<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Mavs get a taste of added gritDENTON ? It took Anthony Johnson exactly one fool's-gold season in the NBA to realize he was not a natural-born superstar. As a rookie with the Sacramento Kings, circumstances forced the second-round draft pick into the starting lineup for 62 games. He responded by accumulating 7.5 points and 4.3 assists per game ? and a false sense of security. It would be seven seasons before he would surpass his rookie numbers. "I didn't work on my game at all," Johnson says. "My first year, I got to play a lot because of a situation in Sacramento that was to my benefit. After that, I just assumed that's how the NBA was going to be. And I didn't work hard to get better. Then I found myself bouncing from team to team and out of the league for a couple months. "That's when I decided that you get out of it what you put into it. That's when my work ethic got a whole lot better." It took awhile, but everything fell together and Johnson turned himself into a nice player. He came to the Mavericks in the off-season trade that sent Darrell Armstrong, Josh Powell and Rawle Marshall to the Pacers. It has not taken Johnson long to make an impression. He is solidly in contention for the open starting spot that is likely to go to either Johnson, Devin Harris, Greg Buckner or, perhaps, Devean George. Most likely, it will end up being a committee based on matchups that joins Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard, Jason Terry and DeSagana Diop in the lineup. Regardless, Johnson has made sure he has given the rest of the Mavericks a strong introduction to his style of play. He opened Friday night's blue-white scrimmage with a jump shot, a steal and a breakaway dunk. It was the tough defense and steal that had coach Avery Johnson gushing. "He's been Anthony Johnson ? tough, good passer, posting up small guys, mean," the coach said. "He's done pretty much what we thought he would do. He's a tough, gritty player. And he's a point guard; there's no doubt about that." Johnson said there were times during the playoffs when the offense stalled, and the thinking is that Anthony Johnson has the skill set to help them out of those situations. The 6-3, 195-pounder is entering his 10th season in the league. But in many ways, it's a new beginning for him. He took it upon himself to show his rugged edge from the very first practice. "It's part of me, I guess," he said. "I'm a player that definitely possesses a great deal of toughness. My attitude is, nothing's going to be easy. And it starts with the first day of training camp. It's all about competition. We have a strong team, so it's important to go out and show the coaches what you bring to the table and let them know what kind of player I am." No problem there. The coach knows all too well how tough the new A.J. is. And vice versa. "I played against him when I was younger, and he was a tough guy to play against," Anthony Johnson said of Avery. "The way he played was something I admired as far as being tough and being ratty and being a player who is going to lead your team into battle." Ratty? "Yeah, you think of A.J., he's not afraid to hit you and get into your face as a player," Anthony Johnson said. "If you have a great deal of toughness throughout your team, that will keep you in most ballgames." The Mavericks are banking on getting that commodity out of their new point guard.</div> LinkI really can't wait until the first preseason game to see how our new players fit into the system. Sounds like Johnson will be getting quality backup point guard minutes.
