Dampier is center of attention in Mavs' 1st preseason win

[Steve13]

By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News



If you want proof about Erick Dampier's importance to the Mavericks' future, look no further than the New York Knicks that visited Thursday night.



TONY GUTIERREZ/Associated Press
New York's Tim Thomas looks to pass against Dallas' Josh Howard. Thomas scored eight points in a losing cause. They started Vin Baker at center. Talk about a role reversal. A team starts a power forward at center, and it isn't the Mavericks.

The relatively quiet start to Dampier's Mavericks career ended when the Knicks arrived in town. He was a hot item before the game, when he said he was closer to being with New York than most people in Dallas realize. Then he had eight points and four rebounds in the first quarter alone – usually a full night's work for past Mavericks centers – as they rolled to a 112-74 victory over the Knicks, their first preseason win after three losses.

The Knicks could only lament finishing second in the derby for the former Golden State Warrior's free-agent services in the summer.

"Somewhat, yeah, it was [close]," Dampier said. "New York was probably the best deal for them [the Warriors], but after Isiah [Thomas] made the deal with Chicago [for Jamal Crawford], their deal [with Golden State] was kind of dead."

The Warriors didn't want what the Knicks were offering. And the Knicks didn't want to match the money the Mavericks were willing to spend.

And so, Dampier is a happy camper with the Mavericks. He finished Thursday with 14 points and eight rebounds. Typical was a play late in the third quarter, when he swept across the paint and muscled a shot over Baker while getting fouled. By then, the Mavericks were up by 30 points.

"We didn't have a dominant guy in the middle, and when one became available, we jumped all over it," said Don Nelson about the summertime poker game with the Knicks for Dampier. "We were aware of everything they were doing. How can you keep a secret in New York?"

Dampier helped anchor a solid defense that kept the Knicks to 30.9-percent shooting.

"Damp finished last season at Golden State with an injury and didn't play an ounce of basketball this summer," assistant coach Avery Johnson said. "Plus this is probably his eighth coach in six seasons. We're taking it slow, but he's coming along."

Mbenga shines: Backup center D.J. Mbenga keeps showing signs that he has a great future. He had eight points and five rebounds Thursday. He was particularly effective at running the floor.

"That's my game – run, run, run," the 7-foot Congan said. "My favorite players are Hakeem Olajuwon for offense and Dikembe Mutombo for defense. I try to play like both of them."

The Mavericks can only hope.

Still working: The Mavericks continue to seek a resolution to the injury situations with Evan Eschmeyer and Tariq Abdul-Wahad . Retirement is an option for both. Eschmeyer may be giving that possibility more consideration than Abdul-Wahad, who still harbors hopes of playing in the NBA. Any player who retires still gets paid by his former team. But he no longer counts against the salary cap.

Injury update: Dan Dickau sat out after spraining his left ankle in Thursday's shootaround. Jerry Stackhouse continues to nurse groin and hamstring problems. Marquis Daniels still isn't close to getting back on the practice court.

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