ESPN

DALLAS – Two words immediately come to Rick Carlisle’s mind when he thinks of DeShawn Stevenson, who will become the latest ex-Maverick to receive his championship ring Tuesday night.

“Ultimate pro.”

That’s not exactly how Stevenson was perceived when he arrived in Dallas as a throw-in with Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood in the 2010 All-Star break blockbuster deal with the Wizards. At the time, well, folks didn’t know quite what to think of the two guard with tattoos from his forehead to his feet.

There was a strong suspicion that Stevenson, whose claim to fame had been a high-profile playoff trash-talk war with LeBron James, was a wee bit crazy. That turned into an appreciation around these parts for Stevenson’s unique personality after he played the biggest role of any of the ex-Wizards in the Mavericks’ first title.

“I had a bad rap of being a loose cannon,” Stevenson said Monday night after the Nets’ practice at SMU. “I think it’s a different type of crazy. It’s a crazy where I’m going to go out there and fight for my teammates and do the right thing. I’m kind of misunderstood, but that’s what I try to do and I won a championship doing it.”

Stevenson’s style and work ethic earned him immense respect in the Mavericks’ locker room.

The Mavs’ veteran leadership trio of Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd and Jason Terry twice lobbied Carlisle to insert Stevenson into the starting lineup. Carlisle listened on both occasions, once near the beginning of the season and the second time just before the playoffs began.

The Dallas vets embraced the nasty tone that Stevenson, who usually got the most difficult defensive assignment among the opposing guards and small forwards, set along with big man Tyson Chandler.

“Just a tough, tough guy that we miss,” Nowitzki said. “I’m happy for him that he gets his ring and he’s going to get a standing ovation. He brought a toughness and grittiness to our club last year that we needed.”

In between his successful stints as the starting lineup’s defensive stopper, Stevenson fell out of the rotation while his minutes went to Rodrigue Beaubois. Stevenson never complained, continuing to prepare the same way, a persistence that paid off in the playoffs.

Stevenson’s professionalism was never more apparent than Game 4 of the NBA Finals. After Stevenson started the first 18 games of the postseason, Carlisle decided to replace him in the lineup with J.J. Barea, in part because the Mavs wanted to make sure that Shawn Marion or Stevenson was always available to defend James.

Instead of pouting about a perceived demotion, Stevenson responded with his best performance of the playoffs. Stevenson outscored his old adversary LeBron, 11-8, playing lockdown defense and knocking down three 3-pointers.

“He kept himself ready and always answered the bell,” Carlisle said. “Always.”

Stevenson was ready to return to Dallas for the repeat attempt. However, he said he felt like he had done too much with the Mavericks to accept an offer for the minimum salary and moved on by signing a one-year, $2.5 million deal with the Nets.

Stevenson will return to the American Airlines Center with mixed emotions. He looks forward to finally seeing the championship banner and getting his ring. (He’s seen plenty of pictures of the 31-diamond spectacles, including one fellow free agent departure J.J. Barea texted him the night of the ring ceremony.)

But Stevenson admits that he wishes he could stay in Dallas and move back into the locker now occupied by Delonte West.

“We just had a special team,” Stevenson said. “It’s just sad how it went down. It’s tough. It’s the business part, but I’m always a Mavericks guy until the day I die.”

LOS ANGELES -- The Dallas Mavericks aren't alone in their struggles to put the ball through the old peach basket. The entire NBA is stinking it up, and while players keep saying offense will improve once they get their legs under them one has to wonder if the nature of the schedule will ever allow that to happen.

"Throughout the season," said Dirk Nowitzki, averaging just 17.9 points on 46.9 percent shooting and 19.2 percent from 3-point range, "I expect a lot of ugly games like that to happen. It's just normal."

Nowitzki is referring to Monday night when Dallas lost a game in which it allowed 73 points, including a franchise-record low seven in the third quarter, 38.2 percent shooting overall, 10 percent from 3-point land and held the league's leading scorer to 18 points under his average.

How is that possible? Because Dallas shot 35 percent and while the Lakers managed a single point in the final 6:58 of the third quarter, Dallas went scoreless for 5:01.

"Hasn't been there all year," Terry said of a Mavs offense that ranks 21st in scoring at 92.6 points a game and 22nd in field-goal percentage at 43.1. "But defensively, we're doing our job. We just have to make shots. Stay encouraged; defensively we're playing our ass off. We'll get there. Again, it was just an uncharacteristic, off-shooting night for us. I'm not really concerned."

Only it wasn't all that uncharacteristic. OK, there haven't been many 4-of-26 nights from beyond the arc. Unless you count the 1-of-19 night at San Antonio, the 7-of-24 showing at Minnesota, the 9-of-28 against Miami, the 8-of-27 against Denver or the 9-of-26 night at Oklahoma City. Dallas is shooting 30.9 percent from downtown as a team, and there are six teams shooting worse.

The Mavs have room for improvement, but so does the rest of the league. Scoring and field-goal percentage are down dramatically from last season. In 2010-11, 11 teams averaged 100 or more points and eight averaged 101 or better. Through the first three weeks of this season, five teams are averaging 100 or more with just two at 101 or better. The Mavs averaged 100.2 points last season, ranking 11th. This season, that number would rank fifth.

A whopping 19 teams this season are averaging 96 points or fewer with 16 averaging 94 or fewer. Last season, only eight and four teams, respectively, matched those numbers.

As for field-goal percentage, 21 teams this season are shooting it 45 percent or worse compared to 13 last season. Dallas' 43.1 shooting percentage would have ranked 29th last season, just one-hundredth of a point from being dead last.

Mavs coach Rick Carlisle suggested early on that he hoped his team's defense would be ahead of the offense. At the time it seemed odd just because it just figured that this team could always score while it would have to adjust defensively to the losses of Tyson Chandler and DeShawn Stevenson.

But Carlisle was right. The defense is light years ahead of an offense that can only keep shooting to cure its ills. If defense is all about effort and energy, than offense is about timing and rhythm and flow.

"Look, I'm not going to get into an excuse-fest about the compressed season," Carlisle said. "Everybody's dealing with the same thing. We/ve got to just continue to grind and get better."

It's tough to find much teamwork in Washington D.C. these days, so President Barack Obama knows it when he sees it.

PODCAST
President Barack Obama congratulates the Dallas Mavericks on the franchise's first NBA Championship. Listen

During Monday's championship ceremony at the White House, Obama credited the Dallas Mavericks' team-oriented style of play last season as the key to their run to the franchise's first championship, and dumping that little team down in Miami.

"Nobody gave them much of a chance," Obama said. "People said that Jason Kidd was too old -- and I will say that this is the first time I’ve been with some world champions that are my contemporaries -- they said J.J. Barea was too small, that Dirk Nowitzki was too slow -- they said you had a great jump shot, but… -- they said DeShawn Stevenson was too crazy. They said the Jet was terrific, but they weren’t sure whether that tattoo was such a good idea.

"But, these players got it done because they know how good teams win, not just by jumping higher or running faster, but by finding the open man, working together, staying mentally tough, being supportive of each other, playing smarter. That’s how the Mavericks took down some of the league’s best teams, including the Miami Heat, who got a little bit of attention last year."

Obama, an avid basketball fan, ended the ceremony by telling the Mavs that it's too bad it will be his hometown Chicago Bulls visiting the White House next year. Then he said the Mavs told him not to count them out just yet. Obama added: "This team really does have a heart that is the size of Texas."

DALLAS -- If Vince Carter can't be the Dallas Mavericks' starting shooting guard on a consistent basis it would seem to complicate coach Rick Carlisle's plans to use Delonte West predominantly as Jason Kidd's backup.

Reserve point guard is critically important to ensure Kidd gets the rest he'll need throughout this whirlwind, 66-game schedule.

The 6-foot-6 Carter lasted one half as the starting shooting guard. West started Monday against Denver, but then Jason Terry started the second half. How will Carlisle address the position tonight against an Oklahoma City Thunder backcourt of point guard Russell Westbrook and shooting guard Thabo Sefolosha?

"Right now, we’ve got to start the game with five guys in a stance and getting after it defensively," Carlisle said. "We’ve got to find the right formula, but the right formula has got to start with tough defense. That’s just how we’re going to do business, that’s just how it’s got to be."

In the West finals, shooting guard DeShawn Stevenson allowed Carlisle to switch defensive assignments. Stevenson would start off on Westbrook, and Kidd, at a rugged 6-foot-4, guarded Sefolosha, a less athletic player and a far less dangerous scoring threat than the fourth-year Westbrook.

Carter would seem an adequate cover on Sefolosha, but that would leave the 38-year-old Kidd to tackle the 23-year-old Westbrook, making a Mavs backourt of Kidd and West seem more equipped to handle the Thunder's All-Star point guard.

For West, the sudden dual responsibility on a team also adjusting to an influx of new faces is a clear challenge.

"It is tougher coming into a new system because playing the point you’re trying to make sure everyone else is in their spots, and you have new guys also that are a little out of sort," West said. "And then once you get off the ball, you’ve got to reprogram your mind in a quick second to attacking, and that’s going to come.

"Honestly, up until really today, I didn’t have down where I was supposed to be at off the ball. I was thinking so much like trying to get guys the ball where they want it, trying to get this guy over here, get Lamar Odom down on the block. But J-Kidd has been working with me religiously, knowing the positions and I’m watching Jet play off the ball. So give us about two or three weeks and you won’t be thinking about these first two games."

Carter's start to the season has not been encouraging. He turns 35 in less than a month and the athleticism that allowed him to become a spectacular player in his prime now eludes him. He has 16 points on 5-of-12 shooting with six assists, three rebounds, five turnovers and seven fouls in 41 minutes played.

He doesn't provide the kind of tenacious defense that pushed Kidd, Terry and Dirk Nowitzki last season to twice lobby for Stevenson, now with the New Jersey Nets on a one-year, $2.5 million contract, to be the starter.

Carlisle called Carter a Hall of Fame player and said he will fit in.

"Vince is still a terrific athlete and off of 2 ½ weeks with him, he is one of the most knowledgeable players that I’ve ever been around," Carlisle said. "He totally understands the game. Look, he’s an eight-time All-Star, he’s a Hall-of-Famer; you look at Hall of Fame guys, guys that are eight-time All-Stars are Hall of Famers, and there’s a reason because he’s been a great player and he knows how to play. He’s going to fit in great with what we’re doing just because he’s a helluva basketball player."

DALLAS -- Jason Terry didn't have much desire to contemplate former teammate Tyson Chandler's comments Tuesday regarding his non-surprise at the Dallas Mavericks' ugly, 0-2 start.

"Don’t care what Tyson’s saying or what he’s doing right now," Terry said following Tuesday's defense-intensive practice. "He’s not a Maverick, so it is what it is."

Here's what Chandler had to say Monday as chronicled by ESPNNY.com:

"Honestly, I'd kind of seen it coming because when you put a team in a situation and you say, ‘You're the defending champions and we're not necessarily trying to repeat.’ "When I say that, I'm not saying that they don't have the pieces there. I obviously think very highly of those guys. But I say that because they offered everybody one-year deals so they knew nobody was going to necessarily accept that. So you’re basically telling all the players in the locker room we're playing for free agency next year after a championship.

"You've got veteran guys in the locker room. The type of guys that they've got at this time in their career, it's tough to face that so I think they're just going through a little lull right now. But I'm hoping for those guys that it turns around because there's truly good guys in the locker room."

Because of the NBA lockout, the free agency period was a whirlwind. In a matter of days, the Mavs' roster changed dramatically. Players began to understand that owner Mark Cuban's business philosophy had changed under the parameters of the new collective bargaining agreement.

Cuban decided to offer one-year contracts to his free agents (with the understanding it would not be good enough to retain those players) with the goal of going into next summer with plenty of cap space to chase free agents for the first time in Cuban's ownership.

Terry said once it became clear that Chandler, J.J. Barea, DeShawn Stevenson and Caron Butler would not be back, it didn't take long to adjust the mindset.

Of course, after two blowout losses to start the season, if the psychological adjustment wasn't difficult, than it appears that the physical adjustment on the floor will be a process, and perhaps even a bumpy one.

"After you knew he wasn’t coming back, it was over," Terry said. "Again, we have a totally different team this year. We’re searching right now for an identity for this particular ballclub and we know that’s going to take some time. But, again, winning cures all, and watching on film definitely helps, because each person can be accountable and see where they can make an impact on the game."

DALLAS -- The Dallas Mavericks' zone defense was so effective last season -- whether it was early in the year to throw a wrench at teams in crunch time or in the NBA Finals to force the more athletic Miami Heat into a bombs-away approach -- that it was widely regarded as the best in the business.

But without Tyson Chandler in the middle barking orders and with an influx of new players unfamiliar with the mechanics -- and add that assistant coach Dwane Casey, the defensive architect who called most of the sets, is now the head coach in Toronto -- one has to wonder if the zone will continue to be a part of Dallas' defensive repertoire or, at least, an effective part of it.

"Definitely, the zone is where it shows how long you’ve been together because it’s a lot of pointing and switching on the fly and matching up," Dirk Nowitzki said. "So, we’ll see how ready we are."

Dallas mastered what it called an amoeba-like, 2-3 zone that can look a lot like man-to-man coverage and used it extensively in the NBA Finals. On paper, the older Mavs couldn't match up with the Heat's athleticism and the zone proved to be a successful means to choke off the Miami offense and force 3-point shots -- six more per game on average than the Heat attempted in all three rounds of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Miami beat Dallas' zone in Game 1 with hot outside shooting (11-of-24). In fact, the two games the Heat won they shot a combined 19-of-43 (44.2 percent) from long range compared to 26-of-87 (29.9 percent) in the four losses. In the Eastern Conference finals against the Chicago Bulls, Miami averaged just 11.6 shots from 3-point range. In the NBA Finals, they took no fewer than 14 in any of the six games, and four times lofted 19 or more and once hit 30.

With Chandler out of the picture and the Mavs now starting less athletic center Brendan Haywood, and with Vince Carter replacing the tenacious DeShawn Stevenson for on the perimeter, will Dallas employ the zone Sunday, or even much at all in the early portion of the season?

“I don’t know. We’ll have to see from game to game," Nowitzki said. "Usually a zone can be a game-changer when the other team runs a play you can’t stop, when the pick-and-roll is hot or a post-up guy is hot, then you throw in the zone. But if our man-to-man is fine, which it was last year, then some games we didn’t even use it [the zone]. So it kind of just depends on how it’s going. If we have trouble guarding teams man-to-man, then we might throw it in there."

DALLAS -- On Thursday, just three days before the Dallas Mavericks are to begin their title defense against the Miami Heat, coach Rick Carlisle said the secret to any early success for his retooled team on the fly starts with simplicity.

"Simplicity has got to be the thing that helps mitigate the short period of prep time," Carlisle said. "We’ll add things piecemeal as we need to, but we can’t throw too much at these guys in a short period of time. And our emphasis has got to be on transition defense, staying in the front of the ball and getting rebounds. Those things lead to the good things that happen for us offensively."

He also said the hope is that defense can carry the team through the opening weeks when the offense might look ragged because of the lack of time for the newcomers to learn the plays and the tendencies of their teammates. That's interesting because so much of the Mavs' success last year was credited to precision team defense that included a smothering zone employed at strategic points, including late in close games.

"My hope is our defense will be ahead of our offense, and in that way I think it helps our overall situation," Carlisle said. "We’ve got two more days [of practice] and we can still gain ground, and that’s what our goal’s going to be."

Sunday's opener will start with the raising of the 2010-11 championship banner. From there, the day gets much tougher against a Heat team that remained intact and added Shane Battier and Eddy Curry.

Jason Terry said the roster, the short training camp ... none of it matters when the ball goes up at 1:30 p.m.

"Our advantage is that we do know our roles, we do know what guys need to do for us to be successful out there and I think coach has made that evident," Terry said. "I think going forward, guys just have to come out and do it, there’s just no other way. And there’s no other way to do it than in live action at a high level. You can’t get any higher than on Christmas Day against the Miami Heat."

Let's get to three key areas to watch:

1. Who starts and how deep does Carlisle go?
A logical starting lineup would see Jason Kidd and Vince Carter in the backcourt, Shawn Marion and Dirk Nowitzki at the forward positions and Brendan Haywood at center. The only deviation that makes much sense would be to start Lamar Odom at small forward in front of Marion, but Odom, the reigning Sixth Man of the Year, is accustomed to coming off the bench and could be the first off the pine to give Nowitzki a breather. Delonte West will back up Kidd, and Terry will be first off the bench at shooting guard. After that it could get interesting. How quickly does Carlisle turn to Rodrigue Beaubois, and does he play it safe by pairing him with Kidd? Does Dominique Jones get any playing time at the point against an excellent defensive team? And what about the center rotation? Haywood has hardly been impressive during the two preseason games, but there's no other option as the starter. Does Ian Mahinmi get first crack or has Brandan Wright, who had a nice showing in his lone preseason appearance Tuesday, bumped himself into a second-string role?

2. With DeShawn Stevenson now playing for the New Jersey Nets, who will help Marion guard LeBron James?
There's no doubt that Stevenson gave James fits in the NBA Finals. So much so that Carlisle actually took Stevenson out of the starting lineup at shooting guard and had him back up Marion at small forward to check James. Stevenson also helped Kidd defend Dwyane Wade, a responsibility that will now seemingly fall on Kidd and Carter, which for the nearly 35-year-old Carter could be a mismatch. But back to LeBron -- the Mavs just don't have another rugged defender to go toe-to-toe with him and that could be a major problem.

3. Which of the Mavs' newcomers is positioned to have the biggest impact?
Lamar Odom. In his first preseason game, with little working knowledge of the Mavs' offensive system, he put up 14 points and seven rebounds. In Tuesday's second game, Odom had just eight points and three rebounds, yet said he actually felt more comfortable. Because of the shooters Dallas can put on the court at any time, Odom's ability to put it on the floor and hit the 3-pointer should see him as a focal point of the offense. Most interesting should be when the 6-foot-10 Odom and 7-foot Nowitzki are on the floor together, a pairing that should create some matchup problems for the Heat.

The last of the Dallas Mavericks six free agents has found a new home. Tough-minded shooting guard DeShawn Stevenson has finally agreed to a one-year, $2.5 million deal with the New Jersey Nets, according to an ESPNNY.com report.

Stevenson joins former Mavs coach Avery Johnson and point guard Deron Williams, a native of The Colony near Dallas who is highly coveted by the Mavs when he can become a free agent this summer.

Four of the Mavs' six free agents from last season's title team are with new teams. Brian Cardinal re-signed with Dallas and Peja Stojakovic retired.

Prediction time. And, wow, how do you predict how this revamped Dallas Mavericks team will finish a 66-game regular-season schedule over 123 days when the full squad didn't even play one preseason game together?

In fact, the Mavs didn't even finish off the roster until Sean Williams signed Wednesday. Training camp opened Dec. 9, yet Lamar Odom and Vince Carter didn't arrive until a few days later, and Delonte West after that, so coach Rick Carlisle has had his full unit for all of about a week. Add to it that illness kept Brian Cardinal from practicing one day, Brandan Wright from playing in the first exhibition game and Jason Terry and West from playing in the second.

Then there's still the shock factor involved in the deflating losses of Tyson Chandler, J.J. Barea, DeShawn Stevenson and also Caron Butler. Odom has his own shock factor to overcome in no longer playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, where he won two titles and played the last seven seasons and probably figured he'd play seven more.

PODCAST
Ben and Skin discuss what can be taken away from the Mavs' two preseason losses including: Lamar Odom's surprising leadership and the depth of the roster. Listen

And what about Vince Carter? Can this guy still get it done?

With that, Dallas Mavericks, get out there and defend your title.

Could things be any zanier with the season opener quickly approaching on Christmas Day against the -- by comparison -- remarkably stable Miami Heat?

The Mavs might be in flux, but as defending champions they know there will be no sympathy. Hey, it's a jungle out there.

"The constant this year is going to be that the teams we play are going to have the increased edge because they're playing the champions," Carlisle said. "I went through this in 1986-87 -- the year after we won the title in Boston. We saw how it was. Every night it's a championship game. I can talk about it all day long and try to get the guys ready for it. But until the games start coming, we won't really know what it's about. And it's going to add to the challenge. But that's part of it."

The Mavs' two preseason losses to the Oklahoma City Thunder, who like the Heat did not undergo major changes -- in fact no changes at all -- did lend credence to the notion that Dallas won't get off to a roaring start. The first 15 games will be played in 23 days and includes matchups against Miami, Denver, two against Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Boston, the Lakers and the new-and-improved Clippers.

And, oh yeah, 12 of those games are back-to-back sets.

"Of course, we’ve got to get a feel for where the new guys are going to be at and situations and stuff like that, but for the most part we just walk in and play ball," forward Shawn Marion said. "There’s always going to be some waves. At the same time, you’ve got to be able to take the good with the bad and learn from it."

So, let's get on with the predictions.

Jeff Caplan, ESPN Dallas beat writer
Like everyone else, I expect the Mavs to have their issues early on as assimilation proves challenging. After the lockout, the roster reshaping was fast and furious and inconveniently intertwined with training camp. Carlisle has proven to be quite proficient in finding workable combinations and mixing and matching to suit different situations. He has a deep team at his disposal and he will find lineups that work. The big question is whether he can implore this team to discover a defensive backbone with Chandler now supplying one for Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony. My guess is probably not as strong as they will need, and that's going to produce a lot of shootouts, but in the end it won't be a team capable of repeating.
Predicted record: 40-26

Tim MacMahon, ESPN Dallas beat writer
A slow start should probably be expected from a team fitting in new pieces, especially after seeing the Mavs struggle in the preseason. There will be bumps down the road, too, as the Mavs make resting old legs a priority. The goal is to peak for the playoffs again.
Predicted record: 40-26

Marc Stein, ESPN.com senior NBA writer
The Mavs won't slip as far without Tyson Chandler as you think. Especially not in the regular season because they've still got a lot of depth and versatility after the arrival of Lamar Odom -- one of the best players in league history with zero All-Star invites on his resume -- as a one-year bridge between Chandler and whoever Mark Cuban lands with all that cap space he's amassing. The streak of 11 consecutive 50-win seasons is going to perish thanks to the 66-game condensed schedule. The dropoff in rim protection minus Tyson, furthermore, will eventually punish Dallas in the playoffs. But this group can still get to the West finals. Bank on 41 wins for Dirk and his Mavs at worst.
Predicted record: 41-25

Chuck Cooperstein, Mavs play-by-play voice
After a bumpy start which will see them naturally struggle to assimilate their new pieces, the Mavericks will finish strong and will be a very entertaining team to watch. They will be like the Nellie teams of '02-'05, with a better defensive presence. But, like the Nellie teams (and every other Mavericks team besides 2011), they don't have the necessary presence in the middle to take them all the way.
Predicted record: 43-23

Jeff "Skin" Wade, co-host of "Ben & Skin Show" 103.3 FM ESPN and Mavs TV sideline reporter
The Mavs will once again have a strong playoff run riding the shoulders of the Big German, but their age and demanding schedule prove too tough to overcome and they eventually run out of gas against a younger, hungrier team. But, it'll be a solid year for a franchise transitioning into their next phase with over $20 million in cap space in the summer of 2012 to build a squad for the few remaining years of Dirk's peak. The real trick is for Dallas to know for certain by the end of the season what they have in Roddy B, DoJo and possibly even Brandan Wright.
Predicted record: 40-26

The Dallas Mavericks made tremendous use of switching their guards' defensive assignments last season and particularly so in playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder and Miami Heat.

At a rugged, 6-foot-4, but having lost a step defensively against the league's quicker point guards, Jason Kidd often guarded the opposing shooting guard while Dallas' smaller shooting guards, Jason Terry, J.J. Barea and even the brawnier DeShawn Stevenson, picked up the point guard. The strategy was employed to better match up against the point, but it also paid dividends on the wing as Kidd gave All-Stars Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade fits.

That option, however, could be in shorter supply this season now that Barea and Stevenson are gone, and 6-foot-6 Vince Carter would appear to have the inside track as the starting shooting guard.

"If it ends up being Kidd and Carter we’ll see," coach Rick Carlisle said. "There may be times Vince guards a point guard, I don’t know. Generally speaking, it’s going to be Jason most of the time in that scenario. We’ve got a different team now. That’s just the way it is. We’ll adjust and we’ll do what we have to do, but we’ve moved on and the guys we have now are the guys we’re going to have to win with."

The Thunder provide a good example of times the Mavs like the switch. In the Western Conference finals, Kidd typically guarded starting shooting guard Thabo Sefolosha and Stevenson played a major role defending Russell Westbrook and, at times, even Kevin Durant.

This season the Mavs can switch when Kidd plays alongside Jason Terry or at times Rodrigue Beaubois or Dominique Jones. Carlisle could decide to start Terry and bring Carter off the bench to play with feisty backup point guard Delonte West. But, if Carter is the starter, Kidd will match up at the point.

"We’re both big guards so we’re not going to be able to guard the guy that is extremely fast," Kidd said of he and Carter. "But, we’ve got to make him shoot jump shots. You can have Vince play the 1, 2, 3 and sometimes the 4 because of his athletic ability. Having a guard out there like Jet or Roddy or D.J., we’ll be able to switch a lot."

Kidd sat out the first preseason game on Sunday so tonight should provide the first glimpse at a potential starting lineup and the Mavs' plan of attack defensively.

DALLAS -- Defense is going to be a constant hot topic with the new-look Dallas Mavericks. In Sunday night's preseason pummeling by the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Mavs, a top 10 defense last season in scoring and field goal percentage, offered up 106 points, 56.4 percent shooting and 41 trips to the foul line.

Now, take into consideration that Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd did not play and the Thunder led the league last season in free throw attempts.

Still, games like that won't make coach Rick Carlisle a happy man.

"My assessment of the game was that our defense is going to have to be better, obviously," Carlisle said after the 14-point loss in which the Thunder led 90-67 late in the third quarter and shot 90 percent for a large chunk of the period.

It is certainly going to be a transition for the Mavs with their big man in the middle is now doing his thing for the New York Knicks. And don't underestimate the defensive job that DeShawn Stevenson did, especially in the postseason.

Troubling about Sunday night's defensive effort was that key players found themselves in early foul trouble. Delonte West, the player needed to keep Kidd's minutes down, picked up three quick fouls, had four by halftime and finished with five. Lamar Odom had four fouls, Vince Carter finished with four and center Ian Mahinmi, set to become the primary backup as the roster stands for the first time in his career, had five fouls to match his five rebounds in 25 minutes.

The Mavs committed just three more fouls than the Thunder, but OKC's aggressiveness afforded it nine more free throw attempts as it outscored Dallas 34-24 at the foul line. Kevin Durant, not surprisingly, led the charge, making 13-of-14.

"One of the challenges we have, particularly when you play Oklahoma City, is they're a team you have to be in a contain mode on just because they're so great attacking from virtually every position," Carlisle said. "They went to Durant at the 4 [power forward] early in the first half and that's extremely difficult, and the they have three other fast guys and a center out there. So, this is the kind of work you need to get better. They expose you."

DALLAS – J.J. Barea is gone to Minnesota. DeShawn Stevenson soon will land with a team that will give him more money and minutes than the Mavericks did.

PODCAST
Ben and Skin spend a segment talking about Delonte West and hot sauce. Seriously. Listen

Meanwhile, Delonte West gives the Mavs some of the best elements both of those guys offered.

At least, that’s the Mavs’ hope for West, although that seems to be expecting a lot from a man who signed a one-year, minimum-salary contract.

“West is a guy that can give us Barea’s penetration,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “He can give us Stevenson’s edginess and toughness.”

Added president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson: “It’s almost kind of the perfect combination of those two guys.”

West will be the Mavs’ primary backup point guard. They hope he can adequately fill Barea’s shoes as a pick-and-roll ballhandler and scoring point guard for the second unit.

West, a starter on a 66-win Cleveland team a few years ago, will also be counted on to occasionally fill Stevenson’s shoes as a heavily tattooed defensive stopper who gets under the skin of opponents.

“You talk about a guy that’s gutsy,” Nelson said. “Without DeShawn, we’re missing a little of that mental, take-no-prisoners toughness. That’s what [West is] all about. He’s a winner. He’s not afraid of any situation.”

West does come with some off-the-court baggage. According to reports, he was arrested in 2009 after police found four weapons -- a Beretta 9mm, a Ruger .357 magnum, a shotgun (in a guitar case) and a Bowie knife -- after pulling over West for negligent driving on a three-wheel motorcycle. West, who has bipolar disorder, pleaded guilty to two charges and was sentenced to home detention and probation.

However, West’s character isn’t a concern for the Mavs. They see him as a gym rat who gives them a needed dose of nastiness.

“Listen, I like milk drinkers, but I don’t like too many milk drinkers,” Carlisle said. “We need guys that are edgy, that bring attitude.”

Ricky Rubio meet J.J. Barea, and take good notes.

Learn about heart, sweat and guts. Learn how to deal with adversity in the no-mercy NBA. Learn how to overcome. Learn how to be a winner.

Why else do you think the Minnesota Timberwolves outbid the New York Knicks and everybody else and signed the 5-foot-10 world champion to a four-year, $19 million contract on Wednesday?

From a young spark plug on the veteran-laden Dallas Mavericks, Barea, 27, is now an elder statesman of sorts and a mentor in every way to the Timberwolves' Spanish-speaking and once-reluctant No. 5 pick.

"I think that was one of things. I also think what helps me is I came from a great team, great system in Dallas, and I was a big part of the championship team," Barea said after a long day of meeting his new teammates and coaches and beginning the process of settling into his new home of Minneapolis. "I’m going to help him as much as I can. He’s a good kid and I know, I went through it, how hard it is the first couple of years, the ups and downs of the NBA. So, I’m going try to keep him positive and help him out as much as I can."

Hard to believe that Barea, a native of Puerto Rico who had a brilliant, if not a mostly anonymous career at Northeastern, is a five-year NBA veteran, his last three seasons spent as a 20-minute-a-night backup to Jason Kidd, while at times also playing alongside the future Hall of Famer, which could become a similar situation with the slick playmaker from Spain.

"He’s a great kid, talented, but he’s a rookie," Barea said. "He’s young. It’s going to be his first year in the NBA; it’s never easy so I’m going to help him as much as I can with whatever I know."

At the same time as Barea begins a brave new world in the snowy midwest, it remains difficult for him to let go of his ties to Dallas and what might have been if owner Mark Cuban hadn't of slammed on the brakes on the old way of doing business and made a B-line toward salary cap space in this new collective bargaining agreement era.

Cuban bid farewell to free agents Tyson Chandler, DeShawn Stevenson, Caron Butler and Peja Stojakovic. Barea, who desperately wanted to return and chase back-to-back titles, said discussions with Cuban never reached a dollar figure because the owner wasn't budging from a one-year deal that Barea would never accept.

"It’s never going to be personal against Mark or [president of basketball operations Donnie [Nelson] or whoever," Barea said. "But, it’s still disappointing after you win a title and that’s all you fight for and then to break up a team like that it’s always going to be disappointing. But, that’s the direction they wanted to go and that’s what they’re doing."

Barea will participate in his first full practice today with the Timberwolves, a team so often a doormat, but this season is at least intriguing. Rick Adelman takes over as head coach. Rubio, 21, is the point guard. Derrick Williams is the 20-year-old rookie. Kevin Love, 23, is the double-double machine. There's erratic and talented and still immature 22-year-old Michael Beasley, 22-year-old Anthony Randolph, 24-year-old Wesley Johnson, 26-year-old Anthony Tolliver and just 26-year-old Darko Milicic.

In other words, the T'pups are the anti-Mavs.

"It’s weird. It’s weird, but it’s something new for me and another experience I’m going to have," Barea said. "It was great five years in Dallas. Everything about my first five years in Dallas was awesome. This is a nice, little roster. It’s young, really young, but it’s going to be fun."

Especially if Barea can help the hopeful face of the franchise find his way in his own brave new world.

There is room on the Mavs’ roster for the return of rugged swingman DeShawn Stevenson after Rudy Fernandez and Corey Brewer were shipped to Denver.

It’s a matter of whether Stevenson is willing to come back to Dallas for the veteran’s minimum, which is less than a third of the $4.1 million salary he earned as a valued role player on the Mavs’ championship team.

Agent Mark Bartelstein said Stevenson, a defensive stopper who averaged 5.3 points per game and shot 38.8 percent from 3-point range last season, has multiple offers. Bartelstein indicated that Stevenson would probably make a decision within the next day.

The 6-foot-5 Stevenson is tremendously popular in the Mavs’ locker room and immensely respected by coach Rick Carlisle, who appreciated Stevenson’s toughness and professionalism while bouncing back and forth from the end of the bench to the starting lineup last season.

Stevenson started 54 games during the regular season after veteran leaders Jason Kidd, Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry suggested a lineup switch early in the year to allow Terry to return to the sixth man role. Once Rodrigue Beaubois returned from a broken foot, Stevenson fell out of the rotation until the regular-season finale, when the leadership trio persuaded Carlisle to start the defensive-minded Stevenson again.

Stevenson started every playoff game until Game 4 of the NBA Finals, when he was replaced in the lineup by J.J. Barea, a move prompted in part by Carlisle’s wish to have either Stevenson or Shawn Marion defending LeBron James at all time. Stevenson responded with a playoff-high 11 points off the bench while playing his typical tenacious defense in the series-shifting win that night.

It isn’t likely that Stevenson would get many minutes for the Mavs after the additions of Vince Carter and Lamar Odom. However, his defensive ability would make him a valuable asset during the playoffs. He’s earned the Mavs' trust by proving he’ll stay ready regardless of the circumstances.

DALLAS -- The 2011-12 Dallas Mavericks storyline changed almost as quickly as the Texas weather last weekend. Out-of-nowhere acquisitions of Vince Carter and particularly Lamar Odom quickly recharged what appeared to be a weakened world champion after the departure of heart-and-soul center Tyson Chandler and other key title pieces.

Fans were in a tizzy. Owner Mark Cuban offered a plan.

Now it's coach Rick Carlisle's job to figure out how all the pieces fit together on what is again a deep, veteran roster. That depth will be crucial during the compacted, 66-game schedule.

However, Carlisle's biggest challenges will be getting this group of mostly offensive-minded talents to discover the defensive backbone of last season's club as well as demanding vocal leadership, two areas spearheaded by the fiery, 7-foot Chandler. The Mavs' defense finished in the top 10 in the league in both scoring average and shooting percentage last season.

"We’re a world champion because we became a defense-first team and our system is what carried us," Carlisle said. "And the guys that play in this system are going to have to be just as persistent and tough-minded as the guys that did it last year. That’s really the beginning and end of it."

Along with missing Chandler, bulldog defender DeShawn Stevenson, who played such gritty defense on Russell Westbrook and LeBron James in the postseason, is also gone. He is replaced by Rudy Fernandez and Carter, neither of whom is known for bringing that brand of defensive tenacity.

At center, Brendan Haywood holds his own, but he doesn't bring Chandler's passion or demand accountability from teammates. Ian Mahinmi is a developing player who brings energy, but is not yet a reliable, consistent performer. Brandan Wright is a young, unaccomplished power forward that Carlisle will try at center.

Still, for the first time in the Dirk Nowitzki era, the Mavs have size all around. Fernandez and Carter are both 6-6 at shooting guard. Jason Kidd is a rugged 6-4, Odom is 6-10 at small forward and Nowitzki and Haywood are both 7-footers.

"Shawn has probably been our best perimeter defender with Kidd, and Lamar can guard 3s, can guard 4s and 5s also," Nowitzki said. "So, defensively we’re long and we can be active."

But, can they be good? In 21 postseason games en route to the title, the Mavs held their opponent under 100 points in their first 10 games and in 17 of 21. So big in that run was Chandler's intensity, his in-your-face approach and ability to get teammates to follow his lead.

That's why Chandler was so often referred to as the defensive anchor and the one player who changed the defensive culture of the team.

We'll find out over the course of 66 games in 123 days if Chandler took all of that with him to the Big Apple.

"Playing against Lamar over the years, I think he’s more of a quiet guy, too. He’s more of a quiet leader, plays hard, comes to play every night, but he’s not a guy that pumps his chest out there like Tyson used to do," Nowitzki said. "We just have to wait and see. We’ll do it by committee and push each other every night. I think that’s what it comes down to. If you’re an older team, sometimes you might be tired or whatever, you don’t really feel like playing since there’s like 66 games in 67 nights it feels like, so some nights we’re going to have to push each other."