Full-Court Press

Avery on Damp: No comment

OK, so this was more tongue-in-cheek than anything, but Avery Johnson was a bit disappointed that center Erick Dampier didn't practice today because of a sore leg that Johnson said is minor and will not keep the big fella out Friday against Miami. Dampier said he thinks he bumped knees.

"I went to the dentist this morning and I have soreness, but I still practiced," the coach said. "So no comment about Damp." With Damp in earshot Johnson repeated loudly: "No comment about Damp."

Then Johnson used the opportunity to go back to last season's playoffs against Golden State when Johnson surprised everyone by changing his lineup and seemingly allowing the underdog Warriors to dictate his lineup. At the time, everyone knew Dampier had an injured right shoulder, but the Mavs never revealed how bad it was (he needed surgery in the offseason to repair a small tear in his rotator cuff and he missed the first six games of this season). So, again, at the time, Dampier's injury was not thought to be why Johnson was sitting his starting center."

"People wonder why I, quote-unquote, didn't use him in the playoffs," Johnson said. "He had a shoulder that required surgery, he really could not perform, so because of that we were left with one center trying to scramble with what we're going to do. So now you can see when Damp is able to play and he's able to play at a high level, when we get that consistently we're a pretty good team."

Revisionist history? Who knows. Obviously Dampier's shoulder was not in good shape. But did Johnson know how bad it was at the time?

As for Johnson's trip to the dentist Thursday morning? His dentist says he's grinding his teeth: "Turnovers will do that to you," Johnson quipped.

-- Jeff Caplan

Would you please take a look around the locker room?

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

Maverick nemesis kind of quiet

Well this is remarkable. Erick Dampier has been a pin cushion for Amare Stoudemire the last few years. Who can forget Stoudemire's line in the 2005 playoff series won by the Suns:

-- 34.6 points, 15 rebounds and .545 from the field.

But tonight, he's been terrific. He outscored Stoudemire 8-0 in the first quarter and Amare was only 1-of-8 in the first half. The Mavericks are up 98-86 with less than five minutes left in the fourth quarter and Dampier is at least one of the reasons why.

-- Jan Hubbard

Dirk doing well in All-Star voting.

And Josh Howard is not doing badly, either. Here are the first returns and, yes, it helps the Dallas players that Kevin Garnett has gone East. I've listed the top five players at each position and a few extra to cover the Mavericks in the West.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Forwards

Carmelo Anthony (Den) 482,127
Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) 443,117
Tim Duncan (SA) 423,608
Carlos Boozer (Utah) 175,248
Shawn Marion (Pho) 154,641
Josh Howard (Dal) 146,909
Kevin Durant (Sea) 113,314

Guards

Kobe Bryant (LAL) 569,302
Tracy McGrady (Hou) 388,959
Steve Nash (Pho) 317,091
Allen Iverson (Den) 292,565
Manu Ginobili (SA) 141,891
Jason Terry (Dal) 121,397
Tony Parker (SA) 117,881
Chris Paul (NO) 110,688
Jerry Stackhouse (Dal) 103,307
Baron Davis (GS) 100,422.

Centers

Yao Ming (Hou) 439,125
Amaré Stoudemire (Pho) 286,401
Erick Dampier (Dal) 101,878
Marcus Camby (Den) 94,473
Pau Gasol (Mem) 73,461

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Forwards

Kevin Garnett (Bos) 735,664
LeBron James (Clev) 597,768
Chris Bosh (185,294)
Paul Pierce (Bos) 164,346
Yi Jianlian (Mil) 98,507

Guards

Dwyane Wade (Mia) 470,921
Jason Kidd (NJ) 343,468
Vince Carter (NJ) 277,705
Ray Allen (Bos) 270,114
Gilbert Arenas (Wash)) 256,994;

Centers

Dwight Howard (Orl) 596,187
Shaquille O'Neal (Mia) 282,727
Rasheed Wallace (Det) 69,331
Ben Wallace (Chi) 68,871
Jermaine O'Neal (Ind) 53,107

Halftime notes

• Josh Howard is once again the halftime MVP. If he can match his second-half performances with his first halves, he'll be an unstoppable force. Maybe he doesn't need to get out of rhythm in the locker room between games. Has a player ever run shooting drills on the practice court during halftime? I can't tell you how many times we've seen Josh start with around 20 points in the first half and finish with 26.
• The Jazz are currently second in the NBA in assists, but the Mavs outdid them at their own game in the first half. The Mavs have 14 and the Jazz have 11. Utah averages almost 27 a game and the Mavs only average 20. Devin Harris is doing a good job on both ends of the floor, and thus the teams have swapped spots on their normal success points. Devin has 7 assists.
• It's becoming tired to say so, but the Mavs did much better at the free-throw line than their opponent. They finished the half 7-8 while the Jazz were 7-13 from the line.
• The Mavs continue to have trouble with post players. Carlos Boozer is an uncontained force down low right now, and Erick Dampier can't seem to anything about it. Gana Diop got limited minutes and couldn't do much either. Boozer finished the half with 16 points on 7 of 10 shooting. This is starting to become a trend. Maybe Damp has lost a step defensively or the shoulder is holding him back, but he seemed a bit better equipped down low defensively than he is this season.

-Scooter Hendon

Take a break

With Friday's home game against Portland kicking off a back-to-back with a big intra-division matchup at New Orleans on Saturday, coach Avery Johnson sent his big-minute players home early on Thursday.

Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard, Devin Harris, Jerry Stackhouse, Jason Terry and Erick Dampier -- not DeSagana Diop -- left after film session while the other players went through a light shootaround and some running.

The back-to-back is already the fourth of the season and one of two coming up this week.

-- Jeff Caplan

Jet takes off early

Avery Johnson said after the morning practice that he had not been happy with the starting lineup this season, and he did something about it.

For the first time this season, Jason Terry and Erick Dampier were in the starting lineup.

One problem has been injuries. Eddie Jones is still out with a high ankle sprain and if Johnson had his way, Jones would be the starter. Jones is a good defender and three-point shooter and he is ideal in Johnson's system.

Avery said that he wanted to bring Terry off the bench all season, but it is a coach's prerogative to change his mind and Johnson did exactly that.

-- Jan Hubbard