Dallas Mavericks' offense off to a slow start

By BRANDON GEORGE

Special to the Star-Telegram

Forward Shawn Marion is in his first season with the Dallas Mavericks but he’s been in the NBA long enough to identify a troublesome early-season trend.

Marion, who has helped the Mavericks improve defensively, said the offense has been sporadic.

The consistency isn’t there for a team that has added six new players, three of whom have already started.

"Everybody hasn’t clicked on all cylinders yet," said Marion, a 10th-year pro. "It’s like one game it’s one person and the next game it’s somebody else. It’s not all five or all 13 just yet. We’re ready for that to start popping. Once that starts popping, it’s going to be great."

Take the past two games, for example. On Tuesday in a 96-85 home win against Utah, Dirk Nowitzki set a team record by scoring 29 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter.

Jason Kidd also had a good game with 19 points on 6-for-11 shooting, but Jason Terry struggled with only 10 points on 4-for-13 shooting.

The next day, however, Terry was 12-for-18 from the floor for 35 points in a 114-107 overtime loss at New Orleans.

But Kidd scored only nine points on 3-for-12 shooting and Nowitzki fouled out with 2:38 left in regulation and finished with only 12 points, ending his NBA-best 29-game streak of scoring at least 20 points.

"Offensively, we have to fix some stuff," Nowitzki said. "Usually when we get stops, we can run and get some easy baskets but we haven’t gotten that."

Coach Rick Carlisle, center Erick Dampier and Marion said the Mavericks’ inconsistency is a product of new players trying to find their roles and blend in with the team’s mainstays.

"It’s just a matter of us getting used to one another and knowing where we like to catch the ball, what kind of shots we like," Dampier said. "It’s still early. We have a good team."

Maybe Wednesday’s offensive performance was a good sign. The Mavericks had season highs for points (107) and shooting percentage (45.9).

But overall, the Mavericks rank 20th in the NBA in scoring (96.2 ppg) after finishing ninth last season (101.7 ppg). That’s a product of poor shooting.

The Mavs rank 26th in the league in field goal percentage (41.7) after finishing ninth a year ago (46.2).

One reason for the team’s offensive decline can be attributed to missing the injured Josh Howard, who was 44th in the NBA in scoring last season at 18 points a game.

At least this year’s team has found a way to win without shooting lights out. The Mavs shot 39.5 percent against Utah, ending a streak of 22 consecutive losses when they shot less than 40 percent.

The Mavericks are 3-1 this year when shooting less than 42 percent after going 4-21 last season in such games.

"We haven’t played well yet offensively, but we’ve won games not shooting the ball well," Kidd said. "That’s huge."

Injuries take toll

The Mavericks will probably have only 10 players available tonight against Toronto.

Guard Quinton Ross, who has a bruised lower back, and forward Drew Gooden, out with a right rib-cage muscle strain, didn’t practice Friday.

Gooden and forwards Josh Howard (left ankle surgery) and Tim Thomas (right knee surgery) aren’t expected to play.

Ross is listed as day-to-day but missed Wednesday’s game at New Orleans.

Howard and Thomas haven’t played this season, and Gooden has missed the last three games.

Rick Carlisle said that Howard is "getting closer" to returning to the lineup.

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