<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> It was obvious last season that Erick Dampier was not carrying his share of the load for the Mavericks. Coach Avery Johnson knew it better than anybody. And he had Dampier's ineffectiveness chronicled more than anybody knew. "We have this rating that we keep, and he was rated in the 100s last year with this particular rating," Johnson said. "It takes a lot of things into account. It's not a flawless rating. But it's something we use as a tool. Out of the 400 players in the NBA, he was in the high 100s. "Now, he's in the top 50. It shows the progression of what he means [to us]. Consequently, we've played some decent basketball." Dampier's resurgence coincided with Johnson sending him to the second unit 17 games ago. When he made that move, the coach said he expected the 6-11 center to be a beast off the bench. Dampier has averaged more than nine rebounds per game since going to the bench. And he's done so in 22 minutes per game. That average per 48 minutes would be at the top of the league. Ergo, his jump in Johnson's ratings system. </div> Source
