HOUSTON — As the final season on his contract dwindles, Rodrigue Beaubois tries not to wonder if he’s in his final days wearing a Dallas Mavericks uniform.
The Mavs have played seven games since the Feb. 15-17 All-Star break. Before playing the final 14 garbage-time minutes of Sunday’s 136-103 loss to the Houston Rockets, the only game in which Beaubois played was just one minute in the 111-96 victory over Orlando on Feb. 20.The rest of the time, Beaubois has watched Darren Collison log the starting point guard minutes and has seen Mike James fill in as the backup. But that hasn’t prevented Beaubois from sitting and wondering how he fits into the mix.“It’s a coach’s decision,” Beaubois said before Sunday’s game. “There’s nothing I can do about it but keep working and be ready. I have to do my best once they call my name.”Coach Rick Carlisle said it’s purely coincidental that Beaubois hasn’t played much lately.“The backup point [guard] position has been a little baffling all year long, to be honest,” Carlisle said before Sunday’s game. “I wish I could give you a great explanation for the how, the when, the where and the why.”Beaubois said he had mixed emotions when he heard his name mentioned in trade talks last month.“Usually at that time, you’re kind of anxious,” he said. “There’s nothing you can do about it.”Beaubois becomes a free agent on July 1 and knows he hasn’t lived up to his reputation in his nearly four years with the Mavs. Whether he will be with the Mavs beyond this season is anybody’s guess.“Right now I just don’t think about it,” Beaubois said. “The season is not finished yet, so I just need to make sure I keep working and get better.”Morrow hurtingNewcomer Anthony Morrow didn’t dress for the second straight game Sunday with what he described as a right hip pointer.“It’s an injury I had in Atlanta and I thought it went away, but it came back,” Morrow said. “It’s lingering and it’s gotten worse, and now it’s my hip. I need to be out there. I’m thinking maybe in a few more days and it’ll be all right after that.”The Mavs acquired Morrow in a Feb. 21 trade with the Atlanta Hawks for Dahntay Jones.James ‘the guy’ latelyIf those late-game 3-point daggers Mike James buried that all but clinched recent wins over New Orleans and Brooklyn weren’t convincing enough, Rick Carlisle described how important his backup point guard is to the Mavs.“When the shot-making is there, he’s still a damn good player in this league,” Carlisle said. “I really like his experience; I like his presence on the court. He’s been the guy since the All-Star break.”Dwain Price, 817-390-7760 Twitter: @dwainprice
