Villanueva not quite Dirk, but Mavericks like the backup plan

The Dallas Mavericks were so intrigued with Charlie Villanueva that they basically gave him two chances last summer to prove himself.

The Mavs were looking for someone who could help them stretch the floor and shore up their front line. And Villanueva, who was a free agent at the time, was looking for a job.

“He came in here basically on a tryout,’’ coach Rick Carlisle said. “We worked him out, he wasn’t in very good shape, but we had two workouts with him and the second one was better than the first.

“So we said, ‘Hey, you know what, this guy can shoot it and he’s had some big games against us. We like to have him in for three weeks and then get him in training camp.’ And he came in three weeks before training camp, busted his butt.’’

The Mavs eventually ate Bernard James’ partially guaranteed contract to make way for Villanueva, whom they inked to a one-year, $1.3 million deal.

Of course, Villanueva didn’t start receiving much playing time until the Mavs traded Brandan Wright, Jae Crowder and Jameer Nelson to the Boston Celtics on Dec. 18 in a deal that brought Rajon Rondo and Dwight Powell to Dallas.

In Monday’s game against Atlanta, Villaneuva scored a season-high 14 points. The very next night in Phoenix he topped that by tallying a season-high 18 points.

“I was just getting in the gym and just staying sharp and waiting for my opportunity,’’ Villanueva said. “It’s a long season and I’m just trying to make the most of it.’’

Villanueva basically replaces Dirk Nowitzki as the Mavs’ stretch-four (a power forward playing away from the basket), and guard Devin Harris offered up a rather interesting analogy on that front.

“He fits into right what we do,’’ Harris said. “We don’t lose much when Dirk comes out of the game.

“He’s a guy who is going to space the floor for us, he can put it on the dribble and he can do it at a high rate. I think the way he spaces the floor it opens up things a little bit more and makes it a little bit easier to make that adjustment.’’

As far as Harris comparing Villanueva to Nowitzki, Carlisle said: “He’s right from the standpoint of getting the stretch shooting. There really is not much drop-off there.

“Charlie is not quite as tall [as Dirk], and he isn’t about to pass Elvin Hayes — he’s got that going against him. You may have caught Devin at a moment where he wasn’t quite prepared with all the information.’’

Either way, the Mavs know they are positioned quite well with Villanueva coming off the bench to back up Nowitzki.

Scott praises Nowitzki

Los Angeles Lakers coach Byron Scott gave kudos to Mavs forward Dirk Nowitzki, who passed Elvin Hayes on Friday and became the NBA’s No. 8 all-time leading scorer.

Scott, who retired in 1998 — the year Nowitzki entered the NBA — said: “I watched him when he first came in the league. I didn’t know he was going to be this good when I first saw him, but, man, he’s turned out to be an unbelievable basketball player.

“Longevity with this organization and the way he’s been able to play on a night-to-night basis, you’ve got to give him a lot of credit. He’s definitely one of the better players in this league.’’　

This story was originally published December 26, 2014 at 10:27 PM with the headline "Villanueva not quite Dirk, but Mavericks like the backup plan."