Mavs settle for a lone star03:46 PM CST on Tuesday, February 14, 2006By DAVID MOORE / The Dallas Morning NewsAvery Johnson will coach the Western Conference in Sunday?s All-Star Game. He considers it an honor.His only wish is that the coaches would have found a spot for more of his players on the team. Dirk Nowitzki will be the only Mavericks representative for the second consecutive season.?I would have liked to have seen Josh [Howard] or Jason [Terry] or someone else along with Dirk,?? Johnson said. ?I think they should have been rewarded.?I think any team that is playing good basketball around the break, I think they're deserving of having multiple guys. I think we should have multiple guys and San Antonio should have multiple guys. That's just me.??The Spurs got their multiple guys ? Tim Duncan as a starter and Tony Parker off the bench. Eastern Conference coaches put four Detroit players on the reserve roster.There are more quality players and teams in the West. That hurt Howard?s and Terry?s chances. But if the Mavericks finish the regular season the way they?ve started and continue to build on that in the playoffs, the recognition will come.MAVERICKS Q&AQ: As the Mavs continue to battle for Western Conference supremacy, I?m left to wonder: Is this truly a championship team? Sure, they?re winning, but they?ve done that before and still haven?t made it past the conference finals. Sure, the defense is improving, but allowing a team (Chicago) to rally from 30 down to lose by four isn?t a confidence builder. At the end of the day, isn?t this basically the same team as last year?s? What wonderful words of wit and wisdom can you wistfully whittle away and assuage my angst?Rob PhillipsMOORE: Promising playoff perfection is premature. As for your angst, I?m not sure I can relieve your raging reservations. But I can attempt to address your alliteration and your concerns.I think this team is different than the ones you?ve grown accustomed to in recent years. It?s a more complete team, a much better defensive team and one that is capable of performing in a half-court game. It?s built to go deep into the playoffs. That doesn?t assure that it will, but no team, not even the defending champion San Antonio Spurs, has that assurance.While the personnel is primarily the same as last season, I think the team is much different. The players have had more time to immerse themselves in Avery Johnson?s system and make the transition from the team they were before.? ? ?Q: So everybody pretty much has the Mavs losing in the conference finals or even the semis. Are you kidding me? Who are these people claiming the Mavs have no bench? Show me a better bench. They?re the perfect mix (young and vets, slashers and clutch shooters, a starting five on the bench). Their injury situations have been ridden perfectly, and if their defense and team spirit holds in the playoffs, I say they take the NBA Finals.Carl A. Sverdrup, Oslo, NorwayMOORE: Glad you were able to take some time away from the Winter Olympics to talk about the Mavericks. How about that Lars Bystoel?I don?t know that anyone questions the Mavericks? bench. The consensus is they?re the deepest team in the league. I also agree with what you say about having a good mix of young and old and different styles of players.But to get to the NBA Finals, the Mavericks must first get past San Antonio. It appears that matchup will take place in the second round. The Mavericks will have their chance to beat the Spurs. Until then, the Spurs are the defending champions and must be considered the favorite to come out of the West.? ? ?Q: In The Dallas Morning News? standings, the Mavericks are listed ahead of the Spurs. I think the next tiebreaker after record is conference winning percentage. The Spurs have a better winning percentage against the conference. If my info is correct and the season ended today, the Mavs would lock up the fourth seed in the Western Conference, not the first.Don?t take this e-mail as if I am a Mavs hater. I am a die-hard Mavs fan, but I think the common variety Mavs fan should have correct info so they don?t look stupid defending the standings. If my information is incorrect, I have no ego. I would like correct info. Thanks for an ear.Chris PetersonMOORE: We?ve received a lot of e-mails on this in the past two weeks, so much that it deserves to be addressed again.As of Feb. 14, the Spurs and Mavericks did own the same record (40-11). The Mavericks were listed as the No. 1 seed and San Antonio No. 4.That is correct. The Mavericks and Spurs have split their two games so far this season. The next tiebreaker in this scenario is division record. The Mavericks were 8-2 in the division vs. 6-2 for the Spurs, giving Dallas the edge.A lot of people have written to say that we?re wrong on this, that NBA.com and other Web sites list the Spurs ahead of the Mavericks. I can assure you we?ve talked to the NBA office, and we?re not wrong. In fact, if you check on the NBA Web site today, you will find the Mavericks with the No. 1 seed.After head-to-head, conference record is the first tiebreaker to determine the playoff position of two or more teams outside the division. But the division has to be determined first, which gives division results a greater weight than conference record.? ? ?Q: To the C.S. Lewis and J.R. Tolkien of basketball reporting/writing. My wife asked a question the other night and I was embarrassed at my lack of knowledge. She asked, ?Sweetheart, every time a Dirk jersey is purchased, either at the AAC or elsewhere, does No. 41 get any royalties??Guys, I told her I was 99 percent certain no player gets any percentage of merchandise sales, unless they have some clever contract which stipulates so. Did I lead my wife astray, or am I correct in thinking that all the proceeds from merchandise sales go to arena upkeep, Cubes (Mark Cuban), charity ? basically, not to the player himself? I also informed her that only Marcus Camby gets royalties from jersey sales since we all know he desperately needs the extra cash to buy dress shirts, pants and shoes.Matthew Fuller, DallasMOORE: I?m more of a Lewis man myself. You might have guessed since Big Ed looks like something that?s been burped up by Middle Earth. Also, it?s good you caught my week to do the newsletter since Big Ed doesn?t have an inkling of who Lewis and Tolkien are. Now, to your question:Feel free to say, ?Sweetheart, I?m 100 percent certain no player gets any percentage of merchandise sales.?? Michael Jordan was able to work outside those parameters for a while, but no one else. I guess you could argue that the players do receive a percentage since it?s part of the formula that determines the salary cap. But Nowitzki doesn?t receive a percentage off his jersey ? it?s thrown into a pool with every other jersey sold in the league and divided evenly.By the way, nice dig at Camby.? ? ?Q: Mavs insiders, which would you rather have:Erick Dampier: 51 percent FG, 7.9 RPG, 5.8 PPG, 1.2 BPGDeSagana Diop: 43 percent FG, 4.6 RPG, 2.1 PPG, 1.8 BPGCombined salary: $10.5 million for this season.Or ?Rasho Nesterovic: 53 percent FG, 4.3 RPG, 5.4 PPG, 1.3 BPGNazr Mohammed: 51 percent FG, 4.4 RPG, 4.9 PPG, 0.5 BPGCombined salary: $12.2 million for this season.When considering salaries, shouldn?t you consider this year only? You can only win championships one year at a time.Harry JohnsonMOORE: Good chart. Would you be interested in a job on our copy desk?The Mavericks two-headed center is better than the Spurs. And while it?s true championships can only be won one year at a time, a team?s salary structure has a lot to say with whether an owner will be able to keep that team together. Dampier?s contract isn?t a problem right now with the Mavericks winning. But down the road when the numbers escalate and his production declines, it could become a problem.? ? ?Q: What is the problem with Marquis Daniels? He is supposedly over the neck injury, but A.J. isn?t playing him much, and when he does, like against the Lakers, he gets less than eight minutes.Lynvol ArthurMOORE: The only problem with Daniels is that he was hurt when the Mavericks began their 13-game winning streak. By the time he was ready to return to the lineup, eight games deep into the surge, the Mavericks were playing so well that Johnson didn?t want to disrupt the rotation.Daniels should slowly be able to work his way back into the rotation. But he?s got to stay healthy to be in position to earn meaningful minutes in the playoffs.? ? ?Q: Earlier this month in Seattle when Devin Harris was injured and then Darrell Armstrong took a dive into the sideline, what would?ve happened if Jason Terry had to come out of the game? I don?t think Marquis Daniels was even suited up that night. Who would have played point guard?Henry Wright, DallasMOORE: This is obviously an extreme case. There?s not a roster in the league that can take four ball-handlers out of the mix, as you propose in this scenario, and not be hurt. The Mavericks wouldn?t have a true point in this case, but most of the offense would be run through Jerry Stackhouse.? ? ?Q: I?ve noticed over the last few years that home teams are wearing their road uniforms at home and road teams are wearing their home uniforms. How do they determine what uniforms are going to be worn on any given night?Barry N.MOORE: The home team gets to choose. The home team is allowed to wear its road jersey at home up to seven times a season.? ? ?Q: Do the fans get to vote for MVP?Esther, DallasMOORE: Fans do not get to vote for the regular-season or Finals MVP. That is done by selected media. The fans do get a vote for the All-Star MVP, but it?s not the determining vote. Again, that goes to the media.E-mail dmoore@dallasnews.com[url="http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/basketball/mavs/stories/021506dnspomavsletter.28bca59a.html"]http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dw...r.28bca59a.html[/url]
