Full-Court Press

6A and 6B

When asked if Jason Terry is the Sixth Man, what does that make Jerry Stackhouse, who played that role the past three seasons, coach Avery Johnson said: "6A and 6B."

Johnson went on to stay that he hopes by having Jet and Stack coming off the bench that it will bolster bench production which Johnson said he felt slipped considerably last season. He said he felt he had to overextend his starters last season, which, in part, led to the problems late in the season and the first-round upset.

-- Jeff Caplan

Howard visits the doctor

Josh Howard was scheduled to have the cast on his sprained left wrist removed today. Coach Avery Johnson said if the report from the team doctor is positive, Howard could be back to practice in full swing Tuesday.

He remains suspended for the first two games, but as long as he's healthy, he plans to be in the starting lineup on Saturday in the home opener against the Kings.

-- Jeff Caplan

Dirk on TNT

Dirk Nowitzki will make a live appearnance in the TNT studio Thursday night to talk about the upcoming season with studio host Ernie Johnson and analysts Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith.

The NBA’s reigning MVP will be on at halftime of the first game of the network’s doubleheader. The Mavs will be in Atlanta that night before playing the Hawks on Friday.

-- Jeff Caplan

Bet you can't beat this one

OK, it's not totally Mavericks related, but fellow S-T writer Jeff Caplan and I are currently involved in an online fantasy basketball draft. One of our teams is owned by Ian Whittell, who formerly worked for the Daily Star in London. Whittell is now a free lance writer who covers sports all over Europe and makes several trips a year to the U.S. for events like the NBA All-Star game and the Finals.

As we pick, Whittell is at Wembley stadium in London and he is making his picks while covering the Giants-Dolphins game. It is the first time in the recorded history of fantasy sports that a Brit is drafting a fantasy basketball team while covering American football. Whittell files this dispatch and notes that he is covering:

"An American football game in which the first points have just been kicked by a placekicker born in Scotland [Lawrence Tynes]. Eat your heart out David Stern. THAT'S what I call globalization.

"(And if you blogging about it, please note we Brits spent $2 billion on a football stadium without a roof in a country where it always rains, so I am drafting/writing with the wind blowing a steady drizzle all over the press box.)"

Whittell is an unabashed backer of outstanding British basketball, which believe it or not, is not an oxymoron. Anyone connected with the British empire will surely be on his team. First pick -- Steve Nash, native of South Africa. Second pick, Luol Deng, Dinka tribesman and anchor of the British national team that will compete in the 2012 Olympics.

-- Jan Hubbard

The Donald loves Mark

During the "Dancing with the Stars" competition, Mark Cuban was asked a question about Donald Trump and he responded quickly with "I hate Donald Trump."

Well . . . OK. The two are fond of tossing barbs at each other. In fact, if you google Mark Cuban and Donald Trump, you'll see headlines like:

"Mark Cuban slams Donald Trump."

"Donald Trump calls Mark Cuban a loser."

"Trump the Chump."

But guess what? The Donald had praise for Cuban's recent efforts on the dancing show. Apparently he is big enough -- at least this time -- to give credit where credit is due.

-- Jan Hubbard

"Delayed takeoff"

Jason Terry has taken his move to the bench as well as anyone could have hoped. He continues to preach he's all about team and it's hard not to believe him.

When asked Friday about coming off the bench now that the move is official he responded in classic Jet fashion:

"Little delayed takeoff, but the Jet is still on the runway. Just a little holding pattern, but we'll be all right. I think that energy I'll be able to provide off the bench, seeing the flow of the game, you know I'm a good, solid veteran. I'm ready to start, come off the bench, whatever it takes for this team to be successful I'm there to fill that role. It takes me back to my college days where I was coming off the bench, best sixth man in the country, so I don't want to change anything."

-- Jeff Caplan

Speedy Harris

Devin Harris has been granted freedom from Avery Johnson to push the tempo as much as he can. Avery knows Devin's speed makes him dangerous in the open floor, so he's given him the green light, and that feeds Devin's confidence.

"That's when we're at our best. We've got a lot of athletic guys who can run -- not as fast as me -- but they definitely get up there just as quick as I can and it definitely plays to our advantage."

-- Jeff Caplan

Dirk at TMS

"Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!" Dirk Nowitzki will be practices those lines over the next week. He's serving as the Grand Marshall for the Dickies 500 NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway on Nov. 4.

Jason Terry asked: "Will he be saying it in German?"

-- Jeff Caplan

D. Harris to sign autographs

The Mavs point guard will be at the Arlington Academy Sports & Outdoors store across from the Parks mall on Monday from 6-7 p.m. While you're there be sure to register for the Countdown to Tipoff Sweepstakes sponsored by Academy.

-- Jeff Caplan

Well, who knows?

It probably qualifies as a silly yet necessary question. As the Mavericks prepare for the regular season opener Wednesday in Cleveland, Avery Johnson was asked what he expected this season.

What are you supposed to say to that? Johnson thought about it and noted that: "I never expected us to start off 0-4 last year."

The Mavericks did, but recovered quite nicely until the playoffs, obviously. But this season, Johnson is stressing two areas -- less playing time for some of the regulars in hopes of keeping them fresh. And playing a more physical game. Thus far, he's happy.

"I expect us to play some pretty decent basketball," he said, finally answering the question. " When we get ot the point where we’re healthy and whole, I expect us to go out and compete every night and play tough minded basketball, try to win the rebound game, and just play physical."

-- Jan Hubbard