<div class="aLHeadlineViewIn">Mavs.com: Notebook Training Camp Day 1</div> <div class="aLBylineViewIn"></div> </p> Art Garcia | Mavs.com Posted: Oct. 2, 2007</p> <hr size="1" /> Mavericks coach Avery Johnson has a plan. He’s just not letting us in on it. The Mavericks starting lineup has three parts that, barring injury or unforeseen circumstance, aren’t up for debate. Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard are manning the forward positions, with Devin Harris locked in at point guard. A fourth starter, DeSagana Diop at center, is set for the time being with the Erick Dampier out rehabbing his right shoulder. That leaves shooting guard to be sorted out this month. Or does it? Johnson said the evaluation of who joins Harris in the starting backcourt has begun. “First day of practice, it’s already started,” Johnson said Tuesday after the morning practice at American Airlines Center. “But I already know what I want to do.” Of course he does. Though he laughed when asked to share his plan, what is known is Johnson’s preference for a consistent starting five. Here are the shooting-guard candidates in no particular order: Jason Terry, Eddie Jones, Trenton Hassell, Devean George and Jerry Stackhouse. Might as well rule Stackhouse out since reprising his sixth-man role makes the most sense. Terry, at 6-foot-2, doesn’t have the size to matchup against many of the league’s premier shooting guards. George started 17 games last season, but isn't known for his offense. Jones has the veteran know-how, while Hassell has youth on his side and a solid track record as a starter in Minnesota. “Game time is based on getting it done defensively, kind of the way we started off here the first year,” Johnson said. “Playing time based on defense and playing time is based on you being a threat offensively. We can’t be in situations where we have five defenders playing against three offensive guys, so as much as I do preach defense, we’re just preaching balance.” Johnson was asked if he felt more comfortable with the current stable of swingmen. “I don’t know if we’re ever comfortable,” he said. “I’m excited about it. Hopefully if guys play well I won’t have to be as concerned about it as I was last year. We had some pretty big mismatches, even in the playoffs. Jason Richardson gave us fits at the 2-guard spot. Hopefully we’ve addressed that.” Strong and Hungry It’s funny how different people answer the same question different ways. Last season the team’s motto was “finish.” This year it’s … well, it depends who you talk to. Avery Johnson phrased his response in terms of a philosophical approach to life and basketball. “There’s always two things that you need to stop doing, two things you need to keep doing and two things you need to start doing,” he said. “And that’s what we’re looking at. We have some different things that we want to keep. There some parts of our game that are pretty special. There’s some parts of our game that we need to stop. And we need to start doing certain things. “We didn’t foul enough last year. I thought our fouls where pretty weak. They know what they are. I’ve challenged them with them. We’ve laid it all out on the table and they’re very coachable.” Devin Harris kept it somewhat less Zen-like. “Stay strong and hungry,” he countered. “Obviously going into the postseason we were a little banged up and we had to rest a couple guys. We’re going to start from scratch this year and really focus on our bodies and keeping them stronger.” Needing Hassell Trenton Hassell could arrive in Dallas sometime Wednesday, but likely won't practice until Thursday. Acquired in a trade last Friday with Minnesota for Greg Buckner, Hassell has remained with his family as his father deals with an illness. Avery Johnson won't rush Hassell once gets on the court. “Bring him along slowly,” Johnson said after the evening practice. “We want to make sure we don’t skip a step with him. We need him this year.” How? “We hope he can take some pressure off the big guys,” Johnson said. Spotty perimeter defense last season, Johnson said, led to foul-trouble inside, especially for Erick Dampier and DeSagana Diop. Layups · Asked how he’s feeling coming back from knee surgery, DJ Mbenga said: “Fantastic. I’ll do some stuff in training camp. I’m trying to be ready for the start of the season. Playing 5-on-5 is the next step.” He added that his rehab schedule fell about two weeks behind after suffering a calf injury in Las Vegas, but he’s running, jumping and sliding without pain. · Devin Harris on the first practice: “It feels good to be back on the court with the guys. Obviously with the first practice things are a little sloppy, but that’s normal for a first practice. The stuff we’re putting in looks good.”</p>
<div class="aLHeadlineViewIn">Mavs.com: Training Camp Day 2 Notebook</div> <div class="aLBylineViewIn"></div> </p> <div class="aLStoryViewIn"> Art Garcia | Mavs.com Posted: Oct. 3, 2007</p> <hr size="1" /> Mavericks swingman Devean George is headed to Indianapolis on Thursday for an MRI exam on the stress reaction in his left foot. The doctor who performed surgery on the same foot while George played for the Lakers is reevaluating the injury. A stress reaction could lead to a stress fracture in some cases. George began to feel pain as he prepared for the start of training camp, and hasn’t been able to practice. His current therapy includes a protective boot, calcium pills and a bone stimulator. Not be able to get on the court hasn’t been easy. “This is my time to earn playing time, so it’s a little frustrating,” George said after Wednesday’s morning practice. George missed 22 games last season due to injury and illness. “If we can get him healthy he’s a serious weapon to have on your ballclub because he can play three positions,” coach Avery Johnson said. “We saw glimpses of it last year.” Johnson isn’t too worried about George’s health yet, but that can change. “The longer we have to wait for him in October, even though it’s early in the season, the more concerned I’m going to get,” Johnson added. “He’s a little overweight right now. We talked about where we want his weight to be, but that’s not going to really come off until he can come out here and sweat it off.” Nothing new on C-Webb The Mavs aren’t closing the door on Chris Webber, but the chances of adding the former All-Star power forward are slim. Though the team did communicate with Webber this summer, negotiations never turned serious. “I don’t want to say close the door,” Avery Johnson said. “It’s just something that we hadn’t talked about because from what he said he’s going to either retire or go back to Detroit.” The team isn’t keeping a light on for PJ Brown, either. “Right now our team that we have is our team,” Johnson said. Stay strong longer Whether the Mavs wore down mentally or physically last season could in part explain the sluggish end to the regular season and playoffs. Why it happened isn’t clear. Addressing it is. To attack the physical side, the players have begun utilizing a four-station system before the start of the practice that emphasizes strength, conditioning, flexibility and agility. Strength and conditioning coach Robert Hackett oversees the system. The new approach incorporates the ideas of a few guys that know something about staying in shape. “I had a chance to talk to Scottie Pippin this summer who talked to me about some things they did with the Bulls and obviously that was a great team,” Avery Johnson said. “Mario [Elie] and I talked about some different weight training and conditioning, so were going to take a little different approach to it and hopefully we can stay a little stronger longer.” Sounds like Jet Maybe there’s not really question of who’s going to start at shooting guard. Avery Johnson is typically coy on the subject, so leave it Jerry Stackhouse to burst the bubble. “Y’all got to stop listening to Avery, man,” Stack said with a knowing smirk. “It ain’t as open as you think. We’re not going to win a lot of games with Jason Terry sitting on the bench. He’s going to be there.” Layups · Trenton Hassell is expected to work out Thursday morning with developmental coaches Popeye Jones and Greg Dreiling, and training camp coach Billy Owens. The rest of the team has the morning off before the evening’s Fan Jam at American Airlines Center. Hassell won’t play in the annual intrasquad scrimmage. · Darrell Armstrong is an unrestricted free agent after clearing waivers Wednesday afternoon. Though the Mavs haven’t ruled bringing Armstrong back at some point, early speculation has the veteran point guard landing in New Jersey. Quote of the Day: “Nothing. It’s all about Joe Prunty.” – Avery Johnson said with a smile on what Paul Westphal and Mario Elie bring to his coaching staff.</p> </div>
<div class="aLHeadlineViewIn">Mavs.com: Training Camp Day 3 Notebook</div> <div class="aLBylineViewIn"></div> </p> <div class="aLStoryViewIn"> Art Garcia | Mavs.com Posted: Oct. 4, 2007</p> <hr size="1" /> The development of Maurice Ager likely won’t garner many headlines throughout Mavericks training camp. There’s enough going on even through the first few days to keep people’s interest off the second-year shooting guard from Michigan State. That doesn’t mean Ager is flying under coach Avery Johnson’s radar. Not much does. Johnson’s assessment of what he’s seen from Agar so far is direct and candid. “Flashes,” Johnson said. “Flashes here and there. Inconsistency, but loads of potential.” Realizing that potential is the next step for the 28th pick in last year’s draft. “That’s definitely a process,” Ager said Thursday night before Fan Jam at American Airlines Center. “Every single day in practice I’m trying to work on my consistency so I can help this team. I feel I’ve gotten a lot better since last year in understanding my role for this team, and understanding what’s going to help me get on the floor and continue to play here. Defensively I definitely want to get better and take good shots.” Ager (6-5, 202) saw action in 32 games at the NBA level as a rookie, scoring 69 points in 214 total minutes. He spent much of the season in the NBDL with the now-defunct Fort Worth Flyers and is eligible to go back to the D-League (Tulsa) this year. Ager seldom saw a shot he didn’t like or take last year, which helps explain his 31.4-percent shooting. Though reining him in may seem a priority, Johnson doesn’t want to coach that aggressiveness out of him. “I don’t want him to lose that,” Johnson said. “He hasn’t lost it. He needed to tone it down a little bit, but he still has that score-first mentality.” Johnson also wants Ager to “act like he wants to start.” Considering the experience and talent at the swing spots – Josh Howard, Jerry Stackhouse, Eddie Jones, Trenton Hassell and Devean George – playing time figures to be scarce. “It can be a good or bad thing, but at the same time me being a positive person I try to look at both angles,” Ager said. “I can learn from those guys. At the same time they keep you on your toes, and make you want to go out there and play knowing that you can be replaced any minute.” George rehab possibly 2-4 weeks Devean George was back with the team Thursday night after having the stress reaction in his left foot reevaluated in Indianapolis. The current timetable may have George back on the practice court before the end of the month. “He’s been released to work out on the treadmill for about the next two weeks,” Avery Johnson said. “And we’re going to increase his activity after that on the court for two weeks and then we’ll see how this stress reaction responds.” The word from team physician T.O. Souryal and George’s doctor in Indianapolis is encouraging. “Normally, 80-90 percent of these you’re OK after 2-4 weeks,” Johnson said. Layups · The loudest response from the more than 8,000 fans at AAC for Fan Jam – outside of the extended “MVP” chant for Dirk Nowitzki during pregame – came after Jerry Stackhouse’s halfcourt shot at the halftime buzzer. · Trenton Hassell on what the Mavs need to get over the hump: “I can’t judge because they win every year. One year they went to the Finals and then they had a tough time last year, so you never can tell with a team. The Lakers proved that a couple years ago. They had four Hall-of-Famers and got beat by Detroit team with no superstars.” · Devin Harris scored 15 and Nowitzki added 11 to lead the White to a 48-48 victory over the Blue in the intrasquad scrimmage. Jason Terry netted 14 points for the Blue. · Mark Cuban was “bummed” he couldn't get back from his “Dancing with the Stars” duties in time for Fan Jam, but hopes to be at Friday’s afternoon practice. Kym Johnson’s latest partner hasn't been able to attend camp yet.</p> </div>
