Jerry Stackhouse didn't intentionally play the straight man Saturday, but when put into the position, he did a nice job. After the Mavericks' 97-84 victory over Atlanta, a radio guy noted that Erick Dampier, who had his first double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds, was on a roll in the first half.
So Stackhouse was asked if the Mavericks looked to get Dampier the ball when he's on a roll. Stackhouse paused and said dryly:
"No."
Everyone laughed.
Stackhouse went on to say that it was great to see Dampier get a few shots and get rewarded for the blue collar work that he does in setting screens and getting rebounds. But with a roomful of skilled offensive players -- Dirk, J. Terry, Stack, Josh, Devin and even Eddie Jones, who has been an excellent scorer throughout his career -- the offense is not designed to go to Dampier.
And Dampier knows it.
"On the offensive end, I know I’m not going to et the ball a lot,” Dampier said. “But whenever I get that chance, I’m just trying to be a presence on that end of the court.”
-- Jan Hubbard
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