How much do the Mavs miss Devin Harris?

Jeff Caplan has a great lead story on the dismal Mavs loss to the Pistons today that runs in tomorrow's Star-Telegram. It focuses on how the Mavs have lost two in a row without Devin Harris and don't play near as well without him. Here are a few things to bolster that argument:

The stats don't lie
The Mavs have played 46 games this season. 39 have been with Harris, seven have been without. They are 3-4 without him. Here's what the stats look like:

Stat	With Harris	Without Harris	% Different
Points per game	101.48	92.57	-8.7%
Assists per game	20.4	18.5	-9.3%
Field-goal %	47.1%	44.5%	-5.5%
Steals per game	6.3	3.8	-39.6%
Efficiency Rating	117	103	-11.9%

Looking at +/- and in-game win percentage
Nobody is saying that Devin Harris is a better player than Dirk Nowitzki or Josh Howard. They are the two best players on the team. But the Mavs are still incredibly dependent upon him. It should also be noted that his +/- numbers on the season rank third on the team behind Dirk and Josh, but that can be slightly misleading. A more important stat to focus on would be that the Mavs outscore their opponents more often when Harris is on the floor than any other player on the team.

His absence cuts into Dirk's production
Dirk Nowitzki is decidedly worse in games that Devin Harris doesn't play. You'd like to think that Dirk steps it up with one of his main guys gone, but the absence of the supposed "non-distributing point guard"  brings Dirk down considerably. A look at the stats that a point guard's absence would make the most difference in:

Stat	Dirk w/Harris	Dirk w/out Harris	% Different
Points per game	22.9	19	-17%
Field-goal %	48.8%	42.4%	-13.1%
Efficiency Rating	25.4	22.2	-12.5%

-Scooter Hendon, Hoops Nerd