<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">PHOENIX ? He proved in the first round he's not the second-best center in the league. Now, Erick Dampier must prove he can stay on the court and make some sort of contribution. The early returns aren?t good. Dampier isn?t the reason the Mavericks found it impossible to stay within the same zip code as the Phoenix Suns in Game 1. There were plenty of disappointing performances and embarrassing moments to go around. Wasn?t there, Avery? But if Dampier doesn?t compete harder than he did Monday night, Amare Stoudemire could nail down a spot in the Hall of Fame before the series is over. When you?re starting center has just one more rebound (five) than fouls (four), when forward Dirk Nowitzki yells at Dampier longer and louder than the Phoenix fans, you?re in trouble. "He was a step slow on everything," Nowitzki said. "He never really got involved in the game. "He has always been in foul trouble. The first series was the same thing. He gets a quick two fouls in the first two or three minutes, and we can?t be aggressive any more. Then he gets his third one and has to sit. "He?s got to find a way to stay out there a little longer and find his rhythm. We?ve got to have him out there and be a presence." No points in 15 minutes? Outscored by Stoudemire, 40-0? Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has argued he didn?t let Steve Nash walk in free agency and receive nothing in return. The money he didn?t pay Nash went to acquire Dampier. It?s easy to question the return on that investment in the first eight games of these playoffs. "The bottom line is we?ve got to get something out of our center position," Nowitzki said. "We really haven?t gotten anything out of it in the first round. "We found a way to win with a small lineup in the first round, but it?s not going to go on like that for the rest of the playoffs." The Mavericks aren?t asking Dampier to neutralize Stoudemire. The Phoenix center is too athletic and too explosive for that to even be a consideration. But they must have a big body shadow him up and down the court. They must have someone to make him play a hint of defense in the low post. The players that have had success against Stoudemire early in his career ? and it?s a limited group ? have been the stronger, physical centers like Dampier. The Mavericks can?t let Stoudemire be more dominant than Houston?s Tracy McGrady, which he was in this game. Stoudemire set the tone with 12 points in the first eight minutes. The Suns carried a 29-22 lead into the second quarter on the strength of his 15 points, three rebounds and one outrageous blocked shot. Where was Dampier during most of this? </div> Source A constant theme for Dampier in the playoffs so far has been early foul trouble. Somewhere Chris Mullin is patting himself on the back for not giving in to Dampier's salary demands.
I was so disappointed in the lack of competitiveness I saw in Dampier. There doesn't seem to be any fight in this dog. He definitely needs to redeem himself in game 2, and if he doesn't then you might as well put Henderson in there. At least Henderson will go to battle despite his being overmatched by Amare. If Dampier can scrap with Amare, then even if he gets beat on some rebounds or even fouls out, then at least Amare would have worked for everything he got. At this point, Amare would get more of a workout from a scrimmage against Hunter than any of the Mavs centers. As Dirk says the Mavs need something from the center position, and their best chance is Dampier.
