk season is just what he needs...