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Posted on Tue, Apr. 22, 2008

If Mavericks are going to win, Dirk needs someone to step up

By RANDY GALLOWAY

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

NEW ORLEANS -- For a road statement, and a sudden first-round revival, the Dallas Mavericks need help from one of the following players in tonight's Game 2:

Pau Gasol, holy cow. Or Tony Parker. Or Manu Ginobili.

Because of contractual obligations, of course, none of them will be available against the New Orleans Hornets. But why quibble over details? Instead, those three guys can serve as examples, based on early returns from the NBA's weekend postseason matchups.

The Mavs' playoff failures over the last couple of years have cost Dirk Nowitzki dearly in prestige, and also have heated up Avery Johnson's coaching seat. Whether that is fair, doesn't matter. Your star player and your coach are always the focal point, in good times or bad.

Nobody cuts Dirk any slack, but he's also been lifting a very heavy postseason load going back to that Finals' collapse against Miami. Sure, it comes with the territory, but allow me to mention a couple of other big-time names:

Tim Duncan needs other strong backs to aid in pulling the Spurs' wagon.

So, obviously, does Kobe Bryant, who hasn't done squat in LA without Shaq.

The Game 1 loss to the Hornets here Saturday night was another one of those cursed moments for Nowitzki, even though he caught no grief this time, because he played an inspired game and was productive.

Regardless, it was an "L." The supporting cast was mainly awful, particularly in the second half. The yo-yo ride continued for Dirk:

Play well and the postseason norm has been he's alone in that area. But play poorly, and he's the target, despite no one else capable of covering for him.

Also on Saturday, the Suns and Spurs staged a Game 1 classic that went double OT. The all-world Duncan was sensational for 50 minutes with 40 points and 15 boards.

But to somehow win it, Tim had to have Parker going off for 26 points and, even though Ginobili struggled with his shot, Manu connected with the game-winner on a last-second drive to the hole. It was heavy lifting by Duncan, but with a lot of other hands involved.

The same goes for Kobe on Sunday against the Nuggets. Bryant kind of floated through a poor first half, looking lost at times, and never really got involved in the scoring until the fourth quarter even though Denver didn't threaten after a bad start to the second half.

Gasol, however, allowed Kobe to struggle most of the day without it being a negative impact on the Lakers. For a guy who never won a playoff game (0-for-12) while with Memphis, Pau kicked butt with 36 points, 16 boards and eight assists.

Kobe never had this kind of playoff wingman in LA's postseason misery, post-Shaq. Kobe also doesn't have a playoff series win in that span.

Which brings us back to Dirk, and this Game 2 tonight.

Mainly because of Big Nellie last April, or Pat Riley in June the year before, we expect to see a defensive clamp on Dirk. What this does is serve as invitation for another Maverick to go out and carry the load. We know the outcome of that. Not good.

So it's worth emphasizing again the thoughts of Hornets coach Byron Scott as he plotted matchup situations for this series. His second defensive emphasis, beyond Nowitzki, centered on one Jason Terry. Not Josh Howard, certainly not Jason Kidd, but the Jet man.

"I think he is like the X-factor for them," Scott said. "Like I told our guys [Saturday morning], to me, Jason Terry for them is Ginobili for San Antonio."

OK, maybe Byron got a little carried away with the Ginobili comparison, but you can count me as one of those who thought Terry's offense would have to be a key if the Mavs survived this first-round series.

Scott assigned his backup point guard, Jannero Pargo, to hawk Terry, who had only seven shots in 24 minutes. "You've got to match energy with energy, and Jason Terry poses a problem because he moves so well, and he's extremely quick," added Scott.

In the regular-season finale between the two teams last week, Terry did have 30 points off the bench. But Kidd also had a huge game that night, and Josh, well...

By now, do we have to surrender on the idea Howard is the Mavs' main man after Dirk?

Byron Scott has apparently moved on, and with good reason, I guess, after Josh went 0-for-8 in the second half of Game 1.

Dirk's load remains heavy, and as in the past, the blame will fall on him if there's another spring of Mavs' playoff failure. But the man also needs a little help from his friends.

Tonight would be a good time for a few friends to finally show up.

Randy Galloway can be heard weekdays on Galloway & Co. 3-6 p.m. pm ESPN/103.3 FM.