Mavs getting it coveredBy ART GARCIAStar-Telegram Staff WriterDALLAS -- On one of the walls inside Avery Johnson's office are the rosters of every team in the league. Every player name from each team is on a color-coded magnetic strip.Red signifies center, blue forward and green guard. A quick scan reveals that an awful lot of teams are lacking red magnets. And even fewer have quality names on those magnets.The Mavericks, for lack of a better phrase, aren't in the red when it comes to men in the middle."That's a good thing," DeSagana Diop said Tuesday after practice at American Airlines Center. "I hope nobody gets hurt, but we've got two other guys ready."Since Diop moved into the starting lineup 15 games ago, the center rotation has stabilized. The Mavs (40-11) are 14-1 in that stretch.Erick Dampier is playing his best basketball of the season, and Diop has given the team a solid defensive presence. Two more-than-serviceable centers would seem to be a bonus, especially considering the recent history of the franchise at that position.But after Johnson threw DJ Mbenga into the mix Monday against New York and the athletically gifted second-year reserve made an immediate impact, bonus could be on its way to luxury."They've proved already a lot how they can clog the paint for us and how they're active," Dirk Nowitzki said of the center trio.Nowitzki, perhaps more than anyone, appreciates their contributions. The Mavs went through their share of centers, from the perimeter-oriented (Raef LaFrentz) to the undersized (Danny Fortson) to the much-maligned (Shawn Bradley)."Defensively, that's probably the biggest adjustment, that we have somebody around the basket usually at all times," Nowitzki said. "When we used to play small with Nellie, [Eduardo Najera] was the five or I was the five and there was not really much protecting the paint or blocking shots there."Mbenga (7-0, 245) logged 15 quality minutes in the 100-72 rout of New York, checking into the game for Diop in the first and third quarters. A physical specimen who has made several eye-opening plays already this season, the native of Congo blocked a career-high five shots."I'm not surprised," Mbenga said. "I've got to be ready because you never know when they're going to call you. Everybody is very important on this team."Johnson had been looking for an opportunity to get Mbenga meaningful minutes as a reward for his hard work in practice.Mbenga's two-year contract expires after the season, and it's likely teams will come calling."Only thing I can do is keep working hard," Mbenga said. "It depends on what you want. This is one of the best situations because I'm on a nice team, but it's hard to play."In the future, you never know."BrieflyDevin Harris has decided to play for the sophomore team in Friday's T-Mobile Rookie Challenge during All-Star weekend. Harris thought about sitting out to rest leg and shoulder injuries.Mark Cuban reiterated his satisfaction with the roster. The trade deadline is Feb. 23.
